Twelve-Year-Old Artists: The Budding Ballerina (Book One)

I held the letter in my hands, palms sweating. I knew that this letter would determine the rest of my life--was it an acceptance letter, or a rejection letter?
"Open it, Nora!" My six-year-old sister Karey begged, "open it open it open it! Are you going to join the dancey school?" Her small brown eyes pleaded for me to open the letter from the Calley School Of Ballet, a prestigious academy for ballet dancers in junior high and high School.I finally tore the letter open.
I stared at it.
"What does it SAY?" Karey asked.
"YES!"
"YES!"
"Does all that racket mean you got in?" Dad said, coming down the stairs with Mom.
"YES!" I yelled.
"Let's celebrate!" Mom announced, "beef and broccoli, anyone?" Her dirty blonde hair, same as Karey's, bounced around. My hair was closer in shade to Dad's--white-blonde.
"YES!" Karey, Dad and I shouted. My eighteen-year-old sister Olivia ran down.
"I know exactly what this means," she declared, "beef, broccoli, and Nora leaving."
"When will you come back, Nora?" Karey asked.
"As soon as I can," I replied, "don't worry, I'll write," and later, after dinner, Olivia came to my room, "what is it?" I asked.
"Just to let you know... boarding schools and academies aren't all fun and games. I didn't have a great time at Calley's. You probably won't either," and with those words embedded in my head, Olivia left.