Alissa was a skinny, awkward teenager who wanted nothing more than to be a famous dancer. She had decent dancing ability, and had been taking dance lessons since she could walk. But Alissa’s long, gangly limbs often got in the way of her gracefulness.

Talented and petite, Jenny was a popular dancer that grew up around the corner from Alissa and often performed better because of her smaller build. She was a crowd favorite, but behind the scenes, she was nothing less than a rude snob. For years, Alissa felt she could never out perform Jenny, and even if she could, the crowd would still like Jenny better.

One day while walking to school, Alissa saw a flyer for an upcoming dance competition to win a scholarship to the state’s best dance academy. While the competition was still two months away, Alissa knew she would have to come up with a really good routine and some new moves to win. Of course, it was only natural that Jenny would enter the competition, too, so Alissa knew what she’d be up against.

Wasting no time, Alissa began looking up new dance moves on YouTube and stumbled across an awkward but fascinating video of a long, skinny girl doing The Worm. Quickly looking up more how-to videos on The Worm, Alissa discovered the move looked amazing when performed by someone with her same tall, thin body, but less impressive when a shorter person tried it.

Her first attempt wasn’t pretty. Alissa flopped down onto the floor of her room, crashed her head into the wall and realized it would take a lot of practice. She would need plenty of space if she was going to stand a chance mastering The Worm. She quickly moved operations into the living room when no one was looking, but the hard tile floor gave her bruises on her knees and even a bloody nose. Everyday after school, Alissa would practice The Worm for an hour straight on the hard tile floor knowing that the dance competition would be on a hard wood surface. Eventually, the move became easier and more fluid. The Worm would be her secret weapon.

On the day of the dance competition, Jenny impressed the judges with her skills, and her score looked almost impossible to beat. Backstage, Jenny flaunted her score and Alissa knew that she would have to have a perfect performance in order to win. Now even more determined to out-dance Jenny, the long, skinny girl who was always second to the popular girl would put on the best performance of her life. The crowd and judges alike jumped to their feet when she unleashed a perfectly executed Worm on center stage. It was a move no one had ever seen or expected in the competition, but Alissa’s gangly limbs seemed to flow smooth and effortlessly, earning her a perfect score.

As winner of the dance scholarship, Alissa finally felt like she was the best dancer around and her confidence grew. She was determined to be a kinder person than Jenny by never being rude to others. By overcoming her awkwardness with hard work and determination, Alissa would reach her goal of becoming a great dancer.