One Very Special Girl

Niklas Kronwall, the sixteen-year-old hockey player, didn’t ask to be popular among the kids at his high-school. It just so happened to work out that way.

But, he was different than the other “popular kids” at his school. He was humble, kind, loved working for/taking care of the homeless and taking care of the elderly. He also enjoyed talking to and befriending kids that were…different. Such as children with autism or that had learning disabilities.

When he entered school that morning, Niklas was stopped by a freshman named James Green, who was looking very excited.

“Niklas? Can you sign an autograph for my little sister, Hannah? She really admires you! She’s 4 and she says she wants to be like you someday,” he begged, clenching the poster of Niklas tightly in his right hand.

Always willing to oblige a young fan—especially one as young as Hannah—Niklas took the sharpie from his back pocket and scribbled his name and a few words of encouragement onto the poster.

“Just tell Hannah to keep practicing and she’ll get there,” he told James with a large smile.

“Oh, thank you, Niklas! Hannah will be so happy,” was the young boy’s reply before he sprinted off.

Niklas let out a sigh and placed the marker back into his pocket before wandering off to the gym.

Halfway there, he stopped and tilted his head sideways. The sound of beautiful music was echoing through the hallway.

When your legs don’t work like they used to before
And I can’t sweep you off of your feet
Will your mouth still remember the taste of my love?
Will your eyes still smile from your cheeks?

Niklas didn’t know the song, but he WAS getting curious as to why there was music coming from the gymnasium. Ears following the notes of the song, he pushed open the doors and stepped inside.

There, in the middle of the floor, was a girl, not much more than fifteen--who had a bigger bone structure than most girls--doing ballet. She was currently spinning around on one foot with her dark hair flying about her face.

Fascinated, Niklas strolled up to the bleachers, found a good seat, and plopped himself down to watch her performance.

As she did her jump (or saute) and landed on her tiptoes, the young boy was able to see a glance of her face.

A permanent burn scar placed on her left cheek from falling in hot water when she was a child and there was a scar above her eye from a deep dog scratch. She had a big cleft in her lip and she had crooked eyes.

But Niklas didn’t care about any of those things. Her dancing was so captivating and he felt like he could sit for hours just watching her.

Her form was so perfect and she held herself with a grace like he’d never seen before. She did each move with perfection and a proud smile.

When the song and performance, Niklas stood up, walked down to the gym floor, and clapped loudly.

“Bravo! That was an amazing performance,” he exclaimed, walking towards the girl with an expression of “awe”.

The girl startled and spun around quickly, which almost made her lose her footing.

“Oh, thanks! Um…I didn’t realize anyone else was here.”

Niklas chuckled and swept the hair back from his eyes.

“Yeah. I heard much coming from the gym and decided to investigate. How long have you been doing it for? Oh, and what’s your name? I’m Niklas.”

The girl laughed and took a big drink of her water.

“I know who you are, Niklas. And I’m Elisa, but my family calls me Le-Le for some reason. I’ve been doing ballet for as long as I can remember,” was her reply.

Niklas led the girl to one of the lunch tables and invited her to sit.

“Was it something your parents did when they were young and that’s how you started doing it,” he asked, referring to her ballet.

Elisa placed her water bottle in-between her legs and pulled her hair over one shoulder.

“Yes! Everyone in my family as far back as my great-grandparents did ballet sometime in their life. My parents signed me up for ballet when I was five years old. I fell in love with it almost instantly. Of course, being bigger muscled than most of the other girls in my class made it hard, but I was determined to be the best dancer I could.”

Niklas’s lips curved into a smile at the passion in her voice when she talked about the sport she did. He’d always loved seeing people get passionate about things no matter if he knew what they were or not.

“What’s it like to do ballet?”

Elisa closed her eyes for a minute, remaining deep in thought as she tried to find the right words to describe the feeling it gave her.

“It’s kind of like how when you go out on the ice and you just feel alive? Like you just want to live in the moment forever and never come out of it? Like it’s just you and the puck or just you and the ice. Like nothing else in the world matters. That’s what ballet does to me. I just want to keep flying, keep dancing forever. I don’t ever want to come down from that. Oh, Niklas, dancing is beautiful. To me it’s like looking at a beautiful painting.”

Before Niklas could say anything in response to her very beautiful comment, he was interrupted by the voice of his teammate, Jared Cuttingham.

“Kronner, my man, how ya doing,” he asked, giving Niklas a hearty slap on the back.

Niklas rolled his eyes and returned the slap as Jared sat down.

“I’m doing fine, Jar, but you disturbed the conversation I was having!”

Jared looked flustered and embarrassed for only a moment before he caught sight of Elisa’s face. Then, he looked disgusted.

“Kronner! Man, you could do better. Why are you hanging out with her? She’s ugly and she’s fat. Didn’t we teach you better than that?!”

Niklas made a noise of disapproval and sent Jared a dirty glare.

“First of all, she’s not fat. She’s big muscled like I am. Secondly, she’s not ugly. Sure, she’s got some scars and a cleft lip and cross-eyed but so what? Just because she’s not pretty like the way YOU think of it doesn’t mean she’s ugly. And, besides, the only thing I really care about is personality and she’s got a damn good one.”

Jared scoffed and shook his head.

“You’re supposed to be talking to the POPULAR kids, Kronner, not the ones who aren’t. What’s wrong with you?”

Niklas moved to the side of the table where Elisa sat and covered her hand with his.

“Nothing’s wrong with me, what’s wrong with you? I don’t care about being popular at all and you know that. If being popular means being a total ass like you, then I want no part of it.”

Elisa blushed at the way Niklas was defending her and gave his hand an appreciative squeeze. It felt good to be noticed and by one of the most popular kids in school? That was an added bonus!

Jared’s scowl darkened and he crossed his arms firmly over his cheek.

“If you keep being friends with her, if you keep talking to her, then I will make sure that you are OFF the team,” he hissed in a threatening tone.

Elisa’s breath caught in her throat. Niklas was definatly going to leave her now. Certainty he wasn’t going to risk his career as a hockey player to be friends with her!

Much to her surprise, however, Niklas only laughed and squeezed her hand back.

“You don’t make the rules about who stays on the team and who doesn’t, Jared. That’s our coach’s job. And if I get kicked off the team for befriending a girl who’s not popular, then so be it. I’m not listening to you anymore. If you want to continue to be an ass and put people down, then go ahead. That’s your choice. This is my choice.”

Jared’s jaw dropped in shock as Niklas pulled Elisa to her feet, swung both of their bags over his shoulder, and led her from the room.

“Niklas, you’re really going to risk your friendship and your career just for me,” Elisa asked in a whisper when they were alone outside the gym doors.

Niklas smiled and tucked in a loose piece of hair behind her ear.

“Of course I am. The way he treated you isn’t right and it’s unfair. You can’t help being born with a cleft lip and having crossed-eyes. You can’t help having a big-muscled body like ours. Making friends is a heck of a lot more important than my reputation. I want to be remembered for my helpfulness and kindness, not for being popular and big headed. Besides,” he finished with a twinkle in his eye, “you are one very special girl.”