My name is Delilah. I am 12 years old and I live in Washington. Lately, I have taken an interest in swords, but my parents think it's not a good idea for me to have one. I asked my mom about it while she was cooking breakfast and her response was, "Sword lessons? No, that's far too dangerous."

So I asked my dad. He was so shocked that he thought he was hallucinating. 

SO THE ANSWER WAS...

no.

After that, I asked for gymnastics lessons. I wanted to do something athletic.

    ''You can break your bones,'' Dad pointed out. Mom agreed.

    ''What about soccer less-''

    ''You can get dirty,'' Mom replied.

Dad agreed. Then he smiled.

    ''How about ballet lessons?'' he asked.

    I agreed.

    The following week, my feet were black and blue, and my whole body was sore.

My parents did not know of it, however. Every day after class I soaked my feet in hot water. But today was different. Today was Hand-and-Feet- inspection day, where my mom inspects all of us. If she inspects me, then she'll notice...

    My cuts. My bruises. My feet, which seems to become more and more swollen every day.

    ''Mom, I don't feel to good. Can you inspect me tomorrow?''

    ''no.''

    ''My head hurts, too.''

    ''No, Delilah.''

And my feet are black and- um, beautiful.

YOUR FEET ARE BLACK!?