"i was so focused on you taking your brother's place in the band that i forgot that we don't have the same dreams"
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"Ow!"
Bobby, who had just come home from a friend's house, paused when he heard cursing coming from the back yard. Then he heard the sound of something crashing into the trash can. The eleven-year-old ran around the side of the house to investigate.
Mickey was the one making all the noise. She was sitting on the concrete and glaring at her feet. The trash can was knocked over next to her, but she paid it no mind. There was a scrape on her knee from falling over.
"Mick, what happened?" he asked, going to her side. She didn't take his hand, which he had offered to help her up with. Frustrated tears started to fall from her eyes, which worried him even more. "Hey, c'mon. Tell me what's wrong."
Mickey sighed and put her head in her hands, digging her palms into her eyes to try and stop crying. "It's stupid."
Bobby took a seat next to her on the concrete. "Not if you're crying."
She sighed again before answering. "W - we got our first pointe shoes in class today." Bobby looked at the pink shoes on Mickey's feet, though he wasn't sure how those differed from her regular ballet slippers. "And Mrs. Moseby had us all try going up en pointe for the first time and I fell right over. And of course, Moira Richardson did it perfectly and then got everyone to laugh at me."
"Oh, Mickey, I'm sorry," he said. Bobby rubbed her shoulder to try and comfort her a little.
Mickey wiped under her nose. "A - and I thought I'd come out here and try it again without anyone watching me, but I keep falling over. I suck, Bobs."
"Hey, you don't suck. You're a great dancer. This is just something you're not used to yet. All you've gotta do is practice some more," Bobby told her. "Yeah, you might fall over, but you just gotta get back up and do it again."
"But Moira could do it on the first—"
"I don't give a shit about what Moira can or can't do," Bobby said, scoffing.
"Mom said we're not allowed to say bad words," Mickey mumbled.
He chuckled, shaking his head. "What Mom doesn't know, won't hurt her. Now, come on." Bobby jumped to his feet and offered a hand down to Mickey, which she eyed reluctantly.
"What?"
"I am going to stand out here with you and help hold you up so you don't fall over," he explained. "We'll keep doing it until you're used to the new shoes. Then you can go to class tomorrow and rub it in Moira's face."
