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“Then you must come,” she says.
After looking at the house once more, I look at her and nod. “Okay, I’ll come.”
“Get inside, Veronica.” I freeze in my spot when I hear my mom’s voice looming.
“Is that your mom?” Lauren whispers, looking scared as she tries to hide behind the fence just like I want to do.
I nod.
“Veronica!” I hurry inside the house when mom yells at me.
Mom grabs me by the collar of my t-shirt and pulls me inside the house. My eyes well up with tears, but I don’t fight when she pushes me inside the closet. I’ve already got used to being in there.
Mom locks me inside. “Pray, Veronica. Pray for God to give you enough wisdom to stay away from people. People aren’t to be trusted, they’re evil. They’ll lead you to sin. Don’t trust anyone, Veronica. No one. Pray. Pray hard,” she says after leaving me in the dark.
At first, I hated this closet. It was dark, cold, and scary; it still is. But lately, I like it more than I hate it. Mom is scaring me, but when I’m here, I don’t need to worry about doing something to anger my mom.
I don’t pray, though. I decide that I don’t like God. And lately, I don’t like my mother, either.
Chapter 5
Present
“Stella, Marilyn! Hey, hey, what are you fighting for?” I pull away two little monsters from each other.
“She pulled my hair!” Stella shouts.
I turn to Marilyn who shoots daggers at Stella. “Why did you pull her hair, dear?”
“She always wants to be in the front. This time I want to be in the front!” she says, her eyes have already welled up with tears.
I bite my lip not to laugh before pulling both of them into my arms. “Do you know why these walls have mirrors?” I say, pointing the big mirrors that cover the walls.
“So, we can see ourselves?” Marilyn guesses when Stella says, “To see how others dance?”
I shake my head. “There are mirrors so all of us can be in the front.” I turn Marilyn to face the mirror on the left wall and say, “Look, your spot is on the front. All the others are behind you at this point.”
Marilyn’s eyes widen, and she beams, showing me the missing teeth in the front. Unexpectedly, she throws herself at me. “Thank you for putting me in the front.”
Stella does the same, after looking at her own place and smile.
Shaking my head, I laugh. “Alright, you’re friends, and that’s the most important thing. Now apologize to each other and take your places. We’ll start the class.”
After an hour of dance class with ten little girls from age 5 to 7, I walk them outside, so they can meet their parents. When I’m back in the studio to tidy up the place I hear a throat clearing behind me.
“Miss Sage?” says a woman. I remember her, she’s Stella’s mother.
“Hi.”
“I won’t take your time, I can guess you’re busy and tired, but Stella’s just told me what happened today, and I wanted to thank you for how you handled the situation. Stella is very ambitious even for her young age, and while I’m happy that she’s passionate about the things she likes, I also want her to know that life isn’t about being the first, it’s about the joy in the process. So, I can’t tell you how happy I felt when she told me that you showed her that you can be in the front if you look from the right place and that friendships are important,” she says, before taking my hand for a shake, “Thank you.”
I smile at her, not knowing what to do. “Stella is a great girl. A little bit ambitious, yes, but that’s not a bad thing. She’s smart enough to realize with time that competition isn’t so important. I’m glad I could be some kind of help.”
She nods. “She really enjoys your classes. You’re so good with kids. Do you have children?”
My smile falls. “No. I can’t be a mother.”
Her expression turns pitiful, and I hate it. “I’m sorry. I… I better go. Thank you for your time.” Her words rush out from her mouth, and she quickly leaves the studio.
