rainbow connection | rini

fifteen

After weeks of practice, Nini and Ricky perfected their dance, right down to the emotional connection. Ricky watched Nini do her makeup in the dressing room of the competition in absolute awe.

"You look fantastic," he told her. She smiled.

"Thank you," she said. "I'm glad you've decided to wear a belt today."

"I realize now that without one, people can see everything." He laughed and she joined him for a second. When they calmed, he asked, "How do you feel about your solo?"

"I think if I can get myself energized by the time I step on the stage, I'll be fine," she told him honestly. He scooted his chair closer to her and pulled her so that she could lean on his shoulder.

"I know you're feeling tired today. Do you want me to go get coffee?" She shook her head, her eyes already closed.

In what felt like no time, Nini was shaken awake by Ricky. He told her she had ten minutes to wake up and get to the stage. In desperation to get some excitement running through her body, she did a few cartwheels. Luckily, they got her blood pumping and she was ready to go.

Ricky watched from the sidelines as Nini wowed the audience with a beautiful dance. He was sure she was going to be announced a winner at the end of the competition. After exiting the stage, she hugged him tightly.

"That was so good," he mumbled into her hair. "The best I've ever seen you do it."

By the time they reached the dressing room, Nini's movements were sluggish once again. She struggled to get into her costume by herself and when she finally did, she trudged to a seat next to Ricky and plopped down lazily. She closed her eyes, her cheek pressed against his shoulder.

She got up and did some wobbly cartwheels before they had to go. This time, she was strong and conveyed her emotions perfectly, but Ricky could tell that something was wrong with her. Offstage, she leaned against Ricky.

"Are you okay?" He asked her.

"'M fine," she mumbled. Her weight got heavy on him and he put his hands on her shoulders.

"Do you feel dizzy?" She nodded. "Okay, let's get back to the dressing room."

They walked about half of the way they needed to go with Ricky supporting Nini's weight, which wasn't much. He thought heavily about how much lighter she felt than when they first started dancing together. He figured it was in his head and that he'd just gotten used to how light she was.

"'M get water," she mumbled. Ricky let her go so that she could walk to the water fountain. She took precisely two steps and then collapsed.

"Nini?" Ricky called out. He realized she'd passed out and lifted her into his arms. He hurried out toward the front of the building because he was almost sure Nini's parents would be there, waiting for her.

"Ricky?" Carol called upon seeing him hurry toward her with an unconscious Nini. "What happened?"

"I-I don't know! I think I need to take her to the hospital." Ricky was beyond worried and began to shake.

"Okay, Ricky. Come with us, okay? We'll all go. I'll call your mom." As much as she loved Nini, she had rushed her to the hospital too many times to not be calm.

"O-okay." He couldn't stop shaking as he held Nini in the backseat of her parents' car.

"Ricky, can you breathe, son?" Scott asked, looking into the rearview mirror at him.

"No." Ricky hadn't noticed that he'd begun gasping for air.

"Take some deep breaths, everything is okay." By this time, Carol had already called Lynne and they, too, were on their way to the hospital.

Once Nini was admitted, the two adults and Ricky sat in the waiting room. They sat in silence for a long time and Ricky still couldn't stop shaking. He didn't understand what was going on.

"Ricky," Carol finally said, "Did Nini stop eating recently?"

"No, of course not!" He said, "I make sure she eats something for lunch every day." He thought for a second and muttered "Oh shit."

"What?" Carol asked.

"Nini is always late to class after lunch. I mean, I walk to class with her but she always leaves again to go get her books. I never thought that she would be doing anything else. She wouldn't throw up at school, would she?" He began to think long and hard about Nini's behavior and became angry at himself.

"She would, Ricky," her stepfather said. "But you couldn't have known that."

When Carol saw a woman who wasn't a doctor entering Nini's room, she sprung up. "What are you doing?" She questioned.

"I'm with social services. I'm going in to talk to Nini. You aren't permitted to see her yet." Without another word, the woman entered and left less than half an hour later. While they were waiting, Carol informed Ricky that social services being called was procedure and that everything would be fine.

The doctor approached them sometime after and said, "I just wanted to let you know that Nini is malnourished. Her BMI is dangerously low and right now, all we can do is try and pump her with essential vitamins."

Finally, her parents were permitted to enter the room. She was only allowed two visitors at once, so Ricky stayed behind. They stayed in there for a while and Ricky assumed that they were questioning Nini. He only hoped they weren't mad at her.

After some time, they told Ricky that she asked to have time with him alone. When he walked in, her face was red and streaked with tear stains. He gave her a sad smile and kissed her forehead.

"Can you lay with me?" She asked. She didn't sound like her usual self. She sounded sad and weak and tired, none of which Ricky wanted her to be. He obliged, though, and climbed into the bed on the side that didn't have her IV.

As the pair laid face to face, their foreheads touching, Nini's breath softened against Ricky's and she fell asleep. Eventually, he did too. Their parents let them rest.