Dreamcatcher

8: Backstory, Part 1

"You think Ms. Smith'll give us another pop quiz tomorrow?" The young, pig-tailed girl bounced on her pink bed like a trampoline, her eyes sparkling and clear. Her white skirt jumped up-and-down with her. "You think we should study now?"

The brown-haired girl swung her legs back and forth as she sat on the chair. After pondering carefully for a moment, she replied, "It doesn't matter if there's a pop quiz, really. Well, at least for you. You get full scores on every test."

The bouncing continued until the pig-tailed girl ran out of breath. She collapsed on the bed with a heavy puff, and a euphoric smile overcame her glimmering skin. "Mhm, it's true that I get good grades, but there's a first time for everything. Right, Aerial?"

The brown-haired girl smiled, then got up from her chair. The bed made yet another squeaking sound as Aerial lied down next to the small girl, and together they stared up at the pink glow-in-the-dark star stickers hanging above. "I can't believe I'm friends with you, Emmi."

"Hm?"

"You're more than a year younger than me and sure act like it, but still – you're so smart. So, so, so smart." Aerial let out a depressed sigh until a softer smile appeared on her face. "It makes me feel like an older sister sometimes."

Aerial felt her arm being squeezed. She looked over and saw Emmi looking back with her wide green eyes, looking like a doll.

"Aerial, you wanna know something 'bout me?" she asked. Emmi smiled with her eyes, and Aerial wanted to protect her forever. She was a gem. She was perfect. Everything about her was sweet and kind and loving and amazing. Emmi was perfect.

"Sure, what is it?"

"I'm not perfect, Aerial."

Aerial blinked twice. Emmi had turned away from her, and now her green eyes were somewhere else away from her. "...What do you mean 'you're not perfect'? Sure you are, Emmi–"

"I'm not....Yesterday I went to another class my parents signed me up for – an advanced math class. I didn't understand half of what the teacher was saying. It was like the words and numbers kept leaving my brain." Emmi's voice was in a whisper, as if she talked any longer her voice would break. But she wouldn't cry. "When I asked my mom to switch me to an easier class, she told me she couldn't, and that I should be able to pick it up quickly or it'd be a waste of money."

"Why would your mom say that?"

"Why else, Aerial?" Emmi turned back. "It's 'cause everybody thinks that Emmi's smart, Emmi's perfect, that Emmi should be able to do anything and everything." The young ten-year old still had a smile on her face, her green eyes glistening like usual, but she wasn't happy. Aerial could tell when Emmi was faking. An instinct. "I can't do everything."

Aerial swallowed nervously. "Sure you can. People don't shove compliments down your throat for no reason, Emmi. It's because you deserve them and we all believe in you. I believe in you."

Sure – they were short, sappy words in the spur of a moment, but Emmi's lip quivered uncontrollably after Aerial finished talking. To the young girl, Aerial's words were worth more than gold.

Quiet sniffles turned into hiccuping sobs. Both girls spent the evening and night in each other's arms, hugging tightly while being too afraid to let one another go until the moon hung high in the sky. Soon the two girls became too tired to share their overwhelming sorrows.

Seasons passed. School days were numbered until the melting summer came, and then summer was over in a blink of an eye. School days came flooding back, and along with yapping mothers and scared children came positive emotions too. For Aerial, first days meant more chances to see her friends. Well, friend. She only had one, Emmi, and the young girl had been so busy with her summer classes that the two didn't spend nearly enough quality time together.