The Lost Memories

23. overprotective

I've been so excited ever since Michelle told me that I'm going to be dancing with A-Troupe. Ever since I joined the studio, I've always dreamt of being as good as them. Richelle is amazing; she's my favourite dancer. I've also always loved the pretty costumes, as the ones J-Troupe get are boring!

Plus, everyone on J-Troupe are so immature. Since I'm thirteen this year, I'm hoping that I'll be treated more like an adult. Also, I finally got my first period last month, and my mom is taking me to the mall to buy my first bra.

Mom says that my chest is going to attract boys' attention, and she looked disgusted at the thought of that.

Emily looks at the clock. "Okay, everyone, it's almost time to go, so why don't you all gather your things?"

"And that was a great rehearsal. You all did so well!" She seems really pleased.

I hurry over to grab my pink Disney dance bag, making sure no one happens to snatch it from me. Some of the girls on my team are extremely jealous of me– I can just feel it.

"Hey, Presley!" I hear a voice coming from beside me: "Cute bag!"

I smile at Xander before saying, "Thanks! My mom got it for me on sale last Christmas."

But instead of being kind, a look of disgust appears on his face. "I was only kidding! Your mom got it for you– how lame!"

"Oh..." the realisation suddenly hits me.

And then I remind myself that I shouldn't let others hurt my feelings, so I say, "Well, at least my mom actually buys me things! Your mom couldn't even afford to buy you a new pair of dance shoes!"

"Shut up!" He rolls his eyes as he walks away from me and towards his friends.

Suddenly, it hits me that everyone has gone off together and left. I don't really have many friends on J-troupe, and it's only going to get worse when they find out that I'm going to be dancing with A-troupe. For some reason, everyone seems to hate me, but I usually just put it down to jealousy.

I am an amazing dancer, and everyone knows that. At least I'll actually have a professional career instead of working at Taco Bell for the rest of my life!

I look around the room for a moment, realising just how alone I am. But when I hear footsteps, I try to make it seem like I wasn't upset about it.

"Presley?" I hear Emily's voice: "Shouldn't you be heading home now? All the other kids have left already."

"I was just about to go!" I smile at her.

"Well, you should be heading off now before it gets dark. I'm locking up, so I want everyone out of the building. I don't want to accidentally lock you inside so, come on, grab your things!"

"Oh, okay." I grab my bag before putting it on my back.

As I awkwardly stand still, she asks, "Presley, is your mom coming to collect you, or do you need me to call her?"

"Oh, she's coming." I tell her, "She'll just be outside in the parking lot."

"Do you need me to walk you to her car? Like I said, it's dark outside."

"No, no, I'm fine! I've walked to her car plenty of times now" I assure her that I'm going to be okay.

"Okay." She gives me a serious look. "But be careful."

"I will!"

I then grab my dance bag before rushing over to the door so that I can meet my mom. And before I leave, I make sure to be polite and to say goodbye to Emily. She is my studio head after all, and mom would tell me that it would be rude not to say goodbye.

I turn around, waving "Goodbye, Miss Emily!"

"Bye, Pres."

"Have a good weekend!" I smile brightly at her as I leave.

As soon as I get outside, I realise that it's raining. I try to protect my hair, but it's no use, and the rain destroys it anyway. It then takes me a second to see my mom's car, but when I do see it, I immediately rush over.

As I open the door, I hear her say, "Oh goodness, you're soaked!"

"Yeah, it's raining pretty bad!" I close the car door dramatically.

As soon as I lock the rain outside, Mom wraps her arms around my body whilst saying, "You poor, poor thing! We'll have to quickly get you home and get you dried. I don't want you catching a cold or something; you'll be out of dance for weeks!"

That's a bit of a stretch.

Then, she looks around, and I notice that she doesn't seem quite happy. "Oh, you've gotten the seat wet! Presley, you know I've just cleaned the car yesterday!"

"I- I couldn't exactly help it."

She sighs before immediately switching up her mood. "No, it's okay. Don't worry about it. The main thing is that you're okay; you just need to get yourself dry."

"I'll be fine."

Mom can be a little bit dramatic sometimes, especially when it comes to my health. She always worries about me, but sometimes she does get a little over the top with it. But at least I have a mom that cares, I guess.

She then says, "Let me call your father; he can run you a bath and grab some clean pyjamas for you."

"No, it's okay! I- I can do that myself!" I try to stop her.

She seems confused by that. "Don't you want your father to help you? You're twelve years old; it doesn't mean that you can't accept your parent's help anymore! Are you really going to upset your father like that? You know that he gets worked up when you turn him down like that."

I see the look on my mom's face, and I know that I have to make her happy. She gets really angry when I go against what she wants, and I don't want that to happen tonight. Plus, my dad is even scarier than her when he's angry!

"You're right... Tell Dad that I want his help." I force a fake smile.

I feel her hand on my chin, tilting my head. "That's a good girl."

I then immediately see her rush to grab her phone. I watch as she dials my dad's number and begins to frantically explain to him that I got wet in the rain. She over-exaggerates everything, her voice cracking I think that at any second she might start to cry. I furrow my brows as I watch her talk to him, confused as to why she has to act this way.

They've been this way ever since I was a baby. My mom would shelter me from the dangers of the world, not even allowing me to leave the front yard. And, if she ever saw me speaking to another kid, she would spank me right in front of them.

But I guess that she just wants to keep me safe. She is a good mom after all.

And, as she puts down her phone, a smile appears on her face, and she says to me, "You're dad's going to start the bath up now. He even said that he'll read you a story whilst you're in there."

"Oh... that's great." I say, weakly.