"Her or me?" A tear rolled down Michelle's puffy cheek, "You have to make a decision."
For Michelle, life has always been about control-control in the studio, in her friendships, and even in the secrets she hides. But with an unexpected pregnancy...
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"Dinners almost ready," My mom tells me as I walk into the kitchen.
"What are we having?" I ask her curiously.
She looks over at me. "Pasta. Are you hungry?"
"Yeah, I guess."
I sit down at the table, looking around the room aimlessly as I wait for the food to be cooked. Tomorrow is the dance event, the one that we've been preparing for for a while now, and I'm really nervous. I get the same jitters the night before any dance performance.
"Here you go," She says as she places my plate on the table.
"Thanks, mom." I thank her. "This looks great."
"Thank you, sweetheart."
She sits down opposite me, wasting no time in digging into her plate of food. I roll the pasta around my fork, playing with it as I feel really anxious, and eating is only making everything worse.
I find it hard to eat before an event. I always think back to what Michelle told me; she said that good dancers don't need to eat. She said that food hinders your performance, and that's always stuck with me.
I still remember how she would pinch at the extra fat on my stomach, telling me that I'd failed the team because I didn't work it off.
"You need to eat, honey." My mom clearly noticed that I'm not making an effort to eat my food.
"I'm sorry, I know." I begin to explain myself. "It's just that I'm really nervous; my stomach is in knots right now."
"Oh, yeah, you're performing at the football game tomorrow!" She remembers.
"Yeah, and for some reason, I'm scared. I know it's not something serious like a competition, but it's been so long since anyone has seen me dance, and it's kind of a big deal for me."
"Yeah, I get that. You're just worried, that's all."
And then I decide to ask her this: "Are- are you gonna be there tomorrow?"
She shakes her head. "I'm sorry, sweetie, I can't. I'm working all night, and I can't take another day off. We're barely getting by right now, and we can't afford to lose any money."
We're going through some money troubles at the moment. My mom works two jobs, and she can barely afford to keep me in dance. After my dad left, we were left with nothing. My mom had to find a job quickly in order to pay rent and keep food on the table.
I hate my dad for what he's done to us. He's such a coward. He doesn't even have the guts to apologise for leaving us in such a bad position. If only I knew where he is then I could give him a piece of my mind.
