Queen of Hearts

Two

I first learned about my ability at dance camp. I was 9 and let me tell you, I was quite the sassy child. 

We were supposed to be doing partner dancing. Unlike classes I'd done before, this camp was more of a 'fun' dancing camp than the traditional ballet my parents made me do. As we were supposed to partner up, I noticed a girl who looked like she really didn't want to be there. She was really small, like really really small. I remember she had frameless glasses, the kind teachers would wear and her hair was a vibrant red; it was curly, almost like an afro. She also was covered in freckles; had at least a thousand freckles on her face alone. I thought she was really pretty (for a 9-year-old at least), but her expression just made me feel sad, and at a dance camp, that was the last thing I wanted. 

So, being adventurous me, I stormed my way over and stuck my hand out. "Hi!" I squealed. "Will you dance with me as my dance partner!?!" Now, my voice was obnoxiously shrill before I reached puberty, so when I say everyone in the room turned to stare at me, I mean it. "I'm Jasmine!" I squawked again. "Melanie," she quietly responded. "And ok," she replied softly. I smiled and tugged her hand until we were in the middle of the room. "I'm so excited for this!!" I screamed. She gave a meek grin, but kept her eyes glued onto the ground. 

"Hey," I whispered. "It's ok, we'll have fun!" She looked at me again, then looked around me. Her little sad eyes darted around at all of the people staring at us. I liked her eyes too. They were blue, but not a piercing blue, more of a cornflower, a mix between blue and brown almost. She had really, really pretty eyes. Somewhere behind me, an older, more popular girl laughed, and it seemed to be directed at us. Melanie closed her eyes and started to droop, almost like a dying flower. 

That was when I felt it. 

Like an invisible cord protruding from her heart, it pointed straight at me, waiting for me to take hold of it. 

With hands, I reached out a grasped for it. I tugged it forward a little. Melanie jerked at me, but I wasn't even touching her. Her eyes were then staring at me, only me. "Wha-" she stammered. I tugged again, and her eyes widened even more. Then, instead of a rope, it felt like I was holding onto a dial. With Melanie still staring at me, confused, I turned it to the left. That was when she started to smile a little. Not a full, beaming smile, but a little grin. I turned it even more, and her posture became fuller, less droopy. When I turned it even more, and she started to laugh. All of a sudden, it was like her sadness had been shed, like taking off a wet raincoat after playing in the rain. 

I dropped the dial, my mind still racing. I had no clue what had just happened. I was 9, but I wasn't stupid. Ideas popped into my head, and I just wanted to sit on my bed with my notebook and think. But then Melanie beamed, a full, bright smile, flashing her green and blue braces. All of a sudden, the only thing that mattered to me was Melanie's smile, and her eyes, and how she wasn't drooping anymore. I grabbed her hand and started to skip in a circle, leading her with me. The teacher then clapped her hands, and we stopped, getting ready for her lesson. As if what happened before didn't happen at all, Melanie kept smiling and smiling. As if the girls around us had been affected too, they started to whoop and cheer when the two of us started skipping and bopping to the beat. 

But even in the fun, I still had a worry in the back of my head. What just happened, I thought. What did I do? Why did she change? But the question that haunted me for years, and still does, is 

What am I?