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"Come on Tammy! Just push off." Cassie was kneeling in the empty road and held her arms out to the shaking seven year old who made her way towards her tentatively. The sun was shining down on the sisters, casting long shadows from the trees and making her ring glint on her finger.
"I'm gonna fall!" Tammy cried, a few tears making their way down her small face. Cassie stood up and skated back up the driveway to her, taking the child's hand in hers.
"Tell you what, I'll hold onto you and pull you along, ok?" She nodded and rubbed her cheek. The older one gently pulled Tammy alongside her as she begun to skate slowly down the street.
"See? It's not so bad."
"It's fun!" Tammy laughed before letting go of her older sister's hand and bolting down the road.
"Tammy! Wait!" Cassie heard a loud crash as two people fell to the ground.
"Oh my god I'm so sorry!" Meyer, better known as Mush, scrambled up and pulled the small girl to her feet.
"Mush I told you to use the brakes! Oh hey Mouse."
"Hey yourself Godzilla." Cassie quickly hugged Dean before crouching down in front of the crying Tammy.
"What'd you do this time." She shoved her lightly grazed knee at her sister. "I am not kissing that better." She waved her arms at in the air as Cassie sighed and picked her up. Tammy giggled and wrapped herself around her sister like a koala.
"Okay I love you too Tam-Tam. Love you too."
"Excuse me, but are you two Dean Portman and Cassie Dalton?" An older man tapped the latter on the shoulder.
"Depends who's asking."
"Mr Tibbles." He stuck his hand out which the two both shook with a skeptical look at each other.
"I'm here to ask you two to be on the team representing the USA in the Junior Goodwill Games! So, will you join?"
Cassie bit her lip and thought. Going to play there would mean leaving the Morgan Park Mustangs, leaving Tammy, leaving her mother. Hell, Cass had never even been out of the state and now this random stranger was just asking her to pick up and go to California.
"I'm in." She glanced at Dean, thoughts running a million miles in her head.
"Whaddya say?" Tibbles turned to her, breaking the cycle. "Will the Chicago Mouse join?" Tammy nodded against her sister's neck, egging her to say yes.
"Can I have some time to think about it?" Tibbles patted her shoulder with a large smile.
"Of course! Take as long as you need!" Cassie nodded and grabbed her sister's hand, nodding a small farewell to the boys in the street and skated back to her house.
~
"I don't know, California's a long way away, pumpkin." Cassie's father put a blue mug of coffee in front of her.
