December 30th, 2001

Midnight

The snow had finally really started to come down after 6pm. It would be a big snowfall. Their mother had come home during that, covered in snow. She'd tried to get it off in the shoe room. She'd taken off her coat to dry it off in there and put on house shoes. She'd enjoyed a good dinner of potato and leek soup and some rice. Takuya had put his siblings to bed at 8pm, so she had nothing to worry about. She'd had an exhausting day.

Takuya had been in his bedroom, practicing dancing. He thought, if the email he'd received today was real, then he'd better be on top of his game. He'd responded, thanking them greatly, asking about next steps. He hadn't received anything back yet. He knew they were on opposite time from him. His night was their day. So, he might receive something as he slept. He didn't know if it was worth telling his mom about. He still thought if they asked for money, he'd stop communication. But, so far they weren't.

He was expanding his dancing, learning new things that he found on the internet. Studying what had made the first place winner at Mad Mike's stand out more than he did. Studying the second place winner, too. He could see that they were both tighter than him. Their dancing was a lot more polished, though his choreography was more difficult. That must be what made him third place. So, he was trying to make his dancing tighter.

His mom found him in there. He couldn't hear her. He had his tape player on his waist, his headphones on. Listening to old hip hop tapes that he knew well, thinking about the rhythms and how to get his dancing to match them with pinpoint accuracy. That's what he was missing. He had to look cool, but he also had to be accurate. That was the key.

He noticed her in the doorway, smiling at him. He took off his headphones and stopped his tape player. He went to her.

"Hello. Is the cow okay?" he asked.

She shook her head. "We lost the calf. The mom seems to be okay, but she'll have to be seen by a vet. It just took too long...suffocation."

Takuya was saddened by this. "I'm sorry."

She smiled. "They'll still get milk from her, though. That's the important part. They would have sold the calf, since it was a male. It was a money loss for them."

He and his mom definitely didn't look at animals the same way. He tried to forget about it. Not take things personally.

"Did you eat? I made potato and leek soup. It's in the fridge."

"I ate it. Thank you. Next time, add some carrots if we have some. It'll be more nourishing."

"Good idea."

"Yes. Um, are you trying out new moves? I want to see the video of you winning. Can I see it?"

Takuya smiled, but took her to his computer. "I didn't win. Not really... It was a third place. I have to get better to be first place."

"A win is a win."

He knew this was her trying to encourage him. Being proud of him. He was always insecure about that. But, maybe it was a reflection of his own thoughts...

He started the video, and she watched over his shoulder. He was on stage. It was a small place, but people were paying attention. People were getting into it, shouting things out. He thought if people liked it, then that was a good thing. Maybe he had to analyze the crowd reaction next. What had that person seen in this video that made them reach out to him, scammer or not?

When the video finished, she squeezed his shoulders. "You should keep going. There's talent shows these days, on TV. Maybe you can try for one of those. You win contests. Those shows are just contests. You can try."

He turned around in his computer chair. She was pretty right. He credited his self doubts for not thinking of it himself.

"Do you think I'm good enough for that?"

"Yes. But, I'm your mom."

She was right.

"I'll think about it."

"Look at their audition schedules. Can you find that on a computer?"

He smiled back at her. "I'll look."

"Good. Well, I'm going to go watch TV."

He watched her go.

Now he was in bed. He'd looked at any talent show he could find. A lot of them were by age, and he'd aged out of the ones for kids. He wasn't old enough for the ones for adults. But, he kept note of the ones for adults. By June, he'd be old enough to qualify. Though, a lot of these shows seemed to give singers the top spots. That was a problem.

By June, however, he'd also be old enough to get a job in town. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. He kind of wanted to keep dancing... But he had an obligation to his family. More than an obligation. When he thought about his siblings' faces... Next year, with both his money and his mom's, they could have a real New Year's celebration. And there'd be more where that came from.

Not only that, but if he kept trying to learn English, he might be able to get a job some day at the ski resort nearby. They'd need a vehicle of some kind to get him there, but the only reason why his mom didn't qualify was because she didn't speak English. He spoke it well enough. That kind of job would secure them. But, he was sure he needed working experience first. Build up a resume.

The resume he'd sent to those people had pretty much been full of the contests he'd done. It wasn't a very long list. But, he had provided a lot of references. Apparently, it had been enough somehow. That made him think even more so that it was a scam. If it had been a scam, what was he doing giving them the names and phone numbers of the people who were helping him?

Suddenly a cold wind went through his gut at that thought. Had he just betrayed every single one of his contacts? What had he done? But, it was too late now...

He'd have to deal with the consequences. And worse, so would his family. What if this had just destroyed his chances at dancing? If all of his contacts were involved in the scam, they'd never talk to him again.

He stared at the ceiling. He wanted to throw up. He never liked to let his emotions get the best of him, but it would be the second time today if so. He swallowed hard. But, he felt like that wasn't enough.

Randy was grumbly in bed. He'd reluctantly gone to sleep after Maya yelled at him. Apparently it was too late for him to practice violin. He'd been using a stopper, but it wasn't quiet enough.

Tomorrow would be another day and another argument. He was still upset that he didn't have a coach. But, he'd talked about that too much with Sam. His mom was so busy, too. He felt like he was on the backburner. It wasn't a nice feeling.

The problem was, if he did practice by himself then he might lose form. He could divert away from what was correct very quickly. He didn't know yet how to feel what was proper when he was in toe shoes. Maybe he could practice in regular slippers. But, he felt so eager to make progress.

It was hard to even think of other things. He'd been so focused on ballet ever since he received his toe shoes two years ago. He was really starting to get into the better, more interesting stuff. He'd come here at the worst time. He wanted to learn more about jumping in toe shoes.

Mostly, he was spending most of his time strengthening his ankles and feet. Those needed to be extremely strong and controlled during jumps. Landing with toe shoes was so precise. One mistake, and your ankle was gone. That's why it was so important to keep form. It trained the correct muscle groups.

He wasn't sure anyone understood that in his family. Sam was trying, but there was only so much he could do. He felt like wanting to grab at the air, needing to get Reiha-sensei here. If she were here, it would be fine. Over the past month, he'd realized his mom was right. It was a hard thing to swallow. But, she was right. No one was talking about his father here. He didn't see any of it. He hadn't realized how much it was affecting him. How stressed out he'd been. Easier to anger. He didn't want to be like that.

They'd gotten him a dog. He'd named her Princess, and everyone was respecting that. His mom even said she'd expected that from him. Was he that predictable?

He'd wished for a friend. Now, he had one. Yet, he didn't feel like he was bonding with her. He was way too pre-occupied. He wanted to try. If he could still be in ballet, he felt like they'd bond easier.

He just needed another dancer to check his form as he practiced. That's all he needed. But, everyone was on break. He understood that, but it was so hard. He felt kind of selfish, but was it selfish to go after your dreams?

He knew what he wanted in life. He'd been focused ever since he'd been allowed to leave school. He was getting a special arts education by two very good teachers. Maybe his mom was forgetting that in order for him to not go to regular school, he needed to be under the guidance of those teachers. This was actually a pretty good argument. He had to remember that one.

The puppy was asleep at the foot of his bed. He was definitely the dog's favorite person. He'd have thought Princess would have bonded with Sam the most since he spent the most time with her. He felt bad that he wasn't spending more time with her. But, he was serious about learning. That's something else that he family didn't seem to understand. It isn't like they didn't respect it. But, did they take it seriously?

The puppy started to whine. Randy patted the bed space next to himself. The puppy walked up the bed loyally. Princess seemed to be pretty smart. She'd learned how to sit today. She went under Randy's arm and he was aware of how small she is. Still was so warm.

He closed his eyes and tried to sleep. But, he was aware of her form. Sleeping with her like this wasn't safe. So, he decided to pet her for a while. As he did, he felt himself relax.