Family Letters
Chapter 6

Copyright© 2014 by Allan Joyal

Oh Brother,

It seems you forget how things can be in the dance classes I have taken. Don't you remember hearing about Master Tompkins? Some of the mothers complained just last year about some of his techniques. I'll admit it was more than creepy that he'd have all of us stand in a line while he walked around and checked out our practice leotards, but he never touched us. Or at least I never heard of him doing that. The funny thing is when we competed, the judges would do the same thing, and some of the outfits we danced in didn't conceal much. But the mothers never said a thing then unless we lost.

So I'm not worried about standing naked in front of people. The sex does worry me a bit. I've never done that, and I'm not sure I really want to. But I'm going to worry about that after the summer. Right now I want to improve my grades as much as possible.

I did hear that some local group is going to perform three musicals this summer and they are offering open auditions for parts. Erica and I talked about it and we'll be trying out. The first one will be A Chorus Line. The second is supposedly Grease. No one knows what the third musical will be, but rumors say that the group organizing this is hoping to perform one that has been a bit hit on Broadway. Erica says that means it will be either Phantom of the Opera or Cats as those two had the longest runs, but I suspect they want something a bit newer. We'll find out in late July when we can tryout for that musical.

There was a bit of a surprise as school yesterday. I don't remember if you had her, but my history teacher is Mrs. Chin. Everyone always laughed at that because she's a busty blond. Well, a saggy woman with obviously dyed blond hair, but she's sixty, so what do you expect? Jerome asked her about her name and she just smiled and said nothing that day. The next day she introduced us to an old Chinese guy who showed up in colorful, but baggy pants and vest. The man was all of five feet tall and had no hair, but his smile was glowing and he seemed to radiate a healthy energy. Mrs. Chin introduced him as Chin-pa, her father in law. The man is eighty-three and jokingly challenged anyone in the class to race him around the track one lap. I volunteered. I was the only one in the class, because most of the guys were saying it would be embarrassing to beat him.

I lost, and it wasn't all that close. Brother, you know I'm in great shape. I spend hours dancing, but this little man just ran away from me from the start. It was amazing to watch, and inspiring. Most of the class refused to acknowledge he existed after that race, but I talked to him. The man practices Tai Chi daily and says he spends hours in meditation. He swears it will help anyone improve as a person. I asked if he could show me and maybe some friends. Tomorrow I go for a first lesson.

Its nice to hear that you are getting to know your new sisters. I guess in a way that is what they are, since you will be together for the rest of your lives. Do try to be patient with Katy. I remember you were always good with John and he could get clingy since Mom and Dad tend to ignore him at times.

I had to laugh at the mental picture of Dad kissing the floor. You know him, he'd probably try to get some lady's attention and then he'd try to spin some crazy tale about how his wise counsel and amazing loving would be perfect for her if only she'd take him and Mom along. Then he'd try to talk Mom into starting the audition. He's always tried to avoid doing the really messy and ugly things that are necessary to make life better. That's why he only works for a lumber distributor and hasn't moved up to a more lucrative sales position. At least Mister Merks likes him.

You say they shot everyone at the pickup? I hadn't heard that. I'm not sure if you remember everyone who was there, but Oliver showed up at the house claiming that you told him that he's supposed to watch over me now that you are gone. I laughed in his face, but he kept insisting. Fortunately, Dad has stopped by the house and showed up behind me in the doorway. Oliver ran away after that. I think I'm going to have to look into resuming some tae kwon do or something. I dropped it two years ago because that one dojo was all about the tournaments and winning, and I wanted to do it for self-improvement, not to see how many bones I could break.

And was one of Lindy's girls there? Rumor at Roosevelt Middle School says that she got into a fistfight with Gerald Mathis at lunch two days ago. No one knows exactly what happened, but most of the tales say that Gerald was taunting Lindy about something. The only thing I can think would be that she lost a girlfriend again. That girl seems to drive away anyone after only a couple of weeks.

I was a bit surprised to read what you said about the tastes. I never thought about the taste of a body wash. You know me I switch between Ocean Breeze and Sakura Blossom body washes depending on my mood. I guess I should look into mouthwash. My love of horseradish probably would come out if I kissed someone.

Are you still in orbit? You mentioned going to Atlantisat, but not much more. I know nothing of that system. The few rumors we get rarely name a system. I have heard that we lost another system somewhere, but that could just be the Earth First types spreading more panic. There is a rumor that California will ban pickups in the near future. I guess the fact that no remaining Hollywood actor has a CAP above four point three has angered the ones that remain. Frankly they haven't impressed me with their recent offerings. Even Mom had to turn off the special that NBC tried to run on Monday, it was nothing but an hour long anti-Confederacy rant with no plot or characters. I felt sorry for Violet Hanson. She actually looked embarrassed in the two minutes I watched. I know you think she's hot, but she's a fool to remain in Hollywood.

I should let you go. It sounds like you have class, and I need to study. In the week and a half since you were picked up I have managed to get better than 90% on three tests and I'm actually ahead on my homework for the first time since ... I can't even remember. I just hope it will help me come test time.

Your fascinated sister

Willow

Chapter 7 »

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