Chapter 6

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.

Chapter 7 »