Page 36 of Sycamore Circle

“It’s just—”

She stopped him there. “It’s no big deal. And, ah, Finn?”

“Yeah?” His expression was still guarded.

“What I said about not being friends, I didn’t really mean it. I think of you as a friend.”

His lips twitched. “Me too.”

“Finn, I need you,” Mary said.

“Sorry, I’ve got to go.” He turned and walked away like he couldn’t get away from her fast enough. And maybe he couldn’t. Maybe she just really messed things up between them because she was asking him about something he obviously wasn’t proud about.

Watching him out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Mary was talking to him in a stern voice. He nodded, then started bussing two tables. When it was obvious that he was going to avoid catching her eyes for a while, Chloe tossed another ten-dollar bill on the table and rushed out of there. She had to figure out why she was the way she was around Finn. She either needed to stop being so curious about him or find a new place to do homework before dance.

Three hours later, she climbed into her mom’s car with a moan. Miss Diamanté had seemed determined to kill them one pirouette at a time. “Hi.”

“Hey.” Her mother leaned over and kissed Chloe’s brow. “How was dance today?”

“So hard. You should’ve seen us all, Mom. Gretchen and I were out of breath by the end of the first hour.”

“I’m sorry, hon.”

Chloe pulled off her flip-flops and wiggled her left foot. “My feet hurt so bad. Plus, I think I have two new blisters on my big toe.”

“How come? Do you need new toe shoes?”

“It’s about that time, I guess, but I don’t think that was it. We just danced a lot.” Closing her eyes, she murmured, “So many pirouettes and stupid leaps.”

“Do you need more lambswool?”

“No, Mom.”

Her mother frowned. “I promise, we can go get you some new shoes if you need them. I sold a couple of extra paintings this month.”

Good toe shoes were expensive. Since she danced so much, she needed a new pair every couple of months. She’d need them even more frequently if she got one of the leads in this year’s ballet. Then there were all the lessons, the leotards, the time her mom spent picking her up...

It wasn’t anything new, but Chloe felt guilty about everything her dance life entailed. Especially since she knew her dad didn’t understand why she had to have so much stuff just to dance. Glad that they were in a dark car, she said quietly, “Mom, maybe I should tell Miss Diamanté that I want to take a step back.”

Her mom was trying to turn left at a light. “I don’t know what that means.”

“You know. Maybe not push myself so hard,” she said as her mom turned and started down the long stretch of road that led to their subdivision. “Not always do the three-hour class. Maybe only go to three classes instead of four every week.”

Her mother looked shocked. “Where is this coming from? Are you worried about the cost?”

Chloe was actually starting to realize that she’d been taking the cost of her classes for granted. Thinking about Finn cleaning tables at the diner made the feeling even more pronounced. “I’m not even sure why I’m dancing so much anyway. I mean, it’s not like I’m going to go join the Joffrey Ballet or anything.”

“You love to dance. You’re good at it—oh, you’re amazing at it. You have a gift, honey, and you need to use your talents.”

“But—”

“Who’s to say you won’t use all this ballet when you get to college or even after? Maybe you’ll want to be in one of those community theaters, or you could teach ballet.”

“What? So I can teach more girls to dance nonstop for nothing?” The minute she said the words, Chloe winced. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to sound like that.”

Her mother’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. “Maybe we need to shelve this discussion for another day.”

“Fine.”

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