For eleven year old Shelby Corcoran, it all started when she saw a young dancer in the window of Lima's only dance studio. With blonde hair and green eyes, Shelby's life changes in an instant when their eyes meet. How was she to know it was a defining moment in time. Shelby/ Cassie pairing. This may or maybe not be a one shot. I really want to hear from you and get feedback. Shall I continue?
"Defining Moment in Time"
Ch. 1 Eleven Years Old and the Dancing Queen
Shelby POV
The first time I saw her I was pulling my rusty red wagon down Main Street in Lima. It was like 100 degrees outside and the middle of summer. The fire department had opened the fire hydrant and all the neighborhood kids were running through it screaming like maniacs. Everyone but me it seemed. I had no time for such foolishness. I had to work the public street garbage cans that lined the businesses before midafternoon. I had to fish through it and pull out the soft drink cans. Then I had to hump it a thirty minute walk to the recycle center. They stopped accepting after four in the afternoon and I could not afford to miss the cut off. They were sticklers like that. Blinking my eleven year old green eyes and turning on the water works did not work. If I arrived even 4:01, no cash. Then I would have to lug my cargo back home and go hungry. There is not anybody hiring eleven year old girls. Particularly one whose mother is the town drunk and was never home except to sleep it off or bring her man of the night home for sex. My dad had left when I was in a baby. If I wanted to eat I had to see to it myself.
So that is why I was lugging my heaping load of cans up the street. It was pissing me off though. It was bad enough that it was hot enough to fry an egg on the concrete. Willie and Sam were jumping around cutting up not paying attention to anything but Emma Pillsbury. Both boys had their shirts off and were flexing their non-existent twelve year old muscles. And Emma was just eating it up. She, Sara and Lisa were giggling and pretending to ignore them. Both the boys and girls both were both keenly aware of each other.
Sickening, I thought. I hated boys . . . always had . . . starting with my father, trickling down to my mother's endless cycle of men she brought up and ending with the selfish, childish boys over at my school.
Willie was ignoring me as usual. I did not run in the kids in my schools circle. Everybody knew my dad had left us and my mom was the town drunk. They knew my clothes came from the church clothes closet and I was one of "those kids" that ate free breakfast and free lunch at school. In summer, food was hard to come by. That was why I was out here every day. I did not have time for them anyway. It was hard enough find food to eat for myself and mom in the summer. When school was going on added onto that was doing my homework and the housework in our tiny apartment.
Willie ran right into my wagon sending all the cans crashing over the sidewalk. Of course they were all soaking wet now. I was going to have to drain probably half of them from water before the center would accept them. Willie just laughed and kicked a good dozen of them towards the dance studio window. I ignored them and the other kids as usual and ran to retrieve my cans before the water running out of the hydrant sent them rushing down the curb and towards the storm drain.
I picked most of them up quickly enough then made my way over towards the few Willie had kicked towards the dance studio window. The sound of music that sounded like it should only be played in an elevator or doctor's office was playing on a piano. It sounded funny but nice sort of. It made me think of a feather blowing on the wind. I looked at the position of the sun and chastised myself for taking even the quickest break. I started picking up cans quickly off the sidewalk and throwing them in my wagon. It was then out of the corner of my eye I saw her.
She was wearing a black leotard and her blonde hair was pulled back tight on the top of her head in a bun. She had beautiful green eyes and looked maybe four years older than me? I did not think she was old enough to drive yet. She was old enough to have soft curves in all the right places. She was beautiful. Her leg was stretched on this bar thing and she was stretching towards her pointed toes.
I was too young at the time to realize this was to be a defining moment in my life. Hell, I did not even know at eleven I was to grow up to be a lesbian.
All I knew she was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen and I wanted, no I needed to see her again.
I changed my routine then and there. I came by Madame T's dance studio at 2:00 PM to watch the girl of my dreams dance. She was there every day but Sundays. She like I must not get to do a lot of fun stuff most kids both of our ages do in the summertime in Lima, Ohio.
When school started back I came by after school. She was always there. Now with other girls all dressed like her. She danced far the best in my opinion though. She was definitely the prettiest. I also found out if I waited around till after the class the students would go to the soft drink machine and buy drinks. If I waited in the alley, I could quickly retrieve the soda cans and not have to run all over the town for a quick haul.
This one man in a suit always picked up who I now called "Dancing Queen" in a bright red car sport car. It looked like it cost a fortune. It probably did. One day, I thought she looked at me but I could not be sure. I finally realized she did when she walked over to my wagon and put her drink can in it before she got in the red car. She smiled at me before dashing off.
Someone had finally looked at me. Someone had smiled at me. It was something totally foreign to me. I felt like I was floating up in the sky with excitement while simultaneously melting into the grass into a big puddle.
I will remember that time of my life and that smile she gave me for the rest of my life. It was my defining moment in time.
One shot or should I continue?