Caroline & Michael & Scott

Chapter 16

It was the day after Caroline's homecoming that she and Sally had their first chance to hang out together and catch up on things.

"Sally, did I thank you for taking care of Scott for me?"

Sally averted her eyes from Caroline as she answered "Uh… yeah. It was no problem, Caroline."

"So Sally, tell me what juicy stuff has happening around little old Peshtigo while I was gone."

"Nothing…!" Sally exclaimed. She calmed down and asked "Besides, isn't life much more exciting in Milwaukee, the big city?"

"Well, there's a lot more to do, but I was so busy, I didn't get a chance to check much stuff out. Besides, Peshtigo is home, it has the people I know and care about. I want to know what's been happening in their lives… So, tell me Sally, how are things going between you and Joey?"

"That scumbag! I broke up with him!!"

"Why? What happened?"

"I caught him flirting with another girl… He claims nothing happened, but even if that's true, he was still trying to two-time me, the rat!"

"Oh Sally, I'm so sorry I wasn't here for you… You should have called and told me, we could have talked. It would've been worth the long distance charges. I'm so sorry you had to go through that all alone."

"That's – that's okay Caroline… I mean you were busy and all… Uh, let's change the subject, okay? I don't want to think about Joey anymore."

"Okay."

******

"August 25, 1983

Hey Anke,

Gosh, after six weeks away, I get back, and my world's about to turn upside down. Some things I knew were gonna happen. I knew Scott was moving to Madison to attend the university. After 1-1/2 years of seeing him almost every day (except when I was in ballet summer camp), it'll be weird to hardly ever see him. At first, I thought he'd go off to school and he wouldn't come back to Peshtigo until nearly Christmas. Madison's over a three hour drive south of Peshtigo. But Scott said he come back to see me every weekend that he could. After football season, that'd be every week. And even during football season, I'll only miss him when his team plays at home. See, it's hard to explain college football rules, but Scott is doing this thing called "redshirting", so he's on the team, but he's not really on the team. See, the NCAA, which governs college athletics, has this rule that a player can play football for four seasons, but he can take up to five years to do it. Since a player improves with a year's experience, the team usually "redshirts" freshmen players, so that they can play years 2-5. "Redshirts" can practice with the team, but they can't play, so they aren't taken to road games – so Scott can come home those weekends. During home games, "redshirts" are expected to attend and support the team.

A big, big change is occurring in my ballet class. After almost eight years as my ballet teacher, Miss Morgan (soon to be Mrs. Potter) is getting married, and moving away from Peshtigo. I'm really gonna miss her. Not just because she taught me a lot, but also because she inspired me, and was a good friend. I could always count on her for good advice. Miss Morgan said she's gonna miss all her students, and she even held off setting a date and announcing her wedding until she found a suitable replacement teacher. Miss Morgan introduced us to her in our last class, her name is Madame Petrovsky. I felt really proud when Miss Morgan introduced me to her as her best pupil ever – but Madame seemed skeptical. It's hard to tell from one class, but Madame seems very knowledgeable – and very tough. I'll just have to adjust, 'cause I'm determined to continue to improve and win a dance scholarship. I've quit cheerleading and since I'm not seeing Scott so often this year, I can really devote myself to ballet.

I'm really gonna miss Scott, so I really wanna spend as much time as I can with him before he leaves in a couple of weeks. But we'll both be working hard for our dreams, so when (or if, in my case) we achieve them, our lives together will be all the sweeter.

Your American friend,

Caroline"

******

"Caroline! Telephone!" Margaret Duffy shouted out.

"Okay, Mom. Thanks" Caroline replied as she took the phone from her mother.

"It's Sally… Don't be too long, you'll be late for school."

"I won't, Mom" Caroline replied.

"Hey Sally, what's up?"

"I'm sick… I'm not gonna make it to school today."

"Gee Sally, what's going on? This is the third time in two weeks this has happened."

"I don't know... My mom's worried, so she made an appointment with Dr. Sanders for later this week… Anyway, the reason I called is, I'm not sure I'm going with you to ballet after school today."

"Okay Sally… Instead of going straight to ballet from school, I'll swing by your house and check on how you're doing."

"Thanks Caroline."

"I hope Doc Sanders gets to the bottom of this... Well Sally, get well soon. I'll see you this afternoon."

"Okay. Bye Care."

"Bye." click

******

After classes, Caroline swung by Sally's house to pick her up.

"So Sally... You goin' to class this afternoon?"

"Yeah... But only to tell Madame Petrovka that I'm quitting."

"Quitting...! You mean, just for while you're sick, right?"

"No, I mean quitting, period."

"But why, Sally? We've been in ballet together for nine years. It's been a lotta fun, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, it has Caroline... But not since Madame has taken over for Miss Morgan. She's mighty tough... 'Practice, practice, practice'... Always criticizing, never a friendly word... And when you finally get something difficult right, instead of being proud of you, her highest praise is 'That was adequate'. Nothing's ever good enough for her. You know, sometimes I even have nightmares about Madame scolding me."

"Yeah, me too... Well, I grant you, she's not the nicest or most encouraging teacher. But she's awfully knowledgeable. You have to admit, even if she's hard on you, you're learning an awful lot."

"That's true Caroline... but I'm just not having fun anymore. What's the point of taking ballet, if it's not fun."

"There's more to ballet than just having fun."

"That's true for you, Caroline, but not for me... The most I'll ever be is an average dancer. You're a wonderful dancer, you have a chance of being a ballerina, a real one. So putting up with the hours of practice, the being tired all the time, the blisters on your feet, may be worth it for you. You're chasing your dream."

"Oh Sally... We've been doing this so long together, I'll miss you."

"Caroline, you're so advanced now, we hardly ever dance together anymore."

"That's true... But we still warm up and do our stretches and pliés together - that takes over half an hour. That's a fun time, we talk, catch up on gossip, everything."

"I don't know... I just don't think it's worth it."

Caroline pleaded "Please Sally...! Your parents have already paid for the whole semester. There's no point in quitting now. Just take a break for awhile, think about it, maybe come back later."

Reluctantly, Sally agreed "Oh... alright."

Caroline brightened and tried to lighten Sally's mood by kidding "Besides - you'd better stick with ballet... I didn't want to say anything before, but you're gaining a little weight." Caroline chuckled as she nudged Sally.

"Shut up" Sally smirked with mock anger.