Stephanie sat with her friends at lunch as usual, the two little sisters from the night before joining the table. While there were still many empty seats, the pink-haired girl couldn't help but feel as if the table was full, with how much happier she had been since she transferred.
Today, Pixel came into class with a list of his favorite subjects in science, and the boy hurriedly rambled on about evolution and about how he was upset that he wasn't taught about it earlier due to irritated parents rioting against it in the PTA years prior. The table nodded along and listened intently until Stephanie looked up and saw Ella approaching the table shyly, a brown paper bag knit tightly in her hands, and gasped aloud. Each head at the table looked curiously in the direction Stephanie was staring. The children smiled up openly at her, causing the girl to stop in her tracks and stare abashedly at her feet. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. She didn't need friends after all, right? She mentally scolded herself and bit her lip, frozen to her spot, before she looked up and saw the strange pink-haired girl skipping over to her, gleefully tugging her to the table as if she were pulling her in from sea.
Taking a deep breath, Ella sat down next to Stephanie, watching in silence for a moment as Pixel continued talking. Suddenly, the girl smiled slightly.
"That bothered me, too. I used to love science class. I love engineering the most, though." She said politely, watching as Pixel exploded into glee, going on about engineering. It was apparently one of his favorite science subjects, as well.
Once the two were done chatting, Stephanie bumped in. "Hey, Ella, so what kind of games do you like to play?"
"Games…?" The girl's face fell. "Well, truthfully, I don't really play games. I like playing with dolls a lot, and sometimes I like playing with trucks. I don't really play games, though."
Nodding, Stephanie cleared her throat. "Well, surely there's some sort of sport you like, right?" She smiled, going on matter-of-factly, "everyone likes some sort of sport."
Ella bit her lip. "Well, I guess I do like dancing. That's a sport, right?"
An excited grin spread across Stephanie's face. "Of course it is!" Her face faltered a bit. "But I've never seen you at recess. Where do you play at?"
A sly smile appeared on the other girl's face. "Well, I have a secret place where I dance on the playground."
Surprised, Trixie launched forward. "A secret? Well, now you gotta show us!"
Stingy rolled his eyes. "She doesn't have to do anything." He smiled coyly. "But, I would be delighted to see some of your dance moves, Ella."
Shyly, the girl nodded and poked at her food. "Alright, I guess I could show you. But you all have to keep it a secret! I don't want people to start playing in there and making it messy."
The group nodded. Suddenly, a bell rang loudly in the ears of the kids, surprising them. Quickly, they all threw their trash away and hurried out to the playground.
Once outside, Ella glanced around and made sure the majority of the other children were distracted with their own games and toys as she turned to the group following her. With a silent shushing motion, she led them to the supply closet, where all the basketballs and hula hoops were brought after recess.
Trixie glanced around, unimpressed. "The supply closet?" She crossed her arms. "Really interesting, Ella."
Rolling her eyes, the little girl pulled a keychain out of her sock, unlocking one of the doors in the small room. "It's a spare janitor's closet." She said simply, leading the group into a tiny room with empty shelves, aside from a small cd player on one of them. Once inside, the kids all pinched their noses aside from Ella, who looked confused for a minute before giggling. "Oh, you'll get used to it. It's just what wet mops smell like."
Scoffing, Stingy glanced around the dusty room, cringing slightly. "I don't know if I could ever get used to it. How do you deal with this?"
Ella shrugged. "My dad's a janitor. It used to be really bad, when he came home smelling like vomit and dust every day," the girl explained, plugging the cd player in, "but I just got used to it. I had to." She explained.
Still slightly appalled, Stingy force a small smile. "Well, can you show us your dancing?"
The girl nodded, pressing a button on her cd player. "Of course I can. Just watch closely." And with that, the girl started doing her ballet-styled moves, humming to the tune of the song, her face void of expression. As the song ended, she slid down into a split, throwing her hands up as if in celebration when she ended it.
Right away, the small group of kids in the room applauded her, both Stingy and Stephanie launching forward towards her. "Can you show us how to dance like that sometimes?" Stingy pleaded instantly, surprising the girl as she slowly brought herself to her knees and then to her feet.
"Well, I guess I could show you sometime, if you're really sure you want me to teach you." She shyly squeezed her hands together, not making eye contact with the two over-enthusiastic kids. The other kids just smiled and nodded. They were clearly not as interested.
Stingy rolled his eyes. "Well of course we want you to show us! You're amazing!"
Stephanie nodded, flapping her arms slightly. "Yeah, I've only seen people dance like that on tv!" She grabbed the girl's hand, holding it in between both of her own, "I'd especially love to learn to do the splits. Then I can live up to my last name, Splitz!"
Abashedly, the girl rubbed the back of her head. "Well, I'd be happy to show you. Maybe not here, though. It's much too small of a room for this many people dancing."
Stephanie nodded in agreement. "Well, do you wanna come play with us?"
Ella bit her lip and gazed towards the door before shaking her head. "No thank you. I want to stay in here."
One by one, the kids exited the small building and went back out onto the playground, until it was just Stephanie and Ella. A tender, pitiful smile on her face, Stephanie reached out and grabbed Ella's hand again. "Are you sure you want to play all alone? I could stay in here at least, if you want me to."
Smiling slightly, Ella shook her head. "No thank you. I just want to dance alone for right now, if that's alright."
"Of course!" Stephanie said softly, closing the door behind her gently, leaving the purple-printed ballet dancer alone.
Once again, as the group left her, she found herself grinning as she danced. As the song ended and she miss-stepped, she couldn't help but feel giggles erupt from her chest like little butterflies. She covered her mouth and felt strange. She liked those kids. They made her smile, and she couldn't help but feel more relaxed in their presence. With a soft smile, Ella tiptoed to the exit of the small building and peeked out of the door, she watched the group laugh and toss a ball, finding herself longing to join.
Before she could, however, the bell rang loudly in her ears, and the kids all started to run for the main building. Staring at her feet, Ella let them carry her until she found herself walking next to Stephanie again. Silently, she reached forward and grabbed the other girl's arm, pulling her back so that they were looking at each other. "Hey…if you and Stingy want me to teach you to…um…" She found herself staring at the girl's arm helplessly. She knew what she wanted to say, but the words stuck to the roof of her mouth.
As if somehow reading the other's mind, Stephanie suddenly sprang to life. "Maybe we could have a sleepover sometime!"
Ella's eyes flicked up at the other, shining slightly. Nodding, she agreed, as Stephanie alerted the rest of the group and suggested a slumber party at her house. Breathing slowly, Ella relaxed and let a smile crawl onto her lips.
It had been years since she had went to a slumber party. She couldn't help but feel happiness leaking into her bones like spilled pink paint.
"I don't know if I'll be able to stay the night, but I can definitely come over." Ella said politely, a curt smile appearing on her lips.
"Maybe we could even do it after this week's meeting!" Stephanie added, happily flapping her arms about at the idea. Her friends all agreed and the group went inside for the rest of the school day.
When Stephanie arrived home, she bounded over to her uncle and asked sweetly if she could have friends over later in the week. Once he told her that it was up to Sportacus as he would most likely be busy the entire time, the blue-clad man glanced up from his newspaper and watched as the child pushed her bottom lip out, pouting at him.
Sportacus chuckled and nodded, setting his paper down. "Well, of course you can have friends over. How many are there, though? You keep making them so fast."
With pride at the comment, Stephanie held up six fingers.
Sportacus chuckled again. "Six? You've already made six friends?" Stephanie nodded, showing off her teeth with glee. "So, that's the LGBTQ club and who else?"
"That girl that came and sat with us last Friday. She sat with us at lunch today, and she's really good at dancing. She says she's going to show me and Stingy how to dance!" The little girl flapped her hands excitedly at the idea. "Her name is Ella!"
"I'm so proud of you, Steph! I had a feeling you two would be friends when I saw you two talking last time. I'm happy this is all working out." He nuzzled the girl's hair. "It seems you've really liked staying here so far."
That caused Milford, who had been writing something down, look up from his paper and glance between the two nervously. He knew this was a touchy subject. Gritting his teeth together, he shot Sportacus a look for bringing it up, but the other man didn't seem to notice.
"Yeah, I do like it here." Stephanie's smile faltered a bit, to one of a content little girl instead of an excited one. "I still miss my mom and dad, and my little sister, too, but…my parents don't seem to miss me that much."
"They do miss you, Stephanie. They're just a little lost right now." Her uncle said softly, raising to his feet, the little girl gazing up at the man's soft expression sadly.
She bit her lip and looked at her shoes. "They miss Steven, not Stephanie." The little girl kicked at one of the legs of the table. "That's who they love."
Milford sighed. He didn't know what else to say. Glancing at Sportacus, he figured he didn't know either.
But, still, Sportacus surprised him as he set a gentle hand on Stephanie's shoulder, pulling her against him. "They'll learn to love you. The same way you learned to make friends and be yourself. It just takes time."
Nodding, Stephanie squeezed the man's sides tightly. "What if they don't?"
Milford sat back down silently, rubbing his temples. He wanted to hold his niece and promise that they will, but the trust he had in his sister had been slowly diminishing like a flame as he saw his niece's own bond with her mother breaking.
"We will be here, then. But, don't think like that. Always have hope." Sportacus whispered softly, reaching down and lifting the girl up, causing a gasp to escape her throat. "Now, we have some slumber party planning to do, don't we?"
The girl giggled as she was carried into the living room and gently set on the couch as Sportacus retrieved a notebook and pen for a list of items they would need. The two finished their list swiftly and as Stephanie was tucked in to bed, she pulled Sportacus into one last hug and thanked him.
Sheepishly, he told her there was no need to thank him. When she lay down to sleep, she felt as if she would drift off easily, but sleep kept escaping her.
With a determined pout, she snuck out of bed with her toy dinosaur and tiptoed down the stairs, sitting next to Sportacus on the couch, who was once watching cartoons. She leaned against him and as she was dozing off, he nudged her.
"Hey, do you want to see a trick?" He asked her quietly, the girl nodding eagerly, a small yawn leaving her mouth.
With an overconfident grin, Sportacus stood up and tiptoed over to the center of the room. Once he was sure he had the girl's full attention, he bent over and placed his hands on the ground, lifting all of his body weight up. The girl stared in disbelief as he walked over to her on his hands confidently bending his legs and throwing himself back onto his feet.
"Can you teach me how to walk on my hands, Sportacus?" She asked tiredly, as he lifted her up once again.
"Maybe some time. If you're serious about learning to dance, it's good to know how to do things like walk on your hands and cartwheels. Do you know how to do a cartwheel?"
Stephanie grinned. "No, not really. My mom always thought boys shouldn't dance, so she never let me learn."
With a sheepish grin, he lowered the girl into her bed and ruffled her hair. "Well, we understand that you're a girl here. And if that means you want to learn how to do a cartwheel, I'll gladly teach you." He leaned forward and whispered to her, "But anyone can learn to do cartwheels, of course, not just girls. That's why I know."
She giggled and nodded. "You know because you're Sportasilly, and you know a lot of weird things."
Rolling his eyes gently, he handed the girl her plush dinosaur and watched as she snuggled up to it right away. "That's true. Well, you get some good sleep tonight. Every day is a new chance, and who knows, maybe by the time Friday rolls around, you'll have even more friends coming over."
A broad smile broke out onto Stephanie's face. "That would be really cool, but I already have seven friends."
He furrowed his eyebrows. "Earlier you said six. Did you forget someone?"
"No, I added someone." Her smile faltered again, back to its content state. "I added you to my list."
Cooing at that, Sportacus leaned down and gave the girl another hug before standing up and backflipping to the doorway, leaving the child clapping and cheering him on. "Sleep well, Stephanie!"
Yawning, the girl murmured "you, too" before relaxing against her pillow and falling into her dreams.
The week passed by quickly, and before she realized it, Friday had arrived. The day sped by quickly and after the meeting, the club plus Ella came over, their parents with them. All the adults sat chatting in the living room while Stephanie led the children throughout the house and showed them where all the rooms were.
Once all the kids knew where everything was, Stephanie led the group to her room. She flicked her cd player on and stuffed a random cd into it that Sportacus had let her borrow.
Right away, Ella started her lesson to Stingy, Stephanie, and the two twin sisters, while Trixie and Pixel started plugging up a game system to the small tv in the room. After about an our of dancing and gaming, the kids all headed down stairs and ate the pizza that Sportacus had ordered.
Stephanie sat next to Ella and leaned over to the other girl. "So, are you able to stay the night?"
The pigtailed girl looked up and gave the other an embarrassed smile. "I'm not. My dad and I always spend all Saturday watching movies together, and I have trouble sleeping at other people's houses." She twisted her legs together under the table. "Sorry."
"It's okay. I don't usually like sleeping at other people's houses, either." Stephanie said, sipping her coke with a smile. "But you and your dad watch movies all day?"
Ella smiled coyly and nodded. "It's not as fun as it used to be when my other dad was alive, but it's like tradition for us, so we always do it." Her smile grew a bit as she stirred her straw around. "Tomorrow will be a scary movie marathon. We only do those once a month."
Stephanie's mouth fell open. "Your dad lets you watch scary movies?"
A giggle escaped the other's mouth. "Well, yeah! Only if he's watching it with me, though."
"That sounds like a lot of fun." Stephanie said, kicking her legs jubilantly.
A sad expression crossed Ella's face. "It's not as fun as it sounds. My dad doesn't laugh a lot, but sometimes he'll laugh a little during a movie, and that makes me really happy, but it still makes me sad, for the most part."
Confused, Stephanie sat her drink down on the table, putting a soft hand on the other girl's shoulder. "Why does that make you sad?"
"It used to be a lot of fun. When my other dad was alive, he would pop popcorn on the stove, and we would all make a fort together and sit in it while we watch the movies. When it was all over, we would put on a Disney movie or some other movie that we wouldn't pay much attention to, and we would all fall asleep to it. Now we just sit on the couch with microwave popcorn, and when the movies are over we go back to our rooms."
Stephanie rubbed a circle in her friend's back, a look of pity on her face. "I think I get what you mean. Not exactly, but with how my mom used to treat me and how she treats me…sometimes she feels like two different people. Parents are weird."
"Agreed." Ella said softly, going back to her drink and trying to distract herself from the memories circling around like birds over her head. Suddenly, an idea hit her, and she sat forward. "Hey, do you think if I ask my dad, I can join the LGBTQ club?" She twiddled her hands together. "I mean, if that's alright. I want to join, but if I'm not welcome, I understand. I know I can be—"
Stephanie cut her off. "Of course you can join." She grabbed the other girl's hand. "You're always welcome."
Ella smiled for a moment before her grin fell. "Will you…uhm, will you come with me?"
Stephanie bit her lip at that. She didn't know Ella's dad at all, and he seemed intimidating the last time she saw him. She glanced into the living room and back to Ella. "How about I go ask Sportacus to help us? He's brave and can ask your dad for us."
Ella nodded, peaking into the living room as well.
"I'll go get him. Stay right here!" Stephanie insisted, tiptoeing into the room and tapping Sportacus' shoulder. "Hey, Sportacus, can I talk to you in the kitchen?" She whispered, and the man smiled and followed her happily.
"What's up, Steph?" Sportacus asked once they were safely in the kitchen. He relaxed a bit right away. Being around kids sloppily eating pizza and laughing loudly was a lot easier than being around adults who dramatically drank water like it was wine and bragged about their job or their kids.
Ella cleared her throat and shyly looked up at Sportacus. "We were wondering…um, I want to join the LGBTQ club, but…" She wringed her hands nervously. "I'm scared to ask my dad."
"Can you please ask him instead?" Stephanie piped in, smiling sweetly up at the blue-clad man.
Sportacus nodded and made his way back to the room. He tapped the other man's shoulder and said something the girls couldn't make out before the two of them made their way to another room. Ella exchanged looks with the girl beside her and they came to a silent agreement to follow the two men.
Quietly, they made their way into the living room and followed the two adults. Ella peeked into the room, Stephanie copying the move, as the two men talked.
"I was wondering if it would be alright for Ella to join the LGBTQ club with the other kids." Sportacus said, grinning up at the man. Was he always this tall? He couldn't help but sweat slightly under the man's strict gaze.
The other man sighed, rubbing his temple. "I don't know. I'll have to think about it." With that, Ella started to tear up slightly.
She looked over towards Stephanie, who gently grabbed her hand again. "He's never going to let me join. He never lets me do anything." She cried softly, wiping her eyes.
"Well, she's really been getting along with the other kids. If it conflicts with your schedule, I'd be happy to work something out—" Sportacus reasoned, but it was too late. Ella was full on sobbing, making no attempt to quiet herself, attracting the attention of the two men and the rest of the adults in the room over.
"I'm a good kid now! Why can't I join? The kids are all nice to me, and I've actually been making friends!" The girl full on wailed now, snot dripping down her face ungracefully as struggled to wipe it away. "Don't you want me to make friends, Dad? Just because you don't want friends doesn't mean I don't want any! I wanna get better, Dad, I do. I'm tired of being lonely. Why do you hate me?" She whined out through gulps of breath, the rest of the adults now standing in the doorway, confused.
Sportacus looked to the adult man beside him, who just stared in shock. Clearing his throat, Sportacus knelt down, setting his arms tenderly on the girl's shoulders. "I'm sure your dad doesn't hate you, Ella. There's no need to be so upset."
"Yes he does. He doesn't love me at all anymore, he doesn't…" she cried more quietly now, though her cries were still separated by large breaths of air.
Robbie could still only stare in raw disbelief. He knew that he had a hard time bonding with his daughter since his husband died, but he didn't realize how badly it had been hurting her.
Slowly, Wanda and Leia approached the crying girl and joined Sportacus in kneeling down to her level. Leia pulled tissues out of her purse and Wanda rubbed the girl's back, whispering words of comfort the same way Sportacus did.
The other parents joined them, and soon all the adults were on the floor, comforting the girl in some way, except for Robbie, who still stared in shock. Once the shock wore off, he realized how badly he wanted to burst into sobs the same way his daughter did, but a look around the room full of adults who would forever judge him stopped him. He knew that if he opened his mouth a sob would escape, though, so he did the only option circling around his mind and stormed out of the room.
Confused, Sportacus stared after him and stood up, following the other man out of the room. "Wait, Mr. Rotten—" He gently grabbed the other man's wrist, causing him to stop walking. The other man whipped his entire body around and stared down at him, yanking his wrist away from him.
He managed out an irritated growl of the word, 'what' but nothing else.
Sportacus bit his lip and motioned back to the other room. "She needs you."
Robbie's face softened slightly before he realized there were definitely tears in his eyes. He pushed the other man back slightly and turned back around, storming out of the house.
The kids all heard the commotion and made their way into the hallway, staring up at Sportacus curiously before making their way into the other room, joining in and comforting Ella.
After a moment of staring at the door the man had stormed out of, Sportacus turned around and joined the group again.
Once Ella had dried her tears up, she peeked out the front door and could see the silhouette of her father in the car, the lights all on. She watched him for a moment as he buried his face in his hands at first and then leaned his full body weight against the steering wheel, hiding his face in his arms.
Biting her lip, the girl bid her friends good-bye and left the house, the parents staring after the girl in pity.
Sportacus sat amongst the adults who now freely gossiped about the man and his daughter, leaving Sportacus speechless. With a soft sigh, he left the room and joined the kids in the kitchen instead.
Sitting next to Stephanie, Sportacus looked down at her with gentle eyes, the girl smiling tenderly. He sat with the children, eating a slice of pizza himself, listening to them chat.
"I don't know, Mr. Rotten seemed really mean." Trixie said to Pixel, poking at her pizza.
Stingy nodded in agreement. "He wouldn't even hug her!"
"I don't know…" Stephanie said softly, rubbing her hands together to stay stimulated under the stress. "He seemed sad, too."
A bit taken aback, Trixie crossed her arms. "What makes you think that?"
"Well, his lips shook a lot, like someone who is about to cry. I think he was sad like Ella." She pulled her Coca-Cola toward her. "Ella says her and her dad have it tough, because she used to have two dads, but one of them died."
Trixie nodded sadly. "If one of my parents died, I would be sad, too." She said matter-of-factly, gazing sadly upon her pizza.
Nodding along, the other kids agreed. "I think you're right, Stephanie. When I followed him, he looked really heartbroken. I can't imagine being in his shoes."
Clearing his throat, Pixel added on. "Me neither. That must be very hard, losing someone so important to your everyday life."
The kids nodded again and went back to small talk to cheer themselves up. Sportacus listened closely and joined in, feeling much more relaxed around the kids than the adults.
When it came time for the parents to leave, the two twins ended up too afraid to stay and went home with their mom. The rest of the kids clambered up the stairs and watched a movie before all sleeping on the floor in their sleeping bags.
Meanwhile, Ella sat in the car with her father as he drove the two home in silence. "Are you mad at me, Dad?" The girl asked softly, peeking over at her father. "I didn't want to embarrass you or anything."
The man kept his eyes on the road, his mind still cloudy. "I'm not mad at you." He glanced over, inwardly sighing. He hated seeing his daughter sad. "But, that Sportaweirdo did make me a little upset."
Ella found herself smiling slightly. "Why did Sportacus make you upset?"
"He came in and asked if you could join his little club the first place."
Ella knit her hands together. "That's because I asked him to."
A bit taken aback, Robbie tightened his grip on the wheel. "Why didn't you just ask me yourself?"
"I thought if someone you didn't know well asked you'd be more likely to say yes." Ella tightened her seat belt. "Sorry, Dad."
"Don't apologize to me." He practically ordered, causing her to smile slightly again. "But you don't have to be afraid of me, Ella."
"I know, I just…" She stared down at her hands. "I'm just tired of being sad all the time. I want to join the club so I can have friends." Gazing out the window, she found herself tearing up slightly. "But I should've known you would say no."
Hurt by the words, Robbie went silent for another moment before replying. "You can join."
Surprised, the girl wiped the tears away and sat up in her seat. "Really?"
"Yeah, I guess, if it will make you happy again."
A broad smile grew on the girl's face, and as Robbie caught a glimpse of it in the mirror, he found himself smiling, too. "Thank you so much, Dad!"
Robbie rolled his eyes slightly. "Don't thank me, either."
Ella giggled slightly before slouching over again slightly. "And Dad?"
"Hm?"
"Can we turn the radio on?" Ella tested in a quiet tone. The two rarely used the car's radio—they had barely used it three times since their other family member had passed away—so it rightfully caused Robbie to look back into the mirror again, biting his lip.
Part of him didn't feel ready too, but he nodded and reached over and flicked it on, finding a station that played soft pop music, relaxing a bit at the sight of his daughter smiling widely. It felt as if it had been way too long since he saw her smile, and if he wasn't driving, he would willingly stare for hours.
Ella leaned back in her seat and yawned—crying always wore her out—before closing her eyes and listening to the soft rhythm flowing from the radio.
When the two had arrived home, Robbie had to carry his daughter inside. He set her down in her bed gently, ready to leave the room, when a small voice made him turn his head around. "Dad…can you tuck me in?"
Swallowing hard, Robbie made his way over to his daughter's bedside and did as he was asked, tucking the blankets tenderly to his daughter's side. Once she was fully engulfed in her blankets, Robbie leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. Within minutes, Ella found herself dozing off, much faster than she had been for years.