"I got you the handouts from Writing 101." Misto told his sister, dropping them on her desk. Victoria was sprawled out on her bed, now wearing a brace around her knee, elevating it with several of her many extra pillows. Misto had told her she had brought too many when they first moved in, but she had always insisted otherwise.
"We need them for pillow forts." Victoria had told him, laughing.
"We're not kids anymore." He had insisted.
"So?" Victoria had countered stubbornly. "That doesn't mean we can't make pillow forts."
He had given into her giggles and they had spent their first night in college constructing a blanket fort that took up most of their dorm. The memory still made Misto smile. In truth, he knew she hadn't only brought an excess of bedding for fort-making; Victoria was the type to cocoon herself in sleep, always needing a at least two pillows for her head, another to hug, and others to arrange around herself for maximum comfort. Maybe that was part of the reason she slept more soundly than her brother.
"How was the health center appointment?" Misto asked awkwardly. He wondered what she had told the doctor when they had asked how she had messed up her knee.
"I'll need to use those for the next week." She said, gesturing to a pair of crutches leaning against the wall near her bed. "And then wear this brace, take a break from dancing, and go to regular physical therapy sessions for a month. Then I should be fine."
"A month is a long time." Misto murmured. He couldn't imagine how horrible he would feel if it were him. The dance studio was his refuge, and dancing was one of the only ways he could clear his mind. "Have you told the department yet? How will you rehearse for end of year performances?"
"I sent them an email after I got back from the health center." She shrugged. "I'm sure they'll figure it out, the professors are always saying that everyone gets injured sooner or later in this field."
"Even so, it really sucks." Misto said, feeling the guilt creep in. "I'm- I'm really sorry. I shouldn't've asked you to try-"
"I wasn't your fault." Victoria cut him off. "Like I told you before, it's not the end of the world and it isn't your fault." She held his gaze with a determination that shot down any further objections. "Anyway, how subbing my class?"
"All of the students seeming really disappointed that you weren't there." Misto sighed. "And they kept complaining that it was too hard- even though I gave them super easy stuff!"
Victoria laughed.
"They're beginners with zero dance background. They have different definitions of easy than you and me." She explained patiently.
"I made it as easy as I could without it being boring!" Misto insisted. "But they still couldn't keep up! I'm probably going to lose you a lot of students at this rate."
"Good." Victoria said unexpectedly. Misto raised his eyebrows. "I always thought that class was too big anyway. It'll be nice if you weed out the wimps for me."
"Even the almost decent ones probably didn't like the class with me teaching it." Misto said, frowning. "They probably all hated it. I'm really not cut out to be a teacher."
"I'm sure there were at least some people who didn't hate you teaching." Victoria insisted, rolling her eyes.
"Well, maybe like one person I guess." Misto admitted, thinking of the guy who had come up to him after the class. "But no more than that."
"Well, one isn't zero." Victoria said dryly. They both laughed.
Victoria was the type of person that could somehow squash any and all negative feelings in a room when she wanted to. It was hard for him to stay feeling guilty when they laughed together like this, but it still remained in the back of his mind. Facing his dance class tomorrow and having to explain why his sister wasn't there would be hard.
"Misto," Victoria began cautiously, bring him back to their conversation. When he met her eyes he was surprised to see that she seemed apprehensive. "I uh, I invited Plato to come over here tomorrow and watch a movie with me."
It had been an unspoken rule between them that their dorm was a private place. A place where outsiders should not be permitted. Allowing someone else in would be a violation of trust, a desecration of a safe space. Still, Misto felt after recent events it was only right to give his sister some leeway. Even though she would've been right to blame him for her injury, she hadn't. Misto remained silent as she took a breath and continued her point.
"These crutches make leaving really annoying, and it's boring staying up here all by myself while you're off at dance classes I have to sit out on. So it would just be easier if I could hang out with friends here."
What she was saying made sense, but there was still one issue looming over it all. When Victoria looked at him for a response, Misto flicked his eyes to the photos on the wall by her bed.
"Oh! Um, I'll take those down of course." She said quickly, following his gaze. "I uh, probably should've done that a long time ago, shouldn't I."
Misto nodded sharply, then immediately felt bad about it. He should be comforting his sister in her current state rather than calling her out on something like this. He should've just told her that the photos didn't really bother him that much, but maybe it was better that they stayed honest with each other.
"I can still tell Plato to meet me somewhere else." Victoria said softly, calling attention that Misto still hadn't given her his opinion on the main matter at hand.
"No, It's okay." Misto sighed. "He can come here."
He still didn't want anyone else invading their sanctuary, but it the only thing he could think to do for her to make up for all the harm he had caused.
The next day he went back and forth on whether he should absent himself from the dorm that day or whether he should proceed as normal, as if the balance of his wasn't being thrown completely off kilter. He had Jazz and conditioning in the morning, but the rest of his day was free. Typically, he would spend an hour or two of every day practicing on his own, but even so he still reserved a generous chunk of time for escaping the outside world in the comfort of his dorm. Now the barrier that had protected him there no longer existed.
It also felt weird going through his day without his sister by his side. There were still non-dancing, gen ed classes that she could attend while injured, they weren't every day of the week. Conditioning was alright, they didn't really talk much when they worked out anyway, but Misto felt awkward without anyone to talk to or give him opinions in Jazz class. Even though he usually spent about half of his independent practice time by himself anyway, after feeling so lonesome in Jazz, he was so desperate for company afterwards that his solo practice wasn't very productive. He found himself constantly checking his phone, hoping for a text from his sister.
Somehow he hadn't realized how much he really relied upon Victoria until now. He had always thought of himself as a pretty independent person, but without her he felt lost. Maybe he really should try to make friends.
He gave up his practice session earlier than he normally would, recognizing that he was too out of it for it to be worth it. He decided that he would go back to the dorm after all. Maybe he could start on the whole making friends thing by meeting some of his sister's friends. He was still relying on her in a way by finding friends through her, but it was at least a step forward.
On his way back to the dormitory, he saw someone across the road wave at him. At first he thought the guy was looking at someone else, but when he looked behind him he was the only one around. A little nonplussed, he waved back. The guy did look vaguely familiar, maybe they had a class together or something. Misto hadn't really paid enough attention to learn the names or faces of his classmates.
Victoria's face lit up in happy surprise when Misto walked in the door. He smiled back sheepishly. She had been nagging him to meet her friends for a long time, but he had always refused. It was embarrassing to finally swallow his pride and give in to her wishes. Plato was staring at him with a gaping mouth, as if he had teleported into the room instead of walking in.
"What movie are you guys watching?" He asked awkwardly, not really wanting to address their surprise.
"We were thinking about Mean Girls!" Victoria said a little too enthusiastically. "But if you want to watch with us we're open to other suggestions!"
"Mean Girls sounds good, it's always nice to rewatch a classic." Misto said quickly. He didn't want the pressure of having to choose a different movie. Taking a deep breath, he turned to Plato a awkwardly held out his hand. "I'm Victoria's brother. You can call me Misto."
"Plato." Plato replied, accepting the handshake. "Nice to meet you."