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Guest : Than you for your review and sorry for the thing with the interrogation mark. Call it French custom, we had to put an half-space between the last words and the exclamation/interrogation mark, my word processing program is actually formated this way.

Timeline : 2017
Characters : Jack & Cupcake
Words : 1242

While Jamie was his first and favorite believer, Jack always made a point to spend some time alone with the others Burgess kids. He would sit for hours with Monty, relating all the historical events he remembered, he would watch Pippa skating when no one was there to witness her skills, he would play videogames with Claude for hours or be a voluntary guinea pig for Caleb's inventions - he still wondered why he accepted the last one.

But today, he was going to see Cupcake.

Cupcake was always special. She was the oldest of the bunch, being sixteen when all of them were fourteen or fifteen, and was always a little apart from the rest. When Jack came to see her, they wouldn't play like with the others, but they would talk for hours. He didn't mind really, because she was a smart and funny girl, she just needed someone to listen. And sometimes Jack needed one, too, even if it was a teenager.

He came on late Tuesday, like usual, but this time her window was closed. He frowned, because all the kids made a point to keep their windows open when they knew he was going to drop by.

But the stranger thing was that Cupcake was lying in her bed, unmoving and staring at the ceiling. Jack knocked to get her attention but she didn't budge. He tried again and froze the window for good mesure.

Cupcake raised her head, and Jack was surprised by the far away look in her eyes. He frowned and made a gesture for her to get the message and open the window. When she sighed, he became more worried.

She got up and walked slowly. By now, he was sure something wasn't right, she had always been overjoyed when he came.

He rushed into the room the second she let him in.

"So, what's up ?" He asked.

"Hello Jack."

He frowned, again.

He hovered over her and took the opportunity to create frost figures. Cupcake always liked unicorns, and he still could see some posters of them on her pink walls. One night, she told him that when she was little, she hoped a unicorn would take her to a magical world, where she would made wonderful friends and spent the happiest times of her life. She was friend with the others now, but she still find confort into the creatures.

Cupcake strenched her hand to touch the figures and let a soft smile grace her lips.

It was little, but it was still a start.

He sat by her side.

They said nothing for a while, pleased by the comfy silence. Jack was making ice creatures for Cupcake to play with, sometimes she would let a laugh escape and Jack would feel his heart burst.

"I had my audition today."

She was a dancer, and as surprising as it may sound, an amazing one at that. She had been dreaming to enter a great classical dancing school for years now, and worked really hard for it, but the last seven audition hadn't been successfull. And if he was going by her state, this one didn't have a better outcome.

"I made no mistake, I was totally in synch with the music. I've never danced so well in my life before ! This time, I was sure I was going to be picked ! It couldn't have been anything else !" He could hear her voice crack at the end and though for a second about giving her a hug. But three hundred years without physical contact made him a little wary.

"I heard them you know," she continued before he could answer, "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I was there and they were talking about me. They said I was good, but I couldn't make it. Because I am too big." She spat the last word with disgust.

Jack winced. Of all the things, it had to be it.

"Do you know how much I worked to slim my silhouette ?" She whispered.

Yes, Jack knew. For three years now, he had seen her monitoring all her meals, never eating something too greasy, not even allowing herself an ice cream in summer when the others stuffed their face with calories, running and dancing more and more everyday. For a while, he was even afraid she was going to develop an eating disorder.

Mother Nature just gave Cupcake a larger stature, and no matter how hard she worked, she would never get the small and slender figure most high level dancers had.

"I trained everyday for this ! I put all of my heart into my performance ! They saw it, but they didn't care because I don't reach their criteria !" She was sobbing now.

Jack was silent for a while. He knew what he wanted to say, but he didn't know how to express it in a way she could understand his point.

"So what ? Who care about what they say ?"

Bad choice. She was now looking at him with furious eyes.

"I do care ! Because it's been my life's dream ! And now it's doesn't mean anything because I'm never going to reach it !"

Jack frowned for the millionth time today, at this rate he was going to get wrinckles and Bunny wouldn't let it go. Not that he really could, frozen forever at fourteen and all.

Why couldn't she see ?

"Who say you're never going to reach it ?"

"I didn't make it ! It's been the eighth time Jack !" She shouted at him like he was stupid. But really, she was the stupid one there.

"Who say you must get into one of this stupid schools to reach your dream ?"

She looked at him, totally lost. What was he blabbering about now ? Didn't he heard what she said ?

"I mean, I understand, you didn't get in, and you probably never would. Sorry to drop the news but let's face it. But, don't you have other possibilities ? I dunno, can't you... dance in the street, or post a video on the internet like all teenagers do nowadays ? Surely someone will spot your talent and will allow you to show the world. And why can't you do something else than classical dancing. I don't know about you, but I find it pretty boring with all the rules. Can't you dance something... funnier ?"

She didn't answer, so he continued.

"And think about it, when you'll be a world star dancer, you'll remove the stick in all these old guys' ass and show them who truly runs the world."

She stared in a complete silence for a long time. Then she bursted out laughing.

She laughed, she cried and then she was laughing so much she was crying.

Jack was totally lost.

"Oh Jack, thank you !"

He didn't registered she was hugging him until he felt her squeeze him to death.

"Hum... It's nothing, I guess ?"

She laughed harder.

The rest of the evening was mostly eventful, between strategies for the future and faces made to mock the judges who turned her down. He couldn't wait to see their reaction when they'll see her shine like the brightest star.

They would show the world girls aren't too big for dreaming.

A girl I knew in middle school had actually this problem. Discrimination based on body shape still exists in the dancing world, and eating disorders aren't unfortunately so uncommon. However, I wanted to show that there was always a silver lining, and who better than Jack to do it ?

The title comes from a French movie (Polina in English), it can roughly be translated to "Dance your life". I didn't watch it, though.