Lync: Nobody pay any mind to me if I start to cry.
Shadow:?
Yumeí: It's okay Lync, I almost cried too.
Dream: This is a bittersweet moment, for sure.
Shadow: Will someone tell me what's going on?
Lync swallowed hard. His progress report had come in the mail today. He had managed to keep his grades at the top of the scale, but now, in fifth grade, his own inability caught up with him.
Lync carefully entered the house, then crept up the stairs. He was almost to the top when his father yelled "LYNC!" and froze him in mid-step. Grimacing, Lync walked into the Living Room where his parents sat waiting.
"We received your progress report," his mother said, her voice steely. "We are very disappointed with you."
"Come on!" Lync cried. "I barely pass one class, and you get all upset?!"
"If you are going to fail school, then you are going to fail life, son." His father interjected. "Do you know why we put you in that school?"
"So that when I graduate, I'll be smart enough to attend collage," Lync said tonelessly. "And after I graduate collage, I can get a big job that pays a lot of money, then give you a generous amount of funds for whatever you might need."
"Exactly," his mother nodded, ignoring the last part; it was true, and all three of them knew it. "You know what we expect from you, so why aren't you doing it?"
Lync shrugged. He knew why: the work the school was throwing at him was more than he was ready for. But if he told his parents that, they would say he was just being lazy. He patiently waited out the rest of the lecture, then excused himself.
Lync went upstairs, but did't go into his room. Instead, he walked down the hall and into his sister's bedroom. He found his eight year old sister reading on the floor out of a very thick book. Lync sat next to her, and she closed the book to look at him.
"Did they find out?" she asked in her sweet little voice. Lync nodded. He had confided in his sister about his failing grade, and she had kept her promise not to tell.
"Are you in trouble?"
"Elrin," Lync sighed. "I'm always getting into trouble with them. They want me to be perfect, but I'm not like you. I can't be perfect. It's impossible for me."
Unlike him, Elrin was everything their parents wished for: she was intelligent, beautiful, had slight wit, and was moderately good at physical activity. Their showered praises upon Elrin, while Lync was all but abandoned. This hadn't stopped a powerful affection between the siblings from forming; Elrin loved Lync and he loved her back. He protected her from whatever she needed, and she gave him a reason to keep trying.
Lync looked into his little sister's eyes, their color mirroring his. He rifled her pink hair, a color only two shades lighter than his own. She returned the gesture playfully.
Lync might sometimes feel alone, but it was good to have a sister like Elrin.
Volt: Must be nice knowing you can rely on family.
Yumeí: *hits Volt's arm* We don't need you bringing up your issues right now. Lync had to leave, this was so emotional for him!
Dream: Someone pass me a tissue.