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 Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2010 6:25 pm
The latest ballet was coming together at dance class, and the school directors had finally settled on costume designs for everyone. Fortunately, one of the other girls' mothers had volunteered as usual to do the brunt of the sewing, but Andrea still had to pick up a few things at the dance store for himself. He liked the store anyway, and spent more than enough time there - as evidenced by the fact that the shop owners knew him by name.
Twenty minutes and a new pair of shoes later, Andrea checked out at the Happy Feet dance supply store, and figured he could bum around the mall for a little while longer since he had nowhere else to be. He was not in particular need of any new clothes, mostly since he had his uniforms for school, but it could not hurt to do a bit of window shopping just in case he saw something nice for a weekend or whatever. Grab some lunch, too, maybe.
He preferred mall cruising when he was with someone, but going alone was not all bad. Since it was Sunday, he was pretty likely to run into someone he knew anyway.
Swinging the bag with his new pair of slippers a little on his fingertips, Andrea stepped onto the escalator to head down towards the food court. Giant cookie first at Mrs. Meadows, then he would swing by a few of the clothing stores.
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Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2010 6:55 pm
Since winter was upon them, track wasn’t meeting up as much and he was left bored and left to work on his other hobbies. Stepping out of Franny’s fabrics, he adjusted his grip on his bag. He managed to buy some fabric, some new spools of thread, a couple of new needles, and some ribbons. He found a print online for a small jacket he wanted to make that week and felt pretty confident it was in his skill range. It would help pass the time when it was either too cold to go out. Snow was a real obstacle when your main hobby was running outside.
Ducking out of the store, he slipped out and started to head across the mall. Usually he just left the store before anyone noticed what he bought, but he was really hankering a mango smoothie and wanted to sit a while. Walking in a mall always tired him out. It was large, took forever to get anyplace, and was very noisy. It was why he came here Sunday where it was usually less busy.
As he was passing the escalators, a group passed him and started to head down while another group was heading off the escalators. Caught in-between, he looked back and forth to find an opening before a hard shove at his back threw him into the surge of people getting off. Bumping into someone, he felt his bag fall off and dump. The people around them soon disappeared, the ones needing to get on already heading down and the rest getting off all heading to the food court. Without even looking, he already broke into his apology. “I’m so sorry. Someone pushed me.”
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Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2010 7:09 pm
The ballet dancer staggered forward rather ungracefully as well as someone ran into his back, and his own bag slipped from his grasp and landed on the floor at just the right angle for the box containing his slippers to make a hollow sound as it hit.
"Woah!" he gasped as he tried not to fall, and leaned down as a spool of ribbon zipped past from behind, unrolling as it went - it just missed his fingertips, but Andrea took a step forward and managed to stop it with his foot as he turned around to see just what exactly had happened behind him getting off that escalator.
"It's fine," he replied at the apology, but as he actually turned, the boy found himself face to face with the bleacher police kid from his bad day earlier that week.
... Andrea was in a much better mood today, and it did not exactly kill his good cheer to see the smaller kid, but it was still decidedly awkward. He picked up the escaped spool of ribbon and glanced down at it, starting to wind it back up again.
"Uhh, this was yours, right?" he asked, hoping the guy would not bite his head off again. Tell him he should have taken the elevator instead or whatever. Maybe last time was just a fluke, but if the other kid wanted to be a d**k again, then Andrea would remove himself promptly to some other part of the mall.
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Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2010 7:24 pm
As Ladon rose, pushing some things back into his bag, he also reached out and picked up a …ballerina shoe? He stood up, confused, as he held up the shoe by one of it’s straps and looked up to see – that guy from the back of the bleachers! It took him a moment to think as he stepped out and took in the scene for himself. Here was that rude kid holding a spool of ribbon he bought and here he was holding a slipper. He didn’t know if he should be more flustered by having the kid have the ribbons he bought in one hand or whatever this was in his other hand.
He looked to the ribbon in the other guy’s hand, wondering if he should claim it as his. He could deny it. Say he never in a million year approach a spool of gold, Gingham ribbon, but Ladon NEEDED that ribbon. It wasn’t like he could just skip over and buy more when he had a big spool of it here, but that would be admitting that he was the type of person who bought ribbon. That needed ribbon.
What he hoped was that textbook-kid wouldn't start howling with laugher or try to hold it over his head to jump for. He hated when people did that.
“Yeah…..it’s mine.” He slowly held up the slipper. “Is this….yours?”
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Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2010 7:47 pm
Andrea was never one to outright deny that he did ballet and had for most of his life. It did not embarrass him that he danced - he just hated getting teased about it. So he avoided talking about it. That was not really an option now, though.
But ... could the kid give him crap about it as long as Andrea was holding his ribbon?
Laugh it off, he thought to himself, hoping that this would work and diffuse any tension. If nothing else, he hoped he could get his ballet shoe back and leave quickly. The part of his mind that had urged him to punch the shorter boy that afternoon at the bleachers countered that he could tease him easily with the ribbon, holding it over his head or something, but Andrea hoped that it would not come to that.
Andrea held out the spool to return it, and glanced at the slipper in the other boy's hand. "We seem to have inadvertently coordinated," he pointed out. The ballet slipper was decorated with gold as well ... close enough to the gingham ribbon.
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Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2010 8:09 pm
This was awkward, and he stood rigid as he held the ballet slipper with a stiff grip. When the ribbon was offered to him, he slowly reached out, not sure if the kid would pull it away quickly, but found that there was no funny business at all. He grabbed the spool and held it close, before holding out the slipper. He never held a ballerina slipper in his hand before, let alone one made for a guy, and he was impressed by the sleeks satin ribbon that tied up the slipper. It was a nice fabric, and he always liked the way the ribbons crisscrossed before being tied off. Very elegant, but on a guy?
Who are you to talk? You were plenty of bows with some of your outfits. Noted.
Following the same example, Ladon gave a nervous, tiny laugh at the ribbon comment. “Yeah…I guess so.” There was a moment of silence. “It’s a nice color.” Like he said, awkward.
The people exiting the escalator were coming back in swarms again, and he stepped aside, looking about to make sure he didn’t drop anything else and it was all picked up off the ground. The last thing he wanted was to get pushed again. He stood to the side and loked back up at the taller teenager. “So….you’re a....” Ballerina. “…..dancer?”
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Posted: Mon Mar 01, 2010 6:38 pm
Andrea accepted the slipper and crouched to pick up the dropped box so he could open it up and put the shoe back with its twin.
"Yeah, been doing ballet since I was little." And, since they were talking about it, he figured he could volunteer a bit of information. "I get to be Prince Ivan for our next production at the dance school, so I needed some princely slippers."
Standing straight again once the shoes were back in the bag, he glanced around for a moment before returning his attention to the other boy. "What're you making?" Andrea inquired, gesturing to the Franny's bag.
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Posted: Mon Mar 01, 2010 7:17 pm
They did look like princely slippers, and judging by the shoes, he wondered what type of outfit would go with it, but then cringed at the idea of wearing tights. He couldn't understand how anyone would feel comfortable in them, especially in front of an audience. He'd be mortified, but he wasn't one for the spotlight anyways. Running on a track was one thing. The audience were all in the bleachers, far off and giving you space. There were no lines to rehearse to give you plenty of opportunities to screw up. There wasn't dancing either. Ladon could run, but he didn't know if his feet were made for anything else. Being up front in an open room and the lights showing every mistake was something frightening to him.
"You must be good to get a important role." He only assumed it was important. He didn't know who Prince Ivan was. He never came up in any fairy tales he read.
At the mention of his bag, he gripped the handle tightly and moved his hand to half-hide the bag behind him. "Oh....just sewing up something I saw online." He wasn't about to say he was making a jacket for one of his plush animals. Unlike Andrea, Ladon didn't tell people his hobbies. This kid didn't really seem the type to like him anyways.
Standing, he looked at the bag, then his bag, and looked back up at the kid. "I'm sorry about last time. I really wasn't going to throw a ball at your head. I wasn't trying to annoy you." He didn't even know this kid's name, but did he want to? What if he didn't want to see him again. He didn't know if he should invite him to get a smoothie. That was being too forward, wasn't it? He probably had better things to do, and they weren't friends.
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Posted: Mon Mar 01, 2010 10:52 pm
"I'm sorry, too," Andrea replied, smiling sheepishly. "You caught me on a really bad day, and I shouldn't have been taking it out on you." He liked to think that he was a nice guy, and he hoped this other kid could be, too ... or, if they did not end up friends, that they could at least mutually ignore each other after today. But the dancer figured he could at least attempt to make up for the bad first impressions.
"Sewing's cool. How long have you done it?" He half-considered asking if the other kid would be interested in getting something at Mrs. Meadow's with him, or something else at the food court but--
"Oh, I guess you don't know my name yet," he exclaimed, and laughed once. Swapping his bag to his left hand, he held out his right to offer a handshake and introduced himself: "I'm Andrea."
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Posted: Tue Mar 02, 2010 1:09 pm
Following his example, he reached out and took his hand for a simple handshake. Since Ladon was always conscious of his grip, it usually was too soft, not giving the type of manish, respectable grip he wanted to go for. "I'm Ladon."
When he took his hand back, he gave a little shrug of his shoulders. "I've been sewing for a while now." As in, he had been sewing ever since his mother refused to patch up one of his stuffed animals to try and get him to get rid of them. It had been a necessity to keep his friends alive, which now turned to a hobby. It came to the point that he sometimes became impressed by the stitchings he noticed around him.
While he wasn't sure what Andrea was up to, he really didn't think it was smart to be around the escalators. Did they...just walk off? "I was heading to the food court....so..I'm sure you're busy with other things." Right? "...but, I mean, if you want to get clear of the escalators..."
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Posted: Tue Mar 02, 2010 10:31 pm
The taller boy's handshake was firm but not finger-squashing; he smiled a little, feeling like things were getting off to a better start, and stepped away from the escalator as he told Ladon, "Nicer to meet you this time."
"Only really busy with getting a little something to eat," Andrea replied with a light shrug. "Don't know if you've been there before or not, but Mrs. Meadows has amazing chocolate chocolate-chip cookies. I was just going to grab one and maybe a coke or something to drink and then head home, but if you want to chat a bit more, that would be cool." He gestured again towards Ladon's shopping bag. "Dunno if you want to get started on that right away, though. How long does it usually take you to finish up a project, total? I'm curious now." And he was, but small-talk also seemed the best way to keep things relaxed. Andrea felt better about this now, but was still remained a bit uncertain of Ladon.
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Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2010 11:34 am
A invitation was never just an invitation for him. There had been plenty of times people had invited him along out of courtesy without actually wanting him there, and the feeling of being with someone who didn't want you around was something he often avoided. He couldn't tell if Andrea actually wanted him along or was secretly hoping he would decline and be free of him. Still, they were talking, and he didn't often get to talk to anyone, especially abiout sewing. While he was afraid that Andrea would laugh at him at any moment for his hobby, Ladon felt a bit eager to talk about it. There was also a deal of comfort in having some blackmail on Andrea, though the boy didn't seem at all embarrassed about being a dancer. The boy's confidence annoyed him.
"I've gotten a cookie there once. I'll come along. I was actually headed to Alatta Fruits to get a smoothie." Adjusting his grip on his bag, he waited to head off to the food court. "It usually takes me a few hours, but I like a lot of detail and doing it right. It's also a pain to put on buttons." He had a nice pair of gold ones he bought and was excited to be able to finally use. Sometimes he bought buttons he just liked, keeping them away in a little plastic container, with the hope he could use them for something later on. "How long have you been dancing?"
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Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 12:33 am
Andrea never offered to spend time with people he did not think were worth his time. Of course, Ladon would not know that about him, not yet, but the taller boy was at least feeling better now about giving this interaction a chance.
Because, uh, best tactic was to keep chatting. That was what usually worked, at least.
"They might have their Saint Patrick's Day cookies out already, too. I dunno how you like sugar cookies, especially green ones, but I think they're pretty good." Andrea laughed a little, puting a hand to his forehead to brush his fringe back, then combed his fingers back through his hair. "Something about the taste interaction between the green dye and the cookie that somehow manages to be delicious."
Back on the topic of hobbies, though, he continued, "I've been dancing since ... I think maybe I started when I was four or five?" Andrea's brows drew together and he glanced upwards as he thought about it a moment, then shrugged. "My mom would remember exactly, I guess. I was always impressed by the sewing work on all of the various dance costumes I've worn, though. I could never make anything like that." As they entered the food court, he glanced at Ladon, pausing for a step or two to make sure he continued to walk beside the other boy in spite of his longer stride.
"Are zippers any easier? That was something I always wondered. Like, those little skinny zippers that are supposed to be invisible when they're all zipped up?" Total truth. Obviously the name "invisible zipper" was not meant to imply any sort of actual magic, but seriously, Andrea had even watched one of the other dance moms add one to a skirt for her daughter, and he still would have no idea where to even start if given a zipper to sew himself.
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Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 7:58 am
If there was one thing he liked, it was baked goods. He was terrible when it came to baking, which was why he liked when his sister visited. She often made muffins, cookies, or even just banana bread. In a house that supported healthy living, sweets were for special occasions. He knew carrots or celery was a better snack, but even he smuggled in oreos into the house.
Since St. Patrick's day was coming, he felt that it was enough to induge in a treat. He did like festive treats.
"Zippers only look hard. On both sides are a strip of cloth. When you lay a piece of cloth on etiher side from the outfit, you just follow on that strip and you don't see anything but the zipper in the end, but I've never made a full costume before. I'm only working on small techinques now. I couldn't do something like fine detail that you see on elaborate costumes. Sewing in little beads and gems would take forever." Not that he wouldn't want to try later down the road. He just didn't see any occasion to make them. He wondered what types of costumes were created in dance, and better yet, wondered what he could learn just being around the people who made them. This would, however, require him to be surronded by middle-aged mothers, and that always felt awkward.
"Your mother started you out dancing? Did she have a reason? It's not the first activity they get their sons to take." He remembered his father trying him out for Pee Wee Baseball. It was short lived after he got hit with a baseball and his mother wanted to call the entire thing off.
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Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 7:47 pm
Nodding slowly, the sophomore did his best to look attentive - not because he was not interested, but because there were enough people milling about as they entered the food court that Andrea had to keep his attention on all of them. "That still sounds complicated," he conceded with a sheepish laugh. "Although I guess maybe I would get it better if I actually saw you do it."
On the subject of his dancing, though, the boy just shrugged. He could bore the other boy with the whole story of how his uncle's dancing career had been cut so short by illness, and all the trips back to visit him in the hospital that Andrea barely remembered from his early childhood, and how his mother had wanted her first son to follow in her brother's footsteps (dance steps?) ... but he really did not talk about any of it with anyone. "My parents wanted me to start something when I was little, and I didn't really like sports, so I started dancing," he explained simply. "And it just sort of... worked." A beat, then Andrea chuckled again. "If that makes any sense."
He steered towards the Mrs. Meadows shopfront, but kept an eye on Ladon to see if the other boy wanted to visit Alatta Fruits first instead. Since it was a weekend, there seemed to be a lot of people out with small children running shopping errands, and the layout of tables and roadblocks of strollers and people made it about equally inconvenient to get to either the smoothie shop or the cookie shop from where they were coming in, so Andrea figured he would defer to Ladon if he wanted to get smoothies first.
"What sorts of stuff do you like to sew?" he inquired again after a moment. "If you don't mind me asking."
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