I was sleeping in my bed, not wanting to get up. I already knew that everyone else, even the sun, was up, but I didn't want to move or uncover myself.
I suddenly heard my bedroom door open, and I sighed inside my mind, knowing what was coming next.
"Benjamin Jones, you better get up or I'm going to dump a cold glass of water over your head," my mom's voice explained.
I then groaned under my breath before I sat up still in my bed, rubbing my eyes. I wanted to tell my mom to shut up but decided not to.
So I got up and headed out of my room, and then I headed downstairs to where my family was making breakfast.
When I got into the dining room, I sat down in my seat at the table, and then dad walked into the room, and he patted me on the shoulder.
"So Ben, are you ready for another exciting day of school?" Dad asked as he sat down at the table.
"Actually, I would love to meet whoever invented school and give them a black eye," I said, sounding annoyed.
"I agree with you on that one, Benny," an old and rough voice said.
"Oh grandpa, you're up," I said, looking across the table at him.
My grandma always sits across from me, and he was drinking his coffee, which was probably straight black.
"Oh, dad, please don't say those things around him; I don't want Benjamin turning into a criminal," mom said, placing a plate of food in front of me.
"Hey, being a criminal was the best thing back in my day," grandpa said, taking another sip of coffee.
I then burst out laughing, and I then noticed mom and dad were looking at each other with annoyed looks on their faces.
"Oh, dad, that's enough for you, and please eat your breakfast, Benjamin, so you can get ready for school," mom said.
I then started eating my breakfast at a fast pace. I actually thought I would puke, but I didn't.
Mom gasped and told me to slow down, which I did, but only a little bit.
When I finished, I headed upstairs to my room and then started getting ready for school.
I put my clothes on, brushed my teeth, then my hair, and grabbed my backpack.
I then smiled at myself in my bathroom and then headed downstairs, where mom was waiting for me already.
"Ok, sweetie, the bus is going to be here in a few minutes," mom said, kissing me on the cheek.
"Oh Margret, let me take him." "I have to go pick up my medications and go to the pharmacy, and his school is on the way, plus it will give us a chance to chat just me and him," grandpa explained to mom.
"Gregory, are you sure?" What about your knee? "I don't want you to hurt yourself," dad said, sounding worried.
Grandpa just nodded, and then he took me by the hand and led me out of the house.
I turned around to smile and wave at my parents, and they both did the same thing, but I noticed they had concerned looks on their faces.
But grandpa didn't notice because he was humming under his breath.
We were out of the house completely, and Grandpa looked at me with a big smile, and I did the same thing.
As we started walking down the sidewalk, I kept thinking about something, and Grandpa was telling me a story.
But when Grandpa finished his story and he noticed, I didn't laugh or ask him a million questions.
"Benny, are you doing ok?" Grandpa asked, looking at me.
"I guess I saw this sign-up sheet for a club I'm wanting to join at my school, but I'm not sure if it's a good idea to sign up for it," I said, looking at Grandpa.
"Let me guess your school finally put up a sign-up sheet for the local ballet club," grandpa said, looking at me.
I didn't say anything, but I noticed you thinking about ballet because, as you can see, I love ballet—I actually love everything about it.
I've been reading a bunch of books about it, and I've watched every movie I could get my hands on, and I've dreamed of being a ballet dancer.
"Yep, the school put up the club sign-up sheet yesterday, and one half wants me to sign up for it but my other half is telling me not to do it," I said sighing sadly.
"Benjamin, look here. If you want to sign up for that ballet club, then you go for it. Listen to that part of your brain that says it's a good idea," grandpa explained to me.
Five minutes later, we stopped in front of my school, and I hugged Grandpa, and he patted me on the shoulder.
Then I said goodbye to him, and then I ran into the school and ran over to my locker.
I started putting my things and stuff I didn't need in my locker, trying to hurry before the first bell went off.
Before I could finish my stuff, the locker door slammed in front of me, and I groaned under my breath, immediately knowing who had slammed my locker door.
"Hello there, Robbie," I said, sighing sadly as I looked at my shoes.
I then heard Robbie Mayfield's stupid laugh and looked up to see him standing there with a smirk on his face.
Robbie is the captain of the football team, and he always picks on me; maybe he does it because he secretly has self-esteem issues.
"So Benny, how's your morning going so far?" Robbie asked, leaning against the lockers.
"I'm doing OK," I said, grinning at him nervously.
"I was wondering if I could ask you something," Robbie said, looking straight at me.
Oh no, he's been asking me the same question for the past few weeks.
"Robbie "I'm not signing up for the football team, and no matter how many times you ask me, my answer is no," I said.
"Oh, come on, what's more exciting than getting sweaty and chasing a ball around?" Robbie said, grinning.
If you need to ask me anything, it's better than chasing a football and getting sweaty.
"Look, Robbie, football isn't for me. How many times do I have to tell you that?" I asked him.
Robbie didn't say anything; he just rolled his eyes and walked away, which gave me some quiet time to grab my things from my locker.
After I was done, I realized I had a couple of minutes before class started, so I ran over to the sign-up sheet board, and I was grinning the whole time.
Then I saw it—that community center ballet club—and it still had spaces for names.
I looked around to make sure Robbie wasn't anywhere near me.
I then grabbed the pen hanging on the board and signed my name on the ballet club sheet, and I smiled to myself.
Just then, the warning bell rang, and I ran off and wondered if anyone was going to notice my name on the ballet sign-up sheet.
When I got into the classroom, I sat down in my seat next to the window, and the teacher immediately went on with the lesson.
But I didn't pay attention. I was looking out the window, thinking about what I had just done.
And I was wondering if I had made the right choice.
What would Robbie and his goons do when they saw my name on the ballet class sheet?
Would any of the girls already in the class make fun of me for joining the ballet class?
"Mr. Jones, excuse me!" A voice shouted.
The voice surprised me, and I almost fell out of my chair.
I then looked away from the window and saw the teacher standing there with his arms crossed and a glare on his face.
"Were you paying attention to anything I have said in the last few minutes?" The teacher snapped at me.
"No, sir, I wasn't," I said, embarrassed.
"Well, please pay attention to the lesson and not the window because it's not going to help you pass the class," the teacher said, turning around.
Everyone else in the room started laughing, and the teacher loudly cleared his throat.
After that, my other morning classes went by without any other problems, and now it was lunch time.
I headed into the cafeteria, where everyone in my grade was already eating, so I then bought my lunch.
I then headed over to a table where only one other person was, and I noticed a girl reading a book.
She was also wearing a pair of thick black glasses.
I sat on the other end of the table and started eating the sandwich I bought when she looked up at me.
When I looked over at her, she then stood up, tucked the book under her arm, and grabbed her lunch before walking off.
"Oh good grief, there goes my self-esteem," I grumbled under my breath.
I then continued to eat the sandwich I had until I heard laughter, which confused me.
I then looked up and saw Robbie standing in front of the table with one of the football team members.
"Well, look who it is. How's it going, Mr. Twinkle Toes?" Robbie asked, grinning at me.
"What are you two *s talking about?" I asked in an annoyed tone.
"We saw your name on the Princess Dance Club," the other guy said, grinning.
The guy that was standing next to Robbie was actually David, who happened to be Robbie's brother, and the two never leave each other's side.
I was confused about what they were talking about, and then my mouth fell open in shock.
"You two saw my name on the community center ballet club, didn't you?" I said in shock.
"Actually, we both did, and seriously, ballet just join the football team; you can use your twinkle toes to run across the field," Robbie said, laughing.
"Robbie can actually dance across the field," David said, grinning at his brother.
Both boys started laughing, and then they walked away, still laughing, and I sighed softly under my breath.
"I should have seen that coming," I mumbled as I started eating my sandwich again.
After lunch, it was time for the afternoon classes, and I hated them because I had to sit next to Robbie.
When I got inside the classroom, I sat next to Robbie and noticed he was reading a science textbook.
The teacher was waiting for all the kids, and I noticed she had a bun in her hair.
That bun looked like it was super tight, and it was probably cutting off her circulation or something else like that.
"Ok, kids, we're going to be reading chapters three and four of the textbook, and then I'll have you do this worksheet," the teacher explained to us all.
I then pulled out my textbook and started reading the chapters when I felt something poke me in the arm.
I turned to see Robbie looking at me. I mouthed at him to leave me alone, and I went back to reading the textbook.
Robbie then poked my arm again, and I groaned under my breath and turned to look at him again.
"Dude, what do you want?" I whispered to him.
"Are you sure you want to be called a princess?" "I mean, I'll give you a spot on the football team for free," Robbie whispered to me.
I growled under my breath, and I looked at Robbie. I wanted to punch him in the face, but I couldn't.
"No, I made up my mind; I've wanted to join a ballet class since I was little," I whispered to him.
"Woah, no wonder you're so messed up," Robbie whispered to me.
I was about to smack him when the teacher snapped her fingers and told us to pay attention to our own textbooks, and we stopped talking to each other.
After the rest of those classes, it was time to go home, so after I packed up my backpack, I headed out of the school and saw Mom's car.
I then headed over to it and got into the backseat area, and mom turned around and smiled at me.
"Hey sweetheart, how was your day?" Mom asked as she started driving.
"It was OK, I guess," I said, looking down at my shoes.
"Did you finally sign up for your ballet class?" Mom asked, sounding excited.
"Yes, I did, mom—I can't wait," I said, giving mom a fake smile.
Mom talked about the class for the rest of the ride, and I smiled at myself for signing up for the ballet class.
When I got home, I headed straight to my bedroom and then sat down on my bed, thinking about what Robbie and David had said at school.
"Hey kiddo, can I come in?" A voice asked me.
I looked up and noticed Grandpa was standing in the open doorway, but I didn't say anything; all I did was nod.
He then walked into the room and sat down on my bed next to me, patting me on the leg.
"So did you sign up for your ballet class?" Grandpa asked me.
"I actually did, but" I cut myself off by looking at the ground.
Should I really tell Grandpa? I didn't want to sound like a baby or a wimp, but I needed to.
"But what you can tell me," Grandpa said, sounding concerned.
"Well, this guy at my school found out I had signed up for the ballet class and started making fun of me already," I said, looking at Grandpa.
"What did they do?" Grandpa asked me.
"They called my twinkle toes and said I had joined the tutu club," I said, sighing sadly.
"Benjamin, look, you love ballet, right? And this is something you wanted to do, and if you want to do it then do it," Grandpa said.
"But what about all the bullying and jokes that people are going to make when they see me dancing with girls?" I asked him.
"Look, everyone has things they love, and if you want to dance ballet, then you do it; don't listen to anyone else except the people who care about you, and remember to trust yourself," my grandpa explained to me.
Grandpa then stood up and told me that dinner was ready, but little did I know that his advice would hit me very hard in the heart tomorrow.