Superpower

Chapter SixteenEmma

 

Trent showed up at Emma's building, but the usual tap-dancing wonder was nowhere to be seen. He looked all over the parking lot to see if she was off dancing with her friends or jumping around on the playground, but she wasn't there either.

He heard some faint sniffling from over by the stairwell, so he made his way over and peaked down the steps. That's where he found Emma, sitting on the steps with her head in her lap and her tap shoes in a pile at the bottom of the stairs.

“Oh, hey, Emma. Umm, you okay?” Trent was shocked to see his usually happy and carefree sister upset. He walked down the steps and grabbed her tap shoes and tucked them in his bag and held out his hand to help her up. “Come on, buddy, let's go home, okay?”

Emma looked up, eyes swollen, and face drenched with tears and she nodded. She seemed a lot sweeter when she was struggling, thought Trent as he worried if she was okay. He hadn't seen her like this before and he thought whatever it is, she must be really upset because nothing ever bothered this kid.

They headed around the last corner to the house and Trent finally asked Emma what was wrong. She started tearing up again and told him that one of the kids at school said her tap shoes were annoying and some of her classmates put up signs petitioning to make her stop wearing them at school. Then the teacher had agreed that they were ...