Page 34 of Off Balance

Chapter thirty-four

Session Transcript May 25

Dr. Liu: Can you remember the first time your mother lied to you?

Kelsey: I must have been in fifth grade, maybe fourth because the memory is a little hazy. My mom used to forget me all the time at dance class and Miss Juliette always let me hang around the class after. But I didn’t understand it until this day. Up to this point, I just thought my mom was picking me up early every class or that she was just late on occasion because that’s what Juliette told me. I was a kid. I believed her. One year, when the costumes came in, Miss Juliette had bought one for me, but she didn’t let me take it home, which I thought was weird. She insisted that my costume didn’t fit, and she would have it tailored. When my mom picked me up, I was so excited about the tutu that I told her all about it. So, maybe I was in third grade, because Miss Juliette only has the old-fashioned clocks on her wall, nothing digital. I can’t remember how old I was. If I go into the costume closet I can find the size of my tutu. Anyway, I told my mom and she got so angry at me. She told me I was never signed up in that class and threatened to pull me from ballet. She stormed into the lobby and caused a whole scene. Miss Juliette kept insisting that I was registered and that she had paid for the class and the costume. They had this huge fight, and I realized then, that my mom was forgetting me.