A week later, Mentor and Jayden watch the others train. A few seconds later, Mentor hears 'Lesson Number One' coming from inside the house. He leaves to investigate and stops in front of the Dojo to see Traci in her training gear. She does a cartwheel over to the sword on the floor. She uses her right foot to toss it into the air. She catches it and slices it through the air at the exa,ct moment when the lyrics say, 'cut quick like my blade.' He watches Tracy make a few more moves that match perfectly with the song before picking up the dock and pressing pause. Traci is ready to make the moves she created for the next verse, but she doesn't hear the song playing behind her. She turns around quickly to see Mentor standing in the doorway.
"I'm sorry, Menor, was the music too loud?" Traci says.
"No, but why are you practicing by yourself?" Ji asks.
"I'm afraid that the others would laugh at me," Traci says.
"You are a team, most importantly. Mia, Mike, Kevin, and Emily are your friends. They wouldn't do that," JI says.
"That is the same thing Victoria Hurst said to me right before she told the whole school about my learning disability. The next thing I knew, she was laughing along with the rest of the class." Traci says.
"You shouldn't hide your dyslexia from the others," Ji says.
"I know, Ji. Jayden told me the same thing. Please don't say anything to the others. I'll tell them someday." Traci says.
"Okay," Ji says.
An hour later, Traci is sitting on one of the benches at the park. She is playing her Vihuela again. She finishes playing Firework by Katie Parry when she sees a five-year-old Hispanic girl running up to her. Her mom, Maria, chases after her.
"Hi, my name is Aura. I like your Vihuela. It is pretty. Do you know how to play De Colors?" Aura asks.
"It's very nice to meet you, Aura, and thank you for the compliment. I'm Traci. Yes, I do. That was the second song my Uncle Jorge taught me." Traci says.
Aura smiles and claps happily. Maria takes a few steps back to give them some breathing room. The five-year-old starts to sing right after Traci plays the last few bars of the intro. Traci lets Aura sing the first verse. She sings with her on the second verse. She sings in a lower octave than she usually does so that everyone can hear her new partner. A crowd starts to form as they reach the end of the song. Maria is standing in the front row. Traci sees a massive smile on her face. Traci also sees a few people toss a couple of coins into her Vihuela case. The crowd claps after Traci plays the last note. Traci put the money into the piggy bank she attached to the lid of the case with a piece of Black Self Adhesive Velcro Hook and Loop Tape. Then she puts her instrument away. They walk up to her mom.
"Mom, did you see me?" Aura asks.
"Yes, I did, sweetie; you were wonderful," Maria says.
Traci bent down so she and Aura could see eye to eye. Aura gives her a big hug. Traci was a little surprised by what was happening.
"What's this for?" Traci asks.
"For letting me sing with you. It was fun," Aura says.
"You're welcome," Traci says.
Aura lets Traci go. Traci stands up tall again.
"You have a beautiful voice, and you're good at playing your Vihuela, too," Maria says.
"Thank you. My mom told me the same thing." Traci says.
"Honey, we need to go. We still have to go to the store," Maria says.
YOU ARE READING
A Dyslexic Ranger
Fanfiction~Prequel to Samurai Undercover ~ The day Traci De La Rosa has nervously been waiting for has arrived. She received the message arrow and now has to become a ranger. The only problem is she believes that she won't fit in with the others because of...
