thanks to miranda for betaing :p

prompts at the bottom

452 words by google docs

Roxanne's fingers hurt. There's a slight throbbing to them and she wants to put down her guitar, but she knows that it'll just result in her fingers hurting even more. Still, she puts it down with a sigh—her mother called her, again, for dinner and she'll be damned if she brings her guitar to the table. Again.

"Roxie," her mother says, as Roxanne slowly takes her seat at the dinner table. Her brother, father and mother are all there, waiting for her.

"Sorry, am I late?" she says, taking her seat across from her brother.

Roxanne's caught in the cross-fire as her mother nudges her father with her foot underneath the table. Because that's the type of relationship her parents have—foot nudges, looks that no one else understands, somehow communicating with just their eyes.

"Roxie," her father says, in almost the same tone as her mother, but his eyes are glittering. Roxanne's father's eyes are always glittering.

"What?" Roxanne demands. She's shoveling food onto her plate; the faster she finishes dinner the faster she can get back to practicing her guitar.

"You can't skip meals to play your guitar," her father says, one eyebrow raised.

Roxanne pauses, her fork dangling halfway out of her mouth. She's only half-listening to her father—she's trying to remember how to play some old song from her father's childhood. There's a 'G' chord in the chorus, but she can't quite remember the next chord.

She takes a deep swallow and nods. "Right, right, eat food." She makes a show of putting more food into her mouth, but it's not just a show; Roxanne's itching to get back and figure out the next chord.

"See, like this," her mother says with a sigh. Her mother gives her father a deep look. "You're rushing your meal. Take time and eat with us as a family!"

"A family?" Roxanne asks, turning to her brother, who's slowly eating his dinner, watching Roxanne and their parents start an argument. "Fred, are you missing your little sister?"

"Leave me out of this, please," Fred says, pointing his fork at her. Roxanne gives a deep sigh and turns back to her parents.

"Sounds like he doesn't, which means I can continue to practice more!" She tries for a winning smile, but her parents look unconvinced, so she shovels some more food into her mouth, chews, and swallows, clearing her plate.

"Look, I'm done!" she says, gesturing to her empty plate. "I'm going to go and play some guitar!"

Roxanne doesn't wait for a response from her parents, instead patting Fred on the head and walking away.

("So," Fred says, raising an eyebrow at his parents, "you're going to try another intervention tomorrow, too, right?")

for:

assignment 5 [astronomy, task 2 - a musician!au]

writing club [character appreciation - protecting a loved one; disney - king triton; showtime - roxie; buttons - roxanne; liza's loves - guitar villian]

scavenger hunt [write about roxanne]

caffeine awareness [galao]

40 days [no angst]

greek/roman [apollo, task 2 - playing an instrument]