[ WP ] Some people can see the future . You ? You can smell it .

‘ What do you want to be when you grow up? ’ was never meant to be a loaded question. Not when asked of a roomful of preschoolers, at least. This particular class is gathered on the carpet near the end of the day, sitting cross-legged and flailing their hands in the air straight away. 
 
 Most of the class goes with Firefighter because of yesterday ’ s tour of the firetruck. One boy wants to be a Policeman just because all of his friends said Firefighter. A couple of girls say ‘ Princess! ’ before giggling and conceding to more attainable careers, like a famous singer or dancer. A few other things are tossed around enthusiastically: an astronaut, a veterinarian, a teacher, and a cowboy. 
 
 It ’ s a fun question to ask because it seems to energize the kids. They offer the answers happily, voices growing progressively louder to be all the more impressive, and half of them have shifted onto their knees in their excitement. 
 
 There is only one girl who hasn ’ t said anything so far. She ’ s got her brown hair in a braid made messy by a day of good fun, and contemplation set as her default expression. She ’ s sweet and polite, and even if she tends toward occasional prolonged silences and sniffing around randomly it doesn ’ t stand out all that much. At this age, they ’ re all a little weird. 
 
 Unnoticed by the teacher, the girl sits still and closes her eyes to focus. She ’ d caught a whiff of something when the question was asked, and as she tilts her head back she takes a long, slow sniff. It ’ s warmly metallic hidden behind something cottony and surrounded by what a smell that reminds her of washing her hands. It ’ s just sort of strange, though, and without understanding she opens her eyes and raises her hand. “ I want to be a ballerina! ” 

