Case Reopened

At Fault (Part 1)

Sophia and Donovan interaction! What you've asked for and here it is for you! Yo welcome!

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Sophia stared at her phone, knowing what her next move in the chess match should be but didn't make it. She didn't move, didn't listen to the constant chatter of the invaders of her table, or acknowledge the world around her.

Looking back, she could see where she'd been at fault but a step further back was a fault that wasn't hers.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught movement. She glanced over to see Zander inching an origami frog over to her. The sight of the perfectly folded paper and Zander's tiny smile at nudging it to her made her want to smile. But she didn't feel like she had the right to smile, not with what she'd done.

When she lifted her gaze to Zander's, she didn't smile, didn't react.

Instead, she pushed her tray of uneaten food away and stood. Around her, she became aware of how the conversations had stopped and everyone at the table watched her and Zander.

She wanted to lash out at them, tell them to leave a table that had never been theirs, and let her life be her own to live without their curious looks.

But she thought of the incident of before and held her words back.

As she walked away, she knew her mother would approve of her self-control, even if what she wanted to say still sat heavy in her mind.

At her locker, she opened it but didn't do more than that. She'd left the cafeteria but hadn't formed a plan beyond that. Coming to her locker felt like a natural and logical step. It felt normal when she currently felt like a mathematical equation with a mistake in it.

"You can tell me what I did wrong," Zander said, coming up beside her. "If you do, I'll know what to do to fix it. Or even if I don't I'll ask someone to help me fix it. I could even ask you and you'd tell me how to fix it. So you can tell me. Please don't go quiet on me."

When she faced him, she found wide, caring eyes looking at her. She liked the way he looked at her because it was always honest to who he was. She knew how to respond to him.

"My silence has nothing to do with you or anything you have done. You don't need to worry."

"Oh." Zander relaxed and fiddled with something in his hands. Only then did Sophia notice the origami frog. Zander held it up to her.

"Since you're not mad at me, can you still accept my gift?"

"I don't feel like I should be given a present right now."

Zander cocked his head then nodded once. She didn't know what the nod was for but didn't question it, since Zander would explain. She'd learned this about him, and liked it, he spoke his mind clearly. She never felt confused with him.

"You might not feel like you deserve a gift now," Zander said, gently placing the frog in her locker. "But when you do, it will be there because I want to give you a gift."

"Okay."

The bell rang and Sophia looked at her gift for a long moment.

"Is there anything I can do to help you with what you're going through?" Zander asked. "I don't always have good solutions but I know how to listen."

"Thank you, but there is only one person I feel I can talk to."

"Oh, okay. Can I at least walk you to your class?"

"Yes, but I don't feel like talking."

Zander smiled. "Okay."

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