Yarn

II: Juro

WARNING: Physical Abuse

"Juro, Isaac, pay attention please."

Juro glanced up at his teacher, Mrs. Honey, standing at the front of the class. Her arms crossed; blonde eyebrow raised. He cleared his throat, adjusting himself in his seat to face her, shooting her a bashful grin. She nodded, turning to the rest of the class, rubbing her hands together.

"Alright, so you kids know Halloween is coming up and with it a writing competition!" Juro wrinkled his nose, daring to glance behind him at Isaac, who shot him a look of shared disgust. "The school is partnering with the local library, which is hosting a horror story competition. Each of you will write a three paged paper describing your biggest fears! This can be anything from ghosts and ghouls to dogs or scary attics. I want each of you to take the weekend and think about what scares you most. You don't have to start writing your story yet, but come Monday we will begin planning and writing rough drafts."

The bell shrilled through the second-grade classroom and with it the excited burst of students jumping from their chairs, shoving papers into bags, and talking animatedly with their friends about that weekend's sleepover, or plans to go costume shopping with their family.

Juro leaned back into his seat. Breath trapped inside his chest like a canary trapped in a cage. Wings beating against the sides of his stomach, body hammering itself against his ribcage, trying to sneak through the gaps. He blew out a breath.

Juro didn't need a weekend to think about what he feared most.

He picked his pencil off his desk and wrote down the homework on a piece of paper. 'What scares you most' was written is scrawling, frantic handwriting. Like the letters were running away from one another. His hand shook as he wrote something below it. Juro stared at the word, heart hammering in his ears, evoking the same fear as seeing—

"Hey," Isaac said, tapping him on the shoulder. "You okay, Juro?"

Juro nodded, snatching the paper off his desk and shoving it into his front pocket before Isaac could see. He felt Isaac's gaze on the side of his face, sweeping across his features. Juro cleared his throat, trying to shove the thoughts out of his mind as he tossed Isaac an attempt at a lighthearted smile.

"Of course."

"Okay..." Isaac hummed, seeming to hesitate. "Well, are you ready? I wanna show you that new trick!"

Juro shoved the rest of his things into his bag, following his friend to the back of the classroom where they retrieved Isaac's skateboard. They walked out of the building together, Isaac waiting until they got to the sidewalk before tossing his board down and jumping onto it. The wheels thudded rhythmically against the sidewalk, echoing off the concrete and the houses around them.

Cars passed by them quickly, the hiss of tires making Juro jump, even though he didn't mean to. Glancing around wide-eyed, as if expecting to see someone jump out of the shadows, sweeping him up and away.

"The trick is--," Isaac began, interrupting his thoughts. Juro gulped, looking towards his friend, tongue sticking out of his mouth as he wobbled back and forth on the board. "Is to, like, jump when there's a bump."

As he said this, the perfect opportunity presented itself. A small cracked arch. The skateboards wheels slammed against it at the same time Isaac jumped. The skateboard flipped from under him, before landing right side up. Isaac landed on it hard but landed on it nonetheless. Sweeping out in front of Juro and coming to a stop.

"See!" Isaac cheered, bending down, clutching his skateboard to his chest. "Ain't it cool?"

"Yeah!" Juro praised, "You have to show me how to do that!"