Don't let it fall

Chapter Two

"Don't just move your arms, move your whole body to hit the ball." I could hear the lecturing words of my teammate as she pretended to teach their her little brother to play as "awesomely" as her.

It was hard not to crack a smile as the toddler nodded seriously, as if absorbing her every words almost like his life depended on it.

"You're doing just great." I encouraged him with a pat on his head. "Timmy is too mean, isn't she?" I said pretending to scold my teammate to which her little brother shook his head rapidly.

"Timmy is really cool, I want to be just like her. Sometimes heroes have to be strict, that's what makes her so cool," as Parker went on, Timmys cheeks got continuously redder.

"Hey, you! Stop wasting your time on cartoons, nothing good comes out of those childish shows!" Timmy mumbled, pinching his cheek lightly.

I don't love children. It's not a plan of mine to have many or any at all but right now. Just for now, for just five seconds, I wished I had something or someone to protect. Someone I could also tease and give a sense of security like the way Timmy stood against any and everything for her brother.

Quickly I shook the thought away. What a drag. I couldn't be bothered to take care of anyone. It's enough that I get to have my time on the team and enjoy just a bit of free time before going to the home that I'd much rather call a jail cell.

"Are you going home?" Timmy asked, Parker now on her back as she threw the volleyball into a cart.

"Nah I'll hang out a bit." I said waving her away to which she reluctantly waved back and forced Parker off her back and made him walk.

I smiled knowing that Timmy was putting up an act now after having been called a cool and strict person. I knew as soon as she left my sight she'd let him climb up her back again. There was no way she wouldn't let him have his way, I don't think I'd be able to refuse him anything either.

I practiced serving a few times before calling it a day, no matter how much I wanted today I couldn't avoid going home. Better go when there's still some light.

I gathered my things and made sure to close the locker room as I went, lately things had gone missing. I had nothing of value but my teammates probably did. The only thing I had was a silver bracelet with a single key charm dangling from it. So precious to the point where I wouldn't dare wear it out. It was kept safely in a box in my room hidden in a closet. It was the one thing I couldn't sell off no matter what.

As I walked past the doors of the front of the school I blocked the sun from my eyes, it annoyed me. Quickly I made my way past the schools little pond, the park that seemed to always be bustling with energy and life, immediately I realized something was wrong. I don't usually take this path, I'd always try to take the quickest way home so why..

I realized why as soon as I arrived at the bus stop. This was the path I'd taken when I met the pretty stranger girl. The girl who's unconsciously been on my mind these past few days. I hadn't realized it before but when I saw her it was almost instinct to avoid quite, dark areas on the way to the bus stop. And now here I was like an idiot, I couldn't let this become a habit. It was a waste of time at best. I sighed and went to turn around before something caught my eye. A little frog on the bench. Not a real frog but a paper frog. Those origami frogs that would jump when you pushed on the "body" of the frog. It had a sticker on it as if trying to keep it from falling apart.

Carefully I picked it up and held it in my hand, there was a sticker but why did it not look like it was falling apart? Was it just for decoration? Part of me wanted to keep it for some reason as if I'd suddenly grown a huge attachment to it but it would just end up falling apart in the end so I forced myself to put it back where I'd found it. Just as I went to leave I rethought it, it's true that it might not stay perfectly folded for long. If anything it's be ruined by the time I got home but I just couldn't let it be squished by a careless person who sat without looking.

"You should be grateful to me." I said to the frog as if he could hear me. I rubbed his head with a finger and smiled. Maybe I could keep it in this condition for a long time. If I could, did that mean that it was okay to hold on to some things?

Careful not to bump into others I made my way into my house, being careful not open the door loudly and alarm my mother, if she saw my frog she'd be mad and insist that I wasted time on useless things.

It was a failed attempt, my mom looked as if she'd spent some time waiting for me. I hid the frog behind my back.

"What is it now?" I asked looking up at her. She never waited for me unless she wanted or needed something. She sighed and looked away.

"I'm sor-" she started. As she always did. Sorry for not speaking to me unless she needed something. Sorry for not being able to eat dinner with me. Sorry for things that she shouldn't be sorry for. It wasn't her fault. It wasn't her fault and yet..

"You're always sorry." I interrupted, I quickly tried to walk past her but she'd already seen it coming. She gripped my wrist, making me drop the frog I'd tried so hard to protect.

"You.. you keep complaining to me to give you time to be at school. You begged me to let you stay after school for the volleyball team." Her anger kept rising. "But you spend time making these.. these useless pieces of paper?!" She snatched it from the ground before I could even reach for it.

"Wait!" I cried out without thinking. And she saw it. She saw how I'd cried out. She saw how much a useless piece of paper meant to me, so now.. now she'd without doubt crumple it and leave it at my feet. It didn't take long after that thought that she threw the ugly ball of paper at my feet.

I won't look at it. I couldn't look at it. I won't. I won't.

"I got a job to clean a house later so hurry up and get dressed." She said and then walked away.

I didn't mind it. I didn't mind working but did she have to treat me that way. When all I ever did was try to make her happy. Could she not reward me with a smile. It was always an apology. No thank you's or even a look of gratitude.

Bracing myself I looked down. Where my frog had been was now a ball of paper but as I went to pick it up, I found that even though it wasn't in the perfect shape I'd found it, it was even better. It was a thousand times better because what I thought had been a piece of origami had actually been a note.