Lonely Oak Chapter 26
#26 of Lonely Oak Part 1 | Cycla Circadia
Lyza shivered in the cold. She sniffed, a bit of drainage leaking out her nose. Why was it that when it was warm out, they stayed in the stupid gym, and then when it was cold they did all the outdoor stuff? It didn't make sense at all. And worse, she wasn't good at any of the stuff they did outside. Heck, she wasn't really good at the other stuff inside either. But in there, it was warm! Kickball was no exception. She stood against the chain-link fence, Ket in front of her. "I hate kickball," she muttered. "Why's that?" Ket asked, half-looking back at her. "Cuz," she explained flatly, "you kinda have to be able to kick to play it." "Not necessarily," Ket countered, stepping up as the next 'batter' got to plate; "You have to catch, and run, and--" "Can't do that, or that..." She said grimly. "Aw, c'mon," he spoke encouragingly, "I'm sure you can do it." The line moved up a bit. Shy William caught the ball on a kid from another class. "You just have to hit it with the inside of your foot, like it's a big golf-ball. Watch me--I'm not that good either, but I'll try and show you." Lyza smiled. Ket was nice like her brother, always saying can. "Fine," she agreed, "But if you fall on your butt, can I laugh?" "Sure," he replied with a smirk. It was his turn up to bat. Lyza watched as he prepared, and even before he was ready Beck rolled the ball. It was a big red ball, almost like a beach-ball, but it was made of rubber that went pwahk when it was hit. The big red giant pitched and bounced a little as it rolled across the uneven tufts of grass. Ket ran up, and snapped his leg. The noise was made, and the ball flew--right into the Goren's hands. The short-stop served its purpose. "Out!" Ritzer called, for he was the umpire. Without a word the tiger went back to the end of the line. Lyza took a breath. It was her turn. "You can do it Lyza!" Kimberly squeaked. "If you hit it, Emmy can get to home and we'll get another point." "Yeah sure," Lyza muttered, stepping up to the plate, "If I hit it." She waited. Waited. Waited. Beck was just standing there like a doofus. "Pitcher's got a big butt!" Rini shouted on first base. "Hey, you're on our team," Goren commented. "Stop it, he's just concentrating." "Well he could hurry up," Emeral shouted. "Beck," Ritzer shouted, "Throw't!" The Chihuahua flinched and abruptly chucked the ball--overhanded. Lyza covered her face and ducked. The ball flew over her head, nipping her ears. Behind her, Ritzer caught it. "Hey! This ain't dodge ball," he shouted at Beck, throwing the ball back--and almost hit Lyza again. "C'mon, do it right this time," Justin hollered. Lyza narrowed her brow, the cold wind freezing the drainage at the edge of her lip. She wiped it away. I can do this...c'mon... The pitcher readied, curling his arm back, and then rolled the ball. It bounced and bobbed over the grass; Lyza followed it with her eyes, and ran forward. She cocked her leg back, let it fly with a, "Hya!" And promptly missed the ball, momentum throwing her on her back. Shouts and laughter erupted. People groaned and complained, wanting the game to go on, tired of standing in the same place for so long, bored. Lyza sat up, brushing dirt off her back, which hurt. "C'mon Lyza!" Rini shouted, "Kick it or get off the field!" Dizzily, the rabbit got to her feet. With a sour expression, she picked up the ball that had settled next to her, and threw it in Rini's direction. But her aim was off, and Panda, who happened to be standing at first at the time, got a mouthful of pwahk. He grunted, clutching his face. Rini stared with bugged eyes. "Hey!" Goren shouted, and immediately ran up to Lyza, "What's your problem?" "Leave her alone, Goren," Emeral said, rushing up to her friend's defense. "What the heck was that?" Rini squawked, "What did Pan ever do to you?" "Thass'foul," Ritzer said matter-of-factly. Lyza stepped back, "I--I--" The whistle blew as the coaches went from the other game that was going on to theirs. "What's the matter?" Coach Hicks asked, her voice a little hoarse from shouting in the cold. "Lyza threw the ball at Panda," Rini shouted, "Look! He's crying." Goren scoffed. "Oh my gosh. Lyza you're such a jerk." "Yea' Lyzzy, whasher problem?" "Wait a minu--" Emeral tried to speak, but the coach hushed them all. "Lyza?" "I didn't mean to!" The rabbit blurted. "You're only sorry cuz you got in trouble," Rini sneered. Coach Roberts ran up, his voice sharp. "Cathy," he addressed Coach Hicks, "Go see if the kid's okay; does someone wanna tell me what happened?" Lyza pulled on her ears as the kids around her, except Emeral, pointed. Coach Roberts offered his hand. "Why don't you come with me darlin'," he said softly. The girl took his hand and he led her aside to talk. "Sore lee-oo-sera," Rini huffed. "Maybe now we can actually--" "Oh shut up Rini," Emeral snapped. "I'd like to see you kick the ball." Rini waved her paw dramatically, "Emeral, Ladies do not do such grungy things." Emeral wrinkled her nose to one side with disgust. "Whatever." She muttered, stepping back to third base as the kids broke. "If you don't watch it, I'm a lot better aim than Lyza."
Emeral's pencil scratched on the paper as she worked on her math homework. She sat in the music room, where it was quiet save for the two third graders that were playing with a few of the instruments. She didn't mind them though, especially since one of them was Mrs. Berry's--the music teacher's--daughter. Decimals weren't hard, except when you have dyslexia. She kept having to fight with the little dot, figuring out where to put it. Adding and subtracting them wasn't tough, except she couldn't line them up. Even if she did get them lined up, they misbehaved and jumped around. She wished she had brought her color pencils. Now she knew how Ms. Hupp felt when she tried to get them to be nice and orderly. What was worse she had a whole two sheets of problems left to go, and it had already been forty minutes. How had she ever gotten her homework done without the forty-five minutes of concentration? How did Ket get it done without these forty-five minutes? The answer was: he didn't. She was surprised when he had turned in a partially completed spelling worksheet. Even with the time she hogged he had always managed to get his homework done, but suddenly this extra studying seemed to throw a wrench in his system. But he insisted on doing it, and she was actually quite proud of him. He deserved to be in seventh grade if he wanted to be. She sighed with contempt and crammed the homework into her backpack without concern for its condition. "Bye Emwol," the little raccoon bid. "See ya Friday, Ziggy," she said back. The boy smiled and put his headphones back on, joining his friend Cheri playing at the keyboard. Emeral stepped out into the hallway, and could swear she heard a tumbleweed bouncing with a stray wind. She passed the door to her classroom, peeking in the little window. She could still see Ms. Hupp sitting in a desk, so they were probably still working. Her footsteps echoed just a little on the tile as she walked idly. She didn't mind staying the extra time, but these last few minutes were agonizing. She shouldn't have had all that apple juice at lunch. It always went right through her, but she needed a change from milk. Now she had to go. She bit her lip. The bathroom door was only a couple yards away. She headed toward it slowly, ears twitching and eyes darting about. She walked past the doors a little, and paused. She looked behind her; nothing. She continued on down the hallway, down to where it turned to the left, following the side of the cafeteria. She peered around the corner. There were three kids sitting on a bench way in the distance where the floor changed from white tile to brown brick. One of them glanced at her, and she retracted back into safety. She paused, blinking and gazing around. There was a door in a recess-hallway that led outside to her right; she peeked out the window. Just portables where the teachers could do work. She went back down the hallway, looking in the classrooms. Most were dark, only a few had lights on and even then she didn't see anyone in the rooms. With a heavy sigh she returned back to the bathroom door. She stood, gazing down at the handle. She watched it, like she was trying to move it with her mind. Or perhaps it was trying to move her. She looked to her left again, and then back to her right. The tumbleweed still drifted. Stop being silly. She placed her hand on the handle. "So read these sections and do the reviews in the back of the book, ok?" "Yes ma'am." "'TillFriday, then. Have a good day." Ket adjusted his backpack as he turned, spotting Emeral in the hallway. He approached her. She smiled, if a bit twitchy; probably eager to head home. "You ready to go?" "Sure," she replied hastily. "Let's hurry."
Dear Whisperfoot,
I completely understand your amnesia. The inhabitants of the ice realm will do that to a person. I suspect it's for their own amusement. At any rate...about your father. I don't really know what to say. That really sucks. My parents bicker and quarrel every once in a while but...nothing like that. So, I'll move on to better topics. I'm glad the old kingdom is still good. You're pretty lucky to have gone back for another year. The middle realm is just as horrible as everyone says. People are idiots or thugs, and most of the time you're sleeping just to get through the day quicker. P.E. is the worst. Before and after class is the locker room. You have to get over being exposed pretty fast. Actually that's no so bad, it's the people that enjoy exposing themselves that's the worst. I never take showers either; they're moldy and slimy and people are always talking about "dropping the soap". It means something gross and after you learn what it is it just gets really annoying. Stay in the old kingdom for crying out loud! I especially envy you get to talk with the Wise One, still. Her muffins were addicting. I was tempted to test the Curse of The House a few times just for the muffins alone, but I never did. I'm also jealous you're learning martial arts, at least I guess that's what you mean. Which one? I want to learn self defense but mom won't let me. She thinks I'll use it to try and beat people up. She doesn't really get that I'm not a violent person and that usually I'm the one getting beaten up. Don't tell anyone I said that. It's really great to hear from you, and through snail-mail even. All my friends use IM and emails. It's actually really fun to write it out on paper. Can't wait to hear from you. Tell me what you're studying, it's gotta be better than the crap I'm learning.
Sincerely, Treewatcher