Burdens - Chapter 9: Ball
#9 of Burdens
Yup.
Chapter 9: Ball
He thought he had been awake, but only when he awoke had he realized that it was false. The sun was coming up and he had his face in his legs. The air was cold and moist, it smelled of dew and morning.
For the moment, he was disoriented. He suffered a slight amnesia from his unintentional drifting, but he recollected himself quickly. He sat in front of the classroom of which his first destination resided. He checked his watch.
He had a little less than half an hour until class started. He stood up, stretched, and looked around. He noticed that his body was no longer sore, and he was only slightly groggy, but not really tired.
There were others there, wandering about, sitting, talking. He sighed, and waited.
The teacher arrived shortly, and he was allowed inside. The wait continued for what seemed to be forever. His work was finished, and he managed to acquire the day's homework and finished that, as well.
Drowsiness struck the fox again. He did not know why he suddenly felt so tired. He blinked, and it was class time. He looked around, surprised, but also somewhat refreshed.
Everyone was already seated and attendance taken. The class had actually proceeded while he slept and, as he concluded from a peer, the teacher had let him sleep, confident in his skills.
He tried to figure out what was wrong with him, why he had suddenly become so tired. He thought about the night before, and his trouble sleeping. His body had been tired from what physical exertion he noticed that he had placed. He attributed his current state to that.
Time passed, and class was over. The rest of the day seemed to move by just as quickly. Was it the dread he felt, to face the wolf again and make more mistakes? Or was it that he would be going to his house on that day, to carry out the promise he had made?
He was not particularly afraid of football, he was not brittle or weak, but he was definitely not as strong as his new friend. He was not afraid of a new house, he had been to houses that belonged to strangers before, though by now they were no more stranger than his parents.
Perhaps, as he thought, he was afraid of disappointing his new friend. He never asked for one, of course, but he obtained one, and he had to make a good impression. He felt that the impression he did give so far was hardly anywhere near the status he wanted it to be.
Lunch came quickly. He sat with his friends and they all were chatting about their classes and their classmates. It was the same routine as usual, and every so often they delved into other subjects, like what video games they would play, or movies they planned on watching.
A friend of his spoke to him, noticing that he was silent. "Hey, what's up? How's the tutoring?"
He shrugged. "It's okay, I guess. Slow."
There was a laugh. "I bet it is, you got the dumbest kid in the school. How do you even manage?"
His heart sank from a twinge of guilt. Those were his thoughts as well, and part of him still believed them. "He's actually trying and is doing a lot better," he responded, in the wolf's defense.
"No amount of trying is going to fix that," his friend responded in like. Before waiting for an answer, he subtly pointed at a fox passing by and nudged him. When she was out of earshot, he asked, "So when are you going to ask her out?"
Roger felt better that the subject had been changed, though he did not really like the place where it had stopped. He responded, "I don't know, it's not the right time. What if she says no?"
The fox in question had been the target of his stares for the past year. She had worn somewhat tight shorts, a t-shirt, and a small jacket. She carried her bag on one shoulder.
Her academic efforts were fair. She was passing her classes with comfortable grades and was taking part in some of the school activities. Aside from that, he hardly knew much other than a name. He tended to keep his distance so as not to make a fool of himself prematurely.
"Come on, you gotta do it soon, or someone else is going to!" his friend urged with a smile. Roger nodded in agreement.
"I'll do it when I get my chance," he said.
The rest of the day passed by uneventfully. He stood outside the school, waiting for the wolf, who he watched walk toward him slowly. He saw conflict in his face, anxiety and excitement.
"You alright?" Roger asked.
The wolf nodded. "I'm okay." They walked away from the school.
There were few words exchange between the two of them while they went to the wolf's house. It was not too far away, but in a direction adjacent to the fox's own. If he had measured it, he would estimate it to be equidistant.
He took the time to memorize where he was, in case he ever needed to return, or at least when he needed to get back to his house.
The quality of the houses began to slightly decline. Two and three floors became one, yards became larger and it seemed they were less taken care of. He had not really known the income gap between only in a mile or two, but now it was made apparent to him. It was interesting.
They came across a house that he found slightly odd. There was a small front yard with a few things, what seemed to be toys, thrown about in the overgrown grass. The bushes seemed to need a trim, and the tree toward the sidewalk seemed as if it were outgrowing its allotted space. Still, the vegetation looked health. Indeed, it seemed as if it were thriving, with rich green colors representing health.
A young wolf ran out of the door and up to Hunter, hugging his leg. Roger saw the resemblance, and concluded that it was a younger brother, or cousin at least. The wolf confirmed the former.
They walked around the back, and the oddities were made apparent. Most of the house was built in the front, while it left room for a large back yard. He saw a football somewhere in the grass. Apparently they did not really mind about picking up such things.
The wolf set down his bag and asked that the fox do the same. He picked up the football, held it in his paws, and smiled innocently. Just contact with the ball seemed to cheer him up. He stared at the fox intently.
As soon as Roger turned to face him, the wolf tossed the ball in a clean spiral. The fox caught it at the last moment, and laughed awkwardly to hide the fear that he felt from something suddenly coming at him. He tossed it back to the wolf, but his throw was wobbly and slow.
Hunter began to instruct him on the proper way to throw a ball. He knew much about throwing it, which way the paw should angle and grip, when to release it, at what arch, and many other dimensions of the act that the fox was oblivious. It surprised Roger, but only slightly. He knew that the wolf loved football, so it made sense he would know much about it, but he apparently had a vast knowledge of its techniques.
They went back, and Roger threw the ball. The spiral was better, but nothing like that of a professional, or even one who had been doing it for more than one day.
They threw it back and forth about fifteen times before the wolf spoke up, saying, "Okay, when you catch it, run to the fence, otherwise I'm going to tackle you." He said it with a smile, so Roger concluded he was bluffing. Still, he would run to the fence.
The ball flew through the air, and Roger caught it. He hesitated, not sure which fence to run to, but he imagined it would be the one behind him.
However, he saw a figure in front of him, running on all fours, directly at him. He realized that the wolf had not been bluffing.
He turned to run, but he felt an impact almost immediately. He had no idea the wolf was that fast, yet he surely had such an idea now.
He fell on his side, braced, and bounced off the ground painfully. He rolled onto his back, looked up and saw the wolf looming over him, looking as if he were ready to jump, so Roger readied himself for impact. His eyes were shut tight, his muscles tense, and he went rigid.
He did not feel an impact. Rather, he felt a couple paws behind his back, and he was lifted slightly. Then he felt warm.
He opened his eyes and noticed that the wolf had held onto him, whispering into his ear. "I'm sorry," was the whisper, "I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm sorry...."
The pain seemed to abate. Roger felt his face flush momentarily, and he knew he should move, but the voice was soothing and he felt safe, in spite of being tackled to the floor.
Roger patted him on the side and responded, "It's okay, I'm fine."
The wolf pulled him up slowly and placed him on his feet. There was concern in his face.
Roger's nose felt wet, and he wiped it with his paw. His paw was covered with blood when he brought it to sight, and then the world turned black. He had never been good with blood.