Burdens - Chapter 128: Normal
#128 of Burdens
Sorry for the lull.
Chapter 128: Normal
Roger took the weekend for himself to rehabilitate while he had the chance. The house was to himself, and while he wanted the wolf to be with him, a stronger desire to figure things out by himself was present.
It was a quiet rest of the weekend. He had gotten used to the television being on and the constant beeping and chattering in the hospital that his quiet room seemed to be eerie. He made sure to charge his phone for the next day, but for the time being, it sat idle. The concern everyone had shown him seemed to have dissipated.
All in all, his weekend was over. It was time to enter back into society.
-
The morning had started out as if he had never been to the hospital, except he did not have the headache that he had nearly grown accustomed to. He had to remember to continue thanking the lion, because without his help, he might not have found himself at home at that moment.
Roger took a careful shower, making sure not to get his cast wet. It was difficult and took a bit of extra time, but it was manageable. He was thankful that he could at least clean himself again.
He gathered the normal items for school: his bag that had been prepared the night prior, his phone and wallet, his key, and a sack of lunch that his mother had made him.
The house was quiet before he left, save a soft snoring that he heard in his parent's bedroom. He had missed that sound somewhat. He had never appreciated all of the little intricacies of life until just recently.
He departed for school without another thought on the matter.
-
The walk felt longer and more difficult than he remembered it being, though he knew that the distance had not changed and the terrain had remained unmoved. He just needed to get used to it once more.
He left early enough that he was sure no one would be at school. He just wanted to avoid everyone for now until he got himself situated, and perhaps at least seated in class. It felt like a lot to ask of them, but at least a little might be fine.
Luckily, no one had decided to show up early on a Monday, save for a few of the faculty and the kids whose parents had to go to work early. Even Hunter had forgone arriving early for the past couple weeks, so he might not be back into the swing of things as Roger returned.
He found his way to his classroom, not having been gone long enough to forget it. The light was on inside, but after a knock and opening the door, he noticed that no one was inside. He shrugged and found his seat.
Another couple minutes and he watched the door open. The familiar skunk he had come to know entered and noticed him.
Surprised, the skunk said, "O-Oh. Mr.... uh, Colton, welcome back. A shining star was gone in your... absence. I'm glad to see you've returned. I'm sure your friend will be quite, uh, ecstatic."
Roger nodded. "Good to be back. I don't really like the hospital all that much."
"Ah," the skunk remarked. "I don't blame you. It's not very... pleasant, even on the best of occasions. Especially for so long, I suppose."
Roger agreed and went back to waiting. Class would start soon.
-
Throughout the school day, some of the bolder students asked him about his cast and how he got it. The ones that knew did not ask, and the ones that did not know and did not want to know tended to ignore him anyway. Hunter acted as a good distraction, however.
Roger's absence for the past couple of weeks seemed to have opened up his spot as Hunter's friend. More and more prospective mates were flirting with him, even with Roger there, much to his disdain. He wondered how it must have been in his other classes.
The crowds that surrounded the school were garrulous. Their chatter and whispers were evident to the fox, who wished his hearing had been damaged for the time being. The things that they would do to be in his spot, the things that they would do to the wolf, all of it he heard. Who would make the best girlfriend? None could agree.
Just when he thought his anger would get the best of him, the wolf would always placate him with a friendly smile and deep gaze. They did not need to say it out loud, the feelings that they had for each other.
For a while, everything was a little more hectic than the fox had wished. Some classmates wanted to sign the cast, and while not really trusting of them, he let them. After all, it was just a casing that he would eventually discard.
Even when Hunter was gone, either in other classes or practicing, he could still remember all instances of the affection the wolf had given him, and it allayed him.
-
The days passed by without incident, with the exception of the wolf getting busier and busier now that they would begin to focus more on practice. They barely had much time to work on homework after school together, and a couple of the nights, the wolf had to go his own way, much to the fox's disapproval.
It was bound to happen, though, the fox told himself. The game would not be far away, so would try to attend it, even though all he could do was cheer from the stands. Cheering, itself, though, was a problem. Loud noises still hurt a little.
The game was scheduled to be in a couple weeks, and he hoped that he would be fully recovered by that time. He made sure that it did not coincide with any appointments that he had to keep.
When he felt a little better, he stayed back to watch Hunter practice again. The stands were full, as had become usual, so he sat on the sidelines, watching the ball get thrown about, the players running into each other.
He spotted a familiar looking ferret. He wondered if they would ever come back to his house and practice with him again, though in his current condition, that might be too difficult. One day, he assured himself.
Everything was beginning to feel normal once again. Even the interrogations had died down, and he faded into the background. No one had ever asked about his eyes, but he guessed that they were just scared of them, or they did not want to mention it.
It was only his sophomore year. He had once been sick of the high school life, but no longer. A wolf that he thought he would hate ended up bringing him away from the brooding and sulking that he had grown accustomed to, and he would not trade it for anything in the world.
Even though the world had tried to take him away, he survived, only because he sought help in others. Bottling everything up had caused more problems than it solved, and he knew now that that had been very stupid of him, in spite of how smart he thought he was.
Every step forward was a step toward recovery. It would take time, but he had help.