Silent Connection

vi.

I managed to find the rest of my way home, without getting lost. I was pretty proud of myself for that. I walked up the steps to the front door, pulling out my key. After I fumbled my way into the lock, I opened the door. It was much brighter inside than it was outside. I had to wait a moment for my eyes to adjust. As I walked in, I was met with the sight of my mother and Takeo sitting at the table.

"Perfect timing honey. Takeo just finished making dinner." My mom got up from the table, walking over to me and kissing my cheek. She pulled away and smiled down at me.

"Hey kiddo, how was school?" My stepfather asked. I sat down beside him giving him a thumbs up. They didn't need to know what happened in class. I let out an unfortunately timed yawn.

"That good huh?" He laughed as he set a plate down in front of me.

I nodded, smiling a little.

"Did you stay late studying? You don't usually get back at this hour." Mom asked as she sat down in front of me. She looked slightly worried but didn't say anything about it.

I shook my head and grabbed my phone.

I made a friend in class, and he invited me to watch his practice.

I showed my phone to Takeo, and he relayed the message to my mother.

"A boy?"

"What practice?" They asked at the same time, looking from each other to me. I held up a finger and started typing again. I decided it would be easier to use the text to speech option to tell them about it.

Yes, a boy, he sits in front of me in class. He saw one of the doodles in my notebook and got excited when he found out that I like volleyball. So, he asked me if I wanted to watch practice. Obviously, I stayed and watched since I'm back this late.

No that wasn't sass. The robot can't read emotion properly.

They laughed at the last part of my message, but then glanced at each other worriedly. I knew what that look meant. I sighed, deciding to type one more thing before they started fussing over me. I didn't them going off on a concerned tangent. I knew that it would come out of a place of love... I just didn't have any energy left to deal with it.

Don't worry, I didn't play. I just watched.

Mom gave me a sad look, sighing.

"Honey, it's not that we don't want you to play. We both know how much you love the sport. We're just worried you might have another...episode." Mom hesitated on the last word.

"What your mother means to say, is that we're happy you've already made a friend and are excited for you. Excited that you got to see something you love; but we can't help but worry about you. It's a parent's job after all." Takeo said, smiling softly at me.

"It's an unfortunate superpower that comes with the job." My mother agreed, nodding her head.

I laughed at their wording. I knew what they meant though. It would probably be odd if they weren't worried after everything that's happened. I nodded, motioning towards the food. It had been so long since I had eaten last. I really regretting skipping lunch now.

"C'mon, let's dig in." Mom shot me a wink before passing me a bowl full of delicious smelling food. I smiled at them, grabbing a bowl full of deliciousness.

As I served myself and passed the bowl, I thought about what they had said. I get that they're worried, and I understand why. I just really don't want them to freak out every time I mention volleyball. I was fine.