HERO

R

I don't wanna be a superhero cause I can't save the world, so I'm never gonna get the girl
I just wanna do better
Superhero
Cause I can't save myself, much less somebody else, so I gotta do better

-"Superhero" by Falling In Reverse

*_*_*

"I can't believe you got me out of school early." Juliet murmured.

"Honestly, I'm surprised they let you leave with me." I chuckled, pushing the double doors open of Franklin High School.

Juliet follows behind me with her backpack on her back then closes the double doors after walking through them. "Me too. I thought only family members or whoever is listed on my contact list can take me out of school."

I shrug. "I guess since I had a note to excuse you that was signed by the principal of Franklin Elementary, they thought it was okay for me to pull you out of school."

"Is that where you're taking me to right now?" I nod. "Why?"

"You see, Jimmy's class has show and tell every day. Each day, one kid from his class gets to show everybody something and explain what it is they brought. He asked his teacher if you and I can be there today because today is his day to present to his classmates."

Juliet's eyebrows furrow. "Why would he want us there?"

"Who knows. What's important is that he asked us specifically to be there. He wants us to be there so bad that his teacher went to the principal to have him write an excuse note for the both of us to leave school to be with Jimmy and his class for the rest of the day."

She stays quiet.

I run a hand through my blonde hair. "I know you're probably not excited to spend your afternoon with a bunch of kids, but today is Jimmy's day. Out of everybody he knows, he requested us to be there. It's our job as his buddies-" Juliet cringes. "-to support him, no matter what he decides to show and tell today. Even if he decides to show something unimportant to us, it's important to him. We will be there to see him present his object and let him know how proud we are of him. Today is all about him, not us."

It's been a week and a half since I've been assigned to Juliet and Jimmy for the buddy system program. To say I've grown close to them is an understatement; these kids are like the siblings I've never had. My parents didn't have anymore children after I was born because my birth caused my mom's uterus to rupture, so she had to have an emergency hysterectomy. After her surgery, she was upset she physically wasn't allowed to have kids and I was disappointed I wouldn't have siblings. That's why I've slowly became grateful for the buddy system program because I'm basically an older sibling to Jimmy and Juliet. I consider them my family now, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

It's crazy how fast you get to know somebody within a short span of time. When I first met Juliet, she was closed off and mainly spoke one-worded sentences. As days went on, she opened up and now she's willing to talk about anything with me. We go from talking about our favorite milkshake flavor to what we want to do with our lives after we finish high school. Every day, we learn something new about each other from our walks.

Jimmy, on the other hand, is still the same old innocent child as always. After his breakdown a few days ago about missing his parents, I talked to his granny about my concerns from that evening. She was surprised he cried about his parents because he hasn't done that since they were locked up months ago. She reassured us that he mentions his sister here and there, but he was young when she passed away and doesn't remember much about her. I was proud of Juliet for standing up for Jimmy by asking his granny to take him to the prison to see his parents. After bringing it up, Jimmy's granny told us she'll have to think about it. She hasn't gave us a yes or no on if she was going to drive him up there or not.