Sanders Sides One Shots & Shorts

Your Name on My Wrist (Analogical)

Date Published: Apr 18, 2020
Word Count: 4508
POV: Alternating 3rd Person

There's the sound of a car door slamming, and light up sketchers hitting the pavement. They glow with dancing purples, pinks, and cotton candy blues along the soles, as the shoes that were once white patter along the pavement. Now they're dirtied from playing outside, and being loved to their fullest. There's the sight of a scab on a knee, from falling off the swingset two days before. The tears from the injury are long gone now, and by the end of the day, there will be plenty more scrapes to keep this one company. Children are ruthless like that.

This one doesn't mean to be ruthless, though. This child wears quiet lilac overalls that are rolled up above the knee, over a white T-Shirt that will have crayon on all over it by the time it's worn home. First days of school change a lot about a kid, and this one is no exception.

There's the shape of a star on the child's right cheek, just below the eye. It had been painted on with glitter glue in a moment of sibling bonding, where the older brothers had attempted face paint, and needed a model. When the twins, Roman and Remus, had finished with their little sibling, their artwork was a whole face covered in flowers and squiggles that were apparently, according to them, supposed to be dragons. Luckily, all of that had come off with a good scrubbing with a facecloth. But the purple glitter glue star clung on like a tattoo. A guardian angel to watch over this young one during her first day of first grade.

Speaking of the twins, they push past their little sister, sprinting towards the playground to reunite with their friends. They're going into fourth grade today, and they're officially too cool to hug their father goodbye. They shout farewells over their shoulders as they scamper away, and their father laughs as he climbs out of the car.

"Stay out of trouble, you two!" Patton calls after them, as he steps onto the sidewalk.

Patton catches sight of his daughter, who looks terrified. She's staring up at the school building like it's the monster from her closet, and she's clutching her stuffed Eeyore plushie to her chest nervously. Patton crouches down beside her, and puts a hand on her tiny shoulder.

"You know Nessie, I was scared on my first day of school, too."

Vanessa looks up at her father, her pixie cut blowing around a bit in the morning breeze. "Yeah?"

He nods, smiling at her fondly. "Yep. I was terrified. I had to take the bus to school all by myself, and I was so scared. But, when I got to school, I met some of my best friends ever. I had so much fun, it was better than I ever imagined. By the end of the day, I didn't want to leave!" Patton squeezes her shoulder encouragingly, and lowers his voice as if to tell her a secret. "I met your dad on my first day of school, you know."

"Really?" Vanessa's eyes light up at that.

Patton nods, eyes equally as bright. He holds out his left hand in front of him, palm upwards, so that they both can see the name Emile written on it in beautiful loopy cursive writing. The same writing that everyone has on their wrist, inked onto them the day they're born by a Matchmaker, an algorithm coded machine that can calculate your exact match. Your soulmate.

"I met him in the lunchroom. He sat across from me." Patton explains. "So, you never know. Maybe your soulmate is in there somewhere?" He suggests. Vanessa looks down at her own left wrist, which has a name on it, too. She can't read it, of course. She's only six. But her parents had told her what it says many times, and she has it ingrained into memory.

Logan

Vanessa still looks nervous, but a little consoled now. Maybe even a little bit of excitement is held in the chest pocket of her overalls.