Summer Birdie

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Patience. The one method Hawks knew that was always on his side. He was conducting an experiment as he didn't fully trust Jay's plan, exercising the basic rules of his training, his mentor would have been proud. Hawks would leave his feathers around the apartment to feel what they were doing. He wouldn't be too far from the apartment either, but pretended to visit his Summer.

The first week went exactly as Jay had predicted. The men that normally came to clean Hawks' apartment came and swepted the place. Confiscating comic books, left over junk food, video games and other things that were deemed unsuitable for a future hero. When they realised that Hawks was not in the apartment, they would instantly message Jay and ask them where Hawks was. Not long after, Jay would message him and ask him where he was, just in case he was heading back to the apartment. Things were going very smoothly. Too smoothly.

The week after, he went through his clothes searching for any sort of chip or device hidden in the buttons or the seams. Nothing. He stared at his watch, the little chicken charm dangling on the side, lightly pecking at his wrist. He pulled the watch off his wrist and set it down on the kitchen counter, popping open the back with a thin screw driver. There it was, the chip. He took off the charm and clipped it to a spare bit of string left from the quill necklace he made for his Summer. It was his first gift from them, and he wasn't leaving it to chance anywhere in the apartment to be snatched away. Taking the watch chip, he attached it to one of his feathers. It was just a precausion but he couldn't one hundred percent trust Jay yet.

*     *     *     *     *

A month had gone by and you hadn't heard much from Hawks. You thought it was strange that he would always come to meet you at your house right before school started and as soon as you began school he stopped coming to see you. Was it embarrassing for the two of you to be seen together? You sigh heavily, shaking your head from those thoughts rattling in your brain. 

He's not yours to claim! You think to yourself and clap your cheeks, hard! 

You try taking your mind off the terrible thoughts and look through your chatrooms. You friends loved the sweets you sent them, and loved the surprise in all their faces as they opened the box. They definitely weren't expecting so many sweet treats. You giggle to yourself at the photo of them gathered around the box with the words THANK YOU, BESTIE!!! written at the bottom of the picture.

You missed them.

Bleep!

Glancing at your phone you see it's from Bubs. You two had become close friends during the month Hawks stopped contacting you. You would notice him at school, but only glimpses, as if he was avoiding you. Crestfallen, you refocus your gaze at the message.

Been invited to a mixer tonight, you coming? Bubs.

Is that allowed?! What if a teacher catches us- we'll be in so much trouble!

Never stopped me before! Bubs sends a winking emoji with an index finger over its mouth in a shushing motion. You declain the offer, but thank her for including you in her thoughts. You think it's time to have the night with your mother who had been busy all month with her students at cram school. Making a big cup of coffee you slide a coaster beside her and the fresh cup of coffee on top.

"Need a little assistance?" You ask her as you pull up a chair beside her.

"No, it's fine, I-" You give her the look, that I-know-you-are-tired-and-need-help look and she reconsiders your offer. "That would be wonderful, thank you, sweetie."

You grab a pen and look at the sheets. It was all the material you had studied last year in English but with bonus difficult questions that you were only learning this year. You mother laughs and gives you a cheat sheet with the answers on them. Although the answers were on the sheet your mother takes her time explaining it through with you. It was much simpler now that your mother explained it compared to your teacher.