Requital hope

Thirty-eight

"Hey, Yibo." He greeted, coming over to me.

"H-hi. That was a great match." I nervously complimented.

"Thank you, it was a lot of fun." He smiled and looked at the helmet in his hand, then back at me.

"Hey, I'm heading home, need a ride?" He
asked.

"I have a few things to take care of. Cindy said she'd take me home." I informed. I definitely wanted to take him up on his offer, but if Cindy is right this'll be worth it in the long run.

"Ah... okay." His smile faltered. "Well see you later, I guess." He said, raising his helmet with a wave. I smiled back and returned the wave.

"Okay let's get this over with." I whispered to myself as I turned around.

I got to the locker room and found Zhan's
locker. Cindy gave me the combination. I'm still trying to figure out why she even has it, I guess all of his close friends know his combinations though.

I hesitantly rattled the lock after scanning the room for any other soul. I unlocked it then popped it open and saw his uniform laying there amongst many other things.

I picked up the sweaty clothing and hauled it to the laundry room. I sat on a bench waiting for the wash to finish.

After some time the washing and drying had finally concluded. I was going to be late for work at this point. I carried his uniform back to the boy's locker room and folded it before placing it in his locker. I found Cindy standing near the exit of the school on her phone.

"All finished?" She asked, hearing my
approaching footsteps.

"Yeah." I confirmed. "Hopefully he likes it.

"I'm sure he will. That guy is a sucker for little things." She smiled and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Alright, let's get you to work." She said, patting my back. I just groaned and tumbled out the door like a zombie. We got in her car and buckled up. Cindy looked from side to side, searching for something.

"Everything okay?" I asked, watching her
scramble around the car.

"Uh... I.... I think I... left my bag in the school." She grunted between breaths.

"Mind getting it for me? I have to tell my mom I'll be home late. It's a brown bag with a white and pink paw print on it and should be in the coach's office." She informed.

"Sure, I'll be back in a jiff." I accepted. I unbuckled myself and reentered the school. Walking through the dim halls made it feel like an abandoned school, the silence gave it an unusual eerie feel. Of course, it isn't abandoned though, during the day it's filled with some of the most energetic human beings I've ever come across.

I reached the coach's office and begged for the door not to be locked, and sure enough it wasn't. I looked both ways before entering the room, making sure no one saw me entering. I spotted a small brown bag sitting off to the side on one of the old wooden benches in the corner of the room. I lifted it, revealing the paw print Cindy described. This is it. On my way out of school, a question popped into my head. Why was Cindy in the coach's office? I
guess I'll have to ask her myself when I get back.

I left the school and jogged back to the car, noticing Cindy still on the phone.

"Sorry mom, I have to go but I really can't come home any sooner." She said, noticeably frustrated.

"Everything alright?" I asked as I was getting back in the car.

She sighed. "Yeah, my mom is trying to get me to come home because she needs the car for shopping." She explained. I nodded in understanding while handing over her bag.