The Story Of Soldiers

Chapter 25

That's what their father's smiles always looked like. Like he was trying to be kind, but instead, it looked as if he had never known kindness.
Their mother...what did her smile look like? Kira didn't remember much. But the things she remembered of the woman were good.

This was a new smile. Kira liked it. She shouldn't.
"No, no. It's okay." She said softly, "I understand. See, I have ADHD. It makes me hyperactive and too energetic sometimes. It also causes me to zone out at times. This cube gives me something to do. It keeps me from getting distracted."

Kira blinked again, lifting a hand to bite at her nails. They looked at the desk, thinking.
"Something wrong?" The woman asked tenderly, and Kira sees an image of her mother pass through their mind for a millisecond.

"No, I'm sorry. But....um...I, um," she swallowed, feeling embarrassed, "Sorry. But like, do I have that ADHD thing?"
The teacher only smiled. "Oh, what makes you think you might? There are plenty of symptoms to ADHD."

"Like what?" Kira asked timidly. The lady was more than happy to explain further.
"Stuff like spacing out, getting distracted easily, not really thinking before asking, and other stuff too."

Kira bit her lip and ran a pale hand through their hair.
"Do you think I have that?" She asks shakily after a long moment.
"If you have the symptoms," the teacher said, fiddling with the cube, "I can set up an appointment with a doctor to get you diagnosed if you'd like?"

The suggestion is accompanied by a sweet smile and Kira nodding immediately.
It was almost against her will. They haven't really wanted to nod. She hasn't told her body to do that. They didn't make it do that. But she still did anyway.

"Alright," the teacher said promptly, "I'll get you set up and let you know when in a few days. Deal?"
Kira smiled back, nodding.
"Deal."

"In the meantime," the teacher said, making her way over to the desk, "You can try out a Rubix cube yourself. Here."
She had pulled another Rubix cube from her drawer on the desk.

Kira looked at it blankly, experimentally twisting it in her hands.
The bell rang, but Kira hardly seemed to notice. They were too focused on the scrambled mess of colors in her palms.

She smiled. It was nice. The next teacher walked in, and the day resumed as normal.

----------

During dinner, Kira was still occupied with the thing.
"Why are you so caught up in that thing?" Kai questioned, his brow furrowed. "It's just a bunch of messy colors. What's so great about it?"

Kira shrugged. "I dunno. It's just...nice. It helped the rest of the day. I wasn't zoning out as much during class."
"It looks so cool," Kahsbi giggled, "Maybe I should ask her for one too."

"It looks pretty fun," Jay commented, "Can it be solved?"
"It can be," Aayan confirmed, "I had a few backs at home. I was never able to solve it, but my brother was always able to."

"Oh my god," Colleen gasped over-dramatically, "Aayan isn't perfect at something? It can't be true!"
Aayan rolled his eyes, though the rest of the team found themselves laughing at the silly outburst.

"Can I try?" Kamlyn asked timidly, and the Rubix cube is placed in his hand the next moment.
After a few moments of light chattering, Kamlyn handed it back, his arms crossed.
"It's frustrating. I don't like it."

"You're only saying that because you can't solve it," Kaze said matter-of-factly, grinning triumphantly when Kamlyn went red at being called out.
Kahsbi laughed gently, placing a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder.

Then she brings the same hand to his hair and gives the back locks a gentle ruffle.
Kamlyn squeaked, caught off guard by the sudden gesture.
"Hey guys!"