The Sidekick

"A Good Thing"

A/N: Hi, this is kind of a pilot chapter. Feel free to type any feedback, even if you hate it, so I can get better at writing and you guys can have a better reading experience.

Here's a challenge: Describe the two main characters using three words each

Often people talk about "a blessing in disguise" when describing the good within a bad situation which is commonly not recognized until much later. Moreso than we would like to admit, the opposite can be true as well and we usually do not acknowledge this until it is too late. Something horrid can be wrapped in the fairest silk and sprayed with the nicest perfume.

When a child has the opportunity of becoming an actor or an actress, they would expect to be like the people on their screens. Well-groomed men in tuxedoes courting women in elegant dresses that glitter in the camera's flashing lights as they walk down the red carpet is all they would know. However, the child would have no clue that their early fame would result in their mother watching over every carb they ate with a judgemental eye, not letting them take a bite from a cupcake. They could not expect constant harassment from people they do not know. They could not comprehend how their starting movie could have snowballing events that come to multiple failed visits to rehab. Like how the good can be disguised as bad, something that is "true good to be true" usually is.

That was the case with being "The Sidekick" to someone like Alek.

At the time, Pheobe couldn't help but laugh at his creased eyebrows and eyes that squinted in concentration. Alek's gaze fixed itself upon a jagged rock which was half-covered in dirt, roughly bigger than her petite hand. Her legs were gradually numbing from kneeling on the hard dirt while the sun burned the top of her thick, knotted hair.  Through the discomfort, Pheobe barely minded waiting for whatever her friend wanted to show her.

After a minute or so, she had to ask to save her from boredom, "What are you supposed to be doing again?"

"Just wait. I could do it before," said Alek, not taking his eyes off the rock.

He could not have heard Pheobe's soft hum in response over the stomping of their classmate's feet, kicking a new soccer ball someone brought from home. Their shouting engulfed the entire oval which would have seeped into Alek's concentration of whatever he was trying to do. Clouds of dirt from their passings cooperated with the scorching sun to sully their school uniforms. Usually, on those types of days, they would sit in the air-conditioned library instead of staring at some weird rock.

The brightness of the summer sun that was only more exposed by the cloudless sky made everything a bit more bright and fuzzy. Scratchy patches of grass were hot to the touch, almost yellowed like hay. There were scarcely any trees to provide shade, and all the shady spots being rightfully taken by the other Year Six girls who giggled in small circles. While Alek, was staring at the rock, Pheobe thought she saw some of them rolling their eyes and snickering to themselves after making eye contact. She self-consciously gripped her knees with her sweaty palms and wished they could have just gone to the library where no one would look at her.

Pheobe was just about tired of waiting when a dry, hot breeze hit her back. However, just as she was about to get up, the rock wasn't touching the ground anymore. A golden glow surrounded it, so faint Pheobe almost thought it was just the sunlight. The same flicker of gold light outlined Alek's grey irises. The rock wobbled a couple of centimeters from the ground like it was being delicately pulled by strings. 

"Haha!" Alek laughed, almost hysterically. Catching himself, his voice turned into an ecstatic whisper. "Holy crap, Pheobe! I did it!"

Dumbfounded Pheobe replied, "What? What are you doing?" She couldn't quite believe her eyes.