Jay's POV
"Argh"
I said out of frustration for the 5th time that day after failing to shoot the ball into the ring.
I'm never gonna get good at this sport. I thought to myself after the number of failed attempts.
"Hey bud"
My dad made his way out to the front yard with a cup of coffee in his hand.
"Doing some morning exercise?" he asked
"You can call it that"
I dribbled the ball once again and tried to shoot it hoping it would go through the ring this time
but again, it didn't
I hear my father's laugh before he rolled up his sleeves as he made his way to me
He slouched down as if he was guarding me. About to play some ball
"Try to shoot once while I guard you, and I'm going to get you anything you want"
My eyes widened at that, now determined.
I tried my very best to focus as I dribbled the ball, moved past my dad even with him blocking me, and shoot
Not only did it not go through the ring but it also went to my neighbor's yard.
I panicked as I ran trying to stop it before it bothers them until it stopped on someone's foot.
I slouched down to reach for the ball and when I raised my head, our eyes met.
She had fair skin, black curly hair that reached her waist, and had these innocent eyes.
It looked so innocent and pure.
"Hey. Sorry about the ball, I can be a little clumsy" I laughed awkwardly
I expected her to talk or to smile at least but she did none of that
Her mom apologized and the thing that caught my attention in her apology was a name.
Avery
I peaked to see her one more time. She hid behind her mom and her action was nothing but adorable.
I smiled at her adorableness.
With the ball now in my hand, I walked back to my dad waiting for me right where he was
"I see you made a new friend?"
"Yeah" I smiled. My dad ruffled my hair as he smiled back at me.
There are not that many kids in our neighborhood so making a new friend was a big thing to me.
I'm the only child, and though I love spending time with my parents, I do get a little lonely. It's always nice to have someone who's almost the same age as you.
Of course, I had friends from school, but they were never down for video games, a little sport, or even a walk in the park and such.
This is why I do all those either with my dad or by myself. That's of course until I met her.
"Wait for me!" I heard her soft voice as she ran
I stopped to wait for her and held her hand as we made our way to the garden
It was a beautiful garden. We'd go here to play, we sometimes climb up the tree. Or we just rest here as we read a book of our interest. It became our place.
It's been 2 years since I met her and she just gets more interesting day by day.
She talked about how she wanted to join the broadcasting club soon to improve as a person.
It was admiring, honestly.
Her will of always trying to become a better version of herself and trying new things to achieve that is so admiring.
Besides her pretty brown eyes, her beautiful curly hair, her precious smile, that's probably my favorite thing about her.
I halt from my thoughts as I felt a finger poke my cheek
I looked Avery's way and saw her sticking out her index finger
"You spaced out" she spoke
I laughed as I stood up
"Let's go to the playground!" I suggested excitedly
"Yay!" Avery jumped in joy as we ran to the playground not too far from the garden
We slide down the slides and rode the swings as we felt the airy wind hit our faces. Our contagious laughs were heard and hearing hers specifically just made my day better.
After a while, we had to go walk home since it was almost time for dinner.
"Do you have any plans tomorrow?" I asked
"I think I'll be going out to the toy store tomorrow! My mom promised me she'd buy me something"
I smiled at that
"How about you?"
"I'll be getting a haircut with my dad"
Saying that made me think
"Don't you want to get a haircut too?"
"Nope. I love my hair long" she said as she spins showing her beautiful curly hair
"My hair this way makes me feel like a princess" she laughs, proud at her words.
To my eyes, you are a princess
If your long curly hair is what it takes to make you feel like one then I wouldn't want it short anytime soon.
"Then don't ever have short hair. Your hair is better this way" I smiled back at her
She nodded at my words.
This is how it is for us. We'd go to this garden we so much love, play and joke around here and there. I never wanted things to change, it's perfect this way.
Having her by my side is my definition of perfect.
But of course, we don't always get everything we want.
"Good afternoon passengers. This is the pre-boarding announcement for flight 78B to Seattle. Please have your boarding pass and identification ready"
I held onto my dad as I guided him up from his seat, now making our way to the plane.
"Just hold on to me dad," I say assuring him
My dad has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis for almost a year now. It was okay at first, but his condition started getting worse.
It was hard for my parents to come up with a decision and after times and times of debating, they decided that moving to America is the best thing we can do at the moment.
That way we can be closer to our family there too.
I still had contact with Avery of course. We would talk now and then but with my dad's condition getting worse, I barely had any time.
I'd spend most of it with him. Making the most of things, I didn't want to regret anything.
I missed Avery, I did. Sometimes I think that It would be easier to tell her, instead of giving her the wrong idea.
however, even with that in mind, there's this feeling of wanting to go through this alone.
You see, Avery is like the spring. Peaceful and loving. She makes you feel just like how flowers bloom with the comforting feeling that comes with it. I'm afraid that if I told her, these flowers will no longer bloom.
-
I eventually got enrolled in a new school. It was very different from the one in Korea so it took me a while to get used to the atmosphere here.
I was having a snack one recess. Looking at the view outside and just minding my own business until a girl sat in front of me.
She had long hair that landed just at her waist. Her lips shimmering by the amount of lip gloss applied while her eyelashes curled enough for anyone to notice.
"You're the new kid right?" was the first thing she asked.
"Who else would I be"
"What's your name?"
I looked at her for a while. Finding it weird how she just suddenly found interest in me.
"Jay Park"
She scrunched her nose at that and looked away
"You have a problem with my name?" I chucked
"Of course not" she rolled her eyes
"I'll call you JJ"
"Suit yourself" I smiled at the sudden nickname as I continued to munch on my food
I noticed how she just kept staring at me with an annoyed expression
Then it hit me
"Of course, where are my manners" I laughed
"You're name is?"
She smiled at my question and reached out her hand for me to shake
"I thought you'd never ask, I'm Charlotte"
I shook her hand and well the rest was history
Charlotte is the first friend I made in school.
She's a bold and confident person. She can be rude and be a bit hard to deal with, but she's such a great friend.
Since she was my only friend at that time, she would come to my place to hang out.
Because of this, she eventually knew of my father's condition and she was the kindest about it.
She'd always ask how my dad was and would do anything to help me. When things get tough she's always there.
So besides her bitchy attitude and her nonstop talking about how she gets her nails done now and then, I do like spending time with her. She's a keeper.
-
After 2 years of living in Seattle, I developed an interest in dancing. I started practicing whenever I can. Sometimes my dad would ask me to dance for him since he enjoyed seeing me do so.
I was breathing heavily after dancing to a song I was practicing for a while now.
"So what do you think?" wiping my sweat as I asked my dad who was seated in front of me.
"You did very well" he smiled sweetly but his smile only pained me.
I slouched down to be at the same level as him and held both his hands, rubbing them with my thumb.
My dad has been having blurry vision and numbness all over his body. It was one of the symptoms of his condition.
After he's been feeling numb, he has been sitting a lot due to the possibility of losing balance once he walks.
The thought that he complimented me considering that he probably didn't see my performance that well made my heartache.
He's trying his best to support me
He might not even be feeling the warmth of my hands due to the numbness.
"You are a very talented kid son. I'm so proud of you"
I felt my eyes welling up at his words
You'll get stronger dad. Don't worry
I stood up and kissed him on the forehead
-
I was seated in my bed resting while I was using my phone.
I unknowingly ended up in my messages with Avery
"Hi, jay. I just received my order today. I think this is my favorite book so far. Reply if you're not busy!"
that was her last message to me.
I stared at my screen for a while and thought of all the fun times we had.
It was always so fun whenever I'm with her. There was never a dull moment. I wish she was here by my side but it's not how things work.
I miss her. If only I can go back to Korea.
But it would be so selfish of me if I did. To even think about it is so selfish. I can't leave my parents here. They need me, my father needs me
I was interrupted from my thoughts by a knock on the door.
"Hey buddy" my mom entered the room and seemed like she was hiding something behind her.
"Hey. How's dad?" I asked as she took a seat beside me.
"He's okay. He's resting right now"
I nodded at that.
"Also, he wanted to give this to you"
She reached out an envelope to me and as I received it I opened it up.
It was a plane ticket to Japan.
I was startled, not expecting it at all.
"What's this for?"
"Your dad asked me to look up a school that teaches dance lessons and the best one I found yet was one in Japan" she started
"You're dad doesn't want to stop you from doing what you love. I feel the same way too"
I stared at her for a moment.
How?
How can dad think of me even when he's in so much pain? How can he be so thoughtful to even in times like this?
I felt a tear run down my cheek
"I know you must be feeling a lot of pressure with what's going on, but remember that you're a child yourself and you need to explore the world." my mom wiped the tears running down my cheek
"Your dad wouldn't want to hold you back from doing something you love. which is why he wants you to do this" she was talking about the ticket to Japan.
"Dad is never a burden to me. He never was and never will be"
"I know. He just wants what's best for you"
I wiped my tears and took a deep breath. Maybe this is the right thing to do. I'm a 15-year-old kid, there's so much I want to do.
"Will dad be alright?"
"He'll be fine" she smiled sweetly at me.
I hugged her and nuzzled my head on her neck.
I wanted to enhance my dancing, and so I did. I studied in Japan for almost 2 years and that was when I met Ni-ki.
We became the closest of friends and were saddened when I had to leave for Korea.
But it was all worth it because even after moving to Seattle and Japan and meeting new people, nothing felt the same when I'm with her.
"I'm home" was the first thing I told her when I saw her reaching for a book in the school library I just enrolled in.
Her innocent eyes that I so much love made me feel at home.
I realized that home is wherever I'm with her.
-
Lots of love :)
- ims
honestly had mixed feelings writing jay's pov
anyway, enjoy!