Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 21st cycle. Now cycle 22!

ALPHABET 2.0 - So nearly a year ago (HA!) I had done a set of stories taking inspiration by words, three for each letter of the alphabet (started with Acapella, Audition Arts in mid-February and every other day to April). Well now I wanted to do something like that, but using the alphabet another way. Instead of random words, I made sentences, all with those same letters (you'll see). There'll be 13 here in cycle 22, and the other half in cycle 24!
TODAY: (2 of 26) B is for...

"Brittany Brings a Bird"
Brittany (+ Santana, Emma)

She was walking to school that morning, not thinking of a whole lot. It was just a day, nothing to distract her, not even the weather. She was just walking and then… something fell out of a tree, just ahead of her. She startled, came to a stop, but after the surprise had worn off, curiosity took its place.

She moved up to the place where the thing fell and she looked into the grass… She gasped, covered her mouth.

It was a bird, small one… not a baby, but still frail-looking. Brittany crouched to take a closer look and she saw it was still alive. "Hey…" she hushed, reaching to touch it but then thinking better. She put her bag down and took off her Cheerios hoodie. Using the sleeve to gently scoop up the bird, she deposited it in the softness of the jacket, creating a sort of bed for it. She wasn't sure what to do about it just yet, so she got her bag and continued on toward school. She kept the bird and the jacket snug and safe as she went. When she arrived, she had some decisions to make.

She got to her locker, opened it and made space before placing the 'bed' on the now empty shelf. She looked in to the bird, definitely alive but wounded. If she could just get through the day, then she could get the little thing to a doctor and then they could fix him-or-her. She couldn't just go now… "I'll come check on you in a bit, I…"

"Brittany!" she heard Santana's voice and quickly shut her locker door. "Coming?"

"Hi," was all she could think to say at first.

"Hi," Santana obliged, then, "Coming?" Brittany nodded, as… "I hear… Do you hear chirping?" Santana looked around, baffled.

"Y-No…" Brittany shook her head, decisive. Santana looked back at her, frowning.

"No, I definitely…" she started, so Brittany took her arm and pulled away from the locker… She could have told her, but part of her felt she shouldn't.

"We're going to be late for practice," she pointed out, knowing it'd make her forget.

"Where's your jacket?" Santana noticed.

"I lost it," Brittany shrugged.

They joined practice just as the coach was leading everyone out to the field, outdoor practice. Brittany felt a bit of a chill as they got outside. It wasn't too cold, but without a jacket… Goosebumps crept all over.

"Are you okay?" Santana asked, seeing her try to warm up. "I'll give you mine," she went to unzip her jacket, but Brittany stopped her, insisted.

"We'll run soon. I'll just run faster," she pointed out.

When Coach Sylvester gave the call, Brittany was off like a rocket, sprinting around the field like she was chasing the warmth she didn't have. Even as practice continued, she was unstoppable, wouldn't stop moving, like she would turn to ice if she did.

They went back inside and, after a beat, she remembered her locker tenant. She got away and went to check on him/her. She could hear it chirping as she got nearer. At least there were holes for it to breathe. The hall was clear enough, so she opened the door. "You have to be quiet or they'll hear you," she whispered, carefully trying to examine it. "I'll be back, just… quiet, okay?" she reminded before shutting the door and heading off. She'd carry this on until lunchtime.

She thought it might be hungry, but… what could she feed it? She remembered, when she was little, her grandfather would take her out to the park with bits of bread… Maybe that would do it, and water…

She'd bought a sandwich and she was eating the garnishes inside, to leave only the bread, when she came to her locker and found… the principal, the janitor, and a few curious onlookers, all standing near her locker. The janitor was on the verge of putting the cutters to her lock, but then Figgins saw her. Before she could back away, he was signalling her to step forward. Maybe he meant someone else; maybe she…

"Miss Pierce?" he called, and now she had to stop and go to him. She bowed her head, not meeting his eye. "Please open your locker?"

"Why?" she asked slowly.

"There appears to be a bird inside," he spoke, the chirps being heard in the background. She hesitated to move, but he wasn't leaving her much choice. So she handed him the water and the bread and opened the door. She didn't want them touching and hurting it, so she carefully picked up the jacket and the bird inside, cradling them in her arms as she turned to face the principal and the others.

Five minutes later, she was sitting in Miss Pillsbury's office, still with her arms loaded; she refused to let anyone take it away. The guidance counsellor had just seen her coming and she had excused herself, disappearing off to the bathroom with her disinfectant kit. Even as she returned, she took great effort to keep her distance from Brittany and the bird.

"Right, Brittany," Emma sat, not bothering to pull the chair closer to her desk. "This is… uh… You know keeping that bird in your locker was wrong, right?"

"It fell out of the tree. It was hurt," she started, looking down at the bird, still chirping. "I wanted to get it to a doctor, but I had to come to class. It's better than it was before already," she insisted, smiling. Despite her better judgment, Emma had gotten up, inching just close enough so to see. Brittany looked up at her with those baby blues and Emma sighed.

"Okay, how about I… I could drive you there now," she finally managed. That got her a smile. "But you understand that after this, if it gets better, you have to let it go."

"I know," she nodded.

"Okay, come on."

Brittany and the bird had to sit in the back, passenger side… as far away as possible… She'd have to go to the carwash later… After a short wait, the bird was seen by the veterinarian. Sitting there with him, she knew she'd done the right thing, whether they believed her or not. The poor little thing had no one to look after it. It would have died, right there on the grass. But it so happened that she was walking by, at the same time… That had to mean something.

In the end, she had to sit with Emma for a number of sessions, and she also had to bring a letter home to her mother, which she didn't particularly look forward to... But it was worth it, because she – as the doctor informed Brittany – got better.

As she'd promised Emma, she had let her go. Once she was good and healed, Brittany had been right there to see her back off into the world. Before opening out the cage she had looked into it, at the no-longer frail bird, and she whispered to her that she was welcome, if she needed bread or water, or another rest in her Cheerios hoodie… She'd always be there to care for her…

THE END

A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.
In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are
always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!