1. Digimail
My soccer team dispersed after it was announced that we had won the game. I let out a largely held breath and wiped the sweat off my brow, walking to the benches near the edge of the field to pick up my messenger bag. I tucked away my water bottle and pulled the strap over my head only to suddenly hear my name called out from a distance.
"Ari!"
I looked over my shoulder to see a boy jogging up to me. He had dark brown hair and a wide smile across his face—our team victory seemed to make him happier than it did me.
"Hey, where are you going?" he asked once he was close enough. I looked behind him to see a few of his friends waiting. I didn't know any of them.
"Home," I said. The boy's face fell slightly. I tried hard to recall his name—he was after all not my friend, but my brother's. Was it Ryan? Rowan?
"I thought maybe you'd come with us to the arcade nearby. We're going to get pizza and celebrate our win. We're off to the grand finals now!" he cheered. I looked away awkwardly.
"I'll go back and tell my brother that then. He's the one on your team, not me. I only played as a substitute because he had a dental appointment." An appointment, might I add, that he had only remembered at the very last moment when Mom came back early from work to pick him up. He didn't have enough time to find a friend to play for him in his game today, so he begged me too. It was a lot of hassle on my part—I planned to stay in today to do a bit of study.
The boy gave me a sad smile. "Well, that'd be cool. The invitation's still there though if you want to come. Otherwise, I'll see you at school."
I frowned. School? Did we go to the same middle school?
"Russell!" a friend of his called. He looked back and laughed.
"Coming!" He gave me once last look up. I grabbed hold of my bag's strand and gave him a small smile.
"See you at school, Russell."
In less than ten minutes, the soccer field had been cleared out.
When I got home, I saw Kane, my older brother, playing video games in his room. I knocked on his door, but the blast of his TV made it unheard, so I entered anyway, stepping over the piles of dirty laundry on the floor. It was only when I collapsed on his bed did Kane realize that I was home. He paused his game.
"Hey," he said. I slid my bag over my head and dumped it onto the floor.
"Hey."
"How was the game?"
"We won."
"Awesome. Did you kick a goal?"
"No."
"Stole the ball?"
"No."
"Get a penalty?"
I sat up from the bed. "I didn't know that you couldn't deflect the ball with your hands!"
Kane laughed. "Didn't Sam tell you the rules beforehand?"
I averted my eyes.
"Who's ... that again?"
Kane put down his controller. "Did you talk to anybody, Ari?"
"I did! I talked to Russell ... for a bit."
Kane sighed. He turned off his game console. "Thanks, then. The guys would have killed me if no one had shown up for me. In return, as promised, I owe you that hat you wanted from down the road."
I jumped up in excitement. "Good! Because I've been eyeing that hat for a while now!" Something Kane said made me remember about Russell's invitation. "Oh, and I should probably mention this as well: the team's celebrating at the local arcade and said you could join them if you want."
Kane's easy face disappeared. His mouth fell, and he started moving about wordlessly.
"Why didn't you say so earlier?" he finally said, running to a full-length mirror to check out his teeth. Then he flattened his messy hair and pushed pass me to run out of his room and down the stairs. I followed him in just as much haste.
"Hey!" I called after him as he speedily pulled on his shoes near the front door. "What about my hat?"
Kane jumped up and grabbed his coat. "Sorry, sis. I'll grab that on the way back!"
He was out the door in a flat second. Mom came out from the kitchen with cake mixture all over her. She was so hopeless at baking, but often insisted that the only way to improve was to keep trying. She looked from the door to me, then back to the door.
"What's the rush?" she asked. I rolled my eyes and began climbing the stairs.
"Kane went back on his deal, as always."
"Oh well," Mom said. Then she called: "Ari! There was an envelope for you that came today. Careful when you pick it up, it was bit bulky. I put it on your bed."
I didn't really know what Mom was talking about. I wasn't expecting any mail. I grabbed my bag then went to my room where I saw the yellow envelope as Mom had described on my bed. I closed my room door, the posters I had of my favorite bands shimmering as it shut, and I sat on my bed to grab the mail. It was bulky, as Mom had said, which I found a bit weird. It didn't have a stamp or postmark, so it was most likely hand-delivered, I thought.
I fell back into my pillows, my loose braid finally coming apart. I tore open the letter. With surprise, a small white object fell dead smack onto my face, and with a jolt, I sat upright.
"Ow," I groaned as I rubbed my nose. The object from the envelope had fallen onto my lap, and just from looking at it there, I knew that it must have been something foreign. It looked very technical.
Maybe the object was actually meant for Kane, I thought. He was always buying new games and such. Without further inspection (it was turned off, and no matter what button I pressed, the front screen just wouldn't turn on), I threw it back into the envelope and decided to show it to Kane when he got back. I fished in my bag for a book about Mathematics and got to study.
