Sara carefully ran her finger along with the edge of the knife, it was slightly dull but otherwise in good condition. She balanced it in her fingers, the center of gravity was perfect. Caressing the ivory handle, she passed the hunting knife to it's proper owner.
"You could get about hm...three to four hundred for this," She told the man. He had came into the sporting goods store with a family heirloom. And Sara's position was knife specialist so it was her job to look it over. Knives started out as just a hobby but now it was her profession.
"Thanks, I don't know a lot about weapons," he admitted. Sara was about to reply when she was cut off by the intercom.
"Sara Hunter, would you please report to the front desk, you have a phone call," it crackled. Slipping away from the costumer, Sara knew exactly what it was. Calls where often and seemed to always happen when she was at work. She even had two last week. The the real question in her head was who.
"It's the school," Janet said just out of habit. With an annoyed sigh Sara put her ear to the receiver.
"Hello?"
"Is this Miss Hunter?" A female voice asked from the other side.
"In the flesh,"
"I'm calling to inform you of a fight betw-"
"Let me guess, It was Mick," Sara interrupted sarcastically.
"No Mick was not involved," the voice corrected. That was odd, who else could it be? Possibly Zari, but fist fights weren't her style.
"If you would give me a chance to speak,I would tell you that Ray is the one with a three day suspension this time," the voice continued obviously peeved at Sara.
"Are you sure?" Asked a very confused Sara. Ray wasn't a fighter, he barely even tries to stand up for himself. Her little man was always the first to roll over and show his belly.
"Yes, I'm absolutely sure that Ray Hunter punched Max Hill,"
Max was a little brat. He had been picking on Ray and Nate for years. But nothing violent ever came out of it.
"Okay, I'll be over in a few," said Sara as she hung up. Turning to Janet, she saw that she was already punched out.
"Thanks Jan, I'll see you tomorrow," Sara waved as she walked to her car. Janet only noded before getting back to work.
When Sara walked into the familiar school office the first thing she noticed were the two boys sitting on a bench outside the principal's. Ray held a tissue to his bloody nose, and looked at his shoes with shame. Beside him that little punk lounged smugly in his chair, only the purplish bruise on his cheek ruined his bravo. Seeing her, Max gave Ray a sharp elbow and muttered something. As Ray looked up Sara spotted a large ugly bruise on his left eye.
"Sorry..." He mumbled quietly, his eyes starting to tear up. Sara went to go talk to him but, she was pulled away by Principal Kimball. He ushered her into his office and sat in a swivel chair.
"What happened?" Sara asked taking a seat. This wasent her first time in this office and it certainly won't be her last. She was on a first name basis with the police officer assigned to the school, mostly explaining to him why her 'son' started a brush fire.
"At recess Ray and Max were having some sort of conversation. We still don't know what they were talking about, they refuse to tell us. The conversation escalated until Ray flat out punched Max. Max punched back, until it was broken up," Kimball explained with wide hand motions.
"So Ray threw the first punch?" Sara asked in disbelief. Ray had never been violent before, this wasn't his first time being bullied either. He always just took the insults and the punches.
"Yes, most of the playground saw it,"
Sara let out a tired sigh and rubbed her eyes. She whished Rip would come back, he always knew what to do.
"He's going to be suspended isn't he?"
"I'm sorry, but rules are rules," he shrugged. She stood and headed for the door. There was nothing left to discuss.
"Just between you and me, Ray is a good kid. And I don't think he was unprovoked, he just won't tell us why," He said sincerly.
"Thank you," She replied solfly walking back into the main office. Ray hadn't moved but, Max's mom was there. She lightly toughed the bruise on her son's cheek, then shot Sara a venomous look. Taking her son's hand, she stormed away.
"People like that are not fit for children, you hear me?" She whispered to Max as she walked past Sara. Mrs Hill, was one of the parents that disapproved of Sara's odd family. She believed that the kids were better suited in the foster system(or jail). Sara just ignored her like she always did.
"Hey buddy, are you ready to head home," she said to get Ray's attention. He looked up with puffy eyes and hooded.
"Okay..." He replied quietly. His nose had stopped bleeding but dried blood covered his face. Sara had no idea how to handle this! Should she press harder or let it go, should she ground him or give him a pat on the back? I guess she would just have to take it one step at a time.
The car ride was a quiet one, Ray sat in the front seat starring at passing trees. Sara could see his frowning face in the reflection. He just looked so, upset that it broke Sara's heart.
"Do you wanna talk about it?" She asked uncomfortably. He looked at her for a second then turned back to the window.
"No," Replied his voice back to his normal volume but, still missing his joyfully tone. Letting it go, Sara turned her attention back to the road. Isn't that what kids want, space? She pulled into the driveway and parked the car. 12:16 PM, so she had a few hours before the others would be home.
Sara grabbed a towel and ran it under warm water, once the soggy towel was soft to the touch and pleasantly warm she handed to the bloody boy. Carefully he scrubbed of the red scabs and dirt. Accidentally he touched his left eye causing him to flinch. It was now a blueish purple, and starting to swell close.
"Here, I'll get some ice, baby," Sara offered, rummaging through the freezer. But there was no icepacks to be found, not even frozen peas. She had cold pizza, orange creamcycle icecream, and a bag of frozen raw chicken. Without any better options she handed him the chicken. A small giggle escaped Ray's lips as he put the odd bag to his eye.
Suddenly Sara reilised her mistake, she had been trying to handle this like a Mom. But to Ray she wasent his Mother. She was a good friend, always some one he could trust, or some one to play dinosaurs with, they had lived together since Rip was here. She wasn't his mom, she was his big sister.
Sitting at the table Ray fidgeted with the chicken, it certainly was helping but a bit awkward to hold. Sara sat next to him and placed something heavy on the table. Looking up, he saw the tub of orange icecream. Sara smiled at Ray and passed a spoon.
"Promise not to tell?" She winked. He replied with enthuastic nods, digging his spoon straight into the tub. Laughing Sara joined him. They ate for a while in happy silence until Sara spoke up,
"So, what did Max say?"
"It was nothing," Ray defended. His eyes drooping to the floor.
"Ray, I know you wouldn't have hit him without a good reason," Sara probed. For a cupple moments he looked down at the grownd nervously. As if he wanted to say something but couldn't find the words. Suddenly he burst into tears.
"He wouldn't stop. He just kept on saying mean things about you and the others! He called our family trash and disfunctional. Then he claimed that we were byproducts of a ruined system. I just wanted him to stop, I don't know what came over me," He sobbed, salty tears running down his cheeks.
His sobbing mellowed out as he felt Sara's comforting arms around him. She held him close and started to rock him back and fourth.
"Honey, it's okay. Shhh, Shhh. It's hard for people understand what we have. And people hate what they can't understand, it's has always been this way and always will be. But that doesn't make them right. Sometimes people are cruel, but you don't have to be. Just take all their hatered and bounce back forgiveness. That's how you change minds and open hearts, sweetie,"
Ray wiped his eyes and looked up. His expression looked lighter like a weight was lifted off this back.
"I think I understand," he said quietly. Sara ran her fingers through his black hair and smiled,
"Well, that's all anyone could ask for. Now let's finish off this icecream,"
thank you for reading my second story, if you have any suggestions on how to improve, or just an idea for a story in this arc, leave it in a review! :D