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jynsongxvii-blog · 7 years

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Blondie, Tim & the Flower Girl

A/N: This is challenge #2.5? So I put in my practice challenge this time since I had no time to write the story out...still have no time (GUYS, I’M GONNA DIE. I NEED TO FIGURE OUT COLLEGE THIS WEEK ASDFGYHJK) but anyway, I did manage to write this out (not much editing...so forgive any weird grammar if there is some). If I have time later in the week I’ll write&post the actual story, but idk. I liked Jyn with kids tho. Maybe you will as well.

“There once lived a normal--”

The oldest kid in the room scoffed with an eye roll before I could say anything else.

“Timothy...” One of the nurses scolded him with a stern look.

“What? All stories start with ‘there once was...’ or ‘once upon a time...’ Something different would be nice.” It was clear his attitude wasn’t uncommon by the nurse's sigh. The boy was twelve at most and didn’t look sick; not that all the kids looked sick, but he was the only other kid wearing regular clothes besides a five-year-old sitting next to him.

I stopped the nurse before she could say anything else, addressing the boy, “How would you have the story start then?”

Timothy seemed surprised by my question but soon returned to his uninterested look, crossing his arms and staring away. “I don’t know, you’re the one telling the story. You figure it out.”

I smiled faintly at the way he tried to give me a side-glare. “Alright then, let’s see…” It’s technically not a fictional story, so I can start somewhere else.

The nurse nodded at me in a silent sign of permission when I hoisted up a blonde girl in my arms. I hoped that would make me relax a little as I walked around the room. Some would think carrying a kid around would make you more nervous, but in my case it made me think of being back home. After all, when I held singing classes for kids in my house, a couple of neighbors left their youngest with me so I could babysit. Sure, that only happened when my dad was going to be around the house, but either way, I usually had a kid in my arms during those classes.

Maybe I could pretend I was in a class. They're just children, Jyn. You can handle children. The blonde girl I’d decided to carry was soon fascinated with my purple tips and had her fingers around them.

“It’s purple!” She exclaimed and I chuckled at the amazement in her eyes.

“Yeah, do you like it?”

She nodded enthusiastically while another girl asked, “Why is it purple?”

I looked down, finding a girl with a bandana covering her head. I had to remind myself not to let my smile falter. She was as strong as children came. She didn’t deserve my pity; she deserved my respect, so I knelt in front of her, offering the same welcoming smile. “That’s because I dye it purple. You can make hair any color you want with hair dye.”

She tilted her head at the idea, “My hair isn’t flat like yours.”

I imagined the corkscrew locks that probably graced her warm skin before therapy began. Her brown skin more alive back then maybe. Joy. That’s what they need to see more often, Jyn. That’s what you’re here for. Bring some hope and joy. I kept the friendly smile on my face before saying: “That doesn’t matter. I bet purple tips will look amazing on you as well.” Then staring at her bandana, “I love the flowers though. They look lovely on you.”

I asked for Blondie’s opinion too, not able to imagine how hard it might be to be told you’ll have to get rid of your hair at such a young age. I never dared to cut it when I was young and still I’d barely ever cut it when I grew up. I wanted her to know she looked beautiful like that too. Not only to make her feel better but because it was the truth. She rocked that bandana. “Don’t you think they look pretty?”

Blondie finally looked away from my hair and focused on the bandana, quickly nodding with the same enthusiasm she’d had before, “They look like the flowers my daddy brings!” I was glad Blondie carried so much excitement for everything.

The second girl brought a hand to her bandana as if remembering it had flowers on it just then, a smile soon revealing dimples. “Thanks! My mom gave it to me a while back.”

“Well, she has a great taste! You should ask her where she got it. I might want one for myself.”

She blinked. “You would?”

“Of course! Bandanas are great accessories, but it’s not every day you find one as pretty as yours. I doubt it’ll look that good on me though.” I pretended to whisper at the boy sitting next to her but made sure all the kids could hear me. “I have a big head.”

The boy giggled with some of the other kids while others just smiled. Timothy...well, he raised an eyebrow at me, so I called it progress.

I faked a gasp, “Are you laughing at me?”

Some giggled again, Flower Girl and Blondie included. I could even see the nurse smiling at my dramatics too. The boy I’d whispered to adjusted his glasses and pointed out my head wasn’t that big, I ruffled his hair with a “don’t lie to your elders!”

That time I even got Timothy to roll his eyes with slight amusement. Why do boys roll their eyes at me so much?

I stood up again. “Okay, I’ve taken away enough of your time, let’s get to the story telling.”

“Take all the time!” Blondie said as she placed her arms around my neck. I laughed a bit, shifting her weight in my arms.

“So let’s begin again.This is actually the story of a friend of mine. His name is…" I'd originally planned to say his name was Jack for the sake of keeping Jason's life secret--even though in our phone call he'd said it was fine if I used his name--but as I eyed Timothy, walking around the room, I changed my mind and said, "Timothy. He was a normal boy like all of you...”

The kid next to him, whom I was starting to believe was his little brother, tugged at his sleeve saying, “Like you!”

Tim narrowed his eyes at me like he could make me disappear with just a glare. I smiled in victory before going on.

I was never good with stories. That was the truth. I loved kids, so the thought of coming here with them was comforting. People always said I was good with them, and to an extent, I agreed I wasn’t too bad...but writing a story for children was something else entirely. I was good with talking, attempting dumb jokes, playing, even teaching, but when it came to stories I was blank. The only stories I ever told the kids I babysat were stories about the crazy stuff I did with friends.

When Jason tried to teach me how to drive, when Johnny got attacked by a bunny and almost broke his leg, that time I messed things up in the washing machine and both my dad and Jason had to wear orange for over a month, how we met Clem when Johnny pretended to work at the beauty parlor I worked in and almost burned her hair with a curling iron… but that was just me fooling around, retelling something I lived. Those were the stories I could tell.

So that’s what I would tell them. Maybe not something funny, but something I had lived. Something I had gone through with a friend.

And so I told them about the time Jason's sister got seriously ill.

The story of the boy that held onto hope even when everyone else lost it. The story of the boy that taught me how to hope.

#selectionoc #selectionocnet #jyn #my fic #challenges #kinda #challenge 3 #1301 words

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