Page 69 of On Merit Alone

First, I cut the music. The sharp change in sound got a significant amount of children’s attention immediately, but I knew it wasn’t going to get all of them to pay attention. That was okay. I had an exceptionally hyperactive niece. I knew what to do in these situations.

Distract, distract, distract.

Raising one arm high in the air, I found the first kid in my line of vision who would actually look at me and gestured for him to do it too. Cautiously, he looked around himself. But slowly, with my quiet encouragement, he eventually did it.

Again, some more perceptive kids followed his movements while others continued to chatter away.

Beside me, I gave an elbow to Rogers and McKivvey to follow suit, the other players instantly doing the same in front of me.

When they did, I found my helper again and gave him a meaningful nod. Encouraging him to follow my lead.

Just like I’d hoped, he mimicked my movements once again and started quietly gaining the attention of those around him, getting them to do as he did.

The kids beside him slowly started to get the idea as well as pass along the message to the next kid and the next and the next.

It was like a ripple effect, each kid following the actions of the last, and on and on until we had a much quieter and slightly less fidgety bunch of children.

I smiled, partly because of the little faces in front of me and partly because I heard Kivvey cough “Kid whisperer” into his hand beside me.

“Hey y’all,” I said, loud enough I hoped everyone could hear me, even the dark haired beauty in the back who was watching me with her hand obediently up and her attention squarely on me.

Running my eyes over the group, I made sure to lower my hand as I said.

“Do any of you happen to know the game, Simon Says?”

Immediately the group burst out into shouts and chants of:

“ Me! ”

And. “ I do, I do! ”

And. “ Everybody knows Simon Says! ”

Beside me the adults snickered at the sheer force in which these kids wanted their answers to be heard.

I wanted to smile too, but I held it. Instead, I shot my hand up again, this time putting my finger in front of my mouth in the universal sign of shushing. I didn’t even have to make the sound. The kids did it for me, all shushing each other until the group fell quiet once again.

“So everybody knows Simon says huh?” When I got an eye full of nodding heads I nodded too. “Good. Because I want to play a little game with you guys. My name’s Ira, so today we’re going to play Ira Says .”

This got the normal giggles and tiny scoffs of outrage that I guessed it would.

It even got me the treat of a smirk from the girl in the back before her attention was pulled away again by the curious woman and a little girl tugging on her shirt.

I didn't have time to speculate what was going on back there.

I needed to explain the game before I lost the attention I had carefully worked for.

Quick as I could I explained the rules of Simon Says to the kids, even though they insisted they already knew them.

“Okay, to play this game we’re all going to be using our imaginary basketballs.

So everybody, spread your arms and legs apart at your sides—yep.

That’s how far away from each other you should be.

Now, hold your imaginary ball—dribble it—spin it on your nose.

Ha, alright, you got it—woah don’t get dizzy there.

Yep there we go.” I said, working with their energy as I directed them into position.

It was funny how easy they were to wow. Happy little faces stared up at me, waiting on a string for my next instruction and my heart felt full already.

I couldn’t help the next breath I took, happy and loose and right . “Alright. How about a practice round then?”

“Can she join your group?” a voice asked from behind my shoulder.

It was Merit, I already knew before I even fully turned toward her.

But as for her friend, the little girl she carried on her hip with dusty brown curls and milky brown skin, I had no idea who she was.

Just that she was holding onto Mer’s neck with her face smashed against her shoulder, looking miserably as they approached.

I felt myself frown as I watched my group run over the hill to get to the water station.

We had just finished warming up after finally pairing into groups.

I had underestimated the skill level of these kids’ Simon Says ability.

But finally, each new group of kids that fell off had been paired off with two players at a station.

And since I was the prized clown, hopping around and trying to trick kids into not following directions, my group was the last to be broken off.

That was okay, though. That just meant my group were winners.

Merit, who at the time had narrowed her eyes at me as she suspected I was thinking that very thing, was my coaching pair; but she had quickly run off again saying she had to talk to someone before she could join me.

Now, back from yet another conversation with the curious woman near the bus that I could see had the letters FWRG on the side, she was speaking to me in that voice.

The one she used when she was overthinking something. When something was wrong.

“Did something happen?” I asked. I tried to look at the little girl but she just turned her face into Merit’s body again.

“No, no,” she said as she ran a calming hand down the girl’s back.

The motion was soothing yet noticeably familiar.

I didn’t comment on it, just waited for her eyes as she reluctantly pulled them away from the girl’s face and looked up to me with a mixture of worry and hope.

“She just didn’t know how to play Simon Says and she’s shy, so she ran off. I was thinking that with you…”

Trailing off, she let her puppyish expression do the rest of the talking, and hell if my heart didn’t jump with her coming to me for help.

Reaching for her, I smoothed a gentle thumb across her cheek as I said a soothing, “Alright. I got her.”

And then I went for the kid.

Taking a quick step around Merit’s shoulder, I caught the surprised brown eyes of the little girl who had taken to hiding in Mer’s arms. She looked older than Liv by almost two years, if not more, so I didn’t even bother playing any games with her.

Just finding her small face and tilting my head slightly in an angle that matched her own.

When she met my eyes, I crossed them and hollowed my cheeks in a funny face that I hoped resembled a fish and not a dead person.

Judging by her sweet little giggle, it worked. Seeing it brought a smile to my own face too.

“Hi there,” I said. “What’s your name?”

Immediately her face fell. And she turned it into Merit again, effectively giving me the back of her head. I lifted my eyes for only a second to see Merit’s apologetic gaze before my attention was back on my charge.

“Okay. Well my name is Ira. And since you must not have a name, I think I’ll call you…” I took a second to survey the girl. Lo ng gangly limbs, dark features, and the cutest little pigtail puffs protruding from both sides of her head. I smiled. “I think I’ll call you Puff Balls.”

The girl shot up bolt straight, her hands still around the back of Merit’s neck, but her back rigid now as she gave me a perplexed look.

“What?” she asked, outraged.

I blinked at her innocently. “What?”

“My name isn’t Puff Balls!” she said.

I frowned, purposely confused. “It’s not? But I thought?—”

“No!” she giggled. “That’s not even a real name.”

I snapped my head back, playing even more confused. “But you said that was your name. That’s why you turned your head and showed me your puff balls when I asked you right?”

“No!” she continued to giggle, insisting “That’s not real.”

Inserting herself soft but stern, Merit murmured, “Then what’s your name, Ty? Tell him.”

I flickered a short look at Merit again, because she obviously already knew the girl’s name, but she was too busy giving her some kind of look I couldn’t decipher to see my questioning gaze.

Ty or maybe something else, looked at me, her gaze searching and wary before ducking her chin and murmuring. “I'm Tyla.”

Back in character, I dipped my ear dramatically close to her and cupped it as I said. “What? I can’t hear you when you whisper Puff Balls.”

“Tyla!” she said more enthusiastically this time. “Not Puff Balls.”

“Ah,” I nodded as I stood up straight. “Do you play basketball, Tyla?”

“Yes.”

“Are you good?”

“Yes. ”

Merit and I both buried smiles at her candor, and I said. “No, I mean are you really good?”

The little girl’s head bobbed. “Yes.”

“Do you like playing basketball?”

“Yes.”

“Then why are you hiding right now?” I asked.

Giving Merit a weighted glance I think she didn’t even understand, the little girl wriggled down to the ground before coming up to my side and tugging my arm. I took a knee beside her and let her whisper into my ear.

Her words were like an instant kick to my heart.

Setting backward, I took a look at the girl in front of me and then the woman above me. And I was out of my depth. This is what she had trusted me with? How ? How could she have trusted me with something like this?

All at once, the confidence I had built up over successfully directing the other kids slipped away. I felt wholly unprepared to face the delicacy of this situation. I felt inadequate to do this little life, who was waiting patiently for my response, justice.

But then I recognized the anger in the little girl’s gaze.

Yes, she was upset by what she just told me, but there was also something defiant and indignant and just plain angry in her eyes that shouldn’t have had to be there, but was there, nonetheless.

And I think I understood something before I even had all the details yet.