When you look up, one question can't help but linger in the back of your mind;  has the sun ever been here to begin with?’

It was the second month into autumn and Maude had already begun questioning whether the soon-to-be-distant memories of basking in the rays of midnight sun, was truly memories, or just figments of her imagination. It was as if the sun had been eaten right out of the sky and left bereft of its usual colour, instead casting the world in grey hues. But that’s just how fall goes.

At the very least the people playing in their brightly colored neon outfits can brighten the otherwise grey-tinted world. Maude is one of the neon decorated people, but unlike the rest of them, she isn't out playing the football match. She, on the other hand, has been sitting dejectedly in the grass for what must be an hour by now, which has left her stiff and aching as if her very blood had been frozen by fate of the cold damp ground. But she would choose ruining the small patch of green any day over the perhaps slightly warmer bench, that has long since become the rotten home for a thousand bugs with a thousand legs. Maude wouldn't say she detested bugs in any way, just those with too many legs, after all she's been sharing the spot with a family of earthworms, and mercilly saving them from their otherwise early death by spiked boots. 

Maybe she should just choose a life as an earthworm, they're probably also too quiet to play football if she asked the coach, nevermind them not having any legs. Really she would be great as an earthworm, though she’s  not too keen on having to reemerge from the cozy earth at the first sign of rain, and especially not to become a buffet for the birds. 

Finally, when she was planning the suns funeral, which would have been a beautiful ceremony, it peeks over the horizon in the form of a boy with too much anger to be contained in his small body. By the look of it, she should have been preparing her own funeral, as it seems she is about to meet the same fate as all the victims of the earthworm genocide just being committed by the boys ferocious stomping.

You would usually receive a polite greeting - ‘ Hello! How are you?’ - but that’s too much to expect from him, instead the first thing leaving the boys mouth as he he scoures down is: “you look ridiculous”

Which, in hindsight, was a fair assessment, as Maude was sitting cross legged with rain-puffed hair, bedewed sports glasses (more like goggles) leaving her eyes invisible, and of course a lap full of earthworms, as though she was the all-mother of earthworms. However, in that moment she didn't appreciate the accurate assessment, and therefore sending the boy a scathing glare, afterall it wouldn't be a great practice if the all-mother greeted the murderer of her children with anything but hatred.

In the end, she had long since begun viewing the boy, who’s name she later found out as Viktor, as a friend.

She befriended him, coincidentally, on another rainy day where they both had begun a streak of being benched, and after one too many matches spent watching in awkward silence, they began chatting, or more like Viktor was doing all the chatting. 

And now that they had broken the wall of awkwardness, it was like breaking down a dam, with Viktor conversing non-stop..

He had already begun the lament of his many woes before even having plopped down beside her.

“It's so stupid. Coach should have continued to let me play, I had the other team by the balls, he's just too stupid to realize. His head must be filled with hot air! If he had any sense you would be out in the field too, but coach is just never satisfied.” 

Maude pushed out a raspy sigh and sagely nodded to show her agreement, which only fed into his rant.

“Right!? What is he thinking by benching me? Without me we wouldn't even have our goal. It's ridiculous, coach has no reason to act like this!”

Even if Maude tried, she couldn't help herself from scoffing, which always ended up like she was choking, but it definitely got the point across if Viktors indignant look was anything to go by. She taps her forehead, then moving front facing fists in a big circle until they hit each other, now back facing. Brutely signing,

“Remember team play.”

Unfortunately, her wisdom did nothing but get a rise out of him. Though, on the bright side, it seemed that he understood the meaning, unlike their early friendship struggle to communicate. Before Viktor could even open his mouth in defense, his face burst into flames, becoming red as the twilight sun. Was it from embarrassment or anger? - it was impossible to tell, because with Viktor it was usually one and the same.

“ Of course I remembered teamplay! How could I forget? It's all coach ever goes on about. I even ended up playing to Hans goddammit, and we all know he has no ball control. Worst of all, when he isn't tripping over the ball, he’s  tripping over his own feet.”

Despite her having to reluctantly agree with Han’s unfortunate lack of talent, she would not have any part in slandering him. When communicating with Viktor, she always had to be mindful to use the few ASL signs he knew, though oftentimes having to fallback on the made-up signs they had settled on through their ongoing friendship. She hit him lightly, catching  his attention and hopefully making it clear she was upset with him. She motioned as if she was chopping off her head, before holding up her hand as a shade, using their signs to express:

“cut out…shade….”

she exaggeratedly mouths ‘Hans’ , but the sound escaping her was still no different from her usual horse choking noises:

“...Hans…”

Moving to ASL, she spins her, slightly curved and downward facing, hands toward each other:

“..kind..”

Viktor skillfully manages to roll his eyes with his whole body, snarkily replying; 

“I never said he isn't kind, but he can’t dribble to save his life. Stop always overreacting. It's tiring.”

Maude could not sign fast enough to express the storm that was raging in her head, so she didn't even try. Instead, she just stood up on her still aching legs, and shakely walked away unable to face him any longer.