Yellow Wood

[Aster]

The Matsui family had a pretty good policy when it came to skipping school: her mother allowed it, as long as they spent the day working at the diner. While her older siblings had used this opportunity to blow off as many classes as possible, Frankie tried to be more strategic with it. She’d pick a day she knew wouldn’t generate a pile of make up work, and when she knew the diner was having a slow business day. Sure, it wasn’t a good thing in the long run, but on those days her mother let her take generous breaks, and even let her go into town.

Which was why Frankie was in Patterson Park on a Tuesday morning, instead of sitting at her desk in history class.

Frankie shivered, shoving her hands deeper into her black parka. The morning chill was still in full effect at ten o’clock in the morning. Leaves crunched under her sneakers as she came to a worn bench, where she took a seat. Setting her bag down and leaning back, Frankie sighed and glanced around. Two children and their tired-looking father were on the nearby playground, and an older man was doing yoga in the middle of a browning expanse of grass. In the distance, a bright pink shape was jogging on another path, flickering in between the trees. It was a nice, quiet day.

Opening the flap of her satchel, Frankie pulled out a small, black notebook, a pen stuck inside its spiral bounding. She flipped to a fresh, blank page, idly clicking the pen in the process. It was a ten minute walk from Patterson Park to the diner, so she had about an hour and a half to get back in time for the lunch rush.

Just enough time to write.