Origami

“I’m actually so bored right now.” Kiera sighed as she flipped through channels. Alesso yawned slightly as he watched the screen go from show to show. It was a lazy Sunday afternoon, the two teenagers watching television. Ever since they had been fired from their jobs at the local convenience store, there was nothing to do after school except lie around the house. “If I have to watch another second of The Office I’m going to die.” Kiera shut the television off  before turning over on the couch to face Alesso. “Can we go out to the mall or something?” Alesso stood up and opened the window, warm sunlight pouring into the living room. “Nah, I’m grounded, remember? Maria’s mad about me getting fired.” Alesso plopped down next to Kiera, stretching his legs out over the sofa. “Even though that was your idea.” “Hey!” Kiera shot, lightly hitting Alesso on the shoulder. “You went along with it!” Alesso chuckled while swatting at her hand. “Still, you shouldn’t have mentioned indoor fireworks. Of course I was gonna say yes!” Kiera rolled her eyes and grinned. “Oh well. What’s done is done, and we need something to do before I pass away from boredom.” 

Alesso sat up, resting his head on Kiera’s shoulder. “Hmm… what can we do while trapped here…” The two sat in a comfortable silence for a little, Kiera absentmindedly playing with Alesso’s hair. “Oh wait, I have an idea. You might not be on board at first, but just hear me out okay?” Kiera’s hand pulled apart from his head as she sat up to meet his gaze. “Literally anything is better than watching cable TV.” Alesso smiled before standing up and walking to the dresser next to the TV. “What are you doing?” Kiera asked as she watched Alesso pace the room, looking for something. “Hold on, it’s for what we’re about to do.” The boy rummaged through drawers, muttering to himself. “Where is it, where is it… Here it is!” Alesso walked back over to Kiera, dropping a few pieces of tissue paper, a pair of scissors, and a ruler on the table. “Uh… what is all this for?” Kiera inquired as she looked at the craft supplies laid out in front of them. Alesso picked up a lavender piece of paper, running his hands over it. “Guess!” Kiera looked from the slightly excited look on Alesso’s face to the fragile paper in his hands. “Please, if I had any idea at all I would say it. Just tell me!” Alesso grinned before bringing the paper up to his face, hiding behind it. Kiera giggled slightly as he feigned shyness before putting the paper back on the table. “Okay… origami!”

 Kiera’s slight smile dropped into a neutral face and she immediately shook her head.“No. No way.” Kiera held up her arms in a X form. “Dude, why not? You literally lose nothing to try!” Alesso pleaded, intertwining his hands in a begging manner. Kiera rolled her eyes, staring at the paper on the table. “I literally hate origami. You know that.” Alesso crossed his arms, a fake pout on his face. “That’s so unfair. You’ve literally never even tried before. How do you know you won’t like it?” “I just know I won’t!” Kiera sighed. “I may not have tried origami before, but I’ve done other arts and crafts. Spoiler alert: I absolutely suck! My fingers aren’t dainty enough to get all those lines perfect or whatever.” Alesso’s pout grew larger, and Kiera let out a soft giggle from the dramatic expression. “Still, I think we should do it. I find it quite therapeutic to just sit and make paper crafts.” Alesso started folding, and Kiera couldn’t help but notice how effortlessly he creased each corner, the way his slender fingers folded the paper down. In no time, Alesso had crafted a little paper bird. “Ta-da!” Alesso smiled widely as he placed the bird on Kiera’s head. “Is that not the best thing ever?” Kiera cracked a small smile at the boy’s enthusiasm and took the bird off her head to examine. Turning the paper in her hand, Kiera noticed how perfect the intricate design was. Not a line out of array. Kiera sighed, placing the bird on the table. 

That was the difference between them, Kiera thought. It seemed like Alesso was always good at anything he did, completing a task with efficiency and grace. Kiera, on the other hand, had a habit of messing things up. Although it wasn’t his fault, Kiera couldn’t help but envy Alesso for his knack of understanding concepts quickly. Maybe his intelligence was what made  everyone gravitate towards Alesso, but either way, Kiera knew she’d never get the praise he heard daily. Kiera sighed once more before Alesso’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts. “Yo, Kiera? Are you okay?” Kiera looked up from the table to meet her best friend’s eyes, a worried look reflecting in his hazel eyes. She knew it was unfair to hold this against him. “I’m sorry Alesso,” Kiera started, breaking their eye contact. “I just can’t do this. I’m not good at these kinds of things.” Not like you are. She thought to herself. They stayed quiet for a minute, Alesso seemingly trying to think of what to say. “Kiera, you know they don’t have to be perfect, right?” Kiera felt a hand on her shoulder, and met Alesso’s eyes. “I’m a loser Kiera.” The statement made Kiera laugh as she watched curiously to see what he’d say next.”I try so, so hard to perfect the hobbies I take up. But I have so many things I like to do, and you know what? I’m not very good at a lot of them.” Kiera raised an eyebrow, trying to guess where this was going. Alesso cleared his throat before going on. 

“It’s like… I like gardening but I absolutely suck at it. Like I’m really bad. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I hate dirt. Either way, I plant tulips every year.” Kiera’s eyes wandered out the window, the image of Alesso’s tulips swaying in the wind. “Kiera, what I’m trying to say is, it doesn’t matter how good you are at a hobby. If you enjoy doing it, just do it! I promise you, if you work with passion, it’ll turn out amazing no matter what!” Alesso smiled genuinely at Kiera, and she felt her chest start to warm. “Can I hug you?” Kiera asked timidly. Alesso laughed softly, and held his arms out. Snuggling her head into the crook of his neck, Kiera took a second to think about what Alesso had said. Doesn’t matter how good you are, huh? After they broke apart from the warm embrace, Alesso held up the stack of pastel paper and grinned. “Well, don’t be shy. Pick a color!” Kiera smiled bashfully as she picked up a pretty light pink square of tissue paper. “Teach me something basic okay? I’m slow.” Alesso chuckled, picking a baby blue square for himself. “You’ll be fine. But either way, we should make a boat!” The next few hours was an exciting flurry of paper folding. Once Kiera had successfully made a boat, she had urged Alesso to teach her more. “Come on, I’m basically an origami master now!” Kiera exclaimed happily as she held up her twentieth bird. Alesso grinned at her as he looked at the various other attempts. “Yeah, you really know your stuff. I totally didn't have to basically force you into doing this with me.” They both broke into laughter, the table and couch crowded with colorful little paper birds and boats.