Eyes on the Ball

I’ve been lost for a long time. I’ve been in the same place for almost three weeks – nineteen days, to be exact. I’m not very far from where I used to work – I can still hear all the people I worked for. I originally only had one boss, bus she passed me on to the others. She used to come by quite often, but in the past few months she’s been by less and less. She’s probably found another place she enjoys more, doing something she finds more enthralling. She loses interest more quickly than I’d like to admit – inside her home there are discarded musical instruments, aerobics videos, gourmet cookbooks, and yoga equipment. I spent a little bit of time there too, but I never stayed for long.

I hear them, not so far away, and I know I’ve been replaced. They don’t even remember me, I’ll bet, but I won’t ever forget any of them. Besides my boss, I have my favorites. Jesse is a CEO, and he comes out with his best friend from high school early in the morning sometimes just as the sun rises. Some people complain about waking up for work, but I love getting up and being able to help people after a long night.

JuliAnn is a young blonde just out of law school. I see her on her lunch-hour, with whomever she can convince to come with her. I feel for her – she’s in a high stress environment, and I know she doesn’t eat nearly enough. Obviously, since she comes here instead of having lunch, she has a problem. I try to boost her self-confidence as much as I can, but I’m not sure how much I can really do. I care about her, though, and I’ll do all I can.

Miriam and Joseph come by three times a week, precisely at ten. Sometimes I work with them, but often enough, they come prepared. They’re a beautiful couple; they celebrated their golden anniversary last January. They have fourteen grandchildren, but I’ve never met them. They’re very meticulous about their schedule, and children would get in the way. Overall, they’re so positive and a complete pleasure to work with.

There are others, but most people don’t come regularly. I recognize some of them, but I don’t know their stories. I’d be interested to know, but people are generally so reserved.

I can hear them – they’re so close. Eights pairs of tennis shoes squeak on the asphalt, a sound I used to love, when I could participate. There’s something so cathartic about my work, feeling myself fly through the air after feeling the hit. There’s nothing like it in the world, as far as I know. I haven’t done much else, though. I’ve only had this one job, one boss, since I was born, but I know it’s the one thing in this world I was created to do. I can just tell.

As I think about this, I hear a small girl screaming excitedly. I’ve never much liked children; adults are more interesting to me. I hear her, coming closer, and I hear something else, something that sounds like crazed, labored breathing. It’s coming closer, too. I feel something wet drop on me – it’s drool. Before I know it, I feel teeth close around me. I want to scream, but I can’t. No sound comes out.

“Buddy, what did you find?” The owner of the high-pitched scream yells. She wrenches me from the beast’s mouth and throws me as hard as she can, but I don’t go very far. The beast runs after me and picks me up with his teeth again. She keeps throwing me, and I keep wishing I could go back to being lost.