Chapter 2
No, tomorrow never came for the two eager youngsters. Especially because the next day brought a rainstorm like no other. The old comparison, ‘’it’s raining like cats and dogs’’ was a severe understatement. It was a heavy kind of rain, the kind where you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face, and hit your body like a thousand knives if you were unfortunate enough to get caught in it. Not to mention the roaring thunder and the flashing lightning across the sky. In short, it was a sight wondrous yet frightful to behold.
And - it was this kind of fearsome thunderstorm that prevented poor Robin from going to the park the next day. Heartbroken, Robin stared out his bedroom window, wondering if maybe by some chance, Megan was at the park with her mother, or is she was mad at him for not coming to return Jasper.
That was just the first day. The very next day, it would have been hard to tell that it had rained at all the day before. The sun was shining, blazing, actually, and any evidence of a puddle was dried up. Once again, Robin’s hopes of going to the park were dashed. Kermit got caught up in paperwork at the office, and day after day from that, there was some excuse or another. The next time Robin came to the park with Kermit, Megan wasn’t there. In fact, they came back every day for the next week, but Megan never came back. Neither frog saw hide nor sweet blonde hair or either Megan or Jasmine.
After that sad week, in large part, Robin lost heart in seeing his playground companion. As the years passed, Robin lost hope of ever again seeing her, and Jasper - poor Jasper- had nothing to do but collect dust in the back crevasses of Robin’s closet, and of his mind.
10 years later….
Valley High School - home of the Vikings. Home of the best football team in the region, and some of the highest scoring students the state had to offer. This, of course, was also where Robin thrived in the theatre and music departments. Over the past few years, Robin had gather rather a large entourage of friends - and female admirers. But, either because he was oblivious to this fact, or because he was too shy to admit it, whatever one chooses to believe, he never let either of these get to his head. He was the star student of the guitar class, and not to mention the headliner in nearly every play he was in. Whenever he grew tired of the drama (both on and off the stage) he would lend his skills to either the props department or as a stage manager. Still, no matter what he was doing, humility was his middle name.
Even though he excelled in all of these areas, it was his talent in another area that was being emphasized today. For the past three years or so, Robin had become quite the handy photographer. Kermit had theorized some time before that that it helps people who are troubled get away from the things that ail them - at least temporarily. When he had given Robin his first camera, he was most grateful for it; it seemed to Kermit to be the one thing that just made the world go ‘’shhh’’ It was relaxing, therapeutic, and cathartic for him. As he got older though, the thing that scared Kermit was he felt that Robin might have been hiding behind the camera; hiding from his problems. Whether he was or not, time would tell.
Now, young Robin was finding his way to his photography teacher, Mr. Ondrik’s office. He had wanted to talk to him about a photography job that he had recommended Robin for -and to give him a word of warning. Mr. Ondrik was a jolly fellow, tall, slender, with glasses, very ostrich like - but that was only probably because he was in fact, an ostrich. To top it all off, he was a very jovial soul, hardly ever unhappy, and that tended to rub off on his students in the best of ways.
Robin came in quietly, almost timidly to Mr. Ondrik’s office. He opened the door widely enough to poke his head through, and Mr. Ondrik spotted him immediately.
‘’You wanted to see me about the job, Mr. Ondrik?’’
‘’Ah Robin! Come in my boy, come in.’’ Mr. Ondrink patted a chair close to him, and motioned for Robin to sit. He did so without hesitation, but still a little apprehensive. Luckily for him though, Mr. Ondrik caught onto this, and set his mind at ease as much as he could.
‘’No need to be frightened, Robin, I just wanted to talk to you about your resume, that’s all. I was going over it during class today, and I must say, it looks quite impressive. You really know your photography. I think you’ll do a fine job down at Kim Jew.’’
‘’Thank you sir, ‘’ Robin beamed. He pretty much didn’t know what else to say - compliments made him blush.
However, now Mr. Ondrik’s face grew a little more serious. Any one of his students would know automatically that this was not a good sign - very foreboding, they might say.
‘’But I did want to give you a slight warning, Mr. The Frog.’’
Robin’s heart sank. Even he knew that this didn’t sound good.
‘’And uh, what’s that? Do I- do I have a typo on my resume?’’
Mr. Ondrik chuckled heartily. ‘’Oh no, my boy, nothing like that. You see, Kim Jew is mostly a family photography studio,’’ he started.
‘’Yes,’’ Robin urged. He was growing more uneasy by the second.
‘’And - I noticed on your resume that you went into detail a little on your, um, family history. So on your interview today, if they ask you about it, try to keep that conversation to a minimum, if you can. Otherwise, they might find you….well, unstable.’’
‘’Unstable, sir?’’ Robin questioned. At this point, he was starting to question if he even wanted this job anymore. Not if there was a possibility of him coming off as…unstable.
‘’Ridiculous thing to happen, but I’m afraid so. So, just try to keep it short and light. He leaned in closer towards Robin, tilting his glasses downward. ‘’After all, some private things are better left private, aren’t they?’’
Robin nodded. ‘’Yes sir, I guess so. I just wanted to be honest.’’
‘’Of course,’’ agreed Mr. Ondrik. ‘’Honesty is the best policy, after all. Just make sure you don’t let it be the deciding factor, is all I’m saying. Instead, show off those impressive skills I’ve taught you - especially that great photographer charm.
Finally, Robin let out a little laugh. ‘’I will Mr. Ondrik, not to sweat. Thank you again for even recommending me.’’
‘’I know talent when I see it, my boy. Just - remember my little warning, and you should be just fine.’’
Mr. Ondrik extended his hand for Robin to shake, and sent him on his way. Before he got too far though, Mr. Ondrik called out the door, ‘’And don’t come back without the job!’’ Robin’s only response was a smile and a wave goodbye.
With that, Mr. Ondrik scurried back into his office, plopped down into his chair, and sighed. In his heart of hearts, he hoped he had said the right thing to Robin.
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