After that day’s show, the young music group went backstage. They were all laughing and quickly stood at attention greeting their director by stating their group’s name. The director was thrilled and observed each member proudly. “Uh, who are you?” He asked the last member.

“My name is Matt.” The director looked at him thoroughly, as if he was going to paint a portrait. Matt was one of those who never gained any weight no matter how much they ate. He had the appearance of someone who was in high school. His hair was a shade of dark brown that was often mistaken for black. His eyes were a mirrored color that was on a childlike face. He was dressed in brand name clothes along with the rest of his band mates, who all shared the similar looks and talents as him. The director gave a small cough and nodded, allowing them to leave when a crowd of fans came into the large, soon to be filled room. The fans had surrounded the group except for Matt who was just a dull ghost in their eyes.

On the way home, a homeless man confronted Matt. “Hello young star.” He greeted, “I think I know the solution to your problems.” The man looked at a large bulletin board beside them, lit by the city’s colorful lights, obviously knowing who Matt is.

“And what is that?” Matt’s expression was showing interest but when the man pulled out a skipping rope from his worn down bag that hung from his shoulder, his curiosity changed to confusion.

“Try it out, you will find it useful.”

“Alright… How much?” The man stated a ridiculous price that only someone desperate would purchase. As the man received the payment from Matt and was about to leave, “Wait! What would a jumping rope do for me?”

“Oh you’ll see! Just give it a go.” The man waved goodbye and hurried off.

With his brand new jumping rope, Matt tried it out in front of the record studio. He vanished into thin air leaving only the sound of the rope hitting the pavement, not even realizing what it had done to him.

“Poor guy, Matt can’t even sing or dance.” Said Matt’s so called best friend Kris, to the other group members who had just arrived at the studio. Matt’s blood started to boil. Matt just couldn’t believe what he had overheard. His friend that he has known since grade school said that about him? Matt and Kris know just about everything about each other. They know each other’s fears and their most embarrassing moments. Kris was like an older brother to Matt. It wasn’t just his looks that were more mature, but his personality was more up beat compared to Matt’s, who was the quiet type who would just stand back and smile during a conversation. Unlike Kris, who was always in the middle of things. Matt just didn’t understand what had changed between them. He knew he couldn’t take their insults anymore. As soon as the others went inside leaving Kris and Matt alone, Matt threw the rope to the ground causing his friend’s heard to skip a beat.

“How can you say that?” Yelled Matt who was now in front of Kris, clearly visible to the eye. “How can you talk about me in front of my face like that!”

Kris didn’t understand what Matt had meant. He didn’t see him when he was talking. Many questions ran through his mind but he knew it was because of that rope. Matt has been dragging it around ever since he figured out what it does. He skipped rehearsals, meetings, and other things that the group has to attend to. Kris soon became fed up with Matt’s behavior that he decided to make a move. During the night Kris sneaked into Matt’s room, and took the skipping rope. He kept telling himself he had to get rid of it. His legs led him to a lake, a place where Matt would never get a hold of it again. Kris threw Matt’s favorite possession into the crystal blue water, not even thinking twice about what he was doing.
In the morning, Matt woke up unable to find his skipping rope. He asked around in the group only to earn a laugh from Kris, who said he was better off without it. That was when Matt snapped. They both couldn’t take it anymore, that they couldn’t control their anger. Words that stab deep were thrown at each other. Because of the situation, Matt left the group. The two hadn’t realized how much their friendship really means to each other until now. All they cared about was fame and what other people thought of them. At the end, the group wished for Matt to come back. They weren’t complete without him and they knew they needed him. Matt came back with open arms, because he knew he needed them just as much.