You & I - 13. Chapter 13

To Sherlock,

I never considered it that way. I figure you could say it was a little weird on Friday how I was the last one leaving school between the both of us. Usually, I am long gone when the bell goes, except I decided to stay back to see if you had sent me another letter before the weekend. I am happy I did because you did and I answered your letter all before I left school. Funny I suppose, I was in the middle of writing my previous letter when this guy I have never seen before in my life came into my classroom as I wrote the new message. The dude came in to collect the box, and at the time I happened to be busy penning the letter to be bothered. That was until he addressed me quite rudely.

He said, "you' they’re… the school day has ended. Aren't you going home?"

I didn't know what to do other than stare back at him, pen in hand, and my eyes were downcasting in my head, as I waited for my brain to come up with an explanation. I never assumed that you are required to leave the school building the minute the final bell rang. I was only going to be about ten minutes tops, and that guy got a little annoyed or something.

I said," I'm writing a letter, I'll only be a few minutes."

Then get this, the guy said, "I'm locking up."

So here I was sitting attempting to write you a letter in the odd situation. I was going to ask for another couple of minutes. However, I didn't see the use in it. I mean, I probably would have made the man even more grumpy.

The thing is if I wasn't causing trouble then, and if I were in that guy's shoes, I'd probably have said, "I'll go lock the other classrooms and come back so you can finish."

Alternatively, I packed up and left the classroom with my school bag in one hand, and your letter and pen in the other. Sorry again if you thought your note was a little-crumpled. Everything occurred extremely fast. I didn't have a chance to put it away. So, you might ask as I stood out in the corridor I placed the paper against the wall and began to write over. Only this time as I got another sentence or two down on the page. That dude strolled out of the class carrying the mailbox thingy. In the process, I forgot I dropped my bag by my feet, and when I went to chase after him, I almost fell.

I stumbled forward, calling out, "wait...! I want to…"

The man turned around and well I almost ran into him. I would have been mortified if I had done that. In the long run, I got the man to leave the mailbox with me. Oddly it felt weird to have a whole class worth of people's personal correspondences. The fellow did his rounds as I wrote at a lightning pace to get down my principles on the sheet. By the time he came back, I had just finished. Lucky I must say, I was.

It's neat that you got to hang out with your dad on the weekend. My dad works too much, and when he is home, he is the type who does BBQs, polices the game on television or does some DIY around the house without interruption. Dad is not one for affection and personal time. Everything to my dad is seen as a profit; measured for its usefulness or purpose. Whenever you do get my dad on the right side, he is an excellent man. I love him with all that said, though it sounds like your dad and my dad are two entirely different people. Family time in our house is more like a trip to the baseball field or an open lawn so that he can force me to practice running about for a football or to see how far I can kick it. It's cool that you have a dad who is into, I suppose, something different than what most other dads are into.

Speaking of milkshakes, McDonald's milkshakes are delicious; only anytime I pass a Johnny Rockets restaurant I can't help but drag whoever is with me along the way to eat and stock up on an average of two milkshakes. I can't help it, that stuff is gorgeous. I love strawberry, is that your favorite? I have never been one for hotdogs, however, anytime I go to a concession stand or Johnny Rockets, people enjoy having themselves a hotdog. I never quite could understand why people love chowing down on a foot long sausage. May I ask where the Heritage Museum is in the city? If it's close enough, one day if I have nothing else to do, I might stop by if I am in the area. Somehow that will be a little funny. Recognizing that I am in the same location as where you would have been.

I have seen The Avengers by the way. Finally, something the two of us have seen, and know about. By any chance, do you like Deadpool? I love that movie. Ryan Reynolds is a legend. I've never come across a film with so many innuendos, as I did with Deadpool. Speaking of movies, I saw the film you asked me to look at. Eh… Disturbia, do you remember. Anyway, I thought it was pretty good actually. The whole house arrest, keeping him from going outside the door is probably nightmarish, considering the dude from Transformers is in it. I can't remember his name… sorry. I found some parts amusing but once shit… Eh, you didn't see me swear. Anyway, as soon the… hmm… the ball dropped everything went to Hell in a hand basket. I appreciate it; for you mentioning the film to me, so thank you.

Yeah, California would be lovely. If I were on vacation, either way, I'd still like to go to California. True they get fewer storms and natural disasters. Nevertheless, they do get horrific forest fires in that part of the country. If holiday time were to be spent in the water, I don't believe I'd choose the Potomac River in the middle of winter. Besides, your statement about freezing like an instantaneous popsicle: that gave me a bit of a giggle. As for standing in the rain while it showers over you as you see in every romance film ever. There's a big difference, I suppose with the rain being warm and the rain being cold. I'd love to hear back whether your opinion is still in motion after you stood in a storm shower and experienced the sensation of it in the middle of winter.

Damn straight; if I can maintain my place in the world for long enough, I won't feel replaced in the space of a heartbeat. Yet again, people being irreplaceable is not a status anymore. It's not the 1940s or 50s because they were different times entirely. These days people are like cannon fodder. You line them up; and knock 'em down without any remorse. Then the people who run the HQ departments, replace them with someone else as if you are a clock, a pencil or car. Meaning, if I stay at the top of my game for as long as I can, then there is no need to want to replace me. I reckon I am a little afraid to step down out of the limelight in case I lose it forever. I've worked so hard to get to where I am; it would be scandalous to let it go.

Practice went okay, I guess you could say. It wasn't the best practice ever. Still, I think things are looking up. I played a little better than I did the previous workouts, so that's inviting. The only thing I'm worried about now is that after my weekend training, I'm walking around with a knee brace on my right leg. Now here is where it gets a bit shitty, I love wearing shorts. Only, wearing a knee brace and pants together is a little irritating. I would so like to take the option of wearing shorts, but I don't believe it's warm enough in the mornings to do that, not until next month anyway. Plus, it makes it hard to wear my team uniform. I'm more anxious about my stupid leg giving out in the middle of that match coming up.

I believe the two of us have the same outlook on the situation. If you give up when the going gets tough then apparently, it's not made for you. My dad has the same type of temperament. Giving up is the sure way to becoming a quitter, and if I did back out of the opportunity, I think he would be disappointed in me. One thing I got accustomed to while working on the team is not asking for pointers. I don't know why, but it's not really something I've ever really thought about with the boys. I guess I could give it a try, but in the meantime don't hold me to it. It's cringey even thinking about it, but I surmise if I do need some help, asking is not the least of my worries.

As for my teammates mouthing me off; sure, it's a real thing. I imagine it comes more or less down to the adrenaline of the moment. The last thing I ever want to hear from people I've come to learn about and love is to be scolded by them. The funny thing is nobody at the time goes out and thinks: well hey that player was trying really hard. Instead, they don't take your feelings into account. They just start picking up stones and hurling them your way.

Yeah, babysitting sucks. Jordan goes to Bellevue Middle School Downtown. I think my mom is going to sign him up for enrollment in my school next year. Something about having to rush around to collect both of us at the same time. Therefore, Jordan is going to be moved to my school so that it makes things easier and so that I can kind of watch out for him. I'd like to believe that Jordan has my back, as I do his. If push came to shove, I assume my baby brother would not rat on me unless it was life-threatening.

IYIYI, I can't believe I wrote that. It looked so cringey and embarrassing. When I was penning the letter, I wish I had more time to go back to the start and begin a new note. Only I was a bit pressed for time that day. I figured it wasn't a big thing if I crossed the statement out. Well, now the lifeguard blunder is awkward.

Consequently, an old strikethrough knows best. Lifeguards are hospitable people lol (laughing out loud.) Ah, that's sad to hear dude. You should totally up your game by including waterslides in your repertoire. I don't think free-spirited has anything to do with going down a slide. I believe any single person can do it as long as they want to do it. I don't presume under the pretenses; that you need to be free-spirited and a bit wild just go down a slide. However, you said you work on pool lengths, then I can only imagine you are twice as fast as me in the water. Everybody hates getting out of a swimming pool. So, the fact that you mentioned getting dried and dressed is up there with the 7 AM shower, I have to agree with you, man… They are the worst times of getting wet and having to dry and dress. Yet, beneath it all they are naturally relaxing moments; who would've believed they could equally be annoying.

The Tigers were robbed of a victory. I went to see the game with my mom, dad, and little brother. Even though I don't play for the team anymore, my dad was a little bit upset that they lost, which was weird to see. Even if the team loses yes, they still have that general respect by the locals. Being a sore loser is not the most idealistic point for a team to be. Yet it's good to know that we still have the hearts of many people that even in hard times they are always willing to give us a chance because it's all they have to hope for. I admit, maintaining integrity in all pursuits when they don't go according to plan is an excellent idea. You should always hold a sentiment of hope in your heart.

Do I think my little brother is going to follow in my footsteps? Who can say for now? All I know is the little doofus has more than enough potential to make a decent attempt at the sport. Yet, if Jordan does not have the attentiveness or the heart for the game, then he'll never make it off the ground. I reckon you could say I made it onto the team by showing it in my attitude of unwavering love and compassion for the pastime. I worked so so hard for the opportunity to be able to be placed on the front lines. If that is what Jordan wants, he's going to have to want it like nothing else he's ever craved before. Except, I do see your point in your statement. Having someone else follow in your footsteps is honoring. If my baby brother decides to do that, then I guess I'll be the happiest big brother ever.

Referring to the office work life, what sort of cruel infidelity are we talking about here now. Are we talking about Gotham type of anarchy, The Purge type of deal, or a laid-back blues kind of crime? I will pretend you didn't say you found a way to poison me if I were a king. Kings can have people beheaded for such attempts made on one's life. But I believe your imagery of hocking up a kidney or drowning in your blood is enough to disturb me rightly so that I will stop talking about coffee forever, let alone look at it the same way again.

But yeah, give me that cheddar effective immediately. I did not open up all those hours on your calendar so that you could laze about now without giving me a raise. It's good to be finally recognized for my endearing involvement.

Indeed, it does sound like a horrible way to go. According to what my father has said a banshee theoretically comes in the wake of the night and steals men away. Good call on keeping your windows closed. You never know when an Irish creature of folklore is walking about on American soil.

Agreed, although I can assure you I have no voice of a choir boy. If it were my PlayStation, I'd delete my search history… Scratch that my account and start from fresh. I don't believe my senses will ever be able to un-hear, or un-see such a thing.

Once I understand how important it is to take a bold approach to save one's life. No questions asked if I find it safe to do so, and I don't put myself in danger, I would try and reach you. Except we all respond differently in times of panic.

I have good news boss… The closet has been cleaned out, and I have placed an order for a new filing cabinet and index cards using taxpayer's money. I hope you don't mind, but I also included a nice mahogany desk and iMac, and a new car to the bill to help me get to work in the mornings. I'll mark the purchases down as something else so that the authorities don't know that I actually spent the money on expendable items.

Love, Simon was pretty good actually. For the whole duration of the film, I believed I had an idea of who the mystery guy was that was messaging Simon. Then when I found what I was seeing was accurate, the whole film makes an entire 360 move and completely confuses me. The end was super sweet, I suppose, if that is what gay guys are into or… you know… umm... Are in love, I guess. It's hard to explain. However, I felt incredibly warm watching the movie as the final scene in the film took place. It presented a warm sensation that I've never sensed before, and that was different. I think it is a big deal in the gay community.

The term is given to the community, and everybody within it is usually called LGBTQIA+. Behind the singular lettering, each letter represents a different subgroup within the culture as you may know. Every character is assigned explicitly to the gay population. However, the significant proportion of this abbreviation is from this society. I know how weird it looks now considering I know all this. Except after I watched the movie, I decided to go home and look up what the meaning of what the abbreviation exactly is. I can confidently say I learned something new from watching the movie.

Yeah, Jordie is a bit energetic. Only I didn't see how it would look like on paper. It's not that I want to get rid of him, but now that you mention it, it is kind of funny. I don't think I'd have the heart to knock out my little brothers' teeth on purpose anyway. The little things I do take for granted I'm sure I would miss them if Jordan disappeared all of a sudden. Not that I want him to disappear because he does fill in the proportions of my life that I never really knew existed until I started questioning them. That is my representation of brotherly love. Even though you could tear their head off at one point in time, there is nobody else like a brother, who would take some amount of shit and still love you for it. There is that bond stuck between us, and no matter how hard things may get, we will be there for each other if the two of us really needed it. Simple things like asking my brother to play kick about, or play PlayStation is rewarding in its own right. Sometimes you have to compromise, I guess. I don't want to force all my hobbies on Jordan solely. Meeting in the middle is what I try to do on most occasions. If he plays football with me, the next time I'll have a gaming session with him.

Wow, when you put it like that it really does show how closed and shut off, we've become. Depressing really… how we naturally let ourselves decline into this abyss of technology. I can say I am guilty of doing such an action. I have often had friends sitting at a table with me, and I'd be too preoccupied on my phone to care really. It's hard to explain, even if I am paying attention to the conversation, I know my full undivided concentration is not at the moment. Getting back to the basics is always good, but yes, sadly, it does not happen enough.

Complication is unnecessarily made necessary. Perhaps that is what the earth really needs right now. A reset button. Not in the way as to turn back time to the dawn of civilization, but just to reboot everything to its natural order and to keep everything the way it is. We need fresh perspective's; and considering we're living in a world with too many angles, it's tiring.

Above all, it is the mentality of individuals who believe what we have built is to be used only for self-promotion and indulgence. Imagine how animals must feel. They share our world with us; yet humans get butt hurt when someone is impeding on their civil rights or attacks their country. What would animals really say if we could understand them; after another rainforest has been cut down, a highway has been built on their breeding grounds, or their pack is slaughtered for profit and not for human survival. We are the worst dictators, yet pretend to be noble, when such a thing is not.

Anyway, I really need to go now, I'm writing this letter in between classes. I don't want to be late for the next period. God knows I have teachers who would like to cause unnecessary trouble for the sake of making it necessary.

Last question I promise before I go… Did you go out of your way to find out The Tigers' game results so that you could talk to me about it? If so that's really cool.

Later,

Watson