A Couple Jerks Writing Obscure Articles On The Internet
The kid and I got along OK after a while. I spent the first week softening him up and playing around with him. I don’t think he realised that the games we were playing were actually tests to gauge his abilities. I had to get a feel for his endurance, his agility, his strength, etc. before I could make him into a fighter.
Well, chasing down a kid by foot is always a pain. It’s worse when you had a big breakfast beforehand, but who’s complaining? Despite his head start, there was no way that he was going to out run me. His legs were just too short. I caught up to him after a few minutes of running willy-nilly through the hallways.He was cornered, but he still wouldn’t chill out and be reasonable. I don’t know what his problem was. It was like he was being a pain in the ass for no reason other than to annoy people. I won’t make any excuses though; it wasn’t right for me to hit the kid. What I will say is that I didn’t mean to hit him so hard that he flew over the second story balcony. Kid was lighter than I expected, ya know?
Three days later, I was on my way back to the House of Orphans. Along the way, I had the driver stop at a House of Pancakes. I treated myself to a big breakfast, at my employer’s expense, and even ordered some food to go for the little squirt I was about to spend the day with. It was a gesture of good will, but I had a sneaking suspicion he was going to throw it back in my face, the little bastard.
We dragged the kid kicking and screaming to the gym with us. I don’t know what kind of life he’d had, but you could tell it had messed him up in the head. I didn’t mind so much — it made him interesting. When we got to the gym, there were a bunch of lazy looking guys sitting around and a group of kids sitting on the floor in rows.
I woke up a while later in the infirmary. I took a quick survey of the room, looking for someone who could tell me what the hell had just happened. The people who I’d seen lying on the floor unconscious during my bathroom visitation were also lying in cots, a few them still unconscious. Not seeing anyone else around, I figured I’d get up and find them myself. I tried to stand up, but when I got on my feet, I got so dizzy from the blood rushing to my head that I had to sit back down.
“Hey, Doc! Where you at?”
Orphan fighter is on hold this week. I could have written something yesterday, but I was too busy reading skip beat. I’m happy to say that I got through 106 chapters (~3180 pages). Today, I’ll be packing my bags and doing last minute preparation for a trip to the Northwest. I could probably also have written something today as well, but no dice. Naturally, from Wednesday through Friday, when I’m out of the state (of emergency? of mind?), I won’t have time to “write” because I’ll be too busy eating fresh seafood and attending PAX.
…You’re a mystery I don’t want to solve. It’s like something out of a Greek tragedy. You’re the puzzle that, once solved, will ruin my life forever. You’re the knot that, once unraveled, will make the world fall apart.
I’d tell you to go away, but I don’t need to. You’re already on another planet.
A few days later, I got a call from Dale. He wanted me down at the office in an hour. I was annoyed. It was 2 PM, and I didn’t feel like getting out of bed yet. Still, I felt obligated to be there, so I fell out of bed and tidied up. 50 minutes later, I was at the office. Doris greeted me and said that Dale would be out soon. I didn’t feel much like talking, so I excused myself and loitered in the lobby.
Still fuming over the inexplicable lifestyle choices of my former friend Ferdinando, I went back to Dale’s office building. There was nothing I wanted more than to prove Ferdinando wrong. Getting out of the life? Why would anyone want to do something like that? We had it all. We were free from responsibilities and monotony. Why anyone would want to chain himself to a life of routine was a mystery. I pushed my way through the door and stopped at the front desk. The receptionist looked up, and, recognising me from earlier, she told me politely that Dale had already left for the day. I could have lost it then — my last resort had failed, and I didn’t have a plan anymore. I took a closer look at the lady at the desk. She looked all right. Maybe she’d take my mind off of things.