New and Old Faces! What Am I?
In which Neff develops new relationships and discovers something strange.
~x~
"You are Neff's parents, I presume? Welcome. I wanted to talk to you about something serious."
"What is it, V3ll? What's the matter with her?" the father's voice echoed.
"It seems she has a condition. Not many people have it. But it's dangerous. Very, very dangerous."
"What do you mean by that?" The mother this time, had a worried expression on her face. Her husband had a stern look. He was always one to get upset right away if something was wrong. No doubt he was worried, but his first intent was to seek out the best solution instead of crying and hoping for a miracle to happen.
"This condition isn't like any other. Often times the people who have it are hunted down by curious, and psychotic people. There are many police cases on file if you wish to see what happened to them. But I've also brought you here to discuss a solution," the doctor explained. He folded his hands on the wooden desk. "I'm suggesting keeping her here in the facilities to have research done on her, and to keep her safe until she is 18 and ready to make her own choices. She will be provided with all necessities: food, water, schooling, exercise, everything. I think it might be the best solution until we can get rid of it and have her be safe again."
"Fuck. No." The father stood up.
"Honey, listen to what he has to say at least!" the mother protested.
"No, why would I ever let our daughter be tied down like that? She needs to live a normal life. How do I even know any of what you're saying is true?!"
"It's called Farrel-Butzen's disease, first discovered in the 1920s when a mau5 believed he knew the suspects of approximately thirty crimes. He was right, and research was done on him. Eventually we found out that more and more people had the condition. It's an extremely rare genetic condition that can be removed. But there's only a 50% chance of living, if it is."
The doctor's words were backed up. The father knew if he went home and looked it up on the Internet, it would be there. He felt extremely stupid. Why would a licensed doctor lie to him about the health of their daughter? And when the father had such a good reputation in town? It would be foolish, considering he has people in high places that would make him lose his license within minutes if he was lying.
However, he still wanted Neff to have a normal life.
"I can see that there can't be a decision made right this minute. Give it some time. Talk it out, and see me in a week," the doctor said, typing on his computer. The mother stood up next to her husband.
"Yeah, that'll be fine. What time?" she said.
"Oh, how about 2 PM sharp?"
"Wonderful. We'll see you then."
"Before you go," the doctor said as they began walking out, "you should know exactly what types of people are out there searching for people with this condition." He got up and handed them a small packet.
"What is this...?" the father asked, taking it and looking at it like it was written in a foreign language.
"An information packet that contains everything known about this condition. Summarized, of course."
Slowly, the father nodded and walked out, staring at the packet the entire time. His wife smiled sweetly before swiftly closing the door behind them.
V3ll snickered as he sat back down, remembering the conflict the man had with his wife before she died. The two reminded him of his previous marriage. They always had opposite opinions, but still stayed together regardless.
It was now evening, and the two parents were outside by the pool arguing so their daughter wouldn't hear. The sky was a faint blue, with the sun painting the pavement a bright orange color making the pool water sparkle vibrant shades. Both of them stood in the shade, with the light from inside illuminating them.
"I honestly think," the father said, "we've reached a stalemate."
"What do you mean?" the woman responded, her heart skipping a beat.
"We can't reach a decision. I want her to be safe from being hunted down by these psycho ass people. And you want her to stay here and possibly die?"
"I want her to be safe with those doctors. If they get rid of it, she can live a normal life!"
The father threw his hands in the air. "You want to go based off of the 'if' factor? IF they get rid of it? What happens IF they don't? I'm not gonna take that fucking risk and have her dead! I would rather have her be safe in a different place and let her live a happy life! Not have her cooped up in a fucking laboratory!"
"It's a risk I'm willing to take for her to be NORMAL again!"
"Fuck the risk! I want a 100% chance! She's going with me, and that's fucking final!" the father screamed.
"You're gonna have to take this shit to court then! I AM NOT giving up on her!"
"With the lawyers I fucking have? You have no goddamn fucking chance."
The mother gritted her teeth and looked at her feet. Tears started rolling out of her eyes. She knew she didn't have a chance. He was going to win. No way was she going to keep her daughter here.
"Go, then. Take her. Move out. It's better that we're not going to be together anyways."
And with that, she walked inside the house and slammed the door.
He looked back at her, and when she was out of sight, he punched the side of the house, his fist making a crack in the brick. He cried out in anger and pain. It was over. His marriage. His fame. All for his daughter. He wasn't sad about it in the slightest. It was for the best, to him. So he had to go through with it.
My eyes shot open and I sat up. I was gasping for air, and my heart was racing. What kind of dream was that?! And why did it not even seem like a dream, that I was right there with them?
Just what the hell was going on?
I looked over at my clock. 5:08. I had to get up anyways to get ready. The memories of last night came flooding back to me; I still couldn't believe he actually apologized. What caused him to do that?
The ride to school was quiet. It was weird seeing him after what happened. I didn't make eye contact out of the fear of conversation being made.Thankfully none of it happened and I made it to school.
I found out I had my first hour with Tobias. The bad news was that it was the worst class of the day: math. Almost every high schooler has a problem with this. But it was just my luck that I came here smack dab in the middle of a lesson that I had no idea about.
"Miss Simian? Can I get help?" I asked, raising my hand. It was the middle of the hour. Everyone was quiet because of how early in the morning it was. The sun was just coming up over the school, and rays of light blasted in the room. It was a hot 80 degrees in the room, and not even the fans could keep it cool. We were all in misery. Me being irritated made it worse, because my body temperature shot up the second I realized that I couldn't do this.
"I don't know, can you?" The smartass teacher reply. Great.
I swear to fuck.
"Yes?" I said.
"It's in your notes, can't you read?"
"I didn't take notes. I literally just got here yesterday."
"I'll give you a copy of them at the end of class."
I sighed, wanting to get my work done now and out of the way. I hated having homework.
Tobias, who was sitting a few seats away from me, passed a folded up paper to me. Oh god, was this the stereotypical note that said "Do you like me? Yes or no?" I took it while making awkward eye contact with him.
You can copy the notes I bothered to take. She's gonna forget all about lending you her copy in about five minutes.
I scribbled down a response and tossed it on his desk. Miss Simian was too preoccupied with her book to care.
Thanks fam.
A few moments later I was handed a notebook and the paper.
You wanna come to a party this Friday? It's at my house from 6-10 PM.
Not even my second day here and I'm already invited to my first high school party? What would even happen? I don't know anybody at this school besides three people. It would be really awkward... right? Or would it actually be the time of my life? I didn't know.
Sigh. Fuck it, what do I have to lose, right?
I wrote down a yes and handed it back to him, not really concerned with anything else. Now the party was all I could think about. What kind of food would be there? Or games? Music? I had no idea. My high school life so far was in shambles. And by shambles, I mean I never got out of the house besides to go to school. I would sit at home all day and not hang out with the few friends I had. And even those ones turned their backs on me.
Except for Sunny.
Good fuck, I could write novels about that boy.
April 13th, morning.
Since this is a fairly fresh journal, I might as well write info about my life in here, right? Not like anyone's gonna read this. But it'll be cool to have something to look back on. Alright, I'll start with my social life.
The only friends I had back in my hometown were Grace, Hailey, and Sunny. Grace and Hailey barely stuck around me. In fact, I don't even know why they bothered to talk to me. You'd expect hundreds of the kids to come flocking around me because my dad was well-known to them. But no, it was the opposite. I never knew why the other kids did that. Maybe it was because I was always quiet. But anyways, again, they never bothered to talk to me, let alone contact me outside of school. My friendship with them ended after Hailey told me off, saying that I was a bland and quiet person, and that nobody would ever want me. It hurt a lot to hear that from one of the only people I talked to. So of course I took it hard.
For weeks, I would think about it. I would try to change myself. Be more social. But... I just couldn't. I finally accepted around the end of freshman year that this was me. I can't change who I am. And if they don't like me then so what? Someone will.
And that's when I met Sunny. The back of our history class on the first day of sophomore year. We both sat next to each other in the corner. It was kind of weird, because everyone else was up at the front. And if they looked back here, it was like seeing boyfriend and girlfriend. The first time I saw him, I'm not gonna lie, I thought he had the body of a god. He was tall, had the most beautiful, long black hair, and wore this flannel that made me want to rip it off and wear it myself. Oh god, that sounds creepy. Fuck.
Okay, moving on, we hit it off like instantly. We both had the same personality. Weeks passed by and he asked for my number so we could hang out sometime. Both of my parents were surprised when I brought him to my house. Of course he told my dad that he liked his music and that it was an honor to meet him. But other than that, he treated me normally. And I actually appreciated it. I didn't want to be put on a pedestal anyways.
During the time he was there, I found out a lot of his interests fast. Video games, the type of music he liked, what he did in his free time, things like that. Ever since then we've been the closest of friends.
He has other friends and introduced me to them a few times. They're all the opposite of me: loud and rowdy. I enjoy their company. It's nice being around such good vibes. Unfortunately I don't give off that many good vibes because I'm quiet all the time.
That's all about my social life in my hometown. I haven't quite made a name for myself in Elmore just yet. But I will soon, hopefully. This party might be an opportunity.
Peace out.
The hours passed, and it was gym class again. We did dodgeball, I got out as usual, and sat on the sidelines. Tobias actually did good this time, being one of the only people left in the game. He was up against this girl named Jamie. Really short, like me, and had light green skin. She seemed aggressive.
"Come on, Tobias! You got this!" Gumball shouted.
"Yeah, she's not that hard to hit!" Darwin screamed.
"Fuck off!" Jamie retorted, making the two of them flinch. "I'm throwing the ball at you when I get the chance!"
Tobias picked up a ball and aimed it. Time seemed to slow as he whipped it across the gym. It headed straight for her chest, but she quickly turned to the side and missed it.
"Weak! Watch how the pro does it!"
And with that, she flung the ball so fast, that I had trouble registering how Tobias was on the floor in two seconds.
"That's game!" Miss Simian said after blowing her whistle. "Go change, and wait until the bell rings to go to your next class!"
"That's it?" I asked. "But we still have 20 minutes left."
"Neff, I want to stop teaching right now and just relax. You guys don't have to suffer for the time being," she said to me, before walking out of the gym.
"Alright, motherfucker, what did you say back there?" I heard Jamie say as she stomped over towards Darwin. This could be trouble.
"I uh, I said that you weren't hard to hit! You know, because your head is.. big... and..."
"I have a big head, huh? Well just wait until your head is just as big as mine from being swollen!" She raised her fist up, and I sprung into action. I ran towards her and caught her fist just as it was about to hit the fish straight between his eyes.
"Now hang on just a minute! Can't we all be cool here?!" I asked nervously. I really shouldn't have done this. Now my nervousness was settling in. Why did I have to wing it and then chicken out once I was actually winging it?
"New girl? What are you doing?!" Jamie demanded, swatting my hand away and backing up. I gulped and shuffled next to Darwin.
"I just don't want any trouble to happen, that's all!" I exclaimed, hoping I wouldn't get punched in the face next. "I mean is punching him really worth it? It's a nice day out, the school day is almost over, do you really want his comment to ruin it?"
Jamie stared at me like I was stupid. Which I probably was for doing that. She shook her head with a blank expression on her face, her mouth slightly open.
"Jesus, there are rational thinkers from the outside world? Maybe this planet ain't as fucked as it seems." She turned and walked to the locker room.
How did I manage to pull that off...?
"Neff... how..." Darwin whispered. His voice was squeaky, and he sounded like he just had a near-death experience.
"I just... I... I DON'T KNOW!" I shouted. Everyone was looking at me strange, and I hauled ass to the locker room, slinging my bag over my shoulder.
I hid in a bathroom stall and slid down against it to the floor, breathing heavily. I couldn't think of a more embarrassing moment. That was rational thinking? How? I could have gotten punched in the face just like Darwin almost did! Unzipping my bag, I reached in there and got my phone out. Only an hour left until I could go home. Along with the time being on the screen, a text message from half an hour ago was there as well.
Speak of the devil, it was Sunny. His phone was back on.
How's Elmore? I miss you. It's too loud here now, I have no silence to enjoy with someone.
Blood rushed to my cheeks and I started shaking. Did I fail to mention that I was head over heels in love with this guy?
"He misses me..." I said to myself. A big grin spread across my face and I texted him back.
It's alright I guess. I miss you too. Come down here sometime, my room is the quietest one in the house.
April 13th, afternoon.
Well, Sunny texted me saying he misses me. And I could not be more happy. I just got home and had nothing else better to do. It's really lonely here, to be honest. Hopefully that will change after the party. That is, if my dad even lets me go.
I had a vision last night. Really strange. My parents split up and they were talking to my doctor about a condition I had. I think it's just my mind fucking with me. But it seemed so real at the same time. Like I was there with them. Like I could reach out and touch them. I heard in this kids movie a long time ago that some dreams are so powerful that they become real. What was it, Sharkboy and Lavagirl? Yeah, that's it. Great movie. 10/10.
Again, just my mind fucking with me. I should write to mom before I forget. I had no time at all today to actually think about what to say to her. Wait, I lied. I did. I was too busy writing about my life. Fucking selfish.
I sat there on my bed for an hour writing out a detailed letter to her. It was about things going on, the incident with my dad, and how he cut off all contact between her and I. I hope she never sent any texts or called. I don't want her to think I was ignoring her.
After having a semi-boring day, I went to bed.
"Gumball, Darwin, I need to talk to you both."
"What's up Tobias?" Darwin responded. They both sat in the library at the computers when Tobias came up to them.
"That party this weekend. I should tell you guys what's going to happen at least. Rob's gonna hook us up with some weed and alcohol, kind of a celebration for the year almost ending."
"It's kind of early for that, isn't it? It's only April," Darwin said nervously.
"Plus our mom is gonna kill us if we came home fucked up," Gumball responded.
"I understand that. But my parents aren't gonna be gone again until July. And I want to celebrate the end of this school year since it was literally the hardest one for all of us," Tobias explained.
"SATs are gonna be worse next year."
"Yeah, okay, the point is that's what's happening at the party. No peer pressure. It's completely optional," Tobias said, backing away slowly and holding his hands in front of him.
What the hell kind of dream was that?
Tobias couldn't be like that, could he? And who was Rob? I've never heard of him before. This had to be my mind fucking with me again. It had to.
I woke up just in time again, so I got ready and headed to school. The thoughts of the dream were on my mind all morning until I made it to school. The letter was in my bag. I really hoped that they could mail this. I had nowhere else for a reply to be sent to that was safe. If it came to our house, my dad would throw it out. All contact with my mom was cut off for whatever reason. It sucked.
I still didn't know why we moved here.
"Can you please mail this letter for me, possibly?" I asked the secretary who I met on my first day. She still looked annoyed.
"What is it for, kid?" she responded, not looking up from her computer.
"It's for my mom. If she sends back a letter, can you give it to me?"
"Why can't you send it from your house?"
"My dad doesn't want me talking to her for whatever reason."
She stayed quiet for a moment before sighing. Sticking out her hand, she said, "Alright, give it here. But I'm not gonna be your mail carrier. One time, and one time only. Got it?"
"Yes, thank you!" I exclaimed, handing it to her.
Around the end of the school day, Tobias sat next to me in class. It was hot and sticky inside of the classroom. But I really missed this hot weather. My hometown had some Wisconsin type weather. It was almost always cold, and it pissed me off. I hated the cold.
We were working on some worksheet, I didn't really bother to read what it was about. My mind was stuck on the dreams I've been having for the past two days. I was tempted to ask Tobias about it, but part of me held back because I didn't want to find out that he was actually bringing those things to the party. I wanted to go really badly. So I chose ignorance.
There was quiet chatter in the classroom as everyone was working. Miss Simian had headphones on, reading some book about child discipline. Was she reading it to use on us?
"So, I never really got to know you that well," Tobias said to me. "Tell me your interests. You're my friend. You're coming to my party. It would be nice to know some things."
"What exactly do you want to know?" I responded.
"Hobbies, favorites, background info. Stuff like that."
"Well..."
I started explaining to him in great detail about everything. I didn't have many hobbies besides watching TV and reading a book every now and then. But TV was mostly my life. I could tell him all about this new show that came out recently called Under the Waves. I sounded like a no-life when I told him. But he really didn't seem to mind.
I had a lot of favorites, so it was hard to choose. My number one favorite food had to be cheesecake. Any kind, I didn't care which. I had a bad habit of eating too many snacks. Recently I gained ten pounds since last month because chips were so tempting. There was always soda in the house. We had a whole doomsday stockpile downstairs of it. It's all my dad and I drank, even at the old house. But the way our bodies work, the effects of caffeine made us crash easily, more easily than other species, which explains why I love sleeping. It was like drinking Nyquil straight from the bottle.
Once I told Tobias about my background info, I tried to keep it as on topic as I could. There were so many parts of my life that I remember that didn't have to do with me. I talked and talked until the bell rang. We didn't even get our work done.
"Shit, I'm sorry. We didn't get much done," I said, looking down at the worksheet.
"Don't worry about it," he said, getting up, "It's not that big of a deal. We still have tomorrow."
"Are you sure?" I asked nervously.
"Positive. I also want to thank you for yesterday, when you stopped Jamie from beating Darwin's ass. She seriously was going to do it; over the years she's gotten worse with everyone." He grabbed his backpack and started heading out of the classroom.
I rubbed the back of my head nervously and smiled. "Yeah, it's nothing. Darwin's cool, so I mean, I had to stop him from getting hit."
Before leaving, he stood in the doorway and looked over at me. "It's good to see that someone still cares about the status of their friends."
It was raining by the time I got home. My dad hasn't talked to me at all since yesterday when it was 3 in the morning. I was starting to think that maybe the cycle was starting again. We wouldn't talk for about a week, and then eventually I gave in. But this time, I had nothing to give in to. He apologized, so he was the one that gave in. Weird. The tables turned.
I ended up making myself a sandwich and sat on the couch to watch TV when my phone lit up. A text message from Sunny.
Do you know when you're coming back here? I want to see you.
My heart fluttered. He told me that countless times in the past. But this time, it was special.
Not sure. I sent my mom a letter about what's been going on. I also included at the bottom if I could come back there soon.
A few minutes later he replied.
Can you call? It's easier than texting. Plus there's a lot to say.
I got up from the couch and went upstairs to my room, bringing my sandwich with. I stepped out on my balcony and slid the door closed. The rain had stopped, and a beam of light came from a hole in the clouds. From up here, the neighborhood looked peaceful. My house was in a cul de sac, with other houses exactly like mine. The downside was that it wasn't in the busy city like I was used to. I brought some of the potted plants with me from the old house. They now sat in the corners of my balcony.
I sat on there, swinging my legs off the edge in between the fence posts and dialed Sunny's number.
Ring... ring... ring... ring...
"Hello?"
It felt so good to hear his voice again.
"Hey," I said calmly. On the inside I was bursting with happiness.
"Jesus, you sound different. It's only been a few days since I last saw you," he said on the other end.
"Well, uh, I don't really know how. I already hit puberty. My voice isn't changing anytime soon."
"Funny. How are things? Does school suck?" he asked.
"School... is good, I guess. Still learning the ropes of Elmore. I made like three friends, but that's about it," I explained.
"What friends?"
"Some dudes named Gumball, Darwin, and Tobias."
"Gumball? Weird name."
I snorted. "I haven't really gone anywhere besides school and home. My dad would get lost too easily in this town."
"Well, that's what happens when you live in one place all your life."
There was silence, since my mind was blank. I couldn't think of anything to really say. Should I talk about the argument? The strange dreams? The party? The new house? For some reason, whenever I opened my mouth, no words came out. I didn't know what to say.
"You there?" Sunny said on the other end.
"Y-yeah," I said quietly. "I just... don't know what to talk about."
"It's all good. I'm visiting your mom more often, just checking in on her. I'll ask her soon if you can come up here. The pool misses you."
God, I loved that fucking pool.
"I miss it too," I said, laughing. "Our pool here is just... eh."
"Shit, my mom needs me to help cook. I'll text you later, alright?"
"Oh, yeah it's fine. I..."
"You what?" he asked.
"I... want to see you soon."
Fuck, was I just going to say I love him?
"It'll happen. Talk to you later."
"Bye," I said, my chest dropping. I wanted to keep talking to him. This has never happened before, where I lost my words. Why did I do that? Was it possible that I was falling more in love with him?
I set my phone down besides me and stared up into the sky, sighing. I blew it. But what if I actually did tell him I love him? How would he react? And over the phone? In person would have been much better.
"Ugh, this is so fucking frustrating!" I shouted. I've never been in a relationship before! How does one "relationship"?! I need to know, because what if he loves me back? Or is the best friend status going to be there forever?
There was a knock on my balcony door, and I turned to see my dad looking at me. I couldn't believe he wanted to make conversation after not doing it for almost two days.
"Yeah?" I asked. He opened the door and stepped out. He looked so much like me that it was scary. The only difference was the size of our ears, height, and the fact that he had no hair. It seems that all the men in our family have no hair, and all the women have really long hair. But let's admit, long hair is really beautiful if treated properly. I'm proud of it.
"You wanna go out to dinner? I found this good Asian place downtown," he said casually. Acting like nothing happened just yesterday, huh? Or, he was actually over it. Either way we must be on good terms again.
"Yeah, will you get lost though?" I asked, cracking a joke to lighten the mood.
"I found out my phone had GPS this entire time, so I think I won't have problems anymore," he responded, smiling.
"I'm still gonna eat my sandwich when we get back."
Downtown Elmore was booming with business. The sky cleared, revealing a sun that was setting. It made all of the buildings glow a soft orange color. Hundreds of faces were walking on the sidewalks, along with a heavy flow of traffic. It must be rush hour.
We pulled up to an Asian restaurant on the busy street. I put 40 cents in the parking meter and we headed inside. The second I stepped through those doors, the overwhelming delicious smell of Asian food flooded on me. The sesame chicken, sushi, fish, stir fry, white rice, all of those smells and more.
"Thanks for taking me here," I said to my dad as we sat down at a booth.
"Not a problem," he responded, looking at his menu.
The party was tomorrow, so now seemed like a perfect opportunity to ask if I could go. He was in a good mood, which meant his answer would most likely be a yes. Score.
Just before I opened my mouth, the waiter came up to us. He was a really tall guy with a big rock head. Skinny and nervous. His name tag read "Laurence".
"Hi, welcome. Can I start you guys off with any drinks tonight?"
Leaning his elbow on the table, my dad rested his head in his hand and stared at Laurence. He was giving him an odd look.
"Laurence. Larry. Can I call you that?" he asked the waiter. Laurance was taken aback by this and looked around quickly.
"Um, yes. Sir."
"You're nervous. Why is that? Everyone else here is relaxed, but you seem to be the only tense one."
What was my dad even trying to attempt?
"I'm... nervous?" Larry asked, surprised.
"That nervous smile. How tightly you're holding your notepad. You're shaking slightly. And now, there's sweat dripping down your face. Is something wrong?"
Larry swallowed and wiped the sweat off his face, all while smiling the same nervous smile that he had since we first saw him. Something was in fact troubling him. But why did my dad point it out?
"Well, to be honest, yes. But I'm not allowed to talk about personal issues at work. My boss wouldn't... like it."
My dad sighed. "It's your boss, isn't it?"
"Eh- what?"
"Is he the reason you're nervous?"
Larry began to twiddle his thumbs. It was obvious what the answer was. My dad got out of the booth and looked around. He was the same height as Larry. Seeing both of them next to each other like that made me feel even more small. The thing is, I'm not tall at all. Not even moderate height. I'm little. Tiny. A mere 4 feet and 10 inches. If you count my ears, I was a lot taller. Big ears, I know. The only reason I was this small was because I was born premature. I'm thankful that it only affected my height.
I switch subjects too often.
"I'll be back," my dad said. He walked over to the kitchen where this tiny purple bear was standing in the doorway. Larry and I watched in terror as my dad walked over to him.
"What is he doing?!" I exclaimed. That bear was about the size of a cinder block. Suddenly I didn't feel so small anymore.
"I don't know. But my boss isn't exactly the most tolerant person when it comes to customer complaints... If that's what your dad is even doing," Larry responded. He took his white and red striped hat off and squeezed it.
My dad bent down and talked to the bear, who stared at him with a confused look on his face. Suddenly his eyes widened and he ran to the kitchen. His little legs looked so adorable running. I giggled a little. The smug smirk on my dad's face scared me as he walked back over to us and sat down.
"You don't need to worry anymore, Larry. He'll be helping us tonight."
What did he fucking do?
"Uh, alright. Have a good night you two." The rock man scurried off to another table.
I looked over at my dad with a blank face. "Why?" I simply asked.
"It isn't the first time I saw an employee scared by their own boss. So I told him who I was and he immediately said he would get off everyone's asses."
"I don't understand."
"I'm just trying to be less of an asshole and help people. And I'm sorry for all the emotional abuse I might have put you through, and physical. I know you might not forgive me anytime soon. But an apology was due," he explained.
Rewind. Fucking rewind.
"I'm just trying to be less of an asshole and help people."
Did I just hear...
"...less of an asshole..."
Inside I was doing a wide, ugly grin. On the outside my mouth was agape in surprise. Here he was. Sitting in front of me, saying how he basically wanted to better himself. And for what? Me? Because he has a new life? Karma? Did that doctor dude brainwash him or something?
I started crying.
"Why are you crying? What's wrong?" he asked, worried.
"I'm just really happy right now," I sobbed, putting my head in my hands. This was great. No sarcasm; it really was. Life's been shit for the past week, and this was such an uplift.
"Things will be better from now on. Even if mom isn't here."