Running the Ridge
"And the only way into the sun is walking / But you'd rather run / You'd rather run away." It's Seeley's last week at home before he gets shipped off to Boot Camp. He just has to tell his siblings.
So, I have a confession. Jared is one of my all time favorite Bones characters. I like him because he's real. He's honestly himself, no apologies. He bends when he needs to, but most of the time, he's just busy being himself. Maybe because I dated a guy like him, but for some reason, his character resonates more with me than any other character on the show. Sure, he has his vices… don't we all? Some of us drink too much, some of us smoke, some bite their nails and some pick their nose… Vices make us human and it's nice to know that people like Jared exist.
As always, your feedback would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
You work 'round the clock, watch it tick and tock
But this isn't your time
Move over son, it's my turn to shine
And the only way into the sun is walking
But you'd rather runYou'd rather run away
~"You'd Rather Run" Jaymay
"Is that spelled right?" 7 year-old Kelly held up the piece of paper for her 12 year-old brother Jared to read. She was sitting on the floor of their grandparent's living room, using the coffee table as a desk as she attempted to finish her homework. It was almost summer and she just had to do this one last book report.
"Uh," He squinted at it slightly from his position on the couch, trying to make out Kelly's chicken scratch printing. "Looks right?"
"You're useless." She sighed as Seeley walked by. "Seeley," She stopped him, "Is this spelled right?"
"Is it supposed to be 'presence'?" She nodded. "You switched the 's' and the 'c'." He informed her.
"If I ruled the world, I'd make it so that all words with S's and C's could be spelled with either." She muttered. "Switch them around," She waved her hands in the air. "Because Queen Kelly said so!"
"She learned that sarcasm from you." Seeley pointed at Jared accusatorily, but smiled as he made his way into the kitchen.
"Just like she learned to be a pain in the ass from you?" Jared smirked back.
"Don't say ass." Kelly looked up from her homework with a stern glare for her brothers. "Unless you're talking about a donkey, but you can't say it at school, either. A donkey is a donkey at school. Not an ass."
"Life lessons with Kelly Booth." Seeley laughed as he came back into the living room and plopped down on the carpet next to Kelly.
"Dad will get mad if we call it an ass at school." She whispered. "But he says it all the time."
"Normally only when he's talking about Seeley." Jared settled back into the pillows on the couch and smiled smugly at his brother.
Seeley frowned at his brother's nonchalance about their father. In a weeks time, he would be gone. His bus to Army Boot Camp would be waiting for him and he couldn't ask it to stay just so he could watch out for Jared. He rubbed his stiff shoulder, hoping a light massage would ease his pain. Desperately, he hoped that by this time next week, it wouldn't be bothering him anymore. Every day was better than the last, he reminded himself.
"Hey," Kelly held up her paper again, "Is this spelled right?"
Seeley glanced at the word. 'Include' was spelled right. He nodded with a small smile. "Imagine," He laughed. "If Queen Kelly had her way and switched all the C's with S's."
"Inslude." Kelly scrunched up her nose and laughed. "I'll change my law a little bit. It has to make sense to switch them."
"Good call." He nodded and leaned back on his elbows. "What are you writing?"
"A book report." She muttered as she used her big pink eraser to fix a mistake.
"What book?"
"Nate the Great." She threw a library book at him without looking up from her paper. "He's a detective. He solves mysteries."
"I love that book." Jared sighed from the couch, still relaxing against the pillows with a smile on his face. "Nate the Great, solving the case of the missing picture of Fang."
"And eating pancakes." Seeley laughed, remembering the story from his childhood. Pops had read it to him almost every time they saw each other when he was younger.
"You've read the book?" Kelly looked hopeful and thrust her paper at him. "Here! You write it then! You know bigger words than I do!"
"You don't have to use big words, Munchkin, you just have to write a good book report." He pushed her hands away.
"I hate book reports." She grumbled as she put the paper back on the coffee table and went back to writing.