Stripes by Asariblue
Prologue-The Interview
"State your name for the record."
"What is this a court testimony? I haven't even started yet and I'm already in trouble. In that case, I'll definitely leave out my teen years ," he joked, waggling his brows. The reporter stared back blankly.
"Never mind," he sighed. She would've laughed, he thought, running a hand through his hair. It was more gray than brown these days and absently he wondered if he should have dyed it.
"Mr. Freeman-"
"Call me Jet; everyone does."
"-the producers just want all the details on tape, even ones that may seem redundant."
"They must really be scraping the bottom of the barrel if they want my story--it's hardly breaking news."
"On the contrary, your story is…" Jet saw the reporter floundering for an adjective that didn't sound callous. 'Sensational' was probably the word on the reporter's tongue. 'Unusual' worked too.
"…Anyways, this the history channel we're talking about--they consider anything in that last century 'recent news'."
"Right…"
"So let's start at the beginning."
"I was born," he quipped dryly. The automatic response was so…Zuko thatJet laughed out loud. The one sitting across from him looked less than amused.
"Seriously, Mr. Freeman."
Jet knew he was stalling. He'd never really talked about the events in his life. He didn't need to discuss them; the people who needed to know, friends and family, already knew and none of them were keen on dredging up the past. The ones he wanted to talk to, the ones directly involved, were at a monastery thousands of miles away and half a world away.
When it boiled down to it, this was one conversation he didn't want to start. It was like a suitcase; each time he started pulling out memories and emotions he couldn't stuff them back in as neatly or deeply as before. Not even decades later. Yet, he was still here. Some part of him felt compelled to stay and say his piece. Perhaps, He would tell the real story for once.
Belatedly, it occurred to him that this was the first interview that he accepted since after. It would be the last one too. That was reason to tell the truth if ever there was one.
"From the beginning then." He took a deep breath and got comfortable in his seat. "I spent most of my childhood in a state orphanage. A few homes. Nothing permanent. I ran away at 14 and joined the circus…
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