Title: Two Brothers
Summary: We don't speak the language. We can't read the words. The menu is a troll. Half the time something wants to kill us and the other half is us trying to kill it. In short: Sword Art Online is the worst thing ever. OC Duo First-Person Narrative
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October 30, 2022
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I want there to be no doubts: if Ethan fails to meet the expectations I have set for him, I'm letting Dad take over.
I will buy the ticket, put him on the plane, and that will be the end of it.
For most of today (or, yesterday now, I guess), I've thought on how I should handle Ethan. I considered carefully the positives, the negatives, and everything in between for either sending him away or offering a second (or could it be considered sixth?) chance. It was somewhat distracting, as I was worn and sore whilst working and trying to remain a competent officer. Probably not my smartest decision to consider major life choices while on the clock, but hindsight's twenty-twenty. And for better or worse, I couldn't put those thoughts away. They were distracting. I've now gone back and forth on this issue for the last twenty hours and it was no easier deciding in the first than it was in the last.
It took some bad sports, passing in and out of sleep for the last three hours and cleaning the dishes (oddly enough) to clear my head on what I thought was the right thing to do.
Now, that doesn't mean it was the best decision. For all I know, Ethan may steal forty turkeys next week for Thanksgiving, or Dukes of Hazzard my Pinto into a Walmart before Christmas. Or, hey, maybe he'll jump off a cliff because all the cool kids are doing it. My point is that I have no idea what my brother will do next. I hope for the best – hope he'll listen to my words and stick to the straight and narrow – but I've done the same for the last few screw-ups he's been in. I really don't know what Ethan will do next. And that scares the living…it scares me.
I don't think I know my brother anymore. How sad is that?
But, I think I have a solution for this - I wouldn't have made my final decision without some sort of contingency. See, a frankly terrible idea came into my head sometime during the day. A rather bold or extreme thought which, were I of a more rested and rationale mind, may have been overstepped or be ridded of soon after its conception. But, as I've already pointed out, I was not, and so the idea grew and festered into something which I couldn't put curiosity away from. I suppose some the best and worst ideas happen when you're ready to pass out, and it might just be the insomnia speaking to me now, but my little plot seemed like a fun, if financially taxing, escapade. A way to get away from all the stresses here. And I figured I should make it a surprise, so no telling Ethan. Why? Because I'm pretty sure he'd call me an idiot or similarly less kind phrase if he knew what I was thinking of doing. Plus, since my wallet is less than affluent than I would otherwise like at the moment…I'm going to need to make a call if this little bit of ingenuity could even be at all possible to undertake.
So: grab phone, walk out the front door for some privacy (and so Ethan doesn't overhear the conversation from the other room), consider words carefully and type in numbers.
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…Hello?"
Good, he answered. "Hey, Dad. It's Jon. You got a quick sec? I have a favor I want to ask you…"
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TB - J
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Author's Note: The updates will occasionally be short chapters. Do not worry, this also means the occasional chapter will be longer than usual, as a result. But with these shorter chapters, I can more easily start writing a next chapter which may be longer, more story-driven.
It's a plus-negative situation.
Next Update: 7/18/2017