Prompt #350. I Didn't Start It! Feature infighting, squabbling, or an argument in today's work.
The Arthur here is Arthur Major, the one called Arty in Becoming Irregular 6 and the "other Arthur" in Smoke 4.
"What are you doing?"
"It's called having fun, Arthur. Try it sometime."
Doris' retort carried easily around the corner, and the grumble in those words halted him mid-step. So much for speaking with them before this came to a head. His little sister was one wrong word from an explosion befitting her hair color.
That Arthur willingly provided. "But we both have lessons, and we need to tell Mr. Hobbs about that brick, and—"
"Oh, stuff it!" Doris' voice flipped from annoyed to truly angry, but he stayed where he was. They did not need someone to intervene yet. "You're such a wet blanket! None of that has to be done this minute, and we'll never be truly caught up. You can get older without losing the fun, Arthur. Just look at Mr. Holmes and Doctor Watson!"
His tone did not agree. "They work all day—and nights, too—chasing criminals, and they get hurt a lot."
"And have you ever seen them after they catch someone? Have you? Because I have, and you don't get that excited unless you're having fun! They like what they do. They have fun doing what they do! Unlike you, Mr. I Take the Fun Out of Everything. I came over here to get away from wet blankets, so if you wanna pretend you're so old and can't have fun anymore, go away!"
Silence answered her, then sluggish footsteps moved towards the middle of the courtyard, dragging as if the other boy's head was down. Doris and Arthur had fought many times over the years—especially recently—but they usually separated in a huff before either got truly angry. He sat against the wall, scuffing one shoe on the cobblestones as Arthur wandered past.
Arthur glanced up, hesitated, then slowly joined him on the ground, knees against his chest
"Hey, Jackson. Suppose you heard that?"
"Most of the courtyard heard that," he answered quietly. "You alright?"
"Why wouldn't I be?"
Jackson simply stared at him. Arthur sighed.
"I don't know. I thought we were friends, but friends don't call you a wet blanket and tell you to go away."
"They do sometimes." He kept his voice gentle. "Not always, though. Usually, an ongoing argument is resolved before you reach that point."
"Ongoing?" he repeated, confusion meeting Jackson's gaze. "This is just a day shout."
No wonder Doris had finally told him to go away. They repeated the same problem with every interaction. "Your 'day shouts' have had the same topic for several weeks now."
"Oh." He ducked his head again, playing with something in the dirt. Jackson let the silence stretch for only a minute.
"Do you understand why she's mad at you?"
He hesitated but eventually shook his head, eyes still on the ground.
"Why do you think you are in charge of making sure her tasks get done?"
"But–" The protest cut off. "It's more fun to do them together," he replied instead.
"Only if you both want to do it at that moment," he pointed out. "When was the last time she played a prank on you?"
Arthur's forehead furrowed beneath the force of his frown. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"It has been a while, hasn't it?"
Arthur still did not look up, but he eventually nodded. "I thought she learned there wasn't a point."
"There will always be a point in fun, Arthur. Doris knows that, but fun loses its joy when another reacts badly. What did you do the last time she played a prank on you?" No answer. "Did you laugh and play one back, or did you lecture her on appropriate uses of her time?"
Arthur seemed to shrink in place. "Lecture."
"So when you combine that with a lack of further pranks and the way she has avoided you for the last week, what do you get?"
Arthur easily followed the logic, but cautious confusion abruptly flipped to surly irritation. He started to get up.
"'Course you're gonna take her side. She's your sister."
"Sit down, Arthur." The sharp words brought surprise, then an almost reflexive drop back to the dirt. Jackson may not be the leader anymore, but he would always be a leader. "I am taking the opposite side," he corrected mildly, "as befits a mentor. I will talk to Doris in a minute. What is the biggest rule we have in this courtyard?"
The words emerged a low grumble. "Everyone gets along."
"And works together," he finished. "You will never be able to work together if each of you cannot understand the other's viewpoint. What do you know about Doris?"
"She…" The word trailed off. "She wastes time. She's mischievous and sometimes rude. Instead of getting something done when she's told, she often procrastinates until the last minute then has to rush through it. She spends more time playing pranks than doing her part to keep the courtyard running, and her priorities focus on all the wrong things."
"She knows that the work is never done," Jackson countered, "so you might as well have fun when you can. When she sets her mind to something, she does it, and she's not afraid to speak her mind even if that thought is more impertinent than our uneven society thinks it should be for her gender. She values time management, laughing with friends, and enjoying each day for the simple pleasure of being alive. Doris will finish her work, but she's not going to do anything non-urgent immediately and risk getting assigned more."
As Arthur had done—and griped about—many times. He made no answer, the deep frown proving he at least considered Jackson's words. Jackson waited nearly a minute before deciding to continue.
"You do not need to be the best of friends, Arthur. Actually, I think whatever friendship you had as playmates drifted apart about the time Mr. Holmes disappeared. You do need to get along, though, and you need to be able to work together."
Arthur pulled a face, probably remembering the many grieving arguments in those first horrible weeks. With Mr. Holmes gone and the doctor so sick, the Irregulars had essentially been left to themselves and the elder Mr. Holmes' very limited oversight, and each of them had handled the loss differently. Arthur had wanted quiet companionship, but Doris had taken to disappearing into cubbies for hours, avoiding even Jackson's company. He had listened to more than one explosion when Arthur tried to make her stop.
But the boy may have finally started to learn that not everyone thought like he did. A long moment provided another question.
"How can we work together if she wants me to go away?"
"Act in a manner that she doesn't want you to go away." Confusion reappeared at the simple reply, and Jackson chuckled. "Let her do what she is going to do, Arthur. You are not her keeper. Get the job done, find something in common if you can, and if you can't—" He broke off with a grin. "There are four dozen kids in this courtyard. You do not have to spend all your time with Doris just because you were tiny together. Find someone else who sees the world the way you do. You can live in the same courtyard, work together when needed, and not seek each other out the rest of the time."
Arthur released a faint harrumph he must have learned from the elder Mr. Holmes, but he made no real answer. A single nod combined acknowledgement and thanks before he stood and wandered off, evidently in search of a quiet place to think. Jackson watched him duck through the archway before slowly gaining his own feet. If only discussing things with Doris were so easy. This might take a while.
Not that he would let that deter him. He might agree with Doris more than Arthur, but they still needed to be able to work together. The adult world did not make concessions for differences in personalities.
Hope you enjoyed :)
Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter
