JANUARY: I'm searching through my closet for a controller so I can play some games, but I end up finding a large book. I recognize it instantly.
The day we had met, we meet up after school and tell Rose's Mom and my Dad we're staying behind for tutoring and will walk home. We instead go to the playground and climb in the trees. You and I stay up there all day, just talking about everything and everyone in our lives.
Turns out everyone has a phone, so I begin begging Dad to let me get a phone. He snaps at me, saying if it will shut me up, he'll get one for me.
A week later he gives me a phone.
FEBRUARY: I call Jade as much as I can as weeks pass by. When dad notices I am, he takes my phone away. When I ask why, he just tells me to get to my homework.
Valentines, and I just make glitter cards in class like every year. I send Jade one without letting Dad know.
You come to my house late at night and tell me to get dressed. I do as you say, and we sneak out of my house. You ask if I had seen my Mom's grave last year. I say no. You take me to the graveyard and we just sit at her grave, staring at it as you hold my hand to comfort me as I cry.
MARCH: You become absent for a week straight, and the bullies begin bothering me again.
It's Friday, and when the bullies bring up my mom again on the playground. I grab a rock and chunk them until they run away.
I'm grounded, of course.
Rose and I pick flowers to send to Jade. She says that all she sees around the garden is the same old flowers, and doesn't have any seeds to plant for new ones. We decide that she deserves some blue bonnets.
I make sure to hide them before sending it off.
APRIL: The first of April and I decide to throw off a big prank (well, big for me at age nine). I go to school and walk up to Mrs. Johnson's desk and lay a rubber cockroach under her books, then a rubber spider in her drink. When she finds them, we all just laugh.
I end up getting caught, but I just laugh it off with you later.
When cleaning out the garage as punishment, I find a movie called Con Air. I take it to my room and start it. An obsession slowly grows.
My birthday, I'm ten. Rose makes me crayons that have been melted into a heart shape.
You go up to me at night and take me out again. We head to the park we first met at. You point at the playground and tell me to pick out a rock. I do as said and pick out a tan large rock. You tell me to pick something , I bring you a regular medium rock that fits in my entire hand, in which you take out a sharpie and take me to a bench. You write on the rock, "John Egbert is my best bro for the rest of my life" in small letters, then put a line under it with a tally mark.
"On every birthday I'm with you, I will put a tally"
Jade sends me an awesome picture of us. She's getting really good.
At school, I put a sticker on the teacher's seat face up. She walked around all day with The Wiggles on her butt.
MAY: You and I ditch school, not really in the mood to deal with anything. We just sit on a park bench and talk about stupid stuff.
Dad sends me to my room and I just shrug him off.
I talk to Jade all weekend and she talks about how lonely she is. She only has Grampa and Bec. I tell her that when we're older, we will visit her. Regardless of what anyone says, because I miss my twin.
I talk to Karkat, and he has an eyepatch on. When I ask if he's dressing as a pirate, he tells me to keep my nose out of others business.
At the end of the school year, I pull off a huge prank and I get sent home early. I guess the principle doesn't like pumpkins.
JUNE: I make sure to talk to Rose everyday. Turns out her Mom is getting more and more drunk everyday. It turns out Dad isn't even going to work. He's going to their house and 'hanging out' with Rose's mom.
It's not like he has to lie, I don't even care.
You confirm that information with me.
JULY: I sneak to Rose's house at night and stay in her room with you. I make sure you both are okay, and that she doesn't feel lonely because of her mom.
We stay up all night playing with her Oujia board. We don't find any ghost.
You take me to my Mom's grave and we talk as if she's listening.
AUGUST: We start fifth grade, and you tell me that we're one more step until we are the coolest of cool kids, and next year, we'll be in middle school.
As showing off we're back in action, I begin playing a big prank on our teacher Mr. Dellward. Everyday I put a small dell pickle on his chair seat.
SEPTEMBER: You come over one night and I pop in Con Air. I make you watch it with me all night long. You just poke me and bother me. I could barely watch the movie!
We pull off a big prank ourselves. We chew a whole bunch of bubble gum and sneak into Mr. Dillward's classroom. We stick gum under all of his papers and press them to the paper.
We both get in a whole lotta trouble.
OCTOBER: Rose worries about us and tries counseling me. I tell her I'm perfectly fine. Just playing some harmless pranks is all with my best bro.
We skip school to go to the park where the pumpkin patch is growing. You let me pick out a baby pumpkin and pay for it. We both get baby pumpkins and sit at the park for the rest of the day, just drawing silly faces on them. You make sure to get one for Rose to draw on when you get home.
Dad yells at me, but I brush him off. I just continue playing my games.
NOVEMBER: We both sit outside one day and just say nothing.
We pull off another prank. We keep throwing paper balls at Mr. Dillward. A ginger kid next to us gets in trouble. We just laugh it off.
Rose confronts me again. And I tell her the same.
Dad doesn't even talk to the seat across him at Thanksgiving. He just grabs his keys and goes to the Lalonde's.
Later you message me saying there was a lot of noise coming from Mrs. Lalonde's room.
DECEMBER: Jade's birthday rolls around, and I can't give her anything. We all ship her a package with her favorite snacks, movies, and plushes.
Your birthday rolls around and I give you your gift. I get you a pop out card I spent the last week on. You tell me it's the best. Rose gives you a fat book and let's you know that it wouldn't hurt to brush up on your reading skills.
Before school goes off to break, Vriska and I play a prank with her spider. We hold it in our hands, then lurch out hand out to scare the person we're showing it to. I get bit by it, and get taken to the hospital. Turns out when a Southern Black Widow bites you, you don't exactly get happy results.
Once all the pain and such fade away, you sit in my bedroom and tell me scary stories of spiders. I don't know why you did, but it scared me a lot, so I want nothing to do with spiders now!
When Christmas comes around, you get out of the house with me and take me downtown. No one questions two ten-year olds walk around alone.
New Years, and we sneak into Rose's room and pop up Jade over the cam on Rose's laptop. We sit on her bed and talk all night long, laughing, and I just wished a little more that Jade was here with me so I could hug her when the clock had struck twelve.