The afternoon sun shone brightly on the white snow, causing a blinding light to pierce through the classroom window of Olga Pataki. She sat quietly at her desk while her students ran amuck outside, and smiled as she graded their work, listening to their joyful screams and laughs. From time to time, she would glance over at her own family's photo and feel the pleasant nostalgic feeling of wanting to be home again: The TV blaring loudly while her father watched whatever game was on, her mother and herself talking fondly over times passed and a cup of her freshly brewed, ethically sourced, single origin coffee. Her baby sister coming home from school, throwing her backpack on the ground before racing up the stairs to her room, leaving Olga to wonder what her day must have been like and wishing she were there to experience it with her.
A knock at the door, caused Olga to look up from her papers. "Come in!" She called out happily to whomever may be on the other side of that door.
When the door opened, the usual mail man stepped in and tipped his hat. "Ma'am" He addressed to her, before walking over to her and handing her a letter.
At first, Olga was overjoyed that her baby sister must have replied back to her letter, but her excited expression soon turned into a puzzled one when she overlooked the letter handed to her. "W…What?" She asked in confusion, turning the letter over a few times before looking up at the mail carrier in concern. "It was sent back? Why?"
The mail man readjusted his hat before walking closer to her to point out the small writing that had been written on the envelope. "Says its undeliverable, Ma'am." When the beautiful young woman before him eyes became wide and glistened as tears formed, he gulped and decided to explain a bit more. "Location must not exist or something. Double check the address you wrote is the correct one."
Despite knowing very well that she wrote the correct address, Olga opened her desk drawer and pulled out the letter that Helga had written her, and compared the return address to the one she had wrote down to send back: They were identical. "There must be some mistake…" Her voice trembled with uncertainty. "I wrote the address down perfectly… what could have gone wrong?"
The man became nervous as he could see this woman was beginning to crumble before him. "I don't know what to tell you, miss. Unfortunately, you may have to contact the local post office to the city of your recipient to see if there was some sort of mix up. Other than that, my only thought is the location no longer exists."
"No longer exists? How could that be possible?" Olga whispered to herself as the man slowly inched his way out of her classroom and shut the door quietly. She then looked over at her family photo and brought it closer to her. Her tears softly fell onto the glass of the photograph as her heart filled up with dismay and uncertainties.
Once class was over, she would have to call them up as soon as she could in order to get an explanation but being so far out of town, her cell phone had little to no signal, so calling them from her current location was near impossible. Even calling from her residence was choppy at best and if it were an emergency, she knew she could rely on her neighbors lending her their phone but… this was a long distance call. How could she possibly ask them to allow her such a call?
Loud cheering from the children outside, caused Olga to wipe away her tears and place the photo back where it belonged. "No…" She told herself firmly. "Now's not the time for this!" Opening up a small compact mirror, Olga quickly fixed up her appearance as to not allude to her emotions in front of her class. "You gotta stay strong for the children." She looked over the letter once more before taking both hers, and Helga's, and placing them back safely in her desk. "I'm sure it was just a silly mix up, or something. Big Bob's Beepers not existing?" She let out a little laugh to settle her intrusive worries, "That's crazy! Daddy would never let that happen!"
"Alright students, it's time to put your books away…" Mr. Simmons called out to his class while he wrapped up in time for the last class of the day. "Nurse Shelley should be here any moment, so remember to be respectful." He then turned to Curly with an exhausted look, "And Curly, please stop sounding to excited whenever she talks about the drugs side effect. They're not cool…"
Curly looked at the teacher and shrugged, before going back to the abstract doodle he was creating.
The children continued to chat to each other before Mr. Simmons opened up the door to allow the Nurse to walk through.
"Good afternoon, everyone!" She cheerfully greeted them; her arms full of rolled up posters. "I hope everyone is having a wonderful day. I know I am!" The classes less than excited response, cause the woman to shrug off the unwelcome feeling and began to put up her various posters. "This will be the last week we'll be learning about drugs, so be sure to go over your notes because there's gonna be a test on Friday!"
"Awwww! I hate tests!" Harold cried out before folding his arms across his belly and pouting.
The announcement caused others to groan and whisper to each other, but neither of the teachers paid them any mind.
"Alright, Nurse Shelley!" Mr. Simmons clapped his hands. "I'm sure the next subject will be equally as interesting and informative." He finished with a wink.
The older woman chuckled but continued to set up for her class. "We've gone over the different type of drugs, and highlighted some of the most known, as well as the side effects; both the highly sought after ones, as well as the negative ones that the user will undoubtedly endure and the long term effects, they have on the body…" She explained as she finished setting up. "Now, I suppose you must ask… why? Why would some people decide to do these drugs, knowing full well the outcome?" The woman turned around and smiled to her uninterested mass. "Pull out your notebooks because Addiction, is our topic of today!"
The class gathered the needed pencils and paper, causing a loud cacophony to erupt throughout the room. Nurse Shelley grabbed the newest piece of chalk and started to write on the board.
"Addiction, by definition means: the fact or condition of being addicted to a particular substance, thing, or activity." She paused a moment to let the students catch up before continuing. "Other terms being fixation, compulsion, enslavement, dependence and weakness to that particular thing." The woman turned from the board and pointed out to a poster she had brought in. "Although the majority of our focus has been on drugs, people can become addicted to things other than drugs. They can be addicted to food…" She said as she pointed to the person eating, "Or games and gambling…" She pointed to the person playing cards at a table, "And even other nuance things like technology or following celebrities." She pointed to a crowd of people taking pictures of a singer.
"How can you tell the difference between just liking something, and being addicted to it?" Nadine asked, sort of side eyeing her best friend and her insistent fascination with fashion and everything accompanying it.
"Wonderful question!" Nurse Shelley smiled and placed her hands together thoughtfully. "It's alright to have hobbies and things you enjoy, but what sets apart those things and addiction is if those things rule you, as opposed to you having control over them. Those who are addicted surround their lives around that one particular thing. Let's use drugs as the prime example! The person addicted will do anything within their means to obtain that drug, even if that means spending all their money, becoming sick, losing friends and family but in their eyes, all of that is okay because they're able to obtain that one thing."
"What if you're addicted to something healthy?" Eugene asked from the far back of the room. "Like exercising or reading?"
"Then it isn't healthy anymore, Eugene." The Nurse frowned. "Things done in moderation are fine but the moment they become obsessive, is when they become unhealthy. Even if a person where to be addicted to exercise, it's possible that even that can over run their lives; causing them to abandon relations to go for runs, not eating enough because they're too consumed with lifting weights and even comparing their results with that of someone else! Even reading, someone could become so consumed by it that it's all they do! Sitting in their room reading book after book, losing sleep, and not eating… ignoring everyone and everything around them!"
"Wilikers…" said a wide eyed Stinky, in response.
"And don't forget what we learned this morning about not having healthy eating and sleeping habits!" Mr. Simmons chimed in, seeing an open chance to connect the two subjects.
"That's right." Shelley nodded to her companion. "People can be addicted to sleep and food as well, which is also not good. Not to worry though! The first step in helping yourself out of addiction is realizing the problem and confronting yourself about it. Anyone can fight their addiction so long as they remain dedicated in taking responsibility and fighting their bad habits."
Helga scoffed at the assumption, thinking about the video they had watched about an addict who needed an intervention about their drinking habits. It was undeniable that both of her parents had addictions but it wasn't as if she ever knew them without them. Bob and his constant need to succeed and remain on top, drove them to where they currently were. It may not be a literal drug induced coma in a gutter, but it might as well be. Miriam had a closer relationship to her blender than she did with anyone in her family. Helga even recognized her own addiction to that one specific boy, but despite her parents being irresponsible and ignoring their problems in order to sate their vice, at least she indulged somewhat responsibly… even if some of her escapades were a bit extreme. She recognized that sometimes her obsessions led her down dark alleyways, injuring herself, breaking the law and things of the like, but at least some good came out of it and it didn't ruin her relationships with her friends or family. Is it possible to be addicted in moderation? Helga wondered to herself as she chewed on her pencil eraser mindlessly.
"Another thing that people don't consider, is that it's very possible to become reliant on over the counter medication." Nurse Shelley's face turned a little grim as she reached into her pocket and pulled out generic medicines that you would expect to see at your local pharmacy. She turned around a bottle of nasal spray and pointed to the directions. "It's very important when taking any sort of medicine, whether prescribed from a doctor or just bought at your corner store, that you follow the recommended directions and doses." The woman handed out a few of the empty medicine bottles so that way the children could pass them around to have a better look at the label's facts. "Otherwise, the possibility of side effects increase, as well as the risk of your body's dependency on the substance. Things that can seem harmless, such as things to help you with your allergies, a cold or even falling asleep, can cause a lot more harm than you'd expect."
Sid raised his hand as he looked over the bottle of a common cold/flu medicine. "I thought things like this were safe, though?" He looked around in confusion at his fellow classmates to see if he was the only one feeling this way. "My mom gives this to me whenever I have a cold. Why would she do that if this could hurt me or make me addicted?!" His voice became slightly elevated as panic began to set in.
"When used as directed, it won't cause you harm, Sid." The Nurse explained as she walked over to the fully panicked boy. "However, there are cases when you accidentally can take too much! Let's say you're feeling really sick and think to yourself, 'If I just take more than normal… it might make me feel better faster?' This is a common thought that ends up in people's heads that leads them down the road to unintentionally abusing common medicines. Taking too much and too soon can cause the body to rely on that medicine to provide it with things it should normally make itself, so the moment you might stop, the body begins to show recurring symptoms of things such as a cold or congestion, causing you to take more of the medicine."
"Woah!" Harold called out as he held a green box in his hand, looking closely at the brand. "These are the things that help you poop!"
"Disgusting!" Rhonda shouted back in response, cringing her face as she looked to the boy next to her, before turning back to the woman instructing the class. "How can things like that be addictive?" Her words sounding both astonished, as well as repulsed. "And who would even want to take enough of them to cause something like that?!"
"Oh, you'd be surprised!" Nurse Shelley turned her attention to the girl, watching her cross her legs and change her body language to indicate she didn't believe it as the truth. "Laxative abuse is actually a lot more common than most of these medicines that everyone is passing around."
The room became louder with the kids commenting to themselves or each other about the statement.
"But who would want to do that, though?" Gerald asked, unable to come up with any sort of explanation for himself.
The older woman frowned as she backed up and leaned against Mr. Simmons desk. She gradually recalled some unpleasant memories from her past and could feel her chest tighten. "Let me tell you all a story…" She started, her throat feeling dry.
The children all became quiet as they anticipated what might be either an interesting story, or something sickening.
"A long time ago, when I was maybe a little bit older than most of you, I was friends with a girl from my neighborhood…" She began solemnly, recalling one of the more happier memories from earlier on. "We were practically inseparable, her and I. We liked the same music, the same food and even the same boys! One day, as we were walking down the hallway towards our lockers, we saw the school's top 1st baseman, Dennis Halloway, leaning against his locker and whispering something to one of the cheerleaders. He grinned and she giggled and it was obvious that they were both interested in each other. This broke my friend's heart…" Shelley could feel the room becoming a little colder as the events began to unfold in her mind. "You see, Dennis was a boy she had liked since the 5th grade and every single year, it seemed he had a new girlfriend, and every single year, she would do something to change herself to look or act a little like those girls, in hopes of turning his head her way."
Some of the boys raised their eyebrows in surprise, while some of the girl's showed expressions of sympathy. Helga gulped as she swallowed the shameful guilt down back into her stomach as she recalled doing something similar.
"Whatever did she do…?" Asked Lila, her fingers over her mouth as her heart broke for this mysterious girl.
"At first, the changes were subtle and superficial." Recalled the old nurse. "Wearing her hair differently, or changing up the color scheme of her clothes. Then, some of her interests veered from the ones we typically enjoyed to ones increasingly risky, and controversial…" She closed her eyes, breathed in deep and let out a sigh. "I didn't notice it at first, since its normal for people's interests to change. Change can be a sign of growing up, after all. But as the years went by, I noticed something had changed about her in the wrong way." Shelley opened her eyes and made sure to make eye contact with every single one of the students before her. "She began to hate herself."
A small gasp was heard in the crowd, and some of the students frowned.
"The girl I once knew, was slowly disappearing before my eyes. I tried to bring it up a few times, but she usually would brush it aside and tell me there was nothing to worry about, or it was all in my head. I would take her word for it, since she had never lied to me before and I trusted her… But by the time we were just starting high school and she saw her crush with yet another girl, she had come to a grim conclusion that would affect her for the rest of her life."
"Oh no!" Eugene called from the back of the room. "What happened?"
"My friend decided that the only reason she couldn't ever get her crush to notice her, was because her body wasn't the right type." Shelley looked down at her own body, and then back at the students. "She believed that the only way to get Dennis to like her, was to lose a lot of weight. Now, my friend was very healthy and pretty fit all her life, but she couldn't help but compare her body to that of those other girls. She couldn't see that her body was perfectly fine the way it was and that the image she saw when she looked in the mirror, was only distorted by the jealousy that had been beating her up inside." Shelley could feel the guilt from her past rising. "I noticed that she stopped eating her lunch and she refused to go out to eat with me and our friends. Whenever we slept over each other's houses, it always seemed like she felt ill… but would blame it on a stomach virus. It wasn't until she asked me to take something out of her purse that I was able to connect the dots." Shelley's face became grim. "She had been using laxatives and throwing up most of the food she ate, in order to lose weight."
"Why not just diet and exercise?" inquired Phoebe, unable to believe that someone would go through such extremes to punish their own body, and neglect their health, just to acquire a particular image.
"Just like the body can be sick, so can the mind." Shelley answered the intellectual girl. "And in this case, her self-esteem and body image had deteriorated so badly, she no longer cared for her physical health and could only see her goal in front of her, and would stop at nothing to get to it."
"Why throwing up and laxatives, though?" Rhonda asked, her usual attitude toned down into something a lot more melancholic and curious. "I get starving yourself to lose weight, but why bother eating if your just gonna force it back out of you?"
"There are a few reasons why someone might resolve themselves to such methods." Shelley replied, walking to the front of the class, and collecting back the empty medicine containers. "First, to feign normality to everyone around them. When someone is suffering from a mental illness, they will sometimes do their best to make it seem like they're fine, when really, they aren't, that way no one will ask questions or try to change their minds. Second, to punish their bodies for not looking the way they want it to. Some people may disconnect themselves from their own body, and blame their body for how it looks. Just like you might punish a child for doing something wrong, they will punish their bodies, and themselves, for not being the way they want…" She placed the items back into her jacket pockets and walked over to Mr. Simmons desk to grab some of the worksheets she had made. "A third reason might be because it's simply easier to them, than starving themselves." She walked over and handed out some of the papers to the students in the front row. "Whatever the reason may be, hurting yourself in order to get what you want is never the answer, and its times like this that you should always reach out to the people who love you, rather than suffering in silence."
"Did she ever get the guy?" Helga asked, somewhat sympathetic towards the girl in the story, but more so interested in the outcome.
"I'm afraid not." Shelley confirmed, her face mirroring something similar to disappointment. "After I found out what she had been doing to herself, I had confronted her and expressed my concerns… but when she dismissed them, I had no choice but to go to her parents."
"Her parents?!" Harold cried out in shock. "You were a rat?!"
"Harold!" Mr. Simmons scolded as he furrowed his brows in frustration, causing the boy to startle a little, before shrugging in innocence.
"I suppose you could say that…" Shelley said softly, understanding well why the children might come to that conclusion. "However, sometimes going to those extremes can be necessary when someone you love's life is in danger." She let out a small chuckle, considering to herself what her class may think of her actions, but knowing well in her heart that she would have done it again if she ever had the chance. "I know it may sound silly to some of you, but abusing your body like that can be very dangerous and lead to serious health problems. The acid from your stomach constantly coming in contact with your esophagus as you vomit, can lead to severe corrosion, causing ulcers to form and bleed. When abusing laxatives, it can cause electrolyte imbalances, causing dehydration, or over stimulating your intestines, resulting in chronic pain, kidney disease or even heart disorders. Would you want any of your friends to experience this? Or would you try to stop them before the damage got worse?"
Harold lowered his head in shame, as he recognized his wrong doing in judging the woman for her actions. "I'm sorry…"
"Not to worry, Harold!" Shelley reassured in a cheery voice, in an attempt to up lift the glum mood her story had created among her young students. "This is what learning is all about! You cannot be expected to know something you never learned." She explained as she walked over and placed a warm hand on the boy's shoulder.
"What happened to your friend?" Arnold asked, hoping the story might end in something hopeful, rather than the continuing downward trend.
"Well… after I spoke to her parents, they brought her to a doctor so she could get well. They had diagnosed her with Bulimia, which is an emotional disorder where the mind distorts your view of your body image, causing an obsession with losing weight, depression, self-shaming and guilt, which results in the person expelling the food they've eaten." The nurse explained, hoping her audience would fully understand the disorder and the severity of it. "At first, she wouldn't talk to me for a long time… but eventually, she overcame her anger towards me after realizing why I did what I did. You see, people who suffer from addiction often are unable to see why their actions are wrong, but with continuous love and support from the people around them, with continued evaluation from qualified doctors, they're able to get better and see their actions for what they really were… harmful."
"You stayed friends though, right?" He pushed, grasping for the possible light at the end of the tunnel.
Shelley shook her head. "She forgave me but things between us never were the same again." She replied, causing Arnold to frown. "Shortly after she was diagnosed, her parents made the decision to home school her, in hopes of avoiding any triggers that may cause her to once again, go down that dangerous road. I would visit from time to time, but… we just drifted apart." The woman gave Arnold a sad smile. "After graduation, her and her family moved out of state and I never saw her again. From time to time, I think about her and hope she's doing well." Her smile turned from sad, to something a bit more hopeful as she considered all of the wonderful things her friend could be doing in her life: If she was married, had kids, had a job she enjoyed, or even just enjoying the simple things in life and putting her past behind her.
"I hope you all listened very carefully to Nurse Shelley's story." Mr. Simmons said, with a stern but kind voice, before turning to his colleague. "And thank you… So much, for sharing…" He gave her a painful look, and held back the urge to fully engulf the woman with a hug. "I know it couldn't have been easy for you, being so personal…" He turned to his students and smiled, "But I'm sure we've all learned something very important! Keep supporting each other through the good times, and the bad, and if you ever find yourself needing help… don't be afraid to reach out! Whether it be from me, Nurse Shelley, your parents or your friends… we'll all be here to help!"
"That's right." The nurse giggled as she felt her woes disappear back into her memories, as her heart filled with uplifting joy at the thought of her friend's story, helping these children's future.
"Man… That was intense!" Gerald emphasized, letting out some of his impacted feelings from his last class of the day.
Arnold frowned as he looked towards the floor, walking alongside his best friend as they made their way home. "Yeah…" The feeling of remorse hadn't left him yet, and even though he hoped the woman in question had a full recovery and led a good life, he still couldn't quite shake off reality of it all; that something seemingly so simple and innocent as a crush on another person, could cause someone to spiral so far down, that they would inflict such pain on themselves.
"All I know, is from this day forward, I'm never gonna be taking medicine ever again." The dark skinned boy continued, as he crossed his arms in back of his head, looking forward and committing to the new thought. "My body is my temple, and I shall keep it clean from all impurities!"
Arnold gave his friend a curious look, and let out a small laugh. "What?"
"I saw it in some girl power movie my mom was watching." Gerald explained as he grinned over at his companion. "She binges on 'Female Empowerment' movies every so often. Timberly started joining her too and now it's become a ritual between the two every month. Not sure what it's about, but it keeps Timberly out of my hair for a little while."
"It's nice to hear that they're bonding." Arnold smiled at the thought of Mrs. Johanssen and younger sister, sitting close together on their family couch, sharing a bag of popcorn, and enjoying each other's company as they watched their film. "Things like that are important."
"Yeah, yeah…" Gerald agreed, allowing a few moments of silence to hang between them as they continued on down the block, towards his house. "How's it been with you and your folks?" He asked casually. "You never did update me on what your birthday was like with them, or what presents you got." Gerald had been holding these questions in all day, but hoped that Arnold would have brought them up first. A kid like him should have been full of excitement and wanting to boast about these sorts of things, but he knew that Arnold liked to be humble, despite how annoying it could be to those excited for him.
"It was surprisingly… normal." Responded Arnold thoughtfully, as he recalled the days prior.
"Normal?" Gerald confirmed, in surprise, cocking his eyebrow. "Your family?" He watched Arnold's smile grow wider, and then continued. "Surely you must be talking about someone else's family because, not for nothing, but your family is anything but normal."
"I'm serious!" He insisted happily, almost not believing his own words. Thinking for a moment, he relived a few of the precious moments he had, had with them at his birthday party. The tango line, the limbo bar, watching Oscar try to secretly hide food in order to take to his room, and his grandpa chasing him down the hallway… "It was fun…" Arnold continued to think about the warm smiles of his parents and how complete he finally felt when looking upon their faces. "It felt like… everything I imagined it could feel like. We had fun and played games."
"And how many things got broken?" Gerald asked, laughing as he recalled the number of casualties that had piled up in the past years, due to multiple scuffles between the boarders and his grandparents, or just Arnold's grandma becoming overly excited.
"Nothing, actually." He stated, realizing he was just as surprised as his friend. "There was one moment when a lamp almost went flying, but Helga managed to grab it in time."
Hearing his fellow classmates name caused the light bulb in Gerald's mind to flicker. He had almost forgotten how he and Phoebe managed to convince her to just attend without permission, and wondered exactly what went down after the fact. Letting his eyes quickly glance over at his unsuspecting friend, Gerald noticed the dreamy look on his face, and wondered which new edition to the boarding house Arnold was thinking about to give him such a look. To ask, or not to ask? Gerald waffled with the idea for a moment before letting it pass. "You still haven't told me about your presents yet." The boy stated, a matter-of-factly.
"Oh." The mention of his gifts caused a bit of guilt to rise up in Arnold's chest. "I'm sorry, I totally forgot!" He confessed before reaching in his pants pocket, and pulling out his new cellphone. "My parents gave me this!"
"Woah!" Gerald quickly snatched the phone out of Arnold's hands and looked it over. "Man, I'd kill for my parents to get me my own cell phone." He could feel himself becoming a little jealous, but pushed the emotion away to just feel happy for his friend. "That's pretty cool, man." He said as he handed the phone back to its owner.
"Yeah…" Arnold looked at his new prize fondly before putting it safely back in his pocket. "I'll need to save up money to keep it working though, but that shouldn't be too hard."
The two continued to walk towards the Johanssen residence, talking about the rest of the presents, including the trip to the gardens but stopped the moment they noticed something familiar in front of the house.
"Hey!" Gerald exclaimed with a bout of enthusiasm. "That's Jamie-O's car! He must be home to wash his clothes while Dad's at work."
Although it was unusual for Gerald to show any positive feelings towards his older brother, Arnold noticed that since the older boy had gone off to college, their relationship becoming less and less strained, resulting in somewhat of a brotherly relationship. "Does he not drop by often?"
"Usually only when he needs something…" Gerald rolled his eyes but the smile never disappeared from his face. "Wanna come in?" He asked, the moment they got to the stoop.
"Sure." Arnold nodded, thinking it might be nice to see how Jamie-O is doing now that he was away from the house and potentially living his own life on his own terms.
Gerald opened his front door and let his companion tread in after him, before securely shutting the door. "Jamie-O!" He called out, loud enough so anyone in the house could hear him.
The two boys stood there in silence as they waited for someone to respond, but no one did.
"He's probably got his headphones on…" Gerald grumbled before leading them both upstairs and to the older boy's old bedroom, which was now a makeshift weight lifting room.
In front of them, laid the older Johanssen, clad in baggy gym shorts, a form fitting top, headphones and slowly bearing the weight of his barbell on top of him.
"I figured…" Gerald said as he walked over to his brother.
Once the older boy noticed he had company, he loudly clanked the weighted metal bar down on its holder, and sat up. Sweat dripped from his brow, but he greeted them with a smile nonetheless, before taking off his headphones. "Hey, little bro! Arnold, how's it going?"
"I'm alright." Arnold replied, looking over the newest addition to Jamie-O's appearance. "Nice beard. How's college?"
Jamie-O let out a laugh before touching his nicely trimmed and faded beard. "Thanks. The ladies seem to love it so I keep it looking clean." The young man got up and headed over to the windowsill and grabbed his water bottle, taking a long drink, before setting it down and wiping his face with a nearby towel. "College sucks but it's a lot more fun than being stuck in this house."
"Amen…" Gerald commented quietly, wishing his time would come as soon as possible. "You washing clothes before Dad gets home?"
"Of course!" Jamie-O laughed, jokingly punching his brother in the shoulder. "Which means I only have about 2 hours left if you're home." He then looked down at Arnold and scratched the side of his face. "You've gotten a little taller since I've last seen you." He noted before walking passed both boys and jogging down the stairs loudly.
Arnold blinked. "I have?" He asked, looking over at his friend for confirmation.
"I guess?" Gerald shrugged. "You seem the same to me but… I also see you every day."
The statement caused him to recall those leg pains he had been experiencing off and on, and wondered if there really was a noticeable difference that he wasn't able to see. Arnold felt a rush of confidence as he considered his physical improvement being noticeable to others, and imagined himself eventually towering over his peers. This caused a goofy smile to grow on his face, especially when he considered he might not have to always stand on his tiptoes when trying to kiss his own girlfriend.
Gerald rolled his eyes as he watched his friend fantasize about who knows what. "Okay, Yao…" He said as he began to walk out of the weight room, assuming that Arnold's head would continue to swim if he didn't drag him alone. Once his friend made eye contact with him, Gerald nudged his head towards his bedroom as a sign, and waited for him to join. With a laugh, Gerald brought them to his room. "Just know, you're never gonna be taller than me." He stated with pride, picking up some clothes that were laying around his floor.
Arnold smiled and sat down on Gerald's bed. "Maybe."
Their eyes met briefly, causing Gerald to give a small laugh once more before throwing his dirty clothes in a hamper nearby, then sitting down next to his shorter friend. "So, what do you think the deal is with Wolfgang and Ludwig?" He asked, thinking back to Harold's story from earlier. "Do you really think they're gonna be planting some sort of hidden object for Harold to find? Or do you think this is a whole load of crap, just to get Harold to go into that creepy place and laugh at him behind his back?" He watched as Arnold's head lowered in thought. "Everyone knows how much of a scaredy cat Harold is."
Arnold pursed his lips at the possibility, silently regretting the whole thing. "It's possible…" It was no secret that everyone knew how easily scared Harold was, and even though their bullies weren't close enough to them to know these fears as a fact, it was something that he could see them doing.
"And what's the deal with Ludwig's family owning the building?" Gerald continued as he leaned back on his elbows, staring up at his ceiling. "That place hasn't been up and running since we were still in diapers!"
"Do you really think it's true?" Arnold wondered as he too looked up at Gerald's ceiling. "You know, what they said happened in there?"
A visible shiver went through Gerald's body. "I don't know man…" He said as he turned over and scowled at his unknowing friend. "But the fact we're gonna have to go in there and maybe never come out, is your fault, you know that, right?"
"Yeah…" Arnold agreed, frowning. "I'll admit that if I knew the circumstances before offering to help… I probably would've thought twice."
"And you got me involved. Don't forget that part." Gerald added, his glare becoming sharper.
"You didn't have to come though." Arnold rolled over on his side, and watched as Gerald's expression shifted to one softer. "You said you wanted to brush up on your urban stories."
"Yeah, I know." Gerald conceded, with a half-smile. "I just didn't want that part left out."
They both eyed each other for a moment, gauging the others feelings on the matter, before Gerald leapt up. "Wanna play some video games downstairs before my parents get home?"
Arnold nodded and followed the young man down into the living room. Once they arrived, Arnold felt like something was a little off and looked around.
"Where's Timberly?" He asked, somewhat worried about her absence. "Shouldn't she be home from school also?"
Gerald shrugged and began to set up the gaming system. "She has gymnastics with one of her friends sometimes." He pressed a small button on the console before it flashed green and the TV screen lit up. "Mom set it up, hoping it would get some of her energy out."
Accepting his own game controller, Arnold nodded. "Sounds like it might be a good fit for her then."
"Keeps her out of my hair two days a week." The older brother agreed as he roughly launched his body towards the empty spot next to his best friend. "You ready to get your butt kicked?"
About an hour into gaming, Jamie-O walked in with two hampers of clean clothes stacked on top of each other. To any normal person, this type of balancing act might cause someone to struggle, but not Jamie-O. Combined with his brute strength and keen eye for detail, both baskets weighed a relatively equal amount, and the contents were of the same proportion in order to get the level just right enough that it wouldn't cause him trouble.
"Jamie-O!" Gerald shouted, trying to look around him as he stood in front of the TV screen. "Move! I can't see!"
"Oh…" The big brother looked behind him and saw his positioning. "You mean like… this?" He asked, as he took a step backwards, making the screen impossible to see.
Gerald let out a loud yell. "Will you just get your clothes and go!"
Letting out a laugh, Jamie-O continued to stand where he was, until there was a "Times Up" noise that came from the screen, causing both of the boys to groan in frustration. "Oh no, did I do that?" He asked, trying to seem innocent, before laughing harder and walking off towards the front door.
Gerald melted into the couch, letting the controller fall to the floor with a loud thud. "You're lucky you don't have any siblings…"
"I dunno…" Arnold sat forward and set his controller on the floor as well. "I think it might be cool having an older brother to bond with and get advice from." Once he finished his sentence, Gerald let out another groan. "I know my parents are always eager to help, and my grandparents normally give pretty good advice but…" He then recalled his grandpa's comment about getting advice from someone younger and could see where it might be helpful, since times have changed. "It could it being useful when needing help with something you wouldn't want to talk to your parents about."
"You mean, so he can make fun of you instead?" Gerald replied, not looking over at his friend.
With a frown, the blond boy continued to press the matter. "Have you ever tried talking to Jamie-O about something serious?"
Gerald let out another, yet longer and more drawn out groan, before he sat back up and repositioned himself in a way that he could fully see Arnold, but also the front door. "Are you kidding me, Arnold? Jamie-O? Giving advice? The only thing he could possibly help me out with, is working out or something. Sure, I've asked him to give me some pointers here and there, but usually he only makes fun of me and walks away laughing! I wouldn't dare ask him for help on anything personal." He shifted his weight once more and rested his body against the arm of the couch and sighed. "It would only add fuel to the never ending flame."
The relationship between the Johanssen siblings had never been an especially great one, but Arnold had always assumed it was due to the age gaps between them all. He could imagine if Timberly ever needed any serious help, that Gerald would be there for her, as he has done in the past, so it pained him to think that the feelings weren't the same when it came to Gerald and Jamie-O. It was a shame that Gerald felt his brother wouldn't be there for him when he needed him most.
Not knowing what to say anymore on the matter, and feeling only furthering the conversation might sour the mood, Arnold picked up his controller and smiled. "Another round?"
No sooner did the words pass through the room, did the front door burst open with Timberly and two other younger girls running behind her. They were laughing and dancing around, completely ignoring the two older boys in the room.
Letting out another sigh of exhaustion, Gerald stood up and picked up the controller. "Nah, man. I think I'm gonna call it a day." His voice sounded stressed and the air around him felt dense with tension.
Arnold held his controller out for him to take, and gave his friend a small, yet sad smile. "Alright." He watched as Gerald disconnected the console and turned the TV back to streaming some sort of jewelry channel. "I probably should get going anyway." He said as he picked up his belongings and held his thumb out to Gerald. "We can play more tomorrow when Jamie-O isn't here."
"Sure." Gerald gave Arnold his thumb and completed their friendship ritual. "Sounds good."
"See ya, Gerald." Arnold waved before stepping out of the house and out into the fresh air. It only took a moment for the sunlight to take its harsh rays off the boy's unexpecting eyes, for him to noticed Jamie-O still out front, loading the large hampers of clean clothes into the car and trying to position them in a specific way.
"Need some help?" He asked, walking over to the older boy who seemed pretty annoyed.
Jamie-O wiped some of the droplets of sweat that had been forming on his brow, then looked over at the boy with surprise. "I pretty much got it now." He informed, some attitude in his voice. "You going home already?"
"Yeah." Arnold replied with a shrug. "I gotta make sure I get my homework done before dinner."
Jamie-O walked to the driver's door, then looked back at Arnold. "Want a lift?"
Arnold stood there for a moment; a bit bewildered at such a simple question. Although Jamie-O had never been particularly bad to him, he also hadn't been particularly giving either. He watched as the older boy got into the car and started it up, before realizing he still had yet to say a word. "S-sure!" He replied, running to the passenger seat, and getting in.
The moment the car jolted into motion; loud music began to play that surprised and nearly deafened Arnold.
"Nice stereo!" He shouted, trying to be as loud as possible to be heard.
"Got it off a buddy of mine." Jamie-O replied, shifting in his seat, and leaning with his elbow on the unrolled car window.
There seemed to be something different about the eldest Johanssen sibling, but Arnold wasn't able to put his finger on it. Something about the way he carried himself now, that seemed to reflect a change since the last they saw each other. Was it being on his own now? Was it simply college life? Or maybe it was something more that Arnold wasn't aware of. He no longer seemed like the ruthless young man that made it his mission to do everything within his grasp to tease his siblings; but instead, someone mature who had at least somewhat of a handle on life.
He began to wonder if Gerald was wrong in his assumptions that Jamie-O would only make fun of him if he ever came to him with a serious problem, instead of acting like a caring brother and looking out for him. Arnold looked over at Jamie-O again, before deciding that maybe he should take a chance with him and ask for some advice.
"Hey, Jamie-O?" He started, just as the music died down between changing tracks. "I was just wondering…"
"Yeah?" Jamie-O seemed nonchalant, yet focused as he continued to drive to their destination.
Arnold simmered in thought for a moment, thinking of just the right way to bring up the subject he was in need of counsel on. "You said earlier how you've had a ton of luck with girls…" He could feel himself becoming bashful on the subject, but remained firm in his endeavor, "I was just wondering if you've ever had a girl, you've been serious about?"
It was clear from the moment that Arnold had finished asking his question, that the vibe within the car immediately changed, causing Jamie-O to give his passenger a weird look, before turning down his music. "I didn't realize that my relationships were any concern of my little brother's best friend..." He stated; his tone not holding any harshness but more confusion than anything. "Did someone put you up to this?"
"No." Arnold replied as he looked out the window and tried to remain as natural as he could. "I was just hoping maybe you could give me some… pointers?" He cringed when he finished his sentence, but knew he had to continue. "Since I don't have an older brother of my own, its sort of hard asking my family about anything like this."
There was an awkward silence between them before Jamie-O burst out in a loud fit of laughter, causing Arnold to shrink in his seat and regret doubting Gerald's feelings on the matter.
"You… want pointers on getting girls?" He finally asked, glancing over at Arnold once his laughter had subsided. "I'm sorry." He continued with a breath and a smile, "I just… wasn't expecting you to ask me something like this."
"Just forget I asked…" Arnold growled, not facing his driver, and realizing he shouldn't have tried to bring it up.
Finally nearing the Sunset Arms, Jamie-O pulled over a few buildings away and idled the car. He could see that his manners had soured the boy and started to feel a little bad. "Sudden personal question aside…" Jamie-O began as he shifted himself to face his young protégée properly, "I get where you're coming from." His attitude shifted from that of his usual mocking and ridicule, to one more grounded and level headed, causing Arnold to straighten up and give him another chance. "I remember what it was like being your age and growing up and the oldest isn't exactly easy, especially when you're supposed to be the one leading as an example." He leaned to his side and rested his left arm on his steering wheel. "You know how my dad is. You really think I wanted to go to him with questions about girls?" He asked, gaining a little chuckle from Arnold. "If it wasn't for Fuzzy Slippers, I'd probably be lost!" Jamie-O shook his head and grinned as he thought of some good times passed. "So, back to your question Arnold, what is it you'd like to know?"
The genuine relatability caused Arnold to smile, shocked that Jamie-O was even giving him the time of day after his outburst just a few moments earlier. "Okay." Arnold started, now feeling a lot better about the older boy's disposition. "I know you've never had trouble getting a girlfriend, but how did you know when you were in love with them and how did you tell them? Did you just casually tell them? Did you plan a date? What did you do?"
Jamie-O's expression drooped down from one of confidence to that of someone much more awkward. "I'm in college, Arnold." He reminded him, before looking at himself in his mirror and scratching his neatly kept beard. "It's a players game out there! You gotta play the field and have fun; you don't fall in love and settle down…"
"So… you've never been in love before?" Arnold asked, conflicted if Jamie-O was just avoiding the question or if he never actually took any of his relationships seriously. "What about Cherise?"
There was a flinch in Jamie-O's face at the mention of his former girlfriend's name, but he let it roll off his back and continued to fix his hair in the mirror. "I was just a stupid kid back then." He explained adamantly before turning his rearview mirror back to its original position and facing Arnold once more. "It's easy for unsuspecting nice guys to fall prey to manipulative chicks like Cherise. They give you a little bit of attention and make you feel like you're doing everything right… making sure you're taking care of them and being a gentleman, when all they really care about is sinking their perfectly manicured nails into you and taking everything they want, leaving no scraps behind." He then pointed his finger at Arnolds chest. "Don't fall victim to their game, and instead, play your own! You're too young to be worrying about falling in love at your age."
Although Arnold understood where Jamie-O was coming from, having witnessed his ex-girlfriends wicked personality first hand, he couldn't help but feel bad for him. Had experiencing one bad relationship truly tainted his vision on ever settling down and being happy with someone forever, or did he just realize that he wasn't the type to settle down in the first place?
It was clear from the look on Arnold's face, that Jamie-O had put too much of his personal feelings in his speech, instead of actually answering the boy's question. "But… hypothetically speaking, if I ever did find the perfect girl that I decided I'd want to spend the rest of my life with, I don't think I'd put too much thought in telling her… you know, the whole planning a perfect date with flowers and chocolates n' junk."
"Why not?" asked Arnold, curious to hear his explanation, especially since he seemed so callous on the subject.
"The glitz and the glam are appropriate when trying to get a girl to like you, not after you've already won her over… you know what I mean?" Jamie-O asked, trying to come off more knowingly than jaded. "If I've already come to the conclusion that she's the one I want to be with forever, and I'm sure that she feels the same way…" The man stopped and thought for a moment. "I think I'd let her know by taking her someplace to do something I know she'd truly enjoy. Like, take her to a concert of a band I knew she really liked, psych her all up and then tell her how I felt… something like that." As he finished, Jamie-O seemed to have a wistful look in his eye but the moment it was visible, he immediately shook it away. "But again, I'm not worried about any of that stuff right now." He said as he smiled at his young and naïve friend, before giving him a rough punch to the shoulder. "And neither should you. We've got our whole lives ahead of us to worry about stuff like that. Live your life to the fullest and worry about love n' stuff later on."
Despite Jamie-O outwardly giving off the impression to others that he didn't have a sensitive bone in his body, it was clear that underneath the ego and robust exterior, there lay a sensitive soul who was afraid of getting hurt once again by someone he trusted so wholeheartedly.
Arnold rubbed the side of his arm that Jamie-O had injured, but gave a smile of understanding. "Okay, thanks Jamie-O." He said before opening up the car door and stepping out. Once he had his backpack securely on his shoulder, he turned back to the driver. "I appreciate the advice."
"No problem, Arnold." Jamie-O replied with a smug smile. "Next time, I'll be charging you a fee though and It won't be cheap so you better have your wallet ready. I only give my free time to cute girls, not little kids." Once his statement was finished, Jamie-O began to laugh loudly once again, before quickly speeding off down the road, leaving only litter to flutter around the street in his wake.
As if on cue, the moment the car was no longer in sight, streetlights began to flicker on all around Arnold, causing him to hurry to his house before anyone had cause to complain.
"Nice work today!" A blond haired young man, looking to be around his early 30's held out his hand to Miriam Pataki.
The older woman blushed at the compliment and allowed her hand to grasp his in a hardy handshake. "T-thank you, Bill!"
No sooner did they finish shaking hands, did the two other females in the office also approach her, as well as the man that had held her interview. They had all just gathered their belongings and were closing up the office for the day, thus Miriam had completed her first day at her new job.
"And to think, you started today out with almost no confidence!" One of the women, closer to Miriam's age smiled. "You did perfect!"
"I knew you had it in you." Said the other woman, with her hands on her hips looking like a proud mother, even though she was probably closer to her daughter Olga's age.
Not used to so much flattery, Miriam blushed and stood there awkwardly. "A-all I did was answer some phone calls…"
"Nonsense!" Bill exclaimed while gesturing for the lot of them to begin to leave the office so he could begin the process of closing up. "We're all a team here and without you guiding all of those customers, there's no way we would have been able to power through the day!"
As Miriam stepped outside onto the cool side walk, it was clear from the breeze that the warm windy nights of summer had passed, causing goosebumps to prickle up her bare skin. It was already becoming darker earlier than it was the week before, and a full moon hung high in the sky, almost as if even something otherworldly was also putting her in a spotlight.
Bill finished setting up the alarm from inside the building, before finally stepping out to join the group and locking the doors. "There won't always be nights like tonight where we get to leave on time, so why not celebrate our new team by heading on over to Hotshots for a round on me?"
The young woman clapped her hands with excitement. "That sounds fun! Let's do it!"
It seemed that everyone was in agreement with the plans, however, Miriam was unsure of herself. "H-hotshots?" She asked, unfamiliar of the place they were speaking about. "What's that?"
"It's a small bar around the corner!" Bill explained as he put the buildings keys into his coat pocket. "We usually only stop there on Friday nights to wind down before the weekend, but I think this is a great time to bond with the newest member of our family!" The young man shined his brilliant white smile at the uncertain woman, attempting to reassure her. "What do you say?"
Miriam looked between Bill, the younger woman named Sarah, the older woman named Lora and finally the man that had hired her, Mark. All 4 of them seemed to be encouraging her to join them and it seemed rude of her to not accept their proposition, after they so warmly welcomed her into their facility. She considered that Bob would also be expecting her home soon, however she also considered that he could be just as easily snoring loudly in front of the TV. Unable to disappoint them, Miriam silently agreed to their offer and let them guide her to her new destination.
Note: If you know anyone struggling with addiction, substance abuse, or any sorta mental disorder… please reach out and help. It's your job as their friend/loved one/whatever to help look out for them. Just saying