The Winds of Change (NaNoWriMo 2012 Day 2)

~ CHAPTER 2 ~

"I’m a night owl and a wise bird too.."

For the next few years, the boy found adapting to his new life without a father to be somewhat enlightening, and even educational. He had entered school, and acquired his own small circle of friends that helped him through whatever struggles he would face. One was a tall, freckled, and pale boy with spiky red hair that went by the name of Shawn. He enjoyed playing card games and biking with his parents on weekends, and this allowed for the boy to explore new opportunities and interests. He found a love of a particular trading card game, and would always stay hours after school to play with Shawn. He’d also occasionally go to his house on weekends to play video games, to which Shawn had a multitude of. These were enticing to the boy, and he’d always find himself hooked to whatever game he’d chosen for them to play that day.

Additionally, there was a rounder, shorter boy with tan skin and short, black hair who was also attracted into the group by this attachment to video games. He was called Daniel, and was much more assertive and boastful than the shyer and quieter pair. If anything, he would often elect himself as a "leader" of sorts, and decide what the three would do that day. They all would spend hours deciding what game they were going to play, and then spend several more hours actually playing it. This was especially beneficial to all of them, as Shawn and Daniel were also without siblings, and found companionship as well as friendship in each other. The boy wondered if this was what having siblings was really like, and if so, then he decided that he was envious of those with actual sisters and brothers. Strangely enough, this made him only feel closer to the other two and eventually grow to regard them as brothers of his own. They were all he had, after all, and he hoped that they thought the same way about each other as well.

Eventually, even the boy’s parents noticed this new found love of games. He was now ten years old, and had a firm fixation on the joys of virtual adventures and exploration. It was perfect. Even if the time of real, physical enjoyment was gone and less possible for him, it didn’t mean he had to stop completely. At first, he felt extremely apprehensive, and utterly afraid of entering school, but after meeting his two companions, he found comfort and stability within the strange environment of learning. At the very least, the presence of friends that understood and confided with each other helped quell the still strange emotions that had made their own presence known within him. Stress and worry were definitely reduced, and he was able to return his thoughts to the more wondrous sides of life. The boy was glad that he’d found a cure for them, because if there was one thing he knew, it’s that he didn’t like those feelings. He didn’t quite understand them, and yet, didn’t care, even if they might return. The seemingly boundless lengths of this new world he was discovering within video games was much more compelling and enticing than silly things like a personality.

It was Christmas time, and thus, the boy was ecstatic. If there was one thing that hadn’t changed, it was his love of this holiday. He DID declare it to be so, after all. This year, he was in for quite a treat, when his parents had pooled their money together to buy him a brand new, and his first ever, gaming console, packaged with it’s own plastic game cartridge. This happiness was almost too much for him to comprehend, and this did not go unnoticed. Over the next several weeks, he would spend countless hours in his bedroom engrossing himself in a world of fantasy, fun, adventure, and wonder. It was mind boggling that things such as these could even exist! Surely video games were something that pushed the boundaries of imagination to an entirely new level. Eventually, he’d learned how to tell time, and discovered how many hours he really spent playing games, and that he would go the entirety of these sittings without leaving his bedroom at all. This was..interesting, at most to the boy, and decided that because he went mostly undisturbed during them, that this was also the case for his parents, and thus required no further concern.

This was in fact the correct assumption as far as his parents’ were concerned, and they found it quieting, and comforting. "He’s growing up, and is being more independent" they thought. The realm of new discoveries even reached its way to them as well, his mother taking up an almost frightening obsession with Mystery/Drama books. And his dad, engrossing himself within several reality nature and survival television programs whenever the boy went to visit. His mother bought him a sleek black bag in which to carry his video game console back and forth between the homes, and it would work out flawlessly. He would arrive at his father’s, give him a hug, and then retreat to the back of his small apartment to begin the process of connecting the console to the television his father had bought for him. The boy, had never seen anything wrong or strange about this constantly repeated behavior. He truly believed it was normal. He knew Shawn and Daniel had quite a social relationship with their parents, and they would even be social and kind to him when he went to visit, but, that’s probably just because they were being hospitable…Or was it?

Something about the repeating cycle, the same actions going on and on for years at a time, didn’t completely scan right in his head. Like a sour note in a song, it was an element that just didn’t seem like it was correct. The boy would look around at his peers, and see no other convicting evidence except that one, single, unknown factor. It didn’t make any sense at all to him, and he didn’t know how to even begin reacting to it. Perhaps..maybe it wasn’t so okay that he would spent six to eight hours at a time, staring at a television, being completely silent and unmoving other than his fingers on a plastic game controller, and only leaving his room to visit the bathroom. Wasn’t it normal? Surely, the other kids at school were similar to him. But what, just by the slightest chance, they weren’t? It was something that never ceased bothering the boy, always remaining in a far corner of his mind, never letting itself be more known than what it already was – an enigma. A mystery. He could never find a way to put his finger on it, and discover more about it. The only option that he resorted to, and the only one he had, was to ignore it, and move on. Besides, there was always something new to do in the games he played. It wasn’t that difficult. And he’d always get new games for his birthday, or Christmas. He would breathe sigh of relief, feeling comforted, and confident. As long as this kept up, he didn’t need to know, or care what that silly little annoyance was in the back of his mind. It could stay there forever for all he was concerned. He had more important matters to deal with, like saving imaginary lands from fiendish sorcerers and villains. Or so he thought.
 

One year later. He was eleven years old, and right at the end of his Elementary School career. It felt nice, like the ending of these first five years of his educational track was bringing a long, and more difficult road to an end. He was sitting on a rug in front of his Fifth Grad

e teacher, and had begun daydreaming, as was now the usual habit. His teacher was a very large, and somewhat older gentleman, who, he didn’t have anything against, but didn’t necessarily get along with either. It was a love-hate relationship with each other. On one day, he would compliment the boy on his excellent penmanship, as he was apparently quite skilled at correctly performing the strange art of cursive writing. On another day however, he’d be scolding him on his poor choice in judgment for something that he’d done with Shawn and Daniel. He didn’t quite see what his teacher always got so angry about. Sure, he’d pass notes or talk in class, but it’s not like he was being loud or anything, right? This was yet another thing he found inherently confusing, and thus the daydreaming habit was born. It was easy! That stuffy old teacher would go on for what seemed like forever about the most boring subjects while the boy let his mind wander. As to what he let it wander to, depended on the day.

Sometimes it might be a new hand-held video game that he’d received for his birthday a few weeks back, or how his day was spending it with his friends, or, just maybe, the attractive blond girl that sat near him…"No!" he told his mind. That wasn’t proper. Girls were a mystery, even to this know-it-all teacher, he guessed. He’d gotten along just fine until now by completely ignoring their existence. Why change the routine now? Yet another thing he didn’t understand. This was getting out of hand. Why couldn’t life just be simpler? Perhaps there was something about these strange "girl" creatures in his mother’s countless stacks of books. She’s supposed to be a girl, right? But how could he ever find out that way? This was getting to be quite troublesome. He put this mild irritation out of his mind, or rather, his teacher did. "Excuse me! If you’re not too busy daydreaming, would you like to rejoin the class?" He said to the boy in a tone that he knew all too well. "Oh! Right..sorry, sir." That was one more thing that was odd about this fellow. He always insisted that he be called "Sir", and only by him. The boy decided that he’d look into this unusual matter further as he got up to begin solving a long division equation on the dry-erase board.