Family Story - 010

Walking along with AJ is kind of awkward. We're heading back to her house for now, as we've got time before we're meeting with the drug dealer. I'm not sure exactly what is going to happen when we meet with him, but I guess we'll stop him selling to drugs. From the kind of person he sounds like though, would he really listen if we just plea with him? Pretty unlikely.

She's probably feeling just as awkward, but AJ isn't making any attempt to start a conversation. She doesn't keep up a conversation.

I guess it could be said that she isn't much of a conservationist.

Wait, I think I've made that joke already. Not that it's a great joke.

Probably shouldn't repeat it again.

But in any case, the fact that we've been walking in near complete silence since we left the restaurant is bothering to me. It makes me feel awkward. I'm sure AJ must be feeling awkward too. It's strange not talking, even more so when you don't know the person that well, oddly enough.

For some reason, that line of thought just made me remember an old movie that my father was watching when I was little. I remember two of the characters having a conversation about this exact topic. About how it's hard to find someone that you can just shut up and not talk for a second with.

I didn't really get it at the time. Being a young kid, it wasn't something I worried about much, but now I get exactly what it means. Perhaps Tayla is the only person I have that I would feel comfortable just sitting or walking in complete silence with. With AJ, in any case, we don't have a connection like that. Unsurprising, given that we're basically complete strangers, though she seems oddly trusting of me.

At any rate, I couldn't keep the silence up any longer, so I spoke up.

"So, what do you do outside of work?"

"Stop breathing, it's irritating."

!

I don't think I've ever been told to die in such a harsh and abrasive manner before. What an ungrateful…

I took a step away from her, "and I thought that making conversation while we're on our way would be the least you could do to repay me for helping you."

"Don't get the wrong idea," AJ replied, "you owe me compensation for eavesdropping on me last night."

"I don't think that's fair. Accidentally coming across you and your brother talking, and helping you stop his drug dealer from selling anymore."

"Huh? Where did you get the idea that we were going to stop him from selling drugs? I only care about my brother. He can sell his drugs to anyone else; I couldn't care less."

"I see…"

That makes sense. Of course, we wouldn't be able to stop him from selling. It's just… that seems like we're not doing enough.

"Do you think there's a way to stop him from selling drugs? To everyone?"

AJ laughed, "of course not. How would you even go about that? Even if you got him to agree to it, some shady slimy guy like that would just come back. And it doesn't remove the real problem anyway. Someone would just replace him even if he did stop."

"I suppose that's true, but… it might not be meaningless. Maybe whoever replaces him, won't sell to young kids, at least."

"Why are you even thinking about this? Do you want to play the hero? Is this just a game to you?"

"No, that wasn't my intention…"

"Then don't think about it. It isn't as if kids like us could achieve anything anyway."

When AJ said that, my mind returned to the conversation that I'd had with Devon, Tayla's father, the other day, and the conclusion that it'd brought me to.

That I was just a fake.

A hypocrite.

Why am I helping AJ here? Someone that I barely know asked me for help and I jumped right in. This makes it the third time I've done something dumb like this, isn't it? More if you count the small things. Like helping Massimo around his house and garden, stopping the bus for a stranger, even though it cost me my own ride.

I thought I'd realised those things were all hypocrisy. Me, acting the hero to feel better about myself. So, why am I doing it again without a second's thought?

I'm disgusting.

AJ's right. I'm not a hero. There's nothing much that kids like us can do, anyway. I guess I'll just play my role in helping AJ, nothing more, nothing less.

"So, what do you do outside of work?" I asked once again, returning to my original question.

"What do you mean?"

"Like… are you a high school student? Do you do any sports? I don't know, anything."

AJ sighed, like this is just a waste of time, "I'm a high school student. It'll be my last year when school comes back."

"Huh… what school do you go to?"

"The same one you do."

"Really? Oh, I guess I didn't know you, since you didn't start working at the restaurant until school finished. Wait, how did you know I went there then?"

"I remembered seeing you around."

"Hmm… you must have a pretty good memory, if you can remember a stranger's face like that."

"No, I think it's just your hair. The amount it's grown back makes it really noticeable."

"Oh, that's true…"

I'd dyed my hair blonde when I ran away from home. That was over four months ago, and I haven't had a haircut since then. I'd always kept my hair relatively short, so there's actually more regrowth than dyed hair now. It also comes all the way down over my eyes now too.

"And I guess also…" AJ says after a pause, and looks down at her feet, "I also do debating."

"Debating? As in public speaking?"

"Well, yes. A public debate. I do it through the school, like in teams."

"Hmm… do you get to choose which side of the debate you argue?"

"No, the officials tell you, and then you get ten minutes to prepare your argument as a team."

"I don't think I could ever do that. Public speaking's bad enough, and if I had to do it on something I didn't believe, or rather something contrary to what I believe in… I think I'd find it difficult."

"Really?"

"Yes, I guess I'm quite opinionated," I admit. I haven't really thought about it, but I guess that's probably a lot to do with why I keep getting involved in situations like this. These situations where I pretend to be the hero.