Flipped 2

Bryce Chapter 65

" WATER BALLOON FIGHT!!!!" Marcus yelled at the top of his lungs.
A second later, a water balloon went flying in the air and smacked Fletcher right in the chest.

"Oh no, you didn't!"
This caused Fletcher to pick up a gigantic water gun from God knows where and squirt Marcus in the face who ducked just in time and so it squared Miley in the face.
Miley let out a blood curling scream about her favorite dress being ruined and went over to Aunt Marley to tattle tale about Fletcher.
" 'Can't be a Marine without a water balloon fight' is our family motto," Charles explained as if that was the most normal thing in the world.

Whenever I had a slot of time on my hands, I spent it with Charles. His mom didn't have much time left so I wanted to be there with him through it all.
Once a month, his cousins from all over the world came over for the weekend to spend time with him as he was an only child.
They fly in on Friday night, throw a lavish picnic on Saturday and spend all day at the hospital with Charles's mom the following day.
The first time I met them, I was hesitant. I was not very good at meeting new people.

Three months later, they were like family to me.
Even booger picking Timmy.
" Oi! You boys quit chatting and come over here!" Aunt Marley gestured towards the large picnic table set under the tree in the park.
Sitting under the cool shade, drinking lemonade, playing Frisbee..I couldn't wait for summer to come by.

" So, Bryce.What are your plans after high school?" Uncle Hunter(the uncle with the thick bushy mustache and large shoulders, the uncle you never ever cross.)

" Dad! It's the weekend! Why do we have to talk about school?" Marcus whined, his face scrunched in disgust at the mention of school.
Me too,buddy.

"College football, sir."
(Oh and he loved being called sir according to Charles.)
He gave me a proud nod as if I were joining to the military. Then again, based on what I had heard about the competition in college, military was looking pretty damn good.

" Charles here doesn't want to go to college. He wants to take a gap year to spend.... what was it? Something about...."

" Medical camps. I want to help cancer patients," He muttered, clearly hating being called into the discussion.

" Right. Medical camp."
He clicked his tongue in disapproval which wasn't gone unnoticed.
Charles's face was immediately  flushed with indignation.

" Now, who wants some apple pie?"Aunt Marley cut the awkward silence that was slowly festering around the table.

---+---

" I know what you are thinking," Charles said,pressed back to back with me, a toy gun in his hand.

The uncles including Charles's dad were dozing off in front of the television, the ladies were  having a discussion in the backyard, the kids were supposed to be sleeping but insisted on playing police.

" I don't know what you're talking about."

I pressed my waki taki and spoke in a deep voice.

" All clear captain. All clear."

" Roger,copy that sir. Roger!" Timmy whispered back.

" It's either Roger that or copy that, not both, Timmy!" I hissed.

" Ok! Copy that,  Roger. Wait! I thought your name was Bryce?"
I could practically envision his confused little face.

" Oh my God," I grumbled to myself.
" Chris!" The shrill of his voice made me hold the waki taki at arms length from my ear.I think I just saw a bulldog out the window! It was so huge!"
Minutes later, there was a loud thundering across the hall and the sound of the door opening.

Charles tossed the waki taki to the floor.
" You should off your device. They aren't going to back for a long time."
He slid against the wall and slumped  on the ground.
I sat beside him.

" I know that no matter how many camps I attend, nothing is going to cure my mom," He started.

" Charles...."

" I mean was that on my mind when I first applied to it? Yes. Absolutely. I am not ashamed of it. But when I went to a camp for the first time last year and spent time with all the kids, it was fulfilling you know?"

" Kind of like how I feel when I play football," I added.

" Exactly!"
" And it gave me a sense of purpose. People see them as a sick person or a disease but they are just normal human beings like you and I. There's this 7 year old kid named Freddy who likes it when people call him Roar. He does these really good impressions."
He heaved a great big sigh.

" At first...it was a distraction from thinking too much about my mom. But..now..it is SO much more than that."

" Charles, I am not judging you."

" I know. But......they are."
He didn't point out who 'they' were but it was clear that he was referring to his aunts and uncles.

" Oh, you're not going to college? Suddenly you're the rebellious kid. The weird kid. Why? Because I am not following the fucking rules. Because it's not fucking normal. Well,you know what? My mom's going to die soon and there is nothing I can fucking do about it. So,no. My life is not normal. And I don't plan on starting now," He muttered, placing his forehead against his palms.

" And I am the one who cusses a lot."
He lifted his head and gave me a small smile.
" I just...Who says that we have to follow all these rules to lead a happy and successful life? Why is it always so wrong to be different? Unconventional?"

" I'll tell you why. It's because they're afraid of us. They're afraid that we might actually have the power to break down the system that has been built from all these rules and regulations," He sneered.
There was this fire behind his eyes that I hadn't seen in a long time since I had first met him.

" At the end of day, if you do what you love to do, it doesn't matter what other people think, whether it's playing football or...." I looked at him straight in the eye," a gap year. Charles, you do you. As long as you're happy."

" As long as we're happy."
Charles raised his hand for a high five.

" No."

He reached out for a handshake.

" Absolutely not."

He leaned in for a hug.
" For God's sakes Charles."

He whimpered and gave me puppy dog eyes.
" Ughhh,fine."
I leaned in and gave him one.

Guys. Oh my God. Flipped 2 has 2.77K views as of when I was writing this and number 36 on the feminism list! I can not say enough of how grateful I am for reading this story.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
My motivation ran a very thin line this week. And it's usually you guys who keep me running and inspired to work through the  block.
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