Elliot

Thirteen

One Thursday morning, I told Dad that I was slightly getting better in french. I even muttered a few words and phrases to him so I can prove myself that I'm getting better. I tried speaking like a french person but I ended up cringing. Clara, of course, on the other hand, was just laughing the whole time.

She said I sounded ridiculous while speaking french but I don't believe her. So I asked Dad if I did sound ridiculous when speaking french but he just flashed me a smile. Then I was convinced that I do sound ridiculous, so the next day, I went to Manta and muttered the same words that I said to my Dad then asked her if I did sound ridiculous.

She said, "Yeah, you do. I'm pretty sure an infant learning to speak for the first time sounds much more better than you do." And I'd be annoyed and disappointed.

Of course, I'd be annoyed. I worked my butt off learning that language and it's still not enough. I guess I'll have to stick more with the extra lessons that Manta is providing, then. But it suuucks.

Days came past like a blur in my eyes. Alvin barely leaves his house these past few days, so I need to drag him out of their place a few times just so he could experience sunlight and Mrs. Williams thanks me for that.

Alvin would go out but would still have his Nintendo Switch with him. I had to grab it from him a few times again. He really loved video games, it's like his soul is attached to those games that he's playing and he would die in one click without them.

We would argue a few times because of a video game. "You need to lay off with the games, man. It's not really nice to have your whole life circulating on colorful pixels." I'd say.

"Wow, so you hate video games now and you're going to scold me like a parent? Great, you can have the best-parent-of-the-year award," he'd argue.

"I'm not scolding you, Alvin." I'd counter. "I'm just saying that your life shouldn't be grounded on one place or one thing, especially when that place or thing doesn't even care about you nor look for you whenever you're feeling down or out of this world. Because nothing is going to happen with your life if you're just going to let that let you feel alone, when in reality, you are not."

Then for a moment, we'd be silent. He would look at me like he was judging me and I would rethink what I said. "Are we still talking about video games?" he'd ask.

It took a moment for me to answer. "Yeah. Sorry." I apologized. "Too much?"

"Too much," he'd agree.

Tobias and I also became friends just like I expected to. He's a cool guy and honestly one of a kind too. The second time we went to his apartment to hang out, he told me that he loved taking pictures and even showed me some photos that he took over the years. I learned that since he was 13, his passion for photography grew.

There were two hanging shelves in his room that contained lots of cameras. Twelve cameras, to be exact. He owns twelve fucking cameras.

All of them were different versions of cameras. He had told and explained to me all of it, like his first camera was a Nixon D3500 that he bought for himself for his birthday. He even named it Tobby—probably a nickname from his name.

The other one is a Fujifilm X-T200 that he said was one of his favorites. It was the camera that he takes whenever he's on a trip or a getaway—that's what he had told me—and its name was Tripper.

The camera that did catch my attention was the Canon AE-1. It has something to it that really grabbed my eyes and all my attention to the point that I was staring and admiring it like a painting in a museum. Tobias must have noticed me because he took it from the shelf and handed it to me. He said, "Try it," and then I took two photos.