The Intriguing World of Butlers

Crossroads of Choices

After three periods, we have a thirty-minute break until the next period starts. Due to the long break, students usually take something to eat from the cafeteria. The sandwich I ate was still filling my stomach, so I thought about buying a drink from the cafeteria. The cafeteria is usually crowded during lunchtime, but since this is just a break in our class schedule, I could go there without worrying about that. Just as I was about to go up, I saw Jake approach me.

"Going somewhere?" he asked.

"Yes, I was thinking about going to the cafeteria to get a drink," I answered.

"I've got a better idea... how about we get something from the store next to our school?" he asked.

Jake usually goes to the store next to our school to get his favorite snack. Going outside of school during school hours isn't prohibited, so I can see why he would want to go there to grab that favorite snack of his, but I still wanted him to change his mind just because it's a hassle for me to go there just for a drink.

"Why not the cafeteria? It's quicker, and it also has a decent amount of options to choose from," I said, trying to convince him to change his mind.

"The cafeteria doesn't have my favorite snack," he answered.

I could feel that he already made up his mind, and once that happens, there are no excuses that could convince him to think otherwise.

"I guess arguing is pointless." I said to myself.

Knowing that, I just nodded and followed him outside. As we walked our way to the store, Jake's phone was ringing. He took the phone out of his pocket and looked at the phone to see who was calling him. I took a peek just because I was curious too. We saw the name 'mom' on his phone, and he looked at me. After a few seconds, he answered the call.

"Hi, Mom, what is it?" he said.

I took a few steps away from him to let him have a conversation with his mother. It would be rude of me to listen to a conversation between my friend and his parent. These kinds of things are better left private. After a few minutes, he turned off the call, and I slowly closed the gap between us so he didn't notice that I had widened the gap. I looked at him and saw an angry face. I immediately assumed that the conversation didn't go so well. It would be better for me to pretend that I didn't notice anything, but the conversation we had this morning made me curious about his relationship with his parents. It's not guaranteed that I'll get another chance to bring up this topic, so I went for it.

"Is everything okay?" I asked, trying to make it casual.

"Yeah, all good," he answered, letting out a sigh after.

It seems like he doesn't want to talk about it, but I still was trying to find ways for him to talk about it.

"It doesn't look that way, though," I said.

He looked at me.

"Well, it's just my mom. She worries too much," he said. I could tell that he really doesn't want to talk about it, but I still pushed to get my answers.

"Well, I get that she's worried. You are not taking your studies seriously, and also, you are a troublemaker," I said.

I was trying to make him understand his mother's point of view a little. I know that I don't fully understand what they're going through right now, but I at least know that their relationship is bad. The reason I was doing this is to understand his mindset. What makes him go against his parents like that?

"I don't care about studies. I know that I am in trouble all the time, and I am trying to change that, but I don't like when people are bossing me around. You get what I mean?" he said. I could feel his frustration. He is a guy who likes to live his life the way he wants to. That much I understand, but what I don't is why he denies his parents, the ones who brought him into this world. Doesn't he feel like he owes them? Maybe I'm thinking about this too much.

We finally entered the store and went to the snack department. Jake took his favorite snack and asked if I also wanted. I shook my head, and we went straight to get myself a drink. We were silent until we left the store. The store was very small, so people could hear us easily. Since Jake comes to this store occasionally, it isn't a good idea for people to know about his personal life, so I didn't continue the subject until we left the store. On our way back to school, I reopened the subject.

"So do you think you're doing a good job?" I said.

"Huh?" he responded. He didn't understand what I was referring to, so I explained.

"You said that you're trying to change your bad behavior. I'm wondering if you're doing a good job," I said.

"I mean, I did get involved in a few fights this year, but it was far less than last year. So I think I did a good job," he said.

I could see that he was taking this seriously. He's right that his involvement has declined this year, but why did he want to change?

"Why do you want to change?" I asked.

"It's because there's a risk that this will involve people around me in harm, and also solving things with violence is not a good idea," he said.

So he cared about people he cared about.

"Not taking your studies seriously is worrying your parents, though. Isn't that a reason to change?" I asked.

"No," he said.

"Why? I don't get it. Your parents are the ones who brought you into this world, and you don't feel like you owe them for that?" I said.

Finally, I let out the thing that most troubled me about all this. My parents not only brought me into this world, but they also have more life experience than me, so I feel like trusting them is the most right thing to do. However, that didn't apply to Jake; he just went on doing whatever he feels like.

"It's not like I wanted to be here. So there's nothing I owe them. I'm just here because of pure chance. Because of me being here just because of luck, it's only fair for me to live this life the way I want to. So I don't have any regrets later," he said.

I wasn't wrong about that. We only have one life, and he wanted to live it without any regrets. This made me understand Jake. The way he behaved all these years made sense to me now. I respect him more than I did now. I really want to keep him as a friend.

"I see," I responded with a smile.

We entered the school and went our way up to the classroom. There were a few minutes left until our next period, so Jake and I went to talk to our classmates. I was actually just listening to the conversation while Jake did all the talking. I was still reflecting on what Jake had said earlier. I was wondering if it was the reason why I still haven't given up on being a butler even though my parents declined me pursuing that career. Did Jake influence me without noticing? It would be normal because I've spent nearly three years with him. I was always fascinated by the way he acted according to his own will. The break has ended, and we took our seats. I was still lost in my own thoughts during the whole school day.