Winning Skylinn

55

We went to a nice Mexican restaurant, where there was a live band playing Spanish music, and waiters with mustaches and Spanish accents. It was very authentic.

"So tell me," Denver said as we sat down to eat, "what have you been up to lately?"

"Like, since you left, or just since last week?"

"Either one. What's something you did recently?"

"Well," I said, placing my napkin in my lap, "Jonny got a new cat, and it's actually Mistletoe's brother."

"Mistletoe...?" Gosh, he was so forgetful sometimes.

"My cat."

"Oh, right. I remember now. Go on."

"Well his name is Ollie, and the guy who sold Mistletoe to Jonny is moving soon and needed to get rid of the one he kept. So...yeah. We have another cat. Well, I don't, necessarily, but Jonny does."

"Cool. Does it look like yours?"

"A little bit. Not really, though."

"That's unfortunate. From what I saw this morning on my way out, she seemed pretty cute."

"Mistletoe, you mean?"

"Yeah."

"Oh. Yeah, she's adorable. She's gotten a lot bigger since Christmas."

"Yeah, cats tend to do that."

I rolled my eyes at him. "So, what have you been up to?"

"Basically the same thing every day. You wake up early-5am-and get ready for breakfast. Then you all go to the mess hall together and are expected to eat in, like, ten minutes or less. It's all really fast-paced. In the afternoon, you do the athletic part, which is a lot of physical training and activities. Then it's dinner and relaxation time, so you can write letters home or whatever else you want to do."

"Sounds like hard work."

"It was at first, but you get used to it after a few weeks or so. Luckily, I practiced waking up early for a month before my departure, and my mom timed me at dinner to make sure I ate fast enough."

"No wonder you were always scarfing down your food before you left," I teased.

"Yeah, it's not easy stuff. But it was really fun. At the end, we had ceremonies, where everyone just gets moved up in rank. When I go back in two weeks, I'll get deported to a different state for more advanced training."

"Do you know where you're going?"

"Alaska."

"Whoa, seriously?!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah. I've actually always wondered what it'd be like to live there," he admitted.

"Probably cold."

"Yeah, maybe. But it's also kinda pretty there. I'm excited."

"I bet you are..."

It was cool to hear about all his experiences, but also sad because it was just a reminder of how much he liked it. And how soon he'd be leaving me.

So I changed the subject. "I was wondering it you could help me with something this week..."

"Which is?"

"Well, I've been putting college off for awhile, but I think I need to start looking. I'm nineteen; it's about time I thought about college."

"Okay. Where do I fit in to all of this?"

"I was wondering if you'd help me look at colleges. And think of something I might want to do as a career. I'm so lost!"

"Well, what do you like to do? I know you work at a daycare. Why don't you do something with kids?" he suggested.

"That's not a bad idea, actually."

"Yeah, you could be a teacher, a teacher's aid, a pediatrician, a children's counselor, or even an author of children's books! There are many things to choose from."

"Well I'm not much of a writer, so I don't think I'll be an author. And science bores me, so I'm not going to be a doctor. But maybe a teacher? I do really love kids..."

"And you're great with them. I've seen you with the kids at church, and at Sunrise. You're a natural. And you're very focused and determined; you'd make a great teacher."

"You think so?"

"I know so. Why don't we look at teaching programs later this week? I can help you get started, and I'm sure that your dad would love to help once I'm gone."

"That sounds amazing. Thank you."

"No problem. I'd be happy to help." He smiled and took a sip of water. "I've really missed this place, ya know? Orlando. When we're not looking at colleges, we should go sightseeing, or just do a bunch of fun stuff you can only do here in Florida."

"So in other words, make the most of your time here?"

"Exactly."

"That shouldn't be a problem. Actually, Jonny and I were planning on going to Disney World soon. Probably just one or two parks. Why don't you come with us?"

Denver seemed hesitant before responding. "Are you sure he wouldn't mind?"

"Why would he?"

"I don't know... Didn't you say it was something you guys wanted to do?"

"Well yeah, but you've only been there, what? Once in your life?"

"Yeah, when we first moved here."

"Exactly. Don't you want to go again?"

"Well of course-"

"Then it's settled. We'll go sometime this week."

"But-"

"No buts! It's going to be fun, I promise."

He sighed. "You always were determined, weren't you."

"Hey, you said it, not me."

"Yeah, I know. So what else should we do?"

"Hmm...we could go to the beach, visit some souvenir shops, go downtown, get Orlando T-shirts. Just like we're vacationers in Florida. Like we haven't lived here our whole lives."

"I haven't."

"But I have. And I've always wanted to do that, just pretend to be a tourist."

"It does sound kinda fun."

"Then we'll do it. But probably next week, since we already have plans for this one. Gah, I'm just so excited that you're here!"

I couldn't contain the smile on my face as I thought about all the fun to be had during Denver's trip. It was going to be an unforgettable two weeks.