Palinoia

Chapter 2

"Seb!"

I stood still and watched as my best friend walked over to me and sent another one of his infamous smiles. He was always smiling. Never had I met anyone who was as optimistic as Peterson Andrews.

I gave him a nod and shoved my hands in my pockets. "Peter," I greeted. His smile turned into a grin and he rested his arm against my shoulder.

"Man, what took you so long? I was so bored waiting!" he whined. I rolled my eyes and shook my head slightly. He acted like such a child.

"Ever heard of a thing called University and education?" I asked sarcastically. Peter replied with a small laugh and we both started walking.

"No I have never heard of such a thing. Please explain, kind sir," he pretended to beg with innocent eyes.

I scoffed and removed his arm from my shoulder. "Just because you don't go to one...." It was actually the truth. Peter wasn't in full time education anymore and decided to do apprenticeship instead. He told me before that he didn't see himself spending another four or so years eating books. It didn't surprise me since he was more of a practical worker than a theoretical. Still, he was doing what he wanted to do and I could tell he was happy due to his always-lit eyes. He sure was lucky.

I looked over at him and noticed that he was smiling to himself while looking around the city with amazement. Like I said before, he really was a child. Peter was also very carefree. He didn't think much of things and believed in living in the moment. I was surprised we had become friends due to our polar opposite behaviour. I couldn't even remember how we became friends but I was glad that we were friends.

"The city sure seems a lot lively today huh?" He asked. I raised my eyebrows slightly and looked around, not really noticing any change or difference.

"Looks the same to me," I admitted. I wasn't one to pay attention to such trivial things so I wouldn't even notice.

I watched as Peter lightly shook his head, still keeping the smile on his face. "It's been really rowdy these past few weeks. I actually thought there was going to be a big protest coming from the people.

I couldn't help but furrow my eyebrows at him. "What do you mean?"

He then gave me a slightly questionable look. "You don't know? The demolishers have been drawing close by," he explained.

I raised my eyebrows before slowly nodding. "Oh that."

Peter suddenly let out a gasp and faced me accusingly. "What do you mean 'oh that'?" He questioned. "Didn't you hear what I just said? Demolishers. are. nearby. Oh man! And the city's been in such an uproar ever since. Seisamo's always been peaceful so why now?"

I rolled and internally groaned, giving Peter a blank stare. "I think you're the only person I know who cares about this city so much," I commented.

"Well I am your only friend anyway," He teased with a wink to which I gave him a quick glare. "And of course I care about the city. It's our home."

"Home..." I muttered, staring at the ground.

"Exactly! So many good things have happened here. Well, apart from that one time where that officer gave me a parking ticket. I was clearly in check of time mister!" Peter added.

I couldn't help but chuckle at his ranting. "No need to worry. I'm sure the TSN force is taking care of the situation..."

Peter's eyes suddenly lit up like a child's on Christmas day. "Oh yeah! How could I forget about Tekuni's saviours? Those guys are pretty neat aren't they? You know, trying to protect the country and all."