Shattered Sight

The letter

Every year we would get a new internship provided by the school. Most of them were randomly assigned, but there were a few everyone wanted, so they took applications. Once day I came across a flyer on the bulletin board. I adjusted my glasses, and even though my vision was a little bit blurry, I read the form for the police internship. It was perfect! Everyone always wanted to intern at the police station; he or she mainly just took phone calls, but every now and then got to patrol places like the park or the mall. He or she would also get their very own badge and set of hand cuffs! It was a high schooler's dream. And sometimes, if the intern did an excellent job, he or she would get their very own gun! There wasn't any other job in the world that could pay in friends. I instantly took my pen and signed Joey up, making up a few (ok, a lot of) lies to seal the deal. When I was finished, I literally kissed the envelope and turned it in at the office.

I anxiously waited for the next week, tapping my foot and rolling my against my desk until the teacher yelled at me. And even then, I could not wait more than five minutes before starting up again. Every day I dashed home to my mailbox, so fast that the coach literally asked me to join the track team, and ripped the lid open, only to find disappointment. Towards the end of the week I was so frustrated that I kicked the box until it fell over onto the grass. Although, at this point I didn't care if I got grounded or had to pay for the damages with a year's allowance, I just wanted the letter.

One day I walked over to the fallen box with my head hung. I was getting ready to give it a frustrated kick when I noticed an envelope attached to the top of it, along with an angry note from the mail company. I ripped that note and tossed it aside as I cautiously lifted the lid of the envelope.

I bit my lip as my hands rested upon Joey's golden ticket. My chest rose in and out as my heartbeat quickened. I was so nervous that I seemingly forgot how to read! My eyes glanced right to left; or was it supposed to be left to right? "ex-cell-ent-ee" it read in one sentence. Ooh, they must have been using French! A few seconds later I banged my fist against my forehead in attempt to knock out the idiocy from my brain. Finally, with my head clear, I started over and read the results.

He got in! I couldn't believe it and began to jump up and down with joy. I had to double check to make sure I wasn't hallucinating, but sure enough, the congratulating words were still on the page. Finally my brother would have a fair shot at the life he was deprived from. Other people would now pay attention to him and begin to see beneath the surface, finding an emerald against a pile of gray rocks.

"Cody, what in the world are you doing?" A voice said from around the corner as I realized that my body was literally doing a victory dance.

"Joey! I have great news!" I dashed over to him and put my arms on his shoulders. I practically screamed in his face, slurring half of the words. However, his expression didn't quite match the one I envisioned. His face started out plain, like a solid stone wall, then his eyes narrowed and he looked sort of bitter. Suddenly, it seemed as if a lightbulb went off in his head, and his eyes and lips smiled; a rotten, malicious smile. Or, that is at least what I thought for a second, but then shook my head and realized that it was just out of joy How could my brother, the one person I have ever truly loved, be capable of such thoughts anyways?

c_þ