That Hippie Kid

4 - The Clash

I had managed to avoid Roman for the entirety of the week, until it happened.

The encounter.

The straw that broke the camel's back.

The spark that started the fire.

You get my drift.

Anyway, it all started with that darn assignment.

Mr. Davis assigned us a presentation. The topic would be up to us. Now usually I didn't try very hard in school unless I was super interested, but this had caught my attention. Usually we had a prompt of some sort, but since it was our first presentation, he had left it to our imaginations, telling us only to speak about something we were passionate about.

I already knew what I wanted to talk about.

Dreams, and how to follow them specifically. See, most people are all about the money, but I believed in happiness over success.

I mean, how can you consider yourself to be successful if you aren't happy?

That seemed like a concept that most people grappled with understanding, So I took it upon myself to at least educate my class on the matter.

So I came to class that day, with my speech all prepared and ready to present. I had the class captivated, they were hanging on my every word.

"-So do what makes you happy. In this life, I believe it is important to focus on the emotional aspect of things, rather than the physical aspect. If you do what you love, then the rest will come easily! To love something is to commit, and to commit is to work hard, and as long as you work hard both success and happiness are garunteed!" I finished, gesturing wildly to emphasize my point.

The class was silent.

Suddenly, I heard a voice speak up. A deep, slightly raspy voice that said-

"That's the stupidest, most unrealistic thing I've ever heard." I heard some of the class erupt in to giggles at his bold comment.

I looked up in horror, scanning the class for the cruel offender.

Roman.

"Well I happen to think my speech was very well-thought out and logical." I said, frowning at him. "What's the point of earning money if you're not doing what you love?"

He glared at me. "Well sweetheart, it's about time you figured out that the world doesn't work that way. Some people actually have to work just to live. It's more than likely that you'll be jobless, homeless, and miserable if you keep thinking that life is easy. Not
everyone can be happy, and if you don't get your head out of your ass and realize that soon, you're going to be pretty screwed."

His merciless words hit me to the core, opening up an emotional box I had kept locked away for a long time.

I could feel tears threatening to come on, but I forced them back for the sake of my pride.

"Well I believe that life is a blessing for us to enjoy! It's impossible to enjoy life if you're always working." I replied, nearly stomping my foot in frustration.

"It's also going to be pretty impossible to enjoy life if you're living on the streets, begging for food." He countered evenly, the furrow in his brow ever-present.

If he wanted to believe that, then fine! I wouldn't let him stop me though.

I glared at him and returned to my seat, still fuming. Their laughter didn't bother me, I had learned long ago not to concern myself with other people's judgments and opinions of me. I normally would have just grinned and moved on with my life, yet for some reason, something inside of me was very irritated by his words.

Maybe it was the possibility that he was right...

No, I chided myself, that can't be it. As long as I'm doing what makes me happy, nothing else matters.

And yet, I knew inside my innermost being that I was wrong. I would never say so out loud, but Roman's talk struck a chord in me.  I couldn't stand to think that I would have to face both good and bad things in my future.  The concept of balance was one I couldn't face. The idea of life on a tightrope, carrying a pole with good and bad hanging on either side, seemed quite tedious to me. It wasn't in my nature to take slow and careful steps, constantly worrying about the possibility of slipping. I would rather just sprout wings and fly across to the other side without having to worry about the possibility of falling.

Someday, I swore to myself, Someday I'll grow some wings, and all my problems will be solved.

-

Throughout the week Roman and I continued to clash, frequently encountering each other in the worst possible situations, each time parting ways on worse terms than before.

One day it was because I carelessly spilled my drink on him in the cafeteria, the next it was because he (on purpose in my opinion) stepped on the dandelion flower bed I had made behind the school, and so on.

Every time we met, we developed a new aspect of our rivalry it seemed.

We were wholly, truly, and in every sense of the word, opposites.

There was no way we could ever get along.