Lord of the Flies: Learning How to Love [UNFINISHED]

Sandcastles and Seashells

It was a blunder, what he did, to blatantly ignore Maurice in order to go home to his solitude. He enjoyed having friends again; he would never admit this to anyone. Roger had pointed out how their friend group was primarily back together. Their group would never be how it used to, but it was coming back in time's allowance.

Jack had his dorm organized from top to bottom. Due to a request made at the very beginning of his school year, he didn't share a room with anyone. There was always an extra bed to the left of him, which he set his leather satchel and uniform pieces atop of. Then there were two wood-crafted bedside tables. The one by the unused bed was dusty; he'd get back to that later. His was neatly set, with a moonbeam alarm clock and one too many penny coins scattered about. Both beds were neatly made with light blue sheets, a comforter and a single, large white pillow. Jack ruined its organization by throwing himself onto his own bed.

"I like Maurice, I really do. He's alright. We can get along. I just need to pull myself together," Jack spoke to himself.

He squinted his eyes and scrunched up his face, realizing how foolish he sounded. He grabbed the side of his mattress and hoisted himself up. He decided a simple task with ease.

"I'll just get a shower."

With that out loud decision into play, Jack kicked his shoes off and walked towards his dresser. This was also wood-crafted, and glossy to the touch. He opened a drawer and pulled out a light blue knitted sweater and jeans- a spare outfit to feel comfortable in while he did some schoolwork later. He set these on his bed. Next he turned to the door of his bathroom; he ran his fingers through his hair, wincing at how greasy it was. For a split second, he was reminded of the disgusting torment the island held; mostly the inability to bathe properly and the lack of proper hygiene. He fixed his focus back to reality.

Jack Merridew looked at his sleep-deprived face in the bathroom mirror. There were bags under his eyes that were growing to be a noticeable dark purple. There was nothing he could do about that. Instead of unbuttoning his shirt, he undid two of the top buttons and pulled it off uncomfortably. He threw the shirt on the ground and was left to stare at his bare chest. He wasn't proud of this, in fact, he hated the way he treated himself. He rubbed his left shoulder and stared at the mirror again, glaring at himself.

Fifteen years old. How old would Ralph be by now? His birthday was on the island... Fourteen? Maybe?

He turned the knob on the shower to a medium-cool temperature and felt at the stream of water to make sure it was perfect. Taking one last look at himself in the mirror, fixing his hair although it was going to get ruined either way, he took off the rest of his undergarments. They were thrown in the space between the wall and the cracked-open door, left to be forgotten and most likely lost by the end of the day.

Relief ran through Jack's core when the harsh yet calming flow of the shower ran over him. It'd been a while since he'd tried to calm himself down like this. A simple act of self care could do so much. He was beginning to wash his hair thoroughly when he remember his song. It had no name, but could be referred to in his mind as Hello, Love. He'd left off in the middle of some verse... what was it...

"I feel this is too much for me to handle," he said out loud in steady volume. "I feel this is too much for me to handle."

He repeated it the second time in song. His head felt lighter with the abundance of liquid shampoo he applied; obviously he hadn't paid much attention to how much he used.

"Share a burden with me, and we'll fight off the pain of this world together."

He sang this part softly, and began to rub at his face.

"Gosh, I should write this down!"

In a blissful moment of happiness, he laughed at himself. He closed his eyes while the soap ran down his face from his hair.

"Then i'll let this dry out, maybe try and find Maurice again to apologize, and take a nap. Not much to do until tomorrow. I'll head out after I finish my work."

Out-loud planning was prominent in Jack's daily routine. He held onto the back of his neck while the shower did its job, rinsing the soap out of his hair. Then again he closed he eyes, for the sake of relaxation and contemplation.

When he opened his eyes he was only half dressed, with grey shorts and dress shoes that stuck to him in the blazing heat. Next to his tampered shoes laid another pair of feet, though they were bare and digging into the sand, kicking away at some of the littlun's seashell collections. He look up to see the owner of this pair. A bright, cheesy smile and blond hair indicated it was none other than Ralph. His bright, blue eyes, full of the excitement and innocence of a child, widened as he spoke:

"We've got to have a bit of fun, right? Everyone's been working really hard these past few days, weeks, months? I've lost track."

Jack Merridew grinned.

"Whatever you say, chief."

"I said don't call me that! You're my friend! That seems a bit too formal to call a friend."

"Okay, Ralph," the choirboy remarked sarcastically.

The two boys made eye contact and laughed at each other nervously. Their hearts fluttered, too, when this simple action of looking took place. Both of them then averted their gaze to the sea ahead of them, individually knowing what would happen next. Jack took a step forward, dropping his hunting knife on the sand. Ralph did not complete this transition. Jack turned around.

"Are you alright?" he asked calmly.

Ralph drew a line in the sand with his foot.

"When my dad comes here to rescue us, and we get back home, will you still be my friend?"

"Huh?"

"Well, I just think we'll try and forget about all this being stranded nonsense."

Jack tilted his head to indicate confusion; a few strands of growing hair covered his left eye. Ralph wished he could pull it back.

"I don't want to forget you, that's all. I hope you don't plan to forget me either."

"Ralph! Of course not! I hope we'll be able to get off this damned island sooner or later- and with that, continue being friends."

Ralph stepped forward to where Jack was and shook his head violently.

"Well, that's just been on my mind," he said casually. "Come on, now!"

Jack violently took his shoes off, placing them next to Ralph's pair organizationally. They brushed their hands together quickly, although none of them noticed this, and proceeded to throw themselves into the unknown, crashing waves of the sea.