Keep Your Secrets

1 . Oli

There is a pretty big chance that I could be the main character in some teen fiction book written by a man in his late forties, but this is real life. Nobody would sit there, take the time out of thier life, to write about a kid like me. 

You see, I lack a certain something known as uniqueness. This also comes under the same umbrella as imagination, and creativitiy, and anything that is remotely special. Those who do know me, know me as average and those who don't look at my resume and think: 
'hmm, he's a pretty solid lad'
Well, I am...but that's about it. 

That being said however, I know the perfect main character for one of those deep philosophical works of fiction. He is my neighbour, and my best friend and pretty much the greatest human being you would ever meet if you ever had that chance; of course, if he was a main character in a book then unfortunately he would have to be fiction as well by process. So, I thank god he's real. 

His name is Theodore, even though nobody calls him that, and he's brilliant. Despite him being below average from an academic standpoint, if you met him in real life it would be hard to call him anything other than a genius. You see, a person doesn't have to be good at maths, or know the structure of an atom, or how to recite the declaration of independence off-by-heart in French to be a genius. Ted (what I call him) is a certified artist and what he makes is so beautiful that just thinking about it is making me want to cry so bad right now. 

Not only has he entered countless competitions, and won countless awards for the school, but he also has it as a part-time job. Now, I understand that a lot of teenagers of 17 should have jobs anyway, on top of the High School thing, but not like what he does. He takes commisions, making $60 a piece, doing what he loves! That's way more impressive than me earning $5.20 an hour being a lifeguard at the local leisure centre; the only time I ever actually get in the water is if a kid got a little too excited and pushed down one of his buddies, essentially drowning him. 

It's safe to say I think very highly of my best friend and I'm glad he's flourished at something that he loves so much. As long as it's enough to carry him into the future, whether I'm there or not, is all I care about. Additionally, his art isn't the only think that has me impressed; I also admire how dependable he is. 

He lives in a small detatched house, with his mother, father and younger sister, Cassandra. Both his parents are on the town's commitee which keeps them busy into the later hours of the day. This means that the kids, Cassie and Ted, are left to fend for themselves. At first, my mom invited them for dinner most nights and took them under her wing as if they were her own. However, that proved a bit too much for Ted's pride and it soon came a day, around the eighth grade, where he refused the invite. He dragged his baby sister, who was seven at the time, back home and he taught himself how to cook. 

Okay, it didn't go exactly that way but it's pretty much how it went. Anyway, my mom got too scared to leave him in charge of the stove alone straight away so, instead of cooking in our house, she got permission to use the Martinez's kitchen. Then, in no more than three months, my mom finally came to terms with how capable Ted was, and knew he would be okay. However, he hasn't shook her off since then and now, twice a year - on the first monday in March, and the first monday in October - Ted cooks for two households. The first year was a disater, as you can imagine from an eighth grader, but his skills advanced and now he's on the same level as a chef. Furthermore, don't tell my mother I said this, but his cooking is the greatest I've ever had. I even force myself into his house once a week, at least, just so I can have some of his cooking. 

Like today, I'm just walking across the street right now to knock on his door and announce my presence for dinner. This was a convenient event and I was lucky enough to live so close to my best friend. Though, with that being said, I'm not so sure we would have gotten on so well if we didn't live only a few feet apart.