15 | Baby's breath

"Hi Ali."

"Good morning baby's breath."

"Baby's breath? I don't like that as much as the others."

"Gasp!"

"What? Why did you just say 'gasp'?"

"HaHA HA!"

"For gods sake Alec what?"

"You just said that you don't like that name AS MUCH. That means that the other times you do like it!"

"That does not mean that I... ok maybe I don't mind them."

"I knew it. I KNEW IT!"

"Ok, ok. Why did you call?"

"Can I not just call to say hi?"

"Well... yes you can. You just usually call for a reason."

"Well your right, I did call for a reason."

"And that reason is...?"

"You consider us friends right?"

"You know... I think I do Alec. My only friend at the moment actually."

"Except for Sasha."

"Yeah... Sasha..."

"Gotcha. Hey! You're my only friend too! Wait, why am I your—"

"After you tell me why you called."

"Oh right! Well as amazing and awesome I sound right now I just feel like I do the same thing every single day and everything just seems..."

"Dry?"

"Yes dry! But since I've started talking to you I've been waking up before 1 pm, I drove Layla to a play date and I started making pancakes again. And, I don't know, I don't know you that well but I was just hoping maybe you would have... a suggestion to further make my life better... Actually never mind this is stupid—"

"Shut up you dork. Well I'll ask first, what is the same thing you do everyday?"

"I work at the wharf. I move shipments and I smell fish all day. But that's it. I mean as you know I wasted my time in high school."

"I know, I know being fun and partying. Ok Alec the first thing you have to do is leave your past behind. Not only is it annoying to constantly hear about it, it also isn't doing you any good to carry that around with you."

"Ok, ok makes sense."

"Look, what your looking for is very simple, but it has to be done in steps."

"Ok. I'll get a pad!"

"Well I don't think you really need a pad..."

"Well I want to. You know maybe if you teach me this, I can teach you how to loosen up a little bit."

"I don't need to be loosened up!"

"...really...?"

"Ok I see what you mean... back to the matter at hand, step one, write down all of the things you have always wanted to do—"

"Cartwheel! I want to do a cartwheel."

"Ok write that down."

"What else?"

"That's all for today. Like I said it has to be it steps, does that make sense?"

"Like butter."

"That doesn't make sense!"

"Well it made you laugh so that's all that matters."

"Wow, I can't even remember the last time someone tried to make me laugh."

"Oh... wait yeah what happened with your friends—I mean if you had any."

"Yes, I had friends, a lot actually."

"Well... what happened?"

"I hasn't happy towards the end of high school. I just kind of felt like I was floating around and I didn't have anything solid to hold on to. Everything just felt so..."

"Artificial?"

"Exactly."

"Then I'm guessing you went to my school, Riverside High, huh?"

"Yep."

"Makes sense, continue."

"Finally, in my senior I decided that that was enough. I was not living through social, media, trying to impress everyone but myself and really just caring what other people thought of me. I was going to do what I wanted and what made ME happy and the first part of that was pulling away from the erratic river that is the high school social latter. My friends didn't really agree..."

"They dropped you?"

"Pretty much."

"Yeah, I know the feeling. It sucks."

"Yep. But honestly I think I'm happier now that I don't have to keep up with people who weren't really my friends in the first place."

"And now you have a new friend."

"Right."

"Well alright I have to go pick up Layla, I call you tomorrow for the next step!"

"Alright, bye Alec."

"See ya—or talk to ya—whatever bye."

....................................

"I don't need loosen up, do I? I guess it couldn't hurt..."