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Post by Anibal Desales on Dec 28, 2009 22:02:58 GMT -5
"Yeah." Anibal had to concede that Carter had a point; they'd gone from sharing with Gould back to Silver and then back to Gould so many times, it really was a mess trying to remember people. He had a difficult enough time just remembering everyone who went to his own school, in his own grade! He couldn't very well be expected to remember everyone else, too. And while Jorge had attended Silver, he was a grade younger than Carter, and he'd never made an effort to involve his family with his school-friends. In fact, he really didn't make much of an effort to get to know people outside of school at all. He had far too many secrets to be comfortable with that.
"He just....messed up. I know he did. But that's not a good reason to stab him. And then he got off for it, it's not fair! He shouldn't've had a knife at school in the first place. I know Jorge shouldn't've been in the gang, but he missed home and they knew what it was like and he didn't hate all Asians, he got along great with Hiroshi, and now he's dead and it's not fair." He finished all in a rush, futilely attempting to wipe away tears that were insistent on pouring now that he'd started talking to someone he trusted.
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Post by Carter Stresemann on Dec 28, 2009 22:40:32 GMT -5
Situations like this showed you how easily you could over look people. How easy it was to get caught up in your own life and your own circle of friends that you do not really notice those others faces around you. Carter wished he could have told the boy that he had known him and had known him to be a 'decent' person. Maybe it would give him some peace of mind. But honestly he did not really know Jorge. He supposed though that since he did not really know him, he did not know whether he was a bad kid or not. He could not make any judgments.
"Whoa..you're losing me here." he watched Anibal and tried to keep up with his rambling. "Stabbing? Knives? Gangs?" he wasn't really following this anymore. He had gotten lost somewhere. "I'm sorry, but I think I got left at station when your train of thought pulled out."
Did this have something to do with the shooting? Was it all connected? Or were they now talking about something unrelated? Carter was a little confused. He hoped Anibal didn't think he wasn't paying attention to what he was saying. He was as best he could considering the rate at which Anibal was going at. He did not think he had ever heard the boy go on quite like this before.
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Post by Anibal Desales on Dec 28, 2009 22:59:43 GMT -5
Anibal sniffed loudly before starting over, trying to go slowly and explain exactly what had happened. "The gang that attacked the school. Jorge was a member, and he tried to hold some girl hostage. And then Jandro -- you know Jandro? He's my grade? -- he stabbed Jorge to death. And the MS-13, they were after one of the teachers. Something with another gang, some Asian gang, everyone was all oooh, the MS-13 all hate Asians but Hiroshi is our half-brother and he's Japanese and he and Jorge got along so it's not true at least not always I guess but anyway, I tried to stop Jandro but it didn't work and I know Jorge shouldn't've held her hostage but it's not fair he had to die over it."
He sniffed again. He knew that his brother got less sympathy, considering that he wasn't quite as innocent a victim as some, but Jorge was still his brother, and he had been a supportive and good older brother whatever his failings in regards to society. Jorge had been encouraging when he'd announced to the family that he was going to begin living as a guy, and he'd hoped for Jorge's help and support when he actually physically transitioned. Losing his biggest supporter as well as his brother hurt.
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Post by Carter Stresemann on Dec 28, 2009 23:33:37 GMT -5
Okay, now things were making more sense. He had finally caught that train of thought that Anibal had going. But now that he knew what Anibal was trying to tell him, he was left not sure what to say in response. This was just one of those situations where you did not know what to say to the other person. Nothing you could say sounded right. Carter rubbed the back of his neck as he searched his brain for the right things to say, but he was coming up with nothing. He was more t than a little perplexed.
"Anibal, I..." he stammered. "I'll be honest with you, I don't really know what to say." he frowned a bit. "I'm sorry you lost your brother. I can't imagine what that kind of lose must be like." Okay that came out pretty lame. If he ever wanted to attempt life as a writer he needed to learn how to come up with something better to say than that, or he truly was going to become a starving artist.
"Look, I'm sorry. I guess that's not really the response you were looking for. I just..have never been very good at serious situations. I tend to always say the wrong thing."
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Post by Anibal Desales on Dec 29, 2009 21:55:54 GMT -5
Anibal didn't know what he had expected Carter to say, but clearly the other boy did not know any words that could magically make everything right again; if he was completely honest with himself, he found that to be mildly disappointing. He knew he couldn't really hold that against the Junior, though, so he merely shrugged.
"It's okay," He mumbled. Somehow, telling Carter had made him feel a little better, at least, even if his eyes were now more red-rimmed than they had any time during the past week. Carter couldn't change the past, he couldn't bring Jorge back to life or bring Jandro to justice, but now that someone he trusted knew he felt as though a load had been lifted off his chest; of course, he still wanted to beat Jandro down, but that would just have to wait.
He scrubbed furiously at his face, trying to wipe away those pesky tears. "Ah, sorry, I guess you don't really wanna hear about that. But, umm, thanks. For playing. And for listening. I'll try not to be so...so.....distracted next time. And then I'll win for sure!" He added, attempting a grin. "I guess I should probably get home. So umm see ya round."
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Post by Carter Stresemann on Dec 30, 2009 14:58:10 GMT -5
Carter tried to remember something he had once about what to say to someone who had experienced a loss or some other tragedy. It was kind of like just say nothing at all. Just be there if they needed someone, or be there to listen if they needed someone to talk to. That didn't sound exactly right, but close enough. He supposed that was what he was trying to do for Anibal. The boy obviously needed to talk this through, get some things off his chest. It was kind of hard to fight that natural urge to want to say something profound that would just make the whole situation better.
Carter didn't let on that he had noticed the younger boys red-rimmed eyes. Hell, how could he hold that against him or make fun of him for it? The boy had lost someone close to him, if the other boy had done some pretty terrible things himself, he was still someone who obviously meant a lot to Anibal. Carter couldn't really imagine that kind of loss. He was only a child, and far as as he knew no one in his life that he considered close to him had passed away. Carter walked over and put a hand on Anibal's shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. "It's terrible thing that happened. The whole situation. And as hard as it might be, you can't let it eat you up inside. You got to keep living. Be the person your brother would have wanted you to be, if that's what it takes."
He stepped back. "Yeah, man, I'll see you around."
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