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Chapter 11 - Selfish

The young boy bent down and picked up the can of soup, opening it easily since it didn't need a can opener to open. Then, he started drinking directly from the can. The rich flavor of chicken and soup trickled down his throat, satisfying his hunger for now. The noodles came last as he chewed it slowly, it was cold but he admitted that it tasted much better than the mashed potatoes he receives at camp.

As the can separated his lips, he wiped his mouth with his sleeves, leaving a slightly wet stain. Jasper looked at him eagerly, Max reminded him of his friend Davey: reckless but also nice at times. But Jasper didn't know if Max also had a short temper or was rude at such times. He sighed, not everybody's the same, "So... how's the soup? You didn't give me time to even ask you if you wanted it warm. I would've given you a bowl for the least, but I can't blame you for being hungry. You didn't have dinner last night, I forgot you guys needed to eat." He chuckled nervously. Max turned to him, embarrassed, "I'm so so sorry, I didn't realize you were here!" He apologized, he felt like he had to make it up to him.

"Since I've finished eating, how about a board game?" Max suggested, an awkward smile growing on his lips. Jasper beamed, it had been too long since he had played board games with anybody, let alone talk. Usually, when he felt really lonely, he'd try to start a conversation with one of the small animals on the island, but they always run away after seeing him. Jasper nodded enthusiastically and took some pogs from the shelves. Max looked at the circular items confusingly, how long had Jasper been dead?

"I don't think I'm familiar with this game..." he said, looking up to face Jasper. His eyes widened, "You guys don't play pogs?" He asked putting the items away, Max shook his head slowly, "I'm not sure, I only have two board games at home; Monopoly and Snakes n' ladders." Max informed, embarrassed at the fact that he only knew how to play two board games. He noticed that his friend Jasper now had a large smile on his face, "Come with me." He said, grabbing Max's wrist, almost making him drop his teddy bear.

The two boys reached the island's dock. Max tilted his head in confusion and turned to Jasper for an answer, "Jasper, why are we at the docks?" He asked, climbing onto the boat with Jasper, putting Mr. Honeynuts next to him, "Just follow my lead." Said the ghost calmly, "But I thought you weren't allowed to go too far from this island." Max said, looking at Jasper for an answer once again, "Oh, this place isn't too far, just follow my directions." He replied calmly. Max just shrugged and started rowing, "Okay Cap'n, lead the way!" He exclaimed, following Jasper's direction.

The small boat came to a stop somewhere near the camp, but not too far from spooky island, "Now, you just head straight and take a right when you see a rosebush, you'll find yourself in front of an old treehouse. Go inside and grab the pair of light up shoes and rummage through the shelves until you find a box labeled 'monopoly'" he informed, hoping that Max listened because he knew that a kid like Max wouldn't end up in such a location on purpose.

The raven haired boy nodded before running off into the woods, now all Jasper needed to do was wait. But it wasn't easy, it had been such a long time since he'd seen his half burnt shoe from when he was still alive and running with Davey. Jasper chucked quietly at the memory of him and Davey fighting, causing the newly bought pair of shoes to fall into the fireplace that he made to inform Davey the fun of camping. Jasper chuckled even more at the fact that he had to quickly get water before his shoe burns to a crisp. Heck, he even took a stick to poke the shoe to push it out of the fire. Jasper shook his head slowly, still smiling. It felt as if yesterday he was just running around with Davey and the next: nothing. After the incident, the shoe was unusable due to the fact that most of the shoe looked like it was about to turn to dust.