My speakers pounded in my room to muffle any outside noises, just the way I liked it. Once I put my pencil to the page, I zoned out and doodled whatever images were being circulated in my mind. As I was shading an abstract figure I couldn't help but notice that all my drawings related to the same topic, Travis.
Thinking about his situation made me sad because graduation is literally right around the corner and we won't be on the stage together like we always dreamed.
I lowered my music's volume and grabbed the phone from off the night stand to call him.
"Yo," he casually answered.
"Hey, what's up with you?"
"Nothing. I'm just wondering why you blasting Bryson Tiller like that," Trav chuckled softly.
"Wait, I just turned that down before we got on the phone. You keeping tabs on me?" I squinted with a flummoxed expression.
"Nah..." he paused. "I'm here though." My door swung open and surely enough my best friend barged in.
"It's late, how you get here? Uber?"
Travis pecked my forehead and sat beside me before speaking. "I drove."
My eyes widened and a smile formed on my face. "You driving regularly now...I'm here for it." He shrugged it off and glanced down at my note pad.
"Dope. That's supposed to be me?" Travis pointed to a distorted figure that appeared to a human.
"Maybe. So, why didn't I see you at prom on Friday?" I questioned him and he rolled his eyes with an attitude.
"Prom is for those who are graduating and I'm obviously not, so my presence wasn't needed," he calmly addressed me and I sighed deeply.
"C'mon now, you can still get a diploma in October!"
"Bullshit! I'm done with school." I was shocked to hear him reveal that, but by the looks of things he wasn't joking around. "Besides, no need to go back if I already took the GED test."
My brows furrowed in confusion. "And when did you find time to take the GED?"
"Friday. I get my results next week, so pray for me." I shook my head in disbelief. "I cannot believe you're being for real right now. A GED isn't going to replace a diploma, Travis."
"I don't have time for a lecture, B. Plus, it doesn't matter if I waited until October to get my diploma because all the schools that were offering me full ride scholarships backed off," he huffed.
I mentally rolled my eyes at how easy he was giving up on his future.
"All these damn excuses you got. You can go to community college for two years or you can ask your dad to fund your schooling."
Travis dismissed my suggestions and shook his head. "Nah, I'm not asking him for anything. Besides, I already got a plan for my future," he smiled.
"Spill..."
Travis hesitated before replying. "I'm joining the Navy. I enlisted yesterday."
My initial instinct was to slap him, but a punch to his shoulder was sufficient enough.
"Ouch!" he whined.
"The Navy? You've seriously lost your mind. Have you told your dad? What did he s--"
"Chill with the questions," Travis interrupted me. "This is the best decision for me right now and I'm cool with it."
He appeared satisfied with his choice and there wasn't anything I could say to convince him otherwise. "Ok, fine...I just don't want to lose you. I already worry enough as it is."
Travis cracked a small smile. "I'm a big boy. No worries babe."
"You say that now, but you haven't been the most rational person since the whole Mar--" I quickly stopped myself. "Never mind."
"I may not be the most rational person right now, but this is something I want to do. I've already got passed the Mar-con bullshit."
"If you say so," I deeply sighed as I peered back down to my note pad.
"Speaking of the future, auntie ask me to bring this up to you." Travis pulled out an envelope from his back pocket and handed it to me.
"What's this?" I questioned, grabbing it from his hands.
"Don't know, but I know it has something to do with your art." I tore the envelope open and skimmed through the letter.
"Oh my goodness!" Travis was baffled by my sudden outburst.
"What's wrong?"
"Gerhard Richter! Fucking Gerhard Richter just offered me a internship abroad for the summer." I jumped up on my bed and cheered with excitement.
"Good shit, ma." Travis grinned and clapped with glee.
"Mama!" I hopped from off my bed with the letter and skipped downstairs to share the big news.
*
"Babe, stop. We're in public." I bit down on my lip to keep from moaning as Isaac was nibbling on my neck. He rested his head in my chest, smacking his teeth.
"B, we're in a corner leaned up against a wall where no one can see us. Besides, this party is dead."
I shook my head. "Your sister graduation party is dead...you're such a great brother." I spoke sarcastically and lifted his chin by hand.
He flashed his pearly whites. "Fair enough. So, how does it feel to be a high school graduate now?"
I simply shrugged and his brows furrowed. "Hey, what's wrong ma? You've been mad quiet," he stroked my cheek in concern.
"Eh, just thinking."
Isaac observed me suspiciously and took me by the hand. "Come with me. Let's go somewhere quiet." I followed behind him upstairs to his room.
"All right talk to me." Isaac laid on his bed and signaled for me to lye next to him.
"Nah, I'll stand here. I don't need you getting no ideas." I joked with my arms crossed tightly across my chest.
Isaac licked his lips and smiled innocently. "As much as I would gladly go there with you. I wasn't even thinking like that. You seem tense and I'm just trying to be a good boyfriend." I gave in to the offer and snuggled up next to him.
"You're too sweet." I admitted while looking up at the ceiling.
"I've been told. Now, tell me what's on your mind," he mumbled while brushing his hand through my hair.
"I got a art internship for this summer."
"That's amazing, B!" I just nodded in response.
"Yeah, it is. It's pretty great." I murmured.
"Ok, why don't you seem excited about it?" Isaac read my behavior effortlessly.
"It's primarily in Europe," I finally revealed to him. He sat up on his bed before replying back.
"Primarily?"
I sat up beside him and studied his face to see if I could read what he was thinking. "Yeah, I pretty much get to travel the world with Gerhard Richter for 4 months. Europe is like the main base in a way." Isaac nodded, but didn't speak. It threw me off.
"Say something..."
"Brooklyn, I'm happy for you," he started with a counterfeit grin plastered across his face.
"And?"
"And...I'm kind of hungry right now, so I think I'm gone head back downstairs to eat." Isaac's whole demeanor had changed once he got up from the bed to leave.
"Wait, that's it? We're not going to discuss the elephant in the room or anything."
He stopped dead in his tracks. "Look, B...I like you a lot and this little thing we got going is special to me, but 4 months though? "
That wasn't what I wanted to hear him say at all. I stood up and walked in front of him to wrap my arms around his waist for a hug.
"Wait for me...if it's special." I groused. I felt him take a deep breath before he embraced me back and pecked my forehead.
Isaac disregarded my words and let me go even though I was still clinched to his body. "How can you let go so easily?" I asked him.
"I'm not letting go. I'm just being realistic and I know what type of guy I am when it comes to relationships, you're the one exception." I respected him for his honesty, but it hurt.
"Let's just enjoy each other until you leave."
I pushed away from him. "We might as well end this now since you already made it clear that you won't be able to keep it in your pants while I'm gone." I snapped back.
Isaac sucked his teeth out of frustration. "Brooklyn, I didn't mean it like that."
"Yeah, whatever you say. I gotta go." I departed out of Isaac's room and didn't look back as he kept calling my name out.
Vote, comment, and whatever else...
Is Travis crazy for enlisting in the Navy?
Is this the end of Brooklyn and Isaac?