Harsh Realities
Eric sat down in a chair on his deck. It was a late summer evening and the sun was setting. He held a glass of iced lemonade in his right hand and occasionally took a sip. He gazed at the purplish sky but he wasn’t there for the view. He was there for the peace of mind.

So when his twin barged through the back door loudly, a Nerf gun loaded in his left hand, Eric cursed. He faked a smile at the intruder and turned back to the sky, hoping he’d leave. But Eric’s twin cocked his gun back and fired, all in with good intentions. When the dart landed in his drink, Eric swore again, but this time louder, and charged at his sibling. The two tussled until Eric finally ripped the Nerf gun free. He got up and looked down at his twin, his annoyance now expressed as open contempt. Eric took everything in; he saw his brother’s brown hair, black eyes, and smirked when he noticed his twin’s childish grin slowly fade.

So Eric, ten years old at that time, sneered and threw the Nerf gun off the deck and into the garden below. He stormed back inside, leaving his twin with an expression of shock on his face.
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Eric, now in middle school, skipped home, his mouth curled into a satisfied smile. He and his friends ran together as his twin trailed behind. It was the first week of school and Eric was already popular, not only with his classmates, but also with the rest of the school because making the soccer team helped spread his name. His twin, however, had a much rougher first week of school. After a couple failed attempts to make friends, he shelled himself in and stayed quiet.
Whenever Eric arrived home, he went to the basement and turned on his Xbox. His twin would follow a couple moments later. They only had one controller so Eric promised his twin a try after a couple of rounds. An hour later, Eric was still on and his twin could only sit and watch, his attempts to play always ignored.

During lunch, Eric sat amidst a crowd of friends in the cafeteria. The noise was deafening in the lunch room so Eric’s twin decided to eat his lunch outside, away from all the commotion. Without shame, Eric pointed out his brother and hurled insults at him.
“Loser,” he said.
“Loner,” he said.
And the cafeteria grew a notch louder from the laughter.
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Eric was now in his final year of middle school and it was time for the big and overhyped Eighth Grade field trip. He made his group with ease. But when his twin asked to join, Eric didn’t answer. He didn’t have to; the answer was obvious. His twin was just so different. Although they were twins, it was only a fraternal relationship so they looked nothing alike. Their personalities were also different. Eric’s twin was quiet and less social. He was more of a “nerd” than Eric.

And so he knew. He knew that once Eric gave him the cold shoulder, he had to go find another group.
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But now it was high school. Eric didn’t have time to sit out in the shade of his deck and sip lemonade. He was busy. He was unprepared for the unprecedented amounts of homework, so the transition from middle school to high school was difficult for him. Eric quickly learned that high school was very different than middle school. The sports were a lot more competitive- Eric didn’t make the soccer team. And the people were so different. Eric was from a middle school that filtered into two high schools, so many of his friends went to Eastwood High while he had to go to Westwood High. As a result, he didn’t know most of his classmates.

So during lunch, Eric didn’t have friends crowding around him anymore. The realities of high school dawned upon him and they were the opposite of what he was used to. No longer was he the popular kid because upper classmen and the kids who came from Westwood Middle School overshadowed him. So he began to sit outside for lunch. During group exercises, he had to work alone. In gym class, he waited the entire period, although he had called to play next.

So whenever Eric got off the school bus in the afternoon, he lacked his usual enthusiasm. Every day wore him down. He plodded, shoe laces untied and backpack sagging, home where he ditched the basement and went upstairs to work on homework.

One evening, Eric sighed deeply, wondering what had happened to his life. He left his math homework unfinished and went to the kitchen where he put ice in a cup and poured himself some water. He opened the cupboard and, taking out the lemonade mix, added some powder to the cup. Eric began towards the back door, thinking about how far he had fallen. He sat down on a deck chair, hoping he could start things over.

Looking up, Eric realized that it was autumn and instead of a violet sky, it was pitch black. Closing his eyes, he tried to take a relaxed sip and achieve that peace of mind, but his arm shivered from the cool breeze. Then the back door opened and Eric’s twin stepped through, an iPhone in his left hand. Eric sucked in his breath, about to lash out. His brother cringed instinctively. Then something connected in Eric’s mind. At that moment, due to the accumulation of the hardships he was experiencing, he finally faced reality and accepted that no matter how wretched his life had become, there was no benefit in remembering how good it once was. There was no turning back.

But he still had hope. There was still an option. Although there were storms in his life, those storms would not last forever. It was focusing on now that was important. It was getting through the present that mattered.

So he opened his eyes. Instead of the plumes of royalty in the sky, he saw darkness. He glanced over at the intruder, who he had constantly bullied throughout middle school. He stared at his brother, who he, save for the couple minutes in between their births, had spent his entire life with. He saw his twin, who, in his left hand, held the only light in the night. And so he smiled, and this time a genuine one.

“John.” he said. “What’s up, where’ve you been?”