Cambridge, England
Nicholas-18
"I just want her to be my Queen and her to treat me as King."
I always thought this would be a nice place. Walking on this campus from class seemed very peaceful to me. The weather needs some improvement but it's different. I've never been to the UK, so this was the place I wanted to go to the most for my summer semester abroad. The home of Scotland Yard, the M5, the Magna Carta. The perfect place to observe and learn proper justice is from its mother. Freshman year at George Mason University started out rough. The workload commanded of us as freshmen was absurd. I expected it to be challenging because it was one of the best criminal justice programs in the country. However, one doesn't usually see their core classes until sophomore year. Ever since the collapse and reconstruction of the U.S government, there has been an emphasis on the education and development of young officials, politicians, intelligence agents, and criminal investigators. So much so, that the curriculum for the degrees has been expediated. The assassination of an entire cabinet and the lack of leadership and decisions that followed will forever be an ugly scar in the history of my fine country. No one intended that to ever happen again. The result of our blunder made the whole world thrown off balance and drowned in blood once again. It sickens me, this is what I always spoke to Thylonius about. The governments are not worrying about its citizens only their own ambitions and greed. Not for the love of their country, just for the power of controlling more land and people. You would think that the overthrowing of governments would be a good thing, where better people would take power and things would get better. Better for the impoverished citizens, better for the minorities. What a farce, it was the poor and minorities that were going to war. They were the ones dying for a country that never really cared for them in the first place. The wealthy and the powerful were reaping the real benefits. This was happening on a global scale, and I couldn't help but be sad whenever I thought about it. I always wonder what Thylonius would say if he was around to see this sad excuse of a world we live in now. I miss my best friend. After his foster father was the one blamed for the murder of the U.S cabinet it was assumed that he murdered his foster children as well. The house they lived in was pretty much abandoned with no evidence it was ever lived in. It was very strange, almost too convenient, it didn't help that he was found dead unable to explain the events that transpired. No motive or explanation, research into his life was suspiciously sealed and not released to the public. Meeting the man, he always seemed nice but it never felt genuine. I never thought he was ever upfront with me but who would ever think he would be capable of that? The deaths of the Royal English Family made me put more thought into all of this. When in history has an entire hierarchy of two super power governments been wiped out in a span of two years? I don't believe in coincidences. Is it possible that this whole world war was intentionally triggered? What if Lucius wasn't the real perpetrator and the real mad men are still out there? If so, what was their next move? What is the end goal?
I was lost in thought when someone bumped into me knocking my bag off of my shoulder. I picked up my bag looking at his back expecting an apology, but it never came. This annoyed me.
"Aye man! Watch where you going bruh!" The guy stopped finally noticing his action. I didn't really get a good look at his face because of the hoodie he was wearing but a familiar voice answered.
"My fault, sometimes I look so far ahead when I walk that I fail to notice when someone's right next to me." I froze a little that was definitely an American accent, a South Florida accent. Could it be? He turned to walk the other way, but I immediately took off and hurried after him. When I grabbed his shoulder, he immediately disengaged my hand and pushed me down to the ground.
"Yo bruh! What's your problem? Don't fucking touch m-"
"Ty is that you?" He paused for a second and stared at me a little and he took his hood off. Ty looked like he aged 10 years since the last time I saw him. He had a full mustache and goatee, he grew out his hair to the point of a blowout, gained like ten pounds of muscle, overtook me in height, and his eyes were no longer the brown that I remember but a deep grey. I didn't think he was the type to wear color contacts but I tried not to think about it much anymore. My once dead friend was alive staring back at me. He looked like he had grown into a man, both in appearance and demeanor. People change. Although that smile that he had on didn't change at all.
"Yo my dawg Nick! What are you doing here? Why do you look like you seen a ghost?" I was stunned; he acted like he didn't know that he was supposed to be dead.
"I mean, I'm surprised. I thought you were dead. Your foster father is considered the worst criminal in history, and you disappear off the face of the earth. I understand you never did social media, but you couldn't have reached out to me? Let me know you were alright?" His smile faded and he looked like he felt guilty.
"I'm sorry fam." He had a look of shame and sincerity, and he paused for a second. "But you sound like a little bitch right now!" We both burst out laughing. He put his whole arm around my neck and put me in a chokehold while he rubbed his knuckle into my head. He was a lot more aggressive than he used to be. "My fault, you already knew that I never liked Lucius. It got to a point where I had to get my sister and I out of that household before he hurt my family any further. Considering what happened I made the correct choice. I didn't want him to find us because he still had legal rights to us as my guardian. That's why I never called or hit you up because I didn't want him to use you to find us. After I heard all that happened, I was stunned and thought it was for the best to leave our life in America behind us; for fear that we would be prosecuted as accomplices because we were his children. I didn't know that they thought we were dead though. I apologize but I didn't think I would ever see you again to be honest. I accepted that and went on with my life. My sister's safety was more important to me." Seemed logical enough, it was brutal honesty but that was just who Thylonius was. He always gave it to you straight or he always gave off that impression. There were always things about him that I always felt he wasn't telling me about. That part didn't change about him. Though, that was ok. I never asked about it. We all had our skeletons, and I was just happy to have my friend back. A friendly familiar face in an unfamiliar setting.
"Hey, you think we could go catch up at my place. Maybe play some Madden over some beers?"
"Of course my dude, most people here just want to play FIFA all day. I mean I'm down for that, but you miss the real football every now and then." I chilled with my homie for hours drinking, talking about school, talking about girls. It was a good escape from reality to have my best friend back again. Something about Ty had changed though, he definitely wasn't the person I knew back then. It wasn't how he talked or how he looked. As we get older of course we will mature, look more grown up. What was different was the feeling I got from him. Before he felt like an open book, inviting, and just comfortable to be around. Now, it was kind of like his presence was overwhelming in a sense. I hesitated to ask him things, I tip toed around my words. He didn't seem as laid back with me as he used to be. He seemed on high alert as if expecting something to happen. I could see his eyes constantly analyzing things I said and did. Now that I was sitting with him and spending time with him, the aura around him felt dangerous. It made me uncomfortable. I sat in his living room and pondered this for a while, I'm guessing Ty saw the unease on my face and paused the game.
"Hey man are you alright?" Part of me didn't want my negative feelings out there. Another part of me wanted to doubt my observations altogether and just enjoy the moment. The last part told me to be just honest with the man I thought so fondly of as a friend.
"Yea I'm good just thinking about school, getting stressed out just thinking about it." Couldn't be honest with him. Well, it ended not being a total lie. Who doesn't get stressed out when attending University? Its only been a few hours things will go back to normal.