As Les cried, Jimmy placed a hand on his shoulder. Jimmy's dogs, Venus and Mars, came to comfort Les. Venus and Mars were both mixed breeds. Although they looked intimidating, the large, wolf-like appearance of both of them was the only intimidating thing about them. They were very affectionate with those they knew, especially Jimmy and his friends. They were wary of strangers, but they were not at all aggressive. Les asked, "Why does my father hate me?" Jimmy said, "I don't know, Les." Les said, "My mother loved me. Why did she have to die?" Jimmy said, "I know, buddy. She was taken from you, and that's not fair." After a pause, he asked, "Do anda want me to help anda with your homework?" Les said, "No, I'll get it." Jimmy said, "All right. I'll see anda tomorrow, Les." Les reluctantly did his homework and straightened his bedroom. Just then, his father came in and said, "Nicely done, Les. I'm proud of you." Les said, "You're proud of me as long as I do what anda want." His father said, "Oh, come now, Les! I'm your father, and I know what's best for you!" Les said, "No! anda know what's best for you! Well, I'm not you, Dad! I am Les! If I was an engineer like you, I'd be miserable. Do anda even want me to be happy?" His father said, "There are lebih important things than being happy, Les. A respectable career is one of them, especially if that career makes a lot of money." Les said, "If you're doing it for the money, and you're miserable, what's the point?!" His father sighed and said, "You are so your mother's child. Of course, if it weren't for you, she'd still be alive!" He then left. Les burst into tears. It wasn't his fault his mother died. He wasn't the one who had the accident. He then fell onto his tempat tidur and went to sleep. The selanjutnya morning, breakfast was very quiet. Les didn't feel like talking. His poor excuse of a father had slammed him, not once, but twice. After he got ready for school, he packed a sandwich and drove to school. Les noticed Jimmy and some others laughing. Les asked, "What's so funny?" Jimmy said, "Oh, we were talking about our senior prank. We're going to leave a jar of marbles on the principal's meja tulis, meja with a card that says, 'Since we made anda lose your marbles, we're giving them back.'" Les wanted to laugh, but he was in too much pain. Jimmy asked, "Are anda all right?" Les said, "Not really." Jimmy asked, "What's wrong?" Les said, "I don't want to talk about it." Jimmy said, "Come on, man. I'm your friend. anda can tell me." Les told Jimmy what his father had told him. Jimmy said, "That's horrible! Why don't anda get away from him?" Les said, "I don't have anywhere else to go. He's the only family I have left." Jimmy asked, "Who berkata it had to be with family?" Les said, "You're not suggesting...." Jimmy said, "I am. I talked to my parents, and they agreed that anda could stay with us. If I weren't your friend, I wouldn't be suggesting this to you, but I am your friend. I just want anda to be safe, brother. If anda can't come to me, then you're going to go somewhere that might not be safe, and I'm not about to let that happen." Les said, "If I pindah out, my father will call the police." Jimmy said, "And tell them what? That his eighteen-year-old left home? That's not a crime." Les smiled and said, "Yeah. You're right."
The selanjutnya day, Greeley accompanied Leila and her aunt and uncle on a ride to the nearest beach. Leila's uncle drove. Leila's dog, Paul, enjoyed looking out the window at the sights. When they stopped for lunch, Leila took Paul out on a leash to "do his business". A few people stopped Leila and asked her, "What kind of dog is that?" Most people didn't believe her when she told them that Paul is a purebred German Shepherd Dog. Leila didn't mind, though. She was aware that most people don't know that Shepherds can be blue, especially solid blue like Paul. Around 6:00 that evening, Leila, Greeley, Leila's aunt and uncle, and Paul arrived at the property. It was a nice pantai house, and it was very pet friendly. They were all tired from their trip. After unpacking, they got makan malam and relaxed for the rest of the evening. A few hours later, they called it a night.
Leila and Greeley had just finished their first tahun of college. They were looking meneruskan, ke depan to the summer. Greeley asked, "What are anda going to do this summer, Leila?" She said, "I'm mostly going to relax and take it easy. What are anda going to do?" He said, "I think I'll do the same, but we should do some fun things this summer. After all, summer doesn't last forever." She said, "You're right. We should do some fun things together." He said, "I'd like that." Later, Leila texted Greeley and said, "My aunt and uncle and I are going to the pantai this weekend. They berkata that I can bring one friend with me. I first asked Rita, but she can't come, because she's taking summer classes as well as taking on a summer job. Would anda like to come with us, Greeley?" He said, "I'd cinta to, Leila." She said, "Great!" He asked, "Is your dog, Paul, going too?" She said, "Of course he is." The two friends were looking meneruskan, ke depan to their weekend getaway.
The first hari of spring was approaching. Leila and Greeley were on Spring Break. Leila said, "It doesn't seem possible that we're going to be finished with our first tahun of college in less than two months." He said, "I know." She said, "It's also hard to believe that my dog, Paul, is not a anak anjing, anjing anymore. He's fully grown." Greeley said, "They grow up very quickly." She said, "They really do. I also can't believe that my birthday is coming up. It's the first hari of spring this year, March 20. I'm going to be eighteen." Greeley said, "Happy Birthday." She said, "Thank you." Knowing that she had friends that she didn't have to say "I thought we were friends" to gave Leila comfort. She also knew that she didn't have to have a romantic relationship to complete her. She has and supportive aunt and uncle and great friends. Because of that, she's not lonely at all.
THE END
THE END