Narrative#5

I never realized how much I could change in one year in the city. I didn’t even realized how different I really was until someone called me out on it. Is it really possible to change so dramatically in such a short period of time without even realizing it? It couldn’t be, it just seems so farfetched. Obviously I’m wrong.
I graduated from high school around two years ago. Everything about my high school years was perfect. I went to a small school in a small, countryside town and graduated in a small class. Everything was small, but everything was perfect. I remember how I used to simply lie down in the open fields with my friends on the summer days. We would sit there, listening to the birds, and just relaxing. I could never not love the people and environment around me, I was sure of that.
I knew that I would always love the small, country town life, but I still wanted to experience life in the city. So, in September, I started my freshman year of college at NYU. It was so far away from the life I knew and loved, so my mom convinced me to stay up in New York for both semesters. I couldn’t believe how homesick I felt when winter break started. I stayed with one of the friends I made in New York who had an apartment all to himself. I would constantly be in contact with my friends and family still in my small town, and I almost never left the apartment to explore the city.
When the end of my second semester came in May, I felt uncomfortable leaving my new home in New York. I called my parents and persuaded them into letting me stay in New York for the summer. It took close to an hour and a half to finally get them to agree. I moved back in with my friend, but this time, I didn’t stay in the apartment. In fact, now that I think about it, the only time I was in the apartment was when I was sleeping or just waking up. I explored the city with my new friends everyday. I was so accustomed this fast-paced life, and I couldn ‘t imagine living any other way.
When winter break came around for the second time, I just assumed that I would be staying up in New York again. However, my parents called, begging me to come home and celebrate Christmas with them. It took them a good two hours to convince me to take a break from the city life. When my plane landed in the airport, I was greeted by everyone in my family and all of my high school friends. It was great to finally see them all again. My parents drove me home where a welcome home party was waiting. I sat on one of the lawn chairs and texted my New York friends while everyone I used to know celebrated around me.
When dinner finally came, only my parents and my closest high school friends stayed. We all ate dinner together as they threw stories at me about the country life and what I’ve been missing. I was only half listening while stuffing my face with all of my old favorite foods that now tastes unusual after eating Easy Mac and Hot Pockets for so long. The next thing I knew, everyone was staring at me.
“What?” I asked, my mouth half full with mashed potatoes.
“How has life in New York been? We haven’t heard from you in a while,” my mom said hopefully.
That was my invitation. I put my fork down and ranted about how much better New York was than life in the county for a solid half hour. After, everything was silent. “Well, that sounds nice, honey,” my mom finally said without lifting her eyes from the empty plate in front of her.
Everyone finally left after another half hour, and I saw everyone off by giving them a handshake and a pat on the back. “See you later, Michelle,” I said as the last of my old friends was leaving. “We must catch up soon.”
“I don’t think I can do that,” she whispered slowly. “You’ve changed, Michael. You’ve really changed, and I don’t like it. None of us do.” And with that, she turned around, walked outside, and closed the door. I stared at that closed door until I head her car pull out of my street.
At first, I was furious. How could she say that I’ve changed. I’m still me, I’m still the old Michael that she knew and loved two summers ago. Then I decided to really think about what I’ve been through in the past couple years, and then I saw it. I adapted to the city life too much too quickly. I forgot about how much I loved lying down in those open fields. I forgot how much I loved these people and this town and this life, and it was all because of the fast-paced life that I expierenced while attending NYU.
How could I have changed so drastically?

Narrative #4

The past year has been the hardest year of my life. Sure, I was created only about a year and a half ago, but I can guarantee you that this year will be the hardest of them all. I have not had a single day where I can just rest in my case. He’s always going to the races, every day for the past year. How did I get stuck with this man who loves horse races and has really bad eye sight? He sits in the tenth row, and he still needs binoculars to see. I also never understood why he went to horse races so often- they seemed pretty boring to me. Thankfully, he always gets loads of money from these races, so there’s still hope that he’ll buy someone else who’s better than me sometime soon. It’s unlikely, but there’s always hope.
Before and after every race, he and his friend always walk down the dirt hallways around the outside of the stadium. They discuss the horses, the bets they made or planning to make, and the racers. Their conversations are always so dull and redundant, so I can never fully focus on what they’re saying. One day, before the races, a small man that I recognized as one of the racers approached the two men in matching suits. He seemed agitated, and his restlessness was obvious.
“I can’t do this anymore, it’s so wrong,” the small man said when the three finally all met up. “I can’t keep on going like this.”
“Just relax,” said my owner coolly. “You’ve been doing this for a while now, there’s no need to back out now.” He was clearly annoyed with this man, for reasons I didn’t understand.
“No, no, I can’t, it’s wrong, people depend on me, people trust me,” the small man stammered, slowly backing into the stadium.
“Look,” said the other man in the brown suit sharply. “We need you. We trust you to keep throwing races. We depend on you to do whatever you can to make whoever we bet on win. We don’t care how you do it or how awful it may be, we just care if you do it. Don’t forget our deal.”
“When I was racing, I was pretty much exactly like you. I thought it was wrong, but the men who were in business with me were so confident and so dependent on me that I couldn’t say no, and look where that got me! I’m one of the richest men in the city! Do you want to be like that when you’re my age?” explained my owner.
“I do, I really do, but why don’t you just bet on me? I can win races; it makes more sense, just bet on me. We don’t have to cheat anymore, just bet on me,” the small man pleaded.
The two men in the brown suits sat in silence for a small amount of time before bursting into uncontrollable laughter. My owner almost dropped me since his hands shake furiously when he laughs. Another one of the reasons this year has been so hard.
The small man looked furious. He crossed his arms and looks up to the other man in the brown suit. “I’m not cheating anymore,” he stated firmly.
The other man looked down at the small man and simply said, “I don’t think you realize how much power we have over you. If you stop, we can break you apart while everyone else just turns their heads. You will continue to cheat and you will continue to listen to us, or you’ll never race again. Do you understand?”
The small man’s head dropped. “Do I still get 15%?”
“I’ll answer that question after I see Gibbs cross the finish line before anyone else today.”
The small man turned around and headed back towards the stadium without saying another word. The two men in the brown suits watched him go. “Good thing he’s so weak,” said my owner. “I thought he was seriously going to stop for a minute.”
“Don’t worry, he depends on us and the money we give him, and we depend on him and the money he gives us. It’s a deal you can’t possibly break.” The two men started laughing again, but thankfully not as hard as before.
I really need to start paying attention to these conversations they have.