I don't know exactly when I met Flareon. Kindergarten was so long ago, my memory gets hazy. I just know we were inseparable. We both loved Star Wars, and some of my best memories are of him and I playing battle front 2 and Blazing Angels. We would play Star Wars and other games on the playground. I loved being Mace Windu, and he was always obi wan. Two Jedi, fighting the forces of evil on the jungle gym, thwarting the empire's advance on the slide.
Our parents also hit it off. Margaritaville played constantly at my house when Flareon's parents were over, with margaritas to boot.
>My fifth grade birthday party was going to be a doozy.
>The plan was to invite every boy in my grade, all 28 of them, to a massive pool party.
>First we'd play airsoft, then we'd go to the pool.
>Greatplan.webm
>Maybe this will turn my fate around.
>The party was going to be so huge, people would talk about it for ages.
>Flareon's mom and my mom were going to chaperone.
>The day came
>on the car ride home I was visibly anxious. >get home
>to my surprise a couple of the kids were already there.
>all suited up with automatic guns and high tech, co2 powered, all metal sniper rifles.
>press f to cower in fear
>picked up my small spring powered sniper rifle, my Walmart smg and started to fill up on pellets. >
Me being the birthday boy, I got to be a captain along with Pidgey.
>We chose teams.
>Time for war
>From the first shots it was utter chaos. >Pellets flying everywhere, people huddled together behind wooden barricades, men in masks peeking out from the bushes to fire at anything that moved.
>I quickly took up a position at the porch. >My sister comes creeping around the corner
>Shoot her in the back
>She wanders back to base
>defeated.
>Surprisingly they aren't targeting me like I thought they would
>like they had before. I tried to peek around a corner of a hedge
>SNAP!
>I'm hit, leaving a rosy welt on the back of my hand.
>MAN DOWN MAN DOWN
>I put my hands up and go back to base.
>On the way back, some of the boys thought it would be fun to shoot at a defeated me.
>They nailed me in the chest.
>Out of breath, I scream for them to stop
, >they have a good laugh and finally comply.
>Perhaps things won't change after all.
>I make my way back to that same position.
>"5minutes!" My mom calls.
>I'm still sitting in my bush when I hear screaming from my right.
>It's Mankey.
>He's trapped behind a barricade, under heavy fire.
> It was so intense, I thought it was going to collapse.
>He was trying to fire back, but if he poked out he would be hit.
>He tried to surrender and go back to base, >everyone just kept laughing and shooting.
>Tears welled up in his eyes.
> I felt conflicted.
>Here was the man who tortured me for years crying out in desperation
>in a situation in which he would surely have mocked me for crying if I were in
> yet I couldn't help but feel sorry for the guy.
>Finally my mom called time and the shooting stopped.
>Mankey crawled out and tried to act as manly as possible.
>Next up was the pool.
>Zubat was one of the first ones in, jumping in enthusiastically
>His face of joy soon turned to terror when in midair he realized his phone was in his pocket.
>dumbass
>He landed and sprinted back out, desperate for some rice.
> Sadly it was not enough, and the phone died at the scene.
>Press f to pay respects
>The two moms were breathing down our necks
>explained the rules
>only Flareon and I would listen to them
> We found a ball, and decided to play keep away.
>Maybe they'll let me have it, since it was my party after all.
>I hold my hands up, waving desperately for the ball.
>It soared over my head
>before I could catch it, koffing
grabbed it from over me.
>As usual, I was the monkey in the middle. >Again, it got crazy really quick.
> Dunking people under water
> punching
> kicking
>throwing
>all used to fight for control of the ball. >Being as scrawny as I was, I couldn't compete.
>Quickly, I was relegated to watching the game rather than participating.
>Even at my own birthday party
> I was on the sidelines.
>My mom decided it was getting too rough, >broke up the game.
>We had cake,
>sat around
>talked.
>Just like at the lunch table
>conversation skipped around between mocking me, Flareon, or someone else.
>The party quickly ended
>I had a bad taste in my mouth
> For as much as I wanted things to change
>I knew deep down they would stay the same
