If you’re curious about my other @brovidweek entries, you can find one, two, and three here!
Gwen claimed David was too invested in this rivalry, but was it really a rivalry if none of the other people involved knew it was?
Besides, it wasn’t like David had any ill will toward Max’s sister. In fact, he’d been delighted to hear that the two of them had moved to the same city he and Gwen lived in! Of course, the circumstances were tragic; no child should have to lose their parents at such a young age. But David had lost track of most of his campers after they’d aged out of the camp – except for Nikki, but she was a born counselor with nature in her blood – and he’d worried about Max in particular. He’d always been especially curious what kind of family a kid like that would have, and when the opportunity came to get to know them both a little better, he was more than happy to take it.
Kayla Sahni was just two years younger than David, and the resemblance to her little brother was really uncanny. She was shorter than both himself and Gwen, but that was taller than Max was ever likely to grow, and she had a strong, stocky build instead of his perpetual lankiness. But they had the same eyes, and more than once he’d been struck with the impression that he was looking at a future version of Max. It only ever lasted for a second; Kayla had a perpetual brightness that Max lacked – or perhaps was missing the pessimism that darkened Max’s edges. She laughed and cried easily, while her little brother did neither, and had a hummingbird-like tendency to pick up and drop passions as they caught or lost her interest. In comparison, the dour little teenager his most troublesome camper had grown into was steady (and immovable) as a rock.
It was this last thing that stuck with David, that needled at him with little pricks of irritation. Because Max really didn’t need any more unreliable people in his life.
“Hello, Max,” he said, carefully measuring the cheer in his tone. It was inappropriate to act too cheerful in this situation, at three in the morning in a police station, but he didn’t want to come across as too stern. As Gwen had reminded him more than a few times, it wasn’t his place. He wasn’t Max’s legal guardian, he wasn’t an older brother. He was just a former camp counselor (and technically his Facebook friend, not that kids were really using the site anymore) who was sometimes called upon –
He grunted, sliding into the passenger seat with a heavy sigh. “Yeah,” he muttered, in response to nothing, and turned to look out the window. His sweatshirt was streaked with neon paint.
– called upon to provide bail and a ride home, when Max got himself into trouble and his sister was nowhere to be found.
dededos
vaporwave
turnnoffyourmind
2087
romaincrisis
