#aughhghhh

marlton johnson who struggles to read long passages but claws his way through them just for the hope that he can pull his way into being someone worthy of being listened to.

marlton johnson who has no one to ally himself with except misfits like him, obsessive and exciteable but far smarter than he is and far more knowledgeable, who feels out-of-place and wrong when he tries to speak with anyone, stumbles over his words in lonely desperation, trying to pass as smart to any person who maybe, maybe could understand him, as if that had ever and would ever be an option

marlton johnson who knows things, but tries to (cannot) remember the important things, who tries to remember but falls short every time. who needs to be listened to, has no one who would listen

marlton johnson in this in-between state, smarter than his peers but a step below the 'real' smart academics who would never take him seriously

marlton johnson who no one listens to until the end of the world, who can't break into conversation but who knows things that finally help people and yet he's still out of place and he's still clawing his way through the universe. hi