Date: Thu, 26 Jan 2006 21:45:45 -0700
From: Josh Harkema <simeon4110@hotmail.com>
Subject: peaking into the simple life chapter 1 + 2

***If you like it, send me an e-mail simeon4110@hotmail.com***

Chapter 1 - The Flight

I never noticed the transition from ground to air, me and Riley were too
caught up in our game of Halo, killing aliens was always something I really
enjoyed doing with others.

"Get em' Rile, I'm almost out of shields!" I cry out in hopeless
desperation. "Too late man, I'm toast."

"Sorry Mike, I was kinda stuck over in another part of the building." He
answers, sounding genuinely sorry.

"You boys sound like your having a lot of fun back there, are you finishing
your school work so that we don't have to worry about it once we get to the
cabin?" Mr.Scott or Dan as I call him admonishes us lightly from the
cockpit.

"Yeah dad, we're getting started on out homework now, we just wanted to have
a quick game of Halo." Riley answers. "Yo, let's get our homework done man,
I really don't want to be working on it when we're in the cabin."

"Okay Rile, I'll go and grab my bag, can I get a net link up here?"

"For sure, this plane has everything that we need to do anything we need to
do." He answer's in a rather snippy tone.

"Whatever man, don't get your panty's in a knot." I jokingly respond as I
pull my laptop from its bag and turn it on to start my homework. "What do
you have to do? I have a chem lab, and a dissertation on Kant's 'Critique of
Pure Reason'."

"I got an algebra mid-term to study for and a poetry book to write an
opinion paper on, all in all it should only take me the ride."

"Me too, I almost finished the lab in school, and I've been reading Kant
since I was twelve." I have always been a philosophy scholar; I don't
exactly know why it's just always been one of my biggest interests. I dig
into the dissertation:

Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason is the basis for what is now called
the nihilistic school of thought. Kant believed that science will one day
explain everything that troubles our modern minds, and that religion has no
place in society...

The dissertation was effortless to me, I can write an essay on a topic that
I have never studied, I just need 3 facts that I can expand upon. I have the
gift of bullshit; I can bullshit about anything you just have to give me
something to go on. My dad says it will make me a great businessman one day,
I hope so I want to have my own money, leaching off of my parents has never
really appealed to me. I look up to see out the window, we were just flying
out of sight of Calgary, so we have about another three hours of flight time
left I will definitely be able to finish my work in that time.

I sit up and study the boy sitting on the reclining chair across from me,
Riley. Riley is a tennis star and his body shows his skill, he is toned from
every angle, there isn't even an ounce of fat on his trim body (I think the
last time we spoke his BFI was 6.5%). For a 14-year-old, he is quite the
example of perfection, but being who I am, he is just the best of many
beautiful examples of youthful virility that I associate with at school. His
blond hair is kept to medium length, and it's slight curliness gives it a
nice bounce when he walks or sways his head to keep it out of his eyes;
which are the color of ice cold water. A blue so fantastic that he can take
your breath away with a simple glance. His face always holds so much light,
it almost seems as if he has a halo of light floating around his head at all
times. He looks up, and for a moment I am caught in that icy blue stare,

"What'cha lookin at Moikey? Do I have something on my face?"

"No, I was just... lost in... thought," I stumble over my words, nervous he
will find out that I was staring at him, and finding him... attractive. "I
was stuck on the closing paragraph of this dissertation, and I just kinda
got lost in space." I say as I regain my composure, just as worried about
the fact that I was staring at him as I was about being found out.

"Okay," Riley says as he leans back over and continues working. Oh god, he's
beautiful in even the simplest things that he does. Where did that come
from? I fight with grasping the thoughts that are running through my mind
unabashed. I have never had a sexual thought before, not that these feeling
are specifically sexual; I just noticed how good-looking my best friend is
for the first time in my entire life. Then why am I so worried about it?
When he noticing that I was staring at him why did my my stomach fall out
onto the floor? I take one more look. Yeah, he's gorgeous, but why now? Why
am I noticing this now? We've been friends since we were tots. I can't
handle this right now; I'll just work on my report:

So, through that explanation it can be said quite simply that Kant's
'Critique of Pure Reason' changed the way the scientific community pursued
knowledge. Rather that working from a creationist angle, they worked from a
purely scientific angle, no longer using the existence of god to explain
things they could not. Kant stated 'anything that cannot be scientifically
explained doesn't exist'.

The essay did the trick, I was no longer so focussed on the discovery that I
had just made and even collected myself enough to talk to him, "Hey Rile,
what do you want to do when we land?" It just don't feel the same anymore,
it's almost as though I have to force myself to act normally around him, in
the last 10 minutes everything about my life had changed.

"I don't know, why don't we hit the slopes for a little bit of night
riding?" he answers like he doesn't have any idea what's going on in my
head. He has to know. There's no way that I can appear to be normal, I'm
going nuts! "Are you alright Mike? You don't look so good," almost as if in
response to my thoughts.

"I'm just feeling a little bit strange, it's nothing," I answer.

"Hey Dad! How much longer until we land?" Riley yells towards the cockpit.

"About 45 minutes!" He answers, "are you guy's almost done your homework?"

"Yeah dad! We'll be done by the time we get there," looking at me. "How much
more do you have to do?"

"I only have to finish my chem lab, I'm just finishing up on the essay."

"Okay, well let's get to work." I lean back to the essay, whatever's going
on in my head I don't like it.

Chapter 2 - Isn't This Fun?

The landing was prety uneventfull, I had managed to get my mind under
control and had regained a semblance of normality. I found my room and
started unpacking and getting oriented in the house. Rileys cabin is 3
levels high with a skirting balcony that goes all the way around the house
on each floor. Providing a rather neat effect, Riley's and my room are
connected by the 2nd floor balcony, and Riley's dad stayed on the third
floor. We each have our own bathroom, and on the balcony in between our
rooms there is a jacuzzi. It would take pages to explain the whole house so
suffice it to know that it is luxurious beyond anything most have or will
ever see.

The light on the in-house intercom flashes, "Mike, are you ready? We should
get going, I'll call the sedan up from town to take us to the hill." Pause,
"Mike?" Rileys disembodied voice calls again.

"Riley?" No response.

"Mike you have to hit the reply button or I cant hear you." I walk to the
intercom and hit the reply button.

"Can you hear me now?"

"Yeah, are you ready to goto the hill?"

"Yeah, I'm just putting my stuff in the drawers, come to my room and I
should be ready by the time you get here."

"Okay, I'll be right over." Click, the intercom turns off and I turn back to
my suitcase and put the last of my clothing into the drawer. The door to the
balcony slides open and Riley's anglelic face pokes through the door, "are
you dressed?"

"Of course you fool, why would I be naked?"

"It's just polite to ask I thought," he answers coyly. "The car is outside
waiting for us."

"That's really fast, was he parked around the corner waiting for one of us
to call or something?" I ask, completely amazed that the sedan service had
arrived so quickly.

"No, the car lot is only a 10 minute drive away from the house, and they
pretty well always keep a car on standby for us, we call and tell them when
were going to be here. We run them pretty good buisness."

"It makes sense, is there no car here that we could drive?"

"Nope, we've never seen the need of having our own car on premisis when the
sedan service is so close. It just doesn't make any sense." He answers as I
finish getting dressed for the slopes, I was wearing my favorite boarding
gear. A red Special Blend coat, and black Special Blend Boarding pants that
look like normal pants but are surprisingly warm. Riley is wearing a black
Etnies hoodie, with his DKNY vest and the same pair of boarding pants that I
am wearing.

"Okay, I'm ready, where did we put the boards?" Albert had packed my two
favorite snowboards, and I was still unsure of which one to take. "I need to
pick which one I'm going to ride today, have you checked the slope
conditions?"

"Yeah, the boards are on the rack in the driveway, and you'll probably want
to take your heavy board, it's really icy today."  Riley answers

"Okay let's go," we walk to the heavily wooded driveway in silence, both to
exicited to speak. I pick up my heavy DaKine board and hand it to the driver
so he can strap it to the roof of the car. I get into the back with Riley,
"this is going to be awesome. I have been waiting to go boarding ever since
the first snow fell at the beginning of winter."

"Yeah me too, boarding is the only reason why I tolerate this stupid country
during the winter months, if I could I would spend every winter in Cuba.
Those Cuban ladies... Damn!" I almost break out laughing at the comical way
he said the last line.

"Cuba is the best damn country in the world." I reply, leaving out the
obvious fact; that I have no interest in women, cuban or otherwise. I open
the car door, another Lincon Town car, what is with sedan services and
Lincon Town cars? You would think an SUV would be a better choice for a
mountain resort but hey, it's not my buisness. Riley plunks down in the seat
beside me.

"This is going to be awesome! I fuckin love this ski resort!" Rileys eyes
are practically aglow, he must be really excited.

"I've been waiting for this for a long time too," exactly since this resort
closed down at the end of the winter season, "It's going to be great to hit
the slopes again." Riley just nods, he seems to be lost in thought. I don't
see the need to take him from his thoughts, so we ride to the slope in
silence. This part of the world is very scenic and heavily forested. The ski
resort - or big mountan ski resort, it's actual name - is exactly 7 miles
out of downtown Whitefish. The cabin rests on the southern slope of Big
Mountain, opposite to the ski resort, making it an interesting drive around
the mountain to get to the other side.

"We're almost there Rile," I poke him in the side, causing him to turn to
me, "what are you thinking?"

"I'm just thinking, the forest always makes me really thoughtful."

"Don't you get all sappy on me Rile, this weekend is meant to be fun," I
joke.

"I'm not being sappy, I can't help it, being in the forest always makes me
think about life. It's nothing weird, but I feel really poetic when I'm out
here, it just makes me feel closer to my artistic side. You know?"

"Yeah, I guess I don't have an artistic side because this cold is making me
nuts," I've always been a summer person, I hate being cold.

"I don't really mind the cold, as long as there's snowboarding involved,
speaking of which, we're here!" He seems to vibrate with excitement. He's so
hot sometimes, I wish I could make him as happy as snowboarding does. As
soon as the car stops Riley's door busts open and he starts fiddling with
the straps holding his board to the roof. "Come on Mike! Let's go, we don't
have all day!"

"Hold your horses Riley, we actually do have all day." I jokingly accost
him, "why don't you just wait for the driver to take your board off the
roof?"

"Good idea. Sir! Can you please hurry up, we don't have all day for this you
know," Riley has a way with hired help - being an asshole. I've tried to
change it but theres no helping him, he's just an asshole and it kind of
turns me on, now that I think of it.

"Don't mind him sir, take your time," I glare at Riley using my famous 'I
dare you to do that again look' and he just puts his head down without
saying anything. As I take my board from the driver I hand him a twenty and
say "thank you," under my breath. "Let's go Rile, we don't have all day!" I
joke.

"Asshole," Riley punches me in the shoulder "don't be such a punk!"

"Ow! You're the one who's been being an ass since we got here. Just calm
down, we're getting to the hill and you being an ass isn't speeding up the
process at all." He just turns and starts walking to the lodge, I heft my
board onto my shoulder and follow him. The lodge is pretty spectacular, it
was built like a log cabin but huge. The line for morning ski passes is
pretty long, but we already have our seasons passes; having got them in the
mail at the beginning of the season. Our parents have them automatically
charge their account every year so that we don't have to go through all the
fuss of getting a new one every year. Riley not talking is really weird I
decide to break the silence, "what's your problem man? Why are you being
such a dick all the time?" No response, he just keeps walking as thought he
hasn't heard me.

"You know Mike?" He breaks the silence just as we get to the lifts, scaring
me with his abrupt question "why are you always so nice to people? It's
weird, you can do whatever you want, wherever you want, whenever you want.
Your dad is so rich he can buy most of Africa. In cash! And you feel the
need to be nice to everyone..."

"Money doesn't make you better..." I interupt, and I am consequently
interupted,

"But you can afford to be an asshole everyonce and awhile, it's not like
they don't expect it, hell some people even consider it a fashion
statement."

"That's just not how I am, people will work harder for you if your nice to
them. Being a dick to that guy didn't get your board off the roof any
quicker."

"Whatever, let's go boarding." Riley takes the final step to the lift, with
all of our converstion I hadn't even realized that we were standing in line,
I rush forward and wait for the chair to come around. Riley doesn't say
anything the whole ride up, he just looks over the edge in the opposite
direction to where I am sitting and rides off as soon as we hit the top
without even looking over his shoulder at me. What the hell is going on I've
never seen Riley like this before, why is he so mad at me? Because I told
him to be nice to the serving staff? No, it has to be something more than
that. I look up and realize that I have no idea which run Riley had taken,
so I pick the one right infront of me and ride down through minimal traffic.
Snowboarding just isn't fun without Riley. The rest of the day goes by in a
similar fashion, everytime I find Riley he doesn't talk to me and just rides
down a different run, almost like he's trying to run away from me.

"Riley!" I shout at him as he rides down a double black run just infront of
me, "don't be a fucking idiot, you have no reason to be mad at me!" No
response. "C'mon man, just wait up!" He stops and waits for me to catch up.

"Mike, I'm sorry man, I just need to be alone today I'll see you at five
o'clock by the chalet." And with no more preamble he rides off down the
slope. Okay, whatever, at least he's not mad at me. I try to focus on having
fun and at five I head down to the chalet to meet Riley.

"Hey man," Riley runs up to me as if nothing had happened. "I don't know
what came over me today, I just didn't want to be disturbed, I was having...
what is it called an... epif.. epiphany! Yeah that's it"

"An epiphany about what Riley?" His is excitement is almost worrying, what
could he have possibly had an epiphany about in the past 8 hours?

"I'm not sure, but all day I felt like something was going to happen, and
now it's almost as if the rest of my life is clear. I feel like I have a
sense of direction even though I'm not exactly sure where I'm going." His
words come out so fast they seem to blend together.

"That's weird, how can you feel like you have a sense of direction if you
still have no idea where your going?"

"I don't know. It's like... I have my whole life infront of me, and I can
choose to do whatever I want. Not just the things that my family is pushing
me to do," he pauses for a moment, brow furrowed in thought. "Like, you know
my dad wants me to be a lawer?"
"Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything you don't have to be a
lawyer. Hell, with a diploma from Strathcona you could be accepted to any
school in the world without even having to try."

"I know, but I've always thought that in order for me to succeed in life I
would have to be like my dad. And for some reason today I've had a change of
mindset, I don't think like that anymore."

"Okay," I respond, trying to keep him talking.

"I'm not sure what I want to do anymore Moikey, but I'm sure as hell not
going to be a lawer," the finality in his voice is so definitite you can
fell it haning on the air. "But enough of that, let's get a car home."

***To Be contiued, soon***