Light Enough To Root, Firm Enough To Stay (7)
anonymous
November 19 2009, 16:21:11 UTC
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As he wrapped ribbon around the stems of Alfred's newest purchases - apparently he had upgraded from just bundles of sunflowers to wanting bundles of adorned sunflowers - Ivan found his curiosity got the best of him.
"....What exactly are you going to school for...?"
Alfred blinked, surprised. Ivan did not blame him. He did not think he had ever started one piece of conversation between them beyond "May I help you?". Asking questions was not Ivan's strong point, as he much preferred to sit back and let the answers come to him. Questions meant impatience. But with Alfred, Ivan found there seemed to be firsts for many things.
The other finally grinned, having got over his surprise. "The Air Force! I'm going to be a pilot!"
Ivan raised his eyebrows. It was not exactly a surprise that that would be a profession Alfred would be attracted to, but he certainly did not seem to possess the...focus for it. Also, Ivan's gaze was drawn to Alfred's glasses. "....I was thinking that the American Air Force required no corrective lenses...?"
Here the wind seemed to go out of Alfred as he slumped. "....Yeah, they do. But they're not really traniing anyone to be a fighter pilot, not anymore. It's all about the Predators and the unmanned aircraft, nowadays, so it doesn't matter if you have glasses or not...they're always saying that real fighter pilots are on the way out...why risk their lives when they can pilot the same plane safely in a command center...?"
Ivan nodded at the appropriate times as he finished tying the ribbon. "Well, it certainly cuts back on loss of life..."
"But it's not very heroic at all...!" Alfred's frustration was evident. "Sure, it's the closest I'll ever get to actually flying my own plane because of these stupid glasses, but once....just once, I'd really like to go up there...no matter how long, just once. The best i can hope for now is a commerical pilot license, but that's not nearly the same...the planes don't go as fast, and you're not all strapped in in your own little world with nothing but blue sky around you..."
The youth trailed off, looking down at the sunflowers in silence, fingering a petal. Ivan was unsure what to say. He'd never thought that Alfred could display such depth. it was clearly something Alfred felt strongly for, and was deeply disappointed by. Ivan understood scratching at a dream, only to realise you could never acheive it, but he was not sure what Alfred would want to hear. It was not like his situation would change if Ivan comforted him.
Alfred puffed out his cheeks in a sigh, pulling on a rather embarrassed grin. 'Sorry 'bout that, didn't mean to go all mopey. I love my school, I really do, and I'm glad just to be there....just...gets frustrating after a while. So, better get going then, have to do a test in the morning and then there's physical training...that'll wear me out."
Alfred picked up the bundle, handing over the requisite money, which Ivan automatically took and laid in the till. Alfred gave him a searching look, and Ivan stared right back, confused. What, did he do something strange? he asked as much.
Alfred merely laughed, sounding much more real and bright then he had before. "Naw, no, just glad you dno't fight it anymore. See you tomorrow!"
With a jaunty wave like always, he was gone.
Ivan frowned, confused. Fight? Fight what...?
It wasn't until he looked down at the counter, where, again, another sunflower lay, a five wrapped around the stem, that Ivan realised he hadn't made a fuss about the change as usual.
Moving the sunflowers carefully out of the way, Ivan laid his head against the counter and groaned. If he was getting used to this, he should be shot.
As he wrapped ribbon around the stems of Alfred's newest purchases - apparently he had upgraded from just bundles of sunflowers to wanting bundles of adorned sunflowers - Ivan found his curiosity got the best of him.
"....What exactly are you going to school for...?"
Alfred blinked, surprised. Ivan did not blame him. He did not think he had ever started one piece of conversation between them beyond "May I help you?". Asking questions was not Ivan's strong point, as he much preferred to sit back and let the answers come to him. Questions meant impatience. But with Alfred, Ivan found there seemed to be firsts for many things.
The other finally grinned, having got over his surprise. "The Air Force! I'm going to be a pilot!"
Ivan raised his eyebrows. It was not exactly a surprise that that would be a profession Alfred would be attracted to, but he certainly did not seem to possess the...focus for it. Also, Ivan's gaze was drawn to Alfred's glasses. "....I was thinking that the American Air Force required no corrective lenses...?"
Here the wind seemed to go out of Alfred as he slumped. "....Yeah, they do. But they're not really traniing anyone to be a fighter pilot, not anymore. It's all about the Predators and the unmanned aircraft, nowadays, so it doesn't matter if you have glasses or not...they're always saying that real fighter pilots are on the way out...why risk their lives when they can pilot the same plane safely in a command center...?"
Ivan nodded at the appropriate times as he finished tying the ribbon. "Well, it certainly cuts back on loss of life..."
"But it's not very heroic at all...!" Alfred's frustration was evident. "Sure, it's the closest I'll ever get to actually flying my own plane because of these stupid glasses, but once....just once, I'd really like to go up there...no matter how long, just once. The best i can hope for now is a commerical pilot license, but that's not nearly the same...the planes don't go as fast, and you're not all strapped in in your own little world with nothing but blue sky around you..."
The youth trailed off, looking down at the sunflowers in silence, fingering a petal. Ivan was unsure what to say. He'd never thought that Alfred could display such depth. it was clearly something Alfred felt strongly for, and was deeply disappointed by. Ivan understood scratching at a dream, only to realise you could never acheive it, but he was not sure what Alfred would want to hear. It was not like his situation would change if Ivan comforted him.
Alfred puffed out his cheeks in a sigh, pulling on a rather embarrassed grin. 'Sorry 'bout that, didn't mean to go all mopey. I love my school, I really do, and I'm glad just to be there....just...gets frustrating after a while. So, better get going then, have to do a test in the morning and then there's physical training...that'll wear me out."
Alfred picked up the bundle, handing over the requisite money, which Ivan automatically took and laid in the till. Alfred gave him a searching look, and Ivan stared right back, confused. What, did he do something strange? he asked as much.
Alfred merely laughed, sounding much more real and bright then he had before. "Naw, no, just glad you dno't fight it anymore. See you tomorrow!"
With a jaunty wave like always, he was gone.
Ivan frowned, confused. Fight? Fight what...?
It wasn't until he looked down at the counter, where, again, another sunflower lay, a five wrapped around the stem, that Ivan realised he hadn't made a fuss about the change as usual.
Moving the sunflowers carefully out of the way, Ivan laid his head against the counter and groaned. If he was getting used to this, he should be shot.
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