Pokémon-era

”Can I come?”

My shoes are black from mud. I tie a knot and look up.

“No”

I smile at his small face. Innocent, without any marks of adolescence.

“Why?”
I look down again and untie the other knot. I tie it again.

“Well” I say as I continue my struggle “it’s not really a place for you”

“Why not?”

I look up. My arms rest on my legs as I sit on the floor. He’s a bit taller than me in this position.

“Because it’s a place where people make out and listen to loud music” I say, trying to frighten him. He doesn’t understand the amazement of girls yet.

“But I want to make out”

I look at him.

“No you don’t. You’re not in puberty yet”

“Yes I do” he insists

“Listen. I get to make out with girls, and you get to have fun all day, it’s pretty fair” as I stand up I add: “Besides, I would change places with you any hour of the day”

A piece of hope came into my brothers’ eyes.

“Really?”
“Yes. You see, you get to play all day and I get to work. You don’t have to do anything – you are free”

I bend down towards him and whisper: “Run while you can”

Ignoring my sarcastic tone he turns his adult face on.

“So why don’t we switch? I get to live your life of excitement and you can play all day”

I get my jacket.

“It’s not that simple”
“Why?”

I put the jacket on.

“Well, that would not matter so much for you maybe,” I say “but for me, that action would have dire consequences. I have expectations to live up to”

I look around and find my bag. I put it over my shoulder and continue:

“You have none yet”

“So, I can do your work. It can’t be that hard”

I shrug.

“Maybe not. But it’s a lot. All you do is sketch all day”
“That’s not true! I do other things. Like math”

“Math at your age is fun”
“I bet yours is more fun. I want to do what you do, I want to work too!”

I smile at him.

“One day” I tell him as I fetch my keys “you’ll eat that up”

“What does that mean?”

I walk to the door.

“It means” I say as I open it “that you will realize how much you loved your life when you were nine, and how miserable everyone else is – who isn’t at that age. And that life isn't really what tv made it seem like”

“Hmm” he says, sceptically “I’ll meditate over that”

“Good. Tell mom I’m at the library”

“It’s eight o’clock”

“I’m in the IB – she’ll buy it”

“Fine”

“And when I come home I want a full scale report of what happened on Pokémon”

“Pokémon is so 2011”

“Fine” I say

When I’m just about to close the door I lean in and tell him: “I love you”
“Shut up, faggot”

“These ten-year-olds…”

“You told me that!”

“Back in my time…”
“Just go, I have a date with Pokémon”
“I knew it” I say and close the door behind me

As I lock the door and head towards my bike I realize that I much rather be in there with him, discussing Pokémon, than going to the mainstream parties.