Categories > Cartoons > Delilah and Julius > Surreal
Pre-reading instructions:
1. Open up a new Internet window/tab
2. http://youtube.com/watch?v=ayOu3w5Z0YQ (Okay, now I'm just annoying you, Gucci)
Chapter Eleven - Save
The definition of a promise: a declaration that something will or will not be done, given, etc., by one. What should be added on to that is: easy to make or give, but hard to keep. And it's true. Say someone tells you a very juicy secret about a friend, but makes you promise not to tell anyone. Do you? Depends what kind of person you are. You might keep it a secret, or blab it to the next person to walk by. Broken promises are hard to get over, but eventually you do.
Right?
Maybe ...
Of course, when you're a spy you are expected to keep certain promises. Don't tell anybody about the Academy, don't reveal any information that could compromise your mission, don't let your partner down. But some promises are harder to keep than others. Especially when they tear you apart on the inside.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Step one: you say we need to talk
She walks, you say sit down it's just a talk
She smiles politely back at you
You stare politely right on through
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As Delilah would soon discover, the promise she had made to Julius was one of those promises. Roger, of course, had neglected to inform her of a little thing called withdrawal. A little thing that gives you headaches, hunger, anxiety, makes you vomit. A little thing that ties you to the drug so you cannot escape its grasp. And Delilah was about to learn about this the hard way.
She sat on the edge of the bathtub in her room, holding herself. She was sweating, despite the fact she was shivering violently, her teeth chattering, and forcing herself to at least attempt to breathe normally. Rocking back and forth, she tried to ignore the sick feeling creeping up the back of her throat. But it wasn't long before she was leaning over the toilet, clutching her stomach as she wretched her guts out.
The doorknob to the washroom turned, announcing that in about a half-second someone would be watching her heave into the toilet. Great. She hoped and prayed it was Julius again. He had been with her for almost two days straight, holding her in a hug, a constant barrier to the dangers surrounding her. The only reason he wasn't with her now was because she had forced him to get some rest. Maybe he had heard her and was coming once again to her rescue.
However, it wasn't her partner. The person who walked through the door was Roger.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some sort of window to your right
As she goes left and you stay right
Between the lines of fear and blame
And you begin to wonder why you came
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Immediately, she wished she were in any other position. She could be changing, or just getting out of the shower. Why did she have to be bent over the toilet, spewing into it?
Wait a minute. Why did she even care/? All of this was Roger's fault. He was the one who had sucked her into all of this. He was the one who had brought this poison into the Academy. /But I didn't have to take it. Delilah groaned, but it just sounded like she was in pain. This is really all my fault. I was the one who said yes. I took that shit. I screwed up my life.
"Hey, babe, what's ..." He stopped as the sight before him registered. "Oh ... wow. What's going ... wait ... are you /off the stuff/?" He seemed to spit out the last three words. Talk about mood swings; Roger had gone from lovey-dovey to surprised to concerned to dangerously reactive in about ten seconds.
When she didn't respond, he walked briskly over to her and seized her shoulders. "ANSWER ME, DELILAH!" he fumed, shaking her. "WHY ARE YOU PUKING YOUR GUTS OUT?"
She flinched as he pushed her to the ground.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I'm just sick, alright?" she gasped. "I don't know what's wrong."
Roger grabbed the front of her shirt and hauled her to her knees. "DON'T LIE TO ME, YOU BITCH!" As he saw her gasp, and the tears will up in her eyes, he softened his tone. "I'm worried about you, Delilah. Something's wrong."
Delilah sighed. "Okay, fine. I'm off the drugs."
Taking a deep sigh, Roger forced himself not to shout. "Now why would you do a silly thing like that?"
"Because Julius told me to."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Let her know that you know best
'Cause after all you do know best
Try to slip past her defence
Without granting innocence
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now Roger couldn't help it. "FUCK, DELILAH! WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU LISTEN TO THAT FREAK?"
Oh, no you didn't! Delilah thought. "What do you know, Roger? Why should I listen to you? He loves me, Roger!"
Roger smiled mockingly. "Ohh, he loves you! Of course, how silly of me. That explains everything!" He laughed as if he had told a joke. "And that makes everything right! That's why you can go cold turkey and get sick and die. I get it now."
"Die?" she gulped.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lay down a list of what is wrong
The things you've told her all along
And pray to God she hears you
And pray to God she hears you
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*
He felt wrong doing this. He should trust her, not sneak around in her room while she was in the shower! Julius sighed; this was difficult for him, but it had to be done. He just had this ... feeling.
His feeling proved right.
Searching under her pillow, his fingers brushed the end of a plastic bag. Squeezing his eyes shut, he prayed it wasn't what he thought it was. As he pulled out the bag, his hopes were shattered. Inside the clear plastic was what Julius identified as meth.
Why did I trust her? Why did I get my hopes up? He ran a hand through his blond hair. I'm such a fool for loving her ...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The water to the shower shut off, sending a wave of panic through him. He quickly replaced the drugs and scampered out of the room as Delilah called, "Hello? Is there someone in there? Is that you, Roger?"
Roger ... I'm going to kill him ...
Clenching his fists, Julius stomped off in search of Roger.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Roger was sitting in the lounge, enjoying Dreamland by Sarah Dessen. He could totally relate to this Rogerson guy. The dude's name was almost his own. Just as Rogerson hit Caitlin for the first time, Roger had the unsettling feeling that someone was watching him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As he begins to raise his voice
You lower yours and grant him one last choice
Drive until you lose the road
Or break with the ones you've followed
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Turning around, he saw that blond guy Delilah was always with. Jamie or Jackson or something. The look in J's eyes made him wary. Best put on the friend act.
"Hey, Jonah!" he greeted, all too aware he sounded overly happy.
"Julius." The boy growled.
Roger snapped his fingers. "Knew it was some historical guy. Wrong religion. Anyway, what can I do for you?"
"Do me a favour?"
"Yeah, sure."
"Stop with the act."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He will do one of two things
He will admit to everything
Or he'll say she's just not the same
And you'll begin to wonder why you came
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Roger raised his eyebrows. "Oh ... kay. Sure, whatever. So, what the fuck do you want, punk?" He laughed. "I'm kidding, of course."
"Right. Listen, pal, leave Delilah alone, okay? She doesn't need you screwing around in her life."
"What, did she sick you on me?" Roger chuckled. "Look, buddy, I have no clue what you're talking about. You can play your little jealousy games" --- Insert knife --- "but leave me out. I love her, okay?" And twist. He could almost see Jonah or whatever's heart breaking.
The guy just shook his head and stormed off.
"Looks like it's time for a talk with my little princess ..." Roger mumbled.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
How to save a life
How to save a life
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*
Delilah forced herself not to scream as Roger slapped her in the face. Now she knew how Julius felt. Colours exploded behind her eyelids as she fell to the floor.
"I'll ask you once more, angel," Roger said, calmly examining his hand. "Why did you tell your boyfriend about us, eh?"
"I didn't tell him!" she gasped, close to tears. "Believe me!"
For a second, she thought he did. But then he seized a clump of her hair and yanked her up. She bit her lip until it bled.
"Come on, you bitch, just tell me. Tell me and I won't hurt you anymore."
Tears spilled from her eyes as a soft stream of stars. "I swear, I never said anything! It's the truth."
Roger let her fall to the ground again. She held herself and sobbed hard, trying to ignore the pain.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Deciding she was telling the truth, Roger switched acts. He knelt beside her and pulled her into a hug. Surprisingly, she didn't resist.
"I'm sorry, babe, it's just ... Jimmy made it sound like you told him everything. It felt like you went behind my back and betrayed me. But now I know he was lying. He was trying to get me to hurt you so you'd run to him. What a bastard, huh?"
It was almost as if Delilah had no idea who she was talking about. "What a bastard."
But she did, which just made it worse.
*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
How to save a life
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Julius was walking towards Delilah's room, ready to embrace her, comfort her, and tell her everything was over. He was about to knock when he heard an all-too-familiar voice.
"Oh, baby, baby, baby ..."
He looked through the keyhole and saw. It was enough. He turned and walked in the opposite direction. She had gone back. That was all he needed to know.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How to save a life
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Slightly altered version of
"How to Save a Life"
By The Fray
=============================================================
Synonyms for /Save/: deliver, redeem, salvage
_____________________________________________________________
Wowee. Guess that makes up for the short chapters. ;]
-panda_1418
1. Open up a new Internet window/tab
2. http://youtube.com/watch?v=ayOu3w5Z0YQ (Okay, now I'm just annoying you, Gucci)
Chapter Eleven - Save
The definition of a promise: a declaration that something will or will not be done, given, etc., by one. What should be added on to that is: easy to make or give, but hard to keep. And it's true. Say someone tells you a very juicy secret about a friend, but makes you promise not to tell anyone. Do you? Depends what kind of person you are. You might keep it a secret, or blab it to the next person to walk by. Broken promises are hard to get over, but eventually you do.
Right?
Maybe ...
Of course, when you're a spy you are expected to keep certain promises. Don't tell anybody about the Academy, don't reveal any information that could compromise your mission, don't let your partner down. But some promises are harder to keep than others. Especially when they tear you apart on the inside.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Step one: you say we need to talk
She walks, you say sit down it's just a talk
She smiles politely back at you
You stare politely right on through
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As Delilah would soon discover, the promise she had made to Julius was one of those promises. Roger, of course, had neglected to inform her of a little thing called withdrawal. A little thing that gives you headaches, hunger, anxiety, makes you vomit. A little thing that ties you to the drug so you cannot escape its grasp. And Delilah was about to learn about this the hard way.
She sat on the edge of the bathtub in her room, holding herself. She was sweating, despite the fact she was shivering violently, her teeth chattering, and forcing herself to at least attempt to breathe normally. Rocking back and forth, she tried to ignore the sick feeling creeping up the back of her throat. But it wasn't long before she was leaning over the toilet, clutching her stomach as she wretched her guts out.
The doorknob to the washroom turned, announcing that in about a half-second someone would be watching her heave into the toilet. Great. She hoped and prayed it was Julius again. He had been with her for almost two days straight, holding her in a hug, a constant barrier to the dangers surrounding her. The only reason he wasn't with her now was because she had forced him to get some rest. Maybe he had heard her and was coming once again to her rescue.
However, it wasn't her partner. The person who walked through the door was Roger.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some sort of window to your right
As she goes left and you stay right
Between the lines of fear and blame
And you begin to wonder why you came
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Immediately, she wished she were in any other position. She could be changing, or just getting out of the shower. Why did she have to be bent over the toilet, spewing into it?
Wait a minute. Why did she even care/? All of this was Roger's fault. He was the one who had sucked her into all of this. He was the one who had brought this poison into the Academy. /But I didn't have to take it. Delilah groaned, but it just sounded like she was in pain. This is really all my fault. I was the one who said yes. I took that shit. I screwed up my life.
"Hey, babe, what's ..." He stopped as the sight before him registered. "Oh ... wow. What's going ... wait ... are you /off the stuff/?" He seemed to spit out the last three words. Talk about mood swings; Roger had gone from lovey-dovey to surprised to concerned to dangerously reactive in about ten seconds.
When she didn't respond, he walked briskly over to her and seized her shoulders. "ANSWER ME, DELILAH!" he fumed, shaking her. "WHY ARE YOU PUKING YOUR GUTS OUT?"
She flinched as he pushed her to the ground.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I'm just sick, alright?" she gasped. "I don't know what's wrong."
Roger grabbed the front of her shirt and hauled her to her knees. "DON'T LIE TO ME, YOU BITCH!" As he saw her gasp, and the tears will up in her eyes, he softened his tone. "I'm worried about you, Delilah. Something's wrong."
Delilah sighed. "Okay, fine. I'm off the drugs."
Taking a deep sigh, Roger forced himself not to shout. "Now why would you do a silly thing like that?"
"Because Julius told me to."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Let her know that you know best
'Cause after all you do know best
Try to slip past her defence
Without granting innocence
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now Roger couldn't help it. "FUCK, DELILAH! WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU LISTEN TO THAT FREAK?"
Oh, no you didn't! Delilah thought. "What do you know, Roger? Why should I listen to you? He loves me, Roger!"
Roger smiled mockingly. "Ohh, he loves you! Of course, how silly of me. That explains everything!" He laughed as if he had told a joke. "And that makes everything right! That's why you can go cold turkey and get sick and die. I get it now."
"Die?" she gulped.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lay down a list of what is wrong
The things you've told her all along
And pray to God she hears you
And pray to God she hears you
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*
He felt wrong doing this. He should trust her, not sneak around in her room while she was in the shower! Julius sighed; this was difficult for him, but it had to be done. He just had this ... feeling.
His feeling proved right.
Searching under her pillow, his fingers brushed the end of a plastic bag. Squeezing his eyes shut, he prayed it wasn't what he thought it was. As he pulled out the bag, his hopes were shattered. Inside the clear plastic was what Julius identified as meth.
Why did I trust her? Why did I get my hopes up? He ran a hand through his blond hair. I'm such a fool for loving her ...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The water to the shower shut off, sending a wave of panic through him. He quickly replaced the drugs and scampered out of the room as Delilah called, "Hello? Is there someone in there? Is that you, Roger?"
Roger ... I'm going to kill him ...
Clenching his fists, Julius stomped off in search of Roger.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Roger was sitting in the lounge, enjoying Dreamland by Sarah Dessen. He could totally relate to this Rogerson guy. The dude's name was almost his own. Just as Rogerson hit Caitlin for the first time, Roger had the unsettling feeling that someone was watching him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As he begins to raise his voice
You lower yours and grant him one last choice
Drive until you lose the road
Or break with the ones you've followed
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Turning around, he saw that blond guy Delilah was always with. Jamie or Jackson or something. The look in J's eyes made him wary. Best put on the friend act.
"Hey, Jonah!" he greeted, all too aware he sounded overly happy.
"Julius." The boy growled.
Roger snapped his fingers. "Knew it was some historical guy. Wrong religion. Anyway, what can I do for you?"
"Do me a favour?"
"Yeah, sure."
"Stop with the act."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He will do one of two things
He will admit to everything
Or he'll say she's just not the same
And you'll begin to wonder why you came
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Roger raised his eyebrows. "Oh ... kay. Sure, whatever. So, what the fuck do you want, punk?" He laughed. "I'm kidding, of course."
"Right. Listen, pal, leave Delilah alone, okay? She doesn't need you screwing around in her life."
"What, did she sick you on me?" Roger chuckled. "Look, buddy, I have no clue what you're talking about. You can play your little jealousy games" --- Insert knife --- "but leave me out. I love her, okay?" And twist. He could almost see Jonah or whatever's heart breaking.
The guy just shook his head and stormed off.
"Looks like it's time for a talk with my little princess ..." Roger mumbled.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
How to save a life
How to save a life
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*
Delilah forced herself not to scream as Roger slapped her in the face. Now she knew how Julius felt. Colours exploded behind her eyelids as she fell to the floor.
"I'll ask you once more, angel," Roger said, calmly examining his hand. "Why did you tell your boyfriend about us, eh?"
"I didn't tell him!" she gasped, close to tears. "Believe me!"
For a second, she thought he did. But then he seized a clump of her hair and yanked her up. She bit her lip until it bled.
"Come on, you bitch, just tell me. Tell me and I won't hurt you anymore."
Tears spilled from her eyes as a soft stream of stars. "I swear, I never said anything! It's the truth."
Roger let her fall to the ground again. She held herself and sobbed hard, trying to ignore the pain.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Deciding she was telling the truth, Roger switched acts. He knelt beside her and pulled her into a hug. Surprisingly, she didn't resist.
"I'm sorry, babe, it's just ... Jimmy made it sound like you told him everything. It felt like you went behind my back and betrayed me. But now I know he was lying. He was trying to get me to hurt you so you'd run to him. What a bastard, huh?"
It was almost as if Delilah had no idea who she was talking about. "What a bastard."
But she did, which just made it worse.
*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
How to save a life
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Julius was walking towards Delilah's room, ready to embrace her, comfort her, and tell her everything was over. He was about to knock when he heard an all-too-familiar voice.
"Oh, baby, baby, baby ..."
He looked through the keyhole and saw. It was enough. He turned and walked in the opposite direction. She had gone back. That was all he needed to know.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How to save a life
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Slightly altered version of
"How to Save a Life"
By The Fray
=============================================================
Synonyms for /Save/: deliver, redeem, salvage
_____________________________________________________________
Wowee. Guess that makes up for the short chapters. ;]
-panda_1418
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