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Kyle was standing in the shower. He was glad for the hot, soothing water after such a cold day. Unlike his brother, whom Tyler called, ‘Brother,’ Kyle could not stand the cold. Now he was waiting for the hot shower to warm him and hoping Tyler did not hog the hot water much longer. Tyler was the elder by about seven years. Kyle weighed a few pounds more, but Tyler was taller. The brothers had something of a mutual admiration society. Aside from each other, they were usually quite separate.

There were only two bedrooms in the house. Their parents, whom they loved very much, had insisted they have separate rooms and had converted the basement for their own occupancy. Even though they were close, they kept to their own floor. The coming of Tyler, their second child, had prompted this arrangement. The boys were different from the get go and were never very close. Even before Tyler’s first school days, they were rarely together.

It would be hard to describe the relationship between the two brothers. Tyler was always being the big brother, showing his skill in sports, drawing, weight lifting, farm chores and all manly tasks. Kyle was content to stay in the background. He was more interested in movie stars and comic books and even toys. He certainly had an interest in what his big brother was doing. It was more on the intellectual side than on the athletic side. And it was not as if he was trying to imitate Tyler. He just wanted to be like him. It was not that he wanted to be better than his brother, but he wanted to be like his brother.

The two were far apart in their interests. After all, his interests were not very masculine. He was never into sports or anything like that. The one thing Kyle always tried to do was to watch out for his brother. Tyler was only a year ahead of Kyle in school, but he was always trying to help him. He wanted to make sure he did the right thing. His biggest fear was that something would happen to his big brother. He did not want to see his footsteps in front of him. Kyle loved his brother. He did not want to see him start out on the wrong foot. He was always trying to help him do the right thing when he could, though laying the good example for him made it difficult.

None of the two brothers’ parents cared to know what was really going on inside the two boys, if any. They both wrote plausible excuses for how they were close and doing well in school. The teachers agreed. The parents simply smiled and said, ‘All right.’ But it was obvious they were impatient and wishing they had two sons, rather than two daughters.

The two boys were given computers. Tyler was given an X-Box and Kyle was given a touch screen computer to do his homework with at home.

Kyle was used to his room and his room only. He was always trying to keep his brother out of his room. And Tyler was becoming quite fond of his new room. It was a much more comfortable place for him to be. At this point in his life, he would have preferred a new car or any other thing to get him out of the middle. But all he had ever wanted was his big brother. He was always hoping his big brother had somewhere to go with him and he would not have to be stuck in the middle. Kyle was determined not to be stuck in the middle.

Kyle had an interesting life. He had a very loving family, but could not have really called it a family. His mother had left him too early for anyone to call her a mother. She was not at all maternal. He had an older brother, but he was a stranger to him. His father was almost always away, either working, or away from home. And the only thing Kyle ever had from his father was his name, even though he frequented his mother. Kyle’s family was very close to being twins, but when he was younger he had often wished he had a brother instead of a sister.

Kyle had started high school as a freshman. He reported back to his older brother that the school was bigger than their school and he was starting over as a freshman.

“Is it much bigger?” Tyler asked.

“No,” Kyle said, “but its a bigger school. Why did you quit your job?”

“Oh, they didn’t need me for some reason,” Tyler said.

“So, will you ever get another job?” Kyle asked. He knew that Tyler worked at the paper plant.

“I think it would be better for me to get a job in high school,” Tyler said. “You will like the school. There will be lots of new activities.”

The new school did feel different. There was so much stimulation. The only problem was that there was more age variety and the teachers were older, too. He was not from a small town, but was used to small town ways. This will live in the city, too. There was no band in the school. Everything was in the city, but it did not matter.

Kyle felt the teachers were not used to the city students. He had to learn to say what was wanted, even if it made him afraid. Everything seemed to be faster. It seemed the teachers would rather be elsewhere than here. Kyle was at a big school, but not in a big school. Overall Kyle had a good homecoming. He was greeted by a new name now… he was no longer ‘Kyle.’ The friends had changed. There was a new ‘name,’ Jared. He was quite popular in the last few months.

There was more competition in the sports. The other students were old enough to play many sports. The teachers encouraged this. Kyle had always been considered valedictorian, but he knew he had to work for it. Jared had the physical prowess, but was not as quick as him. Kyle worked harder in everything. He tried to push himself harder. He knew if he wanted to catch up, he had to work harder for it. He was on a cross country team and had chosen Jared as the captain, a position which caused jealousy from other students. Jared would find a way to fit in. To never lose, but to be part of every group.

After school, Jared went to his friends’ house. He was told that Tyler was coming over. Jared had heard that his brother and Kyle were getting along better. He hoped that Kyle would be a good influence on Tyler. Jared had always been a good influence on Tyler. The only problem was that he was always trying to make it seem like he was a good guy by giving Tyler permission to do something he had already done. He wanted to be the better brother, though there was no reason to be. Jared was a great guy all by himself.

The two boys went straight to football practice. They enjoyed football. Jared worked out in a gym, for football. Kyle did not have the body for football. He had the speed for football, but not the body. He could get it, but it would take years and he did not want to be in sports that long. Kyle believed his brain was his best asset. So, he had to work twice as hard in everything he did. It made him feel frustrated. Jared could do everything without thinking about it. Jared was the only friend that would talk to Kyle about movies, television, video games, almost anything except sports. Most of his friends were athletes. Jared did not have the ability to be an athlete. His dad was an athlete, but he was not. Jared was not against being an athlete, but he did not have the brain power for it.

When Jared’s dad came home and announced that he would be running for Congress, Jared knew that something would change. He felt he had to stand up to him. He had to try and break up the family. He was sure that his dad would love to have his sons on his campaign staff. Jared’s father had a passion for traveling.

The next Sunday was a big deal for the family. The only thing Jared wanted to do was to get out of town. He wanted to get out of town so bad that he could taste it. He was excited to get out of town. And getting out of town was something he wanted to do immediately. He wanted his last few days with his beloved brother. Jared knew that Kyle was the only one that Tyler might be close to. Jared knew that his brother, Tyler, was a man of physical stamina. Tyler was only working out as an exercise routine. He was not interested in keeping his body in good shape. He was no longer interested in girls. If he wanted any, he did not have girls. Jared felt that his brother was getting more into football and even though he was better than him, he was just not interested in it anymore. Tyler was into his girlfriend. She was not interested in Jared.

It was a break-up of the family. The two had become almost like brothers. Jared knew he had to do something to separate them. Jared was glad that his father had not sent the plane. That would have been a much bigger event. Now that he had thought about it, he saw how much his father detested him. He wondered why that was, though he often thought that his Dad had been treated like his brother treated him. Ironically, his father came home and announced that he would be continuing on with his campaign.

His dad was still excited by politics. He did not seem to be doing too well there, though. There were several people who took splits at him for various reasons. Some felt his father was worse than his opponent. There was wave after wave after wave of people leaving his campaign. He tried to talk sense into people. He explained that he was not doing this as a favor to his son. He was doing it because he had a passion for it. And that he was doing it to pave the way for his son. He told people to do what he would tell his son to do. And what his son would have done. He was sure that his son was doing what he would tell him to do. It made sense. Why work hard if it is not going to pay off? He told everyone. He had nothing else to do but campaign. They had to travel all over the country. Something had happened to Jared. He was not communicating with him as much. His Dad was not speaking to him. His brother seemed to be his only friend. But something was wrong.

He decided to let it go for a while. Tyler had said to him for a while, “You know, I am a realist, I accept the truth.” Tyler admitted that he knew his friend had real feelings for Kyle. However, he said that he wanted to forget about those feelings. He said to his brother, “Still, I hurt when I see you getting along with him, but I know that he will never hurt you.” He said, “If you really want something, get it.” Jared was heartbroken. Still, he was sure that his brother was better off. His brother said that he did not need the distraction. Still, Jared was determined to break up his brother and his brother’s friend.

At the end of the day, Jared and his brother were alone. The other friends were not there.

Jared mentioned to him that he had had a great day. Kyle thought about what he had learned in school.

Kyle asked him about his day. He did not ask him to keep talking about his day. “It was good,” Tyler began. “My Congressman visited our school.”