Chapter 10



Mike’s boots made a soft padding sound on the floor of the dormitory hallway. He hasn’t been in Crystal Falls College campus in about two years. He walks across the hallway of dorm section D for freshmen to find the room where Kevin Schaefer was assigned.



He finds the dorm room that his younger brother lives in, and knocks the door. “I really hope this works, Karilla” Mike whispers to himself.



The door opens and an athletic, muscular, strapping young gentleman appears. Mike cannot believe how much his brother has changed. A scrawny frame replaced with a muscular body, a baby face replaced with a small beard on the chin and facial stubble. The young man looks at Mike with both surprise and scorn.

“Michael? What are you doing here?”
“Just saying ‘hi’ to my little brother....” Mike says sheepishly..
“Tell you what, why don’t you come in and think of a better excuse?”



“So, what do you want from me Mike? You want to beat the sh*t out of me again?”
“NO!”
“Call me a freak? Or a loser?”
“um...NO!”



“Then, why the hell are you here for chrissakes!? I thought I told you I wanted nothing to do with you anymore! After the way you treated me all of my natural-born life! You know what I really, REALLY wanted in life? It’s NOT popularity and it’s NOT having a smokin’ hot girlfriend.”
“What is it, Kevin?”
“ALL I WANTED WAS A BIG BROTHER!!!!!!”




Those words that came out of Kevin’s mouth cut Mike like a knife. It was the unvarnished truth that he already knew, but still, it hurt.

“Kevin...bro....I......I...I’m sorry.....”
“you’re what?”
“I said that I’m sorry.”
“That’s....the first time you ever said that to me....”
“Kevin....my little man....The whole reason why I came to visit you was to tell you that I’m not that person anymore. And I would like it if...you would accept me as your big brother once more....The way I acted when we were kids...f***ing unforgivable....”



Kevin is taken aback. He now sees a side of his big brother who constantly bullied him and made him feel worthless that he never saw in his life. A GOOD side. Kevin still had trouble believing his “transformation” but he was willing to give him a chance.

“Alright...you win...why don’t we have a talk?”



“So Kevin, I see you’ve been working out!”
“A lot, actually. The only way to get girls around here is to have big muscles. So I decided to start watching my diet and working out 3 hours a day.”
“And I always remembered that you never were able to grow facial hair and you never had to shave...What happened? Did you decide get cosmetic surgery on your face or something?”
“Um....no....I guess that I had one final puberty spurt when I turned 19. So tell me about what you’ve been up to...”
“Well.....I’ve cleaned myself up. I’m no longer drinking or partying. And I got a job at a local horse stables.”
“You work with horses?”
"Yep!"
"I guess that explains why you're wearing cowboy boots..."



“Here’s a picture! That’s me on the horse, and on the ground over there is my girlfriend, Karilla.”
“Wow...she’s really hot....”



“So Mike......I assume that you ride horses regularly?”
“Yes I do....got a problem with that?”
“Not really but.....no offense but isn’t horseback riding like....so last century? And the last time I saw you, you were thinking about getting a car. Why don’t you get a car?”
“Car? I hate cars. It’s either horses or motorcycles for me!”


“And also...I broke that horse.”
“You broke him? Like a bronco at a rodeo?”
“Kind of....but it wasn’t as physical. Fury was a very dangerous and an aggressive horse, but I slowly earned his trust and.....I may have had many friends over the years....but Fury I have to say, is my best friend.”
“Your best friend is a horse......somehow that makes a lot of sense with you.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment, city boy!”



“Mike....It’s like I’m meeting you for the absolute first time of my life....All I have to say is...thank you...”



“Don’t sweat it, Kev...now come here and give your big bro a hug!”

Kevin and Mike embraced in a tight, friendly bear hug. Signifying the renewal of their relationship.....and soon after, Mike left the dorm room with a promise of reunion.