Story My new friend TJ

THIS IS ALL 100% FICTION

I'm sitting here now, trying not to break down lose my mind. I've been living in a room with a boy who doesn't ever not talk about everything. Pretty vague right? Well, let me tell you a little about my new friend TJ. TJ are his initials, he doesnt like the name 'Tim Johnson.' TJ has lots of little trinkets sat on a table that came to life with every second that TJ heard ambience, he felt the need to fill the silence with a cacophony of words and sentences that he couldn't wait to get out. Sometimes he'd get too excited and talk too fast.

The trinkets are nothing of relation but if they were I'd imagine he'd be a spy. How does a shotgun shell relate to a ruler and how does that ruler relate to a single page from a dictionary? Well, they don't. Each trinket has a story and each story has a moral but before TJ can reach his third story, I could tell that he is a collector. He's keeping them for memories. Why? I don't know. Why would you Remember a day you went to a library with your family? That isn't a day you should need a

piece of paper to remember. A shotgun shell from the thirteenth time your dad took you hunting isn't
He reaches for my hand and asks "Can i tell you why I'm here? I'm here because the doctors say i have a lump in my brain, hey told me and my family that it's Incurr-ink her-' "Incurable" I reply with hesitation. "Yes! Thats the word! Thank you so mu- Hey what does Incurable mean?" I'm shocked. How do I tell a kid that he's got a tumour that's not getting removed and it's going to kill him? Before i can reply, he spouts up and says "Im just kidding I know what it means. It just means that for the next 1-3 weeks I'll be living here until I go and I don't mean go home. I mean go to heaven, or in my case the equivelant to hell but I'm already here so try again Satan!" This kid just joked about his own death and I'll be out of here in a few days smoking cigarettes and taking my life for granted. I ignored the fact that he just blatantly made of fool me and I fall asleep.

I wake up four and a half hours later to TJ being asleep. Looking back now, you couldn't tell he was asleep. All of the tubes and wires hooked up to him made him look bionic. He woke up a few hours later, after the nurses took all of the tubes out of him and removed all the wires. He turns over and asks me if I'm awake. I turn to him and say "I am now." He replies with "Well, go back to sleep if you're going to be a dick."I sit up and apologise for being such a grouch. TJ seems more pale than earlier his eyes sink into his head and his cheek bones are almost cutting his cheeks open. He tells me "If I'm ever gone when you wake up. Will you please tell my family that I'm in a better place now eating pizza and watching re-runs of friends?" I reassure him that's exactly what I'll tell them. a few days go by where the usual stuff happens TJ tells me a new story about himself that is always in some way relevant to our conversations.

All I see TJ doing is pulling feathers from his pillow and watch them float to the ground. He rests two feathers on either shoulder and asks me "Do i look the part yet?" "Look the part for what?" I ask "Being an angel! I've been thinking, I do more good things than bad things but even the bad things I do aren't worthy for hell. So do I look ready for it?" He wants me to let him know If I think he looks ready to die. "I sure do feel it" He snaps with a croak in his throat and tears in his eyes. "TJ bro, Don't say things like that. You're stronger that that. Even though I've only known you for just over one week I can already tell that you'd make something out of yourself." "WHAT GOD DECIDES TO PLAGUE A 14 YEAR OLD WITH DEATH? I HAVEN'T SERVED MY PURPOSE YET, I'M TOO EARLY." TJ's heart monitor begins to quicken and he collapses onto his bed. "Nurse! Nurse! come quick, it's TJ. Something's happening!" Nurses come rushing in they wrap the curtain around his segment and all I can hear is 'Did you find a pulse? Keep looking'I pass out and wake up startled being convinced that TJ is gone. I turn and he's sat in his bed crying forcibly trying to be quiet in consideration that I was asleep. "I'm sorry did I wake you?"

It's been 3 weeks since I came in here. TJ is looking paler and paler by the day He weighs 57 lbs and doesn't have much time left. He's had 17 episodes in the past 4 days. He doesn't remember why he's here and that he's too weak to walk. He trys to get out of bed but stumbles and uses the bed side for support. He is close enough to the floor to pick up a feather and hand it to me. He says "See this is first one i grew." He collapses onto the floor for the final time I call for the nurses and in minutes they say "No pulse. Time of death 5:02."I quietly leave the room and sit outside fighting back the tears and trying not to scream. TJ asked me "What god decides to plague a 14 year old boy." I'm a strong believer of god but over the past few weeks I'm not sure. His family came by. I didn't have the heart to tell them. They thanked me for keeping him company for the time we had together. I'll be out of here in 14 hours and from the time I spent here I'll never forget what TJ taught me.