Charloft 100 drabbles 61-65
46. Endings
"I want to be a doctor like you," Will said. "Because it's exciting."
"That's great," Harry said, flattered. "But not in the Navy."
"Why not?"
Although Harry made his stories sound exciting, he didn't want Will to do anything dangerous. "You get seasick."
"Not on a big ship."
This was going to be a hard idea to talk him out of. "Why don't you do something new? Don't just do something because I did it."
"If you don't want me to, you could have just said." Will stormed out in a huff.
Harry sighed and wondered where he'd gone wrong.
57. Picture of dandelion and seeds
It was perfect timing. Will needed somewhere to live when he wasn't in Antarctica and Harry was leaving, so his flat would be empty for a while.
"You're welcome to stay here whenever you need to," Harry said, digging the spare key out of a drawer and handing it over.
"I think I've spent more time on the ice than I have in England."
Harry nodded. It had been a while before he bought a flat himself what with all the moving about he did. He didn't blame Will for not wanting to live with their parents at his age.
5. Wrath
"We're not good enough for you, is that it?" He might be Will's cousin, but Harry wasn't above giving him a piece of his mind.
"My aunt marrying again so soon after her husband died? That's suspicious enough. Then all the money she inherited went to your gold-digging father."
He'd heard enough. He took a swing at the other man. It got him into no end of trouble when his stepmother broke the fight up, but it was worth it. He refused to tell her why he'd done it: he wanted to protect her from the lies her relatives said.
23. Dog days
Harry lazed around in the garden, enjoying his last free summer. He'd become a doctor at the end of the term and in the autumn he was off to Dartmouth.
"How often are you going to come home when you're in the Navy?" Will asked, equally relaxed with no school work to do.
"I don't know. Not very often, I don't think." When he had the option of somewhere else to live, Harry didn't want to be at home any more. But Will looked downcast at that so he added, "I promise I'll write about all the places I visit."
58. Picture of brightly lit Ferris wheel
Harry hadn't stopped smiling since he heard the news. There was a longer than usual queue for the phone, it being results day, but he could wait.
"I'm a doctor," he told his father when he picked up the phone.
"Well done," his father said. I knew you could do it." That was followed by a distant voice at the other end, a colleague of his father's Harry presumed. "Hold on, I'm just talking to my son. He's a doctor."
It was the pride he could hear in his father's voice that meant more to Harry than his medical degree.
"I want to be a doctor like you," Will said. "Because it's exciting."
"That's great," Harry said, flattered. "But not in the Navy."
"Why not?"
Although Harry made his stories sound exciting, he didn't want Will to do anything dangerous. "You get seasick."
"Not on a big ship."
This was going to be a hard idea to talk him out of. "Why don't you do something new? Don't just do something because I did it."
"If you don't want me to, you could have just said." Will stormed out in a huff.
Harry sighed and wondered where he'd gone wrong.
57. Picture of dandelion and seeds
It was perfect timing. Will needed somewhere to live when he wasn't in Antarctica and Harry was leaving, so his flat would be empty for a while.
"You're welcome to stay here whenever you need to," Harry said, digging the spare key out of a drawer and handing it over.
"I think I've spent more time on the ice than I have in England."
Harry nodded. It had been a while before he bought a flat himself what with all the moving about he did. He didn't blame Will for not wanting to live with their parents at his age.
5. Wrath
"We're not good enough for you, is that it?" He might be Will's cousin, but Harry wasn't above giving him a piece of his mind.
"My aunt marrying again so soon after her husband died? That's suspicious enough. Then all the money she inherited went to your gold-digging father."
He'd heard enough. He took a swing at the other man. It got him into no end of trouble when his stepmother broke the fight up, but it was worth it. He refused to tell her why he'd done it: he wanted to protect her from the lies her relatives said.
23. Dog days
Harry lazed around in the garden, enjoying his last free summer. He'd become a doctor at the end of the term and in the autumn he was off to Dartmouth.
"How often are you going to come home when you're in the Navy?" Will asked, equally relaxed with no school work to do.
"I don't know. Not very often, I don't think." When he had the option of somewhere else to live, Harry didn't want to be at home any more. But Will looked downcast at that so he added, "I promise I'll write about all the places I visit."
58. Picture of brightly lit Ferris wheel
Harry hadn't stopped smiling since he heard the news. There was a longer than usual queue for the phone, it being results day, but he could wait.
"I'm a doctor," he told his father when he picked up the phone.
"Well done," his father said. I knew you could do it." That was followed by a distant voice at the other end, a colleague of his father's Harry presumed. "Hold on, I'm just talking to my son. He's a doctor."
It was the pride he could hear in his father's voice that meant more to Harry than his medical degree.