Truth Be Told [1/?]
“Hey you never know. Most of this stuff does come from facts. Like the herbs they use do actually sooth the mind into a state that’s hard to break.” Simon closed the door after they entered, letting the bell at the top signal that they had entered. The two heard a voice from the back call that they would be there in a minute, and to make themselves at home. JR rolled his eyes and Simon gave him a look.
“What was that all about? She’s trying to be nice, but I guess a red carpet would only seem fit for you.” JR smacks him upside the head and Simon scowls and starts to rub the spot where JR had hit him. “Just try to enjoy yourself? I went to the gym with you every day for the past two weeks for almost 5 hours. Now let me have my fucking moment!”
JR sighed and moved down the isle that was parallel to one that Simon was in. The isle contained potions of all sorts. One caught his eye and he picked up the bright blue bottle that was shaped into what looked like two crossed fingers. The label was a type of fancy scroll looking sticker with gold fowl writing. “Truth Serum” is what it said, and the curiosity of JR got the best of him and he read the description that was neatly done in script writing on the back.
This potion guarantees that the drinker will be truthful to any question asked for by the potion givers or those around the drinker. The catch is that the deeper secrets can only be reveals by the amount given. WARNING: If too much is given to the recipient no question may be need for them to say the truth.
Made from the roots of fig wood trees, the petals of the softest Yuna plant and mixed with the water of the finest purified spring, made of the tears from the gods above us.
“I see there are some things that you want revealed young man?” JR jumped and the bottle left his hand, but the lady next to him grabbed it just in time.
“Ah no not really. The bottle just looked interesting. Not many are shaped like that.” The lady just nodded her head with a knowing smile and beckoned him to follow her to the back of the store. JR followed, not really sure why until he was brought through a beaded room where Simon was sitting at a table with what looked like a magic ball in the middle in the shape of a diamond.
“Isn’t that supposed to be a ball, not a diamond?” The lady behind him sighed and pushed him towards the table.
“Sit,” she said, as she made her way around the table, taking a seat in the arm chair on the other side. JR cautiously took his seat next to Simon, who looked like a kid in a candy store.
“Now I will read both of your fortunes. Please,” she beckoned to Simon, “Give me your right hand.” Simon did instantly and JR had to resist the urge to roll his eyes in front of the lady. “Rolling your eyes once is a crime to the gods, rolling your eyes twice will get them stuck.” She looked over at JR who was staring at her with wide eyes.
With Simon’s right hand in her left, she used her right to place a hand on the diamond in the middle of the table. She closed her eyes and instructed Simon to do the same, which he did without further questioning. Then she started to hmm, and JR had to resist the urge to laugh. This was something straight out of a Disney movie. JR could picture it now, next thing you know there will be a dragon coming to destroy the town and the lady at the table will become a witch and Simon will become trapped into the diamond. Yeah JR has seen this before.
“That’s so amazing! How did you do that?” Simon could barely contain his excitement after the lady finished his fortune. JR knew the answer: the money paved the way. He shook his head and the lady gave him another look.
“What? You said rolling my eyes would get them stuck, nothing against shaking my head.”
“Because if you shake your head there will be no more head for me to talk to,” she said quietly. “Now, please give me your left hand instead. I’m going to read your future.”
“Right, if you can even predict what my name is I’ll let you try.” She paused for a minute before sighing.
“Mr. Celski, please give me your left hand.” JR sat there in shock and slowly lifted his left hand and gave it to the lady. She did the same thing she had done with Simon and JR reluctantly closed his eyes.
“Ah, I see it now; it’s oh so very easy to see. The broken web that lies within a lovely spy will soon be mended by your soul and in doing so your own tangle of woven emotions will be filled. In order for this to be accomplished, you must be wiling to make a drastic decision that may seem too far out of reach.” She let go of JR’s hand and he opened his eyes and this time he really did laugh.
“That’s a nice nursery rhyme. I don’t remember it from my childhood; I guess I’m getting old.” He laughed some more as the other two just sat there. After 5 minutes of laughing that wasn’t necessary Simon smacked him up side the head like JR had done to him earlier.
“I’m sorry that my friend isn’t more open minded. If things are the way you say they are, I think I know who this is all going to surround.” The lady gave a smile to Simon as JR got out of his seat.
“Yes I’m sorry that my money didn’t tell you something more ridiculous.” JR turned around and was pushing through the beads of the door when the lady called out for him. “What are you going to tell me now? That one of these beads,” JR grabbed a couple strings of the beads, “Are going to get caught in my throat and I’m going to cough and die and my body is going to be turned into a tree?”
The lady sighed again and got out of her seat. She retrieved a black velvet bag underneath her table. She crossed the room, all the while looking JR in the eyes. Once she got in front of her, she grabbed JR’s hand and placed the bag in it and forced his fingers to clasp it. “Now please leave. I know I’ll be seeing you in the future.”
JR rolled his eyes, shook his head and laughed as he walked out of the room. Once out of the store he looked around trying to find Simon. He tried to look through the window in the front on the store, but couldn’t see with the sun, so he put his face up to the glass with his hands blocking the sun out.
Simon was still in the store, following the women around as she picked up different potions and herbs and incents. JR knocked on the glass and Simon looked over. He gave him the finger and carried on with the conversation he was having.
JR threw his hands up, forgetting that the bag was in his hand. He took a seat on the curb and figured while he was doing nothing he could make sure that what he had in his hand wasn’t a bag of steroids that he was going to get busted for and shame his whole country.
He loosened the strings that pulled the bag closed and reached in and felt glass under his fingers. He grasped a bottle and pulled it out, to find it was the same blue bottle that he had pulled off the shelf earlier. He reached into the bag again and found a second bottle of the Truth Serum. JR thought for a moment. She never moved the bottle that he had picked up off the shelf. How did she know?
The sound the bell above the door woke him up from his thoughts, but he still had a confused look on his face. He turned to look up at Simon who was now carrying a large bag filled with god knows what. Simon just gave him a knowing look and shrugged his shoulders.
“Come on we should get back to the rooms. Apolo and I were supposed to get lunch ten minutes ago.”
JR ended up agreeing to have lunch with the two of them, with Jordan tagging along. They were only going to a small restaurant on the outskirts of the village. Nothing fancy.
“So what were you guys doing that caused you to be fucking ten minutes late?” Apolo asked as they sat down in a small booth in the corner of the place. JR slid in next to him and Simon and Jordan went on the other side.
“Yeah where did you guys go?”
“Simon dragged me to some shop all about voodoo and witch craft nonsense…” JR said as he flipped through the menu trying to decide what he was allowed to eat.
On the opposite side of the table Simon put his menu down. “That was not nonsense you saw today. That lady was the real deal.” He picked the menu up and continued to flip through. Apolo looked at JR and put his menu up in front of his face, creating a curtain between the two of them, and the other two speed skaters sitting on the other side.
“What did she do?” Apolo whispered. JR laughed a little at the foolish act Apolo was committing but joined in anyways.
“She tried to convince me that someone would fix my emotions by something that I saw was a far out solution to my problems.” Apolo giggled, he fucking giggled, and JR couldn’t help but smile.
There was something that Apolo did that made JR smile 24/7. Perhaps it was the way he still acted like a kid even though he was 28, but at times he could show the maturity of a 50 year old. Though he would never look 30, that guy was gorgeous. So maybe JR had a little more feelings than he should for his team mate, but how was that not foreseen? You are stuck with the same people almost every single day of your life till you get to the Olympics, then you start all over again sharing every moment with them.
JR didn’t really notice anything until one day when Apolo was heading home for a trip with his father for some bonding time. It was strange, the feeling he had. He wanted Apolo to stay there even though he knew that JR had to go. If he didn’t go he might have punched him. Wanting him not to go made him want to punch himself. The days going to practice afterwards were awkward, not having a shadow to follow and always try to over come.
A waitress came by a few minutes later asking for their drinks, JR and Apolo both getting sweetened ice tea, while the other two just got water. They were boring. A few minutes later she returned balancing the four glasses on a tray. She placed JR’s drink down and decided the best way to get Apolo’s to him was to reach across the table. That was a bad idea.
JR’s drink was knocked over and spilt into the lap of Apolo. The waitress stood there in fright while Simon started laughing and clapping his hands. JR got out of his seat while she placed the other three drinks safely down on the table. Apolo scooted out of the booth.
“I’m going to go wash this off.” He looked up and saw the waitress open her mouth. “It’s no problem really. Mistakes happen.” He left in the direction of the bathroom while JR used the napkins that were in the dispenser to clean off the seat. The waitress scurried away to get another glass for JR.
“Oh my god, JR! You know what you should do?” JR looked at him with a confused look. Simon leaned in. “You should put some of that truth serum in Apolo’s drink. Could you imagine the shit that he would tell us?”
“What Truth Serum are you talking about?” Jordan asked taking a sip of his water.
“That stupid witch doctor gave me two bottles of this potion that’s supposed to make the drinker tell the truth about everything.” JR shook his head. “Well if you won’t, then give it to me. I will.”
With a reluctant sigh he handed the bottle over to Simon, who carefully took the top off and poured a generous amount into Apolo’s drink. He then grabbed two packets of sugar and pour them in, using Apolo’s straw as a stirring stick.
“Making your own concoction over there?” JR asked as he accepted the bottle back and slipped it into his sweatshirt pocket. Funny thing is he doesn’t even remember bringing it. Soon Apolo returned with a noticeably large wet stain on his pants. Apolo gave them the “don’t even think about it” look as he sat down at the table and grabbed his glass. All three of them staring at him as he took a sip.
“What the hell are you guys looking at? It’s like none of you have ever seen anyone drink iced tea before.” The three all together turned away and started looking at other things, JR playing with the bottle in his pocket. Apolo took another sip and put the cup down. After a few minutes the guys looked at each other wondering what to do now. Jordan mouthed to JR “Ask him a question.” To which JR mouthed back “No you!”
Simon cleared his throat. “So Apolo, how has your dad been?”
“He’s been great really. You know, a little stressed about this whole Olympic stuff, but none the less he’s doing great. He sometimes worries that you guys let me win.” And that was a first for the other guys.
“What do you mean we let you win? Doesn’t he get that you are the greatest Olympic speed skater?” Jordan asked.
“Well, he thinks that you guys aren’t putting a 100% effort. I mean I think you guys do, you guys are the best around. I would do anything for you guys.”
Simon’s mouth slowly turned into a smile. “Oh really? Why would you do anything for us?” JR gave him a stern look but Simon ignored it.
Apolo was quiet for a minute before he started to cry. The guys looked around for a moment before JR cautiously put an arm around his friend to comfort him. Apolo positioned himself so that he was crying softly into JR’s shoulder, gripping his sweat shirt like it was the last thing he was about to do.
“Because I love you guys, you guys are like brothers to me. I never had brothers growing up and when you all came around you gave me the feeling that someone was looking up to me. You guys are my younger siblings and I will always be here to protect you until the day I die.” Jordan had his hands covering his mouth from laughing while Simon mouthed to JR “I told you it would work”.