Ugly Truth

‘Why would he?’ Conor shrugged. ‘We stopped being friends a long time ago.’ ‘But you said…’ ‘I said we were friends. For a while anyway. Things changed after the summer holiday in fifth grade. When school reopened, Landon became distant, withdrew into himself, quit the football team, and stopped talking to me.’ ‘Why?’ ‘That was what I wondered about. I asked him, many times. Waylaid him on the way to the toilet. Waited for him at the school gate. Kept badgering him. I didn’t make friends easily, as you well know. So I valued what Landon and I had. He was my first true friend, you could say. Something was obviously bothering him, but he refused to tell me. He said he just wanted to focus on his studies, had no time for football or friends, but I knew that was bullshit. Something happened, I could tell.’ Conor stared into the distance. ‘I know that now, but back then, I was young, just nine years old, a kid. I was hurt when he basically told me to piss off. So I did. If he didn’t need me