We sat there, the room as silent with the expectation of the other person speaking.
I couldn't take it. I broke the staring contest first, "So are you still a suicidal maniac?
Kip looked at me as if I had five heads, "Well things didn't just magically disappear.
I shrugged, leaning back in the soft bean bag chair. "I just think you're missing the big picture."
He leaned forward, elbows on knees. I got him interested. +1 PJ. "The universe." I raised my eyebrows to add emphasis. Kip was a sad story; his parents didn't give him enough love, he's never even been in close contact with a girl since the first grade... He just didn't have much going for him.
"What about the universe?"
"Well," I crossed my arms over my chest in a proud and 'all knowing' way, "The universe is a pretty big place."
Kip scrunched his face up as if I were some kind of idiot, "Yeah, it's infinite, theoretically."
"Right!" I practically beamed, "Which means that there's probably life on other planets." My voice was rising with excitement.
His tone was condescending, "Not life like we think. Probably at least single-celled organisms..."
I disregarded his tone, not letting it discourage my upcoming speech. "Well, see, that's my whole point." He squinted his eyes in confusion, "I mean, you could've been born a single cell organism on the planet Zortex. In fact, given the odds, it's probably more likely, but you weren't. You were born a human being. And not just any human being in the history of human beings, but a human being that gets to be alive today, that gets to listen to music, that gets to eat food from every culture, that gets to download porn off the internet." We both raised our eyebrows at the same time. "So really, you have everything to live for."
There was a pause. A long one.
"So do you feel better?" I asked, excited to have helped someone in a way other than handing out psychiatric medication. But, alas, it was to no avail.
"Not really."
"Oh. Well..." I looked around his room, "Do you want to play some video games?
He smiled weakly. "Sure."
And that's what happened.
I couldn't take it. I broke the staring contest first, "So are you still a suicidal maniac?
Kip looked at me as if I had five heads, "Well things didn't just magically disappear.
I shrugged, leaning back in the soft bean bag chair. "I just think you're missing the big picture."
He leaned forward, elbows on knees. I got him interested. +1 PJ. "The universe." I raised my eyebrows to add emphasis. Kip was a sad story; his parents didn't give him enough love, he's never even been in close contact with a girl since the first grade... He just didn't have much going for him.
"What about the universe?"
"Well," I crossed my arms over my chest in a proud and 'all knowing' way, "The universe is a pretty big place."
Kip scrunched his face up as if I were some kind of idiot, "Yeah, it's infinite, theoretically."
"Right!" I practically beamed, "Which means that there's probably life on other planets." My voice was rising with excitement.
His tone was condescending, "Not life like we think. Probably at least single-celled organisms..."
I disregarded his tone, not letting it discourage my upcoming speech. "Well, see, that's my whole point." He squinted his eyes in confusion, "I mean, you could've been born a single cell organism on the planet Zortex. In fact, given the odds, it's probably more likely, but you weren't. You were born a human being. And not just any human being in the history of human beings, but a human being that gets to be alive today, that gets to listen to music, that gets to eat food from every culture, that gets to download porn off the internet." We both raised our eyebrows at the same time. "So really, you have everything to live for."
There was a pause. A long one.
"So do you feel better?" I asked, excited to have helped someone in a way other than handing out psychiatric medication. But, alas, it was to no avail.
"Not really."
"Oh. Well..." I looked around his room, "Do you want to play some video games?
He smiled weakly. "Sure."
And that's what happened.
