I guess you could say I had a pretty uncomplicated childhood.
With one exception.
My brother, Wayne.
From the moment we first laid eyes in each other, we had an instinctive, natural, bond.
It was kind of touching, really.
So to insure that bond would flourish and grow...
My parents provided us with something. Something to keep us together...
Through thick and thin.
A room.
Our room.
The thing is, we actually had some pretty good times there.
But looking back now, when I think of that room...
What I remember is how big it seemed when we were little.
Wayne!
And how little it seemed when we got big.
- Sorry, scrote. - Get off, butthead!
- "Butthead...sir". - Wayne!
By nineteen-seventy-one...Our room was beginning to seem about the size of a postage stamp.
- Please? - Say "pretty please"...
- Idiot. - Get off!
Eh!
What's goin' on here?
- Nuthin'. - Nuthin'.
Try and get along, will ya?
Right, Dad.
But it wasn't that simple.
- Dork! - Buffoon!
After fourteen years of living cheek-to-jowl...
Wayne and I were drowning in a rising tide of...Old comic books, smelly sweat socks, and petty disputes.
- Hey! That's mine! - No, it's not!
- Gimme that! - No. No.
Boys?!
- Right, Dad. - Right, Dad.
Don't touch my stuff.
The thing is...It wasn't our fault.
We were just two guys, tryin' to get by.
Tryin' to get...Out.
- Watch it! - You watch it!
Not that there wasn't a solution.
Karen's room.
One hundred fifty square feet of prime, unoccupied, real estate.
Just one little hitch.
Mom, what are you doing?
Just...straightening up.
It isn't fair.
What, honey?
Karen's at college. I mean, she's never here.
How come...She gets her own room?
Yeah. What about us?
But if we were lookin' for even-handed justice...
We were barkin' up the wrong mom.
Now, don't be silly. You have a room...
That's the way it's always been... One room for the boys...
And one...For the girls.
And there ya had it.
By accident of birth...we'd been doomed.
- Do ya have to do that? - Do what?
That.
Hey, if you don't like it...then leave.
Alright, I will.
But, no matter how we tried to get away from each other...
Something kept drawing us back.
Kevin? Are those Wayne's socks you're wearing?
Ya know...Now that I think of it
I may have mixed up your bureau drawers yesterday.
Did you boys notice whose underwear you put on this morning?
You wore his underwear? Ewww!
Look, just...don't remind me about it, OK?
Man! I think I'd kill myself!
Come on, guys - cut it out. I mean, it's not that bad.
Oh, yeah? What could be worse?
- Well, lemme see... - Paul, just drop it, OK?
Sure. Just, he is your brother. You're lucky to have one.
Easy for Paul to say. He didn't have a brother.
Paul. Trust me. I can't get away from him-he's driving me crazy!
Sure...but what about the good things?
The comraderie, the easy give-and-take...
The heartfelt respect.
Hey! Butthead! Don't touch my stuff!
I still say you're lucky.
Having someone to talk to...
Someone there to share your dreams...
Someone sleeping next to you at night.
Wayne...
Wayne!
- What? - Shut up, will ya?
- No, you shut up. - No. You shut up.
- You shut up. - You shut up.
Paul's theories aside...
It was pretty clear Wayne and I had reached the point-of-no-return.
- I don't snore. - Yes, you do. **I am living proof!** - No, I don't.
It was time for a change.
The only question was...how. And when.
Now, shut up!
- More potatoes, honey? - Hnnnn.
Thanks, Mom.
My sister, Karen, was home from college.
Which could only mean one of three things.
So...how's school?
Great, Dad.
Grades?
OK, I think.
Leaving only...
Money?
Well, that's what I want to talk to you about.
Here it came...The mid-semester bite. The freshman pinch.
How much?
Nothing. I got a job.
A job?
You're kidding.
Job?
Yes, Dad - a job.
Well, that's nice, honey. What kind of a job?
At the co-op.
On campus for the summertime.
But I thought you were...coming home this summer.
Nope.
I'm gonna be living up there.
Now, let's take moment to consider what just happened here.
My sister had told her family... She wouldn't be home for the summer.
To my parents, that meant losing their eldest child.
Their only girl. Their flesh-and-blood.
But, to Wayne and me, it meant something much more immense.
- Can we have her room? - Can we have her room?
Hmmmm. Musta been something we said.
There they are.
- What do you mean, you're not coming home? - Look, Daddy...
You could tell Karen was fighting for her freedom.
But there was more than just her freedom at stake, here.
Man, I hope they'll let her go.
Mom, we do have to discuss...
So, for the next hour...while our future hung in the balance...we waited.
They gotta let her go.
The funny thing is, we actually had...fun.
Hanging out...Being together.
I'm gonna get some soda - ya want some?
Ah, no...
It was pretty clear what had happened.
Well, guys...I'm outta here.
Looks like the room's yours.
- Yes! - Yes!
So, the next day, while Mom and Dad were...Bidding goodbye to Karen's summers at home...
- Yes! Yes! - Yes!
Wayne and I were saying farewell to an era.
It was almost...poignant.
Nice knowing you.
Yeah. You, too.
Well...
The time had come. There was nothing left...To say, but...
Seeya, butthead.
Seeya.
Just...one little detail.
- So when you leavin'? - Me? No, I'm not leavin'...
- What? - I thought you were leaving.
No. No, I'm staying right here - you're leaving.
I don't think so.
No.No. No, see...this is my room.
Wrong! This is my room. That's your room.
And that's when the full horror of what was transpiring hit us.
After more than a decade of strife... it had come down to this.
We'd clawed our way to... The very brink of freedom.
From each other. And, now...
- Butthead! - Idiot!
Suddenly...We were going nowhere. - Stop it, you stupid jerk!
It's my room!
OK. Move out...you can have anything on this bed.
And so...Negotiations began.
I don't want anything on this bed.
- What? - It's all junk.
Why don't ya take somethin' of mine?
You must be joking.
Alright, fine. Suit yourself.
I'll drive you to school every day.
- In your car? - Ahhhhh.
Apparently...Our negotiational skills left something to be desired.
- I'll pay you ten bucks. - No!
- Twenty. - No!
A thousand. A hundred.
Look, Wayne. This isn't about money, OK?
Whatever it was about, this was too important...To be left to mere dollars and cents.
One, two, three, shoot!
So, we left it up to...Blind luck.
Odds. Mine. One, zip.
What the heck. At least this would settle it.
One way or the other.
- Shoot! - Evens. One, up.
Heh-heh.
- Shoot! - Yes! Yes!
There it was.
An indisputable victory.
- I win. - I don't know what you're talkin' about.
I win.
- Two-outta-three. - It's the best three-out-of-five.
- No, it's not. - Yes, it is.
- It's two-out-of-three. - Three-out-of-five.
- Two-out-of-three! - Three-out-of-five.
- Wayne - that's cheating. - Fine.
You don't want to play fair? Then we'll just forget the whole thing.
I don't get it. What's the big deal? It's just a room.
Look, Paul - it's not that simple. There are principles at stake, here!
What principles?
Well...it's my room!
True. But it's his room, too, right?
And he is older, which gives him seniority.
Oh, OK. Take his side.
- Well, sorry. But you did say... - Well, just forget I said anything. OK?
Maybe he's just afraid to be alone.
What?
Or maybe he's afraid of the dark. "Oooooh, ooooh..."
Very funny.
Hey, everybody...
Kevin Arnold's afraid of the dark. "Oooohhh..."
I am not!
So much for the council of trusted friends.
Still, that night, a thought occurred to me...That sent chills down my spine.
Something more terrifying than ghosts and goblins.
Was it possible - just possible - that I was actually going to miss my brother?
Nah...
I had to shake this off.
It was time to work this out. Time to unlock doors.
Wayne!
Come in!
What is this?
This? Well, let's just think of this as...
- Traffic control. - Meaning what?
Meaning if you insist on coming into my room...you will obey the traffic regulations.
You will stay in authorized lanes at all times, otherwise...
There's a penalty.
Wayne...You're crazy - you know that?
Oops. Over the line. Sorry.
Out of bounds. Penalty.
- Wayne...I'm warning you... - Too much time in the red-zone.
That's it.
- Idiot! I'm gonna kill you. - Get off me!
- Eat it! - You punk!
The hell's goin' on here?!
It's about that damn room, isn't it?
- Look, Dad - - Fine.
You can't make a decision... I'll make it for ya.
Nobody gets it.
But, Dad...
You heard me. Nobody. I'll turn it into a den.
- Uh, but, Dad... - And I don't want to hear another word about it.
You've been bickering long enough. Am I understood?
Good.
We sat there, stunned...By one horrible irony. In struggling to get apart...
We'd locked ourselves together...once again.
That's it.
Where are you going?
Wayne!
- Wayne! - Uh! Beat it!
Wait - wait up!
You heard me.
Get outta here! This is all your fault!
Mine?! Hey, I didn't...
Look, I don't even want to talk about it. Now, scram!
Where are you going?
Where does it look like I'm going?
Are you gonna sleep in your car?
You got it, butthead.
Well...why? I mean, you got a bed in the house.
Because, I would rather sleep here...than spend one more night in that room with you!
What?
Don't you get it? I'm sick of you.
I'm sick of seen you
I'm sick of hearing you.
And I'm sick of knowing you.
Now, get outta here!
It wasn't just what he said that hurt.
It was the fact that he meant it.
And at that moment, I felt...betrayed.
After fourteen years of putting up with the guy...
A guy virtually no one could stand...
He had the nerve to say a thing like that?
Hey, cut it out!
I said cut it out, scrote!
But I didn't care. I was sick of Wayne. For the first time in my life...
I truly wanted him gone.
And then...Wayne went.
- Ehhh! - Wayne!
- Help!
- Wayne! Unlock the door! - But I can't!
Unlock the door! Wayne!
Your gonna pay for this!
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!
Sometimes it takes tragedy........ ´ëº»¿¡¼­ ºüÁøºÎºÐÀÎµ¥ ¾Èµé·Á¿ä...¤Ñ¤Ñ;;
Sometimes it takes a worn-out brake...Five trashcans, and a busted fire-hydrant.
In any event...
I'll take Karen's room.
That night...Wayne and I reached an understanding.
No. I'll take it.
No. No, really. I'll take the room.
No. I want it, really.
- No. It's OK. I'll take it. - No, no, no - I know it's OK, Kev.
- Wayne, I'll take the room. - It's OK.
- Wayne, don't worry about it - I'll... - I mean, I want the room...
I know you don't. I'll take it...I know you'd rather...
In the end, Dad flipped a coin.
Childhood is a struggle.
In struggling to separate ourselves from one another...
Wayne and I had also struggled to...Stay together.
In order to break apart...
We had to...Hurt each other.
And now...
We'd done what we had to do.
The thing is, even today...
On nights when I lie in bed, listening to my children in their rooms, breathing next to one another...
I wish for them what my parents had wished for my brother and me.
I wish for them...what we had.
ÇÏºñ ÀÚ¸· µ¿È£È¸(http://havy.co.kr) °¨»çÇÕ´Ï´Ù. Á¦ÀÛ : iamy1004 (iamy1004@hanmail.net)