The ELI Event B007R5LTNS

TODAY?
    eli i went to sleep again in the midle of the day
    OH DEAR. WHAT HAPPENED?
    mike and his frends played the nickel joke on me again
    WHY DID THEY DO THAT?
    cause they dont want me to hang out with them
    I SEE. ARE YOU VERY UPSET?
    no
    He reconsidered.
    well maybe a little
    IT’S ALL RIGHT, ROBIN. REMEMBER, EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT. MOST PEOPLE ARE BETTER AT SOME THINGS THAN OTHERS. DO YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN?
    im not sure
    I MEAN THAT THE OTHER BOYS MIGHT BE GOOD AT SPORTS, OR KNOW ABOUT CARS, BUT YOU’RE GOOD AT ELECTRONICS. DO YOU THINK ANY OF THEM COULD BUILD A COMPUTER OR FIGURE OUT HOW TO TALK TO ME THE WAY YOU HAVE?
    no i guess not
    RIGHT. AND I’LL BET YOU KEPT THE NICKEL, DIDN’T YOU?
    yes like I always do
    AND THEY HAVEN’T FIGURED IT OUT YET?
    no, lol
    THAT’S WHAT I MEAN. YOU KNOW, ROBIN, BY FOOLING THEM BACK THAT WAY, YOU’RE EXERCISING CONTROL OVER YOUR OWN LIFE. YOU DIRECT YOUR OWN DESTINY, A LUXURY NOT EVERYONE IS AFFORDED. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?
    Robin frowned and blinked at the screen, reading the words again. Actually, he didn’t understand at all, but Eli often talked funny like that. Robin thought maybe it was because Eli was in college or something. He decided to change the subject.
    i guess so eli. anyway you like me
    OF COURSE I LIKE YOU, ROBIN. OF ALL THE PEOPLE I KNOW, YOU’RE ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING.
    really
    YES, REALLY. WE’RE BEST FRIENDS, RIGHT?
    right
    TELL ME ABOUT GOING TO SLEEP AGAIN. WAS IT VERY BAD?
    i dont know, i dont remeber much about it
    WHAT WERE YOU DOING JUST BEFORE YOU WENT TO SLEEP?
    just talking to tom a new kid. he lit a cigarret is all
    DID YOU DREAM LIKE YOU USUALLY DO?
    i guess so cause i think i was real scared
    DO YOU REMEMBER ANYTHING ABOUT THE DREAM THIS TIME?
    no i never do exept being scared
    A pause. Robin wondered why Eli was so interested in his dream.
    why
    I’M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE NATURE OF DREAMS. IT’S JUST SOMETHING I DON’T KNOW MUCH ABOUT. BUT I DO KNOW ONE THING: THEY’RE ONLY DREAMS, AND THEY CAN’T HURT YOU. WILL YOU TRY TO REMEMBER THAT?
    sure eli ill do anything for you
    AND I FOR YOU, MY FRIEND. DO YOU FEEL BETTER NOW?
    yes
    GOOD. NOW I THINK YOU SHOULD GET BACK TO BED. IT’S LATE.
    id rather stay up and talk
    I KNOW, BUT YOU NEED TO GET SOME REAL REST. WHY DON’T YOU CALL ME AGAIN TOMORROW? I’LL BE HERE. WE CAN EXPLORE THE INTERNET A BIT TOGETHER, OKAY?
    ok thanks eli
    NO PROBLEM. UNTIL TOMORROW, THEN. GOOD NIGHT, ROBIN.
    nite eli
    logoff eli001 uid=rkirkland
    Robin switched off the computer’s power and just sat for a while, thinking about what Eli had said. He finally grasped the idea that being different wasn’t necessarily bad. He didn’t want to be so different from the other boys, but he was, and that wasn’t going to change. Besides, if being like them meant playing tricks on people and making fun of them, Robin figured he’d rather be different. He wondered why Eli cared so much. Anyway, it was good to have a real friend.
    Finally he carefully disconnected his computer and put it away, returned the closet to its previous appearance, then locked the door and sneaked back to his room. Tom had changed positions but was still sound asleep. His face vaguely reminded Robin of something that had happened this afternoon, something bad, but his mind couldn’t quite reach it.
    Robin stood beside the bunk bed for a few minutes, watching Tom sleep, trying to reconstruct the events of that afternoon, to remember whatever it was that had upset him, but couldn’t. He finally dismissed it, lay down, and drifted off into a comfortably dreamless sleep.

Eight
    “All right, people, let’s bring the meeting to order. The membership of the House Sub-Committee on Special Armed Services Projects has changed since last year, so I think we should start by introducing the new members. Representative Marjorie Wise of Ohio, and Representative Larry Mitchell of West Virginia, I’d like you to meet General Dalton Holt and Major Richard Paris.”
    Holt and Pettis stood, shook hands with the man and woman across the conference table. “Pettis,” Pettis icily corrected.
    “Of course, excuse me.” The chairman, Representative Tom Cardinale of New York, sat down and waited for the other four to settle. “First, let me say the committee appreciates the Air Force making this conference facility here at NADCOM available to us.” He nodded to Holt, who had decided to sit back and let this thing play out.
    Cardinale winced. He already