19 A Frog's Climb 4

Caelum walked up to Matt who was busy helping the other kids learn at the learning corner with stacks of books that any orphan could use and read.

He was a nice guy who put others before himself, totally unlike Caelum.

"Hello, kid," Caelum said, calling out to Matt.

"Hello..." When Matt realized who it was his expression changed from happiness to irritation.

Trying to make the situation less awkward and more manageable Caelum spoke before he could continue with what Matt was going to say. "What have you been up to?"

There were kids sitting across from Matt, two guys, and a girl. They were listening to Matt attentively until Caelum interrupted their learning session.

"You are really self-absorbed aren't you? - Grendel, Vin, Sasha go play for a moment while I talk to him."

"Ok, Matt, I will." "Understood Matt." "If that's what you want..." The three kids left. leaving the two geniuses alone.

With the orphans now gone, Caelum continued speaking.

"I can't say I am not."

"Well you are, and you should find someone else to talk to," Matt responded, annoyed with the situation that he has found himself in.

Caelum looked around, shaking his head.

"You do know that geniuses are rare, and here it's just me and you who are. No other geniuses live in this orphanage."

"In a way, I understand that, but I have not forgiven you for humiliating me years ago." Matt's anger brought forth to Caelum how serious Matt believed the event years ago affected him.

"Like you said it was years ago, and I did not mean any harm. I was making a point."

Matt stood up and looked directly into Caelum's eyes.

"You made it clear that you're a bully, that you do not give a shit about others and that someone like you I can never get along with. That point has been made loud and clear!" slamming his hands against the table in anger.

The orphans looked over and they seemed slightly shaken by Matt's actions.

Caelum could clearly see much more tangibly the effects his actions had on other people. But anger is nowhere near a lifelong ambition. It is an ant in front of a dragon, a fountain in front of a waterfall sand on a beach, nothing at all. Caelum had to stand his ground. He would not break when others did not like what he did.

He spoke up, eager to complete the task and get one that involved fewer people.

"That is wrong. I am self-absorbed I am unable to deny that, with that said I am not unable to give a shit about others. I have a goal, and by being self-absorbed has been the fastest way to accomplish that goal."

"If only people did not care about how it looks, but it looks and it looks bad." Matt replied.

"With your personality, it is no wonder that you are unable to make any friends."

Matt's words were painful to hear, however, Caelum knew that Matt needed to get the words out of his system.

"You are alone all the time training. By isolating yourself habitually you make it hard for other people to come near you. You always have an agenda, you do not try to get to know others without anything benefiting you for doing so."

"If you do not get anything from knowing someone you are not looking in the right place. You can create bonds. Bonds are worth more than chasing intangible things like dreams, and if you ask them they could help you. Even if it means they will join you in chasing your dreams no matter how tangible they are."

"You do not put in the time so you won't get shit from the little you do."

Caelum interrupted Matts tangent not wanting to hear more, he got the jist.

"I get that you are angry, I get it I am not trying to fan the flames I am simply trying to help you understand."

"And you must want something from me, I sincerely doubt you are here talking to me without a reason, without something to gain for it."

"Yes I am here for a reason. . I am not going to lie, I need your help I want you to join my cause."

"Your cause, your fucking kidding me! You humiliated me, and you never apologized for it. It's bullshit if you want to be my friend and you can't even do that much."

You expect me to join your cause. It's a fairytale that's what it is. Stop chasing things that you won't get. With how much effort that you are putting in if you did not get what you wanted by now its hopeless."

Caelum leaned onto the reading table.

"If I have to put in 10 times the effort compared to others, I will chase and chase and will continue to chase after my ambition. After the things I want, if that makes you hate me as a person so fucking what? I am sorry for humiliating you in front of your friends. But I am not sorry for showing you that living is not supposed to be fun."

"Life is a journey, and in a journey, if you don't understand what the journey is all about you won't be able to start, you won't have a life - living peacefully does not encompass what life is..."

"Jeesh, talk about a weak apology, you when others see you giving your all it makes them want to give their all too. However your personality is toxic, you can't not make friends by picking on people. If you talk down to someone expect for them to back away. Expect them to slap your hand away when you try to greet them. That's the normal thing to do. Just because you're strong does make your way of making friends right." Matt replied disrespectfully.

Matt looked like he was tired of all that Caelum was saying, but Caelum would not stop he had a task to complete and an ambition to work towards.

He would fail if he walked away - Caelum gritted his teeth and continued to speak to Matt.

"I am not saying I was right when I humiliated you, I am saying that everything comes down to strength. It could be mental strength, physical strength, strength of will. If anything has enough strength behind it, it can be used in ways that you could never imagine."

"Words are one of them."