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Short Story : Henry's Life

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Their Wednesday morning shift finally over, Henry grabbed his jacket and jogged up beside Max. Together, they dragged their bicycles from an old shed. Max babbled on about something, but Henry only managed to raise his eyebrows in response. Henry's disinterested mood lingered even though Max tried continuously to engage him in conversation. Rubber tyres crackled over the hard gravel road as they rode in silence. 'What's going on, mate? You've been in a foul mood for the last two days.' Max asked, his brow furrowed with concern and annoyance. Henry appreciated Max's direct personality; no innuendo or suggestion with Max, he said it how he saw it. He looked at Max and felt his features soften; he always found it hard to be angry with …show more content…

Max avoided Henry's eyes and bowed his head towards the ground. 'Here he goes again. He's not going to talk to me. He's so good at hiding his feelings. Why can't he simply talk to me?' Henry wondered as he kicked at the dry ground beneath him. 'No.' Max paused, wiping a layer of perspiration that suddenly wet his upper lip—the conversation had taken the exact direction he didn't want. 'No, I haven't. Honestly though, I know we've talked about this before, but I don't think that life is for me,' Max whispered. The summer breeze calmed and the surf pounded in the distance, hiding Max's shaky breath. However, Max's passive response failed to convince Henry and he was sure he saw a shadow of doubt cross his face. Magpies warbled, a light wind tossed fallen gum leaves along the ground and the persistent bark of stray dogs blended to form an endless tunnel of pain for Henry. Henry stared at Max, and then squared his shoulders, lifted his head and tightened his jaw. He took a small backward step at Max's change in mood. Actually, he felt a twinge of pride at his definite decision when Max announced, 'no. I will not enlist. That is not the life for me.' Finally, he met Henry's eyes. Henry felt a pull of disappointment at Max's confession, yet kept his face stone-like. Henry suspected Max was originally keen to enlist, but still, he felt a strange sense of understanding with Max's decision. A myriad of thoughts cascaded through

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