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// Scene #5: The Standard 
// Story: Friendship is Optimal: Scenes of Possibility 
// by tin77 
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There will come a time in your life where you find your friends on the floor. These are the moments that will forever define your relationships and everything that you say at this point matters. 

When I came home from work that Friday, Derek was on the floor. 

Without speaking a word, I knew that nothing was right, and there was nobody who could convince him otherwise. 

I joined him on the carpet, sitting with him in silence. He had a bottle in hand, comfort in its presence. 

“I lost the job,” he said, his back against the couch, his eyes unable to lift from the ground. “Because of course I did. What else was going to happen? Everybody knew I wasn’t needed. And I can curse them out and tell them to fuck off for setting me up to fail but the truth of the matter is that I did this to myself and there’s nobody else to blame.” 

Say something. 

“Hey, it’s alright.” 

Real original.

“You’re not a piece of shit just because corporate assholes decided to be corporate assholes. You still have the house, and you don’t even have to pay rent for now, alright? Don’t even worry about that.” 

“You don’t understand Francis. It’s like… yeah, great, now I can do whatever I want. But what the hell does that even mean? This was supposed to tide me over, and for what exactly? I’ve never had any plans, there’s never been any big picture. Whenever I think of the future it’s just, hm, that seems kind of cool, and then I never give it another thought.” 

“There doesn’t even have to be anything though. It takes time, that’s just how it is. It’s not going to happen immediately. You just have to hang out for a little bit longer, and—” 

“I’ve been doing that since high school… Middle school even. You keep waiting, and what happens? I mean, everybody’s jumping ship with that goddamn game. Jesus, it’s like a quarter of the population at this point. There’s more jobs and yet somehow there’s even less room for me.”

“That’s not true—” 

“And it’s working too! You talked to Brian! I’ve never seen a guy so happy! Owns a whole fuckin’ restaurant! You think any of us were going to own restaurants? It makes too much sense now. It makes me angry, pisses me off… They can get their happiness on a silver platter and don’t even have to think about it. They’re literally selling you the good life and if you’re not one of them you’re shit out of luck.”

As Derek went silent, discomfort filled the space between us and pushed me away without any force. I wasn’t sure if he actually believed that last statement. Whenever he complained about naïve smiles, there was a jealousy that was all too obvious, all too real for someone who was no longer a child. 

If I had anything more to say, I had missed my opportunity. Derek was making up his mind and this was a process that didn’t allow for interjection. 

Yet I spoke anyway, my words a product of fear and selfishness. 

“Derek, too many people care about you here. They want to see you happy because they know you deserve it, and I agree. It’s never over. You don’t have to know what you want, nobody ever said that.” 

“It’s just so easy… when everything’s going right. Whatever. I’ll get over myself.” Derek got off the floor, bringing his bottle with him. “Still better than being a pony.” 

I sat in place, watching him move for the bedrooms. 

“You got one thing correct though. It’s never over.” 

The next day Derek was gone.