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"What does Jimmy Cross always carry with him?" I flip the pancake in the air before it lands on the plate in my other hand.
"His love letters from Martha." Clark answers from behind me.
"That's correct." I tell him. "Which soldier is always afraid and takes tranquilizers to combat his fear?"
"Lavender." He opens the fridge and grabs the orange juice.
"Good. Which soldier always carries a bible?" I turn off the stove.
"Kiowa."
"Hey, you finally pronounced it right."
"Only because you made me repeat it thirty times last night at three in the morning."
"You answered. You wanna be mad at someone, pick yourself."
"Why were you even up at three in the morning? Were you working on that case?"
"I was training."
"For what? World War III?"
"Yes, duh. Kent, c'mon."
"You're right. You're a paranoid insomniac who never rests. I should've known. My apologies." Clark nods.
"You're forgiven." I nod back before placing the plate of pancakes on the table. "Okay, general knowledge time by yours truly."
"Oh, God." He exhales and I turn before throwing a rag at him. "Did I hurt Brianna Brady's feelings?"
"You wish." I scoff before leaning against the sink.
"I think I did." He nods.
"Not even in the slightest." I reply. "So, whatever. Guess you'll never know what I was gonna say." I shrug before crossing my arms.
"I'm sorry. Tell me."
"That's the best you got?" I raise my eyebrows.
"You're gonna make me beg, aren't you?"
"You have free will to do whatever you please, Kent." I nod and he walks closer to me before exhaling.
"Please." Clark mocks my raised eyebrows.
"Since you said it so nicely." I grin. "The Things They Carried isn't even real."
"What?"
"Tim O'Brien made all those stories up. He just wants us, the readers, to understand that while the book may be inspired by his experiences in Vietnam, it is not a memoir of his time there."
"No way."
"Yes, way. And it won the National Book Award for 1978, beating out John Irving's, The World According to Garp and The Stories of John Cheever. O'Brien said the book is based on a fantasy he always had about going AWOL."
