Memories from long ago

Travels- #4

It is a warm summer's evening. His mother outside taking down the last of the laundry for the day, he's sitting on the back porch, the cool sweet taste of the vanilla ice cream on his tongue, the fireflies starting to come out and dance along the sky, he hears the metal clang of the mailbox being opened from the front.

"Honey!" Immediately something strikes him as off, his father sounds the happiest he has EVER heard him, and ever will.
"Yes dear?" his mother looks up in the direction of his father's voice, looking just as surprised as he is.
"You're going to want to see this letter!"
Hastily his mom gathers the last of the laundry and heads back inside with the basket in hand. He hears gasps and chatter before his father boasts out-
"United federation is going so much better economic wise, we can back now!"
What.
No.
No.
Go back?!
"What about Brett?" she asks, voice full of concern.
"Pssh, he'll be fine in the city by himself, we know what university he goes too, we can just send him letters."
No, no, no I can't go back!
"I don't know honey... We've gotten so used to life here and-"
"You know this was never permanent, so don't give me that bullshit! I've said from the beginning, as soon as things get better, we're moving back!"
"We can't move back!" Craig doesn't remember getting up and going into the room they're in, nor did he mean to say anything, he swallows uneasily once he sees his father's icy glare.
"What bills do you pay for in this house for you to speak to me like that?!"
Craig stays quiet, wishing he hadn't brought it up at all.
"Well?! You're a man aren't you?! Speak up!"
"I...I have friends here and-"
"Please, let me guess, the musician dream again?
"It's not just a dre-"
"Yes it is. You're a no good nobody, you gave up sports which was the only thing you were decent at. You'll be lucky if the military will take ya."
"Harold!"
"What? It's true? He's a good for nothing, bad grades, doesn't do sports, no job, look at him, then look at his brother and it's like night and day. Quit your damn complaining and pack up your shit, we'll be leaving as soon as we can."
"..." Craig feels as if he's about to burst with emotions, rage, frustration, sadness, it's all boiling boiling boiling, and it's about to spill out of the pot.
"Well? Hurry up!"
"..." In the end, he doesn't say anything, he goes to his room, scribbles down a song, and sneaks out.

"Can you BELIEVE him?! He's such a fish-fucking asshole!!!" Most of the other feelings from earlier has fizzled out, leaving only pure rage.
Octavio just looked solemn as he skimmed over what Craig had wrote and set it aside.
"...You're moving back to the united federation..."
Craig froze, and the fiery rage was snuffed out.
"Oh... oh yeah..."
Craig sat next to him and sighed.
"...I actually will have to go back... and I won't even be able to send you any damned letters..."
"..."
Silence passes, after a moment Octavio speaks up.
"...You're a month away from turning 17."
"Yeah...?"
"And a year after that you can do whatever you want."
It all clicks in Craigs head and his eyes go wide at what he's trying to say.
"Yeah... Yeah! When I'm 18, a-and you're the king or whatever, you'll send me a letter and I'll be able to come back!"
"Exactly." Octavio grins at him, "Don't slack off writing while you're there."
"Of course not!" Craig beams back at him.
"Oh, since you won't be here for your next birthday..." Octavio rummages around the room while Craig just stares, confused.
"Here."
He hands him a captain's hat. It feels rough and cottony, navy blue in color, with a smooth gold emblem in the front, the symbol for octo valley.
Craigs eyes light up and fill with stars, "wow! Where in the world did you get this? It's amazing!"
"Thought you'd like it. Do me a favor and don't lose it alright?"
"Of course I won't!," he huffs.
"I believe you."

A week later, Craig says goodbye to yukatas and kimonos, festivals in the summer, and the twang of the shamisen.

Cap'n snaps back out of mind, the sky blue, and the sun, bright as always, smiled at him. He takes off, and takes a look at his hat.
What was once hard and cottony was now soft and worn, a big green patch sewn on, from when a octoling missed him by just the nick of his tentacles. The emblem that was on there once upon a time had long since been replaced with the one from the squidbeak splatoon.
Cap'n looked up at Octavio and... he had a longing desire to say something anything, the words rose up to his throat, yet...
He just couldn't force them out.

Going back to United Federation was... weird.
It felt so eerily familiar, and some things was dug out of the back of his memories and hit him full force in the stomach. But at the same time, the dialect he could understand... barely, but after about 10 years of not much practice, you might asked a fish to start walking.
His last 2 years in high school were especially hard, not being able to communicate well with anyone, and they thought... he was weird.

"Why are you taking your shoes off?"
"Eh?"
Craig was in the main entrance, bent over and taking off his black loafers, Craig had worn his black uniform simply out of habit, and it wasn't until now he realized everyone was staring at him like he wasn't from this world.
"..,.What?" he tried asking, his accent making its way through.
"Why are you taking your shoes off?"
He looks around, and realizes that everyone still has their shoes on, and there was no place to put them. He hastily put them back on and stands up
"What are you wearing?"
"...yu...Yu-ni-fo-mu."
"What?" he can hear giggles from the people watching, he knows his face is heating up with blush, stupid accent...
"Yu-Yu-ni- Yu..."
"We're not in Island of Water, you Crumb."
"Ku-ram-bu?"
The boy who was talking to him gave him the weirdest look, and shook his head, giving up on talking to him, all Craig could do is stand there, and wonder what he did wrong.

Luckily, High school didn't last forever, and he did eventually graduate with C's across the board, except in literature where he had to go to summer school for since he got a "D", he also got a "A" in choir, despite being what they called at the time, an "Ickie." Someone who didn't like popular music, whic was true. He much rather listen to the records he brought with him, nobody else ever got it like he did.
As soon as he graduated, he was getting pressured by his father to "go get a job" this and that. So, he rolled up his sleeves, and got to work. Which, as it turns out was a lot harder than he thought it to be.
He worked several odd jobs, delivering newspapers, fisherman, chimney cleaner, whatever there was, somehow or other he was fired for something, like in the job cleaning chimneys, he tripped on the roof and landed on the owners car breaking the windshield, which, despite the injuries, got him fired.
So, with the debt from the hosquiddle, and his father threatening to kick him out, it seemed like is dad was right, there was only one place he could go where they would accept him, the military.
But first, he had to see if his parents would send him his mail.