Titus Walker has always felt that he didn't fit in. There always seemed to be an invisible gulf between him and his peers. In his final year, he just wants to fly under the radar, graduate and get the hell out of his private, all-boys high school.
...
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"Apple picking?" Titus' expression didn't change. Fraser thought he looked disappointed.
Fraser sighed. "Then what the fuck are we going to do? I don't know what kind of activities you like. You don't like going to the movies, you don't like video games, you don't like anything that normal people like. We can't just ride trains all the time."
"I'm not against your idea. I'm just saying that all of this fruit-picking bullshit is a ripoff." Titus realised Fraser had not understood what he was trying to say. "You can do this shit any time you want for free. And you don't even have to leave the comfort of your own neighbourhood-"
"Their prices are pretty reasonable, actually." Fraser sat back down at his desk. He brought up the website on his computer.
"Lemme see." Titus peered over his shoulder at the screen. "Four dollars a kilo. You call that reasonable?"
"Well, it is, compared to what some of the other orchards are offering. They're doing a promotion at the moment."
"Hang on. Check what varieties they have. Click there. Yeah. The drop-down menu. Ah. Royal Gala and Red Delicious."
"Is that good?"
"I'm not paying four dollars a kilo to go to Yarra Glen and walk around a muddy orchard to pick fucking Royal Galas. If there were some rare varieties like Cox's Orange Pippins or something then maybe I'd consider it. But Royal Galas? Fuck no."
"What about the Red Delicious?"
"Don't get me started on the Red Delicious."
"What did they do to you?"
"Long story cut short, they look pretty and can basically keep forever without spoiling, so people keep on growing them, despite the fact that they taste like bitter, sweetened cardboard."
Fraser's face was one of mock indignation, but his eyes were admiring. "How the fuck do you even know this much about apples? Dude. Leave some knowledge for the rest of us to learn."
"Show me where I stopped you from learning about apples." Titus stood up from where he had been sitting at the edge of Fraser's bed, stepping around the stuff on the floor. It was even messier than the last time. "You could have just asked me."
"I wanted it to be a surprise."
"Just look outside your own window." Titus peered at the overcast sky outside. "I can see a feijoa tree from where I'm standing."
"What's a feijoa?"
"You've never heard of feijoas?"
"No?"
"Then you haven't lived. It's the greatest fruit known to man. The fragance of a pineapple with the tartness of a strawberry, and the texture of an exfoliating mask."
