|| Sunday, early afternoon ||

     Callum was nervous when Freddy took off in his car, leaving him behind in the outskirts of the city. The place where poor people lived. Where houses were tiny, people wore old clothes and—if Callum could believe rumours—where the crime rates went through the roof.

He had no idea what to expect. He had never been in this part of town—or any of the bad neighbourhoods. But it wasn’t anything he had expected.

He had assumed he’d at least witness some people dealing drugs, or fighting, or robbing others. Which was a reason he was holding onto his wallet and phone as if his life depended on it.

Instead, he found lovely small houses that were all coloured in bright colours. Green front gardens with lots of flowers, small ponds and kids playing. Every so often a front garden was filled with chairs and a large table, and people were talking about their work, their kids or anything else they found important.

Callum had expected a neighbourhood full of people who had no control over their emotions, and possibly not even knowledge about said emotions.

Instead, these people seemed happy.

Kids, obviously, were a little out of control, but that wasn’t any different from what he was used to at home. Kids, especially under the age of 12, had difficulties controlling their emotions, no matter where they came from.

He himself had been out of control until the age of 12 too.

Callum, while walking through the street and up to house number 12, was amazed by what he saw. Whenever he thought about Elliot, he saw a boy with no emotions. And he had expected that almost everyone in this neighbourhood was the same.

He couldn’t be more wrong.

While a kid ran by, Callum rang the bell to the right house. He found himself still staring around in a semi-shocked state when the door opened, and Elliot was right in front of him.

“Hey, come in,” he told Callum, gesturing for him to enter into a tiny hallway.

“Hey,” Callum answered his greeting, following him into a small living room that was full of plants and flowers, and kittens running around. His mouth slightly agape, Callum curiously looked around the house.

“What?” Elliot asked, when he caught Callum staring. “I know it isn’t much, but it’s home.”

“What? No! This is… amazing,” Callum exclaimed, sitting down in a comfortable chair.

“Amazing?”

“Yes! I always thought things would be… less colourful in this part of town.”

“Oh, no,” Elliot shrugged. “Mom always tells us people overcompensate the fact they don’t really know how to control their emotions by making things look happy.”

“That’s… one way to look at it,” Callum agreed.

“Look, I might not have a high EQ like you, but people like us aren’t stupid.” Elliot sat down across from Callum. “Old studies show that if you are in a bright and colourful surrounding, you tend to feel positive emotions. Not that I know what that feels like, but at least it helps not getting angry at every little thing.”

“So, you do know what anger feels like,” Callum asked, more because he was curious than wanting to know what Elliot’s level exactly was.

“Sure, I do. Never seen me in a temper tantrum at school? Anger is one of the easier emotions because it tends to consume every part of your body. It’s like fear; it’s just there. Joy, sadness, trust, those are basic emotions I don’t know what to make of.”

“So, you know some basic emotions,” Callum stated, while he grabbed a notebook from his backpack, writing down what Elliot just told him. “Do you perhaps know any mild or strong emotions?”

“Boredom, annoyance, terror,” Elliot summed up, using his fingers to count. I know the theory. Like, which emotions are mild and which are strong. I either don’t recognize the feelings as such, or I never felt it before.”

“And which emotions do you control?”

“By now, anger and fear, definitely.” Elliot nodded along to his own words. “Dad and I came up with some damage control plans. We focused on the emotions I recognize and feel and worked on getting control over them. But… dad died two years ago and mom is too busy working to help.”

Elliot spoke about the death of his father as if he was telling the weather forecast, and it stung Callum to see that Elliot felt no grief. Maybe, in some ways, it was better for him not to grief, but otherwise, grief helped with overcoming the lose of a loved one.

“Do you know grief?” Callum asked, not writing along in that moment.

Elliot shook his head, then shrugged and smiled. “No, I know I should feel something about my dad’s death, but I don’t. Raleigh cried for days in a row, and mom and I just sat there, not knowing what to do.”

“Would you want to feel it?”

Elliot opened his mouth to answer, but closed it again, while he was seemingly thinking deeply about his answer.

“Yes, because I don’t think we’re honouring my dad by not feeling affectedby his loss. I’ve seen how hard it was on Raleigh and I want to feel like that too, even if it’s painful.”

“So, pain…”

“And I know that wanting to feel what she feels is jealousy, because I know the theory.”

“Well, if you know the theory, why don’t we use that?” Callum sat up, suddeny excited. “You know, I don’t think you’re a lost cause like people in school claim. I think, if we go about this a little different, we can get you on the right level in no-time.”

“You do?”

“Yes! You’re not so different from me, Elliot. I used the theory too, before I learned to control my emotions.”

“You did?”

“Yeah, mom was never too pleased my early puberty seemed to become a long and late puberty, and she kept repeating I had a family name to keep up. AS to not disappoint her, I started studying the theory behind every emotion, and then taught myself to recognize the feelings as such. It helps controlling them if you understand them.”

“That’s not how they teach us in school, though,” Elliot timidly said. “They always tell me theory is useless if I can’t control the feelings.”

“But let’s be honest here, Elliot. You do control them.”

“I do?”

“Yes! You’re not showing emotions most of the time. People who have no control over their emotions swing back and forth between numerous of emotions. So, basically, you do control them, by suppressing them.”

“Again, that’s not what they say in school. In school they say, if I can’t show emotions on an acceptable level, I don’t have control. If it’s either suppress or lash out, there’s no control.”

“It’s a start, though. And I promise, we’ll have you on the right level in no time.”