Contents ( 42)
- The Art of Breathing
- Part One: How We Became Who We Are
- Prologue: Or, Where the Kid Hears the Word of the Day
- 1. Where Tyson Learns to Breathe
- 2. Where Tyson Makes a Phone Call
- 3. Where Tyson Graduates and Bear Freaks Out
- 4. Where Tyson Says Good-Bye
- 5. Where Tyson Gets the Mail
- Part Two: Coming Home
- 6. Where Tyson Comes Home
- 7. Where Tyson Gives a History Lesson
- 8. Where Tyson Attends the Most Awkward Party Ever
- 9. Where Tyson Plans Attends a Protest
- 10. Where Tyson Gets Arrested
- 11. Where Tyson Gets His Ass Handed to Him
- 12. Where Tyson Writes Bad Poetry and Gawks at Frat Boys
- 13. Where Tyson Decides to Man the Fuck Up
- 14. Where Tyson Asks Some Questions
- 15. Where Tyson Remembers Theresa Jean Paquinn
- 16. Where Tyson Learns the Benefit of Therapy
- 17. Where Tyson Meets the Man Who Becomes Helena Handbasket
- 18. Where Tyson Gets Screwed at His Own Birthday Party (And Not in a Good Way)
- Part Three: Just Breathe
- 19. Where Tyson Goes to Helena Handbasket’s Sex Dungeon
- 20. Where Tyson Beholds the Awesome Wonder That Is Paul Auster
- 21. Where Tyson Receives Advice from the Six Sages
- 22. Where Tyson Makes a Phone Call
- 23. Where Tyson Hears the Inevitable
- 24. Where Tyson Meets His Match
- 25. Where Tyson Says Hello, Where Tyson Says Good-bye
- 26. Where Tyson Touches upon the Inevitable
- 27. Where Tyson Faces the Music
- 28. Where Tyson Breathes
- 29. Tyson And Dominic
- 30. The Art Of Breathing
- Epilogue: Or, Bear’s Perspective, As It Were (Yeah, He’s Gonna Freak)
- Author’s Note
- Excerpt
- Prologue: Or, Where Bear Answers the Door
- More from TJ Klune
- Readers love the Bear, Otter, and the Kid Chronicles by TJ Klune
- By TJ Klune
So, yes. Any other thoughts I may have had about him are over and done. I’ve moved on with that part of my life, because, really, I’m just happy to have him in my life again. I’m learning it’s all I should ever have really wanted to begin with. I didn’t know that then. But I’m understanding it now.
I may be the smartest almost-twenty-year-old ecoterrorist in the world, but I can be pretty fucking stupid sometimes.
And I’m sorry about that.
Why, you ask?
Because I know what you’re thinking. I know what type of story you’re hoping this is going to turn out to be. You think now that Dom and I are on the right path again that one day, he’ll look at me the same way I’ve looked at him and something will click in his head and he’ll say, Oh, there you are. There you are and I don’t know why I didn’t see it there before. It’s okay, though, because I see it now and I’ll see it every day for the rest of my life.
This isn’t that kind of story.
And I think I’m okay with that. Or, rather, I will be, with time. I have the most important thing back: my friend. And I’d rather have that part of him than nothing at all.
That’s important, too, don’t you think?
“NO,” COREY says, sitting next to me as we stare at my laptop. “I don’t think that’s important too. As a matter of fact, I think that’s a load of manure you’re trying to sell there, and you should know I’m not going to buy your shit.”
“Oh good Lord,” I mutter.
He rolls his eyes. “My God, could you sound like any more of a sanctimonious prig?” He lowers his voice to attempt to imitate me. It’s not very good, but only because he’s a big fat jerk. “Oh, my name is Tyson, and I’m just so happy to have the friendship again that I’ve forgotten that I want Dom to pile-drive his wiener into my butt. Oh, it’s all about the friendship now and blah, blah, blah, and I won’t do anything more about it because I’m too chickenshit.”
“Are you finished?” I ask him dryly.
“Possibly. I haven’t quite figured out yet if I want to hug you because you look like a lost puppy or if I want to strangle you because you look like a rabid skunk.”
I frown at him. “You shouldn’t strangle any animal. Even if it’s a rabid skunk. Did you know that every day, thousands of animals are—”
“Tyson, I love you,” he says, “but I also love sausage almost as much or equally or even possibly greater than, so I really couldn’t care less about hearing another one of your animal guilt trips. Are all vegetarians this insistent?”
“Not all of them. But you should thank your lucky stars I’m not a vegan. They’re far worse than vegetarians. What do you call a vegan who likes to masturbate?”