Jason Strasford is a regular teenager – upbeat and affable. He likes to party hard, make friends and live life by his own rules. His carefree attitude is often criticized by many but Jason remains unaffected.
At last the unavoidable happens and he is shaken back to front as it puts at stake his beliefs and most importantly his love.
Wrecked and confounded, Jason sets off on a rip-roaring journey to achieve what the world around demanded from him, abandoning his leisurely life, starting on a new path.
In no time he achieves and strikes it rich.
But in spite of everything Jason feels a baffling bareness in his life as his past still hangs around.
Join Jason in a simple yet unusual journey spanning ten years of his life to value friendship, grow mature, fall in love, realize hidden talents, combat inner demons and finally attain the singular goal of life – HAPPINESS.
Prateek Sharma is an M.B.B.S undergraduate studying at Vardhman Mahavir Medical College and Safdarjung Hospital. Writing is a hobby he has acquired very recently but continues to follow it with utmost passion. He has a maniacal inclination toward wildlife and watching movies which fuel his imaginative mindscape. He can often be seen lost in the crowd day dreaming, walking along his own line.
Chapter 2
Dublin, Ireland.
It was a comfortably warm month of May in Dublin.
Jason was an 18-year-old teenager, overwhelmed by this sudden feeling of being termed as an adult; after all it was his 18th birthday. The day started with Jason being flooded with calls from relatives, friends and other acquaintances. Before he did anything substantial he ensured checking his social networking profiles for seeing all the wonderful birthday wishes he had received from his 300+ friends. This birthday was a special one – it after all came after months of harrowing examinations and stressful times. It was party time for him and seeing all the comments scribbled in his profile, he felt rejuvenated, desperately longing to live the day to the fullest. He grabbed hold of his cell phone and dialled his best friend Willey’s number. Willey Tedwell. Willey and Jason had been buddies since the very inception of their lives. This strong bond developed into camaraderie and then there was hardly any secret that either of them harboured within them –
ready to pour it all. Right from the first crush to the first wet dream; they shared everything.
Although, they were the best of friends there were a few differences which did set them apart. Willey was quite studious and disciplined regarding academics and career – there was an irrefutable honesty in whatever he did, not just studies but every random thing that involved him. He had always wanted to become a doctor, and that was where he was treading towards. He was now all set to enter a prestigious medical college for pursuing MBBS. The road seemed easy and he was all set to kick-start on it.
On the other hand Jason was more laidback and slipshod. He knew very well that by just marching in the footsteps of Willey, nothing good will come to him. What is needed is a real zeal and aptitude for
life. When it came to choosing the medical stream Jason qualified comfortably with 90+ marks for which he entirely credited Willey who helped him day and night with his studies, while simultaneously doing his own. However, circumstances changed after that when Willey got busy with his pre-medical examinations and never got the time to spoon-feed him. Jason, however managed and scored a decent percentage in 12th grade. He hadn’t recognised his interest in any subject so far but had a knack for stuff related to wildlife, something which even theoretically came easily to him, but he never gave it a serious thought and always remained indecisive about his future. It became a perpetual issue to worry about, for his parents.
However, at present all Jason was thinking about was having a gala time with his friends on his birthday eve. He finished dialing Willey’s number and waited for him to respond.
‘Willey buddy, Wassup? What do you think you are doing having me to rot in hell on my birthday,’ Jason almost shouted, accusing him.
‘Hey, Jason. I am sorry we haven’t come up with anything substantial. Why don’t you come over to my place? We’ll discuss it out witheveryone else,’ suggested Willey, calm and composed as he always was.
‘I will screw you guys if I don’t like the plan.’ Jason hung up, rushing to his room to get dressed.
David, his younger brother was busy playing a game on his laptop.
‘It will be a pleasure sir, if someday you leave my laptop alone. Why don’t you ask Dad for one?’ Jason asked irritatingly, changing his clothes.
‘I need to score well in my matric examinations and I need it for that. Actually, I should envy you for having a friend like Willey,’ David countered, suspending the game.
‘Hey, why don’t you just go and study? Stop eating my head; it’s my birthday, for god’s sake,’ Jason said, frustrated.
‘Why do you have to get angry at such petty issues? I don’t think that I abused you or anything. Don’t take advantage of me being younger to you, alright,’ David retorted, storming out of the room.
‘Why on earth, did I have to have an ass of a brother like him,’ Jason mumbled to himself, while wearing on his shoes.
Jason was a happy-go-lucky guy. He had commonplace hobbies and interests – reading batman and superman comics, watching hardcore action movies, playing and watching soccer, reading thriller novels,
and so on. His favourite writer was Robert Ludlum whose creation – Jason Bourne gave him all the reasons to adore him. He sometimes dreamt of being Jason Bourne fighting off his opponents in a wild
forest with impeccable skill and jaw-dropping accuracy.
However, the irony was that David Webb too was Robert Ludlum’s creation and the fact that he preferred the alter-ego, gave him more reasons to hate his brother. Their real life relationship was akin to the hatred David Webb has for his doppelganger – Jason Bourne. Jason and David didn’t share a jovial relationship and were constantly involved in brawls and arguments. Jason goaded at the fact that his brother was completely unlike him and was nothing but a minor version of his nagging parents. David was three years younger to him. A greater part of his day was spent with his books: reading or memorising. This was the reason of his being gloated more by his orthodox parents. Jason’s parents weren’t of the disciplinary kinds and gave him ample liberty as far as enjoyment was concerned but remained tight-lipped about how critical they were of his lifestyle, finding different ways to express their resentment either through moral lectures or biased disposition.
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