Friends and Foes

James and William Kirkland have what might be considered a normal relationship between brothers. James is older than William by two years but, including Armijo, they have shared three different campuses, from elementary school and up.

The brothers both said that being on the same campus this year is “okay,” but that won’t be the case next year as James is scheduled to graduate. “There’s some ups and downs to [sharing a campus] because sometimes we don’t really get along,” said William. At other times, though, the brothers “have each other’s back,” he said.

The Kirkland brothers have the same first period and last year they shared additional classes, but this year the majority of their schedule is different from each other.

In the fall, when James is out of high school, Williams said that he’ll be happy for him. “He made it through high school and has moral support, which goes back to one of the questions meaning that we got each other’s back. We may fight but it’s because we’re brothers and you know how brothers fight.” When they aren’t antagonistic about each other, they do get along well, playing chess or talking about history.

Most people know that the two are brothers, but some people don’t believe it because James is considered more of a “calm type” and Williams is seen as more energetic. William thinks that his brother might categorize him as annoying, but he sees James as a good teacher. “He taught me how to play chess,” he said, “and he’s fun and he teaches me lots of things.”