Wildflowers and Daggers

02: The Fight

Hugo

I loved my major, but I hated sitting still. I hated listening to other people when they had nothing real to say. And that's how my professor for my 8 am class was; a person who could talk for hours and never say anything important. I yawned, stretched, and looked down at my phone in my lap. Two missed calls from my younger sister, Gabby.

I sent her a text. What's up?

Gabby: I hate mom and dad. Plz come back

             I sighed, pressing my left hand against my forehead. She deserved so much better than to stay with our two faced parents who wanted a divorce, and were trying to get Gabby to pick a favorite. Me? They didn't care about me. I was grown, starting college, just became an adult. They didn't care about me, but they wanted to know who would get the most custody of my fifteen year old sister. Worst part? Because of a silly fight, I wasn't allowed back at the house, or to have contact with my sister. I obviously broke that rule, but I couldn't go back and help her. It made me sick.

I responded, you know I can't do that

She sent a frowny face as a response. Typical Gabby.

"You, in the back. Answer my question," the teacher suddenly snapped. I realized I was the furthest in the back of the classroom. I sighed, answered her question with ease. "JavaScript is the most common programming language."

She harrumphed. Moved on. For computer programming basics, she sure made it super easy. Like super, duper, easy. I already knew most of what they were teaching, but if I wanted a degree, I had to follow the college protocol. I wished I could just test out of this class. I probably knew more than the young, stuck up teacher.

Gabby, what's going on at the house?

The minutes dragged on, and I kept glancing down at my phone. I wanted nothing more than to receive another text from my sister. I didn't want to 'double text' as she told me was very impolite, but I worried about her. I worried a lot, probably more than a brother should. Hell, I worried like she was my daughter and not my sister since I was the one teaching her how to ride a bike, and do math. Even if we were only three years apart, I felt so much older than my eighteen years. My parents were too absorbed into their own world to care, but now this divorce made them realize that one of them had to take the fifteen year old. Me? No one ever cared about me.

"Alright students, I expect your online assignment to be complete by midnight tonight. If you have any questions, please email me during office hours. Have a great day."

I stood up to leave, my backpack swung over my shoulder. I made it about three steps out the door before someone ran into me from behind. They almost knocked me over as I lost my balance, reaching around for anything to grab onto. There was nothing, so I staggered a bit, regained my balance, and turned my head to yell at them. However, I couldn't catch a glimpse of their face as more students rushed out of the classroom. I had no choice but to carry on without giving the jerk a piece of my mind.

I popped an earbud in and played some random rock band in my ear as I travelled across campus. It was cold enough to wear a jacket, but not cold enough for gloves yet. I still shoved my hands in my pocket because I had no real use for them. I gripped my phone in my pocket, willing it to buzz. It didn't. My parents probably realized she was texting me again. Great. Another reason for them to hate me more than they already did.

It didn't take long to reach my apartment, which was a block off campus. My parents paid for it, but they would be stopping those payments by the end of the month, along with the funds for my classes. I had no job, even though I applied to every fast food joint in the city it seemed. I even tried retail, like Forever 21, even though I hated those types of stores. Cheap clothes, expensive price. Still, no response.