200 Pounds of Love

Chapter Six - Brent's Mom Is "Mom-zilla"

Thanks to my friend digitalbrew for editing this chapter! 

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6

Brent’s Mom Is “Mom-zilla”

“…bin…Robin!” Alex shouted in my ear, startling me.

“Why on earth did you do that?”

“Because you were zoning out, for the hundredth time,” she explained casually, as if it were the most normal thing in the world to break people’s eardrums just because they lost the thread of the conversation.

“That doesn’t mean you have to make my ear bleed!” I snapped, holding my ear, and shutting my eyes tightly in obvious pain.

This girl can really scream. Oh, yes…

“Hearing impairments aside, is true that you’ve been acting weird the last couple of weeks, like wondering too much in classes and such. Did something happen that you’re not telling us?” Brent asked, his voice oozing with suspicion. We entered English, the only class all three of us had in common.  

“He’s right. We know you enough to notice you’ve been spending too much time in dreamland.” Alex stated.

“I’m just exhausted. You, of all people, should know the whole Brandon situation is making me lose years of precious life.” They were my closest friends; of course, they knew about the two jobs to save money for Brandon’s future. I just chose to omit the tidbit about Ethan having been a pest. “Besides, don’t change the subject, you deceitful nerd! You know this conversation is inevitable.” I switch the flow to Brent’s direction; he was our main target.

We sat at the back corner. Brent looked uncomfortable under his skin, and I couldn’t blame him knowing Alex had no plans of dropping the matter for the next ten years.

“She’s also right.” Alex pointed a manicured finger at me, still staring at Brent’s hoodie, which was now covering a large fraction of his face. “You have to tell us about that new hairstyle of yours. Did something happen with your mom?”

“Nothing that is out of the usual,” he responded unable to hide the trace of tension in his notes.

“That is definitely not a nothing. I’m sorry to break it to you Brent, but your mom is Hitler reincarnate.” I brought my books to the table, shaking my head at the memory of Mrs. Bell.

I recall the time we went to Brent’s house to do our Math homework. Three hours later, we ended up cleaning the bathrooms—just because we went out to get some ice cream in our well-earned break! “All of you need to finish your homework first before going out to God-knows-where,” she lectures us hysterically, disapproval plastered all over her face. Alex almost put itching powder on her toilet seat, enough to make even a horse scratch his but for a whole week. Thank God, we stopped her before causing an atomic bomb to detonate.

“Oh please! Your mom is Mad Hatter-crazy. She makes the drug that Courtney Love takes look like sugar compare to hers.” she said exasperated, crossing her legs and arms as they were in an urgent meeting to eliminate a public enemy.

“Could you cut it off? This is my mom we’re talking about. Jesus! I know she overdoes it sometimes, but she’s not that bad.” He defended his mom, shrugging in his seat.

Alex and I looked at each other in silent agreement. It must be hard for Brent to accept the truth about his own mother being all military discipline twenty-four-seven. The problem with Dalia Bell was not the lack of love for her son but the excessive amount of it, which led to her unwarranted strictness. She just had that kind of motherly affection—ever-so-high expectation— when it involved Brent. Furthermore, she believed we were bad influences to her precious child—Alex more than I was, so you can imagine their conflict.