Privileged

2| Mr. Tall, Dark And Poor

By the time Travis woke up, his mother had already left for work. He felt pity for her because she always comes home late and she has to leave for work early. But he knew she was doing this to support him through highschool so he couldn't complain.

With heavy heart, he dragged himself to the bathroom and did his morning routine. Sometimes he thinks there was no point in doing this, being so punctual and working hard to remain a straight A student but other times, he knew he really didn't have a choice. If he wanted to help his mother financially, he needed to be accepted in an Ivy League school on financial aid. He wasn't a born genius but he substitutes the lack of extraordinary mind with his hardwork.

With these thoughts in mind, he made his way to his car and sat on the driver seat. The car was in its last days and sooner or later, it would give up. He just hoped it stays with him for senior year.

On the way to school, he stopped the car in front of Maya's house and after buzzing the horn for three times, Maya walked out of the house in her usual attire; a dark color T-Shirt and denim jeans.

Maya Andrews was his best friend since childhood and at some point of their friendship, he had a small crush on her but as the time passed, their relationship became more like brothers and sisters. She had dark wavy hair and grey eyes, a humble smile is always placed on her face. Although she had many similar attributes to Travis, she was more laid back and more immature of the two.

The next stop in the way was Mario's house. Mario became their friend just two years ago and all three of them bonded over their shared misery i.e. unprivileged families and their desires to give their loved ones the lives they deserve. Mario belonged to an Italian family and worked with his father in their garage. Although the garage wasn't bad income, but Mr. Giovanni had to support a family of 7; himself, his wife and his five sons which was quite hard in today's economy.

"Your car smells different today." Maya said, sniffing. Nothing could escape the notice of her, not even an unfamiliar scent.

"It smells like Zoey Crawford and her snobbiness." He said in a dry tone. The reminder of his meeting with that brat last night wasn't exactly what he needed at this moment.

"Why was she in your car?" Mario's head peeked from the backseat and his voice dripping with curiosity.

"Running from her security guard." Travis replied and stared at himself in the mirror. His brown hair was a mess because he got ready in hurry and there were some dark circles under his eyes due to studying late last night.

"Typical white kid stuff." Mario chuckled from behind and Maya nodded her head in agreement.

"You must be really happy to have her in your car." Maya teased him and Travis gave her a hard look.

"Shut up." He said. He hated whenever she teased him about Zoey but Maya loved to play with fire.

"Oh, don't act like you never had a crush on Miss. Brown eyes." She tapped his arm and Travis' jaw clenched.

"That was before I found out that she is nothing but a spoilt brat." He said and revved the engine.

"Oh come on, it was just one incident." Maya said and silenced when she got another one of Travis Anderson's famous scowl.

Together, all three of them reached the school and made their way to their lockers. After Mario left for his class, Travis and Maya remained there, collecting their stuff for English Lit. Both of them had most of their class together.

But when all of sudden the hallway was filled with a bunch of confident footsteps and sound of heels, Travis knew that Zoey and her friends were here. They weren't the typical mean students who bully whoever gets in their way but they did walk inside the school as if they own it, well at least most of them. They were a little too aware of the power of their money and the smug look on their faces was enough to make anyone realize that as well.

Travis gave them a brief look. All five of them were dispersed in the hallway, going to their respective lockers. The one who garnered the most looks were Althea Harper, the most snobby of them all. He didn't know much about her but her face said one thing about her, control freak. As she walked towards her locker, her head remained high and her blue eyes cold and distant, as if the rest were peasants and she was the reigning queen.

His brother shared the same blue eyes but somehow, his looked a little warmer, a little more approachable. He walked to the school gym with his best friend Ethan who was the only one Travis had talked to, because they were project partner once in history.

He gave a final look to Zoey who was leaned against her locker and taking to Olive. Without the permission of his mind, his eyes assessed her hair that were cascading down her shoulders. There were some very subtle blonde highlights in them because last he remembered, her hair was completely brown. He assessed the side of her face covered in make-up, although he knew she didn't need it. On the first day of highschool when she came without any makeup, her skin looked absolutely flawless and he still remembered it.

"Stop drooling." Maya whispered in his ears and he checked the corner of his mouth on instinct. She chuckled in return and the next moment, Travis was scurrying after her in an attempt to teach her a lesson.

••••••••••

After school, he went straight to the superstore where he worked part-time. The store was owned by Maya's father and most of the time, she worked there too to help her father's burden but today, he was alone at the counter.

By the time he reached his house, the sun was already setting. He made his way to the living area and found his father sitting there by the window on his wheelchair which was surprising. Most of the times, he kept himself locked in his room.

His father Duncan Anderson used to be a professional racer back in the days. He earned enough to give his family a nice life but seven years ago, one accident changed it all. Duncan lost the ability to move his legs but that's not the only thing he lost. He also lost the will to live and spent many years in depression. He refused to do any job and now Travis' mother had to bring the income to run this house.

He ignored his father and went straight to kitchen to cook the meal. He was the one who did most of the cooking because he knew his mother was already doing more than she could for them.

After cooking some chicken and boiled rice, he gave a plate to his father and then went to his room to study. By the time he finished all his homework, he heard the sound of the door opening. He rushed downstairs and greeted his mother.

"Go sit on the table. I'll bring the food." He said and went into the kitchen to serve the chicken and rice in two plates. When he went back to the small dining table at one side of their lounge, he watched his mother rubbing her neck in an exhausted manner.

"Travis, sweety you don't have to wait for me. I am always late." She said, looking guilty.

"That's the only meal we have together. I am willing to wait." Travis said and poured a glass of water for his mother.

"You are such a good son." His mom replied and took a bite of the food cooked by his son. She didn't know what she did to deserve a son who stood by her when even her husband didn't.

"Why are you so late? Did the princess throw another tantrum?" Travis asked and Rose cast him a warning glare.

"Miss. Zoey... She just wasn't in good mood today." She replied briefly and it was enough for Travis to figure out why his mother looked so tired.

"Just few more years Mom. You would never have to work again, I promise." He said and kissed her forehead.

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Any thoughts about Travis? Is he a less dark version of Adam? Or is he different?