Connected To Him (ManxMan)

Part 1: Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Hanging with the BOYS!

Ethan felt the slight ache in his back throb, but he ignored the feeling and continued to type. He was hunched over as he worked on his computer and the position did nothing good for his body. But, Ethan was so focused that he didn't even care.

This morning, he'd decided to practice some code. Ethan was passionate about computers and found their different uses incredibly interesting. Recently, he'd been slowly learning different coding languages in his free time. Ethan hoped that soon, he would be able to create some complete projects.

Another half hour passed with Ethan working diligently, the clicking of his computer keys the only sound in his quiet room. Ethan was a couple of lines away from finishing a basic animation when his mom suddenly slammed her way into his room.

For whatever reason, his mother wasn't in the best mood this morning and his hunched over position in front of his computer did nothing to help matters. Her mouth was set into a hard line and her eyes narrowed further than they already were at the sight of him.

"Really, Ethan? So early in the morning?" She asked him, clearly referring to his use of the aforementioned device. Ethan's eyes went back to the lines of code, devastated that he was interrupted at the worst time. Just a couple more minutes. "Have you even brushed your teeth or eaten breakfast yet?"

Ethan shook his head with as little movement as possible and saw the frustration mount in his mother.

"Ethan, you can't be prioritizing this machine over your life."

Ethan was tense but didn't respond. How did Ethan, or anyone for that matter, respond to an angry parent? Any phrase that left their mouth would be taken as a direct insult to their parenthood. He didn't want to defend himself, that would upset her, and he couldn't apologize because today was likely far from the last time Ethan would do this.

Ethan sat still as his mother fumed, doing his best not to stare back at his computer screen to see if it had turned off. Finally, she got tired of the silence and spoke.

"Turn that off. I want you to clean the house."

At this, Ethan's previous aversion to speaking left him.

"But mom-"

"Your father and I do most of the cleaning in the house while you go to school and study." His mother stated, reminding Ethan of his bum student status. "The least you can do is clean today."

Ethan wanted to argue again about how much he contributed to the family. In his mind, it made perfect sense why he wasn't cooking for everyone or why he couldn't remember the last time he washed his own sheets.

But the more he thought about it, the more he realized he didn't do a thing. Ethan decided to ignore this conversation topic. He didn't have any choice in whether he did chores today or not and he would certainly lose the 'do-I-contribute-to-this-family' argument. So, Ethan focused his attention elsewhere. Elsewhere meaning his still running computer.

"Mom, I'm on the very last lines of the code. It won't even take ten minutes. Can I please finish?"

Mrs. Sterling was obviously skeptical about how fast Ethan would be, she knew that most humans underestimated stuff in matters like this. But, Ethan had to fight hard to keep a smile down when her shoulders dropped.

"Fine." She barked out, trying to keep up her hard exterior. "But I'm going to be back in fifteen minutes. If you're not in the bathroom brushing your teeth by then, I'm turning this computer off myself."

Ethan sat still, watching his mom leave his room. But, the second she closed the door, Ethan turned back, rushing to finish his work. However, Ethan considered staying at the computer even after he finished. Maybe he could get away with another little project. Ethan was still debating this when he heard the sound of footsteps up the staircase.