Hayden
"Have a good weekend and see you on Monday" Mr Nelson says and drives away. I wave him goodbye and then I go inside.
While inside, laughter can be heard from the livingroom. My mom is probably having a friend over again and they both are probably or definitely drunk.
After taking off my shoes I walk directly in to my room, close the door behind me and lie down on the bed.
I just lie there for a while, looking up at the ceiling and thinking about life.
Then suddenly the door opens and a strange man with a beard comes in. "Oops, this isn't the bathroom" he says
"Nope" I say and sit up on the bed. The man looks at me a little startled while holding his hand over his chest "Oh, I didn't see you there. I'm really sorry. Bye then." he says and chuckles nervously while closing the door behind him.
As the man leaves, I sigh and lie down again. This happens way too often so I'm kinda used to it but it still grinds my gears. The last time this happened, some other man walked into my room and took a look around, like it was a fucking museum. Then he told me how cool my room was and even patted me on the head before walking out. My mom just stood outside in the hall, laughing her ass off.
Yet it's still better than the alternative. When my mom is having company she is always drinking wine, which makes her happy and giggly. But when she is alone she usually drinks beer, which makes her angry and bitter.
And she usually takes out her anger by yelling and hitting me.
So, I'm pretty grateful whenever she has guests over, even though I hate when they come into my room, because then she won't do anything to me.
Lucky me, I'm turning eighteen soon and when that time comes, I can do whatever the fuck I want. Then I'm finally gonna move out from this hell hole and never return.
The only problem is that I don't have the money to do so, and I don't have a job either. So it will probably be difficult to move right away,but I'll try to figure something out.
Anyways, who does Mr Nelson think he is? Acting like he is the boss over me, or something. Threatening me to put me in diapers if I have another accident. Like wtf? Who does that?
But it really doesn't matter because it's not gonna happen, because I'm not gonna have another accident.
But if and I really mean IF I have another accident, I still won't wear a diaper and there is nothing he can do about it. He can't make me. I'm not a baby for gods sake.
The weekend goes by pretty fast even though it is a pain in the ass. My mom is drinking, as she always does, all day everyday and I am alone in my room, trying to contact my friends but they are unfortunately all busy. So I play some video games, trying to somehow get away from all of my thoughts and emotions, atleast for a while.
Soon enough it's Monday again and I'm on my way to school. Yay...
Near the entrance I get met by my two younger friends, Ethan and Lucas.
We greet eachother with a bro-hug.
"I'm sorry we couldn't hang bro. I was at my grandparents place" Ethan says and shakes his head.
"Yeah sorry about that. I was busy playing minecraft with some friends" Lucas explains.
"It's okay. It's no big deal." I tell them.
"Anyways what you got there?" I ask and point at the thing that Ethan is holding in his right hand.
"Oh, this?" he says and holds it up infront of him. It's a pack of cigarettes. "You want one?" he asks.
It was a long time ago since I smoked and I'm gonna be honest, it's DISGUSTING. But for now I don't really care about that. I just want to bond with these guys and have a good time. Leave the bad things behind. You know?
"Yeah, sure. Why not?"
Ethan gives me a cigarette and I put it between my index- and middle finger.
"Goodmorning boys" Mr Nelson says as he passes by at that exact moment. He then also notices me holding the cigarette and immediately gives me a stern look. As he does that, suddenly for some reason, I'm filled with guilt. What the hell?
I shake my head in an attempt to make that feeling go away, but it doesn't work. Fuck.
"I need to go" I say and give the cigarette back to Ethan. Both him and Lucas look at me with concern before I turn around to walk away from them.
I start to follow Mr Nelson as he walks through the corridor. I need to have a big talk with him. He is not gonna get away with this. Suddenly he seems to notice because he turns around to look at me. "Oh, good. I need to talk to you." He says like nothing just happened.
"Yeah about that. I need to talk to you too" I say with a serious tone in my voice.
"Okay. Come with me." He commands calmly and then proceeds to lead the way.
Owen
Hayden follows me into an empty classroom and he closes the door behind him. To my surprise he doesn't stay at the entrance like he usually does. Instead he follows me up to the front desk. I put my portfolio on the floor, unbutton my coat and then sit down on the chair that belongs to the desk. I then motion for Hayden to sit down on the chair that's on the other side of the desk and he does so, without any protest.
We're now sitting face to face and I can't help but wonder what he has to say to me. All I can tell from his expression, is that whatever it is, it's not gonna be pretty.
"I know you have a lesson soon so I'm gonna try to make this quick. Okay?" I say and he nods. "So how was your weekend?"
He doesn't seem too happy about that question. Maybe he just wasn't excepting the conversation to be like this. He sighs.
"It was okay, nothing special." He says and shrugs.
"Okay. So you were just at home, chilling?"
He nods. It's almost like he is hiding something. Like something bad happened during the weekend. Maybe that's what he wants to talk to me about?
Anyways, I continue with my investigation and ask him if he had any accidents during the weekend. He directly tells me no, but his pokerface is really bad and I can immediately tell that he is lying. But i'm not gonna bother right now. There's no time for that.
"So, the last thing I want to talk about is extra lessons. You are really in need of them and I will truly recommend you to attend every single one of them. It's really important for your grades, you see." I say and take off my glasses, cleaning them with my shirt. Then I put them on again and put my hands on the desk,entwining my fingers.
"And this time maybe it's better that you do it together with a group of other students. Maybe that will make it easier and more fun for you. What do you think?"
"Yeah... I don't know"
"It's okay. You can atleast try it and if it doesn't work, then we'll figure something out." I say calmly
"Just so you know, I'll be there on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. On Tuesdays and Thursdays there will be some other teacher, either Ms Aldrin or Mrs Calloway, I'm not really sure. And it's gonna be held in classroom 203, everyday after school."
Hayden
I nod at his words but don't really care about what he's saying. I'm recently only focused on what I'm going to say to him. Eventually he stops speaking and it's finally my turn.
"Why do you care so much?" I ask bluntly.
"What?Why wouldn't I care?" he asks confused.
"Stop acting so damn oblivious. You know what I mean." I say irritated.
"No, I really don't. All I know is that I'm a teacher that wants the best for my students and I don't understand why that would make you so upset." he explains while still staying calm.
"Ugh... you don't get it" I say and turn my head away, to hide the fact that tears are forming in my eyes.
"If you tell me what the problem is, then maybe I will." he says in a caring tone while trying to get eye contact with me. But I just turn my head away even further because I don't want to let him see me cry again.
What the hell is wrong with me? When did I become so damn sensitive?
This was supposed to go a whole different way. I was supposed yell and get angry at him, but I just can't bring myself to do so. Even though I'm mad at him, I still somehow want him to hold me and tell me that everything is gonna be okay. I don't want to fight with him. I just want his hugs and his comforting words. That's all I ever wanted from anyone.Something I never got from my mom or dad. My mom has always been too drunk to care and my dad has never been in the picture to begin with.
"I... I just don't want you to be disappointed in me" I sniffle and take a deep breath "I didn't s-smoke, I p-promise..."
At those words tears starts to fall and there's nothing I can do about it.
Owen
"Oh, so that's what this is all about" I say quietly to myself, almost like a whisper, as I realize what Hayden is telling me.
I look over at him in and can't help but feel bad. Poor thing. I really did it this time, didn't I?
I stand up and walk over to him. "Come here. You want a hug?" I say and reach out my arms towards him. He nods and jumps into my arms.
"Shh it's okay." I whisper while stroking his back. "I'm sorry for making you think that I am mad at you. I'm not. It's just that smoking is bad, it's really really bad and I don't want you to get caught up in that. I'm just looking out for you. Okay? Do you understand?"
He nods and whines quietly while staying put in my arms. Suddenly the bell rings, which indicates that school has started for the day. So I can't keep doing this for much longer, but I'll hold onto him until he atleast calms down a little bit. After a minute or so, I let go of him."I'm sorry buddy, but now you have to dry those tears, go to class and be a good boy. Can you do that for me?"
I hate to leave him like this, but I have to, for now.
He nods without looking at me.
"Good." I say and ruffles his hair. "Now go and make me proud."