"Why won't you people keep quiet!!" I scowled angrily during the assembly two days later, obviously irritated at the fact that a number of students were not listening to my instructions.
"Shut up you dumb dog!" they yelled back at me.
"You're the one that should shut up, you fag," said Rhett's voice all of a sudden, as I grinned, "If you mess with our Lord and saviour here, you're gonna regret it."
Rhett's voice was the ultimate panacea to the group of overzealous and uncultured students, for they backed down almost immediately after hearing it.
"Wow, that was pretty sweet dude," I flashed my eyes in approval, "Thanks so much."
"It's nothing," he assured me, with a grin that prominently displayed his dimples, "The most important thing is for you to do your job without those idiots getting in the way."
As the days progressed, I realized that his generosity wasn't just a one-time offer, for the same thing happened every other morning I was in charge of the assembly. Rhett would step in the moment he saw me struggle with a group of rebellious students. And I would thank him for his help, only to see him grin in the cutest way possible.
Our interactions weren't just limited to the school too.
Mark: Hey dude, how it's going? 😆
Rhett: Everything's fine lol. I'm just playing Graal now.
I would go on to let him play, only to disturb him a few hours later.
Mark: Hey dude, how was your game?
Rhett: It was great. I managed to defeat this really good player from Japan.
And the succeeding messages would just be him explaining about the boring specifics of Graal, a game that I never got to understand.
Rhett: Dude, am I boring you with this stuff?
Mark: Of course not. Go on.
Taking care of his passion towards Graal is much better than being a selfish bitch, I thought.
However, it was not just a one-way road when it came to checking up on one another. He did message me too- in a humorous way.
Rhett: Dude, what's up? You busy masturbating or something?
I would laugh every time I saw his message.
Mark: If I was masturbating, I would only be thinking of you.
Rhett: If I was gay, which I'm not, cause I'm straight as fuck.
The way we checked up on each other was like we were passionate lovers in a relationship- a non-existent one, at least, thanks to Rhett's homophobia.
My thoughts were always directed towards how I would cope towards Connor's temporary departure. Turns out it was a bigger blessing than I ever expected.
****************
"Oh my gosh! Mark!"
A nudge to my ribs made me jerk wide awake to see a smiling face that I had not seen for ages- that of my sister, Tara Mangal. The same sister who made my life a living hell with her stupid marriage.
"Hi Tara," I said, in a suffocated and slightly insincere voice, "I've missed you a lot."
My sister's lips slightly curved as my mother's eyes signalled me to embrace my sister. Groaning in displeasure, my body slightly shuffled a few steps forward to embrace my obese, fair-skinned and pimple-filled sister. None of us spoke a word as we swiftly broke away from the embrace almost three seconds after hugging each other.
"Mark, be a sport and hug your sister properly," said my father, Evan Mangal, "You two haven't seen each other in nine months."
"Thanks to a stupid idiot named Jim," I muttered her former lover's name under my breath, forgetting to say it as softly as possible as those hurtful words pierced through Tara's ears.
"MARK!!!" yelled Tara as she burst into tears, "Stop bringing up the past!"
My eyes rolled upon hearing Tara's outburst, as my parents sighed upon seeing my nonchalant attitude.
"It's not going to be that easy for me to just forget about what you did," I told her coldly, "You swine!"
"MARK!" yelled my parents simultaneously, as they were perplexed by my immoderate choice of words. My dad took my arm violently, as his slightly-tanned face turned red, seething with anger.
"Young man, you better take back what you just said to your sister," said my dad in a deep voice full of anger and seriousness, "Don't make her relapse again."
Alas, I was in no mood to suck my already inflated ego, as I lashed out at my middle-aged, spectacle-wearing father. He normally had a relaxed face, but this time his wrinkles and white hair were clearly complimenting his angry look.
"Mollycoddling this bitch isn't going to fix anything dad," I said in a rustic voice, as my mother's face exhibited an expression of surprise, "Plus, if you can't handle her relapsing again, it just shows your failure as a parent."
Those words were the breaking point of my dad's patience. Immediately after my sentence had finished, my dad's hand cracked across my face. It snapped my face with the force of his blow, causing my head to reel sickeningly as it slammed into the wall behind me.
My mother's scream and Tara's continuing cries continued to fill the room as my thoughts were blinded by a five-course serving of rage, stimulating me to fight back against my father.
"You son of a bitch!" I yelled at my dad as I charged at him, using all my strength to push him towards the wall. My dad hit the yellow wall in front of me with an extremely loud thud, as he fell onto the floor without breaking a sweat.
"MARK! What has gotten into you?" asked my mother, wailing.
"I fucking hate Tara for what she did," I said, vexed, as my anger turned its focus to my sister.
"That does not give you the right to lash out like that!" yelled my dad, as he stood up and walked towards me, wiping the blood flowing out profusely through his nostrils, "You're my son, not a filthy little gangster!"
I turned towards him and was about to counter my dad's words when, all of a sudden, my mother screamed in pure shock and rushed towards Tara's side. My eyes immediately flicked back to my sister, who was now holding a knife in her hand, her wrists slit. Blood trickled out of her fat-filled arm, as the knife was completely soaked in red.
"TARA!" yelled my mother once more, as she immediately ran to take a bandage. My father took the knife away from my sister, who was yelling in pain. I stared at the both of them without lifting a finger or even moving near them, carefully observing how my mother was trying her best to bandage Tara's injuries.
"I WANT TO DIE! I WANT TO DIE! I WANT TO DIE!" yelled Tara as my mother struggled to calm her down.
"Aren't you going to help us clean the mess up you caused?" asked my dad angrily.
I sighed in frustration, realizing that my act of nonchalance was ultimately causing more problems for my parents.
"Look, mum, dad, Tara, I'm sorry for shouting and losing my cool," I admitted to the three of them, as Tara began to calm down upon hearing my apology, "But I'm not going to clean up a mess that you dragged me into."
Without saying a word, I quickly walked out of my living room, shutting the front door as I wore my shoes and cycled out of my house aimlessly. I can't continue living in this shithole if I ever want to be sane, I thought.
**************
"You're the fattest pig I've ever met. I hope you die of diabetes."
"I fucking hate you."
Cycling through the roads out of my neighbourhood, the recollection of words from the past few years only served to fuel the fire that was burning inside of me.
"Kill them, Jim. They're not my family anymore."
My phone chimed all of a sudden, putting my thoughts and bicycle to a great halt. I was nearby a row of shops, so I decided to park my bicycle in front of a convenience store and unlock my phone.
Rhett: Dude! You cycle?! 😂😂
I was confused by his message.
Mark: What are you talking about?
Rhett: I saw you cycling through McDonald's.
Mark: You're in McDonald's now?
Rhett: I was. Right now I'm on the football field in your neighbourhood.
Mark: No fucking way.
Rhett: I'm serious 😆
He then sent me a picture of a field, which I immediately confirmed to be my neighbourhood field. My mind started to calm down as the wind blustered and tousled my black hair. My fingers began to cool down as well.
Mark: Stalker alert. 😂
Rhett: Lol, I'm just here to play football. Which just got cancelled btw.
Mark: Shit, that sucks.
Rhett: I know. My teammates really suck. I wanted company but they're all not here. 😣
An idea suddenly flashed into my mind.
Mark: Dude, is it okay if I come over to see you? Something really bad has happened and I could use a friend to talk to. 😣
Rhett: Sure, come on down to the field 🙂
Mark: Stay right there, I'll be right over.
Rhett took more than a minute to send me a like. I immediately pedalled my bicycle away from the row of shops and headed east, back in the same direction towards my neighbourhood field.
***************
As I walked towards the neighbourhood field and saw Rhett, I took a quick look at the neighbourhood field, a place I had not been to in years. Flowers were sprouting up in an amazing discord of the colours to dazzle the senses and eyes as beautiful arrays of colours from greens, yellows, purples and reds assaulted me.
"What's up dude?" asked Rhett, with a slightly concerned look in his eye as he sat on a park bench, "Why'd you want to see me?"
Kicking a crushed-up soda can on the grass, I replied, standing, "I just fucked my family sideways. All thanks to my fucked up sister."
"She's back?" he asked, astonished, "I thought she was in India."
I looked back at him, and said, "Her rehab's over. She's come back to stay with us now that she's supposedly better and all."
"That sounds like great news," he said with an encouraging tone, "Shouldn't you be happy?"
"How can I be happy with the same sister who tried to kill my family?" I questioned, as I vividly remembered the events that had transpired the previous September, "Her husband was almost going to burn my house down and kill all of us in it."
Rhett looked visibly distraught upon hearing my somewhat graphic narration.
"What happened to your sister until she became like this?" he asked, "I thought Madam Mallory said that she was a really bright student when she was in school."
I sighed upon hearing Rhett's question.
"She was," I began, "But when she turned 17, she got diagnosed with bipolar disorder."
"Bipolar?!" asked Rhett, confused.
I nodded, and continued, "She's been driving my whole family crazy since she got diagnosed in 2011. Fucking bitch!"
I yelled and kicked a huge rock with maximum force as fury filled my body.
"Dude, you've got to control your emotions," said a concerned Rhett, as he got up and came close to me, "Whatever's happened has to stay in the past."
"You don't understand Rhett," I replied, as I turned back and looked him in the eye, "My entire adolescence was ruined thanks to a bitch that was my sister."
He was about to say something, but I quickly launched into a tirade regarding a sister.
"I had to see Tara cut herself and overdose on Panadols every two weeks because things didn't go her way. Every time she broke up with some random guy or my parents scolded her, it was blood that flowed through my house pipes. Plus, all the yelling and violence that came with it. All my innocence as a teenager got robbed thanks to a bipolar bitch."
I quickly turned behind, and immediately flopped towards the park bench, sitting and lamenting at my terrible life fate. Rhett quickly joined me, sitting next to me as he patted me on my back. A moment of silence followed for about one minute before he broke the silence.
"All this could have been prevented if my parents had just listened to me in the first place," I explained, "If they had stopped Jim and Tara from ever dating, she wouldn't have gotten married and my life wouldn't be hell."
"You can't discount what your parents did, you know," Rhett interrupted, "They tried their best."
"Yeah, but they still screwed up so bad."
"Do you think that what you had in mind was right for them?" quizzed Rhett.
I cocked an eyebrow as I turned towards him.
"I'm always right. I was and I am," I told him, "But they'd never listen. I'd explain it all the damn time and they'd still discredit it."
I had a feeling that Rhett would reprimand my narcissism, but to my surprise, he did not address it.
"Sometimes with all this shit, I feel like I'm Batman," I confessed, sighing as I realized the bitter fate of my damned life.
Rhett placed his arm around my shoulder as he moved closer towards me, our entire body touching each other and sending jolts of electricity through mine. I looked into his crystal-clear, black eyes as Rhett gave me a reassuring look.
"I'll be your Robin."