I was sitting at home reading ‘To kill a Mockingbird’. I heard the doorbell and unfortunately, there was no one else in the house.
Mom had gone to the supermarket across the block and Lavy, my younger sister, went to her friend’s house. So, I had to see who was on the door.
At First, I thought it could be Ray but he said he will pick me at 5 and it is only three now!
As I opened the door I saw Mike standing on the porch of my house.
Ohh damn
I completely forgot! Aunt Telsa, our neighbor, asked me to help Mike in Mathematics. Mike was her only family. Her husband left her when Mike was six, and she never married anyone else even though it’s been nine years now.
“Hey! Soaf.” Mike said, a lazy smile on his lips. I could see the exhaustion in his eyes.
“Hey, Mike! Come in.” I said as I gestured him.
He was looking upset as he entered the dining room. We sat and I started teaching him. It looked as if he isn’t listening to me. He was lost in his thoughts.
“Mike… Mike. What happened?”
“Umm… nothing” He replied, but I could definitely tell something was wrong with him.
“You know you can always tell me. Right?” I said, giving him an encouraging nod.
“Soaf… I failed my test again.” He said looking down and sighed.
“It’s alright Mike. It was only a test c’mon we’ll work hard now. Okay?” I tried to comfort him.
“No that’s not the thing, Soaf. I can’t do this now… mom is already working so hard so that we can afford a good school for me. You know our financial condition right? I don’t want to hurt her, I’m good at nothing. No sports, no extracurricular and studies were the last hope for me. You see?
“I -I just want to help her. In any possible way, I can.” He replied, tears brimming his eyes. Then, he closed his eyes to calm himself and took a deep breath.
So much for a fifteen-year-old.
“It’s fine Mike. You are willing to work hard, right? So nothing can stop you and everyone has failed once or more in life anyway. Without failure, success has no meaning. These tests cannot decide who you want to be. Alright. Moreover, we will be working hard on the subject. So don’t worry okay.” I tried to convince him. I gave him a tight smile. I cannot let him give up easily. I know what he is capable of and he deserves so much better than the shit he gets at school.
You need to make it work, Soaf. You have to help him out of this!
“How is everything at school, huh?” I tried to change the topic so he could feel better.
“Well, everything is pretty fine.” He replied, his eyes gazing at the table.
“Is Lavy still being a snob?” I asked. Since Lavy and Mike shared most of their classes together, they knew each other very well. Besides the fact that they cannot stand each other’s presence. Even for a short period of time.
“You have no idea. I don’t know what I did but she behaves like a bitch to me at school. Always” He said, scrunching up his nose in disguise.
“She’s not like that Mike. Not at home. She’s a really good person” I said.
“And beautiful too,” Mike said. A small smile playing on his lips. I gazed up at him and saw him lost in his own thoughts. His eyes gleaming. All the stress on his face disappeared suddenly. His features looked relax.
“You know she has a really bitchy attitude at school but still volunteers for peer tutoring. She’s a member of Students Union! Even though she’s just 15! She’s like the ‘it girl’ of freshmen year.” He finished (finally!).
Dammit
Mike is crushing over Lavy.