Mornings have always been the worst for Tyler. Not because of the sun rays peeking through his window and disturbing his sleep or the noisy streets as people hurry to their various destinations or even the blaring alarm clock rendering him half deaf with it's noise. All that would have been bearable for Tyler if he didn't have to hear his dad's voice every morning. The gruff deep excuse for a voice that always makes his ears bleed
"Why can he just keep his mouth shut in the morning? Or better still stay drunk." He thought to himself as he heard the usual clatter his father makes as he made his way out of the kitchen.
His father David Simmons is almost always drunk. Jobless and irresponsible is the best word for him. He litters around the house in the mornings, visits pubs at noon and drinks until it's night time. He's always home drunk. Now it's become a norm for Tyler and he doesn't even care anymore.
"Tyler! Get your ass down here!" He hollered from the living room. Tyler ignored him and wished he could cover his head with a pillow.
Ugh! This is exactly why I hate weekdays." He grumbled to himself as he grudgingly stood up and stalked out of his room. Ignoring his father would mean leaving late for school and he's promised not to be late to classes this semester.
He facepalmed himself as he slowly went down the stairs. His face turned into a scowl the moment his burly mess of a father entered his field of vision.
"What do you want?" He asked making his annoyance obvious.
"Watch your tone with me boy," his father warned with a stern tone Tyler is already used to as he sat down on his armchair.
"What do you want?" He asked again with a straight face.
"Go get me breakfast."
"There's some beer in the fridge. I believe that should be your breakfast." Tyler replied sarcastically.
"Show me some respect boy!" His father warned with eyes glaring at Tyler. "I said get me breakfast. Don't make me repeat myself."
Tyler sighed dramatically. "Look David, you can threaten me all you want but there is nothing I can do. You spent the last money I worked on alcohol. I planned on buying groceries with that. Scream all you want but there isn't a grain of food in here."
"Then use more of your money dummy."
Tyler smiled at that. "You see i would because I'm hungry too. But the thing is, that was all the money i had."
"Are you dumb!" His father hollered again. "How could you keep all of your money in one place!"
"Well David, I kept it safely in my pants because i thought normal fathers wouldn't go searching through their child's things for his money. Fathers usually work for the family. Not the child." He said with a fake smile. He's enjoying this scene. The pained look on the man's face is entertaining. He was tempted to comment that he never knew his father didn't consider liquor as food. But he knew he'll surely be late if he said that.
"Are you insulting me?!" His father asked threateningly.
"I wouldn't dare," he replied and flashed a smile at his father who had eyes that looked like they could ignite at any time. "If you'll excuse me, i have to prepare for school." With that he made his way upstairs to his room but was hardly halfway when his father spoke up again.
"Fuckface, don't you ever call me by my name. You hear me? It's sir to you." He warned.
Tyler held his gaze for a few seconds and walked away without saying a word.
???????????????
"School is just as tedious as being home." Tyler thought as he stared at the ceiling his gym class. He's never been interested in sports. They bore him and he finds them tiring. The only physical activity he's ever interested in is martial arts and right now even that is becoming tiring.
The instructor's whistle dragged him out of his thoughts. "Stop goofing about and get your ass down here Tyler!" He yelled and immediately turned his attention back to the students, giving them instructions and correcting their flaws.
"The source of this man's excessive strength always beats me." Sighed Tyler as he slowly stood up and got back in line.
The school bell rang to signal the end of school and Tyler plopped on the ground like he just ran a marathon.
"Tyler stay back. I want a word with you." The instructor said as the students began to leave the gym earning an eyeroll from Tyler.
"Here we go again." He mumbled.
"What's wrong with you Tyler?" He asked with a voice that almost sounded sympathetic. Tyler hated it.
"Nothing sir. Just tired." He replied.
" You know you are really lazy for a guy that works as hard as you do."
Tyler forced a smile. "What can i say? I'm just not cut out for strenuous work."
"Then why do you attend gym sessions Tyler?"He asked with a more serious tone.
"I have to. I need a gym activity to pass anyways." Tyler said with a smile.
"Why martial arts? There are different activities to choose from. Why this?" His instructor asked with an intense look. It actually amused Tyler.
"Mr Peter, I don't like sports. Or any physical activity for that matter. Let's just say I'm mentally violent and karate helps me express that violence." Tyler calmly replied still smiling.
"But..."
"If you would excuse me sir, I'm tired. I'd like to go home now." Tyler stretched and started walking away.
"About that Tyler.." his instructor said causing him to stop but he didn't look back. "How are things at home?"
Tyler looked back at him with an even bigger smile before answering. "Splendid."
"That smile of yours is what scares me the most about you." He commented as Tyler left and even though he heard, he didn't say anything in reply.