“Dad?”
The usually happy and bold voice of the seventeen year old came out small and shy -almost like a mouse. The small voice at the end of the corridor happened to be a small concoction- a mixture of surprise and relief in one tiny word. As he glanced about momentarily, the boy took a step back from the few people that were occupying the current corridor and slipped backwards into a classroom, thinking it was currently empty and therefore thinking he had found the privacy he craved. “Dad... Dad are you okay? I mean, where have you been? All wekk, I haven’t heard a peep or a whistle out of you. Shucks I’ve been worried sick, what with all the travelling and the disappearing you do. I thought you’d never get to see this academy or what I’ve been doing. ‘Cause shucks, I was gonna show you around the whole place, getcha to meet some of the people I was telling you about- OH and then I was gonna show you how much I’ve practiced- show off my skills, you know? I’m a whole lot better now. I mean, I think you’d be able to see all the differences, all the-”
The boy paused as he listened down the phone to his father’s response, looking still all but excited and eager to continue his rambling at first, but then ever so slowly slumping down- visibly deflating as the silence in the room carried onwards for a few more seconds. “...O-Oh... Well, uh, gee... I mean, I didn’t realise that... for this week especially... N-No! It’s fine, you were busy, you’ve got a whole lotta work, right? A whole lotta work that... If I interrupt I’m sure it’ll all go wrong... No, I know you didn’t mean that, but it’s happened before, right?”
The boy leaned back against the wall as he listened more, a small sigh escaping his lips. “It’s fine, really, parents week is almost over anyways... I mean, well shucks, if you’re busy, I know she’s no parent, but maybe... could Ossy maybe come up and visit even? You know, I just haven’t seen her for a whole lotta time, and I just... Well, no, I understand she’s busy with... Well, she’s busy.” Mickey closed his eyes and shook his head gently, feeling himself becoming more and more touchy with the topic at hand the more he listened to his father’s voice. The feeling of isolation and being unimportant was making Mick start to feel a little overwhelmed. And from those simple little emotions just starting to pull at his heartstrings, his mutation was just beginning to show the slightest. There was some slight movements around the classroom from some of the objects that occupied it. Nothing that destructive or harsh to the ear or eye, but a few chairs began to wander around the room aimlessly, and a few desks just decided to empty themselves all over the floor and then stretched themselves, as if to say; ‘Thank God for that! -that shit weighed an absolute ton’ or began to wiggle about as if to say ‘some little bastard put gum on my arse again’. The little sorcerer’s son was losing control slightly, again. And the evidence was simply around him.
“...It’s fine... I’ll see you some other time, in the summer or... Okay well then Christmas I’ll... I’ll see you later dad... I love you too. Bye.”
As he gently eased the mobile away from his ear he just stared at it for a moment, his thumb gently brushing across some of the buttons. Not pressing or dialling a single thing, but just staring down at it. It felt like no matter who he had been texting recently, people were just trying to get away from him. He was no longer important or was being a burden to people from this point onwards. So... why was he still here? Everyone he loved was just easing away from him, and he couldn’t help but feel as though he was better off just keeping to himself. He was better off just going and no longer taking up people’s times. Why did he bother trying to befriend anyone and everyone if this was the general reaction he was getting? Why did he bother having manners and being nice and doing good deeds for people? Why didn’t he just... give up?
There was a small flinch in the boy as the thought went through him and he felt his chest tighten slightly. Had he really told himself to stop trying to please everyone? Or was it... Was it a different kind of thought? N-no... He was the happiest kid on Earth, there was no way that kind of thought could ever go through his head... No... Well... It sounded kind of like it... He denied it again inside himself, thinking it be stupid if he ever did think like that. He had a good life, with plenty of friends and nothing truly awful happening. For him to think those kind of horrible thoughts would be somewhat... what’s the word... Overreacting perhaps? With a small huff, he dumped his phone into the trash can next to the teacher’s desk and then slumped back against the wall, sliding down it slowly and then slowly allowing his eyes to fall shut as he just allowed himself to just try to block out the world around him. He didn’t need to think about his father, mother, sister... Or Nuka. He didn’t need to think about any of this. He shouldn’t. But...Oh, how lonely he felt in this current room...
“I give up.”
