"This is gonna be my last day here..."
"Huh? Why?"
"My dad wants me to stop coming here."
"Oh."
"I'll miss you guys..."
Silence...
Aesop looked up, shocked to see that none of his friends seemed surprised or upset that he was leaving. They didn't even look up from their phones. One of them noticed him staring after quite a while.
"What?"
"N-nothing... I just didn't expect you guys to be so calm-"
"Why would we be sad?"
Aesop blinked.
"Huh?"
"You heard him. Why would we be sad? It's not like we even made you a big part in our group anyways."
"Yea, ever heard of backup?"
Aesop felt like he was sinking into the ground.
"So all that time..."
"Thanks for the free lunches Carl."
They laughed, jeering as Aesop stared at them in disbelief. He wanted to say something, but he couldnt find any words on his tongue. Staring down at his feet, he wondered why he even tried to be nice at that point.
Maybe sometimes being nice wasnt necessary.
They were still laughing, calling him nicknames and pointing, not even bothering to hide what they were saying.
"Can you just shut up?"
"Ah?"
"You guys are getting annoying for me now."
They closed in on Aesop, taunting and sneering. The small fry was finally speaking up. Aesop said nothing more, but didnt meet their gaze either. He was trying to stay calm, to not lash out at them. It wouldn't be good if he caused more trouble for his parents-
"Getting brave now?"
"Gonna call your daddy here?"
They laughed at that, grabbing his arm and lifting it. Aesop grit his teeth as they shook out his bags contents, wallet falling out along. One of them reached into it and took out a photo. It was one of the copies from his family album with his parents. He kept it with him ever since his first day.
"Look look, its his mom."
"She looks like a gold-digger, haha!"
"See Carl? Youre a son of a -"
Aesop reeled back his fist and swung. His knuckles connected with the boys jaw, a loud crack echoing in his ears even as the boy fell to the ground, howling in agony and clutching his jaw. The others backed away, but Aesop remained unsatisfied. He grabbed at the one closest to him and swung. Again, and again, and again.
The steel locker dented as bone connected with thin metal. She screamed, cried, clawed at his hands. He stopped when she went limp under his hands. The photo in her hands was crumpled as he picked it up.
"I'd rather be the son of a gold-digger than a mistake in the family."
Calmly, he pocketed it and slung his bag over his shoulder. It didn't bother him that people were staring, staying far from him as he walked down the hallway and out of the school. He went to the gates and called his father.
"I need you to pick me up."
"So early? Its barely been two hours."
In the back he could already hear his mother fretting about him not feeling well.
"Tell Ma I'm not sick. Just, got into a squabble."
He hung up without another word, staring at the faint specks of blood on his hands. It scared him more that he felt that calm compared to the fact that he may have just severely injured somebody in the head. Nobody was coming out from the doors to apprehend him, considering they were probably tending to the injured people now. The sleek black Bugatti pulled up to the gates in a short while. He got in, ignoring the person behind him yelling his name. Andrej let go of the brakes and sped down the road.
"So did you win?"
"Huh?"
"Did you win the fight?"
"Well Yea. You aren't mad?"
Andrej chuckled as he stopped at the red light.
"If they said something to make you that mad it must've been bullshit then."
"Sorta yea. They insulted Ma."
"Exactly. On the contrary, I would've been angry if you lost that fight."
The green light went on and Andrej turned his focus back on the road. Rosa immediately patted Aesop down when he stepped through the door. Once she had calmed down they sat at the living room as Aesop began his story. Rosa was shaking when he finished.
"How dare those little-"
She launched into a French frenzy again as Andrej sighed, calmly sipping his coffee. Aesop could only be relieved that his parents weren't angry at him. Even so, the school would no doubt call tomorrow, not to mention angry parents that would try to press charges. He wanted to mention it, but at the same time he didnt want to dampen the mood. Andrej seemingly read his worries.
"We can pay off the charges if they decide to press any. That is, if they can afford to get us into court in the first place."
He smirked a little as he brought the mug to his lips. Aesop knew well what he meant. The Mafia does a lot for the government, providing half the military protection at important events and keeping watch on suspicious people. If anything the government owed them. Aesop could only hope they let this event slide and help cover the charges.
Indeed, they never received any calls from the school or court. The next day the three went to the school to inform the principal Aesop would no longer be attending. The male stood between his parents, Rosa glowering at almost everyone she passed by. Andrej was calmly striding down the hallway, glancing around as if he owned the school now. The principal was not slow to pass them the required papers and shoo them out of the office as fast as possible. Years passed after the event. Aesop resumed home tutoring, which he no longer complained about.
On his sixteenth birthday, Andrej brought him to the Mafia building. He vaguely remembered his way around from frequent visits as a smaller child. It had all been before his parents were overloaded with work. Andrej took him up the his office and as they drank from small glasses, the older male turned to ask him.
"Does leading the Mafia sound good to you?"
