The Sociopath's Daughter

10 Years Later

Tik.

Tik.

Tik.

I watch the hands of the clock twitch as the murmuring of lecture echoes in my head.

Winter holiday was in five minutes and I cannot wait to get the hell out of this dull classroom. After my marks went down last year, I was placed in the feckless classes.

I never thought this would be my worst punishment for giving up on school. Weirdly enough, I like the people in these classes more than those in the advanced classes; they're much better entertainment and less expectation. What I don't like, abhor even, is the stricter authority and simple work so elementary it's insulting. We get our bags searched every time we walk into the classroom and have to give a bullshit personal report every Monday about what we did over the weekend; it has to be signed off by a parent in order to be valid. They think that'll encourage better behavior on our time off but if anything it improves our ability to lie and forge signatures.

Dad isn't happy about it, but I was hoping for something more than what he usually gives.

I wanted emotion.

I thought I'd see him near tears when he found out about me almost falling out, as fathers in the movies would.

Nope.

He just thanked the headmaster and he sent me back to class and went home. We talked about it at the end of the day; he basically said this was my idiotic decision and I had to sit in it.

So here I am, sitting quite comfortably, for your information!

...

Yeah, in contraction to my last sassy comment, I would be lying if I said I didn't regret starting all this, but I'm too stubborn to get out of it now. He's also too stubborn to change his hands-off technique.

We were getting really close before last year; probably the closest we've ever been then snap.

I just changed, anything exceptional always went back to him, and no credit was ever given to my own intelligence separate from his. The same went for anything I worked hard on, it would just be shrugged off as it coming naturally to me because of who my father is. I think anyone would get bothered by that. 

We used to go out to lunch every Saturday and stayed in on Sundays to watch a new movie; one week I would choose one, the next he would, and so on. He promised to never even touch work on Sundays, but of course, he'd cheat here and there. Though I never got mad, we always laughed it off when I'd catch him.

But something just changed, I don't know what it was. I don't think it was just me wanting my individuality. I don't know,  I just feel like it was a long time coming like I was destined to fuck up in some way at any moment.

I guess my moment has come.

John is, of course, trying to help the best he can but I have a hard time letting him tell me what to do; like how you feel about a step-parent telling you to go to your room.

John is my evil stepmother who is only so evil in my mind because she cares... well HE in this case, but you get the point. 

I didn't really have many friends until now, so all I'd have was older people barking orders at me at all hours of the day.

I could hardly fucking think.

I feel like my mind is finally cleared when I'm with my friends.

Even as a kid I was always on edge, always trying to impress, always trying to get noticed in some way. I'd lie about having friends my age, and read every book handed to me.