It's My Life • Shawn Hunter

3| Father Knows Less

Zoey was sitting in Mr. Feeny's class, taking a History test. She was a little nervous, hoping that she had answered all the questions correctly.

"All right class. Times up." Mr. Feeny announced. "Please pass your test papers to the front of the your rows." He then picked up Minkus' paper. "Mr. Minkus, this test didn't requite an essay answer... but how refreshing that you've chosen to include one."

"Suck up." Shawn said, muffling into a cough.

"Future plumber." Minkus retorted.

"Guys." Zoey hissed which caused the two boys to go immediately silent.

"Feels a C-minus short." Mr. Feeny said as he approached Cory, who was fast asleep on his desk.

Zoey watched as Mr. Feeny grabbed Cory's test paper from underneath his head.

Cory woke up slowly.

"Huh? Is the test over? How'd I do?" He asked, groggily.

"Looks like an 'A'." Mr. Feeny said, looking at the test.

Cory's eyes widen. "I got an 'A'?"

"No. 'A' is the only answer you put down before you slipped into the coma." Mr. Feeny informed.

"So, what did I get?" Cory asked.

"Well, you answered one question out of forty, and got it wrong." Mr. Feeny told Cory. "So what grade do you think I'm going to give you?"

"Can it be found at the beginning of the word 'fajita'?" Cory wondered.

"Si, señor." Mr. Feeny replied.

Cory sighed. "Come on, Mr. Feeny. I was up till after midnight."

"Oh, and what earth-shattering event kept you up till that time of night?" Mr. Feeny questioned, approaching Cory.

"A no hitter." Cory simply said.

Shawn and Zoey gave each other a shocked expression. Shawn then leaned over his desk towards Cory.

"You got to stay up and watch the game?" He asked.

Cory turned around and nodded. "With my Dad."

Zoey smiled. "Cool."

"Ah, baseball. Silly me. I thought you might've stayed up for something frivolous, like the announcement from Stockholm of the Nobel Prizes." Mr. Feeny said.

"Biophysics - Dr. Ira Soochek. Medicine - Dr. Lin Yi Pao. Economics - Dr. Narwhal Fowab." Minkus announced. "And I'm fresh as a daisy."

"Teachers pet." Shawn stated.

"Fix a sink." Minkus snapped.

The bell rung. Everyone in the class stood up and gathered their things.

Zoey approached Cory. "Dude, if your Dad didn't wake you up to watch the game. I think you would do better than you did on the test."

Cory looked at her confused. "So, that means it's not my fault that I failed."

Shawn stood beside Zoey, smiling. "Congrats, Cor, it's finally the parents fault that we failed on a test."

"How in the world did I become best friends with you two clowns?" Zoey asked, glancing between Shawn and Cory.

Cory shrugged his shoulders. "You just are."

Zoey simply rolled her eyes before the three of them walked out of class.

••••

After school, Zoey walked into her house. She noticed that it was rather quite inside.

"Mum!" Zoey called out. Nothing. She than began to walk upstairs to try to find her mother. "Mum!"

The sound of the front door shutting grabbed her attention. Zoey walked downstairs to see her mother in a café uniform.

"Hey, Zoey." Lucy greeted, placing her coat on the hook beside the door. "How was school today?"

"It was okay, I guess." Zoey said. She looked at her mother's clothing in confusion. "Where were you? And what are you wearing?"

Lucy smiled. "Good news, I've found a job."

Zoey let out a small squeal before hugging her mother. She knew how difficult it was for Lucy to find a job after what had happened with her father. When her father left, a few things have not been easy for her and Lucy, but they do whatever they can to live a happy life.

"That's great! What's the job?" Zoey asked.

"I now work at a little café downtown." Lucy informed.

"I'm happy for you, Mum." Zoey said, pulling away from the hug.

"Thank you, sweetheart." Lucy said, wrapping her arms around her daughter and pulled her into an embrace. "And maybe when you're old enough, you can help or even work there."

Zoey smiled. "I would love to."

____________________
PUBLISHED: November 5, 2017
EDITED: March 5, 2023