Friday I'm In Love

Chapter 5

Months passed but feelings stayed, Rocky and Jana had become like strangers but their feelings for each other were still as strong as ever. Rocky was failing most of his classes so he was less than thrilled about the upcoming parent’s evening. Jana was anxious too, not because of her grades, but because she was worried about seeing Rocky. They had managed to avoid each other during school, mostly because Rocky never showed up, but Jana knew that she would probably bump into him tonight. Parent’s evening was going well for Jana, all of her teachers thought she was wonderful and her grades were almost perfect. Rocky, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. His teachers knew he was smart but when they tried to ask him why he wasn’t applying himself, he either made a sarcastic remark or didn’t speak at all. 

As Jana and Caterina were on their way to the Biology classroom, they could hear a fierce and angry argument around the corner. Rocky had skipped Biology classes more than any other class because it reminded him too much of Jana but his father didn’t know the reason why and was furious. Caterina was reluctant to go around the corner but Jana was almost certain that she could hear Rocky’s voice and she was worried. They walked around the corner just as Claudio had Rocky pinned up against a wall and without even thinking, Caterina rushed over to stop the fight. She hadn’t even realised that it was Claudio until she stepped back and really looked at him. “Claudio? What are you doing?!” Caterina was in complete shock at what she had seen. “I’m taking care of a little problem, not that it’s any of your business Caterina.” Claudio stormed off so loud that the whole school could probably hear him. “He’s your son Claudio!” Caterina shouted but it made no difference, Claudio wasn’t coming back for Rocky. Caterina and Jana turned around to see if Rocky was alright, but he had already gone. Jana knew tonight wasn’t going to be easy but she wasn’t expecting that to happen. 

The next day at school, Rocky had actually turned up. He was sat on the bench outside the school’s entrance so Jana took a deep breath and sat down next to him. There was an awkward silence before she said: “I know you hate me but what happened last night was awful, I just wanted to make sure that you were okay.” For the first time in a while, Rocky’s arrogance and bluster had gone. Instead, there was a vulnerable and confused boy who just needed somebody to talk to. Rocky sighed and said: “I was fine until I got home. I snuck through the door because I didn’t want my dad to start again and I overheard him and my mum. They were talking about me and my dad said that he’s always given me everything and raised me as if I was his son..” Jana could see the hurt in Rocky’s eyes and desperately wanted to take it away but she was in shock. “I.. I.. I don’t understand, he’s your dad.” Rocky looked up at Jana and replied: “Apparently not.” 

Jana couldn’t stop worrying about Rocky and Caterina could see that something was bothering her daughter. “Are you okay Bella?” “Mamma, you know how you don’t know who my dad is? Do you think things would have been different if he had been around, do you think I would have turned out better?” Caterina was a little surprised by what Jana was asking and also a little bit hurt. “I think I did a pretty good job raising you on my own, I think you turned out just fine but whether you’d have been happier, well I don’t know.” “I’m sorry mum, it’s just.. Claudio isn’t Rocky’s real dad and I don’t know how to help him.” There was a hint of desperation in Jana’s voice and she was taken aback by what her mum then said: “I think Rocky is better off not having Claudio as a father, I can’t imagine anybody wanting their child to have him as a parent.” Jana could see how upset and anxious her mum was and gave her a look as if to say “tell me what’s wrong”. Caterina took a deep breath and began: “Jana honey, when you and Rocky were together.. I didn’t want you to break up because he was a bad influence. It was because he’s your half-brother, or at least I thought he was. Claudio is your dad.” Jana couldn’t believe what she was hearing, her anger consumed her and she couldn’t look at her mum for another minute.