"Sorry Wrong Window."

Lazer Tag

Tobias Dean

Ben and I leave the office in a stream of irritated curses and Alice walks off laughing at us the entire way.

"Mom this is punishing me too," Ben whines.

"It should, I hope it teaches you to be more responsible," His mom nods, "You have today off while they re-make Toby's schedule,"

We shuffle forward with Ben's newly taped glasses on his face. I mean one of the arms is missing but they seem to do a good enough job.

We all get in the car and this time I remember to brace myself and tense my entire body so I don't fly through the windshield or something. This time the red lights are slightly less terrifying and more only mildly fear-filled, but nonetheless dangerous.

"I should be driving," Ben groans the whole way.

We pull into the driveway semi violently and Ben hurls himself out of the car kissing the ground dramatically.

"I'm not that bad," Mr. Richards jokes in exactly the way you would expect a dad to joke.

A fuck you is clear in Ben's eyes but instead, he just frowns brusquely before running up the stairs and collapsing on his bed.

I smile and follow him up barely resisting the redundant urge to sprint. When I get out there he's already pulled out his laptop and is clicking away at the keyboard on his bed.

"Whatcha doing?" I question sliding in next to him on his bed.

"Emailing our teachers," He deadpans.

I nod. I'm not a hundred percent sure what I'm supposed to do but I can't leave. Soon his phone starts ringing. He checks the caller ID before and frowns answering it.

"Aren't you supposed to be in class?" He questions the person on the other end of the phone. He doesn't say much apart from that the rest of the call other than some hums of acknowledgment and occasional mockery of the person on the other line to me.

By the time he's done he seems tired of talking to the poor person.

"I don't wanna deal with her anymore already," he half-jokes.

I roll my eyes at the lame attempt at humor and assume he's talking about his "girlfriend".

"Then break up with her," I suggest.

He just groans and changes the topic, "What do you wanna do we're free today."

I roll my eyes at the subject change and think about what we could do.

Speak of the Devil, "Boys, I have laser tag tickets if you want to go?"

"Thanks, mom." Ben calls back and then turns to me, "I'll be right back,"

He runs downstairs and I stretch across his bed, he's back up in the blink of an eye.

He clutches the tickets in his hands excitedly, "Can you drive?"

Once I nod he hurries downstairs excitedly. I run after him and he starts to trip but I don't let that happen. I catch him just before he gets too far away. His already damaged glasses slide off his nose and crash to the ground quietly.

"Careful princess," I warn still pressing him against me,

He blushes, embarrassed, before continuing to the car this time more slowly,

The skies are starting to look a little cloudy which is unfortunate but I guess laser tag is inside so it doesn't matter.

We plug the address into the car's built-in GPS and pull out of the driveway.