Bonded

Chapter Twenty and a Half

Milos's little body bounced around the truck seat as his father drove down the old dirt road towards the schoolhouse. A silly grin was plastered on his face as he gripped his schoolbook tight and watched the birds race by out the window. 

He turned to look when he heard his father cranking the handle in order to roll the window down. The older man wordlessly pressed down on the lighter button while taking out a hand rolled smoke from his shirt pocket. Milos gripped the truck door to steady himself as he watched his father light the cigarette and blow the smoke out the open window.

They drove in the same comfortable silence they always drove in, every morning when his father brought him to school. Milos could see other children walking along the road or running through the fields also making their way to the same place as he.

His father pulled the truck up into the little stone parking lot. Milos looked up at the old, rickety two room schoolhouse and took a deep breath. Today was the day, he thought to himself. He was definitely going to do it today! 

His father put the truck in park and sat back in a very casual manner. He slowly puffed on his smoke as Milos got up and heaved on the passenger door, trying to open it wide enough for it to stay in place. It took three tries before he built enough courage to throw enough of his body weight into it for it to remain open. He stumbled a bit while he was leaning to far forward but caught himself before he fell. He turned around to look up at the man beside him, trying to see whether his father thought he did good or not.

His father simply nodded at him, causing the huge grin to return to Milos's face. He loved doing things by himself, it meant he was a big kid, and more like his father than a baby. He picked up his schoolbook and climbed out of the truck. When he was safely on the ground his father started speaking.

"Do you remember the rule, my son?" He asked before taking another drag. 

"Yes Tato, don't worry I remember. I always greet my teacher now," Milos very proudly stated.

"Good job," his father calmly replied, flicking the ash out the window.

Milos offered his father one more toothy grin before he ran around the large door and slammed into it, effectively closing it. Shutting the truck door was way easier then opening it and Milos was proud to always be able to close it on the first try. 

He ran up to the open doors, stopping right in front to turn around and wave goodbye to his father. He saw his father lift his hand as a farewell before putting the truck in gear and slowly leaving the lot.

Milos turned back around and took another deep breath, this one much shakier then the one he took before. Maybe he wouldn't stay the whole day but at least one lesson, one lesson would be good. 

The schoolhouse was split into two rooms, one for the older kids and one for the younger ones. There was only about twenty kids in his classroom but, since he was one of the youngest, they kinda all seemed like big kids to him. 

He shuffled along, dragging each foot as he slowly peddled into the school. Directly inside was a short, little hall with a large doorway on both the left and right, for each separate class and then a small door in-between, facing the entrance, which was the one and only washroom they all shared. 

Milos continued into the open doorway of his classroom. His teacher, Miss Olena, stood at the front, her long pleated skirt swaying as she wrote the mornings work on the board. Milos really liked his teacher, she was nice and kind like his mother, and he tried to focus on his desire to make her proud as he pushed himself further into the room.