Why am I Alive?

Chapter Two

"Hey mom,” I announced, as I entered the house.

"Isaac, I have been calling you for an hour." She shouted.

"What,exactly, is the use of you having a cell phone,when you don’t answer it?"

"I can make a whole list of things." I said. " I can call my friends to complete my notes, sometimes I can catch up with the assignments I might've missed, than if something happens I can call you and let you know, and well, I can socialize...."

"Okay, Isaac enough." She stopped me in the middle of my sentence. But yeah, she was smiling, so mission accomplished.

"Okay, okay I'll stop," I said

"By the way, your phone can never be used for your assignments. it’s only used for socializing when it’s with you," she said.

Well, who wouldn't love a sarcastic mother?

"Duh" I said rolling my eyes.

"Where were you?" She asked

"I went to meet a friend, he wanted some of my assignments then I went to have a coffee and then to the book shop and to the coffee shop again, and here I am."

"What's missing in between?" she asked suspiciously.

"God, mothers!!!" I moaned."Nothing, except I wanted to read in peace? so I did that at the coffee shop." I said, "Mom, you should've been a detective."

"Yeah, let me solve my sons’ case first."

I ran out of answers. "I'll just go and read."

"Sounds better."

So that was my mother, a very busy one, a strict one, sarcastic, love, but yeah I didn't have a perfect relationship with her. But maybe I was just feeling good today and I didn't want to destroy that, so I gave her what she asked for, and she always wanted answers. Straight ones!

I turned on my laptop and started working on the article for my college magazine.

The topic as usual was a weird one;

WHY AM I ALIVE?

The answer was quite simple, because we  haven’t died a yet, and  the only reason we are alive or maybe we didn't kill ourselves, or maybe, like in my case, too scared to kill myself. i was not scared to die, that was not the case, I was just scared that I’d fail again.

Yeah, talk about a coward and here I am.

An hour later, The article was finished. I didn't care about  rereading it, so I just printed it and kept it in my bag.

Moments later, I heard my phone ringing, I didn't want to answer it, but I had to. It was my friend calling.

"Dude, were you dead?” he asked, as I answered the call.

"Hi" I said.

"Oh, don't you “hi” me" he shouted.

"Okay, how are you?"

"Are you drunk?" he asked.

"No...!"

"Good, I'm coming over. Don't ask why."

"Okay."

               ******

"Smoke??" he asked pulling out a cigarette from his pocket.

"Umm, sure." I said and took one. I was not much of a smoker, but yeah, sometimes it did help.

So, we smoked and smoked again.

"I fought with  Sarah!" he said referring to his girlfriend.

"Oh!"

"Yeah, she'll never accept my flaws, I mean, she wants me to accept all her flaws, and then it's me, who's always the guilty one."

"What happened?"

"She's sick, that's what happened. I told her I was out, someplace, well an exhibition to be precise, and she was like, we were supposed to go together and it was our anniversary and I forgot about it. Hell, I didn't even plan the exhibition thing; my friends dragged me into it. And when I told her that..."

"Fudge you and your friends!!" I completed for him

"That's exactly what she said!"

"Yeah, I know. What happened next?" I asked.

To be honest, I was not interested in his stories about Sarah, particularly because I had no love life of my own, no one to fight with, let alone to love. But I had to listen to him, it was the least I could do.

"Well, then she ended the call, but, then, I called her back and she expected me to apologize but I said 'to hell with you and your anniversaries!"

"Now that's lame" I said.

"I know. I'm still regretting it"

I laughed, "Let's smoke dude!"