Tutoring Mr. "Bad" boy.

Chapter 23

"I know you have lots of questions. Bring 'em on," He urges me with a gentle chuckle.
"I have just one question."
"I seriously doubt that, but sure, shoot!"
"How?"

He laughs before replying me.

"There's a lot of grey area in that question, Mandy. How what, exactly?"

"Everything? How, everything?" I gesture around us. "How does this place exist here? How'd you even know it was here?"

I take a quick glance around once more and my face lights up for the millionth time this afternoon.
Beyond the soccer field, the bleachers, the patches of red soil and green grass, who'd ever had imagined that there'll be a place so beautiful, hidden behind the tall trees.
It'd never occurred to me to even stray that far away from the soccer field and honestly, I doubt it'd occurred to anyone else.

In front of me is the most beautiful stream I'd ever seen. It's source and destination unknown to me, it flows in the most gently and peaceful manner, producing a tranquil sound, so soothing it almost feels therapeutic.
It's water is so clear that beneath it can be seen beautiful stones of various shapes and sizes, mostly red and white in color.
A few feet away from its banks is a patch of rich green grass, almost as if a giant green carpet were spread on the ground.
The cool breeze from the trees all add up in making the whole scenery look like a page out of a fairytale book.
This is exactly what I have in mind anytime I read or hear anything along the lines of Once upon a time in a faraway land lived a princess....

"Trust me, when you go to the same school your parents, grandparents and great grandparents all attended, there's a lot of stuff you get to know, that very few people know of."

"All three generations of your family attended this school?" I ask in surprise.

"Damn right!" He moves to sit on the grass, patting the space beside him.
He didn't have to tell me twice! Excitedly, I plop myself down beside him, unable to stop my smile from widening by the second.

"Wow! The school's actually that old. That's very creepy!"
"Hey, my family's not that old," he protests.

"It's beautiful," I mumble inaudibly.
"I thought you'd like it."
"You thought well. I really do," I admit, throwing a pebble into the stream.
I watch in awe as the ripples form and gently fade out.

"So your dad showed you this place?"
I throw another pebble and turn to face him for an answer.
He looks away immediately.
"My dad? Yeah right!" He scoffs, and I can almost feel the bitterness in his voice.
"He'd rather walk the dog than take me anywhere," he continues with a forced smile.

"So you two haven't gotten along since you were a child?" I find myself asking.
I mean, isn't it every fathers dream to bond with their children? Especially their first male child ??
So why did Randy's dad have to be so different from everyone else's?

"For as long as I can remember, he's always had it in for me. In his eyes, I could never do anything right. He'd complain about any and everything I did, no matter how hard I tried to be the perfect son. So after a while, I figured I'd had enough and so I simply stopped trying so hard to please him. Instead, I decided to do the opposite...to prove him right and become that disgrace of a son he'd always said I was. My goal changed, from trying to make him proud of me, to making him very embarrassed and pissed at me. And guess what? It worked just fine! He hates me now, and I absolutely don't even care about him. He could die right now and I wouldn't even blink. That's how much I hate him, Mandy. So much that the thought of him dying doesn't even make me feel a shred of guilt. Do you think I'm a bad son?"
It's not just his words that sting my heart, the coldness of voice has me sick with worry. He uttered all that in a monotone...devoid of any emotion.