Stuck With Francis

- 9 -

Upon arriving at the Zambrotta residence my father and I were greeted by Francis, who was sent to open the door. 

"Hello Lio, Mr. Oliver. Welcome in", he said like a proper gentleman.

"Francis, how is school?" My dad responded.

"Not terrible. The classes are a little difficult but the students are friendly."

"Well, that's good to hear. Hey!" My dad shoved me forward. "This guy can always tutor you. He's got perfect grades."

I laughed awkwardly and shot Francis a quick glare. 

Lydia suddenly emerged from the kitchen. "Is that true Lio? How wonderful!"

"Yeah, ranked in the top three at his school." My dad beamed down at me, and I shuddered in confusion at him showing me pride for the first time.

"Well, aren't you a dream, Lio. Such a sweet boy and a genius?" This time it was Francis becoming uncomfortable, because of his mother's antics. God, we really need to switch parents.

She had oven mitts on both her hands and a red apron with hearts scattered among it. Her jet-black hair was tied up into a haphazard loose bun, and she wore her quintessential housewife gear--a simple but charming dress with some pair of short heels and always a face of makeup to satisfy her breadwinning husband. I forgot to mention this before, but she was a very beautiful woman. She didn't have the worn, sort of decrepit qualities of a typical mother. Her figure stayed lean and elegant, her face was full of radiance, and there wasn't a grey hair on her. Surprising, considering Francis must be a nightmare to deal with. Her husband, however, was the complete opposite as his looks decayed much quicker, likely due to unabated indulgence in alcohol, feasts, and whatever his wealth can grant him. 

Lydia returned to tossing the mixture of vegetables on the kitchen stove, yelling from across the room, "Go and catch up, boys. Dinner will be ready in about 15 minutes."

Francis sarcastically raised his eyebrows and beckoned me to follow him, which I was doing close behind. We entered and the room looked the same as when I was in it a week ago, but this time with a backpack open and papers scattered about on his bed. I plopped myself down on the bean bag chair in the corner of the room, away from wherever he would be. 

Francis jumped horizontally onto his bed, casually starting conversation. "So, how's your week going?"

"Screw off."

"Still mad, I see."

"I'm not that interested in speaking right now, I think I'd rather sit here in silence until your mom is done cooking."

"That's boring." He crumpled up a homework assignment and started tossing it up in the air repeatedly while laying on his back. I stayed silent, sinking into the bean bag chair. "You know, you were with those other girls, I just wanted to keep her company."

I broke my silence immediately. "Yeah, right. Do you even know her name?"

He stopped throwing the ball to think. "Doesn't matter. If you like a woman you have to pay attention to her, they don't like when you go messing around with the first pretty thing you see."

"I don't like Alice, we aren't a thing! And don't turn this on me! What happened was you found an opportunity to piss me off and took it."

"Or maybe consider, Lio, that I really liked her, and couldn't help myself. Haven't you been there?"

At this point my frustration was rising very quickly. 

"You're full of shit! Did you even ask her for her number? Or have any intention to see her again?"