His Son & I

Chapter 4: Him

It's Sunday night and I'm a little worried. Tomorrow is my first day at this new prep school that Dad chose for me to go to. I've looked it up online and it seems to be okay.  At least I don't have a problem with it. 

"Max, dinner's ready," Mary, one of the many maids around the mansion says to me. 

"Thanks Mary!" I call. I get up from finishing some last minute math homework that was sent to me from the school before I left Virginia. I would of done it earlier but I kept being taken from my room to go on little "outings" with my dad for publicity. I'm not sure why he wanted all that publicity right after he won the election, he already had cameras swarming around him 24 hours a day without all the extra attention he wanted! 

I don't get it.  I shake my head and walk down the stairs from my new room on the second floor (family quarters) down to the dining room for a long dinner consisting entirely of boasting about petty accomplishments. 

"Ah Max darling, glad you could find the dining room," my mother chuckles looking at my dad. 

"Alright son, so tomorrow is the big day! New school, new friends, and obviously newfound popularity as you weren't very popular at your old school," my dad laughs. I force a smile and sit down. 

"Hey Marta, bring some mashed potatoes! I don't understand why they aren't here!" My father complains. 

"Excuse me sir, the mashed potatoes are right here and my name is Mary, not Marta." Mary says as she hands the mashed potatoes to my father. 

"Right, thanks." He grudgingly replies. I sigh and continue to muddle through my dinner, drowning out the incoherent babbling to stare at the beautiful paintings on the wall. 

Next day

I  shove my folders into my backpack and grab my phone to get downstairs early enough before my father wakes up to encourage me with more insults about my hair and my lack of his oh so perfect traits.

I see Mary in the hallway and wave to her as I make my way towards the kitchen to grab a quick breakfast. I go through the kitchen doors and it's bustling with activity. All I wanted was a simple granola bar! I'm about to turn around when I hear my name from across the room. 

"Ah Max! Good morning! I'm John and I'm the Head Chef here at the White House. I know we met very briefly yesterday but I wanted to say hi again as well as ask you what you want for breakfast today," John says. 

"Um, I just was going to get a granola bar and head out. I never really eat a big breakfast in the mornings anyways," I say awkwardly as I stare at the floor. 

"Oh nonsense! You should at least have some pancakes, have a plate of my famous pancakes and then you can go. Not to mention it's 7:00 AM right now and your school starts classes at 8:00 so chill out!  Enjoy some breakfast! Please?" John begs with a weirdly compelling puppy dog face. 

"Alright, alright, I surrender!" I say smiling. 

"So, then what kind of pancakes? Chocolate or plain or what?" John says grabbing pots and pans and guiding me through the kitchen. I duck to the side as one of the other chefs zooms past me to check on her pastries in the oven.

"I guess chocolate, it's my favorite." I say as I smile to myself, still following John to a less crowded part of the kitchen.

"Great! They'll be ready in a few!" John says gleefully as he cracks two eggs into a bowl. I grab a stool to watch him skillfully prepare the batter and laugh as he flips the pancakes in the air and pretend to almost not catch them but at the last second, catch them. In about 15 minutes, he's done his cooking magic and I have delicious smelling chocolate pancakes to eat before I go to school. I take a bite and I have to admit, they're really good. John sees the smile I have on my face as I shovel bite after bite into my mouth and leans back onto the counter crossing his arms obviously content with his work.

I look at my watch and see that it's 7:30 which means I have to get going. 

"Thanks so much for the pancakes John! See you later!" I yell behind me as I grab my backpack to go the front where the car is supposed to be to take me to school. 

So far, the coast is clear and dad is nowhere in sight. He's probably sleeping late or somewhere else in the house to bask in his own glorious ego's fumes to prepare himself for a day of bragging and lying to the press.  Still something fishy about that election. 

"Max!" 

I freeze and reluctantly turn around. 

"Dad. Hi." I say as he engulfs me in a hug. 

"You weren't going to leave without saying goodbye to your presidential father were you? Of course not!" He chuckles and musses up my hair. 

I pull away from him and grip my backpack tighter. 

"No of course not dad.  I'll see you around alright?" I say as I turn to finally leave.

"Yes you will! And son, if you miss me, just turn on the news and you'll see my shining face to comfort you!" He yells as I run out of sight. 

Gee what a comfort. An overly egotistical father smiling a fake smile while some ditzy blonde oohs and ahhs at his accomplishments to the camera. I'm sure not all news anchors are like that but every time I see a news anchor praising him on Fox News or something, it's all I think about. 

A friendly voice matched with a big burly guy next to another similar guy snaps me out of my thoughts telling me to get into the car for school. 

"Hey Max, ready for school? I'm Joe and this is Andy. We're your security guards at school, you know, for your protection," Joe says as I shake his hand. "It comes with the whole 'your dad is the POTUS' thing." He and Andy are in suits clearly showing their muscles but their faces show affection and excitement at the idea of a 15 year old boy being their priority. Not sure why they're excited but hey, it's their deal. I shrug my shoulders and think for a minute. 

"Yeah, hi. So you guys are gonna tag along with me during school, everyday?" I ask, realizing that they're gonna be with me every part of the day. So much for blending in. 

"Yeah but don't worry, it's gonna be great and you're still gonna make a ton of friends." Andy replies. 

"Alright then." I answer unsure. I climb into the car with my backpack on my lap and pray that this day will end as soon as possible. 

Hey guys!! I have basically been MIA for the longest time here and I completely forgot that I even wrote this! I'm super excited to be writing it again and I'm hoping to post another chapter by the end of this week! Thanks!!

-C