Falling Back #wattys2017

Chapter Five

The next day, I woke up at 5:30. I never wake up that early. I guess maybe this whole mission thing was just freaking me out too much to the point where I can't even sleep. What's wrong with me? Why am I this thin skinned? Why was Mike bothering me so much that I can't even sleep? He doesn't even mean anything he says, I know he doesn't mean anything he says. He just like to see the reaction of his words. Which is extremely unhealthy. Again, what a low-life jerk.

I was pacing back and forth in my room for what felt like hours. But in reality, it was only about fifteen minutes. Well, my walking was enough to wake my father up.

My dad knocked on the door quietly and he walked in my bedroom. He was clearly woken up from a nice sleep by my pacing.

"Sarah, are you alright?" asked Dad "You seem so worried. Ever since you came home from school a couple days ago, you were beside yourself"

At that moment, I started wondering if maybe I could tell my dad about my mission. No one ever said it had to be a secret. I mean, he's my father, I tell him everything.

"You're probably not going to believe me" I started "Two days ago, I was 30 days in the future"

I told my dad everything. I told him about the manhole I somehow fell through, how I didn't believe if I was alive or dead. Mike yelling at me, Steve, the whole thing. It sounded too crazy to be true. I had no idea if my dad really bought it or not.

"So, Gods sending you on a mission to save Mike from committing suicide?" asked my dad

I shook my head "Yes, and it's a lot of pressure because Mike is a total jerk. He says that I'm a dingbat and a moron. I guess what bothered me the most was that he was saying I was too dumb to go to Yale"

"Wow, this Mike guy really does sound like a jerk" said Dad

"Yeah, I know you don't believe me and-"

"Actually, I do" said my dad

That one really was a shocker. How could my dad believe a weird story like that? I guess maybe when I came into the house all confused, my dad must have gotten a hint. Its either that or he doesn't want to upset me when he says the story makes no sense

"That's why the other day when I came into the house, I didn't know if I was alive or where I was" I said

"That would make sense" said Dad "but I have a story"

"What is it?"

My dad took a deep breath before he spoke. This was going to be a long story. Tension gradually grew in the air. Dad looks like he haven't told this story in years and I was on the edge of my seat.

"I was a senior in high school" my dad started "That's when I met your mother, Sonia. She was so much like you Sarah. She was sweet, kind, hard working. And what was I? I was a stick in the mud you'd say. I always wore a hoodie and had no friends. I was also an extreme jerk, insulting your mother whenever I can"

"You were like that?" I asked

Wow. I did not see that coming. I always thought my father was the kindest guy on the planet. He always put me before himself, made me feel better when I was sad, took care of me no matter how hard it was to not have a mother. It takes a big heart to do all Dad did and I was so grateful. But how could my dad, with the sweetest heart on the planet, be a jerk?

"Yeah, I was like that" said Dad "You see, your mother has always wanted to be a lawyer and go to Yale. However, I kept telling her that Yale wouldn't expect dingbats with a zero-iq. But your mother, she still gave me a chance. Every day, she would sit with me at lunch, throwing all these positive things in my face and all I did was turn her down"