SKRIVENA UNIVERSITY BOOK 2 (Complete)

S.U. 8

SPECIAL CHAPTER 8

CAIDEN'S POV

"What happened to you Aiden?"

I was standing at his back near the door of the comfort room. I was watching my son for about fifteen minutes... without him noticing me while he's fixing something in his hand.

I was bothered and a little mad when I saw a damn red thing in his hand when he came home a while ago. He tried to hide it but I have good eyesight. My son is acting different and I need to know why.

He froze for a second. "It's nothing dad," he calmly said. But his hands are now shaking. He probably knew that I saw what he's hiding.

I remained in my position with my arms enclosed around my chest. "Care to explain?"

He stopped. I didn't hear any single sound from him. I guess, he doesn't want to tell me what is happening to him.

Many parents find themselves gearing up for another round of improper attitude and power struggles with their kids. We're one of them but in different way. Teens seem to have an I don't care or Why bother? attitude about school, homework and their other responsibilities. But Aiden is dissimilar.

He cared about us, about his family, about his studies and such. But he is secretive with regards to personal problem. As a child, he couldn't really understand what the world looked like from another's perspective. As he moves into his teen years, he begins to understand others perspectives, but he still filters that understanding through his self-awareness.

I heard his heavy sigh. However he turned around and look at me. "Dad..." His eyes are deeply darting. "I hurt someone close to me."

I cleared my throat. I knew it! He hit a friend by his own hand. Someone he cares about that's why he's acting like that, a feeling of culpability over an offense. Pero kung hindi niya kaibigan iyon, wala lang sa kanya ang ginawa niya.

"Is that your fault?"

"No!"

"Good then. As long as it doesn't your fault, don't feel guilty Aiden. Just always bear in your mind that you need to do the right thing. Don't harm any person if you're in the wrong side."

He lowered his gaze. I saw the bandage in his hand, it was a tough punched.

"Alam ko mahirap 'yan dahil maaring maging kaaway mo na ang kaibigan mo. But you need to stand what is righteous and defend yourself. I need to know exactly what happened. Can you please tell me, son?"

Teenage boys need a lot of structure. Both parents need to know where he is and what he's doing at all times. Aiden is always in house-school-park-routine every day. He still manages to have bonding time with us and a proper exercise schedule for his total fitness.

The issue with him isn't trust but a realistic assessment of the dangerous world that adolescents must negotiate with limited pre-frontal cortex development. I know his thinking capability is beyond his current age. But we still need to guide our little fire.

Zoe and I are here to help them to learn how to deal with things that go wrong. We ask questions that will encourage our child to think more deeply on the subject.

He looked into my eyes with unnatural stiffness. "My friends and I were in the park at school. My close friend insulted a girl in lower section who just walked in front of us going to cafeteria and the girl immediately slapped my friend's face to defend herself. At first I didn't care what they're doing because I believed it was just a petty fight. They might know each other way back then.