Leah and Trent

Chapter Thirty-Eight

February 10 2017 - Friday

~

Leonard

(Song: Believer by Imagine Dragons)

The future was becoming a constant weight on the present. I had yet to decide if I was going to Japan or not. I didn't even want to make the decision either way. I hated myself for even wanting to go. But the idea of staying in Atlantis broke my heart.

I knew talking about Japan with my mom was a bad idea, but I had to. Trying to find a time when my mother wasn't busy was like trying to find a quarter in the middle of the ocean. I waited in the kitchen to possibly catch her while she was on one of her breaks from her office, but I ended up waiting for hours. I settled on just barging into her office next to the library. When I opened the door it took a minute just for her to look up from a paper she was reading.

"You're suppose to knock, young man. What is it?" She asked looking back down at her paper.

"I need to talk to you."

"I'm busy right now."

"I know, but it's important."

"What does it pertain to?"

"College." She gingerly placed her paper down on the desk and interlocked her fingers as she looked up at me.

"Fine, I'm listening."

"I'm thinking about going to a college in Japan."

"What? Why?"

"There's an art college-"

"Art college? No. You are not going to an art college."

"Isn't it my choice?"

"Yes. But it's your job to make a sophisticated choice for the right reasons. That's not what you're doing. You're making a dimwitted choice for a foolish reason."

"How so?"

"You want to move all the way to Japan for that girl. Am I wrong?"

"That girl?"

"Yes, that girl. It's not like you're going to marry her."

"What makes you say that?"

"She is just a high school crush. You've only known her for a couple of months."

"How do you know what she is to me? It's not like you've ever asked."

"Come on, Leonard. Be serious."

"I am serious. You've treated her like nothing ever since I introduced her to you."

"I invited her into my home."

"You ridiculed her every chance you got."

"I did not."

"You did- It doesn't even matter. She doesn't care what you think of her and neither do I."

"Life is not some fairy tale. You can't just do what you want. You can throw caution to the wind for only so long before life happens and you're dragged back down to reality."

"What if my reality is with Sharen?"

"Nothing is set in stone, no matter how much you think it is right now."

"We're not you and dad." Her eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open. She quickly stood up and pressed her palms against her desk.

"Listen to me clearly. You are not going to Japan with her. I will not just sit by while you throw your life away. And I certainly will not be paying for it either."

". . .I'm sorry for bothering you." I backed away and closed the door. Talking to her was completely pointless, and exactly what I had expected. She wanted me to do things her way. That's what she always wanted. But I couldn't operate based off of what she wanted. Not anymore.

(Song: Numb by Linkin Park)