Christmas with the bad boy

Chapter 8

After a month of recovering, Damien's father was able to go home, so Damien called for a taxi. "I haven't got my wallet Damien." "I've got it dad. Here." "Where did you get this?" "My friends and their parents offered it to us, they said not to pay them back." "I'll pay them back. It's wrong if I don't." "Call them when we get home and tell them." "I will." The taxi then arrived. "Samuel?" "Yes, that's us. Let's go Damien."

When Damien and his father were home, Damien went straight upstairs and found Jason sat on his bed. "Hey. Could you keep an eye on my dad for a few minutes?" "Sure. Don't take too long." Damien then looked at the picture of his mother on his bedside table and said, "I'm sorry Mum. I wish I knew you. I know you would know what to do now. But for me...I'm sorry. I can't do this for the rest of my life. I'll always love you, but it's time for a change. It starts tomorrow."

Damien tossed and turned when he was in bed later that night. He began tossing and turning at midnight. Jason checked on him and gently held his left shoulder. "Damien, wake up." He sucked in a deep breath and released it sharply. "You're just having a bad dream." He then woke up to see his friend next to him sat on his bed. "Hi." "Jason?" "You were having a bad dream." "I'm fine." "Do you want some water? You're sweating...bad." "Sure."

After getting back to sleep half an hour after waking up, Damien was resting well and was deep in his sleep again.

Jason walked into Damien's room to get him out of bed for college when he suddenly saw that he was up and dressed in black. "Errr...Damien?" "What?" "I think I should ask you that. Why are you wearing black?" "It's time for a change."

He and Jason began to walk to college when Delia approached them. "Damien?" "What?" "You look...different." Jason then said, "this is his bad boy side. He's suffered. This is how he copes. If he dresses and acts like a bad boy, it makes him feel strong." "Do the teachers know that?" "Of course not. They think he has an on and off phase." "Damien?" He continued walking. "Hey." "Leave him Delia. He's usually like this and during break, he'll hang out with us."

When they arrived, they went inside and Damien went to the bathroom. "Welcome back Damien. Want one?" "No. You know I don't do that." "Whatever. Sitting at the back again?" "I can't. I've got to wear glasses now to read from the board and from the worksheets." "Too bad. You look great as a nerd." "Knock it off." "Let's hang out at break time. I want to show you all something." "I've got other plans." "Like?" "None of your business." "That's the bad boy we missed." "Whatever." He then exited the bathroom and saw Jason. "Take it easy pal." "Said the boy who lost his brother." His mouth dropped open.

"You didn't have to rub that in my face." Damien then walked outside. "Young man, it's time to get to class." "I need some air sir." "Quickly then."

Damien went to class five minutes later. "Nice of you to join us Damien." "Thanks sir." "Take a seat. You didn't miss much. We'll be watching a few short videos today and I'd like you all to take notes." He sat at the front next to Delia and got his book out along with a pen. "Remember what to look for. You will be reading out what you wrote. If you're not sure on what to write, don't worry about it. I'll help you." He then started the video.

When the video ended twenty three minutes later, Damien wrote very little. He struggled. "Damien. What have you written?" "Not a lot." "Let's hear what you've got then." "The video showed how the man was suffering with his condition and that nobody bothered to help him." "What could you add to that?" "Maybe that this happens all the time, anywhere in the world. People could be left on the streets and nobody cares about them. They're abandoned and they don't think they could move on." "Well explained Damien." "Let's hear what you've got Delia." "Well Damien said everything I wanted to say. But I feel that even though the man was struggling with life, he felt like giving up, thinking there was no hope for him. What could be done, was someone to be around that can help those that are on the streets." The teacher nodded and moved on to the next student.

When the lesson ended, Damien went to his drama class. "Now, today class, I'd like you to work in pairs and I'd like one of you to act as a villain and one of you as a victim and then we'll look at group work. You'll practice this lesson and perform it after break." Damien sat next to Delia and she didn't say anything. "So who will be the villain?" "You I guess. You're dressed for it. It's like you read the teachers lesson plan." He chuckled and began to get into character.

"I said drop it." "No." "Fine." He pretended to have a gun and grabbed her. "If anyone tries to stop me, you're dead." He then moved as if someone tried to stop him and pretended to shoot Delia.

When the bell ran for break time, Damien was first out of the class. "Damien, wait," Delia called. He didn't listen to her. So she ran after him. "Damien!" He turned around and she ran into his chest. "Let's find Jason." "I need to see someone." "Well, I'll find Jason and we'll be at the benches. Find us when you're done." He didn't say anything as he continued walking to where he was going.

Jason was waiting at the benches when he saw Delia. "Hi Delia." "Hi." "Where is he?" "Well...he said he needed to find someone." "I know who he's going to see. Come on." They quickly stood up and ran around the college.