Exposure - Stiles Stilinski

Chapter Five

Claire's P.O.V

After the events of tonight, I really thought that if I could get just a normal good night's sleep, then it'll make the event's of tonight much easier to handle. But that didn't seem to be in the cards for tonight. When I finally get to sleep, I'm suddenly standing in a dining area in a house that I've never been in, with a teenager and who I assume to be his father sitting down having dinner. I know this isn't a real dream because everything looks way too real to be a dream.

"What in the world..." I look around the dining area. It just seems like your everyday middle classed house with wooden furniture, dishes clustered on the kitchen bench but still somehow seem to be in order. It just seems like a normal house, but it also doesn't. I can feel the tension in the room. The man is sitting up straight, looking down at his son through his rectangular glasses. Opposite him at the dining table, the teenage boy is wearing a dark hoodie and jeans, however, he looks like he's cowering away from his father in his seat but still in a stance like he's ready to get up and run at a moment's notice.

"Hello, Claire." I jump at the voice echoing again in my head. "I know you're probably exhausted right now, but you must see this as this will be important for your future tasks."

"Future tasks?" I ask as I slowly make my way to stand between the two sitting men.

"All will be explained in time. Be patient. For now, just watch." I sigh and roll my eyes.

"That's what you said last time." I mumble, but still do as she says.

"Um, so far it's an 'A' in French and a 'B' minus in Econ." The boy says in a quiet voice.

"What about Chemistry?" His father asks.

"I'm not sure. The midterms are in a couple of days so it could go up." I look at the boy's face. He's got to be in the same year as me. I mean, he looks familiar, but I can't seem to place him. He seems worried about something as he looks to his father.

"Well, what's it at now?" The man says, his voice getting tense.

"The grade? I'm not sure." The boy looks down, avoiding his father's eye contact and moving his food around with his fork, not eating anything.

"But you just said it could go up."

"I just - I meant generally." There was a long pause as the man studies his son.

"You wouldn't be lying to me, would you Isaac?"

"No," he replies a little too quickly, his voice shaking.

"Then tell me your grade." Silence follows and the father sighs, clearly getting frustrated. "You wanna take this little conversation down stairs?" I see panic in Isaac's eyes as he shakes his head no.

"What's down stairs?" I ask.

"You'll find out." I frown as I continue to watch the scene play out.

"Then tell me your grade, son."

"Dad, this semester is only half over." He rushes out.

"Isaac?" His father says in a warning tone.

"There's plenty of time..."

"Isaac!" The firm tone stops Isaac from saying more as he looks at his father.

"It's a 'D'." He says in a defeated tone.

"Alright. It's a 'D'. I'm not angry." He says in a calm voice, making Isaac look up at him in surprise. "You know, I'm gonna have to find a way to punish you though." His condescending voice puts chills through me. I really don't like where this is going. "I have my responsibility as a parent. So, we'll start with something simple. Tell you what, you do the dishes and clean up the kitchen, okay?"