blossom ↣ joshler ✓

1. Pleasant

Thank you to cxbain- for the French translation!

"J'ai été crucifié avec Christ et je ne vis plus, mais Christ vit en moi. La vie que je vis maintenant dans le corps, je vis par la foi aux Fils de Dieu, qui m'a aimé et s'est donné pour moi... which translates to... I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20," Tyler breathed out, writing down the English translation for the Bible verse he had just read in French.

It was the last piece of French homework he had to complete before he did Spanish and chemistry. His English, calculus, and world history homework was already done and it was only six. He was doing good on time.

He let a sigh escape his lips as he scratched his neck, right where the collar of his button up shirt itched his skin. His yellow and blue tie sat somewhere on his bed. He took it off when he got home but didn't feel the need to completely change his clothes. That was just a waste of time if he was going to put pajamas on before bed.

He finished up writing the rest of the verse before setting that aside and grabbing his chemistry things. They were currently balancing equations but it was pretty much just math and counting and Tyler could solve for x in his sleep at this point. 

He was a few problems in when there was a small knock at his door. Turning around, his glasses slipped down the bridge of his nose ever so slightly and he had to push them back up. His mom stood in the doorway, a stoic on her face. "Dinner's done," she told him before walking away.

He bit his lip anxiously before setting his pencil down on his binder and exiting his room. He didn't even want to go down and eat, he just wanted to sit at his desk and work on homework.

He entered the kitchen and saw his mom bringing two glasses of water over to the table. Tyler glanced over and saw there were two bowls as well. The food inside just looked like a mixture of things to any other person but Tyler knew it was a vegan, gluten free, non-GMO, quinoa salad.

He sat down next to his mom who sent him a look. "Ready?"

Tyler nodded as he grabbed both of her hands. They both recited the same exact thing in unison. "We thank the Lord for this food we are about to eat and cherish Him for providing it to us as well as everything else in our lives. Amen."

The let go and began eating. "How was school, today?" Kelly asked him.

"It was pleasant," Tyler replied, shrugging slightly. "Relatively identical to most days but that's not terrible."

"That's good to hear," Kelly hummed. "You doing alright with your homework? You'll be done and in bed by eight, right?"

"Yes, Mother," Tyler nodded, taking a bite of his food. It wasn't good and it didn't have flavor but he was wasn't going to say anything about it.

He glanced up and his eyes caught the cross necklace around his mom's neck. Guilty instantly flooded his body so he concentrated on the formation of atoms to get his mind off of it.

They continued dinner in relative silence and once they were both done, Tyler carried the dishes over to the counter and began washing them. That was one of his many responsibilities.

While he washed a plate, he heard his mom walk over to the counter and begin shuffling through their stack of mail.

He was setting the plate in the dishwasher when he heard her sigh. Looking over, he saw her rubbing her temples. "Is everything alright, Mother?"

She looked over and offered him nod. "I just got the bills that's all. Everything will be okay. I'll probably just have to pick up a few extra shifts."

Tyler didn't reply as he went back to finishing up the dishes. He didn't know what to say so he didn't say anything at all. Simple as that.

Once he was done he went back up to his room and finished his homework. It didn't take much time, luckily. He was finished with it by 7:30 so he quickly brushed his teeth and laid in bed.

The brunette grabbed his phone and set it on the charger. He rarely used it but if he didn't have it charged and on him at school his mom would be furious with him. Kelly went through all of Tyler's texts and calls. She didn't put any restrictions on his phone but anything he'd want that would go against her rules he wasn't in to. He didn't use social media, he didn't watch TV, and didn't get in trouble. The only people he texted were his mom and his friend Ryan but they rarely talked so it didn't really matter. Despite that, Kelly still had an app on her phone so she could go through his messages.

Instead, he grabbed the book off of his nightstand and picked up where he left off on page 214. He had just started it two days ago and wasn't as far as he wished but he has had a lot of homework lately so there wasn't much he could do.

He read until he noticed the clock said 7:55. Putting the book back down, he took his glasses off and set them next to it. He was pretty blind without them so he waited as long as possible before taking them off.

At exactly eight, his mom walked into his room. "Good night, Tyler," she told him as she flicked his bedroom light off.

"Good night, Mother," he replied. She shut the door behind her and Tyler let his eyes slip shut.

He thought of a million things as he fell asleep since he brain seemed to never shut off. He couldn't help but think about how things were. He was lucky to have the life he did. And he wouldn't trade it for anything in the world...

Right?