The Social Class

Three

                                                               CALEB

I was going to kill Dean. How could he do this?!

How could he just let Maisy Haven work her cute, adorable charm into our tight knit circle and make what I viewed as crazy and stupid...sound so captivating and exciting.

She was good. She was really good.

The way she could convince us sounded like she was really willing to try to help. So I believed her. Well...kinda believed her. We'll see where this whole deal would take us.

I was now at home after the crazy day I had, sitting on my couch playing a spacecraft video game. I was in full peace and normalcy for the brief moment before my life got turned upside down.

As I was continuing with my game, my Dad walked into the house and up to me. His name was Frank Schaffer and he was a very athletic and sporty kind of guy. Basically everything I wasn't.

Walking further in, I found him now standing in front of the TV of me and my game as I looked to him mystified. This better be a good enough reason.

"Uh Dad...do know the TV is behind you?" I asked him.

"Yes son, I do." He told me holding a football in his hand. "I was wondering if you'd like to play a mean game of throw and catch outside! Nice and sunny evening! Why not right?" He finished off.

"No thanks. I'm already on level 43 and I'm so close to beating Queen Libra against the evil Dr.Minion Stewart on the air galactic ship battle field. Maybe in a few hours." I answered.

He always did this. He always thought since he was athletically inclined, I would be too. If I wasn't he was going to make sure I started to be. But it wasn't who I was.

I loved role playing and the only role playing he did was when I turned 16 a year ago and he took us both to hang out at the comic con convention. Trust me when I say this, when I still can remember how he tried to slam dunk a basketball in a spacecraft ride because he was bored.

"Son, you have to practice. College scouts for sports aren't going to be looking for the next kid that can beat a video game with nothing but pixelates."

"Yeah Dad I know. But get this...I don't like sports. You know I don't. So why do we keep having this conversation?"

"Caleb, when I was your age-" he started to say.

"I know. You were the football champion. The most popular guy in school. I know the story. Everyone knows the story. But maybe I don't want to be a sports star like you. What if I want to be a scientist? Or a astronaut? Or a mathematician?" I tried to reason with him.

"A what?" He asked mystified. I sighed and looked at him bitterly, shaking my head.

"Nothing Dad. Nothing at all." I said standing up and turning off the game. "Alright, best out of 7?"

My father smiled and nodded.

"That a boy! Come on! It'll be fun!"

He tosses the ball to me. I smirked unenthusiastically and we both head outside.

It was always just easier to relate to him instead of me explaining it. See, me and my Dad's relationship was never really the best after my Mom left us.

No warning. No reason why. She just decided to have her own life and not have either of us apart of it. But I still remembered the days we would hang out together having the time of our lives.

But somewhere down the line, I had a sense that after she left my Dad blamed me for her departure. He would never admit it but I had to feel like it was true to a degree.