Without Flaws | Fyodor Academy 1

Chapter 34

Chapter 34

       My cell phone started ringing, so I reached for it off of my nightstand. The moment I saw who the caller ID was, I got a bit angry. Maybe more than a bit angry. It was my mom calling, probably wondering why I was since I was supposed to go to her lab today. I wasn't going today, though. I didn't feel like going.

       I put my phone back on the nightstand, letting it continue to ring. I could always just screen the call, which I was tempted to do. Maybe if she called again I would so she knew I wasn't happy with her.

       After the ringing ended, I got a spam of text messages. I groaned, picking up my phone and seeing that all of them was from my mom. She was wondering where I was, reminding me that I agreed to go to the lab today.

       I did, but I also agreed to go before the whole birthday thing where both she and my father didn't wish me a happy birthday.

       This time before I put my phone down, I put it on silent. I did not want to hear my phone going off right now.

       The door to the dorm room opened, and Jules walked inside carrying an abundance of food from the cafeteria. "I brought dinner," he said, closing the door behind him with his foot. "And dessert too. Though I probably could have made two trips because my arms feel like they're about to fall off." He walked over to the mini fridge, starting to put the food inside.

       "Dinner?" I asked. "It's only three."

       "Yeah, but I heard there's going to be a long line in the cafeteria later today," Jules said. "I'd rather not wait in a long line."

       "Any reason there's going to be a long line?" I asked.

       "I'm not sure, but I think there's some kind of themed dinner," Jules said. "Like taco Tuesday."

       "It's not Tuesday."

       "I know. I said like taco Tuesday. People figured out there's a theme, they just don't know what it is yet. There's never anything special about it, so I picked up some dinner early. That's okay, right?"

       "Uh huh. I don't even feel like going down to the cafeteria today, even if the themed dinner was something special."

       "How are you feeling?"

       "Meh. But I do have a question. How does Peregryn Steve Hathaway McCabe sound?"

       "What are you talking about?" 

       "Oh, I'm thinking about legally changing my last name when I turn nineteen. At first, I was thinking of doing Hathaway because it's the name I registered under for this school, but then I remembered it's also my middle name. It would be weird to go from four names to three, so I decided on McCabe since, you know, my grandpa actually acknowledged my existence, even when he doesn't need something from me."

       Jules was silent for a bit as he continued to put the food in the fridge. Eventually, he asked, "Does this have to do with your birthday? And your parents?"

       "Correct," I said. "I'm just... I'm tired of them only contacting me when they need something. And it's not like they're not contacting me because I'm an adult, living my own life or something. I'm just a teenager. I'm not even old enough to have my own place and yet... Neglect."

       Jules finished putting the food in the mini fridge before walking over and sitting on the edge of my bed where I was lying down. "Well, I'm not going to tell you what to do about it because it's your decision, but if you want to change your last name, you should."

       "I'm not even sure if I will," I said. "It's just an idea. Besides, I have to wait another two years before I can do it without my parents permission. And knowing them, if I ask them, they'll be like 'Why would you do that? You're our son'. And then I'll say 'But you don't act like I am' but they'll still say no."

       "If it makes you feel any better, you're Parry Hathaway at this school," Jules said.

       "That does a bit," I said. "By the way, did you go see a counsellor about your test anxiety yet?"

       "Not yet," Jules said. "I did make an appointment, though. It's not until tomorrow after school. I just hope there's something I can actually do when I take tests instead of just freezing up and failing."

       "There will be," I said, sitting up on the bed. "I'm bored. Are you bored? Want to go pull a prank?"

       "What?" Jules asked. "No. We're not pulling any pranks."

       I sighed. "I guess I will just be bored."

       "Come on, I'm sure there's something that you want to do," Jules said.

       I laid back down. "It has to be something that doesn't involve leaving the dorm, because I really don't feel like going anywhere. Especially since I'm supposed to be at the lab right now."

       "Wait, you are?" Jules asked. "Why aren't you going there?"

       "Why do you think?" I asked. "Look, I get that it's my research and I should be involved and stuff, but I really don't feel like being around my mom right now."

       "Oh, right," Jules said. "Yeah, I don't blame you for not going. Did you tell her?'

       "Nope," I said. "She's been calling and texting me to find out where I am, but I'm not answering." I reached for my cell phone, seeing that there were a lot of messages from here. "Though maybe I should reply just once so she doesn't think I'm dead or something."

       I sent my mom a quick text saying Not coming, sorry. No explanation. Nothing. If she wanted to know why I wasn't going to show up, then maybe she should have remembered my birthday.

       I put my phone back on the nightstand before asking, "Am I overreacting?"

       "No, I don't think so," Jules said. "All you're doing is ignoring and avoiding your parents. That's a pretty normal reaction."

       "I don't like being normal," I said. "So I think it's time for--"

       "No," Jules said. "No pranking."

       "I wasn't going to say that," I said. "I was going to say that it's time I finally put S.T.E.V.E in action."

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i wish i updated this sooner, i missed these two :( it's so hard with all the books i have in progress rn ahahaha

but anyway, let's all band together and support parry in changing his last name to mccabe.