Bring The Heat

69. Nobody Ever Gets Hurt Again Pt 1 (CB ARC 18)

-(JANUARY 29TH, LATE NIGHT)-

Tenson stared up at the ceiling from the bed. Nicki had booked a motel for them both and Dominic, so they could wait out the storm going on back at the compound. The moonlight danced on Tenson's face. It was a full moon tonight, just like last night, and the stars were twinkling like glitter tossed over a navy blue sheet. The stars were usually a source of comfort for him, but not tonight. He couldn't sleep properly...

Dominic laid on the bed beside him, snoring peacefully, and Nicki was sleeping on the next bed over. The layout of the room reminded him a lot of the one he and his sister used to sleep in...

-(6 YEARS AGO)-

"And, so, basically, Mac figures out that the alien cells all live independently but work as one, so he takes samples of the crew's blood and burns each sample with a rod, right?"

"Uh huh."

Tenson, 10 years old, was walking home from school with Mariah, and describing the plot of John Carpenter's The Thing. He was about to continue, but stopped for a second, looking up at his older sister.

"You don't care, do you?"

"Of course I do. But you talk too much! I could just watch the movie if I wanted to know all that."

"We did watch the movie. Last night? You fell asleep..."

"Yeah. I said 'if I wanted to'. I don't."

Tenson laughed quietly as they reached their apartment. Sure, what Mariah said was kinda mean, but he found it funny.

"Anyway," she continued as she unlocked the door, "what's the Mick guy do next?"

"Mac." Tenson corrected her, entering the apartment, "And so he gets a rod of copper wire, and tests each blood sample, which actually proves that-"

"Shut up, boy."

Tenson stopped speaking and looked over at his dad, the one who had said that to him. He was sitting in a chair, watching TV, the blazer of his suit thrown haphazardly on the floor. He already had a beer in his hand. Under his breath, he muttered;

"You talk too much..."

Tenson's face dropped, and he suddenly felt a lot smaller. It wasn't funny when he said it...

Seeing her little brother hurt, Mariah intervened.

"You don't get to say that to him!" she stated, but was instantly denied any power in the situation by her father not even responding, just waving a hand back at her in annoyance. She recalled times when he said that he could 'never respect a daughter who spoke too much'.

Mariah realized even more how big her mistake was when she realized her mother had heard her from the kitchen, and now ran in, waving a report card in her face.

"What is this!?" her mother yelled, shoving the report card into her hands.

'Mariah Choi Year 6 Mrs. C. Grocott

English: D
Maths: F
Science: C
History: F
Geography: F
Drama: B
Music: F

Mariah's situation needs serious improvement. She is failing in more than half of her subjects, and this is not acceptable. I struggle to think of any secondary schools that would accept her as she is now. She must improve by the end of the year.'

"F! F, F, F, F! And D! What is this!? Do you want to be poor? Do you want that?" Mariah's mother yelled, dragging her into the kitchen as she berated her.