Maple

Ch4

PLease tell me how to make this better, I would love some constructive critism!

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Maple

Well, this is awkward. Why did I agree to this again? I waited in silence for David to finish his story after giving him the directions to my house. I decided I would get him to stop a block away from my house so he wouldn't know exactly where I live. Just in case.

"So, as I said last time" he began "the students who tormented me before were nothing after I beat them once. But it didn't stop them from being bad people. They started targeting other students instead. I got pissed. I decided to put an end to it. I beat them till they were stuck in hospital for more than a week." I gulped. So I was right when I thought that he was a delinquent.

"Obviously, I got expelled. The boys went back to bullying because I was no longer there to stop them. I had friends in that school, so I couldn't just desert them. I had to keep them in check, but I did it the wrong way. I got involved in gangs, threatened them when they weren't in school. I became conceited just because I got a little strong."

"When I realized it, it was already too late. I was too far in to just wash my hands of it. I would get into fights almost every day. I realized I had pretty much become just like the bullies whom I was trying so hard to stop. I didn't even bother going to any school." He paused and I realized that we had already arrived, but I didn't get out of the car, I wanted to hear the rest.

"My Mom was too busy trying to get me into a private school to realize that I was slowly sinking into depression again. She works two jobs because she wants me to get the best education. She doesn't want me to have the same future as her, though I don't really see what’s wrong with her life." He stopped, struggling for words.

"But that wasn't what you wanted, was it?" I asked, pushing him on.

"No" he agreed.

"You just wanted her to talk to you." It wasn't a question.

"Hmm… I guess. But then I realized this could be my way out. We moved and I enrolled into St George's, though my Mom has to pay the fee in installments over the next couple of years. I have a chance to start over. I'm lucky, because not many do." There was an absurdly long period of silence before I gathered up the courage to speak up.

"You should talk to her" I whispered.

"What?"

"Your mother, you should talk to her," I said before opening the car door, "before it's too late" Like it was for me.

I stepped into the dark night before I could say something unnecessary. Walking home, I couldn't stop thinking of David's life story. I wonder what happened to his father. Does he still get into fights even now? Will he really talk it out with his mother? I shook the thoughts out of my head. I have my own problems to deal with; I can't waste time worrying about other people. 

I climbed up the stairs to my apartment. I live on the second floor of a three floor tenement. The building is small and old, with only two apartments on each floor. The walls are so thin I can hear my neighbor, Mrs. Kenly, snore throughout the night. Not that I'm complaining. The rent's cheap and the apartment has a kitchen, a bathroom, a bed and a TV.

I unlocked the door and stepped in, turning on the lights. The apartment was clean and tidy, I keep it that way because otherwise there'd be no space to breathe, let alone move about freely.

"I'm home" I said to no one in particular, shutting the door behind me. I put my bag down in its usual spot, where I can't trip over it, and changed out of my school clothes. I knelt down in front of the bedside table. On it were two picture frames. One showed me and my grandfather, he died of a chronic heart disease five years ago. The ten year old me sat on his lap, we were both grinning.