"What?! Are you guys crazy?"
"Joshua! That is not the way to talk to your parents," a stranger called 'father' said.
"Do you both realise what you are saying? Or has senility caught up to you soon?"
I know I am being rude, but try to be in my situation.
What situation, you must be thinking? Well, here's what happened.
I entered the dining hall with a most weird sight to behold: my dad and my mom were sitting together, yes, you heard me, together and talking to each other. It has been eight years since I last saw them like this. Needless to say, when dad wasn't the CEO of some big corporate giant, and we were quite a happy middle class family, things were different. We lived a normal life, similar to other people. Weekly trips to the park, a beach outing during summers, movie nights- we did everything. When I used to make a mistake, they would assure me that it was okay and that we learn from these mistakes. And we can always correct them. That is why pencils have erasers at their ends.
However, when I turned eleven, these pencils got swapped by eraser-less ones, and every eraser within my radius was incinerated. One small mistake, and I was ambushed with reprimands. My only blessing was that I wasn't hit. Dad got much more engrossed in expanding his newly established company's tentacles, yup, that's what I call it, instead of extending his dedication to the family. And my mom, she suddenly started to work overtime, leaving me in the company of helping staff, PSP, anything cash-related, lack of emotions and a truckload of loneliness. Spiffing combo pack, isn't it?
I remember I had once broken a small vase. It was really a small one, and "a waste of space" as I had heard, okay, "overheard" my mother calling it. And it wasn't on purpose, I swear. I have never even broken the tip of my pencil ever. I was yelled at as if I disintegrated the mansion to ashes.
Since then, my so called family has been dysfunctional. We don't acknowledge each other's presence. I tried to, but then, facing rejection each time, I stopped it. They saw this and gave me a credit card. So much for consolation...
So imagine my state when these two people tell me that a notorious gang is after my life.
My dad said, " There is a very powerful gang, which happens to be my rival as well, in the corporate sector I mean..."
Or so I hope...
"...is after your very life. They won't stop at anything to get your head on a platter."
Yeah, I am bombed.
"And why is that? Care to explain?"
"You are the key to something important, that's why."
He was saying this as if it was normal.
"But I do not have jagged teeth at either ends of my body!" I exclaimed.
They blinked. "Jagged teeth?"
"Yeah , you know? Those crooked stuff on the metal thingies used to open locks-"
"Yes we know what locks and keys are, " they snapped together, as if they rehearsed it.
Well, it does take two blades of scissors to snap at something.
"Joshua, even if we don't talk that much that doesn't change the fact that you are our son,"dad said.
Finally! Took you long enough.
"And we won't like it if something were to happen to you," mom added.
They are sooo right. Who will be the next donkey to carry the load of the company otherwise? Or worse, if they had to organise a funeral. You know, dying is really a costly affair, at least for my parents. Trust me, I know from experience. Not by dying myself of course...
