The Ways of Patching Up | ✓

Sixth

School was as mundane as it got.

Elliot went through the lessons as usual, studying about a lot of things. However, he made sure to listen attentively to all the stuff his teachers had been saying. Despite sleepiness almost taking over him, the child quickly rubbed his droopy eyes and shook his head as he scribbled important notes. He wanted Dad to know that he was trying his best in school, and showed him all the achievements he received.

I can't be lazy anymore!

Other than that, Elliot also got the time to relax and simply be like a typical kid. He hung out with his normal group of friends during recess, doing some fun activities such as wandering around the playground. Most of the class also decided to play tag, with Elliot and his best friend Shanice being the 'it's. He teamed up with her as they chased their running classmates, and at the first minute, Elliot managed to mark one of them to be the 'it'.

"Tag, you're it!" He had screamed, but he narrowly avoided being touched by stepping aside and sprinting like lightning. For the rest of the game, he managed to evade capture, which wasn't surprising as Elliot was one of the fastest runners in class.

The child found himself enjoying the day, drowning himself in laughter alongside his friends. He thought that with all of these fun memories, he could completely shrug off all the bad things that had been happening back home. However, Elliot could still feel his heart as heavy as the rock as he remembered all Dad's sad and angry faces. He wanted to talk to somebody, but... he still couldn't find any trusted figures to help them out.

I won't give up... I would still try to find help...

Even though Shanice and his other friend, Andrew, were aware about the situation, Elliot didn't tell them further. He didn't want to drag them into his family problems and would rather prefer if they stayed out of it. Even if they wanted to help him, they were just as clueless. I think it's better if they don't know, though.

"Hey Drew, Elliot, wanna go to my house today?" Shanice asked as the trio settled down on the bench and waited for their parents to pick them up. The children then cuddled together so that they could make each other warm, "Mom bought me more comics to read! We don't have much to do this week, so we can play more games!"

Elliot found himself smiling thinly at her. Shanice had black hair tied into small double afro buns, possessing big brown eyes that were always glinting with delight as well as a skin tone that reminded Elliot of light chocolate. She was the energetic of the bunch, loving to play video games and read comics, but as a result, her parents confiscated them since she always stayed beyond her bed time. Elliot found that hilarious, and he found himself getting along with her so easily.

"Yes obviously! I haven't finished reading Spiderman from before!" Andrew exclaimed, punching his fists in the air.

As for him, Elliot had always been fond of Andrew since he also had high spirits just as his other friend. He had short dark hair with curly locks falling on his forehead, but he shared the similar eye and skin color with Shanice. While she was more confident and reckless, Andrew was observant and careful, so he was always hesitant to do things that seemed risky. Elliot couldn't blame him, though.

"How about you, Elliot?" All eyes were then on the blondie, who jumped at the gazes that bored down through him.

Elliot really wanted to play with them, especially the fact that it seemed so promising, but the thought of his father restrained him back from agreeing. Sure he should have fun with his friends, but at the same time, Dad was his top priority at this time.

"Um... sorry Shan, I think I'm not gonna go this time," Elliot said as he laughed sheepishly. He then scratched his head, "I have some things to do with my dad."

"Oh man... that sucks," Shanice's face clearly expressed disappointment as her smile turned upside down, "you've always been busy with your dad, but I hope he's doing good."

"Well yeah, he has been fine so far. I'm sorry guys," Elliot found himself telling a lie so that nothing was uncovered by them. He's definitely far from fine.

"That's okay, my dude," Andrew quickly slung his arm over Elliot as he bared his sets of teeth, "there's always next time."

"Yeah!" Shanice joined in, "well then Drew, while we're at it, let's have french fries and nuggets together!"

"Heck yeah!"

"Hey, don't just buy food without me..." Elliot complained as he pushed his bottom lip forward to form a pout. On the other side, his two friends burst out laughing as they slammed their hands together in a high five. Despite everything, the child couldn't contain himself from chuckling. They might tease me the whole time, but they always care about me.

A few minutes later, while Shanice and Andrew were discussing superheroes and their powers, Elliot noticed something odd. There by the entrance, he could see a familiar car pulling into view in front of him. Upon further observation, the child realized that it was Dad, who opened the window and raised his hand at him, signalling him to come over. That's so strange... he's usually picking me up the last. Whatever... maybe he has finished his work early, which is a good thing.

"Bye guys, my dad just arrived!" Elliot announced as he hopped off his seat.

"Whoa, hold up! That's so not your dad," Shanice's eyes went wide as her brows lifted.

"Yeah, I guess he's early today, but see you guys tomorrow!" The boy waved his arm at his friends before running towards the car, to which they returned back.

Elliot took a deep breath for a moment, trying to regain composure within himself first. He gently opened the door and jumped in without any hesitation, before shutting it. As usual, he pulled a smile at his father, who merely stared at him in recognition before he pushed on the pedal and began driving. At this point, the child didn't expect any response... at least he acknowledged his presence and that already made him glad.

"Hey Dad... um... it's pretty weird that you picked me up early today," he subconsciously initiated a conversation as he looked over to Dad. He looked a bit messier compared to this morning though, but Elliot wasn't paying attention to that.

"Yeah," he responded, much to his son's bewilderment, "I'm almost finished with work."

"That's great then!" Dad is sure not like usual... I wonder what happened...? Elliot was buckling his seatbelt, and he noticed something unusual on the corner of his eyes. His thoughts immediately turned into a basket of questions as he glanced at what was behind him. There on the seats, rested a plastic bag containing some glass bottles that seemed too heavy for him to carry. Curious, he then pushed himself further to try reading the labels that were engraved on the bottles.

Hmm... beer...? Elliot tilted his head. I've heard about them somewhere before...

Something odd suddenly rushed inside of his nerves. Instinctively, he clenched his hand on his chest, feeling his heart pounding against his ribs. What is this...? Why am I getting this kind of funny vibe?

"Dad, what did you buy over there?" Elliot asked as he pointed to the bottles, "are they juice or something?"

"No, it's not for you, Elliot. It's for my job," Dad answered brusquely as he reached his hand and forced his son to get his body back to the seat, "you don't need to know."

The boy could only blink in confusion as silence consumed over them. It seemed Dad was hiding something from him with all of these strange bottles, but unfortunately, the child couldn't dig out the secrets. Dad was really hard to read, so he was left with no clues. He peered on to the rear-view mirror, eyeing the objects closely.

What is Dad trying to do?

I don't get a good feeling about this...