The Ways of Patching Up | ✓

Ninth

"WAIT!!! WAIT FOR ME!!!"

Elliot screamed on top of his lungs as he noticed that the school bus was about to leave. The child sped his pace up, his boots grinding hard against the soft snow, leaving distinct footsteps behind. It caused him to nearly lose his footing, but for some reason, he was able to regain his balance and continued catching up for the bus.

Huffing and puffing, he waved both of his hands high in the air. He also jumped up and down, trying his best to gain the attention of the driver. His hasty breaths began to quicken even more, but at this point, he was only focused on one thing. Come on bus driver, don't leave me behind! Notice me!

As luck would have it, the driver's gaze landed on the boy, who went for the doors and knocked on it rapidly. At the sight, he promptly pressed his foot on the brakes and opened the door for the panting child. It was actually thanks to Elliot's bright red scarf that held the driver up, otherwise he would already leave him.

"Thanks sir!" In spite of him gasping for air due to all of the running he did, Elliot managed to thank the driver. The man simply threw a small but welcoming smile at the kid and beckoned him to the seats behind him. Children that showed their gratitude towards him always brightened up his day, especially seeing their innocent grins, just like what the small blondie did.

Elliot noticed that most of the seats were already occupied by unfamiliar students, especially in the back. Their loud voices echoed throughout the bus as they were talking about some stuff. The only empty spots were in the front, so he decided to settle down there.

Taking a huge breath from his nose and letting it out through his mouth, Elliot decided to watch the snowy scenery through the window. Embracing his Spiderman backpack around his arms and resting his hand on his cheek, his thoughts quickly shifted to Dad and his current condition.

Dad...

The last time Elliot saw him, he had refused to touch his breakfast. He claimed that he would save it for later, but the child doubted it. He knew Dad had not been eating his food properly, so his once well-built body became unusually thin. He didn't even clean his beard like he usually did, so Elliot could see that it had been growing rapidly.

Flashbacks of what happened last night started playing in his head. Seeing and hearing Dad crying hurt the child so much, because he never saw him like that before.

"I miss her so much... I wanna be with her... hehe..." He remembered tears running down his face as he said he missed Mom. Elliot never understood why Dad would still love her despite all the bad deeds she had done. He wanted him to just let her go and live their lives together, but unlike Elliot, it seemed that Dad was unable to move on easily.

Now, Elliot always glared in disgust whenever he saw Mom in the family pictures back in his room. He wanted to yell at her and demand her to apologize for everything she had caused. Sure, she never did anything wrong to the child and had always been taking care of him, but he couldn't overlook the stuff she had done to Dad.

Why did Mom do something bad like that? Dad has always been so good to me and her, so why did she hurt him? What did he do?

Tears pricked his eyes, but realizing that there were people that could laugh at him for crying, he immediately wiped them off with his sleeves. Elliot shook his head, and continued staring at the outside world for the rest of the trip until he arrived at school.

Before the child hopped up out of the bus, he bobbed his head as he silently thanked the bus driver again, whose crooked smile broadened than ever. With his feet landing perfectly on the snow, Elliot slowly made his way to the entrance of the school, where he could see many students flowing in.

Okay... I need to focus on school first and then I can tend to Dad later...

The boy thought as he slipped in through a lot of kids, who were flocking the hallway and laughing out loud. After some time, he noticed Shanice and Andrew standing by their lockers, possibly waiting for him. Both of their faces lit up as soon as they noticed him as they raised their arms.

"Elliot, what took you so long?" Shanice instantly asked as soon as he neared them, "we've been waiting here since forever!"

"Yeah, you're usually earlier than us," Andrew joined in, "what's wrong dude?"

"I'm sorry guys, I took the bus to school since my dad isn't driving today," Elliot sheepishly laughed as he rubbed the back of his head, "he's not feeling well, so he's resting for now."

"Aw, get well soon for your dad!" Shanice exclaimed, "it must have been hard for him to get things done by himself..."

"Haha, yeah..." Elliot chuckled, "so, what did you do with Drew yesterday?"

"We were reading comics and playing some games," she explained, "and then we went outside, have a snowball fight and built a huge snowman!"

"You kinda ruined the snowman though," Andrew shrugged.

"Geez, I already said sorry!" Shanice pouted.

That sounds fun... The child found himself envying all the interesting activities his friends had done without him. After all, Shanice and Andrew still have both of their parents together, and they seemed to be getting along with each other. Oh, how he wished for Dad to go back to his normal self, but there seemed to be no signs of him getting any better. The beers that Dad had been consuming... were far from making Dad happy either.

While Shanice and Andrew were discussing the comics they recently read, the thought of Dad still haunted him inside. ...maybe... I should have to talk to someone else and get help for Dad. I think I can't do this on my own... maybe... my counsellor could be helpful on this one...?

As if on cue, Elliot noticed the counsellor, Ms. Fairchild, lingering outside of her office. She was busy talking to some students that were asking her questions. Most of the kids had loved seeking her comfort as she was one of the nicest teachers in school. Her patience, her uplifting smile, and the way she softened her tone around children caused her popularity among Elliot's friends.

The boy felt indifferent around her, but he always thought she was... a strange woman. She sported a brilliant purple hair that was always tied into a low bun, and possessed a pair of weird golden eyes which always threw Elliot off. The vibes she had been giving out always made him reluctant to talk to her, so he had been kind of avoiding her.

She's a good person but she's just weird...

The others seem to be okay though, maybe I'm the only one uncomfortable around her...

Elliot broke his gaze off Ms. Fairchild as he ran towards his friends, who were calling for him to catch up after them.

Maybe next time if I feel good, I'll talk to her... just not right now.