Playing For The Other Team [REMAKE]

Chapter 3

The drive home is uneventful. Had he been more thoughtful, Nathan would have taken a drive around town to clear his head, but all he wanted was to go home and lock himself up in his room.

But he also still has half a math assignment to finish.

He sighs when he pulls into the paved driveway in front of his house and remains in the car for several minutes before he exits the vehicle and makes his way to the front door. When he unlocks and opens the front door, he's greeted by the sound of the TV in the living room. The sound of a cheering crowd and a breathless commentator means that it must be Nathan's father that's watching. That alone is enough to make Nathan perk up.

He leaves his sports bag in the laundry room and his backpack by the stairs and heads into the living room where his father sits in a sleek armchair, reading the newspaper.

Aaron Bone is a tall man with broad shoulders and a semi-permanent frown on his face. His brown hair is swept back per usual, but instead of a proper business suit, he's relaxing in a pair of slacks and a polo shirt. He looks like the poster image of a golf-dad, and the only thing missing is a golf cap and a bag of clubs.

Nathan's been told that he's the spitting image of his father in his younger days. Nathan secretly hopes that he wouldn't inherit his father's frown.

Aaron doesn't look up when his son enters the room and sits down on the couch. "You're later than usual," he points out without taking his eyes off the paper.

"You're earlier than usual," Nathan says, which makes Aaron look up and smile at him. "What are we watching?" Nathan asks as he turns to look at the TV. He already knows what it is, it's the game his father had promised that they'd watch together. Or rather, the recording of the game that Nathan had watched by himself while Aaron was called into an emergency meeting at work.

"Just catching up," Aaron says. "It's not very exciting, though."

"It was a boring game," Nathan agrees.

They sit in silence for a while before Aaron puts the paper aside and reaches for a cup on the coffee table in front of the couch. The cup and its content seem lukewarm, most likely forgotten. "Is everything okay at school? You don't usually stay this late."

Nathan shrugs. "Wanted to get some work out of the way. Got a math assignment that needs to be done."

"Do you need a hand with it?"

Surprised, Nathan looks at his father. "Would you help me?"

Aaron laughs. "Goodness, no. I'm afraid I wouldn't be of much help," he says between chuckles. "But I have some good friends that I could ask if you'd like someone to tutor you."

Nathan hides his disappointment behind a smile. "I'm good," he says. "It's nothing that wouldn't be in the book. If all else fails, I've got the internet."

"Good on you, Nathan."

Before the silence returns, Nathan gets up and excuses himself to his room. He grabs his backpack and slings it over his shoulder, taking the stairs two steps at the time and ducking into his bedroom on the left. Once the door is closed, Nathan lets out a long and loud sigh as he drops his bag by his desk.

He knows that he should finish his assignment. There is just a handful of questions, equations, and problems left to solve. An hour's work if he just sits down and does it.

But he doesn't.

The plush pillows on the bed are too tempting, and Nathan sprawls himself out among them with a grunt. A sudden wave of emotions washes over him. Relief to be home in his room. Reluctance to finish his homework. Annoyance that his father would suggest a tutor followed by sadness about his father's usual neglect. Last of all, he dares to hope that things are going to get better. Not that they are bad.