e i g h t
"Lupus non timet canem latrantem." - Uknown
UNWELCOME VISITOR
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When Lucian Harding woke up Saturday morning, he knew it would not be a good day. One might ask how he knew this, yet the answer was quite simple: his father.
Briar Harding was not a man of good days; he was a man of business days. Lucien had learned this the hard way. He'd never been offered warm, comforting hugs when things did not go his way, when he was sad. No, Lucien was taught a lesson-lessons that taught him how to manipulate and how to get ahead in any situation.
His father was a business man at heart; he'd raised his son the same way.
A shame then, Lucien thought, that he had no desires in becoming anything like his father.
Briar would be disappointed when Lucien broke the news to him, though not because he'd let him go so easily. But, because then he'd know Lucien's heart would never fully be in it like himself.
Lucien was not a businessman at heart; he never would be.
So, as he walked down the empty corridors, held held high, dressed perfectly-no visible flaw in sight-he built his facade. His walls went back up; Lucien became someone else entirely.
His mask was in place, and suddenly, Lucien Harding was his father's son once again.
His dress shoes clicked quietly as he strolled the hallways. Soon, he'd be with his father. Soon, he'd have to endure it. Soon, Lucien would be miserable-more so than he already was.
When he reached the Headmaster's office, he knew the person residing inside would not be Headmaster Clyde, but Briar Harding. Pushing down on the cool, metal handle, Lucien stepped into the devil's liar.
Inside, Briar Harding was seated in the large chair behind the pristine wooden desk in the center of the room, shoulders back, chin jutted outwards, and cold grin in place. He regarded his son as if he were merely a client, with feigned smiles and greetings.
"Son," Briar greeted. "How lovely it is to see you."
"How lovely," Lucien repeated, with just the perfect amount of sarcasm his father would admire.
His stare hardened, yet the edges of his lips turned upwards. "I do hope all is well at the Academy."
"Everything is marvelous," he lied with a convincing smile.
Briar seemed content. He didn't like trouble. "Very well," he said. "Very well indeed. I'll dawdle no longer, Lucien. I've come to chat."
Lucien pretended to be surprised, arching a single eyebrow. "Oh? About what, father?"
"About the future of course," he replied. "In a few months, you'll officially be an adult."
Lucien withheld the urge to grit his teeth; it wouldn't go unnoticed. "I will," he simply responded.
"We need to speak of the business and the topic you've so willingly put off."
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