The Ways of Patching Up | ✓

Twentieth

No matter how many activities Elliot had been doing at school, he wasn't able to stop the morning incident from tormenting him.

He remembered how he had screamed at Dad for not hearing his pleas, and how Dad was just sitting there, gawking at Elliot. Just the bare memory of it produced a pang of pain shooting through his heart. Also, the fact that the child never once raised his voice at his father before, was making his head painfully swirl like a tornado.

Dad didn't want to hear me out, and that just makes me angry, but I should have not shouted… if only I was patient… then Dad would listen to me more. Because of his own emotions taking over him, his plans of convincing Dad were complete duds. Waves of regret started crashing against Elliot, causing him to square his shoulders and dig his nails into his palms. He tightened his jaw and continued staring down at the table in front of him.

I just want him to stop drinking before it's too late… The nightmare from last night could be real someday, and it inevitably made him cower in fear. There was not much time left, now that Mr. Zheng was aware about Dad's current condition and his drinking habits. He quickly gulped at the passing thought. Is there… any other way I can do…?

Right now, Elliot and the others were continuing with their science fair projects for the rest of the day. Most of the kids were busy preparing their materials, as their murmurs filled up the entire vicinity. Some teachers were assisting with some groups, especially those who seemed to have trouble crafting their works. Ms. Fairchild was supposed to be around too, but for some reason… the boy couldn't catch any sight of the purple-haired counsellor.

Maybe, she's busy…? Elliot fiddled a thumbtack that he found on the floor before, while keeping his head low. Well… at least she still didn't know about Dad drinking and all of that so… I guess that's a great thing.

"Okay so guys," Shanice initiated, interrupting Elliot's reverie. The boys then observed as she hastily flipped open her notebook to a certain page, "I've made the list of constellations we should make. We have the usual Orion and Big Dipper, then we have Cassiopeia, Draco, Cephe… us, Lyra and Del… phinus. Geez, all of these names are so cool but they are so hard to say!"

Okay… Maybe you should try helping your friends with the project first… The child tried heartening himself up as he cleared any of those distracting flashbacks off his head. 

Andrew quickly drew near her as he scanned through the list. Soon after, he pushed his bottom lip forward, "aw man, you don't include any of the zodiacs or something? And there's no Cygnus either… it's one of the coolest constellations!"

"Cygnus? Oh shoot, I forgot to add it!" Shanice exclaimed, scratching her head as she stuck her tongue out, "I'll write it! Also the zodiacs were pretty hard to make, so I kinda choose the ones that are easy!"

"Cancer and Pisces were the easiest ones, you know," Andrew countered, "heck, I think they're even easier than Draco and Orion."

"Hmm, I guess you're right…"

Elliot watched as his friends were in a deep discussion about the constellations they were going to display in the jar. A small smile spread across the child's face as Shanice crossed out some constellations that Andrew had deemed difficult. Even though he wanted to join their conversations, he didn't know what to say, and was left silent. After all, Dad was still making up most of his mind, regardless of everything.

"How about you, Elliot? What do you think?" Shanice turned towards her friend, but it seemed that he didn't acknowledge her.

But I just want Dad to be safe and healthy… he still needs to stop drinking or else things are gonna get so bad… The rumbling noises surrounding him gradually grew fainter as Elliot sank himself in his own thoughts. He crossed his arms together as his body started quivering. I don't want to go with Mom. She hurts Dad, and she's probably gonna hurt me even more…  

"Uh… Elliot?" Shanice skittered towards him, "are you okay?"

I can't even tell Dad to stop drinking… what should I do…? Maybe I should keep reminding him. I don't know if that works or not... but there's no other way. Elliot's head began to ache harder than before. I'm stuck… I'm so stuck… why can't I think of anything?

"Hey, Elliot!"

The sudden loud voice that originated right beside Elliot made him jump in his seat. His muscles jolted, and consequently, he could feel something sharp piercing against his skin. Pain showed its ruthless attitude as his index finger stung with might, and as a result, Elliot's face quickly grimaced.

Ow!

Upon closer inspection, Elliot realized that the sharp ends of the thumbtack had pricked his index finger. He instinctively flung the object away, and it bounced repeatedly across the table, producing tiny thuds. A droplet of dark red liquid seeped out of the small puncture wound. He cringed at the sight of the fresh bodily fluid, but fortunately, it didn't hurt so much.

While the child seemed indifferent about the injury, Elliot's friends, on the other hand…

"Oh no, Elliot, I'm so sorry! Oh my gosh!" Shanice cried out as her glassy eyes were completely in circles. Her hands shook tremendously as her head frantically turned all over the place, "I'm gonna get some tissue! Or bandages! Or water!"

"Oh! I have some tissues!"  Andrew snatched his bag from his seat and tore it open without using the zippers. He grabbed a pack of tissues, abruptly pulled out several sheets that Elliot thought were too much. He then strode towards the blondie and handed them to him. "Here!"

"T-Thanks Drew…" the small blondie stumbled upon his words as he was taken aback by his friend's hasty reaction. Nevertheless, he decided to take the tissue and started wiping off the blood that was pooling from the wound. Well… it kinda stings… but it doesn't really hurt…

"I'm so sorry!" Shanice repeatedly apologized, "you were like… not responding to my calls so I thought about surprising you! I didn't know you were holding a thumbtack!"

"It's fine!" Elliot dismissed as he forced himself to laugh, despite the pain, "I shouldn't be playing with those things anyway… don't worry, I'm gonna clean this up in the toilet… I'll be back fast!"

Shanice and Andrew both blinked at the same time, with the former opening her mouth to say something, but she had no idea what words to mutter. As Elliot made his way out, he could feel their penetrating gazes boring through the back of his skull, but thankfully the feeling disappeared as soon as the boy left the area to go to the bathroom.

The first thing Elliot did once he arrived was to gaze at the mirror above the sink, where his reflection ogled at him back. At the first glance, he looked normal like any other children, but due to the constant times where he woke up in the middle of the night and his frequent breakdowns, his darkened eyes were entirely deprived of energy.

Sighing exasperatedly, Elliot decided to take a peek at the tiny wound on his finger, where he noticed that the blood had stopped coming out, and the wavering pain had disappeared. He couldn't even see the remains of what the thumbtack had caused, as if the previous events didn't happen at all.

He wasn't really bothered about it though… this was nothing compared to all the bad stuff Dad had been going through. He was suffering more than he was, and even without asking, the child could tell how much pain he had to endure… all because of those stupid drinks as well as Mom herself.

Dad can still change and stop drinking beers… I just need to be there for him and keep telling him what's wrong… 

...but the thing is… he just needs to listen.