Working Boy

Chapter 4

Chase woke up in the morning feeling oddly refreshed. He didn't get back home until three in the morning, so he did his best to sneak in without getting caught. He looked over to his right and saw the two dufflebags from last night. He stayed up counting the money before going to bed. It totaled up to $1,262. It felt like he struck gold.

Upon hearing Antwon coming down the hallway, he sprung up to kick the dufflebags underneath the bed. The door opened a few moments later and Chase wheeled around to greet him.

"Hey Ant, what's up?" Chase flashed him a goofy smile, confusing the older male for a second.

"Morning Chase," he flashed a fake smile before closing the door behind him and sitting in his bed. "Sit with me please?" He pat the area next to him.

Uh oh. He didn't catch him coming in late, did he?

"Something wrong?" Chase awkwardly sat by him, a bit scared.

"Well...I don't know, depends on you."

Chase inwardly cringed. This doesn't sound good at all.

"What do you mean?" He furrowed his eyebrows, his heart pounding.

"Well Chase, as you know, I was fired from my job."

"Yeah? What about it?"

"Well...the unemployment checks I get won't be able to cover the costs of keeping you in that school. So you might have to transfer-"

"Transfer!? But Antwon, I don't want to transfer!" Chase whined.

"I know it's what you're used to. But hey, it might be for the best considering what you're going through with Samuel and all-"

"Look- I can pay for it myself! I can work overtime! Or...or get a second job!" Chase stammered, desperate.

"I don't want you to overwork yourself Chase. That's not what your parents would've wanted."

The Trini fell silent. He was right. But he really can provide for them now and he was gonna prove it.

"Listen, I'll make it work, I promise," he stated, more determined than ever. "You just focus on finding a new job- I'll take it from here," he smiled.

"Alright, alright," Antwon sighed. "Just be careful, okay?"

Chase nodded. "You have my word, Uncle."

Today was the day his and Samuel's peer mediation began. He sighed. This was going to be a long six weeks. What the hell was Mr. Wedderburn thinking? Did he seriously expect them to the best of friends after these six weeks? Well, at least it's only two days out of the week, which was only twelve days. Cool.

Chase took a deep breath before walking into the abandoned classroom. He could already see Samuel's face twisting into a grimace as he sat down three seats away from him.

"Now c'mon Chase, next to him," Mr. Barr spoke.

With a heavy sigh, Chase grabbed his stuff and moved next to Samuel, Samuel shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

"Good!" Mr. Barr smiled before going to the board and writing 'PEER MEDIATION'. "Welcome to peer mediation! This is where-"

"We know, we know...," they both grumbled in unison.

"Good! Now that that's out of the way, let's do icebreakers," Mr. Barr grabbed a seat and sat in front of the two. "What we're gonna do is-"

"Pardon me, Mr. Barr," Samuel said his name almost mockingly, "But I think we already who we are and where we stand. There's no need for icebreakers."

"Oh but there is!" Mr. Barr piped up. "Because you see, this is going to help you with the project you'll be doing for this program!"

"A project?" Chase furrowed his eyebrows.

"Yep! So you better pay attention and take notes. Now, we're gonna go around and say our names and something about us."

"Anything about us?" Samuel rose an eyebrow.

"Anything," Mr. Barr grinned, earning a suspicious grin from Samuel. "I'll start. Ahem! My name is Mr. Barr," he began. "And I enjoy playing football on my free time. Next?"

"Um, my name is Chase," he began, "And my favorite subject to learn is English," he turned to Samuel to speak.

"My name is Samuel," he yawned while stretching, "And I absolutely HATE dumbasses who get people stuck in peer mediation!" he spat, venomous.

"Now guys-"

"How the hell is this my fault!?" Chase snapped, rising out of his seat.

"Boys-!"

"If you hadn't gone all Tarzan on me, then we wouldn't even be here!" The jock shouted, rising up as well. This alarmed Mr. Barr, for he made sure to position himself between them.

"MAYBE it was because you threw a GODDAMN FOOTBALL at me during lunch! Why would you do that!?"

"MAYBE it's because you don't belong here!"

Those words hung in the air for a while. It stung like a b***h. It was enough that he was going through financial issues, but now this asshole just had to put the cherry on top. He could feel the tears stinging the corner of his eyes for he grabbed his things and stormed out before anyone could see him cry.

"Chase! He didn't mean it-!" Mr. Barr could only plead as he helplessly watched him walk away.

He slammed the door shut behind him, alarming Antwon. Stupid i***t. How dare he talk to him that way? What the hell gives him the right to treat him like that?

"Chase? You okay?" He came to check on his nephew.

"I'm fine," he sniffed, making his way to his room.

"What's wrong? Is it Samuel again?" He lingered behind him.

"I'm fine, Antwon," his voice quivered as he changed into his waiting clothes. Despite how angry he was, he wasn't going to abandon his responsibilities.

"Are you sure you want to still go-?"

"YES ANTWON. I'm still going," he wheeled around with a glare. His eyes were slightly red and watery. Antwon's eyes wavered

He grabbed a brush and brushed his hair into a neat ponytail and got ready to go. "I'll see you later," he took his messenger bag and left.

He couldn't help but feel a little guilty for how he treated Antwon back there. He wasn't the only one who was going through hard times right now. He'll make it up to him later.

He greeted Jace before clocking into his daytime job. He could hardly wait to see what will happen at night.

He approached the nightclub again, entering and making his way straight to the back. The workers didn't hassle him- guess he made a lasting impression on them last night. He went straight towards the back to check in with the boss.

"Why hello Chase," the boss smiled. "Need something?"

"Uh, not really. Just wanted to check in."

"Oh! The timesheets and stuff are in the Dancer's Room. That's basically where you're going to be conducting business."

"I see," Chase nodded before smiling brightly. "Alright, I'll be off then!" He left, going down the hallway and making a right. The direction to the Dancer's Room was easy enough to remember.

He opened the door and was greeted by many of the familiar faces he saw from last night.

"Heyyyy Black Mamba!" A guy with a thick Spanish accent called out with a huge smile.

Chase smiled in return. At least he was wanted somewhere.

"Alright boys!" Ken Doll walked in with a clipboard. "And Chase," he flashed him a flirty look before continuing, "We have a new schedule now so listen up. Ahem!" He readjusted the paper before speaking. "Opening Act is Rodeo, Second is Alejandro, Third is me. Then there will be an intermission before we open again with a group performance. However, we won't do that until next week. So after that performance comes Tantalis, Black Mamba, and then Chief for the closing act. Any questions?"

"When do we practice group performances?" Chase questioned.

"Well, that's a great question! Well we practice on Sundays at 5. So make sure to be there, k?" He nudged him with a smile, Chase taking note of it.

"Alright, that would be all," Ken dismissed them, going to the dry-erase board to make the changes.

**Samuel's POV**

"MAYBE it's because you don't belong here!"

There was a long pause as he stared back at me, wide-eyed. I hated him. I hated everything about him. Just looking at him makes me sick to my stomach. How could a low-grade, piece-of-trash ever get into this school? Certainly he doesn't belong here.

He turned around and stormed off. Good for him. He was better off gone.

"Chase! He didn't mean it-!" Mr. Barr could only plead as he helplessly watched him walk away. He turned to me with a glare

"What?"

"You seriously need to stop picking on him all the time."

"I'M picking on HIM?" I dramatically gasp. "How could you say such a thing?"

"Cut the s**t, Samuel. I've known your mother for a very long time and she wouldn't be happy if she sees that you're having a bad time at school."

I sucked my teeth. My mother was a businesswoman and she was also very good friends with Mr. Barr. She was a woman who took education seriously and had no time for slack. She took pride in our last name, Champion, and always told me that our last name was no coincidence.

"So what you're going to do is write me a one-page essay on respect and bring it to me tomorrow."

"But-!"

"AND you're going to apologize to Chase during peer mediation. Understand?"

"Tch! Fine," I grumble, rising out of my seat to go. I really didn't want to do this. At all.

"See you tomorrow, Junior," he called out as I walked passed him towards the door.

"Hey Sam, catch!" I hear a voice call out to be before a football was sent my way, which I caught. I instantly knew who it was.

"Hey Domi," I mumble, setting the football down on the couch and sitting at the dining table.

She was my younger sister, the one Chase dumped.

"What's wrong Sam?" She c****d her head to the side, curious. I didn't feel like talking, so I just pulled out a paper and pencil and began working on the essay.

"Samuel," she was coming closer now and started poking me. I swear, she can be so freaking annoying.

"What Domi?" I spoke through clenched teeth. I was an inch away from snapping my pencil in half.

"What the hell is your problem?" She crossed her arms, catching an attitude.

"I'm trying to write an essay," I scowl.

"About what?" She snatched the paper and took a look at it. "Respect, huh? Like you have any of that," she snorted, giving it back to me.

"Shut up, dork," I half-smile. I couldn't stay too upset at her even if I wanted to.

She stood, smiling before she took a seat next to me.

"Is it f**k-Boy again?" She spoke again, referring to Chase.

A few months ago, Chase dumped my sister just because she wasn't good enough for him. Left her right before the Spring Fling Dance. I had to deal with the tears, the grief, and the attitudes for a straight month and a half. Never have I ever seen Domi so depressed in my life. And it was all because of this one asshole.

"I swear, I'm so close to snapping his neck," I clench my first prompting Domi to put a hand above mine.

"Don't let him get to you. All you have to do is pretend. That's it!" She smiled. "I know he's an ass, but the only way you can get through it is to work together. Two days out of six weeks, that's like- 12 days right?"

"Yeah. Not to mention we're automatically grouped together for all assignments. It's impossible working with him," I mutter. "He's as dumb as a sack of rocks."

Domi sighed. Sometimes she doesn't like when I speak of him. I honestly think she still has feelings for the guy. I really don't see what she sees in him.

"Whatever. Just get your s**t together," she demanded, getting up and leaving, leaving me alone in the dining room.

I scratched my head in frustration trying to figure out how the hell I'm gonna finish this essay. I was never really good at writing anyway.

[A/N: So I decided to flip the points of view in this chapter. I might do this more often in the later chapters~]