Highschool Badass

Keeping A Low Profile

Sticking to his plan of staying under the radar, Mason didn't leave his house for days. He hardly ever left his room and played computer games non-stop, feigning a moodiness caused by the fist fight and his parents' divorce. His mother had already moved to Auburn to live with her boyfriend, Stu, and his father was spending more and more time at work, nothing unusual, really, but this gave Mason the space he needed to deal with his own issues. 

He held no grudge against his parents, he had seen them drifting apart ever since his father's promotion a few years back. He would be away for weeks, travelling to the Bakerston or Stockfield branches of the company, and even when he was home in Boyton, there was only one thing on his mind: how to expand the business so that he could finally be made partner. The separation, his mother starting "to see other people", the divorce, the whole deal had nothing to do with Mason, it was just the natural, logical outcome of his father's disinterest and his mother's loneliness. What was illogical and surprising was his mother's choice of partner: Stu, the mechanic. Perhaps she had had enough of her white-collared husband and had decided to take a shot at relationship bliss with a blue-collared boyfriend. Mason appreciated that there had been no song and dance about the divorce, no tears, no hysteria, no outbursts. 

Mason had chosen to live with his dad, mostly because he was sorry for him (the man was too engrossed in his work to realise how alone he was), but also because he didn't want to switch schools. Lynbrook was the best option for him, in spite of Asher. 

Considering the latest developments, Mason felt that spending the summer vacation in Auburn with his mother and Stu was the best thing to do. That was enough time for things to calm down in Boyton. Not that he was afraid of Asher. No, not anymore. He was clearly able to hold his own against Asher, but the consequences of another fight could be worse than a couple of scratches and bruises. Those heal, a school report compromised by acts of violence doesn't. And it certainly doesn't get you into college. What he needed to do now was break the news to his father.

                                                                                            *

Alone in his room, Mason was too distracted to continue playing Nier:Automata. He picked up his phone: there were dozens of messages from Zeke. Apparently, he had become some sort of hero on campus. How? A video on YouTube. 

"What video, Zeke?" texted Mason.

"The one where you take out Asher. Here it is! See?" replied Zeke, sending him the video.

Mason watched the video and started to pace the room nervously. He felt like a lion in a cage. That video may have earned him the respect of every oppressed geek (so basically everyone) at Lynbrook, but it could also be used against him.

"Take it off, Zeke! TAKE IT OFF!"

"Already done that."

"???"

"Principal Thomas saw it and told me the same thing. So I did. Not on YouTube anymore. Just on my phone. And now yours ;)"

The news distressed Mason. He understood there was no going back. He really had to make himself scarce. And he really had to make some changes in his life. He threw himself on a chair, thousands of thoughts rushing to his head, but he had no time to think things through. He heard the door. His father was home.

                                                                                         *    *

He knew his father's evening routine: cold shower, cold dinner, a couple of calls to his subordinates to keep them on their toes, a nightcap or two, or three or ... more, now that there was no-one to count them, then sleep under the soothing sound of business news on TV. The best time to talk to him was before and even during the first nightcap, so Mason waited for his father in the living-room. 

Wrapped up in his satin robe, his father walked into the living-room and was surprised to find Mason on the sofa. He sat in his armchair and was getting ready to pour himself a drink when Mason gave him a glass.

"Here's your scotch on the rocks, dad."

"With a twist, too," said his father looking into the glass, "must be something serious ... " He looked at his son and Mason thought he could sense a touch of concern in his father's voice as he continued "You didn't get into another fight, did you?" 

"No, but I didn't get out of trouble, either." 

"Did that guy threaten you? We can take legal action, you know ..."

"No. Not yet, anyway ..."

"Do you want me to call the principal? I'm sure I can convince him it wasn't your fault."

"My principal is a woman, dad, and she knows everything. Everyone knows how it all went down. You see, there is ... there was this video on YouTube ... Zeke filmed the fight and put it on YouTube, then he took it off ." Mason paused to get a reaction from his father, who remained silent and seemed genuinely interested in what he was saying. There was only one more thing to say and Mason didn't know how to say it. 

His father saw his hesitation, stood up, took a glass, poured some scotch in it and handed it to Mason. 

"Go on, take a sip! And tell me what you need."

"I think I'd better go to mum's for the summer, to let things cool down here. I just need you to understand I'm not abandoning you, I'll be back in September. And I'm not running off scared, either. Because I am not afraid of Asher, I'm not a coward. If he picks a fight, I'm not gonna back down. And if this happens, and it gets on my record, it will ruin my chances of going to college." 

Getting everything off his chest, Mason sighed deeply and drank the whole glass of scotch. Beneath his usual poker face, Mason's father was in awe of the way his son had become a man overnight. He finally realised it was time to support Mason, even if that meant sending him away for the summer.   

"You seem to have made up your mind. And I can't argue with a good decision. So, when do you want to leave?"

"As soon as possible. There's a bus tomorrow at 9:15 ... "

"Bus? ... Tomorrow? No, no. I'll drive you."

"Don't you have work tomorrow?" asked Mason in disbelief.

"I'll take the day off. I want to take you. Now, go upstairs and pack your bags. I'll call your mother."

Mason, who was in no mood to question his father's unexpected approval of his plans, went upstairs, while Stanley Michaels returned to his archair and dialed his ex-wife's number. He got the answering machine. 

"Yeah. Hello, Georgia! This is Stanley! Listen, Mason wants to spend the summer with you. I'll drop him off tomorrow, round 5 pm. This is not about me, or you. It's about what he needs right now. And he needs to be round something that feels more like a family. I can't give him that ... Anyway, you'll see him tomorrow."