Case File : M

HOFFMAN

MATEO'S POV

Mateo left the house early that morning for his appointment, any one missed would earn him a call and scolding from his dad. He didn’t want him on his ass every now and then.

He followed the GPS on his phone, stopping his bike every now and then to check if the directions were correct , when he arrived , he made his way through the unfamiliar building, asking for his doctors office every desk he came across.

He finally stood in front of the door that belonged to the lady that would be his therapist for God knows how long, he had an idea of how their interactions would look like , he’d sit with her, she’d ask questions, probe and pick him apart, until he’s nothing but an empty shell bare, vulnerable and naked, he hated the idea of having to do this. But he had an option of doing it his own way. Lying .

He knocked slightly on the door before twisting the knob and making his way into the office .

Seated a few feet away from him was a very beautiful lady, probably in her late 30’s or early 40’s. She was busy with some paper work before she looked up to the boy through her glasses.

“You must be Mateo” she said putting away the glasses, then moving from her large desk to an open area in same office, it consisted of 2 burnt orange couch, and a lime green desk , an even darker green throw pillows to compliment the couch.

Mateo only nodded to her question, as his eyes scanned every bit of the room.

“Take a seat” she gestured as she sat down opposite him, with a small smile plastered on her face. He pressed his lips together awkwardly hoping it looked like a smile , in a bid to return the gesture.

“I’ll keep this short because it’s our first time meeting, you can call me Ava, no need for formalities” she continued immediately she felt the boy was a bit comfortable.

“Right” he said trying his best to keep his answer minimal, she noticed. She wrote something down.

“f**k” he muttered to himself.

“We already have your contact and we’ll create a schedule thrice every week, inclusive of a compulsory meeting every Monday morning before your classes, like today” she said hoping her words would prompt the boy to speak, he only nodded. She wrote something down. Again.

Mateo was becoming impatient as his legs kept bouncing, he didn’t know if it was nervousness or impatience, he just had to leave.

“Can I go now?” He asked hurriedly.

“Ah yes! Of course” Ava exclaimed getting up from the couch and back to her desk. It was a short conversation but he knew she most certainly got a clue of what she was dealing with.

*****

He was done with his appointment and then headed straight for his new school .

He parked his motorcycle with the other bikes, at the parking lot before making his way through the silent halls, it was already first period, if he was going to keep up with Ava and school he’d at least have a written note from her to the school so he’d be excused whenever he was to be late.

He located the principals office easily, he was greeted by a young pretty lady at the front desk, her jet black hair was packed in a tight bun , which complimented her grey suit, she smiled widely at the boy, gesturing him to leave the door and come closer to her desk.

“Principal Harley isn’t in, so I’d be the one to take care of you” she stated, reaching into her drawer for what Mateo perceived to be a timetable of some sorts and a small hand book.

She dropped both in front of him.

“Your name? “ she asked looking up at the boy.

“Mateo…Mateo white” he answered, looking through the items she gave him, he was supposed to have English now from the looks of it.

“Welcome to Bellwood Mateo, if you have any questions you can come back to me or you meet Hoffman he’s in your English class” she stated in a hurry, probably in a bid to get back to work.

“Hoffman?” He asked, puzzled she’d dump him off to someone when he was a new student, how would he know said person.

She kept her eyes on her computer, typing away without looking up as she answered.

“It’s English class so you won’t miss him” she answered as she typed.

“And where is English?” He retorted.

“At the end of the hall!” She replied.

Mateo rolled his eyes as he made his way to his English contemplating if he should just miss the first day. He shook the thought out of his head and continued.

They were already in class, great, he knocked lightly drawing the attention of the man in front of the desk, it seemed he was handing out sheets to the students.

He regretted standing there awkwardly but he knew better than to show it .

“You must be new” the teacher who was quite too old to be teaching spoke up to him , Mateo took his time to scan through the classroom, all eyes were on him now watching and waiting, some curious, some annoyed. only one was a brown mop, the person was looking out the window, no eyes on him .

“Yes I am sir” Mateo replied sternly

“Well come on introduce yourself “

“Yes thank you… my name is Mateo , Nice to meet you” he raised an arm to his head scratching behind his neck, in a way to calm his nerves .

“Welcome Mateo you can sit…” the old man scanned the room and settled on the direction of the brown curls “….in front of Hoffman , our star student”

Who knew he would find said Hoffman so easily , and a star student at that, freaking great. Mateo moved to the seat and Hoffman turned his head back to the window as he got closer. Mateo had already gotten a glimpse of his face, he was pretty. The word to use for guys was handsome but even him had to admit this dude was pretty.

Not long Hoffmans name was called again and he got up to get his sheet , Mateo watched the interaction between him and the teacher intently, as the brown curls made his way back, he couldn’t help but notice the uneasiness on his face , causing Mateo to smirk , as he got closer, he didn’t know why but he wanted to poke on that feeling Hoffman had on his face.

“Hey star student” he greeted in a sing-song tone, Mateo was surprised he even initiated a conversation , this made Hoffman shake his head in disapproval. Mateo was content his plan was working.

“No don’t do that” he replied as he took his seat, Mateo felt giddy at that moment and he didn’t no why.

He turned his head from the seat and scanned the boy, his cheeks were rosy either from the sun or embarrassment, and his eyes were a dark shade of green. He was indeed very pretty. He gave the honey curls a once over before replying

“Nope”

“Kill me” he heard the green eyed boy mutter causing Mateo’s smirk to grow.