"Liam! Liam!" Mom called out to me.
"Hmm?" I blankly lifted my face up to her and then turned to look at the car again. To my disappointment, it had already disappeared around the block.
"Are you okay?" She asked, "You look pale."
"I'm fine. Sorry, I must have spaced out." I told my mom as I nervously chuckled.
"Are you sure? You're not starting to catch cold feet now are you?" She then asked.
"Could never." I scoffed, to which she smiled.
Following that, mom reversed the car out of the parking spot and drove away from the school heading home.
When we got home. Dad was already there, sitting in the sofa and watching the live boxing game.
"You guys took longer than expected." Dad yelled without taking his eyes off the T.V.
"You're home quicker than expected." Mom replied walking into the kitchen.
"Yeah, I only had one lecture for today." Dad explained.
I took the croissants that we bought for him out of my mom's purse and walked towards him. "Guess what we bought?" I asked him smiling hiding them behind my back.
Dad tried to brush me away with his hands saying, "Later son, the match is on."
I signed, but then being the normal teenager I am saw this as an opportunity to gain some extra cash. "I bet you 50 bucks that I could make you take your eyes off the match." I smirked.
"I can promise you Liam, there is nothing on this earth that can make me take my eyes off this match." Dad chuckled, while still looking at the T.V.
I wiggled more next to him saying, "Well then if you're so sure, Make the bet dad."
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." My mom said coming into the living room where we were and sat on the single chair vertical of the T.V.
"Why, you think I can't win honey?" Dad then asked.
"No, I know you can't win." Mom assured him.
"Fine, let's double it Liam, 100 bucks." Dad grumbled still looking at the T.V.
Hearing this I smiled and looked at mom who watched him with a serious face before saying, "Don't say I didn't warn you. Just so you know, you're paying him with your money."
"Remember, you said it dad. No backing out now." I said as I opened the box of croissants and fanned the scent towards him.
Dad started to sniff the air, and slowly leaning his head towards the box in my hands. "Is that what I think it is?" He asked with a smile on his face.
"Yup, chocolate croissants. We went to a bakery and saw it. We knew right away that you would want it." I smiled. "The only way you're going to have it, is if you look away from the T.V." I added.
This made dad frowned and started to whine, "This isn't fair."
"How isn't it?" Mom cut in. She got out her chair, walked towards me and took one of the croissants out the box.
Mom then started to wave it in front of dad's face saying, "It's either taking your eyes off that T.V. or these croissants are going to be eaten by Liam and I in front of your face after the match."
"You guys won't do that." Dad scoffed.
"Did you just dare me Allen Woods?" Mom then sternly asked dad who started to tense up.
Mom slowly then started to lift the croissant up to her mouth ready to bite it making dad finally take his eyes off the T.V. and in a swift snatch the croissant away from her and bite it.
He sat back down in his spot and took the box away from me while saying, "That honestly wasn't fair. It was two against one."
I placed my palm out in front of him and gestured, "Pay up."
Dad looked at me for a few seconds and sighed then reached for his wallet on the coffee table before him. He opened it and took out to fifty dollar bills and slapped them into my palms. I smiled and thanked him then headed up to my room.
Before I closed the door I heard mom laughed, "What lesson did you learn today?"
To which dad responded, "Never make bet's with Liam."
After closing the door behind me I walked towards the dresser next to my bed and opened the bottom drawer. Taking out a small box, I opened it and placed the money inside amongst the others, then closed it and placed it back in the drawer.
Next I plopped onto the bed like a fish and as I rested my head on the soft pillows. My eyes slowly closed shut, and before I knew it I was fast asleep.
"LIAAAM!" I heard someone cried. My eyes slightly opened and I saw someone above me. Although his face wasn't clear, for everything was blurry. I could tell that he was crying because of something tragic, and that something was me. He was holding me and crying, but...why? I badly wanted to comfort him. I wanted to tell him that it's okay, but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't. There was also a striking pain in my stomach but I couldn't look down to see what was causing it.
"I'm sorry, Don't leave me." He continued. Then my eyes closed slowly and everything became black. Though I could still hear his cries for a few seconds after, it soon became so quiet, I could hear my heartbeat fade away.
I suddenly rose up with a gasp and began breathing rather heavily. I tried to calm myself down but I couldn't. I quickly made my way to the bathroom and splashed my face with the cold running water and started to take deep breaths. Soon after I placed my hand above my chest where my heart was.
"What was that?" I asked myself in a puff.
I then turned to look at myself in the mirror as these questions swirled around in my head, 'What was that dream. Who was that, that was crying. Why did it feel so real?'
After that, since I was already in the bathroom I presumed to taking a cold shower. After the shower I went to my room and threw on my clothes. I grabbed my bag and then headed down stairs for breakfast. Before I could step into the kitchen where mom and dad were talking and eating. I took a deep breath and plastered a smile on my face.
"Morning mom, dad." I said walking into the kitchen.
I sat around the counter in meets with my breakfast that was already there. I chomped on my sandwich and chugged on the glass of orange juice. After a while I headed for school.
Dad was the one who dropped me off at school that day, since the university was near the school. "Have a great day." Dad shouted to me as I got out the car to which I responded, "You too dad."
I walked to the front doors of the school and inhaled deeply before entering. "You can do this Liam." I silently whispered to myself as I opened the doors.
The hallways were filled with students, all of which who were in their groups around people who seemed similar to them. It mostly reminded me of the schools back in California but also made me ask myself, is there a group I could fit into.
Remembering what Mr. Rivers had told me the other day, I headed for his office to pick up my schedule.
"Morning Sir." I said walking into his office to which he greeted me back.
I sat down in the chair opposite of his desk as I waited for him to hand me my schedule. When he found it; before handing it to me, he pointed to a class on the schedule and said, "I read through the final recommendation letter you submitted. I noticed that many teachers praised you for your knowledge in literature, and I thought that the junior level would be to easy for you, So I admitted you to the sophomore literature class. Is that okay for you Liam?"
"Of course it is Mr. Rivers." I said to him with a smile. Being in a sophomore literature class only made me more excited for the day. After talking to me about the schedule and after school activities, including clubs and sports, Mr. Rivers handed me my schedule and I left his office.
By the time I found the classroom for my first class which was geography, I was already late. I abruptly open the door which made everyone in the class including the teacher turn to look at me.
"Come on in. You must me the transfer student?" The teacher asked signalling for me to come in.
"Class there is a new student here today with us. Please introduce yourself." The teacher then added pointing for me to turn to the class.