Marty had been gone for two interminable weeks. Mia and Ricky stopped mentioning him after the last blowout. Things have been relatively calm for a few days.
However, lately, Mia has often been absent-minded. The thoughts of what the future would hold for them without Marty was depressing. She was a housewife.
Even if gone, Marty was still paying the bills for the moment. If the situation persisted, Mia doubted she could support herself and her son.
She inquired about job openings in her city, hoping to find one she could do. They asked for skills she didn't have. Depression weighed on her.
The careful care with which she protected her son disappeared slowly. She was not as proactive as before. Ricky became dependent on his smartphone.
Every single day, he watched cartoons and played games. He barely put the phone down to eat or sleep. It had to always be on hand. Before, Marty would have tried to reduce his time with the screen, but he left.
Mia was not as careful. She indulged him and felt happy Ricky stopped acting out.
She even bought him a new smartphone so he would leave hers alone.
This day, Ricky sat in his room. He numbed himself with his phone like he always did as of late.
'Hello, Ricky.' A message popped up on his screen.
"Hello," Ricky answered back.
'Can I be your friend?'
Ricky looked at the screen, a little suspicious. His mother always told him not to talk to strangers. Could answering messages on his phone be considered talking to strangers?
"Who are you?" He decided to ask after some deliberations.
'My name is Patrick. Patrick is lonely; Patrick wants a friend. Do you want to be my friend?'
"I don't know who you are."
'You know me. Remember. You met me the other day.'
Ricky opened his mouth in surprise. Two days ago, he had read a story on his smartphone about a lonely little monster named Patrick. Patrick was different from the other monsters, which left him without friends.
In his loneliness, Patrick did various things to attract attention
. Despite his efforts, he remained friendless. However, his antics caught the eye of a more powerful monster, who began following Patrick, curious to see if he was as interesting as he seemed.
Ricky didn't finish the story because he found it strange. He was left wondering whether the two monsters would eventually become friends.
The same night, in his dreams, Ricky met someone who claimed to be Patrick. Even though they talked for a long time, he forgot the object of their discussion.
"Are you a monster?" Ricky asked.
The lights in the room flickered. No more words appeared on the smartphone. Ricky waited, but nothing happened. While playing on his phone, he clicked on an app that added different filters to people's faces.
The little boy laughed as he saw himself with bunny ears, a pig nose, and horns. He kept having fun. But after the first time that puzzled him, he stopped caring about the filter that appeared right next to him.
As the days passed, Ricky forgot everything about Patrick. He played at home and went to school like always. He didn't have any troubles.
Since his eighth birthday, the kids from his class had stopped talking to him. At first, he tried to play with them, but they avoided him like the plague. He stopped trying, and things somehow settled down.
One day, at recess, Ricky sat alone at the corner of the stairs. He held a card book, which was popular among the children. He felt somewhat sad as no one appreciated his cards with him.
He saw a group of boys coming to him. He sat up straighter, feeling like they were coming to reconcile with him. A small happy smile started to stretch on his face. When what one of the boys said registered in his mind, his fists clenched in anger.
"Hey Ricky! Is your dad still gone?" Byron, the son of Mia's best friend, laughed. Since the other boy's birthday, his mother had stopped forcing him to be nice to Ricky. He could now show his dislike.
"My dad isn't gone. He'll come back soon." Ricky yelled, getting upset. He closed his book, wanting to leave.
"My mom said that your dad is going to divorce your mom and leave you." Although Byron knew what he was doing was wrong, his dislike for Ricky justified it. He had been so aggrieved before he felt a little retaliation was good.
"No! You're wrong! Dad will come back." Ricky pushed Byron to the ground and hit him. Byron tried to defend himself. He couldn't. Ricky was just too used to violence.
During his anger tantrums, he always threw things around, bent on destroying what angered him. At this moment, his anger was aimed at another boy. Everything he could get his hands on was used to attack Byron. His precious card book. His fists. The other kids' toys. He was unstoppable.
"Ricky! Stop!" The teacher yelled as she rushed to separate the two boys.
Ricky's emotions were out of control. The teachers tried to calm him down. Everything they did was useless. When he had a fit before, he only destroyed things. This time, he hit anyone who came close to him.
"Call his parents!" the director of the school shouted as she held him tight, trying to stop him from hurting anyone, be it the other children, the teachers, or himself.
Less than half an hour later, Mia came rushing to the director's office. Millie, her best friend, was already there.
"Ms. Marsh..."
"He went too far, Mia," Millie said as soon as she saw her former best friend. "I will not pursue it this time. But I don't want him near my son again." And then looking at the school director. "I want Ricky to go to another class. My son is a victim. The attacker should bear the responsibility to move away."
"Millie..." Mia was speechless in front of Millie's serious face. Her best friend, who usually was full of emotions, seemed void of them. "Ricky can't. He needs..."
"Stop it, Mia. Your son has needs. Mine also has them. Your son attacked my son for no good reason..."
"We don't know that..."
"So you're going to throw the responsibility at my son, right? He is the victim. Look at his face!" Millie finally lost her composure as she pointed at her son.
"Millie..."
"I don't care. Your son is dangerous. He shouldn't be in school in the first place. After what he did on his birthday, I thought you would have done something. "
"Usually, he doesn't hit people..."
Millie shook her head. She had had enough of Mia's nonsense.
Millie had known the child since he was born. She knew Mia spoiled him rotten. She never discipline him. That kid was out of control. She had thought Mia had gotten help. Now, she saw that it was only wishful thinking.
Mia talked until her mouth was dry. Her explanation was useless. Millie and even the teacher were adamant that Ricky needed to change classes and that he needed to receive punishment for what he had done.
In the end, the school still chose to do what Millie asked. He received a week-long suspension, and he changed to another class. Mia alternated between sadness, anger, and frustration. No one listened when she said a new classroom would harm his well-being.