Report Card (Closed)

DEAR MAMA The gentle breeze through an opened window and the creaking of a wooden chair on its hind legs were the only sounds in Kevin's ears. Although he brought his headphones, he preferred to allow his surroundings to speak to him instead of whatever rap song he had on queue. He took in the environment around him---a living room, with a sofa that could seat four and a long oak coffee table in the center of the floor. A television was mounted to the opposing wall and suspended over an entertainment center full of electronics. Kevin took a dining room chair from the kitchen nearby and rocked back and forth. He had a direct line of sight to the front door of the apartment he was in with his back to the windows; the setting sun hit his back and defiantly lit the room in a brilliant orange glow. I wonder why you late? As soon as the thought arose, Kevin heard the clicking of the front door's locks being undone. In turn, Kevin's eyes locked onto the door as it opened. The person who entered appeared to be five and a half feet tall with deep brown hair that reached the small of her back. She had skin like butterscotch and eyes like honey. The heaviness in her steps suggested that it had been a long and tough day at the office, but judging by the medical scrubs she wore, that office consisted of stretchers and surgical tables. This was Tanya Alvari. She just got home from a hard day of work and would NEVER expect to see her only son sitting in her living room. "!!!...Kevin! What're you--" "Ma! Ma, yooo! I cracked some kid across his dome with a bottle, they expelled me! I can't go back!" Kevin watched as his mother gave a look of terror...though it receded into simple frustration when she took notice of the wide grin across his face. She admonished him in that persistent accent of hers. "That's NOT funny!" Unfortunately for her, Kevin found it gut-bustingly hilarious. He spent quite a while holding his sides and guffawing before Tanya advanced on him and began wildly swiping at him until he conceded. "A'ight, a'ight! Haha, I'll stop!" Her strikes hardly hurt as much as they got the point across. "So what ARE you doing here? And how did you get inside?" "Opened the window. C'mon, you know me." "I live on the third fl---ugh, nevermind." She wouldn't admit how happy she was to see him. Kevin hardly called now that he moved out and it worried Tanya sick. Every day was a prayer that Kevin didn't get in trouble again...or worse. Yet, here he was, ruining her dinner chair by rocking back and forth in it. Meanwhile, she didn't know the half of it---between Kevin mixing it up with knife-wielding nutjobs in alleys and getting his shit kicked in at lunch, all the way to INSANE field trips...Kevin kept himself in plenty danger that she wouldn't hear a word of. Tanya and Kevin both had an understanding that wasn't stated: all of her concerns about him were more or less correct, and he wouldn't let her know just how bad it was. Even before 552, there were things that he couldn't bring himself to tell her. Kevin knew she was someone he could trust and come to when he needed direction, but...there were things that he saw that would break her heart. Even his short stint in juvenile detention threatened to ruin her. The full extent of what happened between his getting locked up until he went home... That was for Kevin to bear on his own. However, Kevin knew he couldn't just be out in the world at 14 years old without checking in with his best friend. They could talk about anything, and it reminded him of what was important. At a school where it was all about might making right, Kevin needed to come home just for a short time to remember that he needed to get in, get what he needed and get the fuck out. The boy let his world get to him once before and it cost him. He swore it wouldn't happen again. The two would talk and laugh. Tanya made dinner that night and he stuck around just long enough to eat before leaving. It was after dark when he exited and knew it would take a couple of hours to get from home back to the monorail to the island with public transportation. The time he spent on the bus gave him a moment to map out his immediate plans: aside from just pay attention to his studies, Kevin resolved he would pursue learning from the Pillars. Gaining knowledge from the top dogs in the school would undoubtedly set him in the right direction and give him what he needed to make it through without too many problems... ...Right?