Growing (Part 9)
Hope you like it :)
Dave
Have you ever felt completely useless? Like there is nothing you could do to change your own fate? Well that's how I feel right now. When I had gotten back from my walk I was looking forward to crashing in my room for a while. The mess all around me would make me feel somewhat normal. No such luck. My dad had gotten there before me. My room was bare and empty what with all the rubbish and clothes removed. It looked ordinary and strange to me. My comics had been chucked along with my posters and CDs. My room was a hollow shell, I guess it mirrored the way I was feeling.
"What did you do?" I asked, I didn't bother putting emotion in my voice. What was the point.
"I did a clean up, I can't have the house going moldy while we are both away no can I?" he scowled, "You're a pig if ever I met one kiddo. I hope this school puts manners on you."
I sighed and sat down on the freshly made bed. It was then that my eyes fell on an open suitcase in the corner of the room with underwear and a few books in it.
"God, you really can't wait to get rid of me can you?" I buried my head in my hands.
"Well son you're leaving tomorrow. I don't think you realize that! If I didn't start it you would be going with nothing but the clothes you have on your back."
I didn't look up at him but kept my head in my hands and my eyes squeezed shut.
"You're coming shopping with me. We have to buy you a uniform and some weekend clothes."
"You better be shitting me. I'm not going shopping." I sneered from my hiding place.
"Would you just shut the hell up for once and try to see that I'm only doing this for your benefit!"
I dragged myself off my bed and walked out of the room.
"Where are you going?" he yelled after me.
"Shopping apparently." I snapped back.
I had never been shopping with my dad before. Mum used to do it for me. I guess then absences of a mother had taken its toll on me since I had been wearing the same four outfits for the last few years now.
Dad brought me to the places that I assumed Mr. Butthead would go. They were the big classy names that probably had child laborers working for them. I was cooperative but I would barely acknowledge my dad. He spent around three to four hundred euros on me in a matter of two hours. He bought me shirts and classy jumpers you would only see on male models on the runways in Milan. He even invested in a multitude of different designer underwear for me. If it was my style I would have been grateful but I felt like he was trying to make me someone that I clearly was not.
To make matters worse he even bought me a whole new toiletries kit. Male face creams and face masks! Expensive shaving foam and fancy looking razors. He chose a number of new smelly colognes with the names of super stars and sports men branded on them. I felt like telling him that enough was enough. It was like I was on one of those makeover TV shows! To top things off on the way home he brought me into a barbers. He had my hair styled in a way that I didn't think possible! My dirty blond hair was all cut off and gelled into a spiky hair do.
When we arrived home he insisted that I took a shower. I laughed, I mean I just had my hair done and gelled and now he wanted me to go wash it out? Apparently I didn't smell too sweet. Well in all fairness I had been shopping in clammy shopping malls for what seemed like hours on end! He showed me which smelly things to use and also suggested I had a shave to save me in the morning. The funny thing was shaving usually very low down on my to do list.
"Well I would rather that you didn't look like a yeti when you get to the new school." He scowled.
By the time I had finished dad's new cleaning regime I smelt so strongly that it was giving me a headache. I got out of the shower and draped a large towel around my waist. It was now time for the shaving, my least favorite thing in the world to do. I squirted the non-friction gel into my hand and rubbed it on my face it felt cool and soothing. The razor was ten times better than my old one. I didn't cut myself once, a rarity for me.
I sidled down the short hall into my room. I walked to my bed where I left my clothes. They were gone but in their place was one of my new outfits. Jeans, a shirt and jumper all still with their price tag lay there looking up at me.
"Hey! Dad where's my clothes?" I yelled out to him.
"I dumped them, they were rags."
I sighed; I guess I was going to the party like this so.
I dressed quickly and shoved some of the gel dad bought me into my hair. When I turned form the mirror dad was behind me smiling.
"Wow kid you scrub up well!" he laughed punching me in the shoulder, "but you look like you have goo in your hair, where are you going with that amount of gel?"
I shrugged.
He fixed my hair quickly and smiled again. "Now you look respectable."
"I'm going out." I said quickly hoping he would keep the objections to a minimum
"Where?"
"House party, over near the school."
"Ok but be back early you have to be up at six am."
"Yeah ok." I sighed pushing past him.
"Wait." He said taking something out of him pocket.
He handed me some money and also an iPhone with a ribbon on it.
"Happy Birthday." He said shyly.
"I thought you had forgotten." I said taking the phone.
He shook his head.
I said my thanks awkwardly and left the house. The phone was amazing. He had uploaded heaps of songs on it too. Even though I looked like a prat I left kinda good. It felt good to have a dad around again I guess. Pity he was shipping me off though.
Have you ever felt completely useless? Like there is nothing you could do to change your own fate? Well that's how I feel right now. When I had gotten back from my walk I was looking forward to crashing in my room for a while. The mess all around me would make me feel somewhat normal. No such luck. My dad had gotten there before me. My room was bare and empty what with all the rubbish and clothes removed. It looked ordinary and strange to me. My comics had been chucked along with my posters and CDs. My room was a hollow shell, I guess it mirrored the way I was feeling.
"What did you do?" I asked, I didn't bother putting emotion in my voice. What was the point.
"I did a clean up, I can't have the house going moldy while we are both away no can I?" he scowled, "You're a pig if ever I met one kiddo. I hope this school puts manners on you."
I sighed and sat down on the freshly made bed. It was then that my eyes fell on an open suitcase in the corner of the room with underwear and a few books in it.
"God, you really can't wait to get rid of me can you?" I buried my head in my hands.
"Well son you're leaving tomorrow. I don't think you realize that! If I didn't start it you would be going with nothing but the clothes you have on your back."
I didn't look up at him but kept my head in my hands and my eyes squeezed shut.
"You're coming shopping with me. We have to buy you a uniform and some weekend clothes."
"You better be shitting me. I'm not going shopping." I sneered from my hiding place.
"Would you just shut the hell up for once and try to see that I'm only doing this for your benefit!"
I dragged myself off my bed and walked out of the room.
"Where are you going?" he yelled after me.
"Shopping apparently." I snapped back.
I had never been shopping with my dad before. Mum used to do it for me. I guess then absences of a mother had taken its toll on me since I had been wearing the same four outfits for the last few years now.
Dad brought me to the places that I assumed Mr. Butthead would go. They were the big classy names that probably had child laborers working for them. I was cooperative but I would barely acknowledge my dad. He spent around three to four hundred euros on me in a matter of two hours. He bought me shirts and classy jumpers you would only see on male models on the runways in Milan. He even invested in a multitude of different designer underwear for me. If it was my style I would have been grateful but I felt like he was trying to make me someone that I clearly was not.
To make matters worse he even bought me a whole new toiletries kit. Male face creams and face masks! Expensive shaving foam and fancy looking razors. He chose a number of new smelly colognes with the names of super stars and sports men branded on them. I felt like telling him that enough was enough. It was like I was on one of those makeover TV shows! To top things off on the way home he brought me into a barbers. He had my hair styled in a way that I didn't think possible! My dirty blond hair was all cut off and gelled into a spiky hair do.
When we arrived home he insisted that I took a shower. I laughed, I mean I just had my hair done and gelled and now he wanted me to go wash it out? Apparently I didn't smell too sweet. Well in all fairness I had been shopping in clammy shopping malls for what seemed like hours on end! He showed me which smelly things to use and also suggested I had a shave to save me in the morning. The funny thing was shaving usually very low down on my to do list.
"Well I would rather that you didn't look like a yeti when you get to the new school." He scowled.
By the time I had finished dad's new cleaning regime I smelt so strongly that it was giving me a headache. I got out of the shower and draped a large towel around my waist. It was now time for the shaving, my least favorite thing in the world to do. I squirted the non-friction gel into my hand and rubbed it on my face it felt cool and soothing. The razor was ten times better than my old one. I didn't cut myself once, a rarity for me.
I sidled down the short hall into my room. I walked to my bed where I left my clothes. They were gone but in their place was one of my new outfits. Jeans, a shirt and jumper all still with their price tag lay there looking up at me.
"Hey! Dad where's my clothes?" I yelled out to him.
"I dumped them, they were rags."
I sighed; I guess I was going to the party like this so.
I dressed quickly and shoved some of the gel dad bought me into my hair. When I turned form the mirror dad was behind me smiling.
"Wow kid you scrub up well!" he laughed punching me in the shoulder, "but you look like you have goo in your hair, where are you going with that amount of gel?"
I shrugged.
He fixed my hair quickly and smiled again. "Now you look respectable."
"I'm going out." I said quickly hoping he would keep the objections to a minimum
"Where?"
"House party, over near the school."
"Ok but be back early you have to be up at six am."
"Yeah ok." I sighed pushing past him.
"Wait." He said taking something out of him pocket.
He handed me some money and also an iPhone with a ribbon on it.
"Happy Birthday." He said shyly.
"I thought you had forgotten." I said taking the phone.
He shook his head.
I said my thanks awkwardly and left the house. The phone was amazing. He had uploaded heaps of songs on it too. Even though I looked like a prat I left kinda good. It felt good to have a dad around again I guess. Pity he was shipping me off though.
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