"I can't say that I haven't seen this sort of thing before. My
own parents were a perfect example, God rest their souls,"
sighed Andre, sitting behind a massive oak desk. A shiny metal
nameplate on the desk read: "Andre Esposito, full partner,
Esposito and Associates LLP".
Father Abel and
Aaron sat in the leather chairs in front of the desk. The office was
large and smelled of leather and wood polish.
"I only wish I
could have educated Ivan at least, I thought he'd show more backbone
for his own son," grumbled Father Abel.
"Well what's
done is done, can you emancipate me Mr. Esposito?" asked Aaron.
"Yes. I'll draw
up the emancipation papers and serve them to your parents. However,
you have more pressing matters, such as finding a place to stay and a
means to support yourself. I have recently bought a loft here in the
city. Would you like to move in with me?" asked Andre.
"Yes please. I
have about twenty grand saved in my own bank account. How much do you
want as a deposit?" asked Aaron.
Andre waived his
hand dismissively. "You may be emancipated, but there is no way
in hell I'm letting you pay rent until you turn 18," he said.
"Very well,"
said Aaron.
"Now, some
conditions for moving in. You must complete your education. I will
homeschool you the best I can on my days off, but you will have to
study, clear the SAT and go to college. Agreed?" asked Andre.
"Yes sir,"
said Aaron.
"Now as for
your financial situation, you may work no more than 14 hours a week
while you are studying. Agreed?" asked Andre again.
"No. I intend
to pay for my own tuition in college, so I will be working longer
than that," said Aaron, his blue eyes boring into Andre's brown
eyes.
"Very well, but
I insist that you prioritize your studies and having fun over
working. Agreed?" asked Andre his tone clear that his insistence
was more of an order.
"Yes sir,"
said Aaron.
----
"I know that
this has been a terrible ordeal for you. However, Aaron will be safe,
taken care of and given the love and support he needs.
I urge you to focus
on your wife and daughter now and not bear any resentment to them,"
said Father Abel, as Ivan drove him and Aaron to Andre's new loft,
Aaron's belongings stuffed into the BMW M5's trunk, and rear seats.
If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
Ivan nodded silently
as tears rolled down his cheeks.
They arrived at the
loft, to find Andre waiting for them.
"You got
everything?" asked Andre, looking at the BMW's trunk.
"Yup, we got
everything, including the signed paperwork," said Father Abel,
handing Andre a manila envelope.
"Come on, let's
get Aaron settled in," said Andre, leading the way into the
loft.
The four of them
took turns carrying Aaron's belongings into the loft, and placing
them in the room that Andre had cleared for him.
The room was soon
full of Aaron's belongings, his desktop computer, his clothes, and a
few books.
"I'm so sorry I
wasn't strong enough for you Aaron. Please don't hate me," said
Ivan as he hugged Aaron tightly.
"I love you
Dad. Please take care of my sister. I know that this was not easy for
you," said Aaron tenderly, returning the hug.
With that, Ivan
left, knowing that it would be the last time he saw Aaron.
----
"When the hell
did you take the SAT?" demanded Andre, slamming the letter onto
the desk.
"About a week
ago," replied Aaron, not looking up from the code he was working
on.
"Well, let's
see how you've done," grumbled Andre, shaking his head and
ripping open the envelope.
"Damn! 1440,
that's pretty good!" he said.
"It should be
enough to get me a computer science course at Bunker Hill Community
College," said Aaron, glancing at the score.
"You don't want
to go to MIT?" asked Andre.
"I'd rather not
cause further embarrassment to Ivan," said Aaron as he opened
the web browser to apply to Bunker Hill Community College.
"Very well, but
I don't think you've saved enough for the tuition," said Andre,
frowning slightly.
"That can be
remedied over the summer, I intend to apply for a full-time summer
job," said Aaron.
"I anticipated
that, and so have got you a job as a system administrator for our
firm. It pays quite well. You interested?" chuckled Andre.
"Yes,"
said Aaron.
----
"Hey! Check
that kid out,"
"Is he even old
enough to be here?"
"Black leather
suit? What is he? A try-hard villain?"
"Wearing animal
hide, ugh! So insensitive!"
Whispers followed
Aaron as he walked through the cafeteria of Bunker Hill Community
College. His black leather business suit gleaming under the
fluorescent lighting, each step giving off a creak from the polished
leather, and a commanding click from his black leather ankle boots.
He took his tray and
sat down at an empty table, ignoring the stares and whispers of the
other students.
A tall young man
approached him carrying a tray laden with a Hamburger and fries.
"Hello. Are you
new here? I'm Harry Smith, a civil engineering freshman," he
introduced himself.
"I'm Aaron
Zakhrov, a computer science major, also in the first year,"
replied Aaron in a clipped tone as Harry sat next to him.
"So. What
brings you here instead of some fancy Ivy League place?" asked
Harry as he tucked into his lunch
"Accentuating
circumstances," said Aaron.
"Relax, I'm
just trying to be friendly," chuckled Harry through a mouthful
of his burger. He swallowed and looked at Aaron seriously.
"Listen, I was
a senior at St. Ignatius, so I know a little about you, but if you
don't want to talk about it, I understand," he said.
Aaron gave Harry a
cold stare. "Lets just say that I was expelled for being a thorn
in Senator Clarke's side" he said.
"Damn. Well
consider yourself lucky, things went downhill pretty quickly after
you left. They relaxed the uniform code, cut out catechism and ethics
class in favor of a gender studies program, and my final semester was
basically a long ass lecture by some blue-haired overweight woman
about how masculinity is the root cause of evil," grumbled
Harry.
"Sounds like
something she would implement," said Aaron with a hint of
amusement.
"So what
exactly did you do to get on her bad side if you don't mind my
asking?" asked Harry.
"Let's just say
it was because of a video game I was making," said Aaron.
Harry whistled
softly. "Damn. That's rough. So you're a game developer?"
he asked.
"I have the
code and the plot, I don't have any artwork, because I suck at
drawing," said Aaron.
Harry leaned forward
with interest. "How about we collaborate? I'll draw the artwork
for you," he suggested.
"I'd rather not
get expelled on my first day here Harry, so I'll have to pass on
that," said Aaron, pushing away his tray, and preparing to stand
up.
Harry held up his
hands. "Wait, wait don't dismiss me so easily! Here, take a look
at some of my work," he said pulling out his laptop from his
backpack.
Aaron stared at
Harry's laptop screen. The art that Harry had shown him was an anime
girl, chained to a post, getting whipped by an anime style man. A
look of pain and ecstasy on her face.
"Interested? As
you can see, I'm a fellow admirer of BDSM," chuckled Harry.
"Very well,
what is your commission fee?" asked Aaron.
"50% of the
profits on the sale of the game" said Harry promptly.
"40% though I'm
not entirely sure that we can sell it" said Aaron.
"All right how
about this. I'll look over the script of the game, and then we
decide?" asked Harry.
"Very well,
come by to my place after class. I refuse to bring the game out of
the house" said Aaron as the bell rang, signaling the end of the
lunch break.
