5 Chapter 5: Appreciated

Running, running, running. Never able to escape. Never able to hear her voice. Never able to be free. Tears stroke down his cheeks as he runs. His clothes were sticking to his skin. But then, he stops. He heard it. He heard the voice. The voice that he hadn’t been able to hear. The voice that he thought he had lost forever. He cried out, “Mom!” he ran, not out of fear, but with hope. He ran, his tears, now full of hope, as they welled up in his eyes. He reached his arms out to the silhouetted figure, only to snap awake.

“Mark, are you okay?” Alexandria asked.

“Uh, yeah.” Mark answered, realizing where he was and lowering his outstretched arms. “I’m fine. Why?” he turned to face her.

Her cheeks went red, as she noticed how close their faces were, he didn’t seem bothered by it, but she quickly backed up, “You were just, sweating really badly, and tossing in your sleep I thought that…” her cheeks flared up again, “Not that I was watching you in your sleep, I mean…” she seemed flustered, “I was walking to get a drink of water, and I noticed you, looking like you had a nightmare.” she sighed.

Mark’s eyes were surprised when she first started talking, but then he chuckled, “No, no, no. I didn’t think that at all. But, yeah.” he sighed, looking down at his hands. His voice was sad, “I did.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Alexandria asked, sitting next to him.

“Nah, it’d bore you.” Mark said, turning away from her, and relaxing his hands.

“Try me.” she teased.

“Okay, fine.” Mark replied, knowing that nobody else was awake, “but, you can’t tell anyone. I haven’t even told my brothers.”

“William and Joe?” she asked.

He looked at her, “Yeah, they’re popular in their school huh?”

She nodded.

“Okay.” he sighed, looking back at his hands, and clenching them for a second, before he relaxed, sighing again. “So, I’m a triplet, my brothers and I are all thirteen. I am the firstborn, and thus, named after my dad. Or, at least that’s what my mom said. When I was two I started school. I excelled greatly, but, with the little memory I have of that time, my father wanted me to be a regular child. But, since I enjoy school, he started to hate me. My mother still loved me though.” Mark reassured her. “Until I turned ten, it seemed like.” he sighed, looking at the wall.

“Are you okay?” Alexandria asked, “You cried out ‘mom’ while you were sleeping a few minutes before you woke up. Did she…” she trailed off.

“Oh, no.” Mark shook his head, “She’s still alive.” he looked at his hands, and clenched them again, “I just wish that I could be better, that I could do something that’ll please my father, that I could be worth it. That he’d love me again.” He brushed his hands through his hair, removing the hair that had been clinging to his forehead, “I don’t know.”

Alexandria looked at him, he was sweaty, but, he looked really attractive, “You should wear your hair off of your forehead more often.” she mumbled, he looked at her, and she covered her mouth, blushing. “I’m sorry. I was paying attention, I promise.”

“I believe you.” he said, looking away, and bringing his hands down from his head. His hair stayed where it was, because it was covered with sweat.

“What can I do to help you?” she asked.

“Nothing.” he replied, “Except maybe letting me use your shower. Does your brother have any clothes that could fit me, these ones are soaked.” Mark said, getting up and turning to her, “I can’t sleep in wet clothes, you know.” he smiled, and walked off in the direction of the bathroom.

“Wait, what just happened.” Alexandria asked herself. I need to get extra clothes for him, but, how am I supposed to do that? She walked in the kitchen and grabbed a glass, filling it with water she thought to herself, I could place them by the bathroom door, and knock on it, telling him where they are. Ugh, this is hard, I don’t even know where he got the clothes he’s wearing. Okay, I could just ask John. I mean, I’m sure he has some more clothes, right? Right? I mean, Mark can’t wear my clothes, so… I could at least give him a shirt, no pants! Pants is definitely the right option here. She blushed. Then she heard the shower turn off. Shoot! I’ll just run into my room real quick!

Alexandria placed the cup on the counter, before she made her way to her room. She slammed into him, as she turned the corner. He was wearing different clothes, though. Where did he get those? “Owe, I’m sorry, I was just… just… going to my room.” she stuttered.

“Oh, no it’s fine, I wasn’t paying attention.” Mark replied, as she looked up at him, her cheeks flushed a bright shade of red.

He was taller than she initially thought, her ears could hear his heartbeat almost perfectly. He was about a head taller than her, and when she looked up at him, if she stood on her tip-toes they’d be kissing. She quickly shook her head, and darted into her room. Mark didn’t seem phased by it though, he sighed, and made his way back to the couch.

Wet Mark is so handsome! Alexandria blushed, hiding her face in her pillow, before she realized what she was thinking, wait! I can’t focus on silly things like that! I’m twelve! He’s thirteen, besides, he said, and I said, that he’s not ready for a relationship. I’m not either, I shouldn’t be blushing, I need to focus on my studies or I’m not going to high school. It’s too bad he’s graduating this year, though. My brother said he’s going to Harvard. He must be rich, why would he stay here then, he probably thinks of me as shabby. Grr. I hate that. He’s so kind though, and he told me about his life, and why he’s here. A little but anyway, I think he mainly just told me a really quick summary. I can’t stand it! I need to talk to him, and date him, and love him. But I can’t. On the brightside though, since he isn’t interested, no girl is going to be coming to take him from me. He’s different from his brother, Joe, in that sense. Also, he doesn’t eat as much as William. But, he does have muscles, from what I could see from his shirt that decided to cling to his body. But wait, what am I even thinking! She quickly shook her head, and buried it even deeper in her pillows.

Mark sat back down on the couch and pulled his calculator out of his backpack. He grabbed a screwdriver from his pencil case and unscrewed the back of it. He was going to make it understand equations that normally would be an error so that his brothers would be able to use it for more advanced mathematics equations when they reach pre-calculus and trigonometry. He pulled a few wires, and grabbed out some extra ones, and started to make the calculator more advanced. It was still a graphing calculator, but he nearly doubled the amount of programs on the calculator. He placed it on the side-table and made his way into the kitchen for some water.

He sighed, “Why can’t my dad just appreciate me?” he said to himself, looking in the cupboard for the right sized glass.

“I’m sorry about that.” John said, entering the kitchen with the updated calculator in hand, “Mind if I use this? I forgot to finish my homework last night.”

Mark turned to look at the time, it was already 6:30 am, “Huh, I guess I spent more time on it than I thought. Yes, you can use the calculator, I just upgraded it.”

“Really?” John turned the calculator around in his hands, “It doesn’t look upgraded.” he paused, and turned his eyes to meet Mark’s, “Is this the same one you upgraded two years ago?”

“Yeah, I changed it from a scientific calculator to one with a larger screen so I could change it to a graphing calculator. I did, over this past summer, and now, it has twice the amount of programs a standard graphing calculator has.” Mark replied nonchalantly. “Do you have anything to eat?”

“You are one of a kind, Mark. What do you plan to do at Harvard?” John asked, placing the calculator on the table and grabbing his math book from the backpack he left there yesterday.

“I’m going to study to eventually become an engineer.” He said, grabbing an egg out of the fridge.

“Can you make me a hard boiled egg?” John asked, then, “So, why do you want to become an engineer?”

“I don’t know.” Mark replied, grabbing another egg out of the fridge, and beginning to boil some water for it, “maybe because I like math? I’ve always loved creating things and solving the unsolvable. I mean, something about engineering and creating new electronics and machines gives me inspiration. I’m passionate about it.” he said, frying his egg in a pan.

“You are good at that kind of stuff. Meanwhile I can’t figure out what x is in this formula.” John said, smirking.

“Let me see.” He said, placing the fried egg on a plate.

“No, you’ll just be like, ‘oh that one. It’s obvious X is ten because the cosine of A and B is -’ blah, blah, blah a bunch of math terms I’m not familiar with.”

“Ha ha.” Mark said, smiling. “I’m not like that.” he placed the egg in the boiled water and set a timer, “but seriously, let me see.”

“I’m going to be found out stupid by a boy five years younger than me.” John said, sarcastically.

“Alright, fine, I’ll let you fail Mr. Humberg’s class.”

“Humberg?” John asked.

“Oh, I forgot, he left last year, he’s not your math teacher is he?” Mark asked.

“No, we have Mrs. Thompson. She’s nice and all, but strict. So. Very. Strict.” he replied.

“Okay, cool.” Mark said, sitting down and giving John his hard-boiled egg, while eating his own fried egg.

“How is it that a thirteen-year old boy is in Calculus and I’m stuck in Trigonometry?” he asked himself.

“I don’t know, maybe I wasn’t behind in math.” Mark joked.

“I wasn’t behind, I just…”

“Skipped taking math for a year?”

“I was sick, in seventh grade, you know that.” he replied, pointing a fork in Mark’s face.

“Sure, I ‘know’ it, but… your sister might disagree, you mind if I ask her why you didn’t take math that year?”

“No.”

“Okay, so I’ll just ask her when she wakes up then.”

“No, I meant don’t ask her.” John said, flustered.

“What are you hiding then?” Mark asked, picking up his empty plate and washing it off in the sink.

“What? Hiding? Nothing.” John replied, hysterically.

“Whatever you say. But, I won’t question you any further. I can tell you're getting red in the face.” Mark said, sighing, and placing his washed off plate in the cupboard.

“You know, I’ve been meaning to ask you something, Mark,” John said, placing his fork back in the empty bowl.

“Yeah, what is it?” Mark asked, pouring himself a glass of orange juice.

“If your father doesn’t care about you, like you said, how is it you can be so happy all of the time?” John asked.

Mark froze. He stood there, almost over filling his glass, before he noticed, and placed the jug down quickly, as he was screwing on the lid, he replied, “I guess, it’s because I have my brothers that care about me. I mean, I have to keep a happy face, and attitude when they are around. If I fake a happy face, they’ll be able to tell right away. Besides, everytime I’m with them, maybe because we’re triplets, but I feel safe, I can feel happy, and joyful. I feel like I can be… me. Even when my mom stopped caring about me as much as she used to, I can still feel happy around her. She doesn’t hate me like my father does, and still wants me to join them for dinner. I don’t know. Maybe, it’s because I feel like I can be myself around people I love and care about that makes me happy.” he took a drink of his orange juice thinking over what he just said.

John sighed, almost a sigh of relief, knowing that his friend wasn’t being fake. Unless he was, and was trying to make himself feel better. It didn’t matter though. He had someone he could talk to about it. Alexandria walked in the kitchen yawning, she rubbed her eyes to adjust to the light, and made her way to the fridge. Mark wasn’t bothered by her at all it seemed like, although he did finish his glass, and made his way to the living room saying something about packing for school.

Alexandria stopped at the fridge, and turned around to face her brother, “He’s still here?” she whispered, nervous.

“Well, duh. He spent the night, he said he’d walk to school himself though.” John lied.

“What!” Alexandria nearly yelled.

“Shh, you’re going to wake up the whole neighborhood.” John said quickly, bringing a finger to his mouth.

“He’s going to walk by himself?”

“I don’t see the problem, he’s been doing it for the past six to seven years of his life.

“Six to seven years!?!” Alexandria exclaimed.

“Yes, now be quiet.” John said, picking up his bowl and making his way to the sink.

“If you guys keep yelling you’ll probably wake up the neighbors. The walls aren’t soundproof.” Mark said, coming into the kitchen.

“Mark!” Alexandria said, walking over to him.

“Yes?” he asked, turning back around to face her.

“Is it true?” she asked.

“Is what true?” he asked, confused.

“That you’re walking by yourself.” she finished.

“Well, I can. I have no problem with it. I mean, it’s a further distance to walk if you're implying that I walk you to your school. You walk to school by yourself everyday, right? I really don’t see a problem with me walking by myself. But, I was going to walk with John, because we go to the same school.” he replied.

How did he know I wanted to walk with him? “No, that’s not what I meant at all!” she replied, getting flustered.

“Okay, well, do you want to walk with us until we get to the school?” Mark asked, accidentally raising Alexandria’s hopes of him falling in love with her.

After they waited for an extra half-hour because Alexandria decided to curl her hair, they started walking to school. Alexandria was anxious to create some sort of conversation, but she was awful at small talk. So, she awkwardly walked next to her brother, too shy to walk next to Mark. Once they reached the school, she dearly regretted her decision of not talking, as John waved her good-bye, and Mark, smiled, and nodded, as he walked into the school courtyard. She walked in an awkward silence on her way to school, until her best friend came up next to her, and she was able to tell her almost everything that happened last night, remembering to leave out the conversation she had with Mark last night when everyone was asleep.

“Yo! Baby!” A sophomore’s voice ran across the courtyard, Mark ignored him.

“I think I finished all of my homework last night.” John told Mark, knowing that this boy was a nuisance.

“Awesome, I’m glad. Well, I better get to class, before Mr. Franks gets mad. Last time I was late, he had me write all of the questions and answers on the board!” Mark laughed.

“But, you liked writing those problems on the board, and ‘Mr. Annoying’ over there is the one who kept you.” John replied, as they walked into the school building.

“You know what?” Mark began, “you’re right. Maybe I should be late more often.” he laughed.

“You won’t really get punished though.” John sighed, “You are literally every teacher’s ‘pet’ so to speak. Even the ones you don’t have as a teacher. Even the ones you never had as a teacher.” John joked, even though he knew it was the truth.

“Oh, come on. I hate being called a teacher’s pet. That’s why Justin keeps bullying me.” Mark sighed, opening his locker.

“You mean, ‘Mr. Annoying’?” John laughed.

“His name is Justin, you need to stop calling him that. It’d mean we are just bullying him in return. You know you’re not supposed to repay evil for evil.” Mark said, closing his locker, and making his way to History class.

“You’re right.” John stopped, but then jogged to catch up to the disappearing teen, “At least you didn’t get pounced on today by Amy.” he said, trying to lighten up the mood.

“True.” Mark replied, walking into the classroom, and finding his seat.

The day was a normal school day, and he didn’t want to bother John and his family with sleeping over a second night, so, he collected his newly upgraded calculator from John, and made his way to the crossroads where he met William and Joe on their way home from school. Joe wasn’t bringing a girl this time, but William had a few extra snack bags than usual. Mark chuckled to himself as he jogged over to his brothers, Hoping his father wasn’t home yet.

His hopes failed him though, as he saw his father mowing the lawn outside the house. He could see his father, happy, smiling, and it made him want to smile. However, once he got closer to the house, his father looked up, and frowned. He looked at his boys, and greeted them as they came into the house, one right after the other. High-fiving William, and shaking his hand in pain afterwards, hugging Joe, and… Mark stopped, further than arms length away from his father. He could feel his father’s anger boiling up. He looked up at his dad. He wanted to run off. He wanted to cry. He didn’t want to be happy anymore. Mark, Sr. approached his son, and slapped his right ear, before pulling on the left one. Mark’s hands were left limp at his sides, he didn’t dare look up at his father. He didn’t want to. But slowly he raised his eyes to meet his father’s knowing that if he didn’t he might end up sleeping outside. In the cold February weather.

“Where were you last night!” his father yelled, not because he cared about his son, but, because he wanted to find any excuse possible for hating him.

“I… I went to a friend's house.” Mark answered, not wavering his eyes, even though he wanted to.

“A friend?” Mark, Sr. asked.

“Yes.”

“A friend.” Mark, Sr. let go of Mark’s ear, and slapped his other ear, again, causing it to bleed, “You aren’t supposed to have friends, boy.”

Not even my actual name. Mark looked down.

“You know it pains me that you are named after me.” Mark Sr. said, lifting his son into the air, by his collar.

Mark grabbed his father’s hand, because the pull on his collar was choking him.

“You will not eat dinner with us tonight. You won’t eat dinner at all. I don’t care what your mother says, you will stay in your room.” Mark, Sr. leaned into his son’s ear, “or I’ll kill you.” he dropped Mark, and watched with a smile on his face as his son ran inside.