It was his senior year at high school and Zaire still had the habit of taking a walk on the boardwalk. This was to view the eerie scenery before making major decisions and to recharge from the chaos and uncertainty that he had to encounter during the previous week.
Routinely, he came there every Monday morning to analyze and plan for the week ahead so he was not caught off guard for anything.
One day, while he was standing there with his eyes closed as he breathe in the atmosphere and cleared his thoughts so he could recharge properly, he was disturbed by the ringing of his cell phone.
He looked at the phone and contemplated for a few seconds whether or not not he should take the call.
"What is it?" he said coldly as possible.
The voice on the line answered hesitated also before answering.
"Your parents have arrived and told me to inform you that they will be having a family dinner at 8:00pm so you should come straight...." the voice tried to say, but was unable to finish the statement.
"What does that have to do with me?" he retorted cutting off the man abruptly.
"You are their only child" the man continued.
"The last time I checked, I had no parents" Zaire continued.
"But Sir...." the voice tried to continue to beseech, but was cut off when Zaire hung up the phone.
He then threw it into the water.
'So much for recharging properly today' he thought as he watched the phone sinking.
He then walked off towards Scott was waiting for him. Scott was assigned by his grandfather to be his personal confidant and who would be by his side in the future.
As Zaire approached him, Scott called out to him.
"Zaire, your grandfather said to give him a call because he could not get in touch with you" Scott said.
He nodded and got into the car before they drove off leaving the boardwalk behind them.
"Is everything ok?" Scott inquired while glancing in the mirror to read his expression.
Zaire was now leaning forward and using his hands to cover his face while sighing heavily.
"Scott....my parents are back and they want us to have a family dinner" Zaire replied.
"Is that so?....I will try my best to keep them at bay and notify the chairman, but in the meantime, there's another phone in the compartment right next to you" Scott continued.
Zaire removed his hands from his face and sat up in the seat as he opened the compartment that was next to him.
"Thanks Scott. You seem to know me better than anyone else" he said.
As Scott continued to drive, he was instructed by Zaire.
"I think you should visit my grandfather alone, let me off at school instead because I don't want to be late. Just let him know that I am ok and I will give him a call later" Zaire said.
"What time should I pick you up?" Scott tried to inquire.
"I am not sure. I just need some time to analyze what to do next" Zaire replied.
Before he could be interrogated any further by Scott, Zaire told him to pull over and let him off at the café shop nearby.
Scott was now puzzled and sensed that something was indeed bothering him. This was because they would always stop at the café shop, but Scott was always the one to go inside to purchase whatever Zaire wanted.
YOU ARE READING
The Melancholic Senior
Short Story"I don't know what's worse: to not know what you are and be happy, or to become what you've always wanted to be, and feel alone." ― Daniel Keyes, Flowers for Algernon Zaire Christian is an exceptional senior at the prestigious Wilmer's Academy. Gui...
