Chapter Text
Tommy can already tell what the headmaster is going to say to his dad. As he sits in the office, waiting not so patiently for the workaholic of a dad he has to show up, Tommy shoots the boy sitting opposite of him an angry glare. The boy (what was his name? Sapnap?) returns the glare with twice as much venom, before sticking out his tongue provokingly at Tommy, his right cheek throbbing painfully from where Tommy had swung at him.
Tommy is not having any of it today. He refuses to take any more shit from the self-proclaimed ‘leader’ of the class, who only sought to make Tommy’s life a living hell. In Sapnap’s eyes, Tommy was abnormal, having joined the class a semester late, and it was easy pickings. The class was already more or less well-acquainted with each other, and with Tommy joining late, he quickly became the odd one out and the sole outcast of the class. Sapnap was quick to prey on this fact, and as the ‘leader’ of the class, a position which made Sapnap’s ego inflate until it was close to bursting, Sapnap had to solidify his position even further so he would become untouchable. And what better way than to prey on the newbie and make his life a living hell?
The only thing Sapnap wasn’t expecting was for Tommy to actually fight back. Tommy was a lot tougher than he looked, and Sapnap learnt that first-hand when Tommy lashed out at him and gave him a solid smack on his right cheek.
Everything went to hell after that. The stars circled all around Sapnap as he stumbled backwards painfully, clutching at his right cheek which hurt, damnit , and his jaw dropping from Tommy’s retaliation. His friends were just as taken aback by Tommy’s punch, but did nothing to deescalate the situation. If anything, their act of just standing around and refusing to help Tommy only made the boy even more enraged as he attempted to beat up Sapnap. Tommy was an absolute psycho, they thought.
They didn’t know what Tommy was going through at home.
Before Tommy could do even more damage to Sapnap’s face, a teacher that happened to be walking by intervened, and pulled Tommy away. But Tommy’s pent-up anger had gotten out of hand, and he was clawing and lashing out at the teacher like a feral cat. He might have given the teacher one or two good slashes.
And here he is, sitting in the office with his backpack on his lap and engaged in a silent war with Sapnap, waiting for his dad to come pick him up. It’s not the first time he’s been detained in the headmaster’s office. It’s his fifth time, at the fifth middle school he’s been enrolled in. All the other times saw Tommy expelled on the grounds of having caused physical harm to both students and staff alike simply because they had wronged him in some way and lit his fuse. And each time that happened, his dad Phil would come and pick him up, absorbing the news of Tommy’s expulsion with a stony gaze. And then they would go home, and Phil would leave for work and Tommy would be left in the house alone.
This time, Tommy had a feeling things would be different.
“ ... Yes, I understand. Just draft up the business proposal and I’ll review it when I get back to work. It’s nothing important. Just something to do with my kid. ”
My kid. Tommy never knew why it sounded so degatory.
Before Tommy can really think about it, there is a knock on the door, before it swivels open with a soft click. His dad Phil, dressed in a grey business suit that is crisp and clean of any wrinkles strides into the office, not bothering to cast a glance towards Tommy’s way. He exchanges greetings with the headmaster in the hushed voice, murmuring too softly for Tommy to hear, and plops into the seat in front of the headmaster, squeezing out a forced smile that looks too tired to be real. “So.” Phil starts calmly, never acknowledging Tommy’s presence in the room as though Tommy is a ghost that shouldn’t exist. “What has he done this time?”
The two words this time echoes over and over in Tommy’s mind as he stares straight ahead at his father’s back, silently begging for a silver of acknowledgement. Just look at me, dad. Tommy thinks to himself, feeling his throat grow dry as he digs his nails into his skin, feeling the small pinch of pain burning in his legs. It cannot compare to the emptiness that eats away at his heart.
Phil used to be the coolest dad ever. He would bring Tommy to the park and buy a shit ton of sugary scones and eat them all in one go. He would bring out his guitar and strum on the strings, humming a tune that would forever stay ingrained in Tommy’s memory and lulling Tommy into a deep sleep. He would paint the walls of Tommy’s room over and over until Tommy finally like the shade of yellow, even though Phil found it ugly like the color of mustard. But he didn’t mind, because it was what Tommy liked, and Phil would do anything to make Tommy happy.
Phil was the coolest dad. Was. Until the arguments grew more frequent, seeping past the closed door of Tommy’s bedroom and haunting him until the wee hours of the morning, his nightlights doing little to chase the shadows away. Until his mother packed up and left for good. Until Phil absorbed himself more and more into his work, often coming home late at night when Tommy was already asleep.
The guitar laid in its case, abandoned in a dark corner of the storeroom and never seeing the light of another day.
“Well, Mr Watson.” The headmaster starts, a forced smile dancing on his lips as he gestured at Tommy who is sitting behind the two adults, still glaring at Sapnap. “Tommy Watson instigated a fight with Sapnap Halo, and caused rather severe injuries to Sapnap. He also injured a teacher as well who was trying to stop the fight.”
Tommy doesn’t know what instigated means, but it isn’t any good, from the way his dad suddenly stiffens in his seat. Tommy snorts silently, eyeing Sapnap with utter disgust and wondering which part of a bruised cheek counts as severe injuries .
“As you know, Tommy has gotten into other... accidents that have resulted in two temporary periods of exclusion. Here at Bergson middle school, we do not condone any actions of violence.” The headmaster continues calmly, putting his hands together and eyeing Tommy warrily. “You’ll have to make other arrangements, but as of today, Tommy is no longer a student at Bergson middle school.”
“Whoopee.” Tommy mutters, his cheeks burning just from the topic of his other two exclusions. It wasn’t all that bad, really and Tommy had no idea why the headmaster had to bring it up. It was just some light scuffling between him and the other boys, who were all clearly out to get him by sticking their foot places where it should not belong and causing Tommy to trip. If anything, those boys should be penalised, not Tommy. He did nothing wrong.
A frigid glare from his dad, twice as venomous as the one he gets from Sapnap thrown his way, makes Tommy zip his lips in an instant.
“Are you telling me,” Phil starts slowly, raising a hand to rub his temples. “That Tommy is being expelled ?”
The headmaster gives a long, slow solemn nod. He almost looks sympathetic.
“And there’s nothing I can do, or say, to make you reconsider this decision?”
“I’m afraid not. We have had enough acts of violence, and as you know, we have a reputation to maintain. The longer Tommy stays here, the more violent he will get, and that’s something we cannot tolerate. Tommy is probably the angriest thirteen-year old I’ve ever come across.”
Phil goes silently completely, as solid as stone. The headmaster waves a hand, and Phil immediately stands up with so much force, the chair topples over.
“I see.” Phil says, voice flat and robotic-like. “Thank you for your time.”
And without a single word to Tommy, Phil strides out of the office. Tommy takes it as his cue to leave, grip tightening around the straps of his backpack as he follows meekly after his dad. A scoff from Sapnap makes Tommy pause in his tracks, and when he turns to look at Sapnap, the boy is already gloating over Tommy’s expulsion with the cockiest smirk Tommy has ever seen.
So Tommy does what he thinks is best. After all those days of tolerating Sapnap and his sidekicks’ constant desire to make his life a living hell, Tommy raises a hand and flips Sapnap off, before storming out of the room and after his dad. He can hear the gasps of shock rippling throughout the room, and he smiles happily to himself, satisfied.
So long, Sapnap.