Ronnie turned on the TV and started to watch it. Robert was watching it with him. Robert heard the phone ringing in the kitchen. “I’ll get it.” Robert gets up and went to answer the phone.
“Hello, Brice?” A woman says. It was Peggy. Robert’s mother.
“What?”
“Robert, is that you? Where’s your father?”
“At work, stupid.” Robert rudely replied to her.
“Ugh. That is no way to talk to me. Why are you home? You’re supposed to be at school.” Peggy rudely talks back to her son.
“I got suspended.” Robert tells her.
“Gasp! Suspended?! What has your father been letting you do?! Robert, tell your father that I am coming over tomorrow. I want to work things out with him and try to help you and Ronnie be more behaved kids.” Robert didn’t like the way Peggy was speaking to him. He hung her up. Robert went back into the living room.
“Who was that?” Ronnie asked.
“That bitch that’s marred to our dad.” Robert replied and sat down on the sofa.
“You mean our mom?” Ronnie asked. Robert didn’t answer. “What did she want? To start shit?” Ronnie asks. Robert nods. “I hate when she does stupid stuff like that.”
Hours have gone by. It was now 2:50 PM. Robert had left and was making his way to the school. He had to pick up Bryan. Bryan didn’t know the way to get home and was too young to walk home on his own. Robert got to the school and stood outside of it. Waiting for Bryan to come out. By 3:20 PM, Bryan had came out.
“Hey.” Bryan says. Robert began to walk and Bryan followed him. “Where’s your backpack? Where’s Ronnie?” Bryan asked.
“Ronnie and I got suspended from school.” Robert tells his youngest brother. Bryan just stared a little confused.
“How did you two get suspended?”
“Fighting. It’s a long story.” Robert didn’t feel like explaining the story to Bryan about how Ronnie and him got suspended. They made it home. When they got home, Bryan goes straight to his room and puts his backpack in there. He opened it up and began doing his homework.
“Ronnie, that bitch is trying to come here tomorrow. Do you really want her to come?” Robert asked.
“You mean our mom?” Ronnie asked.
“Yes.” Robert answers.
“Hell no. I don’t want her here. She’s annoying.” Ronnie didn’t like the idea of having his mother come over.
“She wants to make up with dad and think she can make us better kids. Which means her trying to send us off to boarding school again plans.” It was no joke. The last time they were with their mother, she tried suggesting sending them to boarding school to work on their behavior. Their father didn’t like the idea and eventually separated from her. Resulting them into moving in the house they were in and their mother to stay in an apartment out of town.
“Her boarding school threat is so annoying. I can’t take her.” Ronnie didn’t like when his mother always wanted to send him and Robert to boarding school for anything they did. Even Bryan didn’t do anything to her.
“Let’s not tell dad so he won’t get off work to talk to her.” Robert tells his brother. He nods in agreement.
In the evening, they all were sitting at the table eating dinner. Dinner that Ronnie cooked since their father was working a little late. “I am disappointed in you both for getting suspended from school.” Brice said to his two older sons.
“Look dad, those boys were getting on our nerves.” Ronnie says and takes a bite of his food.
“It doesn’t give you a right to punch them. This is a reason why your mother and I were arguing. She didn’t like all of your behavior.”
“Don’t tell me you want to send us to a boarding school.” Ronnie glares.
“No. I don’t. I believe you all can do better without it.” Brice replies and looked down. He felt his sons were getting out of control and he didn’t know what to do. Robert and Ronnie were teenagers now and it was more difficult for him. Bryan didn’t seem bad but some reason Peggy complained about him too. Bryan was childish for his age. He’s 10-years-old but loves teddy bears a lot.
“You two can’t go anywhere because you’re grounded. Grounded for three days until you go back to school. The only place you can go is to pick up Bryan from school or take him if I can’t.” Brice tells Robert and Ronnie.
“That is lame.” Robert thought to himself but didn’t complain to his dad as he was drinking his drink.
“This is bullshit.” Ronnie was angry. “All because we took up for ourselves you punish us?” Ronnie slammed his fist on the table.
“Ronnie, stop it.” Brice said not wanting to argue with his son. Bryan looked at Ronnie. He was a little scared. Ronnie stood up.
“I’m going to bed.” Ronnie left the kitchen and went straight to his bedroom.
“He didn’t even pick up his mess.” Brice sighs and went back to eating his food.
“I’ll clean dishes tonight.” Robert tells his dad. After dinner, Robert was cleaning the dishes. Bryan came over to him.
“Robert, is Ronnie okay? He seemed mad.” Bryan asked.
“Yeah, he’ll be okay.” Robert answers. Bryan walks away out of the kitchen. After cleaning the dishes, Robert had a bath and then went to his bedroom. When he got there he saw Ronnie sitting on his bed smoking a cigarette. “You aren’t sleeping.”
“Shut up.” Ronnie glared at his brother. Robert closes the door behind him and went to sit down on the bed. Robert picked up a cigarette and lighter and lights it. He then began to smoke. Bryan came into the bedroom.
“You two aren’t supposed to be doing that.” He said staring at them surprised.
“Don’t squeal on us you little rugrat.” Ronnie said giving Bryan a dirty look. Bryan close the door and ran off.
The next day had came. Robert and Ronnie stayed home from school. Brice took Bryan to school. “What is there to do all day when we can’t leave?” Ronnie asked.
“Honestly, dad wouldn’t know if we did left.” Robert tells Ronnie.
“That’s true.” There was a knock at the door. “Dammit. Is that our stupid mother?” Ronnie asks. Robert went to the door. He peaked out the peak hole. He then looked back at Ronnie.
“Yeah, it is that slut.” He answered.
“Make her go away. Dad isn’t here.” Ronnie went to the kitchen. Robert opened the door.
“Robert? Why aren’t you in school? Where’s your father?”
“Dad is at work.”
“I thought you would’ve told him I was coming over. He can’t be at work.” Peggy just barges into the house. Robert shuts the door behind her.
“Why don’t you come back later? Dad isn’t here.” Robert said getting annoyed already with her.
“I don’t have time for that! I need to speak with your father now!” Peggy seemed like she was already in a bad mood. Robert didn’t understand why all the time he saw her, she seemed angry or mad. The only time she ever was happy when it was Christmas and she bought presents for herself. Peggy made her way to the kitchen.
“What the hell are you doing in here?” Ronnie asked her rudely when he saw her come in.
“That is no way to speak to me! I need the phone to call your father!” She quickly ran to the phone and began to dial on it.
“How would she know where the phone was?” Robert wondered. Ronnie went over to Robert.
“I thought I told you to get rid of her?!” Ronnie quietly yelled at Robert.
“I tried.” Robert whispers back. Peggy got off the phone.
“Your father is on his way here. You two are a disgrace! I honestly think boarding school is what you both need to fix your behavior!” Peggy shouts looking at her two boys. They both just glared at her.
“Let’s go to our bedroom.” Ronnie said and left the kitchen. Robert looked at his mother.
“You should check yourself. Your behavior needs to be fixed too.” Robert said staring at her and then left the kitchen.
“How dare you?! You little bastards!” Peggy was furious. Brice came home twenty minutes later. Him and Peggy were in the living room talking to each other. The phone was ringing. Robert heard it when he came out of the bathroom. He went to the phone and answered it.
“Hello?” He says.
“Is this Bryan’s father?” A woman asked.
“No. I’m Bryan’s brother. I got suspended from school. Why are you asking?”
“Oh. Bryan is running a little fever. Can you tell your father to come pick him up?” It was the school nurse.
“I will.” Robert hung the phone up and went into the living room. “Dad, Bryan needs to be picked up from school. He’s running a fever.”
“I can’t do that right now. I am in a middle of a talk with your mother. Can you and Ronnie get him for me?” Brice asked. Robert nods and went to the bedroom.
“Time to get Bryan.”
“What? Isn’t it too early?” Ronnie asked confused and stared at the clock.
“He’s running a fever.” Robert explains to him. “We need to go pick him up. Dad can’t. And just because were suspended from school doesn’t mean were suspended from the elementary.” Robert and Ronnie both left and went to the elementary school to pick up Bryan.
Robert and Ronnie were walking home with Bryan. “To let you know, mom’s there.” Ronnie tells Bryan.
“She is?” Bryan asked.
“Yeah.” Ronnie answered.
“I just hope a fight doesn’t start.” Robert thought to himself.