Chapter 12: A father's rage. |
Arthur made his way to his locker, he began sorting his materials back into his organisation system, before packing his bag and closing his locker. As he did so, he felt his phone vibrate, it was probably Donovan telling him he arrived.
Arthur quickly made his way down the staircase, across the hall and through the school's front door, where he saw a familiar vehicle, and his father's secretary standing there waiting for him.
"Hello Arthur, how was school?" Donovan's voice contained traces of anger, although he managed to mask it on his face.
"Ah, father sure does hear things fast." Arthur spoke out with a sigh, his voice contained hints of fear. If his father got angry at Arthur, he wasn't confident he wouldn't be terrified if he was yelled at. Threatening a teacher alongside harming a fellow student, these two things would probably get Arthur in a ton of trouble with his father, he couldn't help but swallow his fear as he entered the car.
"Yeah, he heard... and he's furious..." Donovan began talking slow, spacing out each sentence, causing Arthur's stomach to drop further.
Donovan took notice of Arthur's expressions, and falsely believing it to be due to what happened to him at school today, continued pilling on excessive detail of how angry his father was during the entire drive home, believing that it would make him feel better slightly.
By the time the car reached the lab, Arthur was suffering waves of nausea, guilt and dread. He spent his entire life making sure he never spoke out of line, never wanting to attract his father's ire, but within a couple days of reincarnating, he had essentially ruined his life, at least that's how it felt from Arthur's perspective.
"Go meet Doctor Hudson first, your father will see you when he's done." Donovan gave out one more foreboding sentence before driving off.
Arthur made his way inside the building, he began the daily ritual of greeting every employee that walked past, starting with the two employees manning the front desk, as he made his way to Doctor Hudson's office.
"You probably shouldn't be encouraging that sort of behaviour." Arthur sighed, he felt like he was going to get chewed out by his father, and didn't need his sister getting caught in the crossfire. "It was a stupid thing to do."
"Well, yeah. But at the same time, it was self-defence, you did nothing wrong." Anna gave him another thumbs up. "Where did you learn how to fight? I heard you pulled off some fancy moves."
"It was entirely an accident, but it worked out somehow." Arthur scratched the side of his head, he couldn't figure out a valid excuse, so he just claimed it as a miracle and hoped for the best.
"Fair enough. Anyway, Hudson is waiting for you in his office. I gotta head back to work, seeya." Anna turned around and bolted down the hall. Arthur turned back around and walked straight to Doctor Hudson's office.
When he arrived at Doctor Hudson's office, the door was already open. Arthur peeked into the room and he saw Doctor Hudson sitting in his office chair, scribbling notes on a sheet of paper, unaware of his surroundings.
"Doctor Hudson, I'm here." Arthur knocked on the door to announce his presence.
"Oh, Arthur, right right, come in." It seemed Doctor Hudson was preoccupied with his work, "Close the door behind you."
Arthur did as he was told, closing the door after he entered the room.
"Alright, lets take a look at the damages." Doctor Hudson signalled him to take off his shirt and lay down, to which Arthur followed.
"Bruises on the back, less swelling than expected, it appears an ice-pack was administered relatively quickly." Doctor Hudson began rambling to himself as he inspected Arthur's body. "I told you not to engage in any form of physical activity, didn't I?"
"I'm sorry." Arthur couldn't help but feel a sense of guilt as he was being admonished by Doctor Hudson.
"This time, you're staying in bed. Your exams are over, so you have no excuse." Doctor Hudson signalled Arthur to sit up, he stood up to open a cupboard, pulling out a small bottle of pills. "Take one of these, then go lie down, same room as last time, I'll come check up on you when I finish my work."
Arthur nodded to show that he was listening, took the bottle of pills and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. He walked to one of the water coolers and filled up a small paper cup, using it to take his medication. Arthur threw the cup away and walked to his patient room.
When he reached the room, it was quiet, Arthur didn't know if he was going to find himself in a sudden screaming match, but he was glad he didn't. He kicked his shoes off before sliding into bed, falling asleep within minutes of his head touching the pillow.
"Arthur... wake up." A stern yet familiar voice rang through Arthur's head, Arthur woke up due to a wave of dread washing over him, as he opened his eyes, he saw his father sitting by his side.
"Dad..." Arthur's voice was hoarse, his fear caused his mouth to dry up completely.
"I heard you got in a fight today..." His father began to speak, each word sending feelings of guilt, nausea and fear through Arthur's entire body. "I watched a recording of the incident, I'm impressed."
"What?" Arthur could have sworn he heard a record scratch, although that may have just been his imagination.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm not happy you fought, but damn son, you've got some moves." Arthur's father was praising him, why? Arthur couldn't understand what was going on, where was the screaming, where was the clipboard being slapped out of his hands. "That move earlier, where you saved your friend from the ball, very impressive, that stole her heart, without a doubt."
Arthur sat up, he was still in shock. "So, you're not here to yell at me?" He couldn't help but ask, for some reason, being complimented felt just as bad as being scolded, maybe even worse.
"No, I'm not here to yell at you, son." His father calmed down, as if his previously playful attitude was just a facade, "I'm just here to make sure you're doing alright, and to tell you that the lawyers have already attended your teacher's disciplinary meeting.'
'Your friend, the nurse, Emily was it? She attended the meeting unexpectedly and testified against the teacher on your behalf, bringing out several old medical charts documenting your injuries during his class, as well as written documentation of your previous complaints of the man's behaviour spoken behind closed doors. This was enough to have the board relieve him of his teacher position." His father continued, "As for that student, Ruslan, he has been suspended for two weeks. I've also discovered that his father works--"
"Father!" Arthur interrupted his father, something that had never happened before, this left his father somewhat shocked, but he listened to what Arthur had to say, "He's been punished, there's no need to destroy his father's life over the actions of his stupid child. I'm sure his father has learnt of this situation by now, and will teach his son that his actions have consequences, there's no need to push further than this, please."
Arthur's father sat there with a surprised expression, this was an unexpected situation, Arthur was not only speaking up to him, but was also speaking in favour of mercy for his childhood bully. A large grin formed on his face, his son had finally matured past the scared subservient stage he was trying to help him escape from. "I see. I understand, if you're going to plead for the kid's life, than it can't be helped. I won't push this further."
Arthur's face lit up, somehow he convinced his father to see reason where he would have sought for destruction, which gave him confidence for one more request. "Father, may I ask for a favour?"
"It depends, what's the favour?" It seemed Arthur gained the confidence to step outside of his comfort zone, but his father still wanted to make sure he learnt reason and restraint, but if it was reasonable he was willing to do anything Arthur asked.
"Well, Emily helped us out this time around, and she has a massive crush on Doctor Hudson, could you give Doctor Hudson a day off so Emily can ask him out for coffee, please?" Arthur pleaded, he watched as his father's face lit up with a massive grin once more.
"Sure thing kiddo, Doctor Hudson has been working really hard lately, I'm sure he'd appreciate the break too. I'll handle the rest, you stay here and get some rest." Arthur's father practically sprung out of the chair, and waved Arthur goodbye "I've got to make a call, I'll visit sometime later."
As his father walked out of the room while on the phone, he could have sworn he heard his father utter the words "lobster dinner".
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