Finding Alvin proved to be a more Herculean task than Patricia anticipated when she realised she didn’t know the name of Alvin’s school; A quick check from an old report card told her enough, Patricia also noting how much of a nerd Alvin was since his report card was full of A’s and low on B’s.
She assumed he hadn’t changed school since that would require her consent but Patricia wouldn’t rule it out either, thinking a rival school may have poached the little bookworm. Alvin had an unhealthy level of self-sustainability about him and it was the kind of thing that always unsettled Patricia.
Then she had to work out his school time which was a small challenge in itself.Patricia knew when he went to school but convincing the little twerp to come back was not going to be easy. She’d have to guess his schedule now since he didn’t have to cook her dinner. Patricia gripped her stomach at the thought of his dinners, at least they didn’t give her diarrhea.
That part she did miss, her tastebuds had yet to recover from the gulch she made the other night, the same night she vowed to eat takeout until the problem was fixed. Her anus would be equally grateful after she misread the expiration on some pasta.The solution would be getting Alvin to come back and reverse this mistake. Wendy could come if she wanted to,Patricia would let her in if she chose to accept her offer.
Once that was settled, Patricia went down to his school and surreptitiously waited outside for Alvin, her cover story being that she was here to pick up her children. She only had to wait until three in the afternoon when the loud ringing of the school bell announced the end of another trying day.
As teenagers of all sizes streamed out, Patricia squinted as she looked for Alvin. She had to continuously move about as Amazons and the occasional Titan blocked her view but she persisted.
“Oh come on Alvin, lets go to the mall!”
Patricia turned her head all the way up , seeing Alvin perched on the shoulder of a pretty blonde Titan. She tensed as she looked at the tanned perky girl, a million questions on her mind.
How did Alvin know her? Who was she? Were they dating? How could a scrawny little bookworm like him snag her if they were?
The girl moved closer, not even noticing Patricia before walking out with Alvin in tow.
Patricia quickly realised she was in her path, the Titan’s bus sized feet coming closer with each step and she’d soon be squished. The girl wasn’t looking down , she seemed too engrossed with Alvin to pull that off.
Patricia backed up against the school wire fencing as she wondered how much she knew of Alvin’s life was a lie, what was the little bastard from her?
The girl’s foot landed just feet from her before passing harmlessly overhead, Patricia swallowing her spit before looking up. She got a glimpse of the girl’s tight butt flexing and jiggling with each step.
“I got to get him alone, that girl will be my undoing,” Patricia said to herself as she backed away slowly. There was no telling what would happen if Alvin saw her right now but she had to retreat and rethink her plan.
******
“This is going to be a really special birthday for me,” Alvin remarked to Cassie as they vegged out in front of her television, thrice as long as your standard cineplex screen. Both were tired after a long day of lessons and as the mercury climbed with summer on the horizon, so did their energy levels, none of them inclined to do anything productive with their evenings .
“Oh right its your eighteenth, how are you going to spend it?”
Alvin turned his head up to Cassie, a long way up since he was seated on her lap, Wendy absent from this as she was at the mall with her friends.
Alvin shrugged, he had no plans, not now and not ever. His birthday had not been observed since his father passed and if Wendy ever acknowledged it, there was always some mean prank attached to it.
“Probably with you and just glad no one is going to throw cake in my face.”
“ When is it again?”
“May 25.”
Cassie’s eyebrows convexed up in surprise, she had that date earmarked.
“That’s the same day as prom. You plan on going to prom?” Cassie stretched her slender legs out, cracking her joints from hours of sitting.
Alvin shook his head, “No. I never saw the point in it. Clapping for people whom you barely know, winning a popularity contest. Not my thing. I should be with people who care.”
“What if I went? What if I were up for prom queen? Would you come?”
“Of course.” Alvin didn’t hesitate, the answer was just waiting to pounce once he heard Cassie’s question.
Which in turn brought a warm gooey feeling to Cassie, she had him right where she wanted him. It was time to press her advantage.
“ In that case, would you be my prom date?”
“Oh you’re going?”
Cassie nodded, chuckling to herself.
“ Yes silly I am going, I don’t have a choice. I’ve been nominated for prom queen so I definitely have to show up,” She chirped.
“Oh right, to collect your tiara and wand.”
“Scepter,” Cassie interjected to correct Alvin’s misstep.
“Now, will you be my prom date?”
Alvin nodded, “ I would love to. Could meet people before I graduate, let people meet the track hero.”
He struck a heroic pose, chest puffed head and neck turned up forty five degrees, much to the satisfaction of Cassie.
“My little hero…” She blew a little kiss at Alvin, who obliged by catching it like a baseball.
“ Oh dear…” Alvin muttered as he realised something, Cassie too high on endorphins to notice as she laid back to watch television.
To go to prom meant dressing well and that necessitated some sort of formal attire to ensure he could at least match what ever outfit Cassie wore. She made everything, even a nightie look regal.He knew because he spied her walking around in that thigh high piece and despite moving with the grace of a zombie in her early morning stupor, still managed to do the outfit justice. Looking like a princess, he thought to himself during that fleeting moment.
However, Alvin didn’t have anything that could come close to accomplishing that. Which meant a clandestine trip to the mall, away from Cassie to pull that off.
What a task, he thought while looking up at his prom date.
************
“Sorry Wendy, we really wanted to let you stay but then your brother would have to sleep on the streets,” Camilla apologised for the umpteenth time as the gang, present and accounted for treated Wendy to Starbucks; their custom for whenever one of them got screwed pretty badly.
“ Girls,” Wendy rubbed her temples as she sipped a now lukewarm matcha latte, the rest of the girls had ordered other caffeine laden drinks to sip as they made amends with their friend.
“ I forgive you. It was a very sudden request and none of you had time to prepare for it. Its fine and besides, Cassie is the only girl I know with enough space for me and him.”
The mood within the group changed at the very mention of Wendy’s new abode, Britney in particular edging closer to Wendy as she tried to get more information from her.
“What’s Cassie like? Is she as cool as she is in school.”
She was let down by Wendy’s limp shrug of her shoulder.
“ The same as always, except she doesn’t use me as a stress ball like she used to.”
“ Which means the coolest girl ever,” Britney said, going gaga at the thought of rooming with Cassie.
“It’s not as cool as you think it is, I live in her dollhouse. Makes me feel small but I can’t really complain about anything else. Her parents make me right at home, Alvin gets to snuggle with her. Hell he’s probably making out with her right now, she’s always so sunny around him. Plus she’s always looking for an excuse to pick him up, or to just touch him. I just try not to be in the same room or I’ll die of diabetes”
Wendy chuckled, breaking into a smile and even laughing.
“ You should have seen it when Alvin…” Her voice trailed off as she no longer was in the mood to even continue. Standing just outside Starbucks was Patricia and she had found her.
“Nevermind,” Wendy smacked the table in frustration. Her friends looked in the same direction as her but none of them saw what Wendy did.
“What?” Britney asked her , concerned about her friend’s sudden mood change but Wendy got up without saying a thing, teeth gritted and ready to settle the problem.
“ My Mom,” Wendy said as she resigned herself to having another evening ruined by her.
Each of them stood up, intent on defending Wendy but she held up her hand to stop that notion from passing, choosing to do this one alone.
Plus she didn’t want to make a scene, she liked the mall and being embarrassed by her own mother would scupper any long term patronising of it.
“What do you want...Mum.”
Wendy could taste the bile as she addressed Patricia, her wounds still fresh from the betrayal.
“I’m looking for Alvin.”
“Then call him or something, go look for him at school? Or have you forgotten which school he goes to? FYI,same as mine.” Wendy pointed at herself sarcastically.
“No I’m here for his address or really his girlfriend’s one since I’m assuming he’s her new toy. What about you? Where are you staying?”
“Thanks for asking, how thoughtful of you but I’m staying with Alvin’s girlfriend. Unlike you, she actually gives a shit about me and Alvin.” Wendy snapped at her.
Wendy expected Patricia to make a mountain out of this, wail and shake her fist while her nostrils like a bull preparing for a charge. Strangely, she didn’t try to gore her defiant daughter. Wendy stood her ground, Patricia could do a lot of things before this but with so little left, a line had to be drawn.
“ Ok but just tell me where he is, I really need to talk to him.”
“Really?” Wendy set a hand on her hip, her eyes flooded with white hot anger. She didn’t care about her own flesh and blood at all but she wanted Alvin. Probably to make him her servant, Wendy guessed. Alvin was good at chores and cooking so it made sense to have him around, Patricia left their last house fit for pigs.
“ Why don’t you tell me your message and I’ll pass it to him for you. Alvin’s not exactly inclined to talk to you after you threw him out.”
To her delight, Patricia reacted to that, almost striking her daughter but reminded herself where she was. Wendy watched her arm twitch violently as she exerted some restraint.
“ No, its very important. You have to let me talk to him!” Patricia huffed. This would be so much easier if I hadn’t thrown her out, she thought. Only now it seemed she had made a huge mistake in kicking Wendy out, that had only emboldened her.
“ Honestly mother , you’re not going to find her house without my help; don’t even ask again because I won’t give it unless you’ve come to offer an apology.”
Wendy turned away but Patricia grabbed her hand, intent on extending this ‘talk’.
Wendy looked back at her incorrigible parent, shaking her head wistfully.
“No, don’t bother. You lost it the moment you threw me out.” She pulled back and freed her hand from Patricia’s slimy grip.
Patricia shouted something to Wendy and she guessed a lot of people turned to look at her but she didn’t care, Patricia could drop right now and she wouldn’t turn back.
*******
“So, what’s happened since I left? Cassie proposed to you yet?”
Alvin stuck his head above the open fridge door, a donut in his mouth as he helped himself to a midnight snack, his head illuminated by the white light from the fridge.
“ Haha no. Cassie only asked me to prom.” Alvin shut the door just in time as Wendy hurled herself at Alvin, embracing him in a warm hug. The force of which nearly turned his donut into a gooey mess.
“Wonderful but I got some bad news bro. Mom found me at Starbucks.”
“She came to apologise didn’t she?”
“I wish but she said she wanted to see you.” Wendy let go of Alvin who proceeded to eat it while he delved into Patricia's sudden reappearance.
“ What for?”
“I don’t know what and I didn’t care to ask any more, she probably wants you to be her slave. Cook and clean until you’re in the grave.”
Alvin chuckle, “She’ll be back. Surprised she never bothered to look for me at school or even call me. Does she even know how to use a phone?”
“I don’t know, she hardly knows us but I told her Cassie was your girlfriend. Seems she knows that.”
Alvin didn’t want that, his evil stepmother laying siege to Cassie’s house. Patricia was not good at nurture but she certainly knew how to destroy; his childhood was evidence of her immense talents.
“ She didn’t follow you home did she?”
“No but she tried. Threw her off when I took another bus to get back so we’re safe. Cassie won’t get to see our family’s crazy side too much. Not that it matters, she’s cool with you even with me around.”
Wendy chuckled as she ruffled Alvin’s hair as he finished the last of his donut. He could be cute when he got all worried, his little button nose all scrunched up. Probably do it around Cassie more and she’d pepper his face with kisses and after that, do something more than kiss if she were that kind of girl.
“ Okay I’m going to look over my shoulder more. Last thing I need right now…” Alvin skulked off towards his bedroom, shaking his head and mumbling to himself about setting Cassie on Patricia. If she was half as scary to her as she was to him and Wendy, Patricia would have the evil scared out of her.