Gary Winters Tue Aug 14, 2012 8:43 pm
Pushing his food around on his plate, Gary let out a dramatic sigh. He didn't like having dinner with his mother, for it led to boring and annoying family talks. He couldn't tell the last time they spoke about anything interesting - oh, that's right; they never did!
"Gary, it's rude to have your elbows on the table. Take them off. As I was saying, you're in high school now, and grades are important. I want you to focus. No goofing off, no slacking off, no-"
"Okay! Ma, I get it!" Gary snapped, growing frustrated. Michelle gave her son a stern look.
"Watch your tone with me! I'm reminding you this so you can apply to a wonderful college later on."
"What? Ma, I just got into high school! I've got four years to think about this! Why are we talking about this now?"
"I want you to do something in life, that's why!" She sneered. "What? You want to be like all your friends? I'm pretty sure they don't know where there headed. Know why? Because their parents don't motivate them."
"No, their parents do motivate them. What they don't do is try to take control of their lives!" Gary cried, leaving the dinner table. He could hear his mother saying something along the lines of "What's that supposed to mean?" but he ignored it. He knew she knew what it meant. He didn't have to say anything. Slamming his bedroom door, he flopped onto his bed, burying his head into the pillows. Gary yelled as loud as he could into the pillows before rolling on his back. Fights with his mother weren't rare, but they had ones that were much more extreme and touched on sensitive subjects. He hated how she could be so uptight on certain subjects; how she criticized everything he did so they could match his father's.
He didn't want to think about it too much. Instead, he glanced over at the nightstand where his camera stood. He reached for it and examined it, fingering the small dents and scratches on it. It took his mind back to where Danielle slammed it on the floor because she couldn't work it properly. He let our a soft chuckle, and took a picture of his ceiling. The sound that the camera made was always soothing to him. Gary took a couple more pictures before he started to doze off. All he could recall was his mother turning the lights off and closing his door.