Chap 3: Dylan Hunt

It was a noisy day at the Hunt Mansion. All the maids and the servants of the house were running around the huge mansion looking for their Young Master’s pet dog.

The Young Master Dylan Hunt was only 12 years old, but he was the most difficult person to handle in the household. He was a spoilt brat with overindulging parents who gave him too much power at a young age without setting any limits or boundaries. He was born with a silver spoon and never had shortage of anything in his life. So, there were only a few things he truly valued. So once he finds something which catches his interest, he will give his complete attention to it. One such thing which managed to gain his attention was a dog which he found on the street near his school. It was a cute little pug with a glossy coat of light brown color. So, he got the pug home and decided to make it his pet and named it ‘Coco’. With the help of a few servants, he took good care of him.

Dylan was a control freak with a strong and obsessive need to control everything, especially the things which piqued his interest. So, as he grew close to his pet Coco, he never allowed anyone to come near it except for 1 or 2 old servants who were in charge of taking care of its daily necessities.

That day, once he was back from school, he expected Coco to be on the dog bed placed at the corner of his room as usual, but he was not there. Dylan looked for Coco around the house and couldn’t find him anywhere. Slowly, the entire household followed suit looking for the pet.

As Dylan was looking for Coco in his mansion’s huge garden, he saw his neighbour petting and playing with him. Dylan was filled with instant rage at the sight of someone else playing with his pet. He climbed over the fence and entered his neighbour’s garden and dashed towards the boy who was now feeding fruit to Coco. He kicked the boy hard on his back. The boy fell and hurt his elbows and knees. Dylan ignored his loud cries and picked Coco who was now lying on the ground. He then went towards the fence, climbed it and entered his mansion.

Dylan was still furious at Coco for entering into the neighbour’s garden and playing with him. In a fit of rage, he tightly pressed Coco’s leg and twisted it until he heard a pop. Coco howled in pain and started barking loudly trying to escape from Dylan’s clutches. The maids and servants surrounding him wanted to take the poor dog away from Dylan, but nobody could muster up the courage to do so.

Finally, Coco scratches Dylan on his hand using his front paw. Dylan yelped and Coco jumped down from his hands. Coco growled in pain but somehow managed to run out of the garden limping. It escaped through the main gates out onto the street. Dylan recovered from his shock of being scratched by his dear pet and ordered the security guards to find Coco. Dylan’s temper had heightened as his pet had tried to run away from him.

The guards looked around for Coco but couldn’t find it. They came home and informed Dylan they couldn't find Coco. Dylan was furious and broke the nearest thing which he could find, which in this case was a flower vase. A shattering sound was heard across the mansion and all the servants and maids were trembling in fear.

By now, Mr. and Mrs. Hunt entered their Mansion, and they heard a shattering noise. They came rushing towards the living room and saw their son Dylan crashing the things in anger.

Mrs. Hunt ran towards her son, stopped him from throwing an antique showpiece and asked “ What happened, son? Why are you so angry?”

“ Coco’s gone! He ran away from me. I want him back now “ screams Dylan. He was not ready to accept the fact that the pet he adored so much thought of leaving him. He had got him from the streets into this luxurious home, gave him a warm bed, good food and toys to play with, then why did Coco leave him?

Mr. Hunt looks at the guards and shouts “ What the hell are you still doing here? Go and look for the pet.”

The guards were giving nervous looks to each other and finally one of them says “S…Sir… we looked for Coco, but we couldn’t find him.”

Mrs. Hunt tries to console Dylan saying “ Don’t worry dear, we will get a new pet for you, a better one too.”

“ I don’t want any other pet, I want my Coco back,” screams Dylan angrily, goes to his room and slams the door shut.

Mr. Hunt’s father who was watching all the commotion going on makes a tsk sound, shook his head and signed. He looks at Mr. Hunt and says “ Your son has turned into a spoilt brat. Keep him under control, or else he will surely cause problems in future.”

“ He’s just a child Father, and my one and only son. If I can’t even fulfil his wishes then what is the use of having so much power and wealth” says Mr. Hunt.

“ I know you love him but that does not mean you should spoil him.”

Mrs. Hunt gets irritated at her father-in-law's words and says “ Please Father, It would be advisable if you do not interfere in our personal matters. Dylan is our son, so it's our choice how we look after him. You have come home after a long time, so come and have dinner”. She then signals to the maid and goes to her son to check his mood.

The next day, the parents of the neighbor boy who was hit by Dylan, came to the Hunt mansion and complained about Dylan to his parents. Dylan was angry and instead of apologising rather insulted them saying their child is responsible for him losing his pet dog. Mr. and Mrs. Hunt who couldn’t bear to see anyone insulting their son accused the neighbors of stealing their dog and asked them to leave.

A week passed, but Dylan was still in a foul mood. Coco was still missing. His parents got a new pet dog of the same breed and color and gave it to Dylan saying it was Coco. But Dylan was a very clever and observant guy who couldn’t be easily fooled. He instantly knew it was not his Coco. He had thoroughly observed Coco. He even knew the minute details down to the variation of its hair color at different parts of its body. So, he refused to have the new pet. His parents got various toys to appease him but it was of no use.

At the school, Dylan often didn’t complete his assignments, nor was he interested in his studies. His teachers at the school usually didn’t complain much, since Dylan’s father owned the school, but when he flunked in his midterm exams, the Principal was forced to tell Mr. and Mrs. Hunt to be more attentive towards his academics. She also suggested hiring a private home tutor for him.

Dylan was of course not happy with the suggestion, so he blatantly refused. His parents reluctantly agreed, but now they were frequently on his case asking him to study and finish his assignments. Mr. Hunt was the owner of numerous businesses and he knew the importance of education. So, he always advised Dylan to concentrate on his studies as he had to take care of the businesses in the future.

Dylan was sitting with his friends on the school grounds. They all were thinking about the science project which was assigned to them. Its deadline was in 2 days.

“ I have yet to start my project and my parents won’t stop nagging me after that Principal complained to them," said Dylan irritatingly.

One of his friends Rick replied with a sign, “ Even I didn’t start yet, I am planning on doing it today.”

Another friend Shane happily said, “ I am happy my project is complete.”

Dylan and Rick were shocked as Shane was no better than them, so Rick asked “ How come you completed it so soon?”

Shane just shrugged and said “My elder brother did it for me. I am the youngest child at my house, so I just request my brother with puppy eyes to help with my assignments and it always works.”

“You are so lucky dude, I have a younger sister who is 8 and my parents always force me to keep helping her, “ says Rick annoyingly.

Shane smirks at Rick’s plight and boasts about his brother saying “ My bro is so good. He not only helps me in my school work but also other things like helping in tidying my room, in playing videogames etc. He sometimes even cooks for me while my parents are not at home.”

At this, Dylan boasts back replying “ I don’t need a brother for doing these works, I have so many servants and maids at home who do everything I say.”

Shane is a tad bit offended by his words and says “ Even we have a maid at home, though she is not there for the full time like in your house and even if you have so many servants at home, can they help you in your assignments?”

Dylan couldn’t refute those words and grits his teeth in anger. Shane smirks at him impressed with his argument. So, Dylan just gets up and leaves from there.

Rick looks at Shane shaking his head and says “ Why do you always argue with him? You know how he is.”

Shane scoffs and says “ What does he think of himself? Always bragging about his richness, such an arrogant dude.”

“ I agree he is arrogant, but he also invites us into his lavish mansion, he allows us to play in his Gameroom and use all the other luxuries at his home.”

“That’s why I am tolerating him” smirks Shane.

As Dylan, came back home from school he was lost in his thoughts. Shane’s words bothered him a lot. He was standing at his room window and he saw 2 boys sitting in front of the servant quarters and studying. That moment, a maid came into his room and gave him his dinner as he had ordered. Dylan asked her who are those boys and she says “ They are my son’s, Young master. They are studying together.”

Seeing them, Dylan thought if he had a brother, he would make him do all his assignments. The more he thought about it, the more he felt it was actually a good idea.

He finally makes a decision and goes to his mother’s room and says loudly “Why don’t I have a brother, Mom? I want a brother.”

Mrs. Hunt is surprised at Dylan’s sudden outburst and gives an awkward smile and says “ What are you saying, Dylan? What’s up with you all of a sudden?”

“ I am serious Mom, I want a brother.”

“How can you get a brother? It's not possible now and why do you even want a brother?”

“ I want someone who can help me in my studies. Shane’s brother helps him in doing all the assignments.”

Mrs. Hunt shrugs and says “Oh! Is that all? We will hire a tutor for you to help with your studies.”

“ I don’t want a tutor, Mom. I said I want a brother.” Dylan screams at the top of his voice.

“ A ‘brother’ is not some toy which we can buy at a shopping mall, son. Moreover, a tutor can help you will all your studies.”

“ I need someone who can help me with all my work, who can always be with me and do everything I say.”

“ I will hire a personal servant for you then, who can be on your beck and call.”

“It's not the same Mom. If I have a brother he can help me at home and even at school, servants can’t do that.”

“How am I supposed to get a brother for you now?” says Mrs. Hunt exasperated.

“Maybe you can adopt him? “ says Dylan casually as if it was no big deal.

Mr. Hunt then enters the room and sees his wife and son arguing. He asks “ What’s the matter with you two?”

Mrs. Hunt was fed up. She sits on the bed and says tiredly “ He wants us to adopt a child now. Please tell him it's not possible.”

Mr. Hunt is surprised at his son’s demands and looks at him raising his eyebrow.

“Why is it not possible to have a brother? You always do that. You couldn’t even find my Coco” says Dylan to his mother throwing a fit.

Mr. Hunt bends down on his knees and holds his son and asks him calmly “ Calm down and tell me why do you want a brother?”

“ I want someone who can help me in my assignments, play with me whenever I am bored and do everything I ask him to do.”

Mr. Hunt thinks about it for a while and asks him “ Are you sure that is what you want?”

Mrs. Hunt is surprised at her husband’s reaction. She stands up and was about to argue but Dylan beats her to it and says “ I am absolutely sure Dad.”

Mr. Hunt pats his head and says “ Ok son, I will think about it and tell you tomorrow. Now you go to your room and rest, it's too late.” Dylan gives him a huge smile and leaves.

Once Dylan was out of the room Mrs Hunt says “ Are you crazy? How can we adopt a child? I have only one son and I will surely not accept anyone else’s child.” She was filled with disgust at the mere thought of it.

The idea of accepting someone else’s child as their son did not appeal to Mr. Hunt as well but he had ulterior motives. He takes his wife’s hand and makes her sit on the bed and says “ Actually, adopting a child is not a bad idea. Not only, Dylan, but even we can also gain from it.”

“What do you mean? How are we going to gain from it?” asks Mrs. Hunt doubtfully.

“ I had told you about the meeting with the party members today. For the upcoming elections, it was suggested that I have to gain some golden points like doing some charity work, donations etc. When Dylan said about adopting a child, I thought it would be a huge boost for my political career. If we adopt an orphan from an orphanage, we can use it as a good deed in our political campaign and gain many votes. Also, not to mention Dylan would be so happy. He has still not got over the loss of his pet dog.”

Mrs. Hunt was impressed with Mr. Hunt’s idea but adopting a child was still not acceptable to her. She was born into a big elite family and married into a big family too. She was disgusted by the low-class people with a low-class mentality. God knows, what would be the background of the child whom they adopt. “ Even if you adopt a child, I can never accept him as my son,” says Mrs. hunt with disdain.

Mr. Hunt places a hand on her cheek lovingly and says “ Who told you to accept the child as your own, Sweetheart? Even I can’t do that. We are doing this for our son whom we both love so much.”

Mrs. Hunt places her hand on her husband's hand and nods giving him a small smile.

Mr. Hunt smiles back and says “ I know about an Orphan Shelter Home for which our company sends donations regularly. I will speak to the Head of the Orphanage tomorrow.”