Tenac town

"Please try and make less troubles this time", my dad said seriously his face full of pleading. I expressionesly looked past the truck's window as it wheezed by the seemingly endless beautiful blonde grass totally ignoring his talk. "I'm talking to you Samael!" he spitted angrily whilst accidentally accelerating the truck for a short moment. I turned to look at him, his face that had began to have wrinkles , his greying hair and those serious blue eyes . Whenever he was angry, which was of course a really common occurrence, he would call me by my full name, Samael then his eyebrows would furrow so deeply such that they would meet right between his eyes forming a v- shape. " I get it dad..." I grumbled " I'll be nice... you just have to have some tiny faith in me" my dad can really be a pain in the neck atimes, he had actually been ranting about being disciplined for the better part of our long tiresome journey. He sighed in an obvious tired manner while sending me a quick glance before turning back to the road. I heard him take a quick breathe

"How old are you?"

"Almost seventeen..." I said hollowly clearly embarrassed to say my actual age

"you mean sixteen.... and yet you already look like a grown ass man. You should realise this is the last school I'll be taking you to, the last one that is willing to accept you"

I had a downfall expression, I actually felt bad for my dad .. even worse than I felt for myself. In reality, Raptors academy was the twenty second school I was being enrolled to in a period of two years. The fact that my school record sucked , no school was willing to accept me in their facilities. Raptors academy really made think how hard my dad pulled his strings to get me in this school. After all, no school would want a bad influence on it's premises

"I..." I stuttered while fiddling with my fingers He must have realized I was really pained since he placed his free left hand on my hands and squeezed them affectionately "it's your last year, just get a good grade and I promise it'll be worth it "

I turned my eyes to the darkening sky which made me realize how long our journey was . We left the city at noon and we were still on the road , sorrounded by the now annoying Savannah grass. My dad fumbled his pocket and took out a whiskey bottle. He took a deep gulp off it while sending me a scanning gaze. I clenched my jaw and involuntary remembered how he started drinking. I mean mom's death was a huge turning point in both our lives. My grades were perfect, my conduct even more than perfect. That fateful night was like any other Monday night only that my mom got home from work later than usual. I was busy reading a book when my mother barged into the house , her clothes a bloody mess. I flipped our sofa in an attempt to catch her falling body

" what happened?" I remember panicking and asking. The only thing that left my mom's throat was a series of gurgling sounds. I called the emergency hotline first before calling my dad. Blood was quickly forming a pool around us no matter how hard I applied pressure on her exposed stomach. I remember how she coughed out blood while trying to reach out to the necklase on her neck.

I forced a tear back and held my mom's necklace closer

"I miss her too" my dad broke my chain of thought

"I hate the police ,and everyone.....they came late" I growled

"Don't say that son....I understand it was hard for you but more so for me . I know wherever mom is right now, she would not want you to wallow in sadness and bitterness. She would want you to be strong, she would love it if you finished school"

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat as an uneasy feeling grew in my depths. Whenever I recalled how she died in my arms , her fingers intertwined with mine, I hated even the authorities more. The culprits who did this still remains a mystery even to the police, so incompetent. Even after two years, it was like her case had been dismissed.

The Savannah broke to the start of a heavy green forest, from the looks of it, it seemed just as endless. "Are we there yet?" I sighed defeatedly. My dad chuckled " it's already a wonder you're not yet asleep"

"Should I?" I frowned" are we still that far?"

" Or maybe you probably forgot the way to your hometown, when was the last time......."I asked

" Ten years"he smiled

I opened my mouth agape,then a weird smirk formed on it" who was a naughty kid? Someone was a bad child"

"Not naughty,I mean I had to.........you can't stay for more than a week in that freaky town without pissing in your pants..."

" Then why am I to study there if you're so on edge about the place itself..."I caught a trap in his wording

" It's not that bad,even though you'll be scared shitless you're strong ..."he laughed hollowly as if he even didn't believe himself saying that "are you?" he added

"Of course I'm strong" I answered weirdly wondering what in Tenac was so scary that dad couldn't dare stay more than a week in it. "Should I be on the lookout for something?"I couldn't help but ask

" No...no....the only thing you should be looking out for is my daughter in law" he winked at me

" I have a girlfri....."I started

"You mean Claire?...." he rudely interrupted" that maniac of a girl?..hell no...with that cunning and wicked smile of hers"

" She's not a maniac...she's a hot fighter"I retorted" a cool righteous girl"

" The last time I checked she broke the balls of an old man....how can I trust her to be my daughter in law"

I widened my eyes in wonder," the old man couldn't keep his balls to himself....and that was long ago. And how the hell is this about Claire again,we were talking about Tenac"

Unknowingly,we grumbled and argued about my bad flirting tactics and how I seemingly attracted only bad girls for the rest of the journey. Everytime I was always left in awe at how my dad really knew how to turn every current against me.

"nac tow?" What's that?"I squinted my eyes as we passed by the rusty signboard. This really has to be a spooky town. To even further instill fear in me,a blind bat smashed itself in the trucks windscreen. Dad widened his eyes and accelerated to the maximum

"I fuckin hate creepy bats"

It wasn't long before we entered a three lane highway with bright street lights lining it. I had to admit it wasn't what I expected...no creepy castles ,no weird old men and women,just a normal town . There were even malls with people in it ,shops ,cars and buildings. Doesn't look like I'll be peeing in my pants ,I smiled

We turned a left corner and entered a roughly paved road which seemed to lead into a living estate.This town was really tree infested, I noted. In between houses was a range of trees and they weren't planted,they seemed to have grown naturally.

We entered a driveway that pointed to a certain white coloured house. It was bigger than our house back at the city and seemed older .My dad beeped twice "we're here" he smiled