She’s Had Enough
Her phone was ringing non-stop lately, and Mary Watson was getting tired of it. It was all because Trent frequently skipped school.
She couldn’t believe that her once obedient and sweet boy had become someone she couldn’t communicate with.
There had been a gradual drift in his behavior, and he was sometimes a real troublemaker. As a last resort, Mary had a plan to get her son back on the right track.
They Were Close
Mary’s pride and joy was sixteen-year-old Trent. Having separated from Trent’s father, Mary, and Trent formed a close bond as mother and son.
Recent events led Trent to start acting up and doing his own things.
Mary was fine with this. After all, he was still sixteen, but Mary soon noticed a change in his attitude.
Resolving Their Issues
There was no doubt in Mary’s mind that Trent had been devastated by the divorce. It made him sad to sometimes have to choose sides between his parents, and he loved them dearly.
When he became angry, Mary tried to solve the problem as best she could.
The first few months were difficult for everyone, but Mary and her ex-husband soon reached an amicable agreement and became friendly again.
Teenage Problems
Though Trent’s mood had improved at home, Mary noticed that he still appeared unhappy.
Mary bore the brunt of his anger for days due to his mood swings.
There might be some teen angst involved, she thought. Trent brought chaos to his mother, but she could not prepare for it.
Acting Out
Trent’s school began calling Mary to let her know that he regularly skipped classes.
Initially, she thought it was a phase, but when Trent’s behavior continued, she realized it was more serious.
Trent evaded and dismissed Mary’s questions about his truancy.
Trying To Get To The Bottom Of Things
He dismissed it as nothing to worry about, insisting that he didn’t need to go to school anyway.
In order to resolve the situation, Mary took matters into her own hands.
It was hard for Mary to understand why Trent suddenly became uninterested in school. When she started keeping a close eye on him, she noticed that he was behaving differently.
Was This The Reason?
Mary suspected he was cheating on her by sneaking out of the house in the mornings, claiming to be going to school.
She was aware that he had made some new friends. This could explain some of his worrying changes, could it not?
The situation needed to be investigated further by Mary.
Trying To Communicate
He had been doing a lot of bad things, including skipping school, because of his new friends, Mary suspected.
Mary tried talking to Trent, but he wasn’t interested in her “lectures.” Before Trent left the house, Mary tried talking to him once more.
The cryptic response she received when she ran after him was, “It’s your fault.”.
She Was Stunned
Trent’s response caught Mary off guard. Despite her best efforts, she couldn’t figure out why he was accusing her of being responsible for his behavior.
It took her some time to figure out what he was trying to say. Did the divorce have anything to do with it? What else had she done?
The news shocked and confused Mary. Throughout her life, she had done her best to raise Trent well and provide for him.
The Truth
There was no way she could comprehend how she had been responsible for his decision to skip school and hang out with a potentially harmful person.
Her curiosity led her to ask what he meant that night.
Mary’s heart sank as he replied, “Ever since you started dating, you haven’t had time for me.” he barely glanced at her. Her guilt was overwhelming.
The Plan
It was then that Mary came up with a plan. She needed both men in her life to be happy, but more importantly, her son.
She devised a plan that could possibly make Trent feel included and happy again.
She had no idea that he felt this way, and it wasn’t her intention to exclude him from her life.
Time To Finally Meet
Mary organized a special dinner where Trent could finally meet her new boyfriend. She was sure they would get along. Or, at least, she hoped they would.
It had been years since the divorce was finalized, and Mary wanted to move on with her life.
But she wanted her son to be a part of that, not to fight her along the way.
Preparations
She informed them both of her plans and went out to get everything she needed for the dinner. She would make all of Trent’s favorites, and as a special treat, she would be making her boyfriend Philip’s favorite dessert.
That way, everyone would be happy.
At least, that was what Mary thought, but she would change her mind when the hour finally drew near.
The Perfect Dinner
As the time drew closer, Mary could see how nervous and agitated Trent was becoming.
She wanted everything to be perfect and hoped that they would get along. But it seemed like her son wasn’t putting any effort into it.
Mary became all flustered when the doorbell rang, and she saw how Trent rolled his eyes at her. Would he play nice?
A Lovely Sight
As Mary opened the door, she saw that Philip was dressed in a suit and holding flowers for her. But that wasn’t what intrigued her the most.
Philip was also holding a few comic books for Trent. It could be the key to their success.
But it would only work if Trent decided to let go of his resentment. Could he do that?
The Meeting
The comic books were all part of the plan. Mary knew Trent loved comics and thought that it would get Philip in his good books.
But just as Mary closed the door, she witnessed something that wasn’t only strange.
It was completely unexpected. Mary turned to introduce her son to the new man in her life and saw that all the color had drained from his face.
Awkward Encounter
Trent stood dead in his tracks as he gawked at Philip.
Mary looked between her son and boyfriend and realized that the two of them knew each other. The tension in the air between them confirmed it.
“Good evening, Mr. Williams. Funny meeting you here,” Trent said after a moment of silence. How did they know each other?
Secrets
“Hi Trent, great to see you again,” Philip said, giving the boy a knowing look. Mary just stood there, baffled by the encounter she was witnessing.
She couldn’t understand what she was a part of, and it didn’t seem like either of them wanted to let her in on their little secret.
But she would learn the truth soon enough.
Truth Revealed
Seeing the confusion on Mary’s face, Philip decided to speak up. Philip had recognized Trent as he was in the Principal’s office on more than one occasion.
And unfortunately, Philip was the Principal who had to put him in his place in all those instances.
At least, that was the case before Trent decided to drop out of school completely.
Not Knowing What To Do
Mary had never been so embarrassed in her entire life.
She had no idea where to hide or what she could say to change the impression Philip had of their little family.
She had no idea her son had been causing so much trouble at school. And she was completely unaware of the fact that Philip was the principal. But now that she knew, she had no idea what she was going to do.
The Gesture
Trent’s attitude changed in an instant. He gestured to the dining room table, and even though he seemed nervous, he wasn’t so resistant anymore.
The gesture touched Mary deeply. It proved that her son wasn’t against her finding a relationship.
He just wanted her to do what was best for her. And it seemed like he approved of Philip.
How I Met Your Mother
The dinner started rather slow and awkward, but the two men in Mary’s life quickly hit it off. “How did you meet my mother?” Trent asked.
“It’s a funny story,” Philip said before explaining that they met at the gym.
They had been attending together for quite some time, but Philip never had the courage to approach her.
Lots Of Laughs
Trent found the story amusing, and soon all three of them were laughing at the events that unfolded.
But then Philip said something that could make or break the evening.
“Do you remember when Mrs. Tyrone dragged you into my office because you caused a fuss about her teaching style?” The room went quiet as Philip waited for Trent to respond.
Breaking The Silence
At first, Mary didn’t know how her son would react.
But when Trent burst out laughing, she couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief.
“Yeah,” Trent said between laughs. “I can’t believe she blamed me for her lack of knowledge. The Mayans and Aborigines don’t even live on the same continent.” Philip nearly choked on his wine when he heard that.
Misunderstandings
Throughout their discussions, Mary learned that most of the time Trent spent in the principal’s office was the result of some or other misunderstanding.
Trent was far too smart for his age, and the teachers often tried to use the attitude that accompanied that to go against him.
But overall, her son wasn’t such a bad kid.
Elephant In The Room
“Your grades have been dropping lately,” Philip eventually said, turning the fun-filled discussion into something serious.
“Why is that? Are you having problems in class?”
Trent shook his head. “I just can’t deal with the inaccurate information anymore. Do you know that Mrs. Walters failed me because I refused to submit fake information on my Ancient History test?”
In All Seriousness
“Is that why you haven’t been coming to class?” Philip asked. Mary was on the edge of her seat. Once again, they were having a conversation that could go either way. But she couldn’t find the strength to stop them.
This was the most information she had gotten from her son in a very long time.
And she wanted to understand why he was doing what he did.
Pieces Of The Truth
“It’s part of the reason,” Trent admitted as he pushed his food around his plate.
“What’s the rest of the truth?” Philip asked, intrigued by the teen’s response.
“I don’t feel like I fit in anywhere anymore. My mom is having her own life, and the classes are below my level. Plus, I get punished for knowing what the entire world accepts as a fact.”
New Friends
“And how do your new friends fit into this?” Mary asked, unable to stop herself.
Trent looked up at his mother, and for the first time in a long time, she saw vulnerability in his eyes.
“They are first-year chemistry students… They’ve been teaching me about what they do because I want to do the same,” he admitted.
Stunned
Mary couldn’t believe her ears. She thought of all the bad her son could possibly be getting up to, but she never thought of the good.
And now that he admitted the truth, she understood why he didn’t want to say anything about it.
His father was a chemist, and Trent wanted to follow in his footsteps.
Consequences
“You do realize that you’ll fail the year if you don’t catch up?” Philip asked.
And from the look in his eyes, Mary could tell that he wasn’t pleased with that.
“It didn’t know it was that bad,” Trent said, looking very ashamed. “ Is there something I can do to prevent that from happening? Can I catch up?”
An Offer
“There is something you can do to remedy this situation. But I want you to think further into the future,” Philip said. “If you feel you’re too advanced for your classes, we can do something to push you forward. You could head to university next year if you wanted to.”
Trent’s eyes grew wide, and his excitement was evident.
What did the principal have in mind for him?
What’s The Catch?
Even though Trent knew that he was smart enough to pull it off, he wasn’t willing to walk into a trap.
So he asked every single question that popped into his mind.
And he soon discovered that there was no catch. If he could prove that he was smart enough to get into university, Philip would help him to do so. But the principal wanted something else as well.
In Return
Philip was more than happy to give Trent what he wanted, but nothing came for free.
In return for his services, the principal wanted the boy to prove that he really wanted this.
He expected a lot from Trent. He wanted him to catch up on the work he missed, and he wanted him to study for an early acceptance test at the same time.
Offer Accepted
Trent accepted the offer on the spot, and the two men discussed the methods of making this happen.
Philip suggested that Trent get his new friends to help him out with his studies.
And in the meantime, he should focus all of his energy on getting his school year back on track. Since he had something to look forward to, Trent didn’t mind that at all. But would it work out?
Coming To An End
The evening was coming to a close, and Mary couldn’t be happier.
It seemed like the guys were really hitting it off, and that was more than Mary could’ve hoped for.
They managed to talk everything through, and it looked like things were starting to return to normal. But was that really the case? Or did Mary have her head in the clouds?
The Weeks That Followed
In the weeks that followed, Trent seemed to be holding up his end of the bargain. Philip was very strict with him and kept him busy.
But Trent kept pushing. He took everything that was thrown his way and turned it to his advantage.
And before long, he was exactly where he needed to be.
Drastic Improvements
Trent not only caught up on all of his schoolwork. He also showed a drastic improvement in his academic performance.
If things kept going the way they were, he’d be exactly where he wanted to be.
But could he keep going? Or was it just a front because he had something to be excited about?
Well On His Way
Even Philip commented on Trent’s progress, stating that he’d be at university in no time. But he’d have to keep up with the pressure that was placed on him.
He tried to explain that university wasn’t high school.
The pressure was much worse, and one small slip-up could cost him everything. However, nobody could tell if the teen understood that or not.
Would It Last?
Mary and Philip were both concerned about whether what Trent was going through was just a phase or not. Teens were unpredictable, and he could change his mind at any given moment.
But they would support him nonetheless because this venture seemed to have gotten him back on track.
And that was exactly what they wanted.
Early Entry Exam
Before long, the year had passed, and Trent was preparing for the exam that would allow him to have early entry into a university.
On the day of the exam, Trent was incredibly nervous.
He seemed to have lost all the confidence he had gathered over the last few months. And that concerned Mary.
Fingers Crossed
But Trent walked into that room, nonetheless, and he wrote that exam. When he came out, he was incredibly unsure of himself and what he had said on the test.
He spent hours flipping through his training material and trying to find out if his answers were correct or not.
But nothing could put his mind at ease.
Endless Wait
The wait for the results was grueling. Trent was on edge for three whole weeks.
He couldn’t sit still, and he hardly ate. He was so stressed out, and nothing his mother tried to do seemed to help.
But the results would arrive soon enough, and then Trent’s mind could be set at ease. Or at least that was what Mary hoped for.
Holding Her Breath
Exactly four weeks after Trent wrote the exam, a thick envelope arrived in their mailbox. It was the response from the university Trent had applied to.
Both Mary and her son were holding their breaths in anticipation. Would Trent’s dreams come true?
Or was the year of suffering not enough? Did he need to do more?
Accepted
With shaky hands, Trent tore at the envelope and pulled out the stack of papers inside it. He took a deep breath before looking down and seeing the one word he’d been looking for.
“Accepted,” Trent breathed as the reality of the matter began setting in. He had been accepted, and within a matter of months, he’d be in university.
Disclaimer: In order to protect the privacy of those depicted, some names, locations, and identifying characteristics have been changed and are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblances to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, are entirely coincidental.