CHAPTER 4
After the Glee club finished up, Alexander was stopped just outside by Coach Beiste.
"Can I help you?"
"Principal Cooper asked me to invite you to a karaoke night tonight."
"Why not ask me in person?"
"I don't know, but he wants to see you there. He says that he needs to talk to you in private", said Coach Beiste, and she handed him a bar pass, "You're under eighteen, so you'll need that."
"Thank you. I'll see if I can make it."
"Great, he and I will see you there", said Coach Beiste, and she left him standing confused as to why Cooper would invite him.
INTERLUDE
With her parents out of the house for the night, Brittany had invited Zane over to help her study for her upcoming test. While she was not entirely comfortable having someone new around, she felt that she could trust him. Zane showed a few minutes after 7:00 PM, ready to help her.
"Hi, Zane, thanks for coming by."
"No problemo, kid. This is a nice place, I have to say."
"Thanks. I had a hand in the design."
"That explains the drawings on the wall. So, you're up for Algebra, huh? I can help with that."
"Great. I already know my basic addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication, but fractions are currently my weak spot."
"One step ahead of you. I've brought some books with me to help out", said Zane, and he brought out two big books on Intermediate Algebra, one a student solutions manual, and the other an activity book, "Okay, so fractions: the big thing you have to remember is that they will always consist of a numerator and a denominator. The numerator is the top number, while the denominator is one the bottom. You with me so far?"
"Yeah, I am."
"Good, so let's say you have a simple fraction like one over two, also known as one-half. Whenever you add a fraction that has a similar denominator, that denominator will stay the same. For example, one-half plus one half will give you two over two. Since they are the same, two divided by two will give you one."
"But why is it like that?"
"It's simple multiplication to division. Two times one is two, so two divided by one is two, or two divided by two is one."
"So if the denominator is like four on both fractions, it stays four while the numerator determines if you divide it?"
"Exactly. See, you're not as stupid as people make you out to be. Okay, so another great thing about denominators is that while they are different, you can find the lowest common denominator. For example, if one denominator is, say, five, and the other is four, then the LCD would be twenty. In order to do this, you need to multiply one-fifth by four, both top and bottom, and one-fourth by five, both top and bottom, as twenty is the lowest common multiple of four and five. This will turn the denominators of both fractions to twenty, while the numerators become four and five. Add them together, and you get nine-twentieths. Since this cannot be simplified further, that's your answer."
"I think I've got it."
"Good, now I've put together a sheet of exercises for you to work on, all involving fractions. While you work on it, just let me know if you need any help."
"Thanks, Mr. Tresk. You really are a big help", said Brittany, and Zane set the page down in front of her, gave her a reassuring massage on her shoulder, and as she worked on each problem, Zane started to get too up close and touchy.
INTERLUDE
At a local bar, Alexander had entered to see a multitude of patrons, all of whom were either drunk, partying, or just hanging out with friends. He quickly caught sight of Coach Beiste and Principal Cooper, and they invited him over to their table.
"I have to say, this is kind of creepy", said Alexander.
"Relax, kid. Lawrence was just wondering if you'd jump at the opportunity to go up and perform", said Coach Beiste, motioning to a performance stage not too far away.
"And why would I do that?"
"Well, it's a common tradition here that any patron can perform at least once to show that they're good sports. Even I wasn't afraid to go up there and sing something, even though I can't really sing", said Cooper.
"Do they expect me to go up right now?"
"No, you can go at your own discretion. These folks are just here looking for a fun time is all", said Coach Beiste.
"Hey, new guy! You want to sing something?" called the bartender, and Alexander rolled his eyes and went up to the stage, proceeding to perform "Desperado" by the Eagles, earning him a standing ovation from the patrons. He went back down to Beiste and Cooper, who were looking very impressed with his performance.
"You really are a natural, kid. I'm going to go and use the ladies' room. I'll be right back", said Coach Beiste, and she left them together, with Alexander feeling very uncomfortable.
"Okay, Principal Cooper. What is this about? Why did you invite me here?"
"I'm your father", said Cooper, and Alexander froze solid. Cooper had said this so out of the blue and he did not know how to react.
"What?" was all he could say.
"I'm your real, biological father. You're my son."
Alexander was still in complete and utter shock, looking at Cooper with disbelieving eyes.
"I can tell that this is so sudden for you, but there is a reason that I'm telling you this and that I'm telling you this now. Would you like to hear the reason?"
"If you would allow this bit of news to sink in, that would be great", said Alexander, whose glare was becoming more and more prominent.
"You remember when you were in the hospital during your coma, right? Did you ever wonder who that blood transfusion came from?"
"I was fine knowing that it came from an anonymous donor."
"Well, I donated some of my blood to help you recover and live a longer life."
"And I assume that you told the hospital staff to not mention who you really were to me."
"That I did. And now that we're here, I'm sure that you have a million questions for me."
"Actually, I only have one: why did you and… my mother leave me there just after I was born?"
"I didn't want to, but your mother considered you an accident. We were still young and impulsive people, you must understand that."
"Actually, no I don't."
"When the doctors came back to tell us of your overall health after you were born, they told us that you were dying."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I mean that even during your time as a zygote, your brain cells were slowly but surely degenerating. The doctors found an extremely rare genetic disorder going on inside you that was sort of a horrible lovechild of Alzheimer's and Huntingon's Disease, and that it was a mutated version of it. The only other recorded patient to have had this problem was my great-great-grandfather, but he died before they could make full sense of it."
"So you're saying that I'm losing my mind as I age, and that I may die young?"
"That's the main reason why your mother left you. I didn't want to go, but she didn't want to bear the responsibility of a child whose brain was rotting. Eventually I divorced her, but I kept tabs on you, pulled enough strings to make sure that you were placed with a wealthy and caring family."
Alexander slumped back into his chair, not quite believing what he was hearing.
"So, why didn't you just approach me before?"
"I would have, but the terms and conditions of your adoption kept me away. I didn't want you to grow up knowing that you had failures for parents. I don't know what happened to your mother. Apparently, she just dropped off the map."
"Why are you telling me all of this now?"
"When the doctors came to talk to us, they predicted that at about this point in your life, your disorder will begin to take effect, and that you would start experiencing blackouts, memory loss, and there will be a chance that some dissociative identity disorder will emerge. I felt it necessary to tell you now because there is a chance that it won't happen at all, and that this is the age where you should know your true heritage. I totally understand if you want to hit me right now, but…"
His speech was interrupted when Alexander punched him in his left eye, causing him to reel backwards and collapse to the ground. Several people came up to take Alexander out, but Cooper stopped them.
"Wait! It's all right! What he did was justified", Cooper shouted, and they let Alexander go.
"I'm not sorry that I did that", said Alexander.
"Actually, I'm glad that you did. It tells me that you have integrity and principles. If you have the guts to clock an adult, then you've definitely grown up. You are my son, and I'm proud to call you that."
"Don't be proud of anything! I don't care how often you will claim otherwise, you are not my father. I refuse to relate myself to anyone who abandons the care of their child just because of some terminal illness!" Alexander shouted over the music, and he stormed out, and Cooper listened as the sound of Alexander's motorcycle faded away, and he felt Coach Beiste help him up from behind.
"Are you okay? What happened?"
"I told him what he needed to hear. Now he has to deal with it whatever way he knows how."