Steven drove home slowly after leaving CJ on her front porch. He had absolutely no interest in returning home. He could handle an enraged CJ any day, but a pissed off Commander Arnott wasn't something he was very capable of dealing with. Parking the car in the garage, he took his time closing the door locking it and he dragged his feet walking up the back lane to the kitchen door. His father was either in the kitchen or his den; Steven hoped for the latter as it would allow him the possibility of sneaking back into his room without having a confrontation.
He turned the kitchen door handle very gently so as to not make any noise. Hanging the keys on the hook beside the entrance he held them gingerly in hopes of entering undetected. Steven was so intent on getting to his room that he didn't even look at the kitchen table and so when the instruction "Sit down" was spoken he almost jumped out of his skin. Swallowing hard he sat at his usual spot; head hung low, hands clenched on the table. This was not the first ear splitting lecture he'd ever endured but it would turn out to be the longest.
"Would you care to explain what happened this afternoon?" Commander Arnott's tone and demeanor reflected his station.
"No sir" Steven answered quickly talking to his lap more than the room at large.
"No sir? No sir? You think that is an acceptable answer? Well you're sorely mistaken young man."
The conversation continued and at times Steven felt two inches tall and at others he was just as angry as CJ had been when she'd punched the wall. By the time he stormed off to his room he was muttering… 'I'm nearly 18 years old for Christ sakes… Jeez' and the Commander was yelling back "This is my house and while you live here you will follow my rules".
The rest of the evening was very quiet in the Arnott household with no one conversing with anyone else. When his wife got home the Commander relayed what he had walked in on expecting his wife to be as aghast as he was. When she asked "You're really that upset about it? Don't you think you're over reacting a little? What were you like at 18?" he just about hit the roof again. This time it was the Commander that stormed off to his den for the solitude and space of his own.
'Damn them all' he thought as he threw himself into his large leather arm chair. 'He was just trying to do his fatherly duty… he was just making sure that his son didn't throw this education out the window… he was just looking out for his best interests… none of them could see that… not even his wife… well if they wouldn't listen he would find someone who would'