Chapter seven
The weekend passed quickly. Monday dawned grey, which matched Tim Drakes mood perfectly. He did not want to meet his teacher and his parents to discuss a future that he clearly had no say in. Whatever bugged Jack about Drake Industries was clearly taking a long time to get set in order.
The boy dressed neatly, aware that his parents would insist.
His parents were in the middle of a discussion about the merits of a carbon dating system and he slipped into the dining room unnoticed. He ate quickly, wondering if they would notice if he left. Maybe they had forgotten about the meeting set up with the career counselor. However as he got up Janet looked up and caught his eye.
"We're leaving in fifteen minutes Tim. Don't go anywhere." She said.
"Okay." He agreed. He went upstairs and sat down at his bedroom desk. He considered what he had learned about Jason Todd. How could he still be alive? Bruce did not make mistakes like that. Something had to have happened. Tim would have to look at the information they had on Jason's death. It was ill recorded in Bruce's computers.
Should he tell Bruce or Dick?
What if Tim was the one who had made the mistake? No, he could not raise their hopes or face their anger if they did not believe him. He would have to bring Jason home on his own. Maybe, maybe they would still want Tim to work with them. Bruce had said more than once that Tim's skills as detection were excellent. He had to be worth something, even if it was just as a soldier. He wanted to work with Batman, rather than in the cutthroat business world for which his parents were preparing him.
"Tim! Let's GO!" Jack hollered up the stairs.
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"Tim is very intelligent." Ms. Dost told his parents with a charming smile. "He could excel in whatever field he wants to enter."
"Tim will be entering Drake Industries as soon as he's ready." Jack answered, with a blinding smile of his own. Tim wanted to hide under the table. He had forgotten how easily his parents adapted to their surroundings, manipulating the people around them to their own ends. Ms. Dost's smile grew.
"So you mean to follow your parents' footsteps, Tim?" She asked.
The teenager was aghast and looked at his parents. The career counselor frown. "Do you not want to enter the business world?" She asked.
"Nonsense." Jack said.
Tim shrugged. "I don't have anything I want to do." He said.
"Well, perhaps you would like to explore a few options. You still have time left in which you can make your choice."
"His choice is made, Ms. Dost. All he has ever meant to do is become a business man. I would like to get him on the fast track. Our purpose in this meeting is to determine what school he may need." Janet laughed. "Tim, what is wrong with you today?"
"Nothing. Business is fine." He glanced hopefully at Ms. Dost. She had a small frown between her eyes.
"Mr. Drake, Mrs. Drake, I will be very happy to help Tim prepare for his future, however my concern is that Tim may find business does not suit him. Perhaps he may want to be a lawyer, a doctor, or something unique." She said. "If Tim wants to we can work on getting some classes to prepare him for the business world, but I want to be sure this is the path he should take."
"Business if fine. I don't have anything else I want to do." Tim offered.
Ms. Dost smiled. "Perhaps you just want to be a kid for a while longer." She said. "Alright. I will prepare a list of classes Tim should take and a list of colleges he could attend. I should mention that Tim's intelligence means he could graduate a year earlier if he should wish. Keep that in mind. A decision does not need to be made today."
"Thank you, Ms. Dost." Jack said. "That will be most helpful."
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Tim slid out of the car, wondering if he had time to get to the Cave to work on his Lazarus Pit cure before Bruce came in from Wayne Enterprises. Dick would probably be asleep, preparing for patrol that night. It would be fun to go with Dick. Bruce was probably well enough to go on patrol, but he was going to stay in, let the boys have fun.
Deep in thought, Tim held the door open for his Mom to pass through. His Dad was a mere step behind her and Tim waited until they were both inside to go in himself. He hung up his coat, counting out a list of possible medicines to contradict the chemically induced madness of the Pit. His parents were still in the foyer and he began to walk around them.
Jack grabbed him by both arms and shoved him back against the door frame of the unused parlor off the foyer. "What do you think you're doing?" He hollered.
Since Tim was busy catching his breath he was unable to answer, and was rewarded by being banged against the door frame a second time.
"Upstairs! Homework." Tim managed to gasp out, stopping Jack from doing it a third time.
"What?" Jack snapped.
"I was going to go do my homework." Tim said as quickly as he could. He doubted his parents had checked to see what he had done the night before, and couldn't know he had finished said homework already.
"I'm talking about in Ms. Dost's office!" Jack roared. Since his son was still in his grip he followed this up with a good shake of the smaller body.
"What did I do?" Tim asked, surprised by the anger.
"Acting like a sullen, spoiled plebian teenager. We are giving you the best shot at life we can! The least you can do is appreciate it."
Tim neatly twisted out of the painful grip on his arms and stood out of his father's reach, staring at him open mouthed.
"I said I'd do it! I'm going to do the studies you want me to. Why is this such a big deal?"
"Because you don't appreciate what we're doing for you! You are going to be handed a great position on a platter and you won't even make an effort to prepare for it!"
"So I'm supposed to pretend that I really want to do it?" Tim snorted.
Janet slapped him. "You ungrateful brat! We're giving you everything and you won't accept it!"
Tim ducked a second slap and backed up to the stairs. "What is up with you two?" He snapped. "You suddenly stay home for months at a time, trying to choose my life, and acting like I'm the crazy one? I'm going to be fifteen! I think I can start planning out my own future. You never cared about it before. You never are home for birthdays, or Holidays… What changed?"
"I think you can go to your room without dinner tonight." Janet said coldly, raising a slender hand to stop her husband from rushing the insolent child.
"This is crazy." Tim told them, but went upstairs gratefully.
It was rather late when Tim got to the cave. He had to wait until his parents had decided to go out, probably to avoid being in the same house with him. Dick was already suited up and was working through his warm up routine. "Timmy! What's up?" Dick called from his head's position near the floor, as he walked around on his hands.
"Oh, just running late. Guess Mom and Dad really want to get me started on a career." Tim laughed.
Bruce was seated at his computer bank and he turned to look at Tim thoughtfully. "Should you be here tonight?" He asked.
"Oh, they went out to some fancy dress restaurant." Tim answered quickly and with a grin. "I'll get suited up."
Bruce nodded, accepting the jovial statement, and Dick sprang from his hands to his feet to begin a real exercise. Neither followed Tim into the changing rooms. Since the fierce grip on his arms had left quickly growing bruises Tim was glad. He hoped nothing would happen tonight that would mean he would be checked over.
He tested his range of motion, and though it hurt to move his arms, it was a dull ache that would not slow him down. He shoved the pain aside and changed into Robin. The chilly early spring evenings meant he was wearing long sleeves, and did not need to fear Dick or Bruce seeing the bruises. With a lighter heart than he'd had all day, he headed out to start his warm up routing, while Dick and Bruce consulted on the route the boys would take.
Being with Dick always made the world seem better. Dick was fun to be with, and he didn't treat Tim like a little kid. Not only that, but he could talk on Tim's level. Most of Tim's life he had been ignored, or spoke down to. The occasional friend he'd made in school would always grow distant after they learned how smart Tim was, so that Tim was an outcast for opposite reasons. Dick could understand what Tim meant when he talked about higher science and math, and knew more languages than Tim.
Patrol was quiet and Bruce accepted Tim's promise that he had not been injured. With no examination revealing the bruises, and a couple days off from being Robin, Tim escaped the watchful eyes of his mentor and pretend older brother. Due to Tim's parents Bruce said he should stay home and work whatever was bugging him out.
It surprised Tim that it hurt to realize how little Dick and Bruce realized about his home life. After all, the youngest of the trio had made every effort to conceal the escalating violence in his home. For the briefest moment after that pronouncement he had considered telling them. That idea was as quickly shot down as it rose up. If he told them he would get taken away, and either Bruce would take him in out of obligation, or he would get sent to a foster home where he couldn't sneak out to be Robin.
Besides, Bruce and Dick had to believe there was something in his parents to encourage him to work with them. Maybe Tim just needed to make an effort to talk to them, to understand what was going on. Maybe this was just how his parents communicated, and it was their way of giving him the attention he had craved all his life. Thus, Tim went home, believing he could meet his parents halfway.
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The point became moot when Tim got up the next morning. He headed downstairs to find the housekeeper making him breakfast and his parents nowhere in sight.
"Some old box was dug up last night and your parents had to go see it." Mrs. Mac said, kindly setting her consolation breakfast of pancakes, bacon and eggs before the teenager boy.
Her old eyes missed the way Tim suddenly looked brighter. He enjoyed the meal with all the gusto of a hungry boy, his heart greatly lightened. His parents would not be home for weeks no doubt, and they would have forgotten all about their controlling demands on his life. It was over.
Tim's parents are somewhat difficult to write. I think they are deeply selfish rather than intentionally cruel, but I am not sure this comes across well. Let me know what you think!