Live and Learn

Chapter 2

To say Riku was annoyed was an understatement. He could put up with a lot of things, but one thing he did not tolerate was lying.

Especially if the liar was his own son.

Due to his job as a lawyer, Riku was good at analyzing people's moods and he could, more often than not, tell when someone wasn't being truthful. He just never thought his own son would lie to him.

And so, on Friday, as he waited outside Roxas' school, he had no idea what he would hear from the boy's teacher.

Riku stood, leaning on his black sports car. The sun was scorching hot, and Riku felt like he was suffocating in his black suit, but in the fear of wrinkling the expensive garment, he didn't dare take his jacket off.

Sighing, Riku looked at his watch. 10 more minutes. The silverette pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, fished out a silver lighter and a cancer stick. Lighting the thing, he closed his eyes and breathed out, the smoke swirling in the air.

Riku honestly didn't understand how – or if – people with children were able to maintain a proper life. Did they ever go on dates? Out drinking? Heck, Riku hadn't had sex for three months! He needed his occasional stress-relieve, and how could he do that with Roxas in the house? And doing it in one of his…partners' places was out of the question; He didn't feel comfortable with the thought of being naked in someone else's bed. Who knew what kind of germs lived there!

And some of his dates were married, so wild sex in their homes wasn't a very smart idea anyways. Life is complicated.

Hearing the annoying ring of the bells – Riku had hated them as a kid because it always interrupted his reading – Riku stood straight and put out his cigarette. He waited for most of the kids to run out before he made his way in.

Immediately he was greeted with walls covered with crappy pictures of smiling blobs that probably were supposed to be people, messily drawn random splashes of colour and –what the hell was that supposed to be? Riku really didn't know how parents could look at their children's so called art and say they were beautiful. Who in their right mind would enjoy looking at a picture when you couldn't even figure out what it was! It always took Riku heaps of self-control to force his lips into a smile and tell Roxas how great his pictures were.

"Dad!"

Riku spun around, spotting Roxas sitting outside one of the now child-free classrooms.

"Is your teacher – "
"Yeah, he's inside", Roxas said gesturing towards the classroom.

Riku stepped inside and closed the door behind him. Sora was sitting behind his desk, writing something, probably grading papers.

"Please, take a seat, Mr Foxx, I'll be with you in a moment", Sora said and offered a quick smile, before turning back to his papers.

Now, Riku wasn't used to being the one made to wait, but, seeing as he had nothing better to do, he sat down in one of the ridiculously small school desks. He had to curl his long legs awkwardly and his shoulders were way too broad. Had he really once been this small?

"Right, that's done. Well, Mr Foxx, how are you?" Sora asked, his signature smile spreading onto his lips.
"Fine, thanks, and you?" Riku asked, eager to get over the polite chit-chat and to the point.
"Great! Now, I see you want to cut to the chase, so let's just start, shall we?" Sora giggled.
"Very perceptive", Riku complimented.
"Well, I am a teacher, Mr Foxx. The students might not want to believe it, but we teachers know things you wouldn't imagine", Sora said, sniggering. "Scared, Mr Foxx?"

"I'm not easily scared, umm, Sora", Riku laughed.
"Fine then. So, about Roxas."
"Yes, Roxas."
"From what I understood, Roxas has told you he's doing great at school?"
"That's right. Was he not telling the truth?"
"Well, not exactly", Sora said, leaning on his elbows. "You see, ever since Kairi… I mean miss Morgan passed away, Roxas has had trouble with…getting along with the other pupils. It's nothing serious, yet, but I think the matter should be dealt with before it gets further."

"And what kind of matters are we talking about?" Riku asked, nervously tapping his foot.
"Roxas has been… Well. He has…isolated himself from his old friends, even started teasing some of them. There's this boy, Pence, that Roxas teases because of his, well, appearance, and they used to be really close friends. He's been doing small pranks, pulling on Olette's ponytails, stealing Axel's pencils. They're pretty harmless, but the other children are starting to feel bad, and they, in turn, are picking on Roxas. Hayner is the only one he plays with."

Sora sighed.

"He talks a lot about you, he always has. I think, especially now, it's really important you find a way to communicate with each other. You're everything he has right now."

"Are you saying this is my fault? That I'm a bad parent?" Riku asked, frowning. Sora quickly shook his head.
"No! No, no, no, that's not what I meant at all! I'm…excuse me, I was so used to talking to Kairi…" Sora started.
"Were you two…in a relationship?" Riku asked, the frown now permanent.

Sora's jaw hit his desk. Riku could have almost sworn he heard it dislocate. The teacher stared at him, wide eyed, before closing his mouth with a click.

"No way, that's just… No. I became friends with Kairi when I visited her coffee shop a few years ago. She made sure Roxas got into my class once she found out I was a teacher. We were friends, she is…was a great person. She was my best friend", Sora explained, a sad smile spreading onto his lips.

Suddenly Sora sat up straight, shaking his head as he remembered where he was.

"Ah, excuse me for getting emotional. Anyway, do you have anything more to ask? About Roxas I mean", Sora said, making it clear that he did not want Riku to ask anything more about his personal life.

"No, I don't think I do", Riku shrugged. Sora nodded.
"Very well. You have my phone number, so if you have something to ask about Roxas, you can call me", Sora smiled politely.
"Okay, thank you, Sora", Riku nodded and twisted his long body out of the small chair.

"Oh, and Mr Foxx", Sora said, "Grounding him won't solve this. Talk to him."

Riku huffed.

"He's my son. I'll do as I see fit. Have a nice day", Riku grumbled and left before Sora could comment, closing the door behind him.

Riku stopped before Roxas, frowning at him. The boy looked up at his father, nervously wringing his hands.

"Dad, what did he – "

"Not TV, no computers, no games. You're grounded, Roxas."

A/N: Short, yes. I just wanted to get something up so as not to make you wait too long...

Be back soon (I hope).

Luv, Lumeton