The Failure of a Father

Ch 18 Pt 2: Michael's Courage

Roberto and Lori released their hug with Michael. The Hispanic teen patted the Afton teenager's head. "Remember, Michael, in the face of hardship and turmoil, there will be someone who will support you to no end." He said in his native tongue.

"Thanks." Michael said in Spanish.

"Oh, and Robert," Lori said as she turned to Robert and Mary. "We may have found a perfect spot for your date."

"Where?" Robert asked, excited.

"Jean-Juan's French Mex Buffet." Roberto said. "Me and Lori met there when we were 15 years old."

"Thanks, Roberto!" Mary smiled.

"No problem." He answered. Later, the 5-minute warning bell rang, signaling the students to go back to their classes. They spent their remaining four hours in there writing notes, or either talk to each other.

The final bell rang, signaling that it's home-time. The students rushed to the exit, anticipated at the thought of going away from the place they viewed as a prison of torture and boredom. Boarding the bus, they sped off to their respective houses.

At the Williams residence…

Michael, Stephanie, and Jamie laid down on the couch, clearly exhausted from the trip home from school. Abigail was in the kitchen cooking something, she greeted the trio. "Hello, kids!" She said. "How was the trip home from school?"

"Nothing exciting, Mum." Jamie replied. "Where's Dad?"

"Upstairs, cleaning." She responded.

"Now I have to study math…" Stephanie muttered to Michael. "I hate mathematics…"

"Come on, Stephanie." Michael smiled, patting his friend's back. "Mrs. White told us that we have an upcoming test on Friday, so you may need to hit the books for some time."

"Maybe you're right, I don't like getting punished by Dad with no skateboard or TV again." Said the teenage girl.

"That's the spirit, Stephanie." The Afton teenager whispered.

"Thanks, Mike." They put their hands on each other's shoulders.

Julius came downstairs in his cleaning outfit, consisting of a sweater with sleeves rolled back to his elbows, yellow cleaning gloves, a yellow apron, a red cleaning rag in hand, dark pants, white socks, and slippers. "Hello, kids, how was your day at school?"

"We got an upcoming math test on Friday." Stephanie slumped down on the couch.

"So, that means you're gonna have to study, same goes for Michael." Julius turned to Jamie. "How about you, Jamie?"

"Nothing exciting." Jamie answered.

Later, Abigail finished cooking tonight's dinner, penne pasta with coriander pesto and tomato sauce. Jamie savored the food in his mouth, and he responded to his mom. "Mmm! Delicious, Mum!"

"Thanks, honey." Abigail said as she munched on the pasta she made for her family.

"This is good, Abby." Julius complimented. "My favorite penne pasta!"

Abigail giggled and kissed Julius on his cheek, much to him blushing lightly. Michael and Stephanie chuckled at the wholesome moment between the two adults, while Jamie wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"Ugh…love…" Jamie thought.

"Come on, Jamie, what's your problem?" Michael asked the 13-year-old. "Did you break up with your ex-girlfriend?"

Julius and Abigail stopped their wholesome moment, they turned to Michael. The Afton teenager was intrigued, he shrugged his shoulders at them and asked. "What?"

"What did you say?" Julius asked Michael, furrowing his brows.

"Jamie has a girlfriend?" Abigail asked, clearly confused. "I didn't know anything about that…"

"Actually, Mum, Dad, I do have a girlfriend." Jamie confessed much to his parents' shock. "Michael and Stephanie knew everything about it already. I broke up with her last time, she cheated on me with another boy…"

"Wise choice, Jamie, but next time, make sure to look at their personality before you consider them as your significant other." Julius patted his head.

Abigail was, a bit stern. "Jamie, I'm concerned about you breaking up with her, but I think you shouldn't be dating at the age of thirteen." She crossed her arms. "Before you get a significant other, put your family in as your first priority, you should care for me, your father, and your big sister firstly, then, focus on your academic progress."

"I understand, Mum…" Jamie said as he took another bite of his pasta.

"It's alright, Jamie." Abigail consoled her young kin. "I'm not mad at you, I'm just a bit stern, that's all."

"Thanks, Mum, I feel a lot better now." The 13-year-old responded.

"You're welcome." Said his mother.

Michael and Stephanie smiled at each other while eating their pasta. The family returned to eating, and when they finished, Julius promised Abigail that she can take care of the kids while he washes the dishes, much to her gratefulness. She responds with a thank you, and goes upstairs.

Stephanie opened the door to her room, as she and Michael enter her private space. She closed the door, grabbed a textbook from the shelf and began to study maths as they have an upcoming test on Friday, the Afton teenager did the same, even getting his math notebook and reviewing his notes.

Later, Abigail came upstairs to check on the kids. She creaked the door open a bit, only wide enough to see Michael and Stephanie studying together on the desk, the former was helping the latter understand the Pythagorean theorem and what it is. A heartfelt smile was plastered on her face, before she closed the door and checked on Jamie.

Jamie was there, reading comics and playing with his action figures. Abigail was glad that her son had finally moved on from his girlfriend, but she still didn't get enough detail about the snow-haired child that came here a few days ago.

"What was his last name? Loud?" That was the only thing that came in Abigail's mind. "I'm sure that his last name was Loud, but what was his first name? Landon or something…"

The next day…

Michael woke up, only to see Stephanie drooling on her desk. Befuddled, he turned to look down, he was still in his regular attire. The Afton teenager forgot to change into his PJs last night due to being busy with homework and stuff.

He nudged his friend awake, as she got up, let out a yawn, and rubbed her eyes of any dead skin. Stephanie greeted Michael.
"Morning, Michael, good day, isn't it?" She looked at the clock on the wall. "It's 7:00? Good thing we woke up in time." The teenage girl said to her friend, before grabbing a towel and hitting the showers.

Michael then went to comb his hair, making sure he was looking all good for today. The Williams family and Michael have freshened up and had leftover pasta for breakfast, along with some eggs and bacon on the side. Jamie liked the pasta, while Stephanie and Michael liked it, a little bit, since they were a bit picky.

They got ready for school and work, just as Julius had finished washing the plates in the sink. Abigail turned off all the lights any appliances running in the house, she grabbed the keychain and gave it to Julius.

The family got in the car, and sped off to school, work, and other stuff. As soon as they got to the school, the kids boarded off and the adults went to their respective jobs.

"Michael, you finally arrived!" Robert said. He knelt down to Jamie's height, and patted him on the head. "Sorry for the rude demeanor yesterday, Jamie."

"It's alright, Robert, I forgive you." Jamie responded with a smile.

"Thanks, Jamie." The teenager wearing glasses said, hugging the 13-year-old.

Michael and Stephanie looked at the scene with heartfelt smiles, it was cute to see Robert and Jamie getting along after all. Later, Elizabeth and C.C. came running to Michael, and hugged their brother tightly.

"Hello, Liz and Joseph." Michael said, hugging them back. He pinches C.C.'s cheek in adoration. "You're the cutest little guy in the world, aren't you?"

C.C. giggled and nodded. His older brother patted him, Elizabeth sat on Michael's lap, and C.C. did the same. The two siblings were adamant on leaving their brother's side. The Afton teenager's friends were moved at the scene, as they watched with heartfelt looks on their faces.

Later, class had started and the students were in their respective classrooms. Mrs. White was teaching her students about different theorems and how to solve them, Stephanie listened intently as she knew it would the ticket to get an A on her math test on Friday.

Robert was doing a trick with his pencil out of boredom, but his focus was still on the lesson. Later, recess came in the house, and the students quickly rushed to the lunchroom like a group of wildebeests. Stephanie, Robert, and Elijah went off to the cafeteria, while Mrs. White was talking to Michael.

"Oh, you managed to reconcile with your father?" Asked Mrs. White.

"Yes, I forgave him on Wednesday." Michael smiled. "We're on good terms now, but I still need some time to think I'm ready to go home."

"I see, alright, you can go to the cafeteria now." The teacher declared.

At the cafeteria…

"Ooh, I'm so excited for the date!" Mary said excitedly.

"I could say the same, Mary." Robert added.

"Calm down, Rob, Mary…" Elijah said, chuckling. "The date's on the weekend, we still have to take the math test on Friday."

"Alright." Robert said, crossing his arms.

With Lincoln, he and his friends were welcoming Cassidy into their friend squad.

"Welcome to the friend squad, Cassidy!" Rusty shook hands with her. "It's nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you too, Rusty." Cassidy smiled. "Also, me and Lincoln first met each other in the library a week ago."

"That's quite interesting." Ronalda said, chuckling.

"One fact, she used to call me 'Pineapple Boy'." Lincoln said, crossing his arms.

"Come on, Lincoln." Cassidy nudged his arm gently. "Don't be pissed off, it's just a special nickname."

"Alright, fine." The 11-year-old Loud said.

To be continued in Ch 20…

A/N: Hey, FNAFLHFaN2006 here. Now that Michael has reconciled with his family, he is now on the fence whether he wants to go home or not. Also, chapter 20 will be a lot of cheesiness so get ready, was listening to Granny's House by FGTeeV while writing this.

Trust me, the song inspired me to write this story. That's all I'll tell you for today, and peace out dear readers. See y'all soon.