Chapter 8

Last week was a little strange for Marissa. For some unknown reason, Alex has been behaving weirdly.

‘I think I am over-analyzing everything.’ Marissa thought.

Her train of thoughts was broken when she heard Aaron and Brook arguing.

“Brook, can’t you see where you are dancing? Stop stepping on my foot.” Aaron said loudly.

“It was a mistake, Aaron.” She said while rolling her eyes.

“Of course, whatever the high and mighty do is by mistake.”

“What’s your problem, jerk face?” Brook shouted.

“My problem is with you. What are you going to do about it? Complaint to your parents?” He retorted.

“Excuse me!” Brook was completely baffled by Aaron’s behaviour. For the past few days, he has been behaving strangely, getting annoyed at every little thing.

“You heard that right. For every little thing, you go to your parents. Have you ever tried fighting your own battles?”

“I do fight my own battles. You know what, Aaron? I pity your parents for having a kid like you.” She yelled.

“You are not the only one to think that.”

Marissa decided to stop the fight.

“That’s it! Aaron in my cabin now!” She commanded him, to which he stormed from the room.

“Brook...” Marissa wanted to say something to her, looking at her teary face, but Alex interrupted her.

She forgot for a while that even today, Alex showed up a little too early.

“Marissa, I will handle Brook. From what I have heard, Aaron is not usually like this.”

“Yes” with that, Marissa went towards her cabin to see Aron sitting down with his head in both his hands.

“What happened back there in the class?” Marissa asked him, making him look at her.

“I am sorry, Marissa. I don’t know how I lost my calm. It was stupid of me to shout at Brook for such silly things.” Aaron admits his mistake while looking down.

Marissa came over and sat on the chair in front of him.

“Yes, indeed, it was stupid, but I have known you long enough to know that something might have happened to you for you to behave in this manner.”

“It’s just me... My life is in an awful state at present, but nothing I can’t handle.”

“Aaron!” Marissa gave a long sigh. “I know that I don’t have any right to speak or interfere in your personal matters. But if you want to talk to anyone, you can always count on me. You are a good kid, and I know there has to be a good reason for you to behave in this strange manner.”

“Thank you, ma’am. It’s just that I miss my parents more than anything now. I... I ran away from my home to learn dance.” Aaron blurted out. He had been keeping this thing from everyone for the past two years. It felt good to tell someone about it finally.

His confession stunned Marissa, and she looked at him with a surprised look on her face.

“Yes, my dad wanted me to be an architect, but I have got no skills in that field. I may be good at calculations, but I never wanted to be an architect. I love dancing and want to do something with it. I don’t care if I don’t make it big, but as long as my passion is my career, I am happy.” Aaron told his dance instructor honestly.

“Oh, Aaron.” Marissa could feel her student.

“I know this is not a reason to run away, but I had enough at my home. Dad was getting on my nerves, and mom made no effort to support me. So, I ran away. But now I am broke. I have got hardly any money, plus my roommate is moving out so that he can move in with his girlfriend, and now I don’t even have a penny to pay for rent, and I don’t want to bother my sister anymore. At present, she is going against my parents to help me pay college fees and this institute fee.” He felt good about letting everything out to Marissa.

“You are a strong boy,” Marissa told him.

“I am not. If I was, I would not have taken out my frustration on Brook.” He told her shamefully.