Page 46 - The Muse 2021

We stayed at the dinner table and picked up the conversation from where we had left off.
“You shouldn’t lose your temper Geoffrey, because it will hurt others and you.” Mr. Blackburn said. “How? When I lose my temper, I hit whoever is being mean to me and they get hurt, not me.” I replied. “When you got into a fight in the soccer field, who did your mother blame and scold?”
“Me but-”
“When you beat up a kid during lunch, who got sent home?”
“Me but-”
“And when you threw Angela’s clock, who did your family avoid?”
“Me,” I said, “I always got punished.”
“Let me tell you a story,” he started, “I once had anger issues too. I used to beat up my friends, and even my
brothers. I was so angry all the time, that no one talked to me. I became very lonely, so lonely, that when I grew up and had my chandelier shop, I didn't even come to work because of how sad I was all the time. That is why my shop closed. My family and friends left me because of the way I acted. Please promise me that the same thing will not happen to you.”
“Yes Mr. Blackburn.” I replied.
“Good. This story is not over yet though. I decided to talk to my family again and reconnect. I am not going to let the past change my future forever.”
I did not fight at all the next day in school, I had no reason to do so. When I got home, I found my grandmother waiting for me in the living room.
“Geoffrey my darling!” she yelled. “You look so depressed! Come with me and tell me how these clothes look on me. I just got some new feather scarves, and you can try them on with me as well. You always loved to do that when you were little.”
I had no other choice but to accept her invitation. My grandmother loved clothes, especially the tacky and crazy ones. She had a giant closet, which was bigger than her room, that was pink and covered with feathers, sequins, and fake fur. It was painful to be in there, but I was not in the mood to get into an argument.
“So, tell me darling, I heard that you threw your dear sister’s clock at Rodrigo. What was that about?” she asked, as she was throwing a feathered scarf over my neck.
“He called me a jerk because I had yelled at Mrs. Rosy. I always throw things at him when he says things like that, but this time I threw something important. I didn’t mean to hurt Angela.” I said, trying to keep the feathers out of my face.
“Boy, who cares what Rodrigo says? So, what if he calls you a jerk, his opinion doesn’t change anything! That boy isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. Why are you going to take his words seriously?”
“I dunno. He just makes me mad.”
“You have to be the bigger man! You can look at him and say, ‘Rodrigo, you are so immature.’. He only makes fun of you because he is insecure and because he likes to see you get riled up. If you ignore him, he’ll have no reason to say anything because you aren’t reacting! Don’t give him the privilege of making you angry!” She said, right before applying three layers of purple lipstick.
About two weeks passed, and I was home again. I had been giving Angela space, and doing nice things for her. I set up the dinner table, which was one of Angela’s chores. I also gave her a note with a single smiley face, because I did not know what to write. I had been doing exactly what Mrs. Rosy had said. I could feel Angela warming up to me, and even smiling at me when I walked by her, but not a mean smile, it was a nice and genuine one. I didn’t fight with Rodrigo anymore, because I remembered my promise to Mr. Blackburn and how I was the bigger man, something my grandmother taught me. My parents told me that they were proud of me all the time, because they were so surprised that I was able to remain calm now. I was a changed boy, and I was going to keep it that way.
On the last day of school, my grandmother decided to throw a small party at her house. When I say small party, I mean about fifty people were invited and her house looked as if a hundred confetti cannons had shot confetti everywhere. I had a blast. My friends and I threw ourselves in the pool with our clothes on, even my baby brother had a dip in. But the best thing that happened that night was that Angela came up to me and talked to me, until she was pulled away by her friends to dance. The whole party was chaotic, but amazingly fun.
It ended at three in the morning. My family was asleep, but I couldn’t shut my eyes. I had never been up that late and my heart was still at three hundred beats per minute from the excitement. I went to the living room to watch T.V., something I often did when I was at my grandmother’s house. I found my grandfather there too, eating a pint of ice cream with a single spoon. This was the only way we bonded, watching television silently. It was not a perfect relationship, but at least we had something that we did together. To my surprise, my grandfather put his ice cream on the coffee table and began to talk, not taking his eyes off of the screen.
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