Dandruff

Silence ruled the living room as Phoenix and Ms. Reynolds, the social worker, sized each other up. She was an extremely slender woman with a calculating gaze, her lips tightly pulled into a scowl. In her bony fingers she clutched a clipboard which her pointlessly long nails struck an annoying beat onto. Phoenix remained pokerfaced; it wouldn’t do well to let the woman know he thought she was a bitch. He eyed her hair which was pulled back so tightly that it was probably painful, and her pristine, wrinkleless, blue skirt suit. One look at her made it plain as day that she needed to get laid. Nice, hard, and long, too.

“This is a very nice home, Mr. Scofield,” she spoke slowly and dully, the very tone of her voice made the lawyer bored.

“Thank you.”

“You and your wife work late hours, don’t you? That must be a very unstable environment for someone like Jacob.”

“His mother was a drug addict. It doesn’t get more unstable than that. He’s fine, and he’s never here alone. Our lifestyle isn’t nearly that hard to get used to.”

“I see,” she sounded utterly unimpressed as she scribbled something on her clipboard. “I’m not Jacob’s usual social worker; Mr. Baldwin is on vacation so he couldn’t be here.”

Phoenix didn’t know what the fuck he was supposed to say to that useless information. “Okay” would have to suffice.

“Where’s Mrs. Scofield?”

“She went to work last night and then she headed to the salon for her weekly appointment… She should probably be home any minute now.”

“She sounds like a very vain woman, not the nurturing type a troubled young man needs,” she wrote a seemingly unending sentence down, her cheap ballpoint pen scratching noisily against the clipboard.

“I don’t think you can make an assessment like that without meeting my wife,” Phoenix was beginning to get annoyed. His playtime with Jacob was interrupted for this?

“You seem to have quite the attitude yourself, Mr. Scofield. Jacob is already ill-tempered enough without such a negative influence. Perhaps you are simply too young to handle this boy.”

“I’m a lawyer at our city’s oldest and most prestigious law firm. I think that shows that I can handle myself quite well despite how young you think I am,” he said as he folded his arms arrogantly. He hadn’t been treated like a kid in years. It was even more fucking irritating now than it was back then.

“That is much different than raising a child.”

“He’s already been raised! He’s seventeen years old!”

“There is no need to raise your voice, Mr. Scofield,” she admonished, once again writing furiously. “I understand your point, but Jacob is a troublemaker. He needs to be watched. The kind of freedom he would’ve had in the environment with his mother has caused him to have no sense of limitations. We don’t need more of the same.”

“He’s only been here for a week. I have to let him adjust before I start working on his many, many behavioural problems.”

“At least you’re aware of those. But do you seriously think you can fix him on your own?” she lowered her clipboard and squinted dubiously.

“I can try, and if not, I can more than afford to get him the best counsellor I can find.”

“Do you know the true extent of Jacob’s problems? I’m surprised he hasn’t been arrested yet.”

“…What are you trying to say, Ms. Reynolds?”

“I don’t think this is a suitable environment. It’s general knowledge that privileged children are more likely to behave irresponsibly; they know money talks and that their futures are basically secure. A boy like Jacob will wreak havoc and he might very well get away with it because of your social and financial position.”

“I’m very offended that you think I’d have such scant disregard for the law when it’s my job to uphold it. Jacob is young; it’s probably not too late to turn him into a functioning member of society. I’ve got the resources to do that. Why would you even try to take him away? This could be the best thing that ever happened to him. Taking him away would mean he could become another failure of the system.” Being a lawyer came in handy sometimes. He spewed that bullshit off the top of his head. Jacob being a functioning member of society? Unless prostitution or con artistry became normal, then that was pretty much not happening. Even if Jacob decided to do well in school, he would probably use his intelligence to do something completely stupid. It was just who he was.

“Yet another valid point. I apologise, Mr. Scofield. I suppose I stepped out of line, but it is my job to question and to make sure that no child is left behind. I take it very seriously and I will not let your status sway me from doing what I am supposed to do. That being said, my scepticism has abated. You seem to have a good head on your shoulders, and it really seems like you care for Jacob.”

“I do. Most people don’t have the opportunities I was raised with, so I try to help out as much as I can.”

“I really had the wrong impression about you,” the corner of her lips quirked into a robotic smile as she scribbled away once more.
Phoenix flashed her that lopsided grin women soiled their knickers over, and he was glad if not a bit disturbed that it caused her to blush a bit. Whatever; it got him on her good side.

“So where is Jacob anyway? I’d like to talk to him before I leave.”

Upon mention of his name, Jacob strolled into the living room, which was no easy feat with the abuse his ankle was inflicting on his nerves. As per Phoenix’s instructions, he’d thrown on his baggiest clothes so no questionable bruises would be visible. He sent Phoenix a nasty glare as he unceremoniously flopped next to him on the couch.

“Hello, Jacob. I’m Ms. Reynolds; I believe we’ve met once before.”

“Where’s Baldwin?” Jacob was as pleasant as ever.

“He’s on vacation. Anyway, how have you been settling in?”

He shrugged. “It’s cool. You’ve seen my old house, what kind of answer were you expecting?”

“Well… yes, but how have you been getting along with Mr. and Mrs. Scofield?”

“Felicity’s really nice,” he had to stifle the smirk that threatened to overpower when he felt the angry twitch of Phoenix’s thigh which was pressed against his.

“And what about Mr. Scofield?” she prodded on.

“He’s kind of an asshole and he’s always setting up all these fucking rules. He’s annoying.”

“Uh… That coarse language is not appreciated in this forum, Mr. Reid.”

“I’m just expressing the extent of his douchebagery.”

“Well, it sounds to me like you just don’t like rules, now do you?”

“Hell no.”

“Unfortunately, you’re going to have to get used to them if you plan to stay out of trouble, and I’m very happy to hear that someone is actually trying to do something about your prickly disposition. Is he following these rules, Mr. Scofield?”

“He doesn’t really have a choice. He knows I’m not playing with him.”

Ms. Reynolds nodded and wrote some more. She then turned a new leaf and began ticking boxes. Jacob watched her with an expression which showed he was bored to tears, whilst Phoenix stared off into space, the urge to wring Jacob’s neck rising inside him.

“Well, I think everything seems to be in order here. Thank you both for your cooperation. I hope this experience brings something truly wonderful to your lives,” her speech sounded rehearsed as she put her things into a large handbag, readying herself to depart.

“I’ll see you to the door—” Phoenix started, but he was interrupted by said door slamming and the angry clopping of heels. Felicity stormed into the room, her blonde hair which now sported almost platinum highlights wavy and bouncing dramatically like she just stepped off the set of an unrealistic shampoo commercial.

“Phoenix, you broke Brett’s nose?! He just called me from the emergency room! You’ve got ten seconds to explain this to me! I can’t believe you!” she went silent when her eyes landed on Ms. Reynolds. “Oh, hello. I… wasn’t aware we had company…”

An unimpressed frown marred the social worker’s narrow face, her eyes flicking back towards Phoenix. The man sighed and buried his face in his hands.

“Hey, Felicity,” Jacob beamed, fully enjoying the attorney’s dejected groan.

==

On Saturday evening, Phoenix ended up taking Felicity out to dinner in efforts to get back in her favour because she simply didn’t see the logic in punching Brett in the face. This left Jacob alone with Juanita. They played poker until her husband called at around 8:30, begging her to come home so they could spend time together. Jacob couldn’t help but shudder at that thought; old people romance… just…wrong. After she left, Jacob went straight to bed; the combination of boredom and the after-effects of a hangover clobbering him.

Sunday went by just as its predecessor had; Phoenix spent all day holed up in his study and only came down for coffee and food, leaving Jacob with nothing to do except pretend to start homework, surf the net, and talk to Juanita and Felicity. Everything was so normal it was as if the whole ankle-breaking-you’re-mine thing was a dream. What did that discipline and possession talk even mean? If Phoenix thought Jacob was going to be one of his freaky, little bondage bitches, he had another thing coming! ‘It’d be kind of hot, though…’ the ever-horny side of his mind said. That was sufficient proof that he needed a lobotomy.


Soon enough, it was Monday again. The standard murmur of students gossiping in the hallways before the start of school bounced off the walls and lockers. Danica leaned against her own locker, obviously flirting with that weird kid, Marcus. Marcus was a lanky, incredibly awkward black kid who wore awful, colourful sweaters, ridiculously thick glasses, had a messenger bag with too many badges on it, and never got less than an A- in any of his classes. He was actually a pretty nice guy despite being the stereotypical nerd. Jacob always caught Danica staring at him with that retarded, open-mouthed, glazy eyed expression in Math, but he tried not to believe she’d really want Marcus of all people. She thought Phoenix and Brett were hot, but she thought Marcus was a dreamboat? Something was just not right with that. Marcus increased the distance between them when he saw Jacob coming. She actually liked him enough to make a move?! Danica was not someone who ‘made moves’. Her taste in men was fucking unnaturally odd.

“Am I interrupting something?” Jacob raised an eyebrow.

“Uh… no… I was just going…” Marcus stammered as if he was afraid of Jacob, which was laughable since the boy was bigger than he was at about 6’3”.

“I’ll call you as soon as I get home,” Danica batted her eyelashes. Jacob gagged silently at the sight.

“Cool… I’ll stay by the phone all night if I have to,” Marcus smiled as he walked off, almost tripping over his laces and shoving a few people in the process.

“What the fuck was that?” Jacob demanded when Marcus was out of hearing range.

“Well… I wanted to tell you in person…” she started.

“Tell me what?”

“Marcus and I are together now. I added him on Myspace and we had so much in common that we just hit it off!”

“Danica, he looks like Steve Urkel.”

“Can’t you be happy for me? You know it’s hard for me to talk to boys, much less have a boyfriend.”

“I am happy for you. Seriously, it’s great and all but… You could do so much better. He probably plays World of Warcraft all day.”

“I PLAY WORLD OF WARCRAFT!”

“Ha. Really? Well then, forget I said anything. You two are perfect for each other.”

“You are such a jerk.”

“I just thought you deserved my honest opinion.”

“Just give him a chance. You’ll see how sweet he is.”

“I hate to say this, but you seem really happy. I guess he can’t be that bad…”

She clapped her hands excitedly and hugged him. “Thanks for understanding.”

“I don’t understand shit, but I’m trying to be supportive.”

“You’ll learn to love him. He’s planning to buy us promise rings soon! He’s got a job at that pizza place at the mall downtown.”

“They let him near hot food?! He’s clumsy as fuck!” Jacob exclaimed, causing a few people to turn their heads in his direction.

“Keep your voice down!” Danica scolded him in a harsh whisper. “And no, he doesn’t go near the food. He… wears that pizza costume to attract customers.”

“I take back what I said. I am not supporting this.”

“Screw you.”

They playfully insulted each other as they walked to Jacob’s locker where they found Craig Wilson, the school’s lone punk with the lime green Mohawk, waiting with his hands shoved in his pockets. Craig was the only other person Jacob exchanged more than two words with at school. They weren’t close friends or anything, but they hung out sometimes, usually when Craig was horny or up to no good. He also happened to be the guy Jacob got suspended for sucking off in the library. Danica couldn’t stand him, so she excused herself by telling Jacob she was going to the bathroom.

“Sup?” Craig asked in that lazy, unhurried manner of his.

Jacob shrugged. “Not much. I haven’t seen you in a while.”

“Been busy.”

“So, what do you want?”

“Are you going to first period?”

“Why do you ask?”

“I’ve got two joints in my bag. I’ll share one with you in our usual spot.”

“Good. I could use a hit; I’ve been stressed out lately.”

“What’s got you stressed?” Craig moved closer.

“I’m living with this totally psychotic guy and his wife now. He drives me up a wall.”

“Oh, that rich fuck whose face is on that billboard at the bus station. Yeah, I’ve heard a few people talking about that. Poor, little rich boy.”

“You have no idea.”

“Whatever. You know you’re gonna have to suck my dick for this weed. I don’t run a charity here.”

“As usual,” Jacob rolled his eyes.

“See, that’s what I like about you. I don’t have to pretend to be nice.”

“Just as long as you know I’m only doing this for the pot.”

“And I hope you know that’s the only reason I offer you any.”



Phoenix strolled into Richton Law Firm with an air of accomplishment. He’d just won a court case and he felt like a million bucks. He was planning to do a bit of paperwork and then take a lunch break at the nearby café. As soon as he stepped out of the elevator, the receptionist told him a call on line 1 just came through for him. He shrugged and said he’d take it in his office. He didn’t even care who it was; he was in such a good mood nothing could bring him down.

“Hello, Phoenix Scofield here,” he’d turned speakerphone on as he reclined in his office chair.

“Hello, Mr. Scofield. This is Mr. Anderson, the principal of your ward, Jacob’s, high school.”

…His good mood was beginning to ebb away. It just had to be Jacob who ruined his otherwise spectacular day.

“What can I do for you, Mr. Anderson?”

“I’m sorry to bother you, but I’d like to have a meeting with you urgently.”

“Can you call my wife to deal with this? I’m sure the school has her number.”

“Actually, we called her first but she was busy with an emergency.”

Fuck.

“I see. Can you tell me what this meeting’s about then?”

“I’m afraid the phone isn’t the best place to discuss this, Mr. Scofield.”

Phoenix sighed and massaged his temple. What the fuck did Jacob do now?! Couldn’t he have one day of peace without that cretin pissing all over his happiness? For fuck’s sake…

“How bad is the situation?”

“It’s… pretty bad, Mr. Scofield.”

“Alright… I’m on my way.”

==

Jacob twiddled his thumbs and kept his eyes on his battered sneakers. Not only because of the awkward stillness in the principal’s office, but because he was stoned off his ass and his sneakers suddenly held the meaning of life or something along those lines. Mr. Anderson observed him and Phoenix with a grave expression on his chubby face.

“So, you’re probably dying to know why I called you down here.”

“Yes, I am,” Phoenix ground out, glaring at Jacob out of the corner of his eye. Why did he look so damn spaced out?

“As you know, Jacob has a very bad record. His grades aren’t bad for someone who has such poor attendance, but it’s his behaviour that worries us.”

“I see…” the lawyer didn’t like where this was going.

“We’ve forgiven him time and time again because of his economic situation, but I’m afraid we can’t do that anymore. It's not a good example for the other students. You’re lucky we decided not to press charges this time.”

“Can you just tell me what’s going on please? The suspense is quite literally killing me.”

“Jacob and another student were caught smoking marijuana on the school premises. Not only that but… your ward was performing oral sex on the other boy… again… But this time he was holding a spliff in one hand… We simply can’t keep him around. Police weren’t called into the matter because honestly, we just want him out as quickly as possible without any fuss. We’ve also expelled the other boy, but his parents didn’t care too much; he was on the verge of dropping out anyway.”

Phoenix slowly turned in his chair to stare at Jacob. The boy stared back at him with wide, slightly frightened, bloodshot eyes. The lawyer’s nails dug into the chair’s leather arms. He was going to fucking kill Jacob. He was just going to get an axe and chop him up until there was nothing remotely recognisable left. No, he was going to just shove his cock in his ass and watch him bleed and cry. And then he’d flip him over and fuck him all over again… Both of those options were very appealing…
Jacob was staring at the wall behind Phoenix’s head. It seemed to be floating all over the place. Groovy… He realised Phoenix’s lips were moving, but he didn’t comprehend a damn word. So he decided to read his lips. ‘What… the… fuck… is… wrong…with… you?’. Huh?

Nope, reading lips didn’t help at all. He still wasn’t following.

Mr. Anderson cleared his throat when he saw the homicidal lust brewing in Phoenix’s eyes. He didn’t want blood staining the new carpeting the PTA unknowingly paid for.

“We wish you and Jacob the best of luck, Mr. Scofield, but he can’t stay here.”

“I understand,” Phoenix replied curtly.

“I’m sure private lessons will benefit him, after all, education is still important.”

“Hn.”

“Our guidance counsellor is still very much concerned about Jacob and she’s heartbroken by this. If it’s necessary, he can still see her every once in a while. We do want the best for young Mr. Reid, even if we cannot allow him to continue school here.”

No response. Phoenix just sat there, barely moving except for the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed and the twitching of his left eye.

“Are you alright, Mr. Scofield?” the principal tilted his balding head worriedly. The younger man looked as if he were about to blow a fuse. He never liked Jacob, but he was beginning to feel sorry for him now. The look on Phoenix’s face promised torture.

“I’m fine. Is this meeting over now?”

Mr. Anderson nodded. “He should clear his locker out before he leaves. Thank you for coming down here and handling this mess.”

“Someone had to,” Phoenix stood and strode over to the door. “Jacob, we’re leaving now.”

Jacob followed Phoenix through the door, but not before flipping Mr. Anderson off for the last time. ‘Good riddance,’ they both thought.

On the way to Jacob’s locker, Mrs. O’Reilly appeared. She sprinted out of her office, her long gypsy skirt trailing behind her, when they’d passed by and wrapped Jacob in her arms and shoved his face in her flat chest, bawling about how she failed him and apologised profusely.

“Just call me if you need anything, Jacob. I know you’re hurting now and you’re probably embarrassed, but I just want you to know I’m here for you. You were more than just another student. I’ve come to see there’s a strong, beautiful spirit in you… You’ve just been through so much that you don’t know how to let it shine through. But I see it, Jacob. I feel it!”

‘Gimme a fucking break,’ Phoenix scoffed mentally.

Jacob pulled away and peered blankly with those watery eyes at her before saying, “There’s always something I wanted to tell you. I guess now’s the best time to say it.”

“What is it, Jacob?” she rested her hand on his shoulder comfortingly.

“You look like a horse.”

Phoenix ran his palm over his face. Jacob was a fucking idiot. Mrs. O’Reilly gawked, clearly bewildered, as the teenager patted her hand before gently removing it from its place on his shoulder and continuing on his journey to his locker. She turned to Phoenix for some kind of justification, but he just shrugged and followed Jacob.

Millions of thoughts were swirling through the lawyer’s head as he watched Jacob empty all of the junk in his locker into his tattered, plaid backpack. What was he going to tell Felicity? What was he going to do about Jacob? He wasn’t going to let him stay home all day; his house didn’t have insurance for damages caused by ‘stupid people’. He wanted Jacob to continue school… If not for his future then for the fact that at least he’d be monitored for a few hours in the day. Home schooling him would probably be a waste of time; he simply didn’t have that kind of dedication. But most importantly, he had to focus on not killing Jacob or seriously maiming him. God knows that’s all he wanted to do at the moment…

Jacob obviously hadn’t taken him seriously when he told him things were going to change. And that was going to be his downfall. What pissed him off more than anything, though, was the fact that Jacob had the audacity to fool around with someone else after he claimed him for himself. Perhaps he wasn’t clear enough on what that entailed. Something definitely needed to be done about Jacob’s behaviour, especially his promiscuity.

That cryptic, disturbing smirk tugged at his lips once more. Oh, he was going to fuck some sense into Jacob, perhaps after he punished him when they got home. Actually, he was definitely going to punish him. The time for leniency was over. The possibilities his overactive imagination was supplying made blood flood into his cock. He was going to make that boy cry until he drowned in his own tears today.

Jacob stalled as he zipped his bag up. He was coming off the plateau, reality catching up with him. For a situation like this, Phoenix was being scarily quiet. He might have been a bit dense, but he knew that was not a good sign. The man was going to snap and do something insane, he just knew it. He didn’t know what it was, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out that it was not going to end well for him. He slung the bag over his shoulder and pivoted to face the lawyer.

The dark look the man bore on his countenance was enough to make Jacob’s knees buckle.

“You’re in so much trouble, you don’t even know. You’d better get to that car before I do.”

Jacob nodded weakly and sprinted out of the main building and out into the parking lot. Phoenix just smirked. His good day might have been destroyed, but he was going to have fun anyway…

==

The Munez Feed:
Oh my.
Thank you to kiix for pointing out that I named the chapter 'Soup Spoon'. I swore I put silver! XD. This is why I shouldn't post things in a sleep deprived state. That's not even a typo. Ha! I'm lame. I even forgot my usual signature in this stupid author's note thing. Oh lord.
Munez

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