FOE Family First Chapter 13: Dad Seems to Be Hurt
At 2:40 in the afternoon, the bell for the last class rang. Tommy Hawke walked out of the classroom, stretching his neck, and ended the day's classes.
While packing his locker, he calculated his credits against the course schedule in the locker. After making sure that he had reached the school's required score, he immediately went to the principal's office to apply to no longer come to campus for classes every day in the near future, on the grounds that he was participating in social activities to meet the university admission standards and high school graduation requirements.
As long as the credits are completed and the requirements are met, the school will not interfere with the students' other arrangements. In particular, Tommy Hawke's hard work in the past two months has been noticed by the school. Even though the principal is stimulated by Dennis and Pam like a volcano that is about to erupt at any time, he still tries to show the cultivation and kindness that suits his status when facing Tommy Hawke. He encourages him to work hard in the next AP exam and get excellent results.
Getting the school's consent means that from now on, Tommy Hawke no longer has to come to school on time every day. If he wants, he can even prepare his high school thesis now and apply for graduation earlier than other peers.
As for his good friends Dennis and Pam, they could no longer leave school with him and share his happiness of not having to go to school to attend classes as usual, because they were now accompanied by their parents and were facing the wrath of the school. When Tommy walked out of the school gate, it seemed that the roar of Mrs. Herbers, Dennis's mother, still echoed in his ears:
"Dennis! You can make the TV show free of charge for premium programs! And you didn't even think about saving your mother some subscription money!"
…
Of course, the huge price paid by Dennis and Pam was not without reward. At least for a long time after today, the topic of conversation among all the high school students in Lincoln High School will probably be about them.
The beautiful teacher Ottilia Farrell, who had just arrived, was completely overshadowed by the actions of the two of them and did not cause any waves at all.
After all, high school students certainly know which one interests them more, a dressed female teacher or a naked movie.
Tommy Hawke rode his bicycle to the port dock in Warwick City. His part-time job at the laundry had been ruined by his father, and he now needed to find a new part-time job. In Warwick City, the easiest part-time job for high school students to find is to help fishing boats sort out their troublesome fishing nets at the dock, or clean the smelly cabins.
The main reason why this kind of job is easy to find is that it is dirty and tiring, but the salary is comparable to that of a part-time job in a laundry, which is only the minimum wage of three dollars per hour.
Before finding another part-time job that suits him, Tommy Hawke plans to stay here for the time being. After all, he cannot spend the $400 savings lavishly before he figures out how to use it to make money. That is the money he will use to participate in summer activities.
"Sir, does your fishing boat need help with the nets or cleaning?" Tommy Hawke walked around the dock and asked a middle-aged white man with a beard who was standing on the deck of the fishing boat and tightening some parts with a wrench.
The white man bit his cigarette, looked at Tommy Hawke , and grinned: "You want a part-time job on my ship?"
"Yes, sir." Tommy nodded with a smile.
The white man nodded: "OK, do you know how to swim, collect the nets, operate the crane, or simply drive the fishing boat into the berth?"
"An ordinary fishing boat should be fine, sir. I have been working part-time on a fishing boat since I was fourteen." Tommy Hawke said.
Warwick is a coastal port city, where a large proportion of residents make a living by fishing. For high school students in this city, driving a small motorized fishing boat is as common as high school students in major agricultural states flying small planes to spray pesticides on their family farms.
"What's your name?" the bearded man asked as he lowered his head and continued to adjust the nut with a wrench.
"Tommy, Tommy Hawke, eleventh grade at Lincoln High School."
"My name is Rocco Wadman, Tommy, you can come back after school tomorrow. I have finished today's work." After tightening the nut, the white man looked at his clean fishing boat and said to Tommy Hawke with a smile.
"Thank you, Mr. Vardman."
The white man said to Tommy Hawke, "You're welcome, boy, but if you do a bad job, I'll kick you out with a straight face and won't pay you a penny."
"I'll try my best." Tommy Hawke promised and turned to leave.
After finding a part-time job, Tommy was just about to say goodbye and leave the dock when he saw his father Colin Hawke jumping out of the family car and walking towards him.
Seeing his son, Colin Hawke was stunned, then asked with a smile:
"Looking for a part-time job here?"
"Good afternoon, Dad." Tommy Hawke nodded.
Colin came over and wanted to pat Tommy on the shoulder, but he took his hand back in the end. He just looked at the dark blue sea in the distance and said with a smile: "I said last night that I would prepare a check for you to go to college. Go study, son, and do what you want to do."
"I'm sorry, Dad. My attitude last night may have been..." Tommy Hawke noticed his dad's actions and spoke up.
"No need to apologize, you didn't say anything wrong." Colin Hawke smiled and pointed to Rocco Vardman's fishing boat in the distance: "I'm going to say hello to that guy. He wants to buy some parts from the shipbreaking yard. I'm going to find out what's going on. See you next time, son."
After saying that, Colin Hawke walked towards the fishing boat.
It seemed that after last night, Dad no longer wanted to communicate with me too much. It was more like he regarded me as an obligation, as if as long as he sent Tommy the first semester's tuition check when he was admitted to college, he would have fulfilled all his obligations as a father.
As a son, Tommy Hawke seemed to be hurt by the conversation last night.
After watching Colin Hawke leave, Tommy Hawke got on his bicycle and when he was reaching for a cigarette in his pocket, he touched the Paradise Club day pass.
He took it out and looked at it, and finally decided to go around the club. It was not that he was really going to satisfy his curiosity and avoid wasting his youth, but to see if there was any opportunity. He could use his free time today when he didn't have to work to sell the prescription drugs in his hand cheaply without attracting attention. After all, drugs have a shelf life.
After making up his mind, Tommy Hawke rode his bike straight to Providence, the state capital, and easily found the Paradise Club with the silhouettes of dancers hanging on the wall.
