Chapter 16: CHAOS AND SILENCE

" If you don't have much to do, we can leave now " He suggested. I tried to think about any Important meetings or shoots and it seemed there were none. Until I remembered... the one Sam rescheduled. He won't be happy.

" I have work but I can cancel and drive us there "

" No problem with that" he looked somewhat satisfied.

" Give me a second to call my agent, Sam " he nodded a reply and I stepped out to make a call. pulling my phone, I dialed his number.

" Hey Sam "

" When are you getting here? Don't be late "

I rubbed the back of my neck with my hand. " Ummm, about that. I am calling to tell you I won't be coming to work today Some things came up "

" Are you kidding me? just a few weeks ago I was forced to beg these same clients to give you a second chance and you want me to do it again? What the hell happened to professionalism? You have been in this job long enough to know it doesn't work this way. Canceling at the very last minute and doing things at your convenience, how do you expect to make demands? "

I knew he was going to give me this lecture but I didn't have a choice. Poor Sam, I was only making his work harder.

" I am really sorry Sam. You know I wouldn't cancel if it wasn't important " I defended.

" You would, whether it's of Importance or not " Okay he was angry with me, he had a right to lash out. I was making it a habit to treat work with levity, not like it was deliberate.

" That's not fair "

" What's not fair is you keep placing me in situations I am uncomfortable with. Not showing up today will change my entire work schedule, you weren't even at work yesterday "

" That's because I had nothing to do. I promise I will totally make it up to you " Mentally, I was making a list of what to do. Perhaps, request for a break or even hasten his annual leave process.

" You always say that, " he said before hanging up. Well, that went fairly well.

I walked back into the car and buckled the seat belt.

" Are you ready? "

" Yup, do you still know the way? "

" Like the back of my hand "

He smiled brightly and settled into the seat. " Just make sure we don't end up lost. "

" Geez, calm down. I'm not lousy with directions. I will try my best " I really did know the directions like the back of my hand. Back in my final year in high school, I would drive around for hours without having a specific destination. Eventually, I could tell the routes and roads. To lighten up the mood, I switched on the radio. Switching through different channels until I found one playing classical music.

Cyril shoved my hand away and turned it off immediately. " Hey, what gives " I complained, frowning.

" Classical music? it's boring "

I chuckled lightly " No, it's not. Relax your body and mind " I tried to turn it back on but he shoved my hand away again.

" If you play that, I will jump out of the window. " I didn't say anything after that. But I was tempted. it would be fun to see him jump out.

" Don't even think about it " he warned reading my thoughts.

" So, you'll prefer I drove in silence? "

" Yes, enjoy the silence. I yearn for it as a matter of fact "

" This reminds me of our camping trip in high school " the last one we had. We went out to celebrate graduation, it was our school's tradition and we upheld it.

" The football team's center back insisted there was no kind of tranquility."

" I can't forget that. The jerk played all kinds of songs to make sure of it "

" I barely got any sleep " I was surprised he even got sleep at well. we all returned with eye bags and our parents teased it was from partying. Nope, never-ending noise.

" You even got sleep? My eyes were wide open throughout the entire trip " Hannah complained and I never heard the end of the constant whining. I blame him for ruining a perfectly good trip.

" I wonder where he is now . " probably perfecting his football career.

" Happily married to Amy, they got married last year. And no, he isn't a footballer. As a matter of fact, he is a neurosurgeon "

" Wait, the same one on the robotics team? How come he didn't go into professional football? he had a damn bright future "

" Yes, we all didn't see it coming. Apparently, he developed a passion for neurosurgery. That's all I heard "

It was strange, the noisy center back with Amy who will rather die than attend a party. She was always behind a computer.

" Don't look so shocked. I was surprised as well " he commented just as I drove past the ' Welcome sign '. That was a relief, my arms were numb from driving, When Cyril suggested he should drive, I argued and insisted I was fine with driving. it didn't take long to get to Cyril's home. I needed directions for that. We were greeted by Cyril's children, a whole pack. His dogs and cats were running around causing havoc. I could see why he didn't want noise. Living in this kind of chaos took courage.

His wife came out of the kitchen with an apron around her waist, holding a tray of cookies. There were 5 children. The youngest was about 3 years old. 3 sons and two daughters. Although, one of his daughters was absent at the time. Their mother had long brown hair and blue eyes. Noticing my petrified look " I love a large family " he slapped my back and introduced me to his family.

After he had a proper meal, I said goodbye and drove to my mother's house. Can't call it home after all these years. I felt out of place. Cyril stepped back, allowing me to ring the doorbell and we were faced with the brightest smile I had ever seen.