Quality Time

He was in his school when the news was being read to the public. Naturally, it didn't reach him until after school was over. As soon as school was over, he turned on his cellphone and blasted with notifications.

"Why are there so many missed calls?" as he was going through the logs, his phone started vibrating. he picked up the call immediately, "hello mom?"

(Where are you right now?) his mother sounded very worried.

"I just got out of school. what happened? is everything alright?" he started walking faster.

(Yes, No. check the news and make sure to get here safely.)

"What happened, mom? are you really alright?" he reached the bus stand, his breath ragged.

(Yes. I am fine. So is everyone, for now at least. You just check the news when you get on the bus, you will understand.)

"Okay. I'll be there in twenty minutes." he saw the bus approaching and pocketed the phone. The bus was full of people, which was unusual for the current time.

He pulled out his phone and opened the news app, he had never used it for himself. The first headline that showed up seemed fake. he scrolled down and saw a similar line. all the trending headlines were on the same topic. 'Is this some stupid conspiracy again?'

"First time looking at that?" a man standing beside him asked.

"What?" the boy turned his head, "Is this real?"

"Yes. there should be a countdown." the man giggled in a silly manner, "seems weird, doesn't it?"

The cellphone rang again, this time it was his friend, "What happened Raj?" the boy picked up the phone.

(Nate, did you see the news?) Raj asked hurriedly.

"I was reading that just now. What the hell is going on?" Nate slowly maneuvered towards the door as his stop was approaching.

(Let me sum it up. The world is ending, and we have, uh... Twenty-six hours and forty minutes.) Raj said. (They announced it when we were in school. There is some asteroid or shit that is going to hit in a day. this is crazy man.)

"What? stop joking man." it didn't feel real, but Nate knew it wasn't a joke. The people at the bus stop were seen panicking and all of them were on the phone, talking at a fast pace. "where did you see the countdown?"

(I will send you the link. Get home for now. I will call you in an hour.) Raj said the call ended.

Nate saw his mother waiting for him at the door. He slowly approached her, "I know." he said before she got a chance to. "can I change first? I am hungry."

"I just finished making the food," his mother closed the door after they got in. "your father is going to be here in an hour. change into something good." she said with a smile.

Although he didn't have many good-looking clothes, Nate took more than he would like to admit choosing his outfit. He got ready and sat down to eat with his parents. his father was in the best-looking coat that was usually saved for special occasions. his mother was still getting ready inside.

"Dad, where are we going?" he asked, sitting down with the phone in his hand. The screen was displaying a countdown that was nearing 25 hours.

"Just a little gathering." his father let out a deep sigh. "all of our relatives in the city have decided to hold one final party. Do you remember the barbeque place we went to around three months ago?"

"the one with the sweet sauce? yeah, I do."

"we're going there." his father turned the annoying sound of the news off. "I am going to get the car out. you get your mother." his father said and went out into the driveway.

"Alright." Nate looked at his phone again. there was a message from Raj.

[what are your plans for tomorrow?] the message read.

Nate thought about it. he usually didn't make any plans for the next day other than his regular routine. he typed a message back [I am not sure. Going to a 'Last gathering' for now.]

he looked at the time. [6:38 pm]. He expected the party to end around 9 pm or at very late 11 pm.

[all of our classmates are planning to gather in the morning. do you want to join us?] another message came from Raj's number. Nate decided to ask his mother, "Mom! Can I go somewhere tomorrow?"

"Where do you plan to go?" his father asked. "you two were taking your time, so I got back in. Do you have any plans for tomorrow?"

"My classmates are planning to gather tomorrow. Can I go?"

"Of course." his mother finally got out of the room. "We're are dragging you to our gathering today. you have all the right to enjoy your last day as you want." as she explained, Nate's father just nodded in response.

Their response was unexpected. If this was any other day, they would have denied him from going if the gathering seemed suspicious. Today was different, maybe because this was going to be his last night with them, they agreed without asking any questions. A bitter-sweet smile formed on Nate's face after he realized that his parents were letting him be free on his last day.

"What are you waiting for? let's go." his father rushed them out of the house. the car was already outside their house, ready to take them to the party.

The roads were filled with many different things. a group was in some sort of protest, with another group having an argument with them. Nate saw some parents playing games with their children as they crossed a park. Some people were sitting on side of their front doors, with multiple alcohol bottles with them. His father made a few remarks as they passed through those places. "so they want to go out drunk? That is one way, I guess."

There was something beautiful in the chaos that was happening outside. Nate leaned back in his seat and pulled out his phone, there were several notifications that he didn't pay attention to. he started checking them one by one. a group was created for tomorrow's gathering, it had more than a hundred messages. some people were freaking out, while others were excited and making plans already. Nate typed a message and hit send. [I got the permission. What's the time and place?]

It took several seconds for someone to notice his message in the busy group chat. [9 am, outside the school gate.] someone replied. Nate replied with a simple [Got it] and closed the messaging app. He had calls from his cousins and a few family members. he messaged as many as he could and then turned his phone off. When he raised his head, his mother was looking at him with a weird expression. "Who are you chatting with?" she asked.

"It was uncle Joseph, he said to not worry and make sure to have a drink before I go," he replied, laughing.

"Do you want to taste alcohol?" his father asked, still driving.

"Dave!" his mother shouted.

"Let him decide. If he wants to have it, we should let him. I don't want him to have any regrets." Dave replied, somewhat determined.

"I don't want to." Nate answered, "I was interested in having a taste, so I once took a sip from your glass when you were passed out." he had kept this secret from his parents, but that wasn't needed now.

"WHAT!?" his mother was shocked.

His father, on the other hand, started laughing, "Did you like it?" he asked, trying to calm down.

"No, it was disgusting. Why did you even drink that stuff?" Nate replied, adding his opinion. Dave has minimized his drinking for the last few months, but he still drinks occasionally. probably because of the busy nature of his job, or it was his willingness to be a better father, he was trying to go clean.

"I am not sure either." dave answered, fully honest now, "Joseph was the one who got me into drinking. I relied on it to escape from stress. I probably drank because it helped me sleep."

"Oh." Nate went silent. he had seen many people consume liquor in his life. his father was the only one who drank in strictly in his house and went to sleep directly after that. "still, it tastes bad."

"Sure does," Dave answered and pulled the car into the parking.

the place was closed for the public, as they had to enter through the staff entrance. Nate spotted a few people he knew from before. the party was pretty much for the adults, all their kids were just eating the food and trying out different things. some were passed out after drinking, and others were laughed at them. it was a weirdly fun experience for Nate, he still didn't like alcohol though.

Driving back, Nate sat in the front seat with his father, with his mother was in the back sleeping. It was 11 in the night, yet the streets were filled with people. Several roadside parties were going on, many things could not be seen on regular days.

"Jones." his father said suddenly. "Do you wish to say something to me that you never had the chance to?"

Nate thought about it. there was only one thing that he hadn't said. "Yes." he took a deep breath. "I never wanted to study physics. I like literature more than science."

"I see." his dad had a somewhat cold response at first. "I am sorry son. I never asked what you wanted to do, did I?"

"It is not your fault." then something clicked in Nate's mind, "Wait, it kind of is. anyway, it doesn't matter now. I had done what I wanted in science as well. You never forced me for grades as much as I thought you would." it had been years since he was able to talk to his father like this. It was a happy and sad experience at the same time.

"Still," his father argued, "I should have at least asked. tell me, why do you like literature?"

"I am not sure. it is just that stories have a certain charm that I like. same with science, it can give answers to us, or just confuse us even more." he joked. "Tell me, dad, what did you want to do when you were my age?"

"I wanted to be in a band." Dave laughed slightly. they were almost at home now.

"What? are you serious?" Nate turned, suddenly full of energy.

"yes. there were a lot of local bands when I was around your age. naturally, I was trying to follow them. I even brought a guitar and asked your grandma to get me a tutor. it was nuts." Dave replied, pulling the car into the driveway.

"So, you can play guitar? you never told me."

"He plays it very well." Nate's mom replied. "he thought playing guitar would make it popular in university."

"what?" Nate forgot to ask when she woke up, as a more important topic was dropped in his hands, "how do you know that?"

"Anna please don't tell him that story." Dave pleaded.

"I am not keeping any of your secrets now." anna quickly turned to Nate, "Listen, I was in the same university, but we had different subjects. Your father was always outside the art block, waiting for his crush to show up. He looked so stupid with that guitar oh my god." she started laughing hard.

"Wait, so you were not his crush?"

"No." anna said as they got out of the car. dave, trying to hide his face, walked behind the other two. "We didn't even talk until graduation. your grandma was the one who introduced her 'very hardworking son' to me at some local function. can you imagine how hard it was for me to not react when I saw his face? it was so awkward hahahahaha." she explained as she opened the door. "and he was trying to hide from me just like he is now."

"Still, you married me." dave had only one come back.

"Yes, that's true. can you play that song for me again? please?" anna asked dave.

Dave gave a sigh before answering. "I might need to borrow your guitar Nate." he removed his coat and started folding his sleeve. Nate rushed to get his guitar. The last time he heard his father sing was when he was a little child. he handed his father the guitar, "here dad"

Dave sat on the armrest of the sofa and started playing a particular tune. his singing wasn't bad, but not very good either, as Nate noticed. yet, his mother was listening to it like it was some melody sung by a professional, her eyes glued to the image of his father.

As he heard his father sing, Nate slowly fell asleep on the floor, leaning on the sofa. What was the time right now? When would he wake up in the morning? He didn't care about that stuff anymore. All the things that Nathaniel cared about were here with him, and he wanted to cherish every last moment of it.