Tao lay on the couch, propped up by the pillows, his eyes glued to his phone. He chuckled softly at the TikTok videos that filled his screen. He seemed oblivious to the impending doom. But Tao was not ignorant of his fate, he had just decided to drown out his worries with mindless entertainment. He felt a surge of anxiety when he received his report card. A B, two C's, two D's and two F's. Kris had high expectations for him. He wanted him to get mostly A's and B's, and only a few C's. And this was not a quarterly report card that could be easily fixed. It was his first semester report card. Kris would be furious.

 

Tao felt a chill run up his back when he heard the door open. Kris was home. The older man walked in and set his keys on the kitchen counter. 

 

"Hello Taozi."

 

 At least he was in a good mood…

 

  "Did you get your report card today?" 

 

Tao debated on lying but he knew that would only make matters worse for him.

 

“Yeah…” he said softly.

 

“Well let me see it,” Kris boomed in his deep voice. 

 

Tao wanted to cry, but there would be time for that later. For now, he lifted himself off the couch and made his way towards the stairs. As he ascended to the second level, his body felt heavier and heavier. He could feel his heart dropping to his stomach. What he would do to be someone else right now. He opened the door to the room he shared with Kris and found his backpack. Pulling out his report card his heart thumped even louder. Kris was going to kill him. He was sure of it.

 

Making his way back downstairs he felt as though he was going to pass out. Kris was waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs. When Tao reached the bottom step, Kris held his expectant hand out to the piece of paper. Tao handed it to him and his eyes began to sting with tears, 

 

Kris unfolded the paper and Tao witnessed his face shrink into disappointment. He then looked up at Tao with eyes that could cut through a diamond. 

 

“What have you been doing to get these grades?” he asked. 

 

“I don’t know,” Tao responded in a whimpering voice. 

 

“I asked you a question, Zitao. I expect a better answer than ‘I don’t know’.”

 

Tears began to fall from Tao’s eyes as Kris stared him down. He shrugged his shoulders and immediately regretted it. 

 

Suddenly, Kris grabbed his upper arm and began to drag him up the stairs. 

 

“Gege! No! Wait!”

 

“I told you when you got your last report card that I better not see these grades again!”