“Next time you'll do better!” Mr. Wang said and patted his son's shoulder. Jackson's clothes were dripping wet and his face was glossy from sweat. He grunted and with an angry swing of his hand, he pulled his sweaty shirt off. He was angry and frustrated. Why wouldn't he be, he had all the reasons to be. It was already seventh time in a row when his father had said the same thing after rehearsals, and he never improved.
   “Just... run for a while and we're done. Five rounds. Starting now.”
   Jackson sighed and threw his shirt on the ground. Then he started running. It was a good way to blow off steam and have a brief moment to think clearly. But he was never fully relaxed or calm. He had always something to do, and somewhere to go to. After three rounds he was exhausted. His face was red and he could hear his heart bouncing in his ears. His lungs were out of breath, gasping for air.
   “Two more, come on Jackson!” His father cheered. But he had no idea how angry that made him feel. Jackson couldn't stand cheering, it made him feel frustrated and dissatisfied. Like he couldn't manage by himself, and needed someone to cheer for him and help him. He hated it when he needed someone. He never admitted to himself that he would've needed someone, because that made him feel weak.
   On the final round, he didn't even think. He didn't think about if he had enough oxygen in his lungs. He didn't think about his exhausted muscles or his pain in his left ankle. He just focused on moving his legs and gasping in the air he needed to keep his feet moving. When he finally made it, he collapsed next to his father's feet.
   “Well done boy, we're done for today.”
   Jackson took a deep breath and nodded with his eyes closed.
   “Go clean yourself, you mother has made breakfast for us.”
   Jackson left his father in the fencing arena and went to the dressing room. He took a refreshing shower and dressed up for the day. It was only ten in the morning and he already felt like he could really use a nap. Even the cool shower didn't brighten him up. But Jackson had gotten used to all this. He had lived like this for long. So long it had started to eat him from inside.

When Jackson was little, his mom and dad both wanted him to grow up as an athlete. His both parents were athletes, so that wasn't a surprise for anyone. Jackson's birth wasn't planned. He was sort of an “accident”, neither of his parents were really ready to be parents. They had been considering abortion and giveaway, but Mrs. Wang wanted to keep the baby. That was how Jackson Wang was born, on March 28th in Hong Kong.
   Jackson discovered fencing when he was ten years old. His father took him to his own match, and the boy almost right away noticed that fencing was literally the meaning of his life, that fencing was the thing he wanted to do for his living. But it was the ten year old Jackson talking. Now he was eighteen, and he was sick of it. He was sick of waking up early for practice, and going to bed before midnight because he couldn't be sleepy on his fencing rehearsals in the morning. He loved fencing, but since he had to do it every day like a machine, he didn't enjoy it anymore. It had become like a routine, as brushing teeth and eating. It didn't feel like anything anymore. And since his own father was his coach, it was even worse.

Jackson dressed up for the breakfast and dragged his feet forward towards his parents' kitchen. He always ate at his parents' after fencing practise, because he didn't want to disturb his flatmate Aron Zhang. Aron and Jackson had been friends since high school. They shared a similar sense of humor and affection to sports, Aron just was more into running track. Jackson sat down and shook his head, desperately trying to wake himself up. He felt like he could take a nap right there.
    “How was practise?” Mrs. Wang asked while gathering all the breakfast supplies on the table. Jackson raised his head a little to face his mother. He managed to open his mouth before his father cut him off.
    “He still needs to learn a few things”, Mr. Wang said. Jackson glared at his father in disbelief. He couldn't understand why he still, after all those hours he had spent training, wasn't good enough for his father.
    “Yah! I've been working my off!” he said and pulled himself a plate. “You're too hard on me.”
    “You're not good enough. Yet”, his father said dodging his stare. Jackson snorted and shook his head again.
    “Unbelievable.”
    “It's true. You need to work even harder”, his father said raising his voice. Jackson focused on gathering food on his plate.
    “I'm doing my best...”
    “No you're not! That's the problem, you don't take this seriously.”
    “I don't take this seriously?” Jackson snapped. He stood up and glared at his father. “Are you serious? I'm putting everything into this! I'm doing everything you say! What's enough for you dad?”
    Mr. Wang just stared at his son. Jackson felt betrayed. His heart was beating unsteadily and his mind was swirling.
    “When was the last time you said something positive about me? Everything's about fencing nowadays, what about our family? What about our dad-son-relationship? You're ruining it with your-”
    “That's enough Jackson! Please leave the table”, Mrs. Wang ordered and pointed her finger towards the door. Jackson closed his mouth. His head dropped as well as his image. Even his mom was against him. Jackson's hands felt sweaty and his eyes were burning. He just nodded slightly and left the room without saying a word.
    That was the turning point in his life. That was when he realized that he wasn't living the life he wanted to live. He was living the life his parents wanted him to live.

A/N: Hey everyone!

So this is my second story here on AFF! How do you like the idea? Should I keep writing this? If you like it, let me know! Thank you so much for reading my stories!!!

...like how does he do that...