"The flame"- draft

Hey guys, this is part of my A2 coursework. The objective is to write a story that captures the heading "Caught in the Dilemma of Duty". Please give me your opinions if i managed to achieve the objective and if so/if not, what i can change to achieve it. Appreciate reviews BUT please tell me if the story reflects the theme of the heading. - Korlix

It was dark, but the light didn't abandon him, he just hid from it. Instead he preferred to let the darkness shroud him in its safety, to be able to avoid the judgmental light of revelation. But it wasn't all dark, there was one small flickering light present. A candle. He would watch it everyday. He found comfort in the the dancing flame, moving back and forth like a leave blowing in the wind. He moved his fingers through the flame as if he was playing with it. Occasionally he got burnt, but he didn't mind, it reminded him that the flame was still there, even though it may seem smaller every day, it was still burning. Even the smallest flame is still present, it still shines and gives warmth, but if you don't take care of it, even the smallest breeze can take it out.
He continued to play with the flame. "Nathan", said a voice. "Nathan", repeated the voice, this time slightly louder. "Nathan!", shouted Mr. Robert who was now standing right in front of Nathan's desk. The class was giggling "Pff, what an idiot! He doesn't even seem to know his own name", said Marvin loudly, followed by laughter from the class. "Nathan you cannot afford to day dream in class anymore, your grades are bad enough and exams are round the corner, now please focus", said Mr. Robert. "Yeah you twerp" said Marvin, once again followed by laughter from the class."That's enough from you, now class; please focus on the problem on the board", said Mr. Robert. A voice whispered to Nathan from his right "Don't listen to the others, Marvin's just a jerk who needs attention." said Lisa, a blond haired; green eyed girl who was smiling directly at Nathan. Nathan could see her flame shine bright and full of joy, his heart lightened up. A small smile spread on Nathan's face, but it wasn't a genuine smile. It was a smile of acknowledgement; politeness, rather than happiness. They can be seen everyday on the streets, people use them to indicate false happiness to ironically, cause happiness to be felt by others. Lisa's smile wasn't of that kind. She is the type of person who will always find the flame, even in the darkest night. Who will still feel the warmth of it, even in the coldest winter. She was what our society calls an optimist, the 'light finder' as Nathan liked to call her. "If you want, you can drop by at my house after school. I can help you out with some of those math problems you're struggling with", said Lisa, still smiling. Nathan pulled up his sleeve to hide the cuts, even though he knew that she saw them before; he then looked at her and looked away again, not responding. Lisa's smile slowly faded and the school bell rang. "Well, that's it for today class. Please do activities 1,2,7 and 9 on page...", Nathan stopped listening.
Nathan was walking home from school as he looked up in the sky. It was winter and snow was already spreading throughout the entire city. Nathan didn't care for the snow, he just saw it as cold and dull. Suddenly, something hit Nathan at the back of the head. "Hey Nathan! It looked like your head needed some cooling off", said Marvin, laughing with a group of other students. Nathan tried to ignore the cold drench of the snow melting at the back of his head, he didn't want to show any acknowledgement towards Marvin. "Hey you twerp, I'm talking to you", shouted Marvin, whilst Nathan carried on walking forward; ignoring him. Nathan could hear the sound of snow crushing behind him, coming faster and faster towards him. "Are you deaf or something? Do I need to teach you some manners first?", said Marvin whilst he was charging towards Nathan, drawing closer and closer.
Nathan finally arrived home, an hour later than usual. He could taste the blood from his nose running along his lips. He stepped inside the house and locked the door behind him. No one was home, his father worked late and his mother died of breast cancer when he was only a boy. He was a single child and so his father was the only person he could turn to if he ever had any problems. However Nathan didn't want to become dependent on him, he knew his father had to work hard enough so that they could carry on living in their house and so that he could go to school. The least he could do was to avoid being a burden to him, even though he knew that his father was aware of what was going on in school. Mr. Roberts called his father in a couple of times and at parts things got better, but in the end Nathan would once more put on his mask and carry on to walk on his own. He went inside his room and shut the door. He dropped down into his bed and shut his eyes. He woke up a few hours later and found a note on his desk. He picked it up and read "Lasagne is in the fridge. Eat when you're hungry. -- Love dad". He lay down the note when the phone rang. He picked it up and simply said "Hello". There was a moment of silence, then Lisa responded"Hey Nathan, it's Lisa ...how...how are you?", Nathan stared into the emptiness of his room. After a moment of silence he replied faintly "f..fine". Lisa could hear the drop in his voice."Y'know you don't always have to be so miserable when a friend calls you", said Lisa. Nathan didn't reply. "I know you're still there, I can hear you breathing", said Lisa in a soft comforting way. Again, Nathan didn't reply. "Marvin was a real ass today, but you know you're better than him... You shouldn't let something like that bother you this much". Nathan knew Lisa was trying to get him to speak, his breathing steadily became slower. "It's not just that... It's", he replied, trying to speak but his voice abandoned him; breaking off his sentence. "What were you going to say?", said Lisa getting agitated. "Never...never mind", said Nathan. Lisa started to get louder, "y'know Nathan, I'm really getting frustrated with you, I hold out my hand trying to help...", catching her breath, "pff and you! You spit on it and turn around!", Nathan could hear the frustration in her voice. He responded in a low voice "I'm sorry... I didn't mea---", Lisa cut him off "No! You know what, I'm sick and tired of trying... ", she tried to hold in her tears but couldn't resist them, "try... trying to reach out to you". Whimpering in between her words, she went on, "I ... I can't ... I can't do this anymore!", slamming the phone down. Nathan carried on to stare into the emptiness of his room. Still in his room. Still alone. Thoughts went through his mind, thoughts that could end the suffering. Was there a responsibility he had to maintain...Would it end the suffering of the people he loved or would it worsen it? Nathan was alone. He opened his drawer and opened a small box located underneath several books. He took out the blades and threw himself back onto his bed. The flame grew smaller once more.
It was a week later and Nathan was sitting in the room of his tutor, Mr. Roberts with his father. "Now Mr. Williams I understand that you have a tight schedule and it isn't common to call in a parent in the middle of the week; but it is vital that we address the topic of Nathan's school work", said Mr. Roberts, now looking directly at Nathan. Nathan wasn't paying attention and was looking outside the window with his elbow on the desk and his head being supported by his hand. He didn't want to be there and he felt ashamed enough to be yet of another burden wasting his father's time. His father was looking at Mr. Roberts and back at Nathan he then said "Nathan you know you can always talk to me if you have a problem", Mr Williams paused for a moment, then went on" and I'm not just talking about school". Nathan didn't respond, he just carried on looking at the snowflakes getting carried by a delicate breeze; roaming free in the air and then softly landing at their destination on the ground, some of them gently melting away. "Now you see the problem here is that not only does Nathan never carry out his homework, but neither does he participate in class activities. Not to mention he doesn't seem to be studying for exams either", said Mr. Roberts. This wasn't the first time Nathan's father was called in and Nathan knew it wouldn't be the last time either, but he knew it would once again end in the same cycle as always. Mr. Williams would have a serious father son talk with Nathan explaining to him that he has to do things differently, then Nathan would agree, put on a masquerade in school and use one of those polite smiles for about a week. There was no secret to it, everyone knew it was an act, but Nathan knew that all society wanted from him was to go with the flow and not get into anyone's way, at the end of the day everyone just wanted to get on with their own business. Caring for others was just the pretentious act to seem normal, to seem human, to show characteristics that were expected of one. The meeting was ended with Nathan admitting that something needs to change and that he would start to put more effort into school work.
Nathan knew his father loved him and that he would do anything in the world to make Nathan happy, however Nathan also knew that his father's life would have been so much easier if Nathan wasn't around. He wouldn't have to work as hard and could finally relax and find a hobby and maybe enjoy his life for a change. All he is doing at the moment is working and sleeping, everyday of the week. He even works on weekends at a part time job to make some extra money for Nathan's future college fees. Every time he offered to talk to Nathan about his problems it was as if he would stab Nathan in the chest for once more being a problematic son in comparison to the perfect dad; at least that's the way Nathan saw it. It was a little different with Lisa, he knew she was a loving and genuinely caring person, however there were only two more years of school left and he can't be dependent on her anymore as she would go off to study abroad and he would then be on his own. The fact that she was so consistent with her friendship made Nathan suffer. If he doesn't give in to her, she would end up getting offended and hurt. It's not like I already hurt her enough in the past years of my life, Nathan thought. A thought came to Nathan's mind. A thought he has seen before; a thought that never left him. Cutting off the strings to Lisa... He hesitated, but then, he slowly moved the flame. Moved it underneath the already damaged strings. A final tear dropped onto the low burning; decaying flame. The flame flickered unsteadily.
Several weeks passed and nothing seemed to have changed for Nathan. Nathan was still going to the same school, still achieving the same bad grades and his father was still being called in. He would agree once more to make a change, would once more put on the same masquerade and would avoid getting in anyone's way. His father would tell him that he can talk to him about any problems he has and Nathan would once more acknowledge the fact and move on with his life. Except one thing did change. Lisa stopped talking to Nathan. Ever since the night when she called him, she spoke less and less with Nathan. Nathan knew he was responsible and for a while, he wished that things would change again and that he could save their friendship. However he started to lose his willpower and just kept saying to himself that she was better off without him. Nevertheless the fact that he lost of the opportunity to be able to talk to her even if he wanted to, devastated him. She was the person who's smile was one of happiness rather than politeness, she was the person who offered her help because she cared and not because she wanted to give a false sense of helpfulness. And he let her go. She was the light finder and without her, the flame has never seemed so dim.
Nathan was on his own. He knew he was about to become expelled from school and the on-going pressure made it harder and harder for him to keep on his mask in front of society. The cut wounds grew deeper and summer was on the verge of the doorstep. Wearing long sleeved shirts would catch attention and Nathan knew it couldn't get to that. His father would be called in and then Nathan would become an even larger burden for his father to carry. He opened his drawer and got out the box. The people around Nathan always wanted to help, but no one ever took the initiative to make the first step. He got out the blades for the final time.
Even the smallest flame is still present, it still shines and gives warmth, but if you don't take care of it, even the smallest breeze can take it out.