The black BMW M5 rumbled through the busy Boston traffic, its twin turbochargers adding a satisfying whistle as the engine revved through precise gear changes executed by its automatic transmission.
Aaron, dressed in his new school uniform was sitting in the front passenger seat, his regular clothes in the large bag Sophia had given him.
Ivan, driving the car, shot a sideways glance at Aaron, the uniform had seemed to have awakened something in Aaron that Ivan wasn't sure if he liked or understood.
He glanced at the crucifix of the rosary hanging from the rearview mirror of the car offering a silent prayer that Aaron would grow out of this strangely domineering phase.
"What is my maximum budget for the new school laptop, Father?" asked Aaron, as Ivan pulled into the mall's parking lot.
"2000," said Ivan, following Aaron as he walked straight to the computer shop.
"I think I'll get this one," said Aaron, running his hand almost reverentially over a massive 17-inch black laptop with large vents and angular molded plastic bodywork.
"Are you sure son? It might be too heavy to lug around every day," Ivan asked Aaron.
Aaron carefully picked up the display laptop and hefted it experimentally. "Yes, it will be fine," he said.
Ivan shrugged, the laptop was within budget, and it seemed high quality and durable. "Alright," he said pulling out his card.
On the way back home, Ivan couldn't resist asking. "Why did you decide to wear the uniform out of the shop?"
Aaron frowned slightly as he pondered the question. "It is difficult to explain. I feel more like myself in it, that's all I can tell," he said.
As they approached the secluded streets of their neighborhood, Ivan pulled over the BMW. "Would you like to try driving?" he asked dangling the keys in front of Aaron.
Aaron raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure Father? I'm not 16 yet." he asked.
"In that uniform, you look and behave like a short dude who's 20. Do you want to try it or not?" growled Ivan.
Aaron's eyes lit up, and his cold demeanor fell away. "Yes please," he said before carefully schooling his expression back to his usual cold and calculating self.
Ivan sent a silent prayer of thanks and relief. Aaron, for just a few seconds looked normal. He handed Aaron the keys and got out.
Aaron seated himself in the driver's seat of the BMW and experimentally revved the engine.
The car gave out a powerful rumble, followed by a satisfying whistle from the turbochargers.
Left foot firmly pressing on the brake pedal, Aaron shifted the gear to drive mode and slowly let off pressure on the brakes.
The car rolled forward slowly, Aaron gripping the steering wheel firmly.
"That's it slow and easy" said Ivan from the front passenger seat.
Aaron made a couple of laps around the neighborhood, slowly getting the feel of the car and how to properly steer it.
"Alright, I think you can try giving it a little more gas," said Ivan cautiously.
Aaron nodded and put a little more pressure on the throttle.
"Now remember, the faster you go, the faster you need to respond and the calmer you need to be.
Panicking is the worst thing that can happen at high speeds," instructed Ivan as the BMW let out another powerful rumble and started to move faster.
After a couple of laps at 15 mph, Ivan called a halt.
"You picked that up quite well! What do you think?" asked Ivan.
Aaron frowned thoughtfully at the wheel. "It felt a little underwhelming to be honest, Father. The car responds to me, but I feel like it responds when it chooses to" he finally said.
Ivan nodded thoughtfully.
"I'll keep in mind that you would prefer a fully manual transmission when you turn 16," he said as Aaron pulled into the driveway.
His expression turned apprehensive as he spied Annette looking out of the living room window, her arms crossed and a vein throbbing in her temple.
----
"How could you?" Annette asked Ivan, after Aaron had retired to his bedroom.
"I wanted to try something to break him out of that cold demeanor of his" Ivan tried to explain.
"And you thought fueling toxic masculinity was the answer to that?" shouted Annette
Ivan sighed wearily. Annette's views on feminism and what constituted toxic masculinity was one thing that they never did fully see eye to eye on.
"Annette, learning to drive is not an expression of toxic masculinity. It is an essential skill everyone must develop.
And it actually worked for a while. Aaron's expression changed from cold, to excited when I suggested it," he said wearily.
"I know learning to drive is not an expression of toxic masculinity, thank you very much! It's racing around the neighborhood like some delinquent is what I'm opposed to!" snapped Annette.
"We didn't speed! Aaron was careful to stay well below the 20 mph speed limit!" snarled Ivan.
"Men!" exclaimed Annette, throwing her arms up in frustration and flopping down on the living room couch.
"Hey, remember your first try driving it? You nearly plowed into the house across the street!
Aaron managed to drive two laps around the neighborhood under fifteen miles an hour on his first try!" said Ivan, trying to defend his son.
"T-that wasn't on purpose! I told you to get something sensible like a Prius, not that monstrosity!" snapped back Annette, completely ignoring Ivan's defense of Aaron.
With a sigh, Ivan went to the kitchen and poured himself a coke and vodka.
"Explain to me why he's started to behave like some oil tycoon or business mogul!" demanded Annette as Ivan returned to the living room.
Ivan took a large sip of his drink to calm his nerves before he answered her.
"I honestly don't know. I asked him why he wore the uniform out of the shop, and all he said was that he felt more like himself in it" said Ivan
Annette sighed wearily. "I had hoped enrolling him in St. Ignatius would help him open up, not turn him into this cold, calculating thing" she grumbled.
"Well maybe we can ask Father Abel for help" said Ivan, trying hard not to show how Annette's dismissive attitude towards Aaron hurt him.
----
"Please Father, you need to help us!" pleaded Annette.
Father Abel sighed as he surveyed them in his office. Annette and Ivan had come to him to tell him that the St. Ignatius Academy uniform had made a profound impact on Aaron.
Father Abel could also see that a crack was forming between Annette and Ivan's relationship. It appeared that Aaron's new attitude was resonating differently for both of them.
Ivan, while worried about Aaron's ability to adjust socially, did not see his new assertiveness as a bad thing and was actually proud and admired Aaron's self-control and self-discipline as evidenced by his recounting of the driving lesson.
Annette on the other hand, felt that Aaron's new assertiveness was a manifestation of toxic masculinity.
And that Aaron was going down the path of misogyny and sexism and blamed Ivan for encouraging such behavior.
"Mr. and Mrs. Zakhrov. Children of high intelligence such as Aaron, have minds that can be several years ahead of their emotions.
This can be both a blessing and a curse, they can perceive things as adults do, but can fixate on them like a child would," he explained carefully.
"So are you saying he'll grow out of this new attitude?" asked Annette.
"I'm sure he'll be back to his old self once the novelty of wearing the uniform wears off," said Father Abel with much more confidence than he felt.
Annette sighed in relief. "I don't know what I'll do if he starts becoming some toxic male misogynist.
I'm really worried about his belief that only women in high heels are elegant and sophisticated," she said, making Ivan frown in disapproval.
"That is no way to talk about your own son Mrs. Zakhrov!
Do not let your ideology cloud your judgement.
Despite his intelligence, Aaron is still a child. He needs guidance and love, not hostility and accusations," said Father Abel sternly.
Annette opened her mouth to argue back but then stopped and reconsidered.
"I suppose you are right," she admitted grudgingly.
"On to other items, I assume you monitor Aaron's online activity?" he asked Ivan.
"Well yes. All of Aaron's personal devices have firewalls and parental controls on them.
However, he may be sophisticated enough to bypass those systems," said Ivan.
"Have you noticed any unusual online activity?
If so, then there could be other factors influencing his behavior," said Father Abel.
"Not to my knowledge. I regularly check with both my internet service and my phone providers and Aaron has not made any unusual web searches," said Ivan firmly.
Father Abel sighed in relief. It looked like Aaron (at least to his parent's knowledge) was not actively searching for potentially age-inappropriate content.
"Alright. I'll monitor Aaron's behavior carefully once he starts school.
I'm sure we'll be able to get to the bottom of this," he assured them,
anxiety growing in the pit of his stomach that Aaron's ability to quickly pick up a skill might just be a much bigger problem than anyone anticipated.