• We finished with our dinners and headed back to our room. Trinity went around the room tidying up. I kinda figured he’d be neat freak. Kuro was brushing his teeth in the bathroom getting toothpaste all over the place. Trinity went in to lecture him about staying tidy. Riely was sitting on his bed petting his favorite stuffed toy, a rabbit, which meant e was upset about something. I sighed because he is probably missing mama and that’s something I can’t really fix. “Hey Ry, c’mon, we’ll see mum before you know it.”
    I saw his bottom lip tremble. He was holding his breath as if that’ll keep him from crying. I put my arm around his shoulder to try and do at least something. He leaned his head on my shoulder, and I stroked his hair, kinda like what mama does, but that only made it worse. He really started crying now.
    Trinity came rushing out of the bathroom, “Oh Riely, it’s ok. Sean is right; you will see your mom in no time at all.”
    “Tell you what Ry why don’t you stay in my bed with me,” he always does when he’s upset. When ever he gets scared at night or has a nightmare, he crawls into bed with me.
    He nodded and rubbed at his eyes, heh sometimes he acts like he’s five. Kuro came out of the bathroom in his pajamas, a tank top and pants. “Hey Trin, does that mean I’m with you?” he put his hands on his hips.
    “Ah, no!” Trinity was blushing. He got up and changed into his pajamas, he wore a collared pajama top with matching pants, and braided his hair. He pulled back his covers and sat there for a bit. “Tomorrow we’re going to the library instead of health right?”
    Riely was getting into my bed with his rabbit. “Sure,” I yawned.
    “This way we can do homework,” Trinity laid down, pulling his sheets over him.
    “Homework?” Kuro groaned flopping onto his bed.
    Trinity said, “That way we don’t have to do it later,” he rolled over heading into his sleep for the night.
    “Whatever,” Kuro situated himself to sleep, which was a kind of awkward position.
    I walked across the room and turned off the light. On my way back I stubbed my toe on Trinity’s bed because it was so dark. As soon as I got into my covers Riely cuddled right up to me. I wrapped my arms around him trying to make him feel at home as much as possible.
    “Hey Sean,” Riely whispered to me.
    “Yeah Ry?” I whispered back.
    “I have a bad feeling, like something is wrong with mama,” he was on the verge of crying again.
    I sat up and looked down on him, “Hey Ry c’mon, mama is fine. She has to be, she is all we have left,” I rubbed his back, needing now my own comfort. I couldn’t let him see that though, I have always been his rock. I have been mama’s too; since papa died I’ve taken care of both of them.
    I watched Riely fall asleep, listened to Kuro’s snores and Trinity’s turning practically all night. The ceiling was swallowed up by the darkness in the room. I couldn’t sleep, not after what Riely just told me. If anything happened to mama me and Riely would be completely on our own, we don’t know any other family.


    .
    I finally got to sleep by five thirty, but Trinity’s alarm clock went off at seven. I barely opened my eyes to see Trinity quieting his clock, and Kuro lazily rolling out of bed. Riely mumbled, “Five more minutes and pulled all of the covers on top of him, leaving me with none. It was cold so I couldn’t just go back to sleep. I got out of bed and threw my clothes on. When Kuro cam out of the bathroom, I went in. Kuro left the bathroom a complete mess. He left his sock laying over the edge of the bath tub, toothpaste on the mirror over the sink, and somehow his toothbrush ended up in the trash.
    Trinity followed after me to the bathroom and when he walked in I swear I thought he was going to faint at the sight. He let out a sigh as if he were to be giving up but instead he went and cleaned up the toothpaste and rescued the toothbrush from the trash. H and I brushed our teeth together, and when we finished Riely came walking in still half asleep. I put my toothbrush away reluctantly, not wanting the day to start.
    I walked back into the room and Trinity had thrown Kuro’s dirty sock right at his face.
    “Oh thanks man,” Kuro grabbed the sock off his face and tossed it on the floor.
    Trinity cleared his throat, “Kuro we are going to have to do something about your messes.”
    “What messes?” Kuro asked dumbfounded.
    Trinity was speechless. He just shook his head and continued out of the room for breakfast. Kuro left right after him and I waited for Riely to finish. He usually takes a while. Riely was never a morning person. We met back up with everyone at the cafeteria.
    I was nervous about going into the vice principal’s office. I do get into trouble a lot but that was always at home. I guess this guy couldn’t be that bad right?
    In the cafeteria we sat the table we sat at last night, I guess that pot is becoming our spot. I sleepily ate whatever was on my plate, I didn’t pay much attention to what I grabbed, all I know is it tasted like soggy wood. I just happened to glance up to find that p***k Jodi trying to sit with us again. “‘ey why don’t you go somewhere else? It’s too early to see your a** ugly face,” I mumbled into my plate but he still knew I was talking to him.
    “That’s funny I remember you calling me pretty boy yesterday. Is your brain to small to remember that?” he slammed his tray of food onto the table in front of me. The food on his tray splattered everywhere, so it got on me.
    That was it, it was too early and he’s too much of an a**. “I said go somewhere else!” I shouted loud enough to where half of the cafeteria heard me. I know because it got quiet all of the sudden.
    “I’ll go where I want to,” he took a seat.
    I ran around the table to get to him, “Move or I move you.”
    He smiled and looked into my face. His grey eyes looked right into mine. “See you can’t make a good argument so you have to use brute force. You truly are an idiot.”
    Something finally snapped in me. The next thing I remember was grabbing Jodi’s shirt and landing a punch right on his face, after that it was all broken. I remember somebody, big, coming up behind me trying to pull me off. I turned around and hit them. Then cold water being dumped on me, and when I came too I still had a hold of Jodi’s shirt. The right side of my face was really sore, and everyone was staring. I turned around to see who jumped in. I just about jumped out of my skin. It was the P.E. teacher.
    “You two to the ice Principal’s office now!!!!” the teacher shouted at us.
    We went into the office, and to my surprise it was a massive mess! Papers were stacked nearly to the ceiling, all over the floor and desk. A pair of hands pushed a side a stack of papers revealing a scruffy looking guy. He had a five o’clock shadow on is face and tousled hair, but his clothes were clean cut. He was wearing a sports jacket open reveling a turtle neck shirt, and he had black slacks for pants. “Hello boys,” he said to us. He had a condescending voice like he ruled the world or something. I already don’t like him.
    “Have a seat,” he motioned to two chairs in front of his desk. The chairs were the only things in the room that weren’t covered in papers. Jodi and I took a seat. Jodi looked just down right irritated, good this was all worth it. “I am Charles Monroe, your vice principal. And the only reason any student comes to see me is if they are in trouble, so what did you boys do?”
    That cocky b*****d, that can’t be the only reason why kids come to see him! So he’s just assuming we are delinquents! “Oi! Kids come to see you for more than just one reason, so that just means you are assuming we are baddy one shoes!” I was pissed, and I wanted him to know.
    “Well you did hit a teacher. Did you not?” he asked still as cocky as ever.
    “Y-yeah so? I didn’t mean too,” I explained. If he kept this up I was gonna hit him next.
    “Just give us our punishment so we get the hell out of here?” Jodi asked him.
    “Well well. Two hot heads. That is an interesting pair,” Monroe smiled resting his chin between his hands, with his elbows propped up on the desk.
    “What do you mean pair?” Jodi haughtily asked.
    “Either you two are friends or more than that. If you get what I’m saying.”
    Jodi looked stunned as if the guy said something morbid. I didn’t get it. “More than friends?” What does that mean?
    “What is that supposed to mean?” I asked.
    “He just called us a couple you moron!” Jodi shouted at me.
    Wait a sec. A couple what does that….. “Ahhhhhhhh! You a**! Keep thoughts like that to yourself!” ok now I was more weirded out that mad and just wanted to leave.
    Monroe just laughed. “Alright here is what you are going to do. Both of you every night at Eric Sherman’s room helping him with whatever he wants for three months. But you Sean, since you hit your P.E. teacher we are taking you out of your P.E. class.”
    “WHAT!?” that was my favorite class. This sucked, and Jodi laughing at me didn’t help much. Hey since I was already in trouble, I reached across and punched him right in the arm.
    “Hey!” Monroe stepped in before it got out of hand again. “Now since you still need exercise and what not, you will be,” he searched through a stack of papers and pulled out a piece and laid it in front of him. Then he opened a drawer and fished out a stamp and pad of ink, “cleaning and maintaining the animals on the campus grounds.”
    What? What will I be doing? He can’t do this to me! “You can’t do that!” I shouted.
    Then Monroe got back his cocky a** smile, picked up his stamp, dabbed it on the ink pad , and stamped the paper. “I just did.”