Chapter 7: Change Of Plans

Climbing the treehouse steps early in the morning to pry Oliver down for school is exhausting. My poor boy. He’s upset and I didn’t know about it.

“Philotes,” I called out, knowing that since he wasn’t in the house, he’s in his treehouse. I found him sitting with his acoustic guitar in his lap -- a Christmas present from Jasper, when he started teaching Oliver how to play. “How’s it going? I was getting the sense that you’ve been upset since school started. Do you want to talk about anything?”

Oliver shook his head, getting ready to leave his treehouse.

Why doesn’t he want to talk to me? I’m his big sister.

Ollie and I were the first two kids that Eric and Clarice brought into their house. I held Oliver in my arms when I first got here, and he was still an infant. I always got the feeling that Ollie resented me coming into the family, because it kept Eric and Clarice from adopting him. Bringing me into the family made them want to save as many kids as possible.

It’s heartbreaking to think that Ollie could have disdain towards me for something that wasn’t my fault. I’d never blame him for his feelings, but he always seemed hesitant to talk about growing up as a foster child. He and Ariel are the same that way. They don’t know a family besides this one.

I was there for his first word, I helped teach him how to ride a bike, and I helped console him when he had nightmares. His nickname was thought of by Eric, Clarice, and me. In Greek Mythology, Philotes personifies friendship. Ollie is the sweetest boy ever, so his nickname is fitting.

“I don’t want to talk,” Ollie whispered.

“Look Ollie, I know that I’ve been busy recently. I remember the times when it was just me and you, but I don’t want you to bottle things up because you don’t want to talk to me,” I said.

“Can we go to school please?” Ollie questioned.

I guess this conversation is over.

I went back into mother mode as soon as we walked through the back door. Seth and Serena have stepped up recently in helping me out. I think it was because I started taking care of everyone on my own when I was their age.

I walked around the table giving each kid a kiss on top of their head. I went to grab my to-go cup for some iced coffee. Pulling the cup released a trigger that ended with a bucket of paint being poured over my head.

“Lucy! No!” Seth shouted. His mouth hung open not wanting to believe that he just pranked me. I ran my tongue against the inside of my mouth, clenching my fists while breathing deeply. “Lucy … I’m so sorry! I set that up weeks ago and forgot all about it.”

“It’s fine!” I stated, nearly vomiting from the smell of the paint. At least purple is a good color on me. It’s my favorite color. “Derek, did you take your medication yet?” I asked, and he immediately nodded his head. “Great, everyone in the car! I’m gonna drive you all to school, then come back and shower.”

Nobody dared to speak on the ride to school. Other cars were giving me a strange look. It’s like these people have never seen a teenage girl covered in purple paint. From head to toe, covered in paint. Oh my God! This can’t be happening to me. If I didn’t love Seth Gomez with all my heart, I’d take his skateboard and snap it in half. I didn't let myself think about the stains that would be on my seat; thinking about it would have had me breaking down in tears.

Normally, car rides were full of screaming. Ariel was usually singing along to The Little Mermaid or talking at a volume that was considered to be screeching. Serena was usually talking about her latest designs and begging the boys to be her personal models.

It was not normal having quiet car rides.

“Did you know that it takes 570 gallons of paint to cover the exterior of the White House, located in Washington D.C?” Derek asked, breaking the silence of our awkward car ride. His fun facts were always appreciated.

“I didn’t know that. Thanks, Derek,” I smiled into the rearview mirror. “Jasper has to stay late at school, so I’m picking up everyone today. It’s Friday, so homework gets done before anyone leaves the house,” I said, pointing towards Seth and Serena. The kids didn't tend to go out much. Seth and Serena like going to the skatepark when they’re bored.

***

Three showers finally got the paint out of my hair. I scrubbed the kitchen before showering since the paint was going to be everywhere anyway. I cursed the mind of that child. If only he could harness that intelligence into his schoolwork, he’d be unstoppable and he’d be ready to take over the world.

My showers took longer than normal. I stood under the water, inhaling the lavender scent of my soap. Letting the world around me drown for a few minutes, I blended the falling water with my own tears. The shower and my bedroom are the only places where I can let my emotions overtake my mind. The kids see me as the calm and confident adult that takes care of them; however, sometimes I need to release all the pent-up frustration that one day could be my downfall. Crying to myself helps me to feel better and turn back to the Lucy Hastings that everybody sees.

I quickly braided my hair and changed my clothes. Since Seth caused this mess, I put on one of his sweatshirts for the day. Seth doesn’t like it when people wear his clothes, so it was my own version of payback. I can’t prank my kids, because that would be irresponsible as their guardian.

I was late for school.

No surprise.

Jasper’s been texting me all morning. Apparently, he woke up early and raided a breakfast buffet at some grown-up conference. Why he would waste precious sleep and go to one of those conferences is beyond me. I stopped questioning the things Jasper does long ago.

I assumed the three showers I took were going to be the wake-up call I needed. However, I couldn’t keep my head up and eyes open while walking down the hallway. I needed to sleep. English class was next. Please, have mercy on my sinful nature! I was ready to fall asleep during English and not feel an ounce of remorse about that.

Walking into class, I held up a hand to Jasper. “Please. Please, don’t speak. I can’t handle your voice right now.”

His scoff and pout were showing that he wasn’t actually mad at me. Jasper knows that he had a talking problem.

I was sitting in my favorite class, with my head using my forearms as pillows. This was my nightmare. It was a reoccurring nightmare. However, it was occurring when I was awake. Sleep couldn’t wrap its arms around me because the feeling of hands shaking me from my slumber had me lifting my head in paranoia.

“I got you a present,” Seth whispered, squatting down next to my chair. He placed a cup of iced coffee on my desk. A small drawing in a black Sharpie depicted me sleeping on my desk. How nice!

“You’re the best, mi amor,” I grinned, chugging down the contents of the cup. “Te amo, Hermes.”

Seth rolled his eyes at his Greek mythology nickname. Seth was the only person who didn't like their nickname. He doesn’t think Hermes is cool. Hermes was seen as a trickster and master of thieves. Tricks and trickery were always associated with Hermes, sometimes called the god of stealth. With Seth's pranks, he was the perfect embodiment of Hermes.

Seth claims that he should’ve gotten the nickname of Ares, instead of our dog. He went on a whole tyrant about how Hermes sounded like a geek in Greek mythology. Eric and Clarice claimed parental status overruling his arguments.

“Don’t tell that to Ollie. If he’s mad at me, he won’t be the accomplice for my next prank.”

Seth smiled down at me. He noticed our frantic and overly anxious English teacher entering the room. She didn’t notice a fourteen-year-old freshman in her senior English Literature class. Seth pressed his fingers to his lips, but not before winking at me.

He slipped out of the room unnoticed, while our teacher was trying to get herself together.

“Alright, I’ve made some changes to the partnerships in this class,” she said.

“Sucks for those people,” Jasper grinned behind me. I kept my face in my arms laying on top of my desk.

“Mr. Reynolds, since you’re new to this class and this school, I’ve paired you with one of my top students. Lucy Hastings.”

My head shot up, but the feeling of whiplash gave me pause. I already felt tired and had blurry vision. I didn’t bother to glance at Wesley sitting next to me. Jasper already was on his feet screaming in my ear. Oh my God, please someone make him stop screaming.

I needed to sleep.

I couldn't handle this attention right now. If everyone was looking at me, then I couldn't get away with sleeping during class. I’m actually ashamed of myself for falling asleep during my favorite class.

“I declare this mutiny!” Jasper, gasped, tending to his broken heart, and his now lower English grade. “Lucy and I are always partners for projects.”

I ducked my head into my arms. Having him yell my name and draw attention to me was nerve-wracking. I couldn't have these people looking at me. It was making me want to vomit, but that could also have been from the remnants of paint still in my hair.

Our bewildered English teacher continued with calling out names. Her eyes darted to Jasper and then back to her paper. Her thinking face resembled constipation.

“Jasper and Sofia," our teacher hesitated before going over the rest of the names.

Jasper grinned, resting his head on his desk. “You know,” he sighed, “maybe a switch in partners could be beneficial. Lucy and I have been partners for a long time.”

“Your sacrifice is commendable,” I smiled.

Wes picked our project topic out of a hat.

Romance.

Typical. It would be my partner who choose romance as our topic. I already had a dozen novels that Wes and I could have used for our project. Hopefully, he had read some of them. It was karma that the boy I couldn't stop thinking about was now my partner for a romance project. Thinking about somebody other than my kids was resulting in receiving my karma from the universe.

“Would you wanna come to my place or stay in the library to work?” Wes asked, leaning onto my desk.

My eyelids wouldn’t stay open any longer. I was falling asleep to the soothing sound of Wes’ voice; however, the irritating siren of Jasper’s voice was overpowering.

“Just come to my house after school,” I muttered.

This should be fun.