(Jelani was upstairs in his room, chilling while listening to music, he had his headphones on as he bobbed his head to the music.)

https://youtu.be/7hCdjhQ1_Gc

(His mother, Tess soon came into the room which made him take off his headphones and sit up.)

Tess: Jelani!

Jelani: Yes Ma'am.

Tess: Why did I get a call from the school yestersday, saying that you got into a fight?

Jelani: Well, that might be because I got into a fight yesterday.

Tess: (Sighs and sits down on Jelani's bed) Honey, how many times are we going to have this conversation?

Jelani: (Looks at his mother, but couldn't find the words, so he just looked back down.)

Tess: Honey look, I understand how you feel about bullies, but remember who you are. You are a-

Jelani: Young black kid?

Tess: (Somberly) Yes, you can't just go around beating everyone up, even-

Jelani: Even if they deserve it.

(Tess looks at her son, who is still looking at the ground in a somber expression, she nustles his head, which makes the boy smile slightly.)

Tess: (Stands up) Alright, we'll talk about this later. Grab your stuff, we're about to head to your father's house.

Jelani: (Nods) Yes, ma'am.

(Tess walks out of Jelani's room as the boy starts to get ready.)

(Cut to Jelani, Sean, Lisa, and Tess in the car, heading for Terry's place.)

Tess: So! Dad's taking you to Splashtown for your birthday. 

Jelani: Are you excited, Sean? 

Sean: Yeah, I can't wait! I'm gonna make him go on all the waterslides with me this time. There's this one, The Devastator! It has so many turns in it, they have to constantly clean it out because so many people barf in it! ( mocks retching ) 

Lisa: That's disgusting. 

Jelani: Agreed.

Tess: Well, I'm sorry I'll be missing out on that. I'm sure you and your dad will have a great time. 

Lisa: Surprised he can even find time to hang out with us. 

Tess/Jelani: Lisa! 

Lisa: What? You know I'm right. Besides, Sean knows his real birthday is with us next weekend. 

Tess: This isn't about keeping score between me and Dad. But if it was, that game would be a shutout.

Jelani: (Chuckles)

(They soon make it to Terry's place and see that it is a mess with clothes on the floor and dishes still in the sink.)

Sean: ( grunting ) That's right, Charlie. We're go. I'm on the move. 

Jelani: Jeez, dad. ( chill music playing ) 

Sean: (Grunts) Pew, pew, pew. ( grunts ) 

Lisa: Dad's really leaning into the divorced-guy thing. 

Jelani: Lisa, that's not even funny!

Lisa: Hey. Hey, hey. Hey. No. We're not divorced. We're just... separated. And this place may be a little rough... ( inhales ) ...but he's doing his best. ( flies buzzing )I-I guess.

(Door bangs and opens as tense music plays. The shadowy figure soon reveals itself to be Terry holding takeout. ) 

Terry: Did someone order takeout? 

Sean: Daddy!

Terry: Hey! Sorry I'm late, guys. I had to drop my truck off. 

Sean: (Runs up to Terry) I wanna ride in your truck! 

Terry: (Laughs ) Oh yeah? Gonna help me make deliveries, huh? 

Sean: I've never seen it. (Twitches)

Tery: Hey, little man. What's up with the...(Sees Jelani, Lisa, and Tess telling him not to mention it.) those crazy guns? Huh! 

Terry: (Sean flexes) You been working out? 

Sean: Yeah, I'm getting swole, right? ( kisses ) 

Jelani: Hey Pops. (Hugs Terry)

Terry: Woah, you're getting stronger everyday, kid. I bet you could dunk. Not on me, of course.

Jelani: Aww, is someone still upset that they got beat in that ball game?

Terry: (Frowns while Tess laughs)

Terry: And how's my girl doing? (Goes to kiss Lisa, but she stops him) What? We aren't doing kisses anymore? (Walks to the counter) 

Lisa: Yeah. Didn't you get the memo? 

Sean: (Picks up a stick ball from the bowl on the table.) Wow! What are these?! 

Lisa: I think it's supposed to be... art? 

Sean: Hey, Lisa. Think fast. (Sean throws it at Lisa who dodges, but it does hit Terry in the head.) 

Terry: Hey! Does that look like a toy to you? 

Sean: Uh... Yes? 

Terry: Uh, well... it's not. 

Tess: Hey, Terry? Can we, uh, talk for a minute? 

Terry: What's with Sean's face? I thought he was over that. 

Tess: (Sighs) His tic has been getting worse. The doctor says it's caused by stress. 

Terry: (Scoffs) Stress? What's he got to be stressed about? He's eight. Uh... I'm kidding. 

Tess: Terry, can you take this seriously? 

Tess: And we have to talk about the Lisa and Jelani incident.

https://youtu.be/RNWSGHOfBaE

(Watch to 0:40)

Tess: Terry, definitely not the point. The parents were furious. All the money she raised had to be returned. And I'm pretty sure she hired a seventh-grader to go around and collect. 

Terry: See? She's creating job opportunities. 

Tess: Terry. 

Terry: All right, sorry. What about Jelani?

Tess: Also, Jelani got into another fight at school.

Terry: What, again, you know I'm starting to think that the school's not doing anything about the bullying.

Tess: I know.

Terry: I'll talk to them. I'll set them straight. 

Tess: It's not just about "setting them straight." The kids really need you right now. And when you're here, you need to be here. 

Terry: I-I know you hate my job, and I hate being away all the time, but it's good money. I just need one, maybe two big runs, and we'll be set for a while. 

Tess: You know what? I really hope so. (Uplifting music playing, but it stops as Terry is hit by another stick ball.) 

Terry: Did we not just talk about this? ( both laugh ) 

Tess: Okay. I am going to take off. (Walks to the door) You guys all good? 

Kids: Yep. 

Tess: Sean, remember to take your allergy medicine. 

Sean: I will. 

Tess: Lisa, take lots of pictures and send them to me. 

Lisa: We will, Mom. 

Tess: Jelani, take care of your siblings.

Jelani: You know it.

Terry: Bye, Tess. 

Tess: Bye, Terry. (She leaves)

Terry: Who's ready for cocktails? 

Sean: (Raises his hands) Ooh! I am! You don't even know what that means. 

(Fade to later at night as the family is sitting at the table laughing.)

Terry: (Laughing) 

Sean: One more joke, Dad! One more! 

Terry: : Okay, okay, okay. Okay.

Lisa: No! Dad, you're killing me. 

Terry: Why did the invisible man turn down the job? 

Sean: I don't know. 

Terry: He couldn't see himself doing it! ( laughs ) ( laughing ) 

Lisa: That's lovely, Sean. 

Terry: Okay. Okay, okay, okay. What movie you guys wanna watch? 

Sean: Ooh-hoo-hoo-hoo! Let's watch The Legend of Ga-Hoo! 

Lisa/Terry/Jelani: (Groans)

Jelani: Oh, god, no.

Lisa: Uh-uh. No. Not again. 

Terry: (Cleaning up a mess)Sorry, son. Five times is my limit on Ga-Hoo. I'm seeing those horrible little gremlins in my dreams. ( shudders )

Jelani: Yeah, let's watch Fist Fight!!

Terry: No, that's is not even remotely kid friendly!

Jelani: (Tries to think of an argument, but just shrugs as his dad was right)

Lisa: Let's watch Snow Dad. 

Sean: Yeah! Snow Dad! 

Jelani: Ehh, it's alright.

Terry: Snow Dad? What's that, a Christmas movie? 

Lisa: No. It's about a dad who flakes on his family all the time, but then he gets in a car crash and dies. 

Terry: ( gulps ) ( coughs ) What?! 

Lisa: Yeah. But he comes back to life as a snowman. 

Terry: Oh. Okay. So, he doesn't die? 

Lisa: Well, sort of. He comes back to life as a snowman for a little while so he can help his son win a sledding competition. He learns how cool his kid is and actually spends time with him for once. You might relate. 

(Imposing music playing as Terry and Lisa glare at each other until it the music stops.) 

Terry: S-Sounds like some nonsense. 

Jelani: Sean loves it. 

Sean: Mm-hmm. 

(Lisa walks to the stairs.)

Jelani: Hey, hey! Where you going? I thought we were gonna watch something. 

Lisa: I got... homework to do before the trip. 

Terry: Homework? 

Jelani: (Sighs) I'll go talk to her.

Sean: So... Wanna play video games? 

(Cut to  Lisa sighing and laying on her bed in sadness. Jelani soon enters and sees her sister upset. He sits down on her bed and puts a hand on her shoulder.)

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!!!