Fridays never meant much to Jeisson. It's not like he worked so hard during the school week that he looked forward to relaxing on the weekend. And now that he was stuck at TMSA, with no car to get around, he was even less thrilled with the prospect. What on earth was he supposed to do with his time?

"I go home," Remington said at lunch that day. "I only live thirty minutes away so it's not too much of a hassle for my parents to drive me to and from every weekend."

"I'm going home this weekend, too," Nat said. "My sister has a dance recital, the little twit."

"We'll be here," Alice said, referring to her and Shang. "Sometimes we watch movies in the loft. Or walk to the Starbucks to do homework."

"Well, that sounds... thrilling," Jeisson said. 

Alice shrugged, unperturbed by his comment. "Sorry we're not party animals."

Jeisson should have been the one apologizing, he knew. He was being an asshole. The thing was, he liked having nothing to do, a lot of the time. But looking down the barrel of a whole weekend with nothing to keep him preoccupied... that was a bit too much even for him.

"Hey, where do I get my mail?" Jeisson asked. 

"Oh, there are little cubbies in the office of each hall," Kyle said. "I can show you!"

The two of them left lunch early to walk back to the dorm. Kyle took Jeisson to the main office in the lobby, where one of the RAs was always stationed. Adam was there now. 

"Well, how fares our newest student today?" he asked with a beaming smile. His T-shirt today was a Darwinism Pokémon shirt. 

"I'm swell, thanks," Jeisson said with a casual salute.

"Mail's over here," Kyle said, pointing to a wall of cubbies. 

Jeisson found his name at the end of the row, the last cubby available. He was surprised to find a letter sitting there. It was in a small envelope and had postage but no return address. He pocketed it. "What about packages?" he asked.

"Oh, here." Adam dived under his desk for a moment, and came back with a handful of packages, most of them of the Amazon variety. But then he pulled out a small, plain cardboard box. "Jeisson Walker. Here you go."

Jeisson took the package and could readily make out his mother's chicken scratch along one of the sides. "Thanks!"

"Just so you know, Jeisson, 01 hosts a DnD campaign every weekend, Saturday night. If you ever wanted to participate, anyone's welcome. Okay?"

"Yeah, sure, maybe," Jeisson said noncommittally. He and Kyle left the office and headed to their wing. 

"The DnD campaigns are usually pretty cool," Kyle said. "A bunch of different students play, not just 01-ers, and you know, it's more than just a tabletop game. And with Stranger Things and all, it's really getting a new following. I can help you make a character sheet if you want."

Kyle kept talking but Jeisson was hardly listening, busy ripping open his package as the two of them went up the stairs. He unveiled his old iPhone, along with a letter from his mother. He put it in his pocket and brushed against the other letter, which he had already forgotten about. He pulled it out now. 

"Who's it from?" Kyle asked as they stopped in front of Jeisson's room.

"I dunno." Jeisson slipped his finger under the flap and ripped the envelope open. He pulled out a birthday party invitation. There was a teddy bear carrying presents and balloons on the front. Jeisson was more than confused. He opened the card to find a printed invitation as well as a handwritten note. 

Jeisson read just the first line of the invitation. You are cordially invited to the fourth birthday party of Misters Elliot and Daniel Broderick. Then his hand fell, the card hanging loosely at his side. He could suddenly hear his heartbeat in his ears. 

"Jeisson? You okay?"

Jeisson glanced over to see Kyle watching him with concern. He put a hand on Jeisson's shoulder. "What is it?"

"Oh, it's uh..." Jeisson looked down at the card in his hand. "It's nothing. Just a stupid invite. So, uh, DnD, huh? I take it you're staying this weekend to play?"

"I am," Kyle said, dropping his hand as he nodded excitedly. "My parents live six hours away, so, I only go home for a long weekend, when it's required. So, I'll be here if you wanna hang." He gave a nervous shrug.

"Yeah, sure. Let's do it."

"Really?"

Jeisson gave a nod, not sure of what he was even actually agreeing to. "I'll see you in history later?"

"Yeah, of course."

Jeisson gave another meaningless nod and then went into his room. He sat on the floor, his back leaning against his bed frame, and put his head in his hands. How long had it been since he had seen Elliot and Daniel? Two years? Maybe closer to three. They were just toddlers then. And he had only met them the one time.

Jeisson looked at the invitation once again. It promised cake, games, and a bouncy house, as well as an open bar for the parents. Swanky. The note was written in sprawling cursive. 

Jeisson, Although it's been a while, I do hope you'll come. I think it would be good for Elliot and Daniel to get to know their older brother. And we'd love to see you. Love, Bruce and Nicole.

Jeisson rubbed his forehead, processing. His father wanted him to come to this party? He hadn't been invited to the previous three birthday parties Elliot and Daniel had had. So what was his deal now? What was his father after? 

Jeisson let out a sigh and threw his head back onto his bed. Maybe this was the price. Jeisson didn't understand why, but maybe going to this party would mean he wouldn't owe his father anything for TMSA. Not that the two equalled each other, but still.

Jeisson pulled his suitcase out from under his bed. He was still mostly unpacked. He could tell it irked Remington, to have boxes and suitcases about, but Jeisson didn't care enough to do anything about it. He shuffled through the clothes for the orange pill bottle that housed his Vicodin. 

He couldn't find it anywhere, even after upending the thing and checking all the pockets. He went through the rest of the boxes, and his backpack, and even the drawers of his desk, which he hadn't even used yet. But nothing.

Jeisson thought back to that morning at the hospital. June took him to fill the prescription at the pharmacy before they left for TMSA. Back in that blissful time before he even knew he was going to TMSA. She had gotten the prescription and... put it in her purse.

Jeisson gave a frustrated growl as he fell onto his bed. With the rush of finding out about TMSA, getting here, and then chasing his mother away, he must have forgotten to get the pills from her.

He sat up, and could see the blue envelope peeking out beneath a pile of shirts from his luggage. He took a deep breath, feeling a tightness in his chest. His legs started to bounce up and down, suddenly restless.

Something Jeisson had noticed about kids at TMSA, they tended not to lock their doors. The wings were locked from outsiders, and there were always RAs about. Remington, of course, always locked the door and insisted that Jeisson did as well. But Jeisson had seen other students go in and out without so much as glancing back to make sure the door had even closed behind them.

Jeisson was getting ideas. He knew this. He did this sometimes. Came up with bad ideas and executed them before he even really knew what he was doing. 

So he actually wasn't too surprised to find himself wandering the halls of his wing, quietly testing doorknobs (avoiding Kyle's room, of course, so at least that showed some level of forethought). 

Three doors down, Jeisson found an unlocked door. Lunch was over, most students had class, except for those few with a free period. Jeisson threw caution to the wind and opened the door. No one was inside. So he slipped into the room. 

He didn't know the names of the students who lived here. He actually didn't know anyone's names, apart from the Mathletes and Quinn and Karolina. He should probably work on learning more about the people he was living with.

Jeisson checked the bathroom first. It was in disgusting condition, like it hadn't been cleaned in months. Remington would be appalled. Jeisson tried not to think too much about the dried toothpaste all over the sink and floor, the dirty toilet bowl, or the small hairs littering the whole space.

He focused on the medicine cabinet. There was only one pill bottle. Ritalin. Not quite the thing Jeisson was looking for. He sorted through some of their toiletries as well, before getting too disgusted and leaving. He gave each desk drawer a quick peek, but there was nothing there either.

It took Jeisson five rooms before he finally found something. A student in A-wing had an Ativan prescription. Jeisson only took (okay, stole) two pills. He found some expired codeine in the ninth room he visited (okay, broke into). He hit the jackpot in the thirteenth room. Non-expired Percocet. 

By the time he was done, he had seven pills in his pocket and had only encountered one person in their room. He had quickly made the excuse that he was turned around, he thought he was in C wing and it was his room. They had had a good laugh about it and that was that.

Back in his room, Jeisson downed two of the four Percocet he had taken. Only then did he remember the phone. He quickly set it up. He had several missed messages and phone calls, most of them from June. He probably should have checked his call log and messages on his computer, but he hadn't thought of it. Or, he probably just hadn't cared enough.

But there was one message from Kelly earlier today that made him smile. And not just because the Percocet had kicked in. Today my mother referred to u as "the heathen who got me suspended" lol! Since ur in hell anyway, thought heathen was a fitting title for u. 

Jeisson quickly typed his response, although his thumbs were a little clumsier than normal. I am a total heathen. I'm glad your mom sees my true form. Does this mean she won't let you come visit me? Say... tomorrow?

Jeisson almost fell asleep waiting for her response, but the phone's vibration made him alert again. 

Ur house? Afternoon?

Yeah... about that....

Jeisson let out a breath as he tried to figure out how best to tell her. It was probably too much to ask her to drive four hours round trip to come see him, right? 

What is it? Kelly prompted. U grounded?

No. Not exactly. I've been sentenced. To go to Turner Math and Science Academy.

Kelly's response was almost immediate. !!!!!! No fucking way!

It's true. This is my hell.

Wooooooooow. Are u, like, one of them now? Do u wear Vinyard Vine shirts? Are u vacationing in Europe for Spring Break? OMG, HAVE U TAKEN UP GOLF?

Jeisson chuckled to himself, shaking his head. You're ridiculous. And not everyone here is like that.

Defending them already. U have fo sho drunk the koolaid. I have to see this place. I'm in.

In for what? Then Jeisson remembered that he had started this conversation by asking her to visit him. He felt a little guilty now. You don't have to, he typed back. It's two hours one way. 

Fine by me if it's fine by u. I'll text u when I'm on my way. She ended with a kissy-face emoji.

Jeisson sighed with pleasure. The weekend was looking up. 

***

Jeisson woke abruptly to find Remington staring down at him, open-mouthed and angry-eyed. Jeisson realized this might be his new normal, waking up to Remington's angry face.

"What?" Jeisson asked.

Remington wordlessly motioned to the floor, which was still a mess from Jeisson searching for his pills.

"Oh, right. Sorry. I'll pick it up in a bit."

"Aren't you supposed to be in history anyway?" Remington asked. "Why are you here, making messes and taking naps?"

Jeisson sat up, stretching. "I didn't mean to fall asleep." He hadn't just missed history either. He'd missed science as well, which was his class right after lunch. June was going to get an email alerting her that he'd missed. He knew this should bother him, but at the moment he was finding it difficult to be bothered by anything.

"Well, my parents want to meet you."

Jeisson's eyes shot up to meet Remington's. "What? When?"

"Now. They're outside."

"What?" Jeisson forced himself out of the bed. "Should I clean?" He started to pick up the clothes, but he was feeling lethargic and went about it at a slow pace.

"They normally come in and help me carry my stuff to the car, but I didn't want to invite them in without your permission. But, seeing the state of the room, I'd rather they didn't come in anyway. So, you can take their place and help me carry my stuff outside if you'd like."

"Oh, okay. That works." Jeisson dropped his clothes back on the floor, causing Remington to give a little squeak of annoyance. Remington grabbed a small gym bag, already packed, and handed Jeisson his book bag. Jeisson was pretty sure Remington could have handled the two bags on his own, but he didn't question it.

Jeisson followed Remington out to the back of the dorm. His parents were waiting in their car, a large SUV, but came out upon seeing Remington and Jeisson emerge from the building. 

Remington's dad was a big man, solid and tall. He kept his hair cut short, but even so it was clear he was balding. Remington's mom was incredibly petite in comparison. They made a funny pair. She smiled wide upon seeing Remington and immediately put her hands out for a hug. 

Remington hugged his mom first, then his dad, who ruffled Remington's fro and patted his back affectionately. "This is my roommate, Jeisson," Remington said, stepping aside.

"Nice to meet you," Jeisson said with a nod. He thought it would end there, but Remington's parents came to hug him. Both of them at once, like some kind of weird group hug. Jeisson wasn't sure how to respond, and awkwardly patted them both on the back.

"So lovely to meet you, Jeisson," Remington's mom said as they broke apart. "I'm Alicia."

"And I'm Derek." 

"I hope you and Remington are getting along okay," Alicia continued. "That room is so small!"

Jeisson gave them his most charming smile. "We're getting along splendidly." Splendidly? What the fuck was that? Jeisson bit back a laugh. 

"I hear you're joining the Mathletes?" Derek asked. "You're a bit of a lifesaver."

Jeisson was surprised Remington had told them already. Actually, he was surprised Remington had told them at all. Maybe he was one of those kids who was really close to his parents and told them everything.

"Yeah, it'll be fun."

"What happened to your arm?" Alicia asked.

"Oh, uh..." Jeisson's brain, slowed a bit from the Percocet, was having a hard time coming up with a lie.

"He doesn't really like to talk about it," Remington said.

Jeisson looked up at him, surprised. He usually just called Jeisson out on being a liar.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Alicia said. "Of course."

"We should get going," Remington said. "We're already running a few minutes late." 

Derek shook his head. "Late to what? We're not doing anything."

"You know how he gets," Alicia said. Her voice was teasing but there was a lot of care in it, too. She wrapped an arm around Remington and pulled him towards the car. She looked over her shoulder at Jeisson. "It was nice to meet you! Maybe we'll see you Sunday when we drop him off."

"Yeah, sure. Have a nice weekend!"

Jeisson gave a wave and watched as the family pulled out of the parking spot and drove on. They seemed nice. Remington was lucky. 

Jeisson rubbed the back of his neck for a moment, thinking of his own family predicament. Maybe he should RSVP to the party now, while he was still feeling good. Because the feeling would fade. And then he wouldn't want to do it. 

But he had to. He would do this one thing, then he and his father could go back to ignoring each other like they usually did.

***

A/N: I have to say, I would be way too nervous to ever do what Jeisson did. What if I got caught?! Also, it's wrong to steal!