— Medicine Time —

Alright.

Medicine time.

I go into the closet and pull out the small briefcase. I pop it open and inside is quite a few syringes, filled with my medicine.

A few packages of gloves are to the right, as well as extra serum and alcohol wipes.

I grab a syringe from the case. I push it slightly into the skin on my wrist, injecting the medicine. I feel as it rushes through my veins.

Power.

I discard the empty syringe back into the case, close it, and place it back in hiding.

I close the closet doors and turn the bedroom lights off. I crawl into bed, tucking myself under the bedding. I set an alarm on my phone for 6:00.

Hopefully Simmons doesn't pull something with that girl.

I close my eyes, resting them from a long day of work. Sooner or later, I'm asleep.

—

I'm awoken by an irritating beeping noise. I shut off the alarm on my phone. As robotic as I may seem, I still hate getting up. It's the worst thing anyone can experience in a day.

I slowly raise myself up and climb out of bed. I open the closet doors and stare at my clothing.

"Gotta dress to impress," I say, yawning as I do so.

I yank off a short sleeved, pink, collared shirt, and some khaki pants. Lucky for me, the shirt frames my body and muscles quite well, and the pants make my butt look good. I got to have a little fun while I'm out here.

Well, if I can. I think back to The Program woman who was here last night. I check outside through the window. Nothing there.

I glance at my watch. 6:07.

I walk out of my bedroom and down the hallway. I hear some noise downstairs, but I continue to the bathroom. Good, it's unoccupied.

I brush my teeth and wash my face at the sink. I put on deodorant and then fix my hair. Got to impress people.

I smile and giggle a bit at myself in the mirror.

I use the restroom then walk out, passing Jay, who's wearing a hoodie and shorts.

"Hey, Jay," I say, boldly. "I'm sorry for anything that I've done to invade your space, it's just—."

"Look dude," he says, calm and collected. "I get it. You don't have a place to stay, so you came here and got lucky with us taking you in. I'm sorry for the things I've said and done to you, I really am."

"Thank you for the apology. I appreciate it, and if you wanna know, you weren't the first door I knocked on. Other families just didn't want me. So, shake on it?"

"Sure," he says, reaching out his hand.

I go to shake it, but he does something odd. It just turns into a mess.

"Woah, dude," he says, raising one eyebrow. "Please tell me you know how to dap someone up."

I raise my eyebrows, confused. Come on. Seriously, how many modern terms did I come here not knowing.

I just shake my head.

"Oh, then let me show you."

"Uh, ok," I say, getting kind of nervous.

"So first, you just kind of clap each others hands like this," he says, moving his and my arm.

"You come together and then fold your fingers in. If the other person comes in for a bro hug, you follow their lead. Like this."

He pulls me into him where our chests are touching and we're face to face. He kind of pats me on the back, then pulls away.

"And that's how," he says.

"Oh nice, thanks I say," I say, my heart racing. He turns into the bathroom and I'm left alone.

His blue green eyes were magnificent. They were so beautiful. I just wanted to—

I snap out of my trance when I hear Jenna's door open. She's wearing sort of high waisted jeans and a white sweater top, with the front tucked into the front of her jeans.

I turn to face the stairs, checking my watch again. 6:34.

I walk down the stairs, with Jenna behind me. I guess Jay just decided to change over night, but there is no way it was that easy.

"Good morning you two," Daniel says, then sips on a cup of coffee.

"Good morning dad," Jenna says.

"Good morning," I say and smile.

Monica walks in. "Did you sleep good Jack?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Good. I made breakfast. It's pancakes, eggs, and bacon."

"Wow mom. You really outdo yourself when there's a guest. He's definitely staying now," Jenna says.

I laugh as I sit at the table where my plate is sitting with a glass of water.

"Oh stop. Maybe it is true, but I'm just trying to welcome him," she says, smiling back at me. Jenna sits next to me.

"It's fine Monica. You do whatever you can. I'll appreciate it either way," I say.

"Look, a person who appreciates what I do around here. I don't get a lot of that."

"Ok, no one likes a suck up," Jenna says, turning to me, unimpressed.

I laugh and take a bite of pancake.

Just as I do, Jay comes down the stairs.

Damn it. Not this again. He looks fabulous. Even in messy clothes. I've never felt this way for anyone, certainly not for another boy. I snap away from my stare.

"Oh wow, breakfast is served I suppose," he says, taking a seat across from me.

"Alright, well I'm off to work," Daniel says, setting his cup of coffee down.

He walks over to Monica, kisses her on the lips, then comes to the table.

"I guess I'll wash your cup," Monica says, rolling her eyes.

"Yes, that'll be perfect," he replies, laughing. "Goodbye pumpkin," he says, hugging Jenna, then kissing her forehead.

He walks over to Jay and gives him a hug. "See ya champ," he says, then kisses him on the forehead too.

He approaches me. "Fist bump?" He asks, trying to smile.

However, I do smile. It was kind of funny. "Sure," I say, giving him a fist bump.

"I guess I didn't ask, but where exactly do y'all work? I see Daniel is in scrubs."

"I'm a neurosurgeon," he says.

"I run a local bakery," Monica says.

"And we live off of there money," Jenna says, trying to feel included.

I giggle a bit so she knows she's being heard.

Daniel grabs a backpack from a rack by the door that leads to the garage.

"Oh great," he says, checking his smartwatch. "I might be late."

"Goodbye, love you," he says, rushing out of the door.

"Bye," we all say together as the door closes.

I finish up the food on my plate and carry it to the sink. I start to wash it off.

"Oh no no no Jack. I got it," Monica says, grabbing the plate from my hand and finished the job.

"Oh ok," I say, backing away.

Jenna comes up very quickly and sets her plate next to Monica.

"Wash your own plate," she says.

"What?" Jenna asks, sounding more confused than ever.

"I'm just kidding," Monica replies, grabbing the plate and turning on the sink.

Jenna turns to me. "Mom humor, am I right?" I smile again.

Jenna is just a bouncing ball of joy and comedy.

Jay finishes his breakfast as soon as Monica is finished washing off the plate. He brings it to her and she starts cleaning.

"Alright, let's go," Jay says, glancing at his smartwatch.

"Wait, Jack, do you have a bag for school?" Monica asks.

"Oh, no and I don't have supplies either."

"Good thing I packed you a bag," she says, getting excited. "I'm just glad I didn't waste my time and energy yesterday. It's on the table by the door. It's just one of Jay's old Nike bags that he doesn't use."

"Here dude," Jay says, handing the bag to me when I face that way.

They both already have their bags strung over their shoulders.

"Oh, and uh, Jay is driving y'all to school if you didn't know. No promises that he won't kill you."

"Don't scare him off already. Although, I do debate walking everyday," Jenna says, widening her eyes.

"Come on now, I'm not that bad," Jay says. "Lemme show you. Come on dude. Jenna you're in the back."

"Of course," she says, rolling her eyes.

We all exit through the door and into the garage where a beautiful car sits. It's white with white interior. It practically glimmers and shines with the little amount of sunlight peaking through the open garage door.

My eyes widen as they both casually pass it. That's definitely worth some money. I keep walking and notice the Toyota logo on the back. I'll do research later.

Jay unlocks a lifted gray truck. It beeps twice and the locks click. He throws his bag into the back seat.

"I'll put your bag in," he says, grabbing mine from me. I take in the September breeze as it blows through my hair. Such a beautiful day.

Jenna gets in on the other side, as Jay and I get in up front. He cranks the truck up and messes with a few knobs by the radio.

He gets on Spotify on his phone.

"Oh, and prepare for the most ass music you've ever heard," Jenna says from the back.

As if on queue, music starts playing. It's country. I can already tell from the guitar.

"It's about ten minutes from here," Jay says as we start to move down the driveway. He pulls out onto the road where a few other houses are lined along the sides. It is a very beautiful neighborhood.

As we drive along, I try to focus on anything but Jay's muscles as he turns the wheel. Literally anything else.

The Reeds are amazing people, and if I'm being honest, the hospitality is way better than The Program. That reminds me. That girl. I haven't seen her today so I suppose that's a good sign for me.

As I get lost in my thoughts and in the music, which is actually pretty good, we arrive at the school. Jay parks in his assigned spot.

The truck clock says 7:30.

"School starts at eight," Jay says. "Be in your first class by then. Your schedule should be in your bag."

We all get out of the truck, Jay grabbing our bags. I glance at his eyes once more before we walk towards the building.

"Oh, and please don't embarrass us or yourself," Jay says, looking back at me. He messes with his hair a bit and approaches the door.

The building is huge and the whole outside is brick. Jay pulls open the door and noise immediately fills my ears.

"See y'all after school," he says, walking off into another room.

"Well, I guess I can show you to your first class," Jenna says, holding out her hand. "I need your schedule."

I hand it to her, completely overwhelmed by the chaos.

"So you have Mrs. Baker first," she says, handing my schedule back to me. "Also, we have no classes together and where it says extracurricular, you'll have to go to the office to decide."

"Ok thank you," I say.

"Now come on," she says, leading me out of the main entrance.

We weave and wind through a couple of hallways and finally I'm at my classroom. I walk in and see a few other students. The teacher greets me at the door.

"Well hello. I'm assuming your Jack," Mrs. Baker says.

She's wearing a dress that's white and black striped. Her hair is a brownish red.

"Yes ma'am," I reply.

"Cool. Your seat is gonna be right there," she says, pointing to an empty desk off to the side, near the back.

I walk over to the desk and take a seat, placing my backpack by my feet.

Good thing The Program trains us in academics as well as physical abilities.

I watch as a few people walk in and one who strikes me is a girl. She's wearing a purple top with leggings. And her hair. It's blond. And it's to her shoulder.

•—•

Hm, I wonder who that is...

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