Jackson's POV
Friday
Mom and dad are at work right now and I'm stuck babysitting my 3-year-old brother, Jaden. Mom is the principal of Redwood High and Dad runs multiple businesses, like for one…a family bakery. Right now, we're in the living room watching Paw Patrol. Well, Jaden is. I find it weird seeing pets talk. Imagine, one day your dog just talks to you out of nowhere. I don't know how to feel about that.
I get up from the couch and head into the kitchen to find us some snacks. "Hey, buddy? What kind of snacks do you want?" I shout while looking through the small kitchen closet.
Hearing little footsteps coming towards me, I turn around just seconds before Jaden runs into my legs and wrap his small arms around my leg.
"So? Anything you want, bud?" I look down at him, he is the cutest human being…after me. He looks like me when I was his age.
Jaden points at welch fruit gummies at the top of the shelf. I tell him to go back to the living room while I get our snacks. After getting the gummies and putting them in a small bowl, I head back to the living room and hand it to Jaden.
I get a ping from my phone signaling I had received a text message. I take my phone out to check who sent it. A teammate from the basketball team sent me a text telling me that there's going to be practice in a few hours and that coach said "it's important". I sent him a quick text thanking him and telling him I'll be there.
"Jaden…bud." I poke him a few times to get his attention.
"hmm?" he says softly still focused on his show. Chuckling to myself, I tell him that I have to go to my school because I have practice in a few hours. Jaden's attention is now on me, getting off the couch he runs to his room to get changed. Jaden likes coming with me to Redwood High because he said that Mrs. Rogers lets him play in the office while I'm at practice. Kids have it easy.
Getting up, I go to my room to get my things ready. I get my duffle bag and put on some clothes for after practice, along with my Nike KD 12. I close the door to my room and head to Jaden's.
"Jaden, you ready?" I walk inside seeing he's not inside his room. I close the door and head to the living room.
"All set?" I ask him seeing as he's back to watching Paw Patrol.
Jaden hops off the couch and turns off the tv, turns to me, and nods. He's wearing a NinjaGo shirt, kid's Nike basketball shorts, and sketcher's light-up shoes. I tell him to head outside while I grab the keys to my Audi r8. After I lock up the house, I head to my car and unlock the doors. Jaden opens the door gets into his car seat. I strap him in before I close the door and get to the driver's side.
"Do you wanna pray before we drive or should I?" I ask while I start the car.
"I wanna pray, bubba." He says with excitement.
I chuckle and smile before saying ok. We both close our eyes and Jaden starts praying for our safety on the way to Redwood High School.
"Amen," we both say at the same time. I back out of the driveway and make our way to Redwood High.
We arrive at the school in less than 10 minutes. I turn off the engine and get out to open Jaden's side. When I open the door Jaden had already unbuckled himself from his car seat and was ready to get out of the car. We walk up into the building and head to the office.
"Hi, Mrs. Rogers!" Jaden says with happiness as he enters the office and makes his way to hug her.
"Got practice again?" Mrs. Rogers asks while she hands Jaden a box with his name on it. I'm assuming that it has everything that will keep my little brother occupied until I come to get him.
"Yea, I think it's a last-minute thing. You know how coach." I tell her. "Thank you, again, Mrs. Rogers. You are the best." I tell her before heading to practice.
"Oh, Jackson. Hold on a minute." Mrs. Rogers calls me just before I reach the door. "A student is transferring next week and her brother will be coming by to transfer her information later this afternoon. Will you be willing to talk to him and show his sister around next week?" I smile and tell her that I'd be happy to and that I'll come to the office after practice ends.
After she says thank you, I make my way to the gym.
12 pm
Coach ended practice early since it's the weekend and because he had other errands to run. I make my way back to the front office like I told Mrs. Rogers I would. I knock on the door 3 times before entering. I get closer to the desk and see Jaden on the floor playing with toy cars scattered around the floor.
"Hey buddy" getting Jaden's attention, he gets up and runs around the front desk, and tackles my legs. He gives me a toothy grin before going back to his toys.
"Buddy, do you know where Mrs. Rogers is?" I ask while looking walking around the front desk and sit in Mrs. Rogers' seat.
"Mrs. Rogers is in the mom's office with a man in a suit," Jaden tells me while he plays around with his toy cars.
After 5 minutes, the principal's door opens, and out comes Mrs. Rogers, mom, and a dude in a business suit. I stand up to greet my mom with a hug, Jaden running out from the desk to mom and raises his arms signaling he wants to be held. After she picks him up, she turns to me, "Jackson, this is Mr. McClain." she gestures toward the man in front of me, "Mr. McClain, this is my son, the one I told you about earlier. Jackson Sinclair." I take my hand out to shake his hand and smile.
"Hello, sir," I say with a friendly smile.
He takes my hand and smiles back, "Please, call me Sean. It's weird having someone 2 years younger call me sir or Mr. McClain." chuckling at the end.
Mrs. Rogers goes back to her desk and starts packing up her things to go home. Mom sets Jaden down and tells him to clean up his mess before we all leave. Mr. McClain – I mean Sean – and I take a seat in the waiting area of the lobby near the door.
"My little sister is starting class on Monday…" I turn to him and from the side of his face, I can tell he's tired.
"I'll be happy to show her around the campus, next week when she comes," I tell him with a small smile.
"Really? You'd do that?" he turns to look at me, clearly happy I offered to help his sister, I nod my head yes.
"Is there a reason why you guys are moving…?" I ask a bit curious. "You don't have to tell me if it's uncomfortable," I say in a rush seeing him tense up a bit.
"No...It's fine." A sad smile forms on his face and he continues to speak, "Raven and I moved because of how messed up our life was back home. I was the one who decided to move because staying in our house was just too painful. Our parents died in a car accident when I was 18. It was just a few days after my graduation." Sean stops for a few seconds to breathe and I take one too. I don't say anything and wait for Sean to speak.
"Mom and dad were on their way home from reunion and it was raining. The forecast didn't say anything about it raining that day, but then again, nature likes to mess around. It was raining so hard that night when mom and dad ended up driving off the bridge they were crossing. Raven and I didn't get the call until past midnight."
Sean turns to look at me and says, "I had no idea how to tell Raven that our parents died."
I could see the pain and the anguish in his eyes even though his face and his voice did well to hide the pain. If I were in the same position, I probably wouldn't have been able to find the perfect explanation to tell Jaden that our parents died and aren't coming home.
"How did you tell Raven?" afraid to ask but I had to know because what if that happens to Jaden and me.
"I didn't say anything. I just looked at her and somehow, she knew." Sean buries his face in his hands and lets out a heavy sigh. He brought his head back up and continued, "Raven looked straight into my eyes and she just knew. My little sister just stood in front of me, silent. And after a few minutes, it was like she crumbled into a million pieces in front of me. I tried to comfort her but the moment I took a step forward, she screamed. I've never heard her scream like that before." Tears started to form in Sean's eyes but he didn't let them fall.
"Ever since then, she's never been the same. It's like the little Raven that was always happy and smiled, disappeared like she never existed. Now and then, she comes out… but when Raven realizes it, it's like a switch inside her head." Confusion laced in his voice like it's a puzzle he's been trying to figure out for so long.
"I'm sorry…" was all I could say. I didn't know what to do at the moment. I think Sean knew that too and cleared his throat before changing the topic.
We talk about basketball for a while until mom comes out of her office with Jaden holding her hand. Sean and I get up and say our farewells. I remind him that I'll show his sister around next week when she comes and that it's no trouble. I turn back around to see Jaden putting all his toys in the box and putting it under Mrs. Rogers' desk. She left earlier after the little meeting with mom and Sean in the office. Mom tells us to go ahead and head home. After Jaden and I hug her goodbye and head out to the parking lot, seeing it's already close to sunset, we make our way home.
Throughout the whole car ride, I was thinking about the McClains. About Raven and Sean. About how they had to adjust to their new life.
Finally reaching home, I turn to look at Jaden, fast asleep in his car seat. I get out of the car and go to his side of the car to slowly take him out without waking him up. After locking my car, I try to open the front door while balancing a sleeping 3-year-old in my arms. When I finally get it to open, I go inside and quietly shut the door and lock it. I set my keys down and head to Jaden's room to put him in his bed.
Quietly leaving the room, I leave the door ajar just in case and go to my room. Once I reached my bed, I knock out with Raven in the back of my mind.