Early the next morning, with just a small bowl of stale breakfast cereal split between them, Erik and his siblings all piled back into his mom's van and prepared for the lengthy process of enrolling in yet another school and the inevitable loss of records that proved he was either a senior or a junior in school and when they couldn't determine, they would give him tests that he could do in his sleep. No matter what school he was enrolled in, it seemed the test to determine his grade level never changed. He had taken it so many times it was inevitable that he memorized the answers.
He was often placed as a senior, but a few schools were shitty and placed him as a junior because of his apparent age, despite the fact that he was almost 18. He may be nearly 18 but he wasn't what most people would consider an alpha in their prime. He was scrawny and didn't have much muscle that most alpha boys had by this age. Sometimes he was mistaken as a beta because despite his age, he had yet to present. That meant that he couldn't detect pheromones yet nor did they affect him. He wondered if this school would be one of the better ones where he didn't have to learn the same thing over and over again.
"Well, everything looks good, Ms. Norman. Erik will enroll as a senior, and Nicole will enroll as a sophomore. Will the rest of your children be attending the affiliated middle and elementary schools?" The high school secretary asked.
"Whatever schools are in the district we live in, is where they will go. As long as it doesn't cost me anything to send them, that is." Erik heard a hint of worry in his mom's voice.
"All public schools are free to attend if you live in the district. Since your address is just barely within the bounds of this district, there is no fee for enrolling in any of the schools listed here." The secretary said. "Will your children be wanting to try their hand at any sports? Although it is late in the school year, a few are still going and would welcome more students. Soccer is one that is still going as well as lacrosse."
"No. That's okay." Erik heard his mom say. It crushed him a little every time he had to hear her reject an offer for them to enroll in a sport. He loved soccer and always dreamed of playing on a sports team someday, but he knew that it was an expense and liability they couldn't afford. Sports equaled injury and questions.
"Alright, then, you're all set. Just take this information to the middle school and the elementary school and they'll get your younger children enrolled."
After they left the public high school, he followed his mother to the middle and elementary schools. Kylee and Sarah were enrolled in the middle school, while Heather and Kirsten were enrolled in the elementary school. With a little bit of fibbing, Kirsten was enrolled as a kindergartener. She was only five, but somehow she was miraculously able to pass as a six-year-old when tested for her ability to understand the typical kindergarten curriculum. That might be because between him and Nikki, they had worked with her, just like they were doing with Emily, on her numbers and letters. They often did all their homework together and, in the process, they had managed to get a system down that helped their younger siblings achieve better understanding of the basics.
Once all the school lists were in hand after enrolling and their start date was confirmed for the beginning of next semester, Erik and Nikki took of on their own to explore the downtown area of the city to look for jobs, while their mom took their siblings to pick up the few things that they didn't have that were required in their new schools. Secondhand thrift-stores were optimal places to start looking for things like calculators and other school supplies like rulers and compasses. It was amazing what rich people threw out after a school year that was perfectly usable still.
"Okay, I'm heading North to start my search, which direction are you heading?" Nikki asked him.
"I think I'll head East. Meet back here in an hour and we can exchange information before switching directions and then meeting up with mom again." He replied.
"Sounds good. See you in an hour." Nikki confirmed.
Erik then took off on his search. He and his sister didn't get along very often at home, but when it came to being out and about, they were able to be perfectly reasonable. Mom chalked it up to the close confines of the house and the fact that two alpha siblings often butted heads, even though neither of them had presented yet. It was a clash of territory and even though they hadn't presented their secondary genders, those instincts were still there. So, this move he and Nikki had decided that separate rooms and splitting their sisters between older and younger in each of their rooms would be best going forward. He was sharing a room with Heather who was 9, and Kirsten who was 5. While Nikki was sharing her room with Kylee who is 13, and Sarah who is 11. Their two youngest siblings; Emily, who is 2, and Tyler, who is just shy of 4 months old, shared their mom's room.
The first few places that Erik tried to find work were busts. They took one look at him in his best shirt and nicest pants and disdainfully turned him away. He had only one white button down and one pair of black slacks. It was an almost universal uniform that worked for everything from job interviews, to waiting tables. Although the shirt had long since lost its bright white color and was a faded dingy white now, and his black slacks were a little on the faded side and thinning in places, these were still his best clothes.
Trucking on, he didn't give up and kept looking. He found a few promising places that would hire him based on a quick impromptu discussion of his abilities. Although not many places would even let him in the door since they were bars and he had to be at least 21 to serve alcohol even though some were restaurants, they were only looking for bar staff and refused him at the door. Not discouraged, he headed back to the meeting spot to exchange information with Nikki. He was the first to arrive, so he took the time to observe the ebb and flow of the downtown area. He took in the habits of people and the places they were visiting and noted that a lot of wealthy people shopped in this particular downtown. In a lot of cities he had lived in, downtown meant the slums. Here was clean and pristine with a shiny coat of high gloss paint and shiny clean window fronts displaying high-end goods.
When Nikki finally showed up, she looked discouraged. He asked, "Uh-oh, I don't like that look. Which places harassed you?"
"All of the places I inquired at; all turned me away once they heard my age. A few were willing to look the other way if I was an omega, but I'm not! About half of them treated me with contempt and scorned me for wanting a job at my age. They acted like I should be popping out babies and being a good little housewife, even if I am an alpha!" Nikki raged.
"No matter where we live, it seems that assholes and discrimination still exist. It's unfortunately a fact of life we will have to deal with. We don't have to fit their stupid mold, but we can pretend just long enough to make our own way in the world. Keep trying, Nikki, I'm sure you'll find some place." Erik encouraged before handing her his results. "Try these shops first and avoid the ones I wrote here. Also give me the names of the ones that discriminated against you, they should know better than to pull that archaic patriarchal bullshit in this day and age. Gender discrimination laws exist for a reason. I'll call them on their bullshit while looking further South while you take West, this time, meet in 2 hours. Mom should be done with her errands by then." Erik said as Nikki handed him her results.
He hoped that at least one of the places he looked at would hire Nikki. She was old enough for a job in their last state, so this state should also hire her. Setting off, he tried the places that had discriminated against Nikki, but found they were also looking down on him for being scrawny alpha, so he wrote those places off as no-go's. On his journey to find a place of employment he found a few places that were really pleasant to him and were more than happy to give him the link to apply for a job with them. He hoped that they would be as nice to Nikki when she came around with her attempt.