Elizabeth sat facing her son who was sitting nervously beside her and said "Jake, I understand it's hard, your father and I know that it's been affecting the 3 of you ever since we had to move and we're sorry for that."
Jake was surprised by his mother's words expecting her to lash out or yell at him.
"Mom I-I'm sorry for going-" As Jake was apologizing his mother pulled him into her chest.
"I'm not angry at you for going out, rather I want to thank you." Jake was confused as to why his mother had said so.
"Thanks to you Iris was able to adapt much better to life here and as her big brother you've taken good care of her." his mother explained.
"I've seen how she smiles and laughs whenever she's with you and even your father has been praising you for taking good care of her".
"But.." Jake tensed up again, "you also have one more sister," Elizabeth explained before she continued.
"Aria no matter how smart, is also a child, I know she's the eldest and she's supposed to be a role model for you two, but I want you to include her as well whenever you and Iris are together."
"Your father and I have given her time and space to adapt and I know you have as well, which shows me how much you've matured but I want you to be more involved with her.
Your father and I can't force her but I know you'll be able to persuade her" Elizabeth calmly explained.
Jake who was finally more relaxed lifted his head and smiled before speaking "I understand mum, I promise to take care of her as well" he proclaimed.
Elizabeth proudly smiled. These 13 months were difficult for their entire family but she was proud of how her son had been handling things.
She buried his head into her chest before hugging her son and softly rubbing the back of his head. "And if things ever get too tough, you come and tell mummy, okay, I will always be there for you."
Jake took a deep breath and snuggled with his mother.
Her scent conveying an aura and sensation that only a loving mother could give had brought him a sense of serenity and drowsiness as he drifted off to sleep.
Two weeks later:
Jake was in his class staring through the window at the main spaceport of Naru, Port Gideon.
Traffic was slow during the middle of the month with mainly shuttles and delivery craft coming in.
His class was rather large with around 40 kids in his grade compared to 20 or 30 in others.
Jake however made only a few friends as others his age were quite childish compared to him thanks to his upbringing and elder sibling.
The only person he could consider a true friend or rather his best friend would be the girl sitting next to him intently listening to the teacher lecturing in front of them.
Lyra Winters, daughter of Clarence and Grace Winters.
Clarence Winters, a retired naval officer who is currently chief of security for Naru, is employed by Nexus Corp, a mining corporation that has leased most of the planets and moons in the Alexandria III system which they currently reside in.
Lyra was born on Naru and when she heard that Jake was from Earth, she constantly hounded him for information about Earth.
Sure she could use the Inter-solar net to learn everything she wanted, but hearing Jake talk from personal experience made Lyra's desire to see the blue planet all the more tremendous.
Lyra turned to see Jake who had been staring at her absentmindedly.
Lyra had silver hair, a trait inherited from her mother, in a ponytail with raven-black eyes and was currently wearing a long-sleeved grey dress and a knee-length skirt, the uniform of Gideon Primary.
"Jake, you should pay attention to Mr. Steven's, You don't want him to whine to your parents" Lyra spoke in a soft voice.
"Eh, he knows that I ace my tests so he doesn't care too much, plus I already covered these topics before," Jake spoke nonchalantly.
"Ugh, anyway you guys are still coming for dinner right?"
"Yeah, my dad finishes early today so we'll be there" Jake answered. Jake's father had made friends with Lyra's father when they had first moved to Naru.
Clarence was intrigued when he first heard a Governor from Earth was living in Naru and the two soon became friends.
It was Lyra's father who had managed to get Victor a managerial position using his connections and thus both families had become close.
With their classes over Jake and Lyra parted ways preparing for the dinner later in the evening.
Jake entered his house to see Elizabeth teaching Iris before greeting them warmly.
"Hi, Mom I'm home" Iris beamed as she got up from her chair and went to hug her brother.
"Welcome home, Jake, How was school?" his mother greeted him as she also rose from her chair.
"Oh you know, easy as always," Jake spoke as he gave his sister head pats.
"That's good," Elizabeth spoke before hugging her son.
"And don't forget, we have dinner with the Winters today. Your father should be here soon so we'll leave when he freshens up. I want you on your best behaviour alright, I know you and Lyra are friends so no mischief okay."
"Yes, Mom I know. Where's Aria?" Jake asked.
"In your room, I helped her dress up first before I did Iris, you know how much she fusses"
Jake chuckled before going to his room to fetch his clothes.
When he entered he saw his sister sitting by her desk browsing the Inter-solar net watching one of Wagner's performances.
Aria always admired classical music and would often listen to them back on Earth.
"Nice dress Aria" Jake spoke as he entered the room.
Aria turned to face her brother with a smile on her face. "Hey Jake, Thank you, Mom said so as well."
Aria wore a summer gold sleeveless dress with a black bow in the centre of her abdomen and silver patterns on the sides giving a glow to her matching hair and fair complexion.
Aria's mood had gotten better as well with making an extra effort to include her in all his activities with Iris at the request of his mother."
Jake was pleased with his efforts and hoped he could see his sister smile more soon.
"Mom's getting Iris ready and Dad will be here soon, I'll get ready as well," Jake spoke before heading to the bathroom to change.