Dinner at the Kepplers was okay for Marvin, after he had told the story of his time in Juive he was greeted with so much sympathy he thought he was at a monastery, Jolie even apologized for her rude behavior. As things began wrapping up Marvin started to think about spending his time with this family.
'How long will they actually keep me for a while? Marvin wondered to himself, he had been with multiple foster families before the Kepplers and although the Kepplers were far richer than those other families, it didn't mean their love went any farther.
Marvin kept his thoughts to himself, he wasn't gonna get his hopes up about living with them forever despite how nice it would be to live in such a nice house. "Where's the restroom?" Jessica asked as she downed her glass of water.
"Oh it's down the hall, and to the left," Olivia said, she also began clearing up the dinner table, removing the dishes and making space for Joel's Cheery Pie. It looked delicious with the red juices from the cheery leaking through the gaps in the pie. Joel was very excited for everyone to try it.
"Wow Joe, this looks amazing," Jessica said causing Joel to sheepishly laugh, "Yeah Dad, you killed it on this one" Austin complimented his dad. Hearing the compliments from Jessica and Austin, Joel quickly cut open the pie to serve it to everyone's individual plates.
Marvin used his fork to carve out a small piece of his share of the pie, when he placed it in his mouth, he felt the tangy flavor of the cheery and the soft baked crust of the pie. It was practically melting in his mouth, 'Damn, why's he a coach, he should be a chef" Marvin complimented Joel in his mind.
"I think Marvin likes it too," Jessica said, bringing Marvin back to being the main center of attention, Joel excitedly turned to look at Marvin and asked, "You like it, Marvin?". Marvin looked up at the excited Joel and softly said, "Yeah it's good"
Joel loudly laughed, "HAHAHA, I'm glad you like it". Seeing Joel laugh, Olivia quickly joined in laughing with her husband, the current mood when compared to a couple of minutes ago was a stark contrast.
"Well, I really should be heading back to the office. I'll get Marvin's stuff in and he'll spend the night here" Jessica announced as she stood up, Joel and Olivia weren't surprised, they had already prepared Marvin's room and had even made plans for this weekend.
"Sure, let me and Austin help with that, Marvin you can stay and finish your meal," Joel said, grabbing his son to go help Jessica move Austin's clothes into the house. "Oh no need, it's not much, just a bag," Jessica said.
"No, it's no trouble at all, you've done enough for us," Joel said, he was really thankful for Jessica making the foster care process simple for him and Olivia and he wanted to show his gratitude in as many ways as he could, even if it was just carrying a small bag.
Jessica sighed and relented, she knew that she wasn't gonna get Joel to relent. They headed outside to the car, leaving Olivia, Jolie, Brooklyn, and Marvin at the table. No one said anything, Brooklyn had become occupied by her phone, texting her friends about the new addition to her life. Jolie and Olivia didn't know exactly how to start a conversation again with Marvin.
Olivia and Jolie exchanged nervous looks with one another, they knew that they couldn't let things stay silent for too long as that would things more awkward. "Are you excited for high school?" Olivia decided to break the silence.
'Why can't we just enjoy the silence' Marvin thought with annoyance, but he knew that he had to respond or else Jessica would get on him for not being lively. "I haven't given it much thought," He said, and it was true, Marvin had never really focused on school whether it was elementary, or middle school, and high school didn't seem to be any different to Marvin.
"You're gonna wanna start thinking about it, high school has such a huge impact on the rest of your life," Jolie said exaggerating the impact high school had to which Olivia rolled her eyes. "Don't stress too much, when you're there it may feel like a lot but it's just a short part of your life" Olivia said, trying to make sure Marvin wasn't scared about high school.
"As I said earlier, you should try for sports, Evergreen's has many great athletic programs, so you can do great in just about everything," Olivia said. Evergreen Ridge High School is a Texas powerhouse in athletics, they had several state championships and awards in baseball, volleyball, football, track, swimming, etc... The school was also known for its liberal arts program, having a band that had placed in state competitions for over 20 years.
They had a theatre program that had won several awards and had even helped in producing shows on Broadway. The school was able to do things like this mainly because of the parents of the students that attended the school, despite being a public school, most of the school's budget was powered by donations from parents like the Keppler's, this allowed the school to have such great programs.
"It's a great school, they have so many things you can do, I think there's an engineering program, health program, and even a mechanic program. So there's plenty you can do" Olivia continued talking about the different things Marvin could do at the school.
Jessica had returned back with Joel and Austin, "I'm gonna take this to his room" Joel said as he headed into a hallway. "Well this is my goodbye then," Jessica said ready to leave. Olivia got up to hug her and thank her for all the work she'd done, "We are so grateful, thank you so much" Olivia said.
Jessica smiled and said no problem, she and Olivia let go of each other and Jessica went to hug Marvin. "They are good people, I'm sure you'll eventually like them" Jessica whispered in Marvin's ear as she hugged him. 'I'm not so sure about that' Marvin thought, but he didn't share his thoughts he instead said "Thank you" and he truly meant it. Jessica had done far more than the average social worker did and he would always be grateful for that.
The Keppler's saw Jessica off and Jolie decided that would also be a good time to head back to her house. They waved bye to Jessica until she was gone from their eyesight after that Olivia had her children head up to their rooms to get ready for bed, "Let me show you your room" she said directing Marvin down the hallway Joel went into.
'Woah' Marvin thought as he entered the room, it was quite big. The walls were white with a window on one side, a queen-sized bed in the center covered by blankets with several pillows lying on top. There was a chest laid in front of the bed with a dresser a couple of feet away from it.
"Your closet's over there" Olivia pointed to a small walk-in closet with a mirror at the end, "Your bathroom is over there" She pointed to another door on the other side of the room. "You can shower, or take a bath in there and get refreshed and then head to bed or you can come out to the living room and real there until you're ready to sleep," Olivia said.
Marvin nodded at her every word, taking in the sight of the room he was in, he had never seen anything like it. "Well I'll leave you be then, me and Joel are just down the hall," Olivia said getting ready to leave, she paused at Marvin's door and turned to look at him, "Marvin... I know this is gonna be a new experience, leaving with us, but I want you to know that we're glad to have you here and you can come to us for anything" She said.
Marvin looked at her, her eyes were sincere, 'Maybe she is a kind lady' Marvin thought to himself, he simply nodded at Olivia and she headed out of his room. When Olivia headed out of the room, Marvin picked up his bag of clothes, there wasn't much in there, only seven days' worth of clothes. He took out a pair of shorts and a shirt and headed into the bathroom.
Turning on the light for the Bathroom, Marvin was even more amazed, the bathroom was very nice with a shower, quartz bathtub, and two sinks in front of a giant mirror. There was already a towel hanging on the towel rack and a toothbrush and toothpaste ready on the counter. 'Pays to be rich' Marvin thought to himself.
Marvin turned on the shower and let the water run down his body, he took this time to collect his thoughts. He needed to prepare for his life with the Keppler's, he couldn't afford to get into fights again or else he would risk the Keppler's removing him from their care. Marvin stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel, he stared at his slim body, 'Football build huh?' He thought about Joel's earlier words as he looked at himself.
Getting dressed and brushing his teeth, Marvin headed back into the bedroom, he turned off the light and went to lie in the bed. He moved all the pillows out of the way except for one, 'Why the hell would someone own these many pillows?' he wondered, annoyed by the ridiculous amount of pillows.
Marvin found it difficult to sleep, he tried to shut his eyes to induce sleep, but his brain was still active. "It's a new beginning," Marvin said, he prepared himself for a new tomorrow as he forcefully shut his eyes to force himself to sleep.
(A/N: Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and that you have a great day or night)