It was a rainy Friday in fall. Jesse was awakened by alarm clock. He heard his adopted sister saying, \u201cOh no, the bread is spoiled.\u201d Jesse got dressed and went out: \u201cAlright, just throw it into the trashcan. I\u2019ll give you the money for groceries.\u201d Then he checked out the fridge and realized they need to buy more groceries. \u201cNever mind, I\u2019ll get the groceries after work. There will be too many items for you,\u201d Jesse said.<\/p>\n
Poor Alexandra, she was only eight, Jesse thought. Her mother died when she was a baby. In the spring, her father was killed in a car accident. Alexandra\u2019s other family members could not take care of her, so Jesse\u2019s mom, the deceased man\u2019s girlfriend, adopted her. Moving to a new town made things harder. Jesse sighed.<\/p>\n
Jesse and Alexandra had Graham crackers for breakfast. At least we wouldn\u2019t need to do dishes, Alexandra thought. Then she headed out the building with her brother. The bus station was right across from their home.<\/p>\n
Jesse\u2019s mother was still sleeping when her children went to school. She went to the bar after work yesterday as usual. The woman was still troubled by her boyfriend\u2019s death. Luckily, she occupied the best bedroom (a.k.a. the only proper bedroom) at home and never needed to worry about her kids. Jesse and Alexandra were okay at school and supportive at home. It was also safe and convenient for them to go around the town by bus.<\/p>\n
On the bus, Jesse called his best friend Brian: \u201cHello, is your dad driving you to school?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYup, does Alexandra need a ride to her school again?\u201d Brian knew his friend\u2019s situation. His little sister Laura is also Alexandra\u2019s classmate.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes\u2026\u201d Jesse felt sorry. Next to him Alexandra bowed down her head.<\/p>\n
Brian agreed: \u201cIt\u2019s okay. Dad, please wait for Jesse and Alexandra when we arrive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course. It\u2019s pretty convenient to pick her up when I drop you off,\u201d said Brian\u2019s dad.<\/p>\n
The bus arrived Jesse\u2019s school. Brian\u2019s father was already waiting for Alexandra. She said goodbye to her brother and got into the car.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
After his second class, Jesse received a call from an unknown number. \u201cHello?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHi, this is Ms. Smith, Alexandra\u2019s head teacher. Are you Jesse?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, but I\u2019m at school now. Can\u2019t you call my mother?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI emailed and later dialed your mother several times before, but she never responded. According to Alexandra, you are the one who mainly takes care of her. I really need to talk to her family member as soon as possible. May I talk to you instead? I will only take you two minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlright, if it\u2019s urgent.\u201d Jesse was nervous. What happened to Alexandra that her teacher had to call him?<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to inform you that Alexandra is depressed. Now she has trouble paying attention in class and sometimes skips classes. You and your mother MUST do more for her psychological well-being. Spend more time with her; tell her that you love her, both in words and in action. If this continues, it will become a matter of child neglect. Please let you mother know the situation too. Can you or your mother come to school this afternoon? I\u2019d like to talk to you guys.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSorry, I need to work right after school today. My mom also needs to work in the afternoon. I will talk to my mom, but I really need to go to class now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlright\u2026I will try my best to reach out to your mother. Go to class now.\u201d Ms. Smith hanged up and sighed.<\/p>\n
Jesse went to the art class, one of his favorite classes, but he was very distracted. He tried to relieve stress by painting as he used to. It didn\u2019t work. Jesse kept thinking about Alexandra.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
At lunch time, Jesse sat with his best friend Brian.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened? You look pretty upset.\u201d Brian spoke up first.<\/p>\n
Jesse sighed and looked down. \u201cI\u2019m having a hard time just making through each day\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened? Did you get into trouble at work?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mom\u2026 Frankly speaking, she\u2019s just irresponsible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAh, I\u2019m so sorry to hear about that. Doesn\u2019t talking to her work?\u201d Brian couldn\u2019t imagine how bad that would be.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t even have a chance to talk to her. Usually, she is still sleeping when we head out. When I get home, she is at work and only returns after we go to bed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs this why you always ask me whether my dad can pick up Alexandra?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe. She goes to work in the early afternoon and finishes work around 9 p.m., but then she goes to the bar or something. I need to come here the next morning and can\u2019t wait \u2018til she comes back. I mean, my mom should have the time to take Alexandra to school. I\u2019m very sorry for bringing your dad troubles.\u201d Jesse bowed down his head again and covered his face with his hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not a trouble for us. Just let me know if you need my help.\u201d Brian patted Jesse on his shoulder.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Back home, Jesse\u2019s mother just got up. She felt headache due to the drink last night. Maybe it was the sorrow from the death of Alexandra\u2019s father, she thought. The woman dragged herself out her room. Okay, the kids did the dishes. She put away the clean dishes and took out the trash. Then she paused in front of the dumpster.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen was the last time I went on a date with him?\u201d she thought. \u201cIt was wonderful. I miss him so much. I already moved to a new town, but every day I still think about him when I see Alexandra\u2026\u201d Then her alarm clock went off. It was time to go to work. She sighed and walked to her car.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Jesse had to go to work right after school. Luckily the caf\u00e9 he worked at is right across from his school. Before his shift started, he texted Alexandra:<\/p>\n
Go home right after school<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll take care of the groceries<\/p>\n
Alexandra obeyed after she saw the message. She texted back on the bus:<\/p>\n
Sure<\/p>\n
I\u2019m on the bus now<\/p>\n
Alexandra went home. She locked the door and turned on the TV. Homework wasn\u2019t fun. Alexandra sighed. She switched to cartoon channel and watched TV until it was dark outside.<\/p>\n
Jesse was exhausted after work, but things weren\u2019t done. He had to go to the grocery store and only returned home at 8:30. When he finally got home, Jesse put down the grocery bag and lied on the sofa right away. His backpack was also left on the kitchen floor.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlexandra, can you put away the groceries?\u201d Jesse asked, \u201cI\u2019m so tired.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alexandra nodded. She put away her homework and opened the fridge. Inside were only some butter and half a jar of strawberry jam. Alexandra put milk, bread, and the peaches into the fridge. Then she put peanut butter and cereal into the pantry below the countertop. There was no enough space for a regular pantry, but the space below the countertop was enough for the family as they didn\u2019t have time to cook at home often.<\/p>\n
After putting away all the groceries, Alexandra asked, \u201cWhat shall we have for dinner? I\u2019m hungry now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jesse sat up and sighed. \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alexandra began to cry. Jesse hugged her. \u201cI\u2019m sorry. I\u2019m too exhausted to cook now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wish mom is back and could give us dinner,\u201d said Alexandra. Jesse nodded.<\/p>\n
They eventually had cereal for dinner. After dinner, Alexandra did the dishes while Jesse tried his best to do a bit of homework.<\/p>\n
At 10:30, Jesse\u2019s mother was still out. Jesse called his mom, but she didn\u2019t pick up the phone. \u201cOkay Alexandra, it\u2019s time for bed now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere\u2019s mom?\u201d Alexandra asked as she walked to her room yawning.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know. She didn\u2019t answer the phone.\u201d Jesse said, \u201cWe can\u2019t wait for her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jesse took a shower and brushed his teeth before he called his mom again. This time she was calling someone else. Jesse turned off the lights outside and returned to his room. He shut the door and tucked into his bed. It was finally time for himself in his tiny room, he thought. There was little empty space in his bedroom after getting the essential furniture: his bed, a closet, and a smallest desk available at the local furniture store. Well, Alexandra\u2019s room was even worse. It was originally the storage and had no windows.<\/p>\n
However, Jesse couldn\u2019t sleep. \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong with my mom?\u201d Jesse thought, \u201cI must talk to her. I can\u2019t attend school, work, and take care of Alexandra like this all the time. It\u2019s also problematic always asking Brian\u2019s dad to pick up Alexandra.\u201d<\/p>\n
One more call at midnight. No response. Damn. Jesse got out of his room, and waited for his mom in the living room.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The woman returned home at one o\u2019clock and found her son waiting for her.<\/p>\n
\u201cJesse, you don\u2019t have to wait for me. Is Alexandra in bed now?\u201d She was a bit surprised.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom, we are having a hard time! Can you stop going to the bar every evening?\u201d Jesse shouted.<\/p>\n
\u201cJesse, first of all, I haven\u2019t been to the bar for a while as I need to drive home. I\u2019m also stressed after work. Can\u2019t I get some enjoyments?\u201d Jesse\u2019s mom replied.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you have me and Alexandra! You can go and have fun, but fix things at home first.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJesse, you\u2019re 16 now. You are supposed to help me with things at home. I\u2019m tired and don\u2019t want to argue with you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan\u2019t you see that we are already helping you out every day?! Do you think the groceries refill themselves automatically when you don\u2019t go to the grocery store?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I\u2019m the one who cleans up the bathroom. We both work and take care things at home. We should cooperate instead of blame each other like what you\u2019re doing now!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2026<\/p>\n
Alexandra was awakened by the quarrel. She sat up on her bed, or maybe closet. The bed had several drawers below the mattress. A bed with enough drawers was necessary because there was no space for a full-size closet in her bedroom. Alexandra turned on the lamp on the chair. Yes, other than the bed was only a chair playing the role of an end table. She cried.<\/p>\n
The quarrel outside paused as they heard Alexandra crying. Jesse\u2019s mom turned to Alexandra\u2019s room. \u201cAlexandra, are you alright?\u201d Jesse\u2019s mother asked. Alexandra didn\u2019t respond. Jesse fetched her some tissue.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you have a nightmare? Did something go wrong at school?\u201d Jesse\u2019s mother was baffled. First Jesse said they were having a hard time; now Alexandra was crying in the middle of the night.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I feel bad about myself.\u201d Alexandra replied.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d Jesse\u2019s mother was even more confused.<\/p>\n
\u201cSorry, I\u2019m bringing everyone troubles.\u201d Alexandra whispered.<\/p>\n
Jesse\u2019s mother said: \u201cNo, you are not. We all need other people\u2019s help, especially at a young age.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jesse spoke up: \u201cIf you are thinking about not bringing trouble to Laura\u2019s dad, I feel the same way, but it\u2019s NOT your fault. Guess what, I will figure out a way with mom.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWait, what does this have to do with Laura\u2019s dad?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCome on, since you don\u2019t take her to school, we go to my school first every time. Brian\u2019s dad drives him to school and picks up Alexandra there. Laura is Brian\u2019s little sister by the way. After school, Laura\u2019s dad sometimes takes Alexandra to his house first. Then I take Alexandra home from their home after work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alexandra agreed: \u201cYes, this pattern has continued for a month ever since Laura learned that I take the bus to school.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jesse\u2019s mother blushed. \u201cOh\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSee? Something\u2019s not quite right here,\u201d said Jesse.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay,\u201d said Jesse\u2019s mother, \u201cnow I know something is wrong with my plans. It\u2019s pretty late now. Let\u2019s talk about it tomorrow when we have a clear mind.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
At 10:30, Jesse was wakened up by a spam call. Shit, Jesse thought. As he saw the call history, he recalled the phone call from Ms. Smith yesterday. Jesse couldn\u2019t fall back to sleep and went straight to his mother\u2019s bedroom.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom, I need to tell you something ASAP.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s up?\u201d Jesse\u2019s mother yawned.<\/p>\n
\u201cI received a call from Alexandra\u2019s teacher yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?! Why did she call you before calling me?\u201d Jesse\u2019s mom immediately got up.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom! Ms. Smith emailed you before, and she did call you. Ms. Smith called me simply because she can\u2019t reach out to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlright, did she tell you what\u2019s wrong with Alexandra?\u201d Jesse\u2019s mother grabbed her phone and checked out her email. \u201cBy the way, I didn\u2019t find any email from Ms. Smith.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter whether you received the email or not now. Alexandra is depressed. We must do something.\u201d Jesse continued, \u201cMs. Smith warned me it will become a matter of child neglect!\u201d<\/p>\n
His mother was stunned. \u201cAlright, I\u2019ll contact Ms. Smith.\u201d She finally spoke after one minute of silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlso, Ms. Smith asked whether we could come to school when she called me yesterday. Will you work on Monday? If you don\u2019t, pick Alexandra up after school and meet Ms. Smith then\u2026\u201d Jesse heard something outside and paused.<\/p>\n
Alexandra was eating Oreos in the kitchen. Jesse and his mother went out. \u201cAlexandra, put down the cookies. We\u2019ll prepare brunch.\u201d<\/p>\n
At brunch, Jesse\u2019s mother thought it was time to talk to Alexandra. \u201cAlexandra, Ms. Smith said you are sad. What happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
Alexandra immediately put down her spoon but didn\u2019t say anything. Jesse put down his toast too. \u201cMom,\u201d he said, \u201csomething is wrong with what you are doing now. I\u2019m serious.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJesse,\u201d said his mother, \u201cI am trying to figure out what went wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, you are my mom. You should know better than I do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would I know better? I already struggled so hard to pay the bills and deal with you guys.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I\u2019m the one who first received Ms. Smith\u2019s call! You are not taking care of Alexandra.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alexandra began to weep. \u201cLook,\u201d said her stepmother, \u201cI miss your dad so much that I\u2019m also sad.\u201d The woman sighed.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom, I miss dad too!\u201d Alexandra began to cry.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay, I see you loved her father so much. Then take good care of Alexandra!\u201d Jesse exclaimed. Alexandra cried even harder, and Jesse handed her the Kleenex box.<\/p>\n
\u201cJesse, what\u2019s wrong with you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong with you?!\u201d Jesse shouted. He could no longer tolerate this. \u201cIt is what it is. You can\u2019t get away from the reality. I\u2019m stressed out too!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to argue with you now and upset Alexandra. I\u2019m going to work now.\u201d His mother put last chunk of the sausage into her mouth and left the table. She went back to her room, grabbed her bag, and went out.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In the afternoon, Jesse\u2019s mother received a call from her son\u2019s phone. \u201cJesse, what\u2019s up?\u201d<\/p>\n
It was a woman\u2019s voice from the other side of the phone: \u201cI\u2019m Jesse\u2019s boss Polly. Ma\u2019am, are you Jesse\u2019s mother?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, why are you calling me? What happened?\u201d Jesse\u2019s mother was immediately alerted.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to inform you that Jesse was injured at work. We are already at the ER. Please come to Lakeside Memorial Hospital immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n
Frightened, Jesse\u2019s mother left work right away and drove to the ER.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?!\u201d Jesse\u2019s mother shouted at Polly seeing Jesse unconscious. \u00a0\u201cMa\u2019am, I really apologize. It was an accident\u2026\u201d Polly stammered, \u201cThe sign\u2026went loose\u2026and fell on Jesse when I asked him to clean it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Alexandra was at home alone. It was time for Jesse to come back, she thought. She called Jesse but received no response.<\/p>\n
Alexandra waited for 30 minutes and called again. This time Jesse\u2019s mother picked up the phone: \u201cAlexandra, Jesse got hurt. We\u2019re at the hospital now. I\u2019ll be back ASAP.\u201d Alexandra cried. What could she do now? Jesse\u2019s mother also wept on the other side of the phone.<\/p>\n
At night, Jesse was finally admitted to the hospital after a series of evaluation and paperwork. His mom returned home. She hugged Alexandra and wept with her\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It was a rainy Friday in fall. Jesse was awakened by al […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":668,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,325],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50928","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-325"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youthwrite.pro\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50928","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youthwrite.pro\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youthwrite.pro\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthwrite.pro\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/668"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthwrite.pro\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50928"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthwrite.pro\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50928\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50930,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthwrite.pro\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50928\/revisions\/50930"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youthwrite.pro\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthwrite.pro\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthwrite.pro\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}