I’ll start this journal off with just my name. Leland Garnet Hawkins. There I said it. Now whoever is reading this can point and call me the kid that really screwed up his life.

It was cloudy that afternoon as usual. The sun had refused to shine for ages now. It had either snowed, hailed, or the sun just did not show. It was typical weather of Montressor, especially as we headed into the winter months.

I shivered and drew my black coat closer to me as a light snowfall dusted my chocolate brown hair. I had walked into town irritably in the stupid cold weather when my parents told me I did have to buy some sort of birthday present for my sister, Tammy since she and everyone else always bought me birthday presents. Personally I thought she was getting enough birthday presents AND I had to sit up all night and listen as four screaming seventeen year olds gossiped about boys and painted their nails.

Yes, Tammy and I are now seventeen (well, Tammy was turning seventeen), which makes Milo sixteen. It’s been two years since I last wrote a story about my adventures in space. Sure I’d gone on deliveries with my dad in that period, but they weren’t nearly as extraordinary as my two adventures when I was fifteen.

But anyway…back to the story.

I found myself wandering around the town wondering what on Montressor I could pick out for a squealing seventeen year old girl. Nail polish? Pshh, she already had tons of that. A purse? No Tammy preferred pockets. Candy? Yeah, but mom and dad would probably be mad at me for putting in such little effort. Milo had gotten her the perfect gift. It was a new electronic tool that acted like Silver’s arm, meaning that it could switch to different tools within the blink of an eye and the press of a button. It was pretty cool, and here I stood with no idea what to get her.

Of course mom and dad’s present to her was a few books, plus her very own solar surfer, since she and my dad usually argued over the only one we had. Grandma and the others got her small gifts as well; I was the only one without a present and her birthday was tonight.

Grumbling about girls, I didn’t notice I was passing the perfect gift. I didn’t notice it until I passed it for maybe the third time and I might have missed it again except a cart rolled past me, causing me to jump back into the glass window or be sprayed with snow slush. Yeah, thanks dude, nice driving there!

I scowled and turned around…then I saw them. Right in front of me in the window was a pair of black disks with straps on them. They looked pretty weird and I would have thought they were hot plates or something like that had it not been for the large flashy sign.
SOLAR SKATES!
On sale now for only thirty doubloons!

Thirty doubloons? I could live with that, besides half of it was my parents’ money since I was flat broke. It might have had something to do with the fact that I wasn’t doing chores lately. I hurried inside the store and walked up to the clerk behind the counter. On the large man’s nametag it read: Hello! I’m Ethan!

You couldn’t get any more cheerful than that. The alien was tall with wire rimmed glasses on the tip of his pink trunk of a nose while the rest of him looked wrinkled, but not in an old sense. It seemed like his skin was just like that. I slowly walked up to the counter and the man looked at me before smiling.

“Hello young sir, what can I do for you?” I cleared my throat and handed the bag of doubloons over the counter.

“I’d like to buy a pair of solar skates,” I explained. The man beamed and seemed to jump for joy.

“Oh thank you boyo! I’ve been trying to get rid of them things for a while now, but it turns out nobody likes solar skates around here,” he sighed sadly.

“Well you’re in luck. My sister likes solar anything, and this is for her birthday tonight,” I smiled faintly.

“Ah, cutting it a bit close, don’tcha think lad?” he smirked pinning me with his twinkling eyes. I swallowed nervously.

“Uh, yeah,” I laughed awkwardly. The man simply chuckled while ringing up the amount and handing me the excess coins.

“Not to make you uncomfortable, lad. I used to do it all the time to my sister! Ah, here we go,” he grinned pulling the skates out of the window and showing them to me. They did look pretty cool. I wouldn’t mind a run on them sometime. “These accommodate to any foot size, and are very fast. They might take some time getting used to, but definitely worth it once you get going. They don’t collect sunlight through sails, but there are Arcturian solar crystals imbedded into the black metal so when the metal heats up from the sunlight, they’ll have maximum fire power.”

“Okay,” I shrugged as he wrapped them in a nice box for me and even helped me wrap them with some wrapping paper and string. “Thanks so much, sir,” I nodded my head while taking the box and walking toward the door.

“Anytime, kiddo!” he waved as I stepped back out into the chilly air. One thing was certain; Tammy was going to love her birthday present.

2: The Rule about Dares

It was warm in the house as I sat at the dining room table, sucking up my purp juice with a straw. Milo sat next to me and my dad next to him. My mom came out of the kitchen holding the newly frosted chocolate cake with seventeen candles on it that said, “Happy birthday Tammy!”

My sister and her friends giggled and talked about all the gossip going around school. There was Tammy, Julie, Laura, and Aaralyn (pronounced: Air-all-in). Unfortunately for me, they were all sleeping over that night and it made me a bit uncomfortable because I usually liked to sleep with my shirt off (don’t ask me why) and in my boxers (still don’t ask me why) and I was either afraid one of her friends would play some prank on me in the middle of the night or stare at me half naked while I was asleep.

That thought made me shudder.

Actually let me correct myself. I was afraid Aaralyn would be staring at me. She had had a crush on me for two years now, and was super creepy whenever she was over at our house. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to keep my shirt and pants on for one night.

“Seventeen! Tammy!” my dad laughed as my mom then dragged us into a chorus of singing happy birthday, except that Milo and I had matured per say over the past two years and our voices were pretty flat and deep. The girls were the only ones that actually could sing.

Once that was over we all dug in to some good ice cream and cake, while laughing and talking (once again the girls did most of the talking). Even my dad looked a little annoyed at every girlish outburst or scream, shooting sour looks to my mother who simply smiled and shrugged as if to say,

“They’re girls, honey.”

I kept my eyes strictly on my cake alone, feeling Aaralyn’s deep blue eyes raking over me. I tried to contain the urge to puke. Aaralyn wasn’t really such a bad person…okay no she is a bad person! She creeps me out and she’s got like this…predator look in her eyes when she looks at guys, and she’s one of the biggest skanks in school, and has this perfectly straight brown hair, and wears all this makeup and I just don’t understand how she and Tammy could ever be best friends.

She’s asked me out once. I turned her down. Then she asked me out again. I turned her down. She asked me out a third time and I almost hit her! Honestly, can she not take a hint!?

So you can understand my enthusiasm when a knock came at the door.

“I got it!” I shouted and jumped up toward it before my parents could even move an inch. I was so happy for an excuse not to sit and stare at my dirty plate, waiting for the agony to be over. I yanked open the door and was immediately tackled by something big and metal.

“Oh gosh B.E.N, geroff me!” I grunted as the robot started rambling happily.

“Leland! Hiya buddy!” he beamed, pulling me into a suffocating hug. I tried to push him off of me, and eventually Silver grabbed him with his cyborg arm, prying the robot away from me.

“We heard there was a party goin’ on here!” he laughed, helping me to my feet as my parents stood up to greet everyone coming in. There was my grandma, Silver, Jack, B.E.N, and Morph.

Morph whizzed off toward my dad, cuddling against his cheek and purring happily. My dad smiled, patting Morph on the head and tickling him with his index finger as my mom took their coats and presents to set on the pile close by.

“Now who d’we got ‘ere?” Jack smirked, staring at my sister’s friends.

“Oh this is Julie,” Tammy spoke up pointing to the blonde haired girl. “Then Laura, and Aaralyn,” she explained, pointing out the other two brown haired girls.

“Nice teh meet yeh all,” Jack nodded.

“You guys can take a seat,” my mom smiled, helping my grandma into a chair while B.E.N hopped over to his own and Morph took a place on my dad’s shoulder.

“Don’t mind if I do,” Silver chuckled as he and Jack went to have a seat. I made to sit down again and had to wait another few agonizing minutes before Tammy finally got around to opening all her presents.

I was really getting bored of the squeals and giggles at each present she opened, and didn’t even notice her pick up mine.

“From Leland,” Tammy read the tag and grinned at me. I simply shrugged, scraping my fork across my plate. My parents smiled at me as Tammy began to open it. She gasped in shock as the lid of the box was pulled off to reveal two gleaming solar skates. “I’ve been wanting these forever! Thanks, Lee!” she beamed. I smiled as Milo nudged me.

“Lee,” he snickered.

“Ah shut it,” I laughed, pushing him back. Tammy had begun calling me Lee ever since I started calling her Tam Tam.

“Wow, that’s really sweet that your older brother would do that,” Aaralyn cooed in my sister’s ear as I took a swig of purp juice. Immediately I began choking and tried not to spit it across the table. I finally managed to swallow and my dad looked at me curiously.

“You’re joking right?” I laughed. When Aaralyn (and everyone else for that matter) stared at me blankly I blushed and looked away. “Pass the cake,” I cleared my throat. When everyone went back to chattering or watching Tammy open more presents, Milo nudged me.

“What’s wrong?” he asked. I sighed and flicked my eyes across the table. He got the hint. “If you want I can keep her away from you tonight,” he snickered. I tried to contain my laughter. Milo was the best brother the world could ever have. When I was younger I had never really paid him much attention, thinking he wasn’t cool or even fun to hang out with. I was such a jerk to him, and I had regretted it ever since our little adventure with the Procyons.

I loved my brother. The two of us were as thick as thieves we were. I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have Milo with me.

“Nah, it’s fine,” I shrugged him off, and was all set to spend another uncomfortable hour with Aaralyn staring at me and celebrating Tammy’s birthday, that I nearly missed the knock that came at the door again.

My mom went to stand up, but my dad kissed her hair and stood up instead.

“I’ll get it,” he announced, and walked toward the door. I was curious who else was coming to party, when my dad opened the door and there they were!

Josh, Carter, and Gnoll, my three friends at the academy.

“Hey, is Leland here?” Josh asked casually. He was a tall teen with purple skin and a long snout and eyes that always looked like they were frowning. He had four arms and even a tail!

“Yeah! Hey guys!” I grinned, scrambling over to them and pushing my dad out of the way.

“Hey, do you want to hang out tonight? We were going to head over to the…shop,” Carter whispered. He was about my height with blonde hair and piercing grey eyes. When they talked about the ‘shop’ they were really referring to an old abandoned store on the outskirts of town that we’d sort of made our secret base for hanging out and such.

“Yeah, sure I can go,” I shrugged.

“Leland, it’s your sister’s birthday,” my mother scolded coming to stand next to my dad.

“Yeah so?” Wrong move.

“Wow, thanks!” Tammy snorted, and crossed her arms as everyone was now looking at me. My parents didn’t look too pleased.

“Aw c’mon! I won’t be long, besides I stayed for cake and Tammy’s already opened my present,” I reasoned. My mother still looked disapproving, but my dad shrugged.

“I suppose it wouldn’t hurt,” he said.

“Jim, it’s Tammy’s birthday, I don’t want him running around at this hour either!” my mom grumbled.

“Alice, it’s fine. So long as he has a set time,” my dad replied calmly and looked at me.

“Oh yeah, I’ll be home by eight,” I stammered, knowing it was around six thirty. My dad nodded and looked at my mom with that small smile. At last she relented.

“Alright, but you better be home by eight, young man,” she grumbled.

“Thanks mom, bye everyone!” I waved, grabbing my coat and boots before hopping out the door.

Once we were a safe distance away from my house my friends began laughing.

“Be home by eight Leland,” Carter mocked in my mother’s voice.

“It’s Tammy’s birthday, Leland!” Josh joined in, snickering. I laughed in embarrassment.

“Yeah, parents suck, don’t they?” I chuckled.

“Hell yeah, man! But your parents seem the worst! Don’t they ever let you do anything?” Gnoll snickered. Gnoll was a big guy. He had a flat face and huge muscular arms, and was one of the most popular kids in school. Anyone who was friends with him, got fame, girls, and anything in between.

I suppose I counted as a friend.

“Not really,” I shrugged, answering his question.

“Dude I’d kill myself if I had parents like that,” Josh laughed, giving me a punch in the arm. “I don’t know how you stand it Lee.”

“Yeah, they suck. I hate them. I wish they weren’t so pushy,” I shot back, before suddenly feeling guilt wash over me. What was I saying? My parents weren’t that bad…were they? Of course, they had been bossing me around a lot. Maybe the guys were right.

“Ha-ha! Oh dude! Garret told me about this party he was throwing next Saturday! What do ya say, guys? Up for some partying?” Gnoll smirked.

“I don’t know, how big is the party?” I asked hesitantly.

“Man I swear your parents are rubbing off on you. Well anyway, his parents are going to be away until Monday so he’s inviting practically the whole school, and guess what else?” Gnoll practically sang.

“What?” Josh and Carter asked excitedly.

“There’s going to be a boatload of hot chicks there! You should ask your sister if she wants to come, Lee. She’s pretty hot, I’d like to see her on the dance-floor,” Gnoll laughed. I felt bile rise up in the back of my throat. I mean, me and my sister almost never got along, but when Gnoll talked about her that way (which happened to be a lot lately) I felt myself go into protective mode. I didn’t want to think about my sister getting it on with Gnoll or even coming close to the guy, especially when I knew what Gnoll wanted and could do to her…

That made me shiver.

“Yeah, maybe,” I replied softly and didn’t take part in the conversations much until we finally came across the ‘shop’. It was old and worn down with time. Part of the roof was caved in and the glass windows were pretty much shattered. We only usually came there at night.

Josh hurried over and pulled open the door and we all scrambled inside. It was dark and cold in the musty space, and I was thankful when Carter lit a match and tossed it onto the make-shift fireplace we’d built a while back, causing a warm glow to encase the inside.

“So what’re we gonna talk about tonight?” Carter asked as we all sat ourselves down and Josh passed the tobacco around. I really didn’t like the stuff, but chewed it anyway, so the guys wouldn’t think I was going soft.

“Anyone want a smoke? I brought some cigars and pipes,” Gnoll added, pulling those nasty things out of his pockets. As Josh and Carter rushed forward, I secretly pulled the tobacco from my mouth and tossed it into the fire before a cigar was pushed into my hand. I stared at it long and hard. It seemed the more I came to these little meetings, the worse they got. I didn’t want to smoke. That stuff ruined your lungs it did.

“What’s the matter Lee? Are you afraid?” Gnoll joked, lighting his cigar next to the fire and beginning to inhale.

“I um…I-I don’t…really…” I stammered before Carter interrupted me.

“Dude he hasn’t ever smoked yet!” he cried. Josh laughed but Gnoll threw an old can at his head.

“Shut it dipstick! Is it true?” he asked me. I felt my cheeks warm in the darkness, and not because of the fire. “Well then today’s your lucky day. It ain’t yo fault you has never smoked! All you gotta do is light the tip here and stick in your mouth before taking a nice long inward breath to inhale it before blowing it out like this.” I watched Gnoll inhale the smoke before slowly puffing it out. I cringed internally as he handed me his cigar.

“Go on,” he encouraged. I did not want to do this, but I couldn’t say no now. They’d all think I was a fool, or beat me up. I hesitantly stuck it in my mouth and inhaled. The smoke entering my lungs made it hard to breathe and immediately I began coughing hard and loud, attempting to clear my lungs from that wretched stuff.

Gnoll, Carter, and Josh all laughed and Gnoll gave me rough pats on the back.

“It takes practice man, here, just keep working at it. You’ll get it eventually,” he shrugged. I didn’t think I wanted to learn how to smoke.

“Oh but that’s not all the goodies we’ve got tonight,” Josh cooed, before slowly reaching behind him and pulling out a large sack. I heard the clinking of bottles and immediately my stomach dropped.

“Woo!” Gnoll grinned as Josh passed the alcohol around. A bottle of the disgusting drink my parents had always warned me against was there in my hands, and the worst part was…I wasn’t of age yet. I was going to be drinking, illegally. No! That was too far! I set the bottle down on the dusty floor and fingered my cigar warily as the others happily dove in.

“Why aren’t you drinking?” Gnoll asked, eyeing me suspiciously.

“Oh, I don’t much feel in the mood,” I shrugged.

“Oh really? Come on, man just one swig,” he grinned, but I could detect something much worse behind his eyes.

“Um I really don’t –”

“Do it! I dare you,” he smirked, pushing the bottle into my hands.

“You do know about dares right?” Josh asked.

“Uh…”

“Gosh does this kid know anything?” Carter rolled his eyes. Gnoll sighed in exasperation before putting a muscular arm around me.

“Kid, we’ve got rules, even though our little group don’t like to abide by other’s rules. Here in this club, the rules are that you have to do what the leader tells you, and that would be me. You can’t pass up an opportunity to try new things, good or bad, and finally…when dared you do it, got it?” he growled in my ear.

“Y-yeah,” I stammered, trying not to look like such a wimp.

“Good. So when I dare you to do something, you have to follow through, no matter what the consequences are,” he smirked, sitting back and nodding toward the rum.

I shakily popped off the cap and raised the glass bottle to my lips. The others were watching me intently through the gloom as I slowly tipped it up and squeezed my eyes shut, hoping the liquid would taste like juice.

What a silly thing to wish for.

It tasted vile! The stuff was horrible! It didn’t bring a sweet and refreshing taste with it like juice. It brought a sour and bitter tang with it that tasted old and deserted like the stuff had been sitting in the cellar for too long, or was the equivalent to a zap-wing’s pee. I almost spit it out too, but forced myself to swallow it.

“Well?” Gnoll asked after a moment.

“Mmm,” I grinned falsely, holding up the bottle and pretending to take another swig.

“Yeah, I thought so,” he smiled darkly.

I lost track of time as the others kept right on drinking. Every chance I got, I let more of my drink pour into the dirt behind me since the wood flooring was all but ripped up now. I then would raise the glass to my lips and pretend to drink. Before I knew it, Gnoll and the others were saying strange things. They started singing and it was totally off key, and when Gnoll put his arm around me again, I could smell his disgusting alcohol breath. He slurred some words in my ear and I struggled away.

“Wouldn’t it be mighty fine boys, if Lee’s sis was here right now?” he called out. The others laughed and nodded. “Mmm, I wonder what she’d taste like…” Gnoll hummed in my ear. I felt fury rise to my muscles and I tried to contain the urge to slug him. Nobody talked about my sis like that. Yet, I had to remind myself that he was drunk, and I figured he wouldn’t say things like that if he wasn’t. I know, lame excuse, right?

“Oh man, guys, I’ve gotta take a bathroom break real quick. I’ll just be around the corner,” I laughed, standing up, and trying to think of a way to get out of there.

“Mmm, don’t take too long, Lee. We’re about to pass out the next round!” Josh hooted and pulled out more drinks from his sack.

“Ha-ha! Right! I’ll just be a sec,” I assured them before hurrying into a back room. What could I do now? I had to get out of there! I didn’t want to drink or smoke, and I was sure I was way past my curfew. Gosh my parents were going to kill me. The only way in or out was through the front door, but they’d see me if I tried to sneak out.

Trying not to panic, I studied the dusted room. There was an old tool box in one corner and shelves of empty paint cans littered the walls. Then I noticed the windows. They were boarded up, but maybe the wood was rotting. I ran to one and tried desperately to pry off the wood. Nothing happened. I then ran to the second window and tried the boards there. Still nothing. I felt fear overtake me before suddenly noticing the tool box in the corner of the room. I ran to it and let my fingers scale through it hungrily until I finally came across some sort of crowbar.

“Yes,” I breathed, running to the farthest window from the door and digging the tool into the boards while trying to pry them off. To my relief the first board came off with a pop and crashed to the floor. I paused, waiting to see if they’d heard me. All I could hear was them still singing or laughing away. I hurriedly hacked at the second board and felt my heart soar when it too popped off. I stared at the broken window and glass jutting out as I hurriedly scrambled out into the night.

While attempting to pull myself out, I sliced my knee on a shard of glass and hissed silently as pain seared through it, but I didn’t even pause as I began to run. I ran as fast as I could, but all the while pain was growing around my knee. I wanted to put as much distance between me and them as possible.

At last I saw my house in the distance and was relieved as I slowed to a walk before real panic began to set in. What time was it, and what would my parents say? Very slowly I reached for the doorknob and tried to open up the front door as quietly as possible. I peeked my head in and saw that most of the house was dark. I could faintly hear giggles coming from upstairs as my sister’s little party resumed. I thanked my lucky stars and went to hurry up the stairs when the lights suddenly came on.

“Leland Hawkins!” I gulped and stopped dead in my tracks before turning around to see both of my parents glaring down at me angrily. I wondered if all parents simply waited in the dark to bust their kids and crush their hopes when they tried to sneak back in.

“Yes?” I laughed nervously, bouncing on the balls of my feet.

“Where have you been?” my mother immediately demanded, pointing to the clock on the wall next to the dining room table. I gulped when I realized it was ten o’clock and I was two hours past curfew. “Do you know how worried I was? How worried we were? You agreed to be back by eight! Where have you been?” my mother shouted angrily. I looked at my dad helplessly, but even he wasn’t on my side this time. He crossed his arms and stared at me.

“Answer your mother, Leland,” he ordered in a furious voice. I bit my lip.

“Ah…well you know…hanging around,” I laughed innocently.

“Is that smoke I smell and blood?” my mother gasped, noticing my knee that apparently had been soaking through the rip in my pants.

“Uh…maybe,” I mumbled.

“That’s it! You have a lot of explaining to do, young man,” my mother snarled.

“Mom, come on! It’s not that big of a deal! I went to a bonfire at their place to hang out and eat some snacks, and I accidently tripped and sliced my leg on a sharp rock when playing hide and go seek in the dark,” I replied easily. My parents both looked at each other and I knew they weren’t buying it.

“Oh? And did you simply lose track of time too?” my mom grumbled.

“Hey, time flies,” I grinned.

“This is not a joke, Leland! You had me and your mother worried sick! In fact, you’re grounded for the rest of the week and get to do dishes after supper every day until Saturday,” my dad snapped looking pretty mad. I had never seen him look that angry before…especially at me. I wasn’t sure if that was because he knew I was lying too. My dad always knew, and it really creeped me out.

“But dad –” I started.

“No! No buts Leland!” he shouted.

“This isn’t fair!” I screamed, even though I knew it totally was. But hey! I needed to say something in a feeble attempt to win back my freedom!

“Do you think it’s fair that your mother and I had to sit here and worry for two hours?” my dad yelled angrily. “Those boys are trouble, and you’re not allowed to hang out with them anymore.”

“Like you know anything!” I roared furiously. I was mad now. He could not just walk into my life and tell me who I could and could not hang out with. “You can’t control who I hang out with, dad!” I spat angrily. “You’re both stupid! I hate you! You try to run my life!”

“That’s it! You’re grounded for two weeks!” my mother huffed angrily.

“What are you going to do about it if I don’t abide by your stupid rules?” I demanded, and I admit I felt a small seed of pride in my gut. I’m sure Carter, Josh, and Gnoll would be proud of me. They were the ones always telling me to screw everyone else’s laws and rules. Well I guess I’d start with my parents.

“We’ll discuss this in the morning. Go to your room,” my dad spoke through clenched teeth, and I knew he was on the point of snapping. I mentally cursed myself, knowing I had gone way too far. I had never seen my dad so enraged, and my mom didn’t look too happy either, but I figured I didn’t want to go to my room without a final snap at them.

“Fine, solitude’s better than being around you two anyway,” I snarled before dashing up to my room. I noticed Milo staring at me in his own doorway with wide eyes as I entered my room and slammed my door.

It was only when solitude was given, that I began to regret everything I had done.

Parenting Skills

Alice sighed sadly as she noticed how furious her husband looked right then. Jim stormed over to the fireplace and leaned against the mantle, staring into the flames for a while.

“I just don’t know, Alice,” he finally whispered softly. Alice hesitantly walked over to his side.

“I wonder if we were too harsh on him. He gave us no reason to suspect he was lying, but he did go out two hours past his curfew,” she sighed sadly, taking his hand. Jim nodded, not tearing his gaze from the embers.

“It’s his friends, Alice. I just get a bad feeling when I see them around him. I’m just worried about what he’s getting into,” he whispered. Alice pressed into his side and Jim wrapped his arm around her waist.

“I’m worried about him, Jim. I don’t want him to make bad choices, but I’m afraid he’s doing just that. I’m trying to be lenient and not to cage him, but I don’t want him to be running off and ending up in bad predicaments,” Alice mumbled sadly and was grateful when Jim pulled her into a tight embrace.

“I know,” he whispered. “I know.” He rubbed her back soothingly and Alice began to grow sleepy. “Maybe we should only ground him for a week, but after the way he talked to us…”

“Perhaps a week, trailing into Saturday. So from Sunday to Saturday he’ll be grounded with chores,” Alice suggested softly.

“That sounds just fine. Besides he has been skimping out on those chores a lot lately,” Jim shrugged, knowing that lately he and Alice’s parenting skills were really being put to the test.

“We’ll talk to him in the morning,” Alice agreed.

“I bet Tammy’s not too pleased,” Jim sighed sadly, knowing that his daughter had probably been embarrassed in front of all her friends.

“I hope not. I really didn’t intend for us all to be shouting at each other, but one thing led to the next and…”

“Yeah. I’d better go have a quick word with her. You get some sleep,” Jim nodded, as he and Alice broke apart and climbed the stairs together. Alice kissed his cheek quickly before making her way down the hall toward their room. Jim knocked lightly on Tammy’s door and only had to wait a moment before it opened. Tammy stood there and all her friends sat on the floor in the background, passing around girly magazines, indulging in snacks, or painting each other’s nails.

“What?” Tammy snarled quietly, so as not to let her friends overhear.

“I suppose that means you’re pretty mad at your family, eh?” Jim sighed. Tammy let out a long breath.

“To be honest, I more mad at Leland. He ruins everything. I’m not embarrassed I guess. We heard it, but they know you two were being fair, so I guess I’m mostly mad at Leland for being such a jerk and starting such a fight,” Tammy whispered. Jim nodded.

“I’m sorry, Tammy. We’re all trying. Enjoy your sleepover, but don’t stay up too late,” Jim whispered, as Tammy nodded.

“ ‘Night dad,” she waved.

“Goodnight, Tammy,” he whispered and closed her door before turning to walk toward his own bedroom for some much needed sleep.

“Dad?” Jim jumped in surprise before turning to his left to see Milo with his wide chocolate eyes. “What’s up with Leland?” he asked hesitantly. Jim cracked a small smile.

“Nothing. Don’t worry about it, Milo. He just stayed out too late,” Jim muttered ruffling his youngest son’s hair.

“Oh…okay. Goodnight,” he yawned and retreated into his room for some much needed rest. Jim rubbed his eyes as he walked into his room and changed into some pajamas quickly before climbing into bed next to Alice.

“Parenting is a lot harder than it looks,” she whispered softly, curling up beside him.

“You can say that again,” Jim grunted making Alice giggle as he kissed her lips quickly before letting his eyes close and his mind to wander into the world of dreams.