"Know thoroughly your own character so that you can break your compulsive patterns and take control of your own destiny." Robert Greene, The Laws Of Human Nature.

     Fuck everything. I know I'm not supposed to think this way and that it's sinful but—man, I swear the world is out to get me sometimes. Fuck the regulations, fuck the administration, and fuck everyone trying to make everything as difficult as possible.

     Sweat drips down my face despite the cool weather. The view is a beautiful sight with the sunrise peeking through falling golden leaves from the wind that's blowing. At least there's a small upside to everything going on.

     I had woken up early to hopefully get some training in and to maybe get some other work done.

     I have to draw up a map of booths for the football game next weekend and work out a more detailed plan for the budget. The school is supposed to be selling all kinds of school accessories and food so that they are able to buy new jerseys for the football players. And as for the detailing for the budget, I'd rather be prepared for any questions that Mr. Strover may have for me so I'm not a blubbering mess.

     And as for the training, there's a competition happening tomorrow. An obstacle course complete with a rope to swing from, walls to climb over, and beams to either balance on or to jump over. It shouldn't be too difficult but you have to run with a team: making sure that you all get through everything together. If your entire team doesn't cross the finish line in time, then you're disqualified.

     I'm lucky enough that most of my team make up the majority of my friends. The other participant is athletic, sure, but he's not known for being a team player—well, from what I know that is.

     I stop at the end of the strip mall, trying to catch my breath. I've ran about five miles so far. Maybe I should start heading back. I don't want to get hit by a car... again. For some reason people tend to not pay attention, especially around this area. It also doesn't seem to matter if you're wearing a reflective belt or not, the ability to pay attention to your surroundings seems to become more and more rare nowadays.

     I made it back to my house unscathed. Maybe God decided to take pity on me this morning. I look over at the time and see that it's just barely reaching 8:00 am. It's only in the middle of first period and I still have so much to do today; it's part of the reason why I'm ditching. I can't waste any more time worrying about changing classes and answering questions that I know the answer to. I am already ahead, and the teachers know it too. Besides, I also think they prefer it when I'm not there.

     That just leaves me, my laptop, and maybe some loud music to drown out the impending doom that I know to come later this week.

     I head upstairs for a hot shower, then after some food, time to get to work.

     The water is sweltering hot against my skin and the steam filling the space makes it difficult to breathe. It helps wash away the stress by clearing my head as well as soothe any aching muscles. Tomorrow is going to suck.

     I take an hour in the shower to make sure that my mind is sound for the work that I have to get done today.

     I make my way back down the stairs after changing and blow drying my hair. The length has now reached just down past my waist. It's straight with a boring brown color with little to no shine. The only interesting thing about it is the thickness. I haven't had the guts to cut it since I signed the contract. Back then, I was a failing, near drop-out, depressed, nothing going for her 13 year old. A lot has happened since then.

     I'm drawn from my thoughts as my phone buzzes: probably from Haven. He may be asking why I'm not in school. I'll text him later. I can't afford anymore distractions.

     I grab my backpack and make my way to the dining table. No use in going upstairs to my desk. Setting everything up would just take up more time.

     My phone buzzes again but I don't spare a glance this time; instead I turn on my computer and open up the awaiting documents that need to be completed. This is going to suck.

     I managed to complete a few of the documents before there was a single knock on the door before it opened. School isn't out yet and I could have sworn that I locked it when I got home.

     The door opens to Colin, his dirty blonde hair windswept from the weather. What the hell is he doing here?

     "Ok, you won't believe what—" He stops his sentence to see my glare. "I see I have interrupted something important?"

     "Why aren't you in school?" This better be good.

     His face burns and he looks to the floor. "Um... so I guess straight to the point then. Can I actually get something to eat first? I'm starved." I sigh in defeat and gesture to the kitchen I'm standing next to.

     I'm a bit more lenient when it comes to him. Despite his upbeat personality and a scarily positive look on things, his home life is anything but that.

     "Awesome. Ok so, apparently there's a whole bunch of drama going on right now with Odette and Jessica." He drops his bag on the floor next to the island counter and turns to open the fridge, pulling out condiments for a sandwich.

     "Why is this important? You're supposed to be in school so you can take your English test, which, do I need to remind you, that you need to pass." I make my way back to the dining table across from the island counter and lean up against it.

     "I already took it. I skipped first period and talked to the teacher. She let me take it during then." He scoops out a blob of mayo and begins to spread it on his slice of bread. "Anyways, so Odette is pregnant." Ok, so maybe I wasn't expecting that. But, did that warrant him to leave school early? "And so is Jessica." Oh, you've got to be kidding me.

     "Please tell me you didn't—"

     "I don't know" He begins piling on the lunch meat after he had spread an equal copious amount of mustard, and added three layers of cheese.

     "What do you mean you don't know? How do you not know?" I seriously do not have time for this.

     He takes a giant bite of his sandwich and shrugs, avoiding eye contact.

     "They were also with some other guys around the same time—like in the span of two weeks, I think? I don't know who but—I need your help."

     You've got to be fucking kidding me. I rub my face with my hands, mentally sighing. "Who else knows?"

     "Just you and Haven... I kinda don't want to tell my mom. At least not if I can help it." He takes another giant bite out of his giant sandwich.

     This is just what I needed. Great. Fantastic even.

     "Do their parents know? Odette's and Jessica's?"

     He shakes his head with mustard and mayo smeared on his mouth, his eyes wide.

     "Ok, and I'm guessing you want me to do what? Do a DNA test?" I'm starting to get pissed. I seriously don't need this right now.

     "Please? Maybe you can like—"

     "Like what? I'm sorry, Colin, but I don't have the equipment to do something like that right now. Even then, do you know what they plan to do with their pregnancies?"

     Colin speaks around his mouth full of food,"Odette is wanting to keep her baby and Jessica is wanting to give her's up for adoption."

     I quirk an eyebrow. "And you? If one or both end up being yours as well?"

     He just finishes the last of his sandwich, not looking at me and not saying a word.

     I pinch the bridge of my nose and sigh; needing a moment to think. I hate crap like this. I'm usually prepared for just about anything but—a baby?

     At least he came to me though, can't fault him for that. And thankfully neither one of them wants to terminate the pregnancy. Getting pregnant may have been an accident but at least they have some sense of what they want to do. And it's not like they're the first girls to get pregnant this year either; there's already four others in varying years that are pregnant. Besides, it's not like Colin has anywhere or anyone else to turn to. Certainly not his half-present mom.

     "Ok fine. I'll figure something out to determine whether or not they're yours, and I'll help you prepare for if they do end up being yours." His face brightens and it looks as though a weight has lifted from his shoulders.

     "Thank you! Thank you so much, Boss." He goes to give me a hug but I put my hand up to stop him.

     "But that doesn't mean you're not on my shit list." He just nods his head but he seems far less stressed. This must have really been eating at him.

     "How long have you known?"

     "A week." He goes back over to the fridge and begins digging through the leftovers. His mom probably hasn't gone shopping in a while. I'll have to make sure I restock the fridge tomorrow and get some extra food for him to take home with him as well.

     "Ok, and I'm assuming you're staying the night?" I ask. He nods his head, a hopeful gleam in his blue eyes.

     "Fine." He lights up again. "But warm me up some of that while you're at it." He gives me a mock salute and turns to get out two bowls.

     He's a good kid— a rough life— but still a good kid. We had met the summer before sophomore year. He had been taking summer school, near drop out, while I had been taking up extra classes. I managed to convince him not to and helped him pass the classes he needed to make up. I can't be prouder of how far he's come. And now with this situation, he'll have to work even harder and push himself even more toward a successful and steady life. Having kids is stressful enough, but being a teenager? With not much going for you at the moment? I'll have to keep an extra eye on him. I don't want all that he has worked for to go to waste because he relapsed.

     I take my seat where my laptop was set up as the microwave beeps. Colin passes me a matching steaming bowl of chili as he takes the seat across from me, digging into his bowl immediately.

     I turn to my computer and open back up one of the many awaiting documents. It's barely ten am and there's already so much going on. Why couldn't this year go smoothly?

     My phone buzzes again and this time I spare it a glance; two text messages from Haven and one from Colin. All are probably from this morning.

     I begrudgingly open up the ones from Haven. Well, I assume they are from the amount of concern coming through the phone. He had somehow managed to change his contact name in my phone to "The Bestest Ever": Hey, why aren't you in school? You better not be ditching to drown yourself in work. I scroll down to the next message: Also fyi, Colin is on his way. I managed to 'convince' his English teacher to take his test during first period so he can talk to you about something. And text me back please, Remajatej? I'm not appreciating being ignored.

     I should probably text him back... later. After I get this done. I'll text him then.

     Turning back to my laptop once again, I begin going through the document I was working on. Where was I going with this— "So what are you working on?"

     I mentally groan, "Does it matter?"

     Colin shrugs his shoulders. "I'm just curious."

     I close my laptop, getting a feeling I won't be getting any work done today. There's a moment of silence as we both eat. "So, have any names picked out yet?" I smirk as I take another bite.

     Colin chokes on his food and stares at me. A small smile slowly appears on his face. "Not yet. Hey? You think they'd let me name either of them even if they aren't mine?"

     I smile in return, "Considering you may be the reason they have to skip their party phase in their twenties? Yea, no. Good luck with that." He shrugs his shoulders in response and takes another big bite of chili.

     "Seriously though, what are you working on? I thought you had done everything you needed to up until the football game?"

     "No, I still have to organize all of the booths. Then I have to finalize a few things and try to leave room for whatever extra money we may have from the football game."

     Colin nods his head in understanding. "What about the money from the tickets? You have a plan for that yet?"

     I pause mid bite, "What do you mean by tickets?"

     "Well, the coaches handed us a bunch of tickets to sell to anyone that wanted to watch the football game. You know, rather than just walking right up into the stands? Was that not your idea?"

     I put my fork down, rubbing my face. "No, it wasn't. They're trying to pocket it." Colin takes another bite, not saying anything. "Wait, how many tickets have you sold?"

     "I don't know, about a hundred?"

     "And what have you done with the money so far?" I'll be damned if that money goes straight into the pockets of those perverted coaches.

     "I hid it. I was afraid my mom would take it." Well at least that's one less problem. I'll have to figure out a way to get back all the money and return it to the students.

     "Ok, good. I'll need that money and whatever tickets you have leftover." He nods his head in response as he scrapes what was left in his bowl and shovels it into his mouth.

     "You got it, Boss."

     I grab my phone, maybe I should text him back. Today has been nothing but absolute crap. "I'll need you to gather a list of other students also selling tickets as well."

     He nods his head again as he goes to stand. I push my bowl toward him and he grabs it to take it into the kitchen with his own.

     "Are you going to sick Liam on them?" He asks as he rinses out the dishes.

     Liam is sort of like my second in command. When I graduate, and retire from all of this, I'll be passing the mantle of all of my responsibilities to him. Despite his attitude and immaturity, I don't doubt that when the time comes he'll be more than ready. I can already see it. But for this issue?

     "No, I'll handle it myself." Colin pauses his rinsing.

     "Damn, they're really in for it, huh?" I don't say anything in return and I go back to texting Haven: Thanks for the warning, and I dealt with it. Also, we got more stuff to talk about regarding the football game. I send a second message as an afterthought: And don't worry about me drowning myself in my work, Colin is proving to be a dutiful distraction.

     We both have settled into a mostly comfortable silence over the next few hours. Colin had begun his homework after I helped him do whatever assignments he may still be missing from his classes. He may have gotten clean, but that doesn't mean he had turned his school life around just yet.

     I had just gotten out the ingredients for dinner when there was a knock at the door.

     Colin gets up from his seat at the table, "I got it!"

     Colin races down the hall and opens the door. "Are we playing hooky now?" Liam's voice is laced with amusement as it echoes down the hall.

     "Ha ha, very funny." Colin rolls his eyes as he takes his seat again, leading the others inside the house: Liam, Luke, Alexa, Alessia, Nia, and Haven.

     I had met them all intermittently throughout sophomore year and this past summer, except for Haven. And somewhere along the way, they all decided that my place was the spot to all hangout at.

     Everyone falls into an all too familiar routine. The quadruplets (Luke, Liam, Alexa, and Alessia) either grab snacks or their prospective seats. Meanwhile, Nia sets her book bag on one of the chairs and brushes her goddess braids gently behind her shoulders to help me prep for dinner.

     Haven walks in with a smile on his face, his backpack on one shoulder. "Hey there, Remaja." He leans down to kiss my cheek but I evade it.

     "We need to talk." I stop my chopping to look at him. He has a grim look on his face but gives a small nod.

     "So, how many girls did you get pregnant, again?" Liam is now seated across from Colin, leaning back in his chair with his feet up on the table. He shoves a handful of m&m's in his mouth.

     Colin looks up from his homework to glare at him, "At least I can talk to girls. The only interaction you've had with them are your sisters."

     Liam opens his mouth to retort but I interrupt him, "Liam, get your feet off the table. This isn't a barn."

     He doesn't say anything in return. Instead, he takes his feet off the table and shoves another handful of m&m's in his mouth while Colin goes back to his homework.

      Nia looks up from her chopping to say, "So I heard about the tickets. Got a plan?"

     Everyone stops what they're doing and they turn their heads to look at me. I don't respond, instead I turn back to the stove and add in more seasonings. I hate it when they do that. As if I have all the answers immediately. But it isn't that simple. A lot more goes into things like this than what they may think.

     Haven speaks up instead looking into everyone's eyes, "We'll talk details about that later. For now, just accumulate a list of everyone selling them."

     I set the flame to low and put the lid on the pot. "We've got other stuff to talk about regardless."

      Nia gathers up the diced onion she chopped to put into the pot. "Like yesterday's meeting?"

     Liam turns around in his chair to face the kitchen. "Yea, I got the text you sent me about the original plan. I managed to download it."

     "Good, I'll need you to print it off."

     "What? Is the printer giving you issues again?" Alessia says with a smile on her face.

     I lean back against the counter next to the stove, "I fail to see how that's relevant. Regardless, Mr. Strover is still bitter from the initial meeting."

     "So we can cross off criticizing adults as a way to convince them to listen to us then?" I glare at Alessia's comment and her tone changes. "Well what if someone else presents the new plan? If they're still holding a grudge against you?" Alessia corrects her line of questions.

     I look over their faces. Maybe sending one of them in wouldn't be such a bad idea. "Thank you for volunteering."

     Alessia's eyes go wide in shock, "What!? That wasn't—I didn't—"

     "You presented the idea. So now, you get to see it through."

     Her face turns sour as everyone is now watching the tension rise between us. "How do you expect me to present your idea? I barely understand what you do for the admin, let alone the details. It's your responsibility."

     "And you seem to think that mouthing off every chance you get is your responsibility as well. You and Liam can discuss on how the two of you can convince Mr. Strover to accept the plan."

     "How exactly do you expect me to be able to do that? I can't even get my teachers to give me extra credit."

     "That's what you and Liam are going to be talking about when the two of you look over the plan."

     She slumps in her seat as Liam and Colin share eye contact briefly, and everyone goes back to what they were doing beforehand. Hmm.

     Haven clears his throat getting the attention of everyone again, "The next meeting is going to be this upcoming Monday thirty minutes before school is supposed to start. That gives the two of you the entire weekend to figure out everything you'll need to in order to convince Mr. Strover to use the plan."

     Liam speaks up, "We'll make sure it happens, Boss."

     The tension seems to dissipate immediately after the interaction. I swear that's Haven's superpower. Just his presence alone can calm a crowded, rowdy room. I also think it's because of his height but he'll never admit to it. He just turned 17 and was 6'4" the last time he checked.

     "Keep an eye on dinner? It should be ready in about thirty minutes." I stir the pot one more time before putting the lid back on. Nia just nods her head and moves to take my place where I was standing.

     I give Haven a look and he takes the hint to follow me.

     We head upstairs to my "office". The room itself isn't huge but it does the job. There is a wall of shelves to the right: worn books tabbed and annotated as well as notebooks completely filled to the brim with notes. And along the opposite wall are photos and trophies that Haven had insisted on hanging up as well as a long shelf sitting in front with more awards and photos. The drawers are filled with pens, pencils, cords, and other junk that I don't care to remember at the moment. Then there's my desk. It's along the wall the opposite of the door both Haven and I just walked through.

     Haven locks the door behind him to ensure we didn't have any interruptions. For some reason, the rest of the group seem to think they can waltz into any room unannounced.

     There's a beat of silence and I can't help but stare at him. The bags underneath his eyes are still there. I wonder what's keeping him at night lately? I remember him mentioning needing to do more for his grandma, but how much more? His face is still grim. A contrast to his usual easy-going and relaxed demeanor.

     I get so lost in my thoughts that I nearly forget what I wanted to talk to him about.

     "Is this about the coaches?" He's now leaning up against the door with his arms crossed over his chest. Maybe I should have worded the 'we need to talk' a bit differently. I know for a fact I would also be panicking about our relationship if he had said the same to me.

     "Yea, we do. But I don't think it was necessarily their idea." I move to my desk, trying to seem to make myself busy by organizing the papers atop of it.

     "How do you mean." He's not shocked by my theories by now.

     "Well for one thing, they could have started charging students years ago, but they haven't. None of them are exactly the sharpest tools in the shed." I turn to lean against the desk, facing him.

     "True enough."

     "I think it's the admin. trying to pull one over me. They tried to do something similar a few weeks ago."

     "How'd you stop it then?" His eyebrows furrowed slightly.

I forgot I didn't tell him about that, "Well at first I walked right into their offices. That didn't go too well." He raises an eyebrow in response as if to say: you don't say. "Then I just went around to everyone that was selling the tickets, individually, and collected all the money myself and returned it all to their rightful owners."

     "And what are you leaving out of this story?" A small smile creeps at the corner of his lips and I smile widely in return.

     "Let's just say it's also the reason as to why I'll be dealing with the coaches myself." Ok, so maybe I have a pile of hard copy files full of blackmail in the basement of the shed behind the house. That's one of the biggest mistakes anyone can make: putting your information online as well as any important documents you may have. It's one of the reasons why I don't use my laptop or electronics for anything other than business and sending messages that are deemed necessary to people. Even with all the preaching of internet safety from adults, they don't seem to practice it themselves. Hypocrites.

     "Good. And what about Colin?"

     I shift my weight to my other foot. "I'm worried."

     "Understandably. His mom doesn't know, right?" I shake my head in answer.

     "I don't want her to know. If she finds out she'll kick him out of the house. She's been trying to find any sort of excuse for the last year and a half to do so." Due to legal reasons, Colin would end up in a foster home until he ages out, and they could send him anywhere. His entire life would be uprooted and he would have no one around him for any emotional and mental support. His mental state is already fragile enough, and I don't want anything to happen to him that would make him fall back into old and dangerous habits. His only chance would be to file for emancipation, but there's nothing of note that would convince the judge to let him.

     Haven rubs his face with his hand. "He's come so far."

     "I know. Which means that we need to keep an extra eye on him. Make sure he doesn't spiral and self-destruct. I could try to help and prepare him for the upcoming year, but if he relapses then we'd have to start from scratch."

     "Why not put Nia on it?" I raise an eyebrow at the question. "Oh come on. You seriously can't tell me you haven't seen the stares shared between the two of them? With all of your supposed know-how and endless knowledge of people you're telling me that you can't see the tension between them?" He has a playful smile on his face now and I try to keep mine from my own face.

     "For one thing, I've got more important things to do rather than getting into petty, little high school drama." He gives me a pointed look and I wave my arms out as if to say "what?"

     "Ok sure, because you never get involved in any relationships whatsoever. At all." I can't fight the smile trying to form on my face any longer and move around my desk to my computer.

     "Alright, maybe I've had a few suspicions... and maybe I've managed to accidentally see their text messages between the two of them." I open up the messenger icon and scroll to their most recent conversation. Something about meeting up to 'study'.

     Haven walks over and leans down over my shoulder, reading their last conversation. "Accidentally you say?" His head turns to look at me, but I avoid eye contact.

     "Hey, looking at pages of numbers and reading emails filled with nothing but condescension and deadlines can be exhausting. Besides, just making sure everyone is following the guidelines with internet safety."

     Haven huffs out an amused breath, "Sure, let's go with that. But don't let them find out that's what you've been doing in your free time. I don't think either one of them would appreciate their privacy being invaded like that." He stands to his full height again, crossing his arms back over his broad chest.

     I turn around in my chair to respond to him but yelling from the kitchen and dining room interrupts me. What the heck is going on now?

     A ding sounds from my computer, drawing my attention away from the ruckus happening downstairs: an email sent from one of the coaches. I slide my mouse over and open it, quickly reading through it. Welp, there goes the element of surprise.

     More yelling can be heard from downstairs and it catches the attention of Haven this time around.

     Haven closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose, letting out a deep sigh, "I'll go handle it."

     I don't say anything, instead, I stay where I'm seated and turn my attention back to my computer. Hopefully everything gets sorted out before tomorrow. If not, then we're all in for a crude awakening. 

Words Count: 4,831