Closed Baby Of the Family

[Jordan Harris]

Jordie had been having a.... rough time. The twins being attacked by miss Jen- er, Aunt Myra, had been startling. It was nice to have Onyx home, even if the older boy didn't remember much. It had given Jordie the opportunity to reteach Onyx the classics- lots of disney movies, and Pixar, and Marvel, everything Onyx didn't remember he had watched. It was nice, honestly, cuddling on the couch with his big brother and watching tv all day. But now that Uncle James had arranged a tutor for Onyx, and Sapphire was back at school again, Jordie found he had more free time on his hands again. He decided to wander the streets for a while, humming along to the music in his headphones. There had to be something to do, right? He had a basketball with him, just bouncing it idly as he walked. He didn't really have a plan, but that was alright. Sometimes the most fun things came by surprise.

 

[Caleb Thorne]

Caleb had been feeling restless since Simon and Delilah were both at school, leaving him all alone in their now mostly empty house with no one to talk to besides their parents. Dad was always gone and Mom always seemed to busy. He could never figure out what she was busy doing, just that she didn't have time to deal with him. So he had developed the habit of sneaking out when no one was around and going for walks. It was one of the only times he missed London and his friends. Today he decided to stop in front of one of the houses on his street that had a gnarled old tree that was perfect for climbing when he noticed another boy around his age. Without missing a beat he scrambled out of the tree and ran up next to him. "Hey, do you live around here?" he asked and noticed his headphones and basketball. "What are you listening to? Do you play?" he asked quickly.

 

[Jordan Harris]

Jordan looked up, pulling his headphones out of his ears. "Oh, hi," he smiled, bouncing the ball. "Yeah, I live nearby," He offered the boy an earbud, smiling. "I'm listening to the Descendants soundtrack," He stated plainly, "But I have no actual plans. You wanna do something?" He asked. "I'm Jordan," he introduced himself. "Call me Jordie."

 

[Caleb Thorne]

Caleb smiled once he realized the boy seemed friendly. “Oh, sure thanks.” he said and tentatively took the earbud and started listening to the music. “That’s cool. Have you always lived here? Cause I’ve never seen you before but I’ve only lived here for a little over a year so that’s probably why.” he explained. “I don’t have plans either. Ever since my sister left for school I’ve had no one to hang out with. So I hardly ever have plans.” he pointed out. “Hi Jordie, I’m Caleb. Just Caleb. I think my name is a little too short to have a nickname.”

 

[Jordan Harris]

Jordie shrugged. "I live in the area, most of the time. My uncle travels a lot for work so when he's off on long jobs I go stay with my aunt for a bit." He explained, though was intrigued when the other kid said he lived here. "That's cool. I'm going to school next year myself," He replied proudly. "We could hang out though, until then. If you wanted." He offered. He nodded as the boy introduced himself as Caleb. "Caleb is a cool name." He commented.

 

[Caleb Thorne]

Caleb was really enjoying the music and wondered if he could convince his mom to get him some kind of music lessons since he was the only one at home now. “I used to live in London. But I think my dad got a new job so we had to move here.” he said, hoping to sound interesting to his new friend. But he frowned as Jordie mentioned going to school soon. “Oh that’s cool. I don’t go until the year after next.” he said, really trying to sound sincere. “I’d like that! And when you go off to school you have to tell me what it's like.” Caleb said excitedly “What it's really like.” he emphasized. “My brother never writes and my sister only tells me about her classes and her boring friends.” he explained with a roll of his eyes. “Oh thanks! I don’t think I’m named after anyone. You know, because sometimes people are named after their great uncles or what ever. I think my parents just liked the name but my sister is named after our grandmother though.” he said and looked back at the basketball in Jordie’s hands. “Do you want to play something?”

 

[Jordan Harris]

Jordie nodded. "London sounds cool. Did you like it there?" He asked. He looked visibly disappointed when Caleb said he wouldn't be going to school until after him. "I'll definitely have to write to you then, and show you around when you get there," He nodded decisively. He paused when Caleb mentioned names. "I don't know if I was named after anything," He shrugged. "I'm adopted and I don't remember much from before my older sister found me." He stated plainly. He smiled widely when Caleb asked if he wanted to play anything. "Sure!" He agreed immediately. "What do you have in mind?"

 

[Caleb Thorne]

“I did.” Caleb said excitedly. “It was really cool. Have you ever been?” he asked with his eyes wide. He felt bad for making Jordie sad about him not going to school next year. Caleb wanted more than anything to be at Hogwarts already. It was boring being the only one stuck at home but he was relieved that his new friend promised to write. “Oh wow, that’s...cool?” he said awkwardly, unsure of how to respond to something like that. Nothing was wrong with being adopted but it wasn’t something he knew how to be polite about. But he shrugged it off quickly and thought for a moment about what they should play. “We could pass the ball back and forth and try and make up more rules as we go?” he suggested.

 

[Jordan Harris]

Jordie shook his head. "Nah, I've never been out of the country." He shrugged. He grinned at Caleb's suggestion. "Sure!" He took out the headphones, wrapping them up in his pocket and starting the album over and stopping near a tree. He turned the music all the way up so they could hear it, before running into the street a bit and tossing the ball to Caleb. "Let's play!" Jordie laughed.