A yawn crept up on the eldest valentine. He'd been up most of the night working on a report for his work. He hadn't expected it to take so long, but with one thing after another happening in his home, it had taken him most of the afternoon to get down a hundred works. It was a good thing that coffee existed, or he knew he wouldn't have lasted more than an hour. Each day was roughly the same for Alezander Valentine. He got up, when he first heard movement in the house. It was instinct, that and his alarm went off at around the same time as the first woke up. This was the early time of about seven in the morning. Very few mornings did Zander sleep past half seven, but every so often he had the opportunity to sleep longer, and even if it wasn't that much longer, Zander did. He always took it. But, it was once in a blue moon. When it was not the holiday's Zander then had the task of getting the youngest two washed and ready for school. While, Mara made breakfast and lunch for them both. Zander would then take them on the short walk to the school. This was without him having anything as of yet, and once he'd dropped them off, Zander walked back to the house and got ready himself. It was a quick process, with both Robin and Mara leaving the house just as he returned. And while this was the only time he got to himself on a normal day there was no time to enjoy it, a morning coffee, and a bit of bread were enjoyed on his way to the ministry. His day continued just as busy. But it was the holidays that made Zander wonder why he didn't just walk away. With all of his siblings in the house at the one time, things were hectic. Robin had recently just been fired, so there was increased tension. Mara still had her degree, and her job, so she was away more than most. Ciel and Kyle were running riot around the house, annoying and basically bullying Kailey, who as per usual was suffering from more than Zander knew how to handle. He never knew what to do, and it was hard for him to gain any authority over Ciel and Kyle. Both were 18, and literally had no respect for the brother who would lay his own life on the line to improve the relationships in the home. But, it seemed that meant little to them. As for Kailey, well, she had anger issues, which most Valentines had. And with her Justin. And then the final two, Jamie, whom Zander felt close to more than others, and then the youngest Tyler. All together in the one home was pretty hard. He had all the patience in the world, but he didn't know how to be a parents. He thought he'd pick it up, but he had teenagers under his roof, and without proper parents, it was hard for anything to work properly.
Standing outside a muggle cafe in the rain, Zander was on the phone to Robin, who'd just applied for a whole set of jobs. And recieved nothing but rejections. Although it was still the holidays, Zander had been out most of the morning, getting supplies for when the younger ones started back at school. He generally took the youngest two shopping with him, but since Mara had been home, she'd said she would look after them, with the promise of him being back before a certain hour. But, he'd spent the past few minutes talking down the phone to Robin, who didn't seem to quite understand what Zander had meant by get a job. He'd applied to places that took muggles with degrees. He was a wizard, unable to find a job in their world. Zander had his job, but it did seem with every passing day more likely that he would have to look into a night shift job. "Robin, I don't care if it's interesting, I need you to apply to jobs in your field. Robin, we can't be without a third small income. Mara's university stuff is a hefty lot to pay, and not to mention, there are bills to pay too. And Ciel and Kyle leave at the end of the year......." There was a pause in Zander's speaking as it was clear that the person on the other end. Zander just nodded along, while stopping himself from hitting his head off a wall. "They might not go straight into work. Robin, they need to have options. You had options." Zander stopped speaking once more. "Look, tell Mara I'll be home soon, just have to go pick up some groceries. Okay, Bye" With that Zander hung up his phone and placed it back into his pocket. He didn't like all this bother. Zander had half considered trying to find out why he'd been fired and if there was any way of getting him back his job. Zander knew that Jamie was loving have Robin home, but it was as Zander said, there needed to be options for the two about to leave school. Unlike Zander who did not have the same options, but he wasn't complaining. As long as his family did, he could put up with it.
The dark green eyes drifted and noticed the cafe he was standing in front of. Needed to sit down, Zander walked in and went straight to the counter. There were dark circles under his eyes and he looked very tired. After giving his order, he looked round and noticed, that there were few free tables, he spotted a table with a girl sitting at it. He figured it would be the place to sit. So, he walked over to her and placed his espresso down on the table. "Excuse me, can I sit down?" It was as the Valentine spoke, that he realised the girl was actually pretty stunning. She had the nicest blonde hair. he smiled, maybe a friend. His smile was not faked, but the tiredness was clear in his eyes. There was no mistaking that all the boy actually wanted to do was sleep. But, as his family knew he could not.
