"Jane!" Li called as he ran through the halls upstairs.

"I'm down here!" I called back distractedly as my eyes stayed transfixed on the TV. I heard the pitter patter of tiny feet run towards me then felt a body plop on my lap.

I looked down to see Li sprawled on top of me while shoving his toy truck in my face.

"What's this?" I ask softly as I pulled his hand away from my face.

"It's Jay! He can carry four rocks and still be fast!" He explained as he swerved the truck through the air.

The door swung open and there was Ai carrying a bundle of groceries through the door.

"MOMMY!" Li yelled and zoomed off my lap and onto his mom. Ai stumbles a bit and I quickly got off the couch and took some bags off of her arms.

"Hey how was work?" I asked as we walked into the kitchen.

"Oh the usual, though one person came in asking for an unusual request-"

"Mom! Look at Jay!" Li cut off as he shoved his beloved truck into her stomach. She let out an "oOF" and I chuckled.

I quickly scooped up Li and put him on my hip.

"Come on lets go get the mail," I said and we walked outside to the driveway. Li was distractedly playing with my hair as I shuffled through the envelopes.

"Look it's Noah-" Li started excitedly and I whipped around. Since Ai made a good amount of money being an artist she lived in the good part of town. Where the House were painted white with black shutters and the lawn was always trimmed.

Noah was outside mowing the lawn and when he saw Li he gave him a big grin.

"Did you see that? He smiled at me!" Ever since Li found out that Noah owned a truck he's been head over heels. I smiled softly and Noah's eyes trailed to me. He gave me a nod and I returned one before turning my attention back to Li who was resting his head on my shoulder. I laughed and held him closer to my chest and pulled his jacket up to protect his neck from the cool breeze. As I looked back one last time I saw Noah staring at us with a small smile on his lips before he went back to his job.

The next morning I woke up to the sound of Li running through the House with his truck rattling behind him. He found out that if you tied a string to the truck and you then it would follow you which made him feel so smart that he wanted me to grill him math facts for the whole week.

I got up and changed into a comfortable outfit before grabbing my backpack and heading downstairs. Ai was busy in her studio painting so I was in charge of making breakfast for Li and I.

I quickly took out fruit from the fridge and cut them up then arranged them to make a funny face. For a special touch I added whipped cream for hair. Manny would always make it for me.

"Li!" I yelled and I heard the sound of stomping down the stairs.

"OOH FOOD!" He screamed and plopped down on his chair. I slid the plate his way then grabbed a pop tart for me. Li was overly excited about anything while Ai was calm and quiet and sometimes I wondered how Ai produced this child.

I dropped off Li at elementary school then headed off to High School. It's crazy to think that I'm in the big school now!

As I walked to my locker I heard a lot of commotion going on the wall across of my locker. There was a big crowd so I just pushed through and dropped my stuff off.

The cheers got louder which forced me to see what was going on. I found myself standing next to Azera as she shook her head in shame.

"What's going on?" I asked as I hold my binder close to my chest.

"Noah and Clark are back at it again," she sighs and I turn my head to face the scene. There Noah was beating poor Clark to pulp and I winced, remembering my father.

"Noah, please stop!" Thomas yelled trying to pull him back. Noah turned harshly towards him.

"This time he deserves it!" He spat and went to resume his work.

"What did he do?" Thomas asked and pulled his shoulder back again. Noah's eyes trained towards me then did Thomas'.

By the look they were giving me I couldn't help that I had something to do with this issue. Clark then wheezed out, "Pussy."

I gasped as Noah swung around and collided his fist so hard into Clark's face that I'm pretty sure his nose cracked. I winced and grabbed my head, pictures of my father and his fist running through. Azera grabbed my elbow and led me away from the scene and to my next class.

•

hi I'm back

843 words woe