I look down at her big beautiful brown eyes. She stares at me— as if I am a complete stranger. Her blonde hair falls into her face. My eyes and mind can't help but wonder to how her split ends are just terribly uncut.

"Hi, I'm Jay, your oldest sister and only one. If dad hasn't gotten any more out there," I chuckle, trying to bring light into this situation, but I remember she's just a child, so my joke may have flown over her head. She looks at me oddly-like she has no clue what I am talking about.

"Um, Miss Alden..." I stare up hesitantly at the small petite woman. Her bronze dark skin caked with neat makeup, and her brown hair tied into a stylish tight bun. My eyes roam over her pants suit, it fits so perfectly and hugs every curve she owned, giving her that fancy professional caseworker look.

"Jay please, just call me Jay," I smile kindly at the lady.

" Jay, we will send you all of Josephine papers. Starting with her social security, birth certificate, and other important papers. We have a few more documents you may need to sign, so stop by the office tomorrow." I nod to everything she has stated. She throws Joe one last smile before she grabs her purse and stands.

"Oh, I forgot, your father has been moved to Luke Wilbert hospital to start his chemotherapy session." I smile softly, nodding while guiding her towards the door. She exits, which leave me to finally take a deep breath, sliding down the door slowly.

"How am I suppose to take care of another human being? I'm only 20." I rub my eyes frustratedly. My palms are sweaty and my heart is racing.

"J-Jay?" The little girl whispers beside me. I look up, my eyes watery and teary. First words I heard her speak since she arrived.

"If it makes you feel any better, I'll help as much as I can," I chuckle through my tears. She hands me a blonde haired Barbie doll.

"Thanks, Joe," I smile.

"You're my big sister, I understand," She shrugs her shoulders and sits down next to me.

"Josephine Kaven Alden, last time calling you or I'm running up those stairs to—" I don't know what I'm going to do, so I guess my threat is pointless. She does this every morning, takes her time doing whatever. She does this purposefully, due to her hating school and mornings.

"Okay, I'm down." She hops down the last 4 steps, tossing on her baseball cap backwards and taking a seat in her usual chair. I review her outfit, which is boyish, as usual. Her preference is her own, tomboyish, which I can understand. She loves to collect baseball caps and jerseys. I stare idolizing her, she tucks her locks under the cap mindlessly. It's something she does so often, I sometimes question if she just wants to shave it short.

"What did I tell you, no hats at the table..." she already knows my rule, so she rolls her eyes in annoyance. I could only smirk at the attitude she is developing, she's obviously taking after mom.

"Unless it's turned the right way," she corrects. She takes the cap off and puts it on the right way. She re-tucks her hair underneath the cap.

"Thanks,"I smile toothily as I grab a bowl and set it in front of her. I fill it with fruit oatmeal, something we've been eating for 2 weeks straight every morning for breakfast.

"This again? Ugh!" She groans.

"Well, why don't you eat cereal than?" I call out as I take the bowl, but she pulls it back in front of her.

"You always buy the cheap lousy cereal, what the heck is "Fruity O's"! I'll tell you, knock-offs of Froot Loops," she whines out dramatically.

"You always eat all of the name brand cereal in one day, leaving me to buy the cheap kind when we're low on money."

"Didn't you get a paycheck this past Friday?" She questions curiously.

"I don't get my work check until this upcoming Monday." This shows she doesn't listen to a word I say.

"What about your other job?" She frowns while sticking the spoon into the bowl and making a yuck sound.

"I told you I got fired like last week!" See, she doesn't listen. "How?" She questions curiously taking a spoon full of oatmeal and stuffing it into her mouth.

"I told you the story, listen and stop being into that game over there." I point toward the gams system that sits on the floor near the television.

"That game is the only thing that keeps me happy and not full of boredom." Why does she have to be a smart-mouthed 12 year old? Did I have this much sass growing up? Most likely, yes.

"Go to the park then, do what the kids had to do growing up in the '90s and early '00s." I seriously don't know what is wrong with this generation of kids. Has electronics taken over that much? Is the park not "the spot" anymore? I honestly don't know about her.

"I will if you come. Stranger danger Jay, stranger danger!"

"I taught you what to do, kick em' in the shins if the guy or woman ask you a weird manipulating question."

"I know, but it's no fun if you're not there. How am I suppose to play baseball without a pitcher? Basketball without a defense striker? Soccer without a goalie?" She names off a whole list of excuses.

"Other kids Joe. Maybe if you weren't such a troublemaker, you'll have more friends," I emphasize. She literally starts trouble with any kid her age that comes near her, and at first her therapist said it was a coping mechanism, shutting people out, because she fells, well always felt that people leave her, so she barely wanted to make friends. First mom, then dad being sick, and her best friend from like the 1st grade moved away recently.

"Yeah yeah yeah whatever," she huffs out and slumps her shoulders in annoyance.

"I'll come one day, it's just work and..." I groan cleaning the leftover dishes from last night that she did not wash.

"It's always work!" She mumbles under her breath lowly but I catch it. I turn to her, eye level.

"If I have no job we have no money, we have no money then I can't pay bills, rent, clothes, and shoes for you. I can't pay bills, rent, clothes, and shoes for you, we lose the house and you look like a bum. We lose the house and you look like a bum, you get taken away from me and I have nowhere to live, so I live on street begging for change."

"I know, but we never have sister..." she tries but gets interrupted by Mari.

"Mari is in the house!" Mari yells loudly.

"WOOT WOOT WOOT!" They both holler as I sip my coffee. Ah yes, my idiotic best friend Mari. Her curly black hair sits in a puffy ponytail with a pink headband. Her beautiful flawless caramel skin shines with her bright red lipstick.

"Don't you guys ever get tired of that?" I chuckle, while playfully rolling my eyes at the two of them.

"Neva!" They both say in unison and break into fits of laughter.

"Hey, what's that over there?" Mari points, and like always Joe falls for it. "Where?" She says enthusiastically turning her head and Mari snatches her bowl and starts to eat Joes Oatmeal.

"Ah man, you always do that!" Joe pouts annoyed, but I know she does it purposely to not hurt my feelings about my lumpy oatmeal, which Mari kinda loves.

"You're always falling for it," Mari says smirking.

"Plus I brought DOUGHNUTS!" She reveals the box brown box from Glens bakery, and sets it on the table. Always the prime and savior.

"Oh gosh, I want chocolate with sprinkles!" Joe cheers enthusiastically. She goes towards the box, but I quickly stop her.

"Not before you clean your room and retrieve your shoes. Ready for school first and then the diabetes Mari brings you almost every morning." She frowns at that. "Oh, and bring down the cough syrup so I can give you the last of it," I call. She slumps her shoulders and head towards the staircase.

"You're no fun, Jay!" Joe pouts and races up the stairs to her room.

"Yeah, you aren't any fun, I don't know why we're friends," Mari states as she scrunches up her nose. I can tell she's joking, but sometimes I feel as if I'm not really that fun anymore. Every since I got the responsibility of taking care of another person, fun hasn't been on my mind, I guess that's why my ex cheated on me. Who knows though.

"Because you love me dearly," I smile brightly while leaning over to place a friendly peck onto her cheek, but she pushes me away and wipes at her cheek disgusted.

"Hmm no not quite," she smirks. I grab the empty bowl in front of her and begin to scrub it.

"I told you Joe has a cold." I inform her, again.

"And I told you once you brush your teeth those germs are gone," She defends proudly, but it only makes her sound like an idiot.

"You're gross," I mutter in utter disgust.

" Sick people of a feather flock sickly together," she sings while doing her stupid dance.

"Gross Mari, GROSS!" I yell in disgust.

"So how's the second job hunting coming along?" She questions while going into the box to pull out a pink frosted doughnut and taking a huge bow into it. That doughnut does look good though.

"Can we not talk about that? It only adds more stress onto my mentality and at this rate I feel it's on the verge of collapsing and shutting down my entire thinking process," I complain, which Mari nods to as she picks pieces from her doughnut.

"What's bothering you now?" As stated, Mari is my best friend, so she knows everything about me, from front to front, to side to side. My deepest, bloodiest secrets. My family history, beginning with the passing away of my mom, to my dad getting really sick.

"Got another one of my dads hospital bills in the mail today, they need $498 dollars by next week. They're giving him a new drug that can maybe normalize his blood cells," I explain to her.

"Do you have it?" She questions, finishing off her doughnut.

"Of course I don't have it, but I can get it. I mean—"

"I-I can help if you want—" before she could finish, I cut her off. I shake my head.

"No—no,"

"Jay this is your Dad we're talking—"

"Mari no. Now I love you dearly and I appreciate all the help you provide around here, but you can't keep tossing me money every time you see me in a crisis," I correct. She pouts up at me, I know it hurts her.

"But your me bestie, and I love you. I need to help as much as I could around here."

"I know, but I got this one Mari, I promise." She eyes me skeptical. Her, "I know, but just call me in case" look. I love that look, it's a very genuine one.

"You can always come work in the shop," she shrugs. She's a tattoo artist, has a co-shared shop in downtowns area.

"Yeah, tattoos aren't really my style."

"You're not going to be doing the tattoos idiot! I told you we need an assistant to like make sure our supplies stay up to date and our areas are clean."

"So basically a maid. Sorry, but I have enough cleaning up after that brat." I point up the stairs.

" HEY JOE, JAY CALLED YOU A BRAT!" Mari yells.

"AND SHE'S A LONER." She yells back.

"Nice," Mari smirks taking another bite of her 2nd doughnut.

"Snitch!" I stick out my tongue and she just smiles.

"Joe 5 minutes or Mari leaves you!" I yell at her.

" I WOULD NEVA!" She calls out to Joe.

"Whose best friend are you? Mine or her's?" I say faking an offended pain to the chest.

"Hey I always have to put my Joey Woey before you," she mocks in a baby tone.

"Ready!" Joes appear with her black and white chucks shoelaces untied and her hair all over the place messily.

"What happened to your hair?" I exclaim.

"I rushed to clean up my room." She shrugs.

"Is it clean?" Knowing Joe, she probably pushed everything under her bed or into her closest.

"It's leveled there," she shrugs nonchalantly.

"Good enough, let's go."

"Doughnut me," Joe ask as she prepares to receive the doughnut.

"You got it hot shot," Mari smiles while placing a doughnut into her mouth, chocolate covered one with sprinkles, Joes favorite.

Mari checks her mirror, applying a new layer of lipstick and adding a mascara to her eyelashes. Once she's done, she turns to me in the passenger seat and motions the wand towards my face. "Okay, your turn!" I quickly pull away before she could even lay the eye curler onto my face.

"Does this face look like it needs make up?" I joke. They both stare at each other and soon break out into fits of laughter, as always.

"Yes!" They both day in unison. I roll my eyes at their shade and turn in my seat. I don't need any makeup on right now. I'll just smear it or swear it off in the next 20 minutes.

"Jay just a tiny," Joe assures from the back seat, leaning forward between the two seats.

"Guys, I work at a Café. I'm pretty sure I won't catch any good looking guys who aren't obnoxious jerks or single or not nerdy and techy there." It's true, that's all I ever get when I work the register. You know how many lame, punchlines I get a day? Too many, more punchlines than tips gets swung my way.

"Well I guess it's fine, since you'll be wearing makeup on tonight anyways," Mari infers. I glance at her quickly, my facing turning up, completely confused. She smirks evilly—folding her arms.

"What did you do?" I squint concernedly at her.

"The question you should be asking is what did we do?" Joe smirks. I turn to stare at her also. These two together are like Beavis and Butt-Head.

"You're going to a banquet tonight for the town," Mari cheers, knowing that I have no knowledge of me agreeing to this.

"What....why.....who? No way!" I stutter out.

"Yeah, my mom wants me to support my dad whose supporting the mayor, so since I have to go you're coming," Mari explains, almost as if that's a reasonable explanation for my assistance.

"Okay, for one, I'm so sorry you have to suffer. Two, you are going to have to suffer alone. Three, bring me back something fancy." Mari isn't going to let up, so I'm already picking out how she should do my hair tonight. Well if I even have a choice in deciding that.

"Okay let's recount...One, sorry you have to suffer and actually communicate with others. Two, we're gonna suffer together. Three, we're stealing all of their famous pies." Mari rephrase my sentences. She pulls off and we start the drive.

"I'm not going because Joe can't stay at home by herself because Nyla is busy with a school project." The only excuse I could think of off the top of my head. I don't want to go to a social event and talk to people.

"I'm going to Nadia house after school for a sleepover," Joe adds. I turn to stare at her again.

"Did you confirm that with me?" I ask rather angrily.

" Yeah, I asked Wednesday," she defends a bit fussy.

"Oh shit, I totally forgot! But you said Friday?"

"Today is Friday!" Mari giggles hysterically.

"Oh shit!" Where is my head? Today's Friday already. I was just drinking out of my "I Hate Monday's" coffee mug two days ago which was a Monday.

"Hey potty mouth, control it," Joe groans.

"Sorry, I totally forgot. Okay, I'll pack everything you need and bring it to school."

"Sounds good to me," Joe shrugs as she leans back into her seat.

"And we're going shopping for the town's banquet tonight," Mari says cheerfully singing.

"No, we're not," I sing uninterested.

" Yeah, you are." This time she and Joe sing. Are they in each other's head 24/7?

" Okay fine, I'll go to the stupid banquet thingy, but do not expect me to enjoy myself," I pout and Mari erupts in more cheers. What's with her cheering today?

"Sad part is Sean's gonna be there," she mumbles lowly and I quickly turn and frown annoyed while folding my arms.

"Really! You tell me this now?"

"Sorry babe, I just remembered, but if he tries some shit, find me so I can kick him in the nuts, again," she grins brightly.