Jevae-

I had finally convinced Ms. Sage to come to my house. She had asked me if we were in money trouble. I told her that my father would explain it all to her. We were walking out of the classroom when I turned and walked right into someone. I was dazed for a second, but quickly recovered. I looked up to see who I had run into. Of course they were taller than me. To my surprise, it was Fen. At first I was just surprised, and then I realized he had most likely heard the conversation between Ms. Sage and I. I lifted my hand and slapped him across the face. Hard. I could see the red mark my hand had left on his cheek. I was not sorry. I finally met his eyes and I could see the surprise in them turn to coldness. For a brief moment I felt like he was going to slap me back. The coldness passed and his eyes were just blank. I didn't care. He had no right to listen to my private conversations.

"What were you doing listening at the door?!" I demanded of him. Anger was a familiar feeling for me.

"I was waiting for you. I wanted to ask you something." I took a step away from him and it was my turn to look surprised. It had been me chasing him around. It had been me questioning him for answers. And now here he is waiting for me after school, doing the questioning.

"Whatever it is, it can wait until tomorrow. I have something very important to do this afternoon. And no, it can not wait. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Goodbye." I grabbed Ms. Sage's hand, pushed Fen out of the way and didn't turn to look back. Even though I didn't see it, I knew his jaw had dropped and he was looking at me, stunned, as I walked away. I turned the corner, walked until I reached the entrance, and then, finally, let Ms. Sage's hand go.

"I'm sorry about holding your hand like that. I didn't want any more distractions. I wanted to get out of there as fast as possible", I exhaled.

"It's fine. So how far away is your house? We can take my car if you want." I hadn't ridden in a car in a long time.

"Sure. My house is pretty far," I said immediately, eager to get going. We walked behind the school, into the parking lot. I looked around, trying to guess which one was hers. I thought she would have a small car to fit her physique and personality. I was wrong. She had a truck. A metallic blue truck. I stopped and gaped. Quiet, gentle, happy, book-loving Ms. Sage, had a metallic blue truck. I was stunned. She had gotten ahead of me and unlocked her, gulp, truck. She got in and turned the ignition. She was about to pull out when she realized I wasn't in the car with her. She pulled out and stopped in front of me. She rolled down her window and stuck her head out.

"What's the matter? Is the door jammed? It does that sometimes. You just have to wiggle it a bit. Here, I'll open it from the inside." The door opened smoothly and I stepped forward, a little hesitantly. Ms. Sage noticed my hesitation and chuckled.

"It's all good. I'm a professional truck driver. Never gotten in an accident. Or a ticket even. Come on. Hop in." She patted the seat next to her and I got in. I place my bookbag at my feet and slammed the door to make sure it was closed properly. I didn't want it to get jammed.

"Gentle. Gentle. She's almost as old as your are. She needs care," Ms. Sage scolded as she put on her seat belt. I did the same and looked out the window. Fen was exiting the school at this point. Whatever. I don't care. I'm no longer a part of his life and he is no longer a part of mine.

The car ride took a shorter time than usual, though that was to be expected. Before I knew it we were pulling up to my house. I hadn't thought about it before, but now I was ashamed of the state of my house. Ashamed at what Ms. Sage would see. Don't worry, it will all get better, I told myself. I opened the door, grabbed my bookbag, and lead Ms. Sage to the door. It was unlocked, as usual. Even if it was locked, all I had to do was push open the window on the right, stick my hand in, and unlock it. It was a wonder we hadn't been robbed. Then again there wasn't much to rob. I walked in, pushed aside some of the junk in there, and opened the other door. The lock on this door had been broken for months now. I don't even know how it broke. Ms. Sage didn't comment on anything as we walked in and I set my bookbag on the couch. It was one of the things semi-taken care of, though there were crumbs from who knows what. I walked into the kitchen, guessing everyone was there by the noise and smell. My sisters and brother were sitting at the table and dad was trying to figure out how to turn on the stove. It was one of the few things that actually worked. I kissed my brother on the head and walked up to where my dad stood, scratching his head, wondering what he was doing wrong. I pushed him aside gently and turned the dial to five.

"How did you do that?! I've been trying to figure it out since we got here."

"If you ever bothered to put the bottle down and try cooking before, you would know what to do." I immediately regretted what I said. My siblings had gone quiet and I could see the hurt in dad's eyes.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean that!", I spluttered, looking at my shoes.

"No, it's okay. You're right. I never tried," after an awkward silence that seemed to last forever, dad said," so did you find the teacher you were talking about before?" I pointed to Ms. Sage, which I knew was rude but at the moment I didn't care. My dad walked over to greet her and I buttered the pan, added the onions and chorizo. When I turned around dad and Ms. Sage had seated. Since there were only four chairs, Kaisley had taken Elijah into her lap. I whispered to Victoria to watch the food, since she was good in the kitchen, and took her seat. I immediately tuned into the conversation, curious as to what I had missed.

"I'm so glad you agreed to meet with me today. I don't know many adults who would." Next to Ms. Sage's youth, dad's gray hairs and lined face, stood out even more.

"It was no problem. I didn't have any plans really. I just want to know what all this is about. Jevae just said you wanted to discuss something with me and nothing more. How can I be of assistance?," Ms. Sage responded, removing her coat and swinging it across the back of the chair. I heard the sizzle of the Mexican sausage and glanced back to make sure Victoria hadn't been hurt. She was fine, so I turned back to the conversation.

"-eally, now?! Well, I know Jevae said you were to talk to me, but since it was her idea, I'll let her explain." All eyes turned toward me. I was surprised, but I also did think I could explain it better than dad. I took a deep breath and began.

"Ms. Sage something very bad has happened. We found an eviction notice taped to our door yesterday. My dad also confided in us that he had lost his job a couple of months ago..." I explained everything. From the finding of the eviction notice, to the confrontation between me and my dad, our late night adventure at the Computer Café, the program for dad, the plan for the future, and finally my proposal of the idea that involved her, "so, what do you think? Will you help us?"

Gabriela Sage-

I sat there, stunned. I knew this child had problems at home but nothing this grave. I knew what she required of me but I didn’t know if I could provide it. I could barely provide for myself. But, as I entered this house, saw the state it was in, saw the state the children were in, I had already made my decision. I could see it in her father's eyes. I believe his name was Stefan. I grasped Jevae's hand and smiled. I know she could see the emotion in my eyes due to the tears pooling in her own, but I still said it out loud, just to confirm her thoughts.

"Of course. I'm a good enough person to help with a problem this grave," I joked, wiping away her tears. She was a good kid, they all were.

"Ok, so we need to make a game plan." Jevae got up and went to a room to the left. She came back carrying a small, black, hardcover journal.

"Where did you get that? I don't remember buying that for you," Stefan questioned her. Jevae and her siblings froze. There was an awkward silence before Jevae answered.

"I stole it dad," she exhaled, "I didn't mean to but it was so pretty and I had so many thoughts and it seemed like the perfect place to put them in, so I took it when the owner's back was turned and tucked it under my arm and ran like the Devil himself was chasing me." She looked like she had been holding that one in for quite some time.

"Have you stolen anything else?" he asked. There was no anger in his voice, just disappointment. Jevae got up, went into the same room again, and came back with two shoe boxes. She placed them in front of Stefan and he lifted the lid of the one closest to him. He pulled out an MP3 player, a box of colored pencils, a small notebook filled with drawings, and a small statue of a bronze dog. He placed the object's to the right, put the empty box under his chair, and pulled the other one closer to him. In it was a locket, two plastic rings, some coins, and a pencil case. When Stefan opened the box, pens flooded out. I looked up at Jevae and saw her head cast down.

"Why? I just want to know why you stole all of these things. I'm not angry, just disappointed. Did you steal everything? Did you all steal as well?" The last question was directed at the other children. I decided to step in. I know it's inappropriate, I know it has nothing to do with me, I know it's a family matter, and stealing is not okay, but there are more important things to talk about.

"Okay. Let's talk about this after you, Stefan, have a job and you, children, have a home. But first, Victoria was it?", Victoria nodded," please serve the food you so graciously made. You children, Stefan as well, need to eat." The child Victoria served the food, heated up tortillas, and passed out plates. There was quiet except for the sound of chewing for as much as ten minutes, when Jevae opened a page in her journal and clicked a pen.

"So, is everybody ready to talk?" Kaisley put the dishes in the sink and sat down once more.

"Yes!", everybody voiced, the tension no longer present in the room.

"Ok, so let's start with you Ms. Sage. I am going to ask you a couple of questions and you can reply however you wish. Ok with you?", Jevae asked looking up from her page and giving me a brilliant smile.

"Absolutely. Let's begin." I placed my hands on the table and leaned in so I could see what she was writing.

"So, do you live in a house or apartment?"

"I live in an apartment." Jevae jotted that down.

"But aren't apartments small? How are we all supposed to fit in there?", the tiny boy, Elijah I believe, asked. I opened my mouth, about to answer, but Jevae beat me to it.

"Not necessarily. And Ms. Sage wouldn't have offered us a place to live if she didn't think we could fit. Moving on, Ms. Sage, how many rooms are there?"

"There are two bedrooms, a small kitchen, a bathroom, and a small living area." Jevae wrote that down, looked up, and smiled at me encouragingly. Until this moment, I hadn't realized how nervous I was. I never thought about living with anyone else before today. Let alone four children.

"Does this mean we have to share a bedroom?", Victoria asked, a bit hotly.

"I'm afraid so" I replied, frowning slightly.

"Be grateful we even have somewhere to go. If it wasn't for her, we would be on the streets by next week," Kaisley responded in distaste. Would there be drama between the two of them?

"Be quiet. Can you describe the room where we will be staying?" Jevae had been paying rapt attention to the girls arguing and was shooting daggers at them with her eyes. I wouldn't want to be them at the moment.

"Ms. Sage?" I snapped back to attention.

"Uh, yes! It has a queen bed, a small closet, and a trunk at the foot of the bed. Would you be satisfied with that?" I asked.

"That's perfect. Thank you."

"Is there anything else you need from me?" I inquired.

"Just your address."

"It's building C apartment number 5 on Mulshow street. I can write it down for you, if you like?" Jevae passed me her journal and pen.

With a smile she said, "that would be fantastic."

"If that is all, I will take my leave." I got up, grabbed my coat and pushed my chair in. I had never had a conversation quite like the one I had today, I thought as I pulled out of the driveway. Jevae and her sisters were in the doorway, waving me off. I rolled down my window and waved goodbye.