The car ride to school was pure chaos.

Jake, 14, sat quietly in the far back of the car, backpack on his lap and headphones halfway in—but not playing anything. He was just observing the madness. Esli, 13, and Dana, 15, were full-on arguing in the middle row. “Give it back, Dana! You always take my stuff without asking!” Esli yelled, practically climbing over the seat.

“It’s one lipstick, Esli. Chill. I literally needed it, and it looks better on me anyway,” Dana shot back, rolling her eyes and applying the lipstick mid-argument in the visor mirror.

In the passenger seat, 18-year-old Dilean let out the biggest groan. “Can y’all just shut up? It’s 7:30 in the morning. I haven’t even had coffee yet, and you two are acting like toddlers over a stupid lipstick.”

Meanwhile, their mom drove like she was alone in the car—completely unfazed, eyes on the road, as if she’d tuned them out years ago.

Jake sat quietly, not daring to join in. “Y’all got too much energy this early,” he mumbled under his breath.

⸻

By the time they pulled up to school, Jake was already mentally drained. Dana and Dilean headed toward the high school side of the building, still muttering at each other, while Jake and Esli split off toward the middle school section.

Lunchtime rolled around, and Jake ended up at a corner table, sitting by himself with his phone in one hand and a half-eaten sandwich in the other. He scrolled aimlessly, trying to look busy so no one would notice he didn’t really know where to sit.

Then—bam.

Esli popped up out of nowhere, tray in hand, dragging two of her friends behind her. “You’re not gonna sit here all lonely and loser-y, Jake,” she said, plopping down across from him without asking.

Her friends giggled and sat down too. “This your brother?” one of them asked, nudging Esli.

“Yup. He’s actually nice when he’s not acting like an old man,” Esli teased.