Superman

Chapter 5

B.J. shook me awake from my dream the next morning in a panic. We had all completely forgotten about the bake sale and now we had less than 24 hours to bake ten dozen cupcakes and brownies. "Crap! How could we forget?!" I exclaimed jolting up.

"I-I-I don't know. We were all just having such a good time that I guess we forgot all about it." B.J. cried. "There is no way we can get done in time; it's impossible."

"Did I just hear you say the word impossible?" Pippa asked sitting up.

"Oh no, here it comes." Lamar sighed.

Pippa got up on the coffee table and stomped her foot. "Nothing is impossible Bernard Jackson Curuthers except the possibility that something could in fact be impossible. Now we have exactly twenty-one hours to bake an enormous amount of baked goods and have them packed and loaded. Some people would say it can't be done, but they would be wrong. It can, in fact be done and we will be the ones to do it. Now, B.J., you are head chef and Felix is your right hand man. Lamar and Hayley will be the runners and get whatever supplies we need. I will supervise and do whatever needs to be done. Let's get to work!"

She clapped her hands and everyone sprung into action. After some quick calculations, Lamar and Hayley were sent out to the store with a list of ingredients. B.J. insisted on making the icing himself so Pippa and I got to work on the cupcake batter.

"That was a pretty impressive speech." I said as we cracked eggs.

"Motivational speeches are one of my strong suits; especially when I'm passionate about the subject." She replied.

"Well, you definitely got everyone motivated. Especially B.J. I can't believe you called him by his full  name; I didn't even know you knew his full name."

"Hayley told me."

"Ah. Did she tell you why he doesn't go by that?"

"She just said he thought it was a stupid name."

"That's what he tells everyone but it's really because it was his father's name and he doesn't want to be connected to him in any way."

"I always wondered about their family. Why are they here by themselves without any parents or guardians?"

I glanced over to make sure B.J. wasn't paying attention. He had his headphones on and was busy measuring out powdered sugar. "You know how there are never drugs or alcohol at their parties?"

"Yeah I found it odd but I just assumed they didn't want to break the law." She replied.

"No. It's because of their parents. You see, his parents met at a rehab center. She was there for drugs, him for alcohol. They were doing well in their recovery and received an early discharge. They eloped that night and B.J. came along nine months later. A month after he was born they got pregnant with Hayley. For the first few years, things were good. They both stayed clean, he had a steady job, things were okay.

"But eventually, every addict has a relapse. During B's first year of Kindergarten his mom got in with some bad people and had a major relapse. His dad sent her back to rehab and she recovered. Over the next few years things got rocky. Both of his parents were in and out of rehab with different things. By the time we were in sixth grade his dad had lost his job completely and was barely ever around and when he was it was bad news. His mom got a job to help pay the bills but it was just too much on her and she soon turned back to drugs.

"In the end, their addictions were more important to them than their family. His dad died when he was fourteen and his mom abandoned them to marry her drug dealer. Luckily, they had a rich, childless aunt who took them in. She did everything in her power to give them a fresh start. She truly loved them. She died a couple years back and left them this house and a small fortune to pay for their education and whatever other expenses they may have. Now they only have each other."