xviii

17 1 0

by spaceboy-irwin

by spaceboy-irwin

/ / Chapter Three: An Artificial Caterpillar / /

Ariel was exhausted. His back ached after leaning over a stove to cook his siblings dinner and then scrubbing the floors after Noah spilled ketchup everywhere. Afterwards, he'd spent an hour helping Charlotte with her maths homework. Noah'd had a fit because he wanted attention too, so Ariel had coloured with his brother. He'd helped the pair get ready for bed, which led to the current moment.

"'Hey,' Annabeth said," Ariel read, speaking in a more feminine voice for the dialogue. "'I'm sorry for freaking out back at the waterpark, Percy.'" Noah and Charlotte adored The Lightning Thief, convincing Ariel to read parts of it to them every night. They were both old enough to read on their own but Ash was determined to make sure they got a chance to kids.

Growing up with a drunk for a mother after a deadbeat father walked out had forced Ariel to skip his childhood. Instead, he'd filled the role his mother had vacated while also caring for her, being a student, holding two jobs, and dealing with the general struggles of being a teenager. The 16-year-old didn't have time for himself. Didn't have time to deal with his mild abandonment issues, at least not in the conventional way. Therapists were too expensive so instead Ariel had spent all of five minutes researching and figured it out while fulfilling all of his other responsibilities.

Eventually, after struggling through tiny words without his glasses, Ariel finished the chapter. Yawning and resisting the urge to curl up and sleep, the teenager stood up. "Okay, time to sleep," he announced. Ariel tucked Charlotte into bed and carried Noah across the hall into the child's bedroom. From there, he tiptoed into his mother's room and pulled a blanket over the snoring woman. Stumbling slightly, Ariel dragged himself into his respective room and collapsed into the worn bed. It took less than thirty seconds before the boy was asleep.

Get up, beautiful. Ariel's phone trilled violently with a text from his best friend, typed in all lowercase with a long thread of hearts following it. After typing a sleepy reply to Chance Hellings, Ariel staggered out of bed and into the hallway. He knocked on his siblings' doors, hollering, "Get up, kiddos! Time for school; Noah, remember to bring markers for art class. Charlotte, don't you dare put on makeup to impress that boy you like but won't tell me about! It's only allowed if you wear it for you!" With that said, Ariel returned to his room to get dressed.

Too tired to choose clothes that were anything but comfortable, coupled with the fact that he couldn't afford to spend much on himself, Ash pulled on an oversized sweater. With it he wore loose black jeans that were made for someone taller. They had to be held up with a belt that had three extra holes stabbed into it. Skipping out on brushing his hair, Ariel walked out of his room and downstairs. With a practiced ease, the 16-year-old made toast and eggs for the other Iematas.

"Thanks, Ari," Charlotte said as she and Noah sat down to eat. Ariel nodded, smoothing Noah's bedhead as he walked by, a plate in hand. Like he did every day, the teenager carried breakfast up to his mother's room and left it on the bedside table. Mary Iemata was passed out in her creaky bed, reeking of alcohol.

Ten minutes later, Ariel was hurrying his siblings out of the worn down house. "Exercise is good for the soul," he quipped when Charlotte complained, though Ariel himself wanted to curl into a ball and pass out. The boy was hungry, sleepy, and mentally frayed. When the three siblings arrived at Noah and Charlotte's school, Ariel hugged both of them goodbye.

"I forgot my markers!" Noah yelped suddenly as he dug through his Garfield backpack. Smiling slightly, Ariel pulled them from his ratty black bag. Grinning and hugging his brother again, Noah accepted the pencil case like it was the holy grail.

"See you after school," Ariel said. "We have your soccer game, Noah, so please be quick when you're leaving." Charlotte and Noah nodded. Ariel watched to make sure his siblings got inside safely before starting the uphill trek to get to the secondary school. By the time he arrived the teenager had missed registration and had to stop at the office for a late slip before heading to his first period. Thankfully it was one of the classes he shared with Chance, despite the boy being a year behind him. Chance was smart for his age while Ariel was behind due to his arduous home life, which put them in quite a few shared classes.

After apologising to the teacher for arriving late, Ariel weaved through pairs of desks and into the back row. "Hey," Chance greeted, pulling out a chair for his best friend. "This class is just notes, take a nap," he whispered. "I'll copy mine for you."
"I love you," Ariel responded, speaking through a relieved sigh. Though his mild abandonment issues filled Ariel with the automatic urge to isolate himself and not grow attached, he refused to let it ruin his life. Chance and Ariel were childhood friends, meaning the younger boy had been there for everything. He'd been there when Ariel's dad disappeared, happy to supply a shoulder for Ariel to cry on. When the Iematas ran out of pity casserole, Chance had been there to help his best friend learn how to cook and care for the family. Ariel needed Chance, even if sometimes his lying mind told him that the Maori boy would inevitably leave.

"Ariel, I'm hungry!" Noah whined, tugging at his brother's sweater. They'd barely entered the house before the younger child was whining. "Why isn't dinner ready when we get home anymore? It used to be!"

Ariel winced. "Because, Har, Mum was the one that used to make dinner." Before she'd fallen into the habits of an alcoholic, Mary had been an artist, and a successful one at that. She set her own hours and made a point of cooking dinner and baking exquisite desserts for her family. After the ex-Mr. Iemata had left, Ariel did his best to maintain the status quo. He used the same recipes and the same plates and bowls, but Ariel knew it would never be the same.

"Why isn't she better yet?" Noah complained. Most of the time, the Iemata children didn't talk about their mother being out of commission. But, even though Ariel did everything he could, Noah and Charlotte needed their mum. "I want Mummy!" Noah shrieked, stomping and whining as tiny tears started to form in the corners of his eyes. Faintly, Ariel thought he heard the back door shut, but couldn't hear well enough over his brother's screaming.

"Hey," Ariel murmured, returning his focus to Noah. "I know it sucks, buddy, but it's what we have. Sometimes you just have to deal with the shi- stuff life hands you." The life lesson slid right over Noah's head. "But sometimes cookies and ice cream for dinner can make it better."

While Charlotte and Noah gorged themselves on sweets, Ariel silently creeped upstairs and into his mother's room. It was empty, save for the strangely faint scent of alcohol.

a/n ngl this whole book is pre-written i just forgot about it. sorry! i'll try to update regularly now