The Minor

Friday Pt 2

It took the better part of an hour, but eventually, the soup had gone entirely from the bowl to Jake's, now pacified, stomach. I was feeling accomplished & Jake was acting more like the boy I had seen yesterday. But he still needed his sleep.

"It's nearly 2," I stated. Jake watched as I gathered the bowl & spoon together, then stood. "I need to go see a few others. Can you promise me something?"

"Maybe," he allowed. I refrained from rolling my eyes & settled for a piercing stare. After a few moments, he consented to my request.

"Get some sleep," I ordered.

He only argued with me for a moment before falling silent. When I was convinced that he would take my words to heart, I stood & walked to the door. He didn't get up. Instead, he closed his eyes.

I opened the door, but couldn't make myself leave. I watched him breathe. His breaths grew slower & deeper. He was beautiful.

"Are you alright, ma'am?" The floor guard stood near the stairway door. He didn't seem too concerned. I shut the door behind me.

"Everything was fine." He nodded and smiled.

"I've heard about you, ma'am. You do great things with these boys. Thank you for your service." He lifted his cap to me. I acknowledged the praise with a blush and walked down the stairs once more. His chuckle echoed behind me.

I stopped on the second floor, the pit in my stomach beginning to ache. I hadn't seen Zack in far too long. No one had even updated me on his progress. Thankfully, he was always the forgiving type. I knocked on the door.

"Come in!" I heard his voice through the metal. He seemed strangely cheerful.

"Zack, my man," I announced my presence and walked over to where he sat on the bed, leaving the door cracked slightly open. He was grinning.

"Crystal! Guess what, Crystal? Guess what?" He was practically bouncing off the bed, but he stayed where he was, holding his hands behind his back.

"Oh my goodness," I laughed at his antics, unable to sustain from joining him in his excitement. "What could it be?"

"I made a present for you!" he sang as he ripped the box from behind his back and held it in front of him. Eyes wide, he waited for my reaction.

"A PRESENT?" I covered my face with my hands. "You made me a present? No way. You don't know how to make a present."

He laughed loudly. I was unaccustomed to seeing Zack in this frame of mind. Happy? That was unheard of. But there he was, smiling at me and waiting.

"You're sure Erick didn't make this?" I winked as he gasped. Erick was his best friend in the yard, a few years younger. Zack had taken the boy under his wing a few days after he had arrived, beating up the older boys who were picking on him. Their friendship was something to be rivaled with. "I heard he does well with arts and crafts."

"Erick didn't make you anything!" Zack protested. "It was all me."

"Well then, I guess I'd better see what you made me!" I laughed at his slightly bewildered expression and took the present from his hands, sitting on the bed next to him. The package was wrapped with newspaper, which unfolded neatly. "What on earth is the occasion?"

"Christmas, Crystal," Zack rolled his eyes at me. "How could you forget something so important?"

Part of me knew that Christmas was soon. But there was another part of me, the part of me that had irritated Cal this morning, that had completely forgotten about Christmas. All of my attention was on these boys. Which, I reminded myself, was the purpose of the Christmas party at my apartment that I was planning.