Dove down to find a mosa to tame, good level not that bad…
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ARK: Survival Evolved & Ascended Companion
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ARK: Survival Evolved & Ascended Companion
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The Arks: Over Heaven (by Ben)
Chapter 55.5: In Vain
Part 7/7
As the two arrived back at their own place, Franklin could spot a few large vans parked outside their house. Franklin scrunched his eyebrows at the sight. He could see Mom and Uncle loading in large boxes into the vans, as their grandparents watched.
“What’s going on?” Franklin asked.
No one answered his question. Big Brother let his head drop on the car door, his eyes tired and his body weak.
Dad looked at the two of them, and stopped the car.
“Welp kiddos… I won’t be seeing you for a while,” Dad murmured. Franklin scrunched his eyebrows again.
“What? What does that mean?”
Dad didn’t answer.
“Answer me, Dad!”
Dad stepped outside of the car, and Big Brother did as well. Franklin opened the car door up and slammed it.
“Dad! What is going on-”
Dad put his hand out and ruffled Franklin’s hair.
“I love you, Frankie. You’ll see me next summer, okay?”
“What? Dad-”
“Bye Dad,” Big Brother suddenly said, rushing in to hug him, “I love you too.”
Dad hugged him back, and a few moments later let go of him. He looked at his two boys sadly, before stepping back into his car and driving off, leaving tire marks on the concrete. Big Brother began to walk off to the vans, and Franklin followed him, demanding an answer.
“Boss, what is going on here? What are these vans for and why was Dad acting like that and what did he mean-”
“Don’t call me that,” Big Brother responded, “It’ll just make it worse.”
He pointed his thumb at one of the vans. Franklin looked at it in horror and saw in big fine print, “MOVING SERVICES”. He could spot inside one of the vans, their dining table, and a bunch of old antique chairs. Uncle pushed in Franklin’s office chair, and Franklin turned around to see Mom walking toward them.
“Mom?” Franklin asked, his voice slowly dropping, “I thought we were… Going on vacation?”
Mom paused in her tracks, sighed, and shook her head.
“Sorry Franklin. That was a white lie.”
“We’re moving.”
“What?! Where?”
“More information will be revealed in due time,” Big Brother explained, “Sorry we didn’t tell you sooner. They didn’t want you to be upset, or worry at all about final goodbyes.”
“You knew all along?” Franklin said looking at his Big Brother in horror, “That’s- That’s not like you!”
“Kiddo, you think I want this as much as you do? No, I don’t.”
Mom put a comforting hand on Franklin’s shoulder.
“Just go in the car. Uncle is going to drive you all first. We’ll be driving there. I packed all your clothes while you were away for the weekend so you don’t have to worry.”
Wordlessly, and without protest, Franklin felt himself carry his legs to their car. He opened the car door up, and slunk inside, slamming it behind him. He looked on into the abyss, unsure of what to say.
He felt the car door next to him slam shut too. Franklin heard Big Brother grunt, and shuffle in his seat uncomfortably. Uncle stepped into the driver’s seat, started the car up, and began to drive away. Franklin couldn’t even muster the words to say goodbye to their old home.
As the car found their way on the freeway, Franklin could hear Big Brother whisper a woman’s name. Franklin turned to see Big Brother looking out the window, his hand clutching onto a light blue-white hibiscus. He clutched onto it tightly, before muttering the woman’s name again.
Franklin looked ahead again, his eyes wide and filled with horror. The darkness of the night covered their home in a blanket of darkness, the stars of the faraway non-existent, all but one that shone tones of red, blue, and green. Franklin clenched his fist, his thoughts running haywire. His heart began to pump faster, and a clump began to grow in his throat. He felt his eyes burn, and tears began to shed.
“But, but we’ll come back, right? Next summer that’s what he said,” Franklin wept.
“In 2027,” Big Brother dully replied, “I’ll be in college by then. You’ll be back, but… the others probably won’t either. Their parents grow busier, and so do they. I’m sorry, Franklin.”
Franklin put his head in his hands, the tears overflowing him. He couldn’t believe it.
Their only family reunion after three years of separation was in vain.
The Arks: Over Heaven (by Ben)
Chapter 55.5: In Vain
Part 6/7
“Heh heh, nice hiding spot, I didn’t even spot you!” Big Brother told her, “Good game everyone, that was a lot of fun, what should we do now?”
“Isn’t it obvious? We need to talk about what we’ve been doing since we last met, we probably have so many stories to tell now!”
“You bet, let’s go everyone,” Big Brother announced. All seven children made their way to the living room, their usual hangout spot.
~
“So, you won’t believe it, but Evan and Melissa kissed on the bleachers AGAIN!” Tanya said, “And then they told each other they loved each other and it was so ewww.”
Tanya gagged, and Little Kayla raised her eyebrow.
“Aren’t you seven?”
“Psh, it’s probably not as bad as Emma, she’s in looooove with another boy! What was his name again? Andrew or something?”
“Connor you can’t be talking! I’ve been hearing you talking to that girl on the phone all the time,” Emma replied, flustered, “You KNOW I don’t like anyone like that, that’s gross! I don’t wanna get cooties!”
“Heh, well, for me, personally, I don’t have much going on for me,” Franklin admitted. Jeffrey sighed.
“My classmates keep shipping me with one of my girl friends, which I don’t like, because we’re just friends. And I don’t see her that way, but they only say that because I’m a boy and she’s a girl, it’s not nice,” Jeffrey said sadly. Big Brother chuckled.
“Kiddo, you just tell them to stop right away and that that’s not who you are,” Big Brother told Jeffrey, “Don’t let it bother you too much, okay?”
Little Kayla scratched her chin, looking at Big Brother with a sly smile.
“Say, what about you, Boss?” Little Kayla asked with a witty grin. She looked at Connor and raised her eyebrows back and forth. Connor grinned back and snickered.
Big Brother’s expression instantly changed, and he shook his head. He seemed a bit more melancholic now.
“No… But that’s not your business anyway, is it?”
“Lame,” Little Kayla said. Franklin looked back and forth at the two, the thought of their big adventure still on their mind.
“Maybe he’s going to be this way forever, maybe deep down, he still remembers?” Franklin wondered. Big Brother opened his mouth to speak again when footsteps approached them. They turned around and saw Dad walk in.
“Boys, it’s time to go,” Dad said with a frown. He seemed to be expecting this.
“Awww,” everyone complained. Franklin rushed up and packed all his things, oblivious to what was going to happen next.
“Okay, I’ll see you guys all again sometime! I think we’re going to be meeting more often from now on, soooo probably the weekend after?”
“Yeah, for sure!” Connor roared, pumping his fist into the air, “We’ll see you two around, alright?”
“Goodbye!” Franklin said, waving at them a goodbye. Everyone waved back, and Big Brother let out a sigh, getting up from the ground and patting the dust off his button up shirt. He shoved his hands in his pockets, grabbed his red backpack, and made his way to Dad.
“Well,” Big Brother said, looking at all the cousins one last time, “Goodbye, everyone. I’ll see you later.”
Everyone waved goodbye, but as Big Brother was about to step out the front door, he looked back at the crowd one last time. He seemed to take a mental picture, putting his fingers up, and winking his left eye to capture the moment. He put his hands back in his pockets, and he and Franklin walked out to Dad’s car.
The Arks: Over Heaven (by Ben)
Chapter 55.5: In Vain
Part 5/7
The three made their way out of the bedroom and headed down the hall. In the middle of the wall there lay a lone door that led to the infamous closet. Possibly the worst hiding spot in the entire house, no one bothered to hide here since it was easy to look through for potential hiders, that was, except for…
“Emma, really? Couldn’t you have found a better hiding spot?” Connor said as Big Brother opened the closet door to reveal Emma standing there mindlessly. She stomped her foot into the floor.
“Erghhh, I thought I’d fool you!” Emma screamed. Everyone laughed, some things never changed.
The four made their way down the hallway and into the kitchen, where a woman was cooking up dinner. She wore an apron, a black shirt and gray sweatpants. She was fiddling with a pot and pan, and was chopping vegetables on a chopping board. She was humming a tune to herself, but for some reason she was shorter than Big Brother and definitely didn’t look like an adult.
“Hey, whoever you are, can you turn around?”
“Hmm?” the lady responded with an unusually deep voice, “Sorry, can’t do that, I’m busy cooking.”
Big Brother squinted his eyes and walked forward. He put a hand on her shoulder, and she turned back. She was a stranger. She was wearing fake glasses, and she had a pretty gnarly mustache for a woman. She seemed a bit familiar though.
“Hey, have you seen Little Kayla or Jeffrey or Tanya anywhere?” Big Brother asked her. She scratched her chin and shrugged.
“Ermm, I dunno who that is. Sorry Boss- I mean, boy.”
“Hmm, okay, thanks.”
Big Brother let go of her shoulder, but as he was about to walk away, a gust of wind blew the stranger’s mustache and glasses off. Big Brother turned around, and gasped. It was Little Kayla all along!
“What the- I found you, ha ha!” Big Brother laughed. Everyone else did too, and Little Kayla groaned.
“Come on, I put so much effort into that disguise!”
“Yeah right Little Kayla, it was so obvious it was you the whole time!” Connor roared.
Big Brother and his crew continued to search their house in pursuit of Jeffrey and Tanya. Where could those two have gone? Franklin could’ve sworn they checked the whole house up and down, so where could they have been?
As they were going through the quartz hallway a fourth time, footsteps suddenly rang behind them. Big Brother turned around and saw a flash of magenta.
“Hey, I saw that!” Big Brother cried. He ran after the runner, and everyone followed suit. As they ran out of the quartz hallway and back into the dining room where they first started their game, they could see Jeffrey just about make it to the next doorway.
“Jeffrey, stop, stop we found you!” Big Brother yelled aloud. Jeffrey stopped in his tracks, and cursed to himself.
“Dang it, I was so close!”
Jeffrey turned around, sweat pouring down from his face. He looked out of breath.
“Where were you hiding man? Why’d you run, I don’t think you would’ve been found for a while if you just stayed put!” Big Brother asked.
“I wasn’t hiding, I was on the move the whole time,” Jeffrey revealed. Everyone let out gasps of awe. No one had ever thought of that one before. Big Brother grinned.
“Heh, clever. You really have learned from me. So uh, that’s the end of the game?”
“I think so,” Connor said, tapping his foot on the ground. Little Kayla suddenly slapped him on the back of the head.
“Ow!”
“You dingus, we still need to find Tanya!”
“Ohhhh,” everyone realized.
“Well, there’s no one left, so she wins,” Big Brother declared. He put his hands to his lips and yelled out, “TANYA YOU WIN YOU CAN COME OUT NOW.”
A giggle suddenly echoed through the dining room, and everyone turned to the plant, where the noise had come from. The plant rustled, and afterward Tanya came out from behind it. Everyone began to cheer and applause as she made her way to them. Big Brother held his hand out, and she high-fived him.
The Arks: Over Heaven (by Ben)
Chapter 55.5: In Vain
Part 4/7
Everyone immediately turned around, and there, Big Brother was standing with his arms hung loose by his sides. Even though everyone had grown, so had Big Brother. He still towered over everyone there, including Connor and Little Kayla.
“Hey Big Brother,” Franklin said with a small wave. Big Brother squinted his eyes.
“What are you guys talking about? And what was that bright light I saw earlier?” Big Brother asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Nothing,” Connor quickly said. Jeffrey waved at Big Brother.
“Hey! It’s been so long!” Jeffrey cried.
Big Brother looked at every cousin, and then a smile crept up his face, a tear slowly growing on his right eye. He outstretched his arms.
“Good, what are we all waiting for? Bring it in!”
Everyone rushed forward into one massive group hug, and Big Brother hugged them as tightly as he could. Connor let out a groan.
“Uhhh, you’re squishing me!!”
Everyone laughed, and Big Brother let go.
“Ahh, that felt good. Three years without you guys, it’s really driven me mad. A lot’s happened, but here we are. Back together again.”
“He sure is right,” Franklin thought, “A lot’s happened…”
So why did he choose to forget?
Emma began to jump up and down in the air.
“Come on guys, we should do something, and fast! Let’s play a game, like, hmm, I dunno what should we play?!” Emma cheered. Little Kayla smiled and wrapped her arms around Tanya.
“You know we can’t play card games, Tanya doesn’t know how.”
Tanya rolled her eyes and smiled back.
“I do now, though.”
Everyone chuckled, but then Jeffrey let out a “hmmm”. All eyes turned to him. He was grasping his chin, pondering and thinking hard.
“How about a classic… HIDE AND SEEK!”
Everyone cheered in approval, erupting into chatter and enthusiasm. Big Brother grinned some more and gave the thumbs up of approval.
“What a good idea, I guess I’ll be seeker first, howzabout it?”
“Sure thing. Let’s start in the living room.”
The seven made their way out of the room, down the quartz halls, and into the dining room, where the smell of fresh ice lingered in the room. A cooler was left open, and there were an assortment of drinks in there for them to choose, with a large potted plant nearby. Franklin grabbed a soda, but everyone else chose to ignore it. That was, except for Big Brother. He reached his hand inside, pushed the water aside, and grabbed a carton of chocolate milk.
“Okay, I’ll count to… 100, like we usually do. Then, I’m going to try to find you. Understood?” Big Brother decided. Everyone saluted him, even Tanya.
“Aye aye, captain!”
Big Brother smiled, “Alrightie.”
He turned around and put his hands over his eyes.
“1… 2… 3…”
Everyone quickly made a rush for their hiding spots. It had been so long since they had regrouped at this joint, but their traditional hiding spots were still fresh in their memory. Even though they had not played hide and seek the LAST time they met, it was still there like it was yesterday.
Franklin quickly clambered atop his bed, covered the blanket over himself, and began to breathe as slowly as he could. He laid his body out as flat as he could, and he could hear the others rush past him, their footsteps slamming on the marble. Franklin smiled to himself. He was definitely going to win, this hiding spot was so bad that he knew Big Brother wouldn’t even bother to check.
“Heh heh, this is going to be fun…”
Two minutes later, the blanket atop him was lifted away. Franklin blinked his eyes as the light shined on his eyes, and Big Brother was standing over him with crossed arms. Connor was standing beside him too, a naive grin on his face.
“What the- How’d you find me already?” Franklin asked. Big Brother smirked.
“Your foot was sticking out, better luck next time, alright?”
“Alright… I’m getting up, you got me, at least I wasn’t last,” Franklin said while eyeing Connor. Connor gave him a grin.
“How’d you even get found anyway?”
Connor’s smile grew.
“I tried to climb up the walls but I fell and he found me like that,” Connor replied through his grin, his right eye twitching.
“Oh, well let’s find the others then.”
The Arks: Over Heaven (by Ben)
Chapter 55.5: In Vain
Part 3/7
Franklin jumped out of his seat in shock and turned around. It was the good family friend, Jeffrey! He was holding onto the seat by the top and he had aged and changed so much since they had last met. Now ten years old, he had grown bigger, and a bit bulkier. He still seemed a bit short and lean, but certainly not skin and bones. He had a stitch running down his cheek that looked like it had been there for a while now. He was wearing a thick blue jacket with the fluff of a wolf, and a white shirt that was stained with peeled magenta paint. He also wore black shorts with white stripes.
“OMG JEFFREY?!” Franklin screamed in joy, “Man it’s been AGES since I’ve last seen you! Dude, I can’t believe it!”
“Heh heh, I know right? I mean, the last time we met was when-”
Jeffrey paused, blinking his eyes rapidly. A mild discomfort crept up his face.
“That.”
Franklin nodded softly.
“Yeah… that.”
Soft, loud footsteps began to ring throughout the quartz halls, and Franklin’s ears perked up.
“Who’s that?” Franklin asked.
“Oh, just some old fam who also showed up!”
A nine-year old girl burst into the hallway and began to sprint toward them.
“Jeffrey, Franklin, it’s been so long! Where have you been?”
A magenta forcefield flickered in the doorway, and Emma ran straight into it. She bounced off, and let out an “Ouch!”, holding her nose tightly. Franklin looked her up and down. Her bangs were starting to look thicker, and her hair was starting to fall all the way to her hips. She had a few gray hairs, surprisingly, but that was pretty normal considering what they’d been through.
“What was that for?” Emma cried with anger.
“Sorry, old habits die hard,” Jeffrey chuckled. Emma clenched her fist.
“Heh, don’t make me make you forget bestie!”
Jeffrey laughed and waved his hand, the forcefield flickering away.
“I know you could, I know you could…”
“Hey, don’t mind my crazy sister,” a familiar voice said aloud, “Don’t worry, I’m excited to meet you too.”
A thirteen year old boy soon waltzed into the room, his hands in his pockets and a smug smile on his face. A mystical yellow flame sprouted from his body, and everyone had their mouths agape. It was Connor, and he has certainly changed the most out of all of them. He was starting to pack on quite a lot of muscle, and he was even starting to sprout a goatee already. He was wearing a white tank top and black jeans, and there was a strange machine running down his right arm that connected to his chest. It must have been for his heart condition.
“My man, you’ve been working out!” Franklin said, getting up from his seat and pinching his biceps. Connor began to laugh and he flexed his biceps.
“Heh, that’s right! I guess you could say I’m the strongest now!”
“Maybe you’re right, Connor, but don’t forget me.”
A seven-year old girl waddled into the room. She had a bit of chub on her face, but she seemed to be about as young as Emma was way back when, in their good days. Her black hair was tied in a ponytail. She was wearing a green shirt and brown pants. One of her eyelids lazily hung loose. She must have just gotten an allergic reaction recently.
“Tanya! Jeez, we have pretty much everyone here!” Franklin said, “And, you are right, Tanya, you WERE the strongest.”
“That was, until I came around,” Connor smugly said while flexing again. Everyone laughed, and Emma slapped Connor in the face. Connor’s face went slightly red but he still kept posing.
“Okay, okay, fun reunion, I have to admit,” Jeffrey said with a smile, “I uh, didn’t even expect this. But ALL of our parents brought us together to wish Franklin and his big brother a happy vacation!”
“Really? WAIT, THE BOSS HIMSELF IS HERE?!” Connor shouted in glee. The yellow flame grew brighter and his eyes began to pounce out of his eyes. Franklin shielded his eyes.
“Dude, you’re blinding us man, turn that off!”
Loud, fast footsteps began to approach, and the yellow flame around Connor quickly disappeared.
“What’s going on there? Tanya, get out of there!”
The footsteps stopped, and a twelve-year old girl stopped in her tracks and looked on in horror, and then with annoyance at the gathering. It was Little Kayla. She was wearing a black t-shirt and gray sweatpants. She had a burn mark on the side of her face. She walked up to Connor, and he gave her a big grin.
“Nice seeing you again best friend!” Connor said. Little Kayla pointed a finger at his chest and began to walk forward, making Connor back away.
“What did we all agree on before we parted ways?” Little Kayla barked, “We agreed NOT to use our powers so that he wouldn’t have to remember what we went through!”
“Yes yes yes I know, but I didn’t KNOW he’d be here!” Connor protested, “Besides, it’s not like he’s here right now-”
“Hey ‘OGs’.”
The Arks: Over Heaven (by Ben)
Chapter 55.5: In Vain
Part 2/7
Franklin got up from his seat and walked over to his laptop bag. He felt something buzz in his brain, and as he reached the bag and opened it up, with a stroke of luck he had realized he left everything he planned on bringing inside of the laptop bag. He picked it up and slung it around his shoulder.
“Okay. Ready.”
“Alrightie. Uh, Dad’s waiting outside. You can go first, just need to pick something else up,” Big Brother sighed. Franklin nodded, and began to walk away. As he did, he could hear Big Brother and Mom argue.
“I don’t understand why you’re so upset about this, we’ve been planning this for ages, you know this place isn’t right for any of us anymore!” Mom yelled.
“Yeah, but do we have to go? Things are getting better here, I know things will-”
“It won’t. It’s not safe for you OR your little brother here anymore. Everything’s crept south now. And there are a thousand more pros of going than there are cons here. I don’t understand, you said that you didn’t care much-”
“Now I do, Mom. Now I do.”
“Okay… At least say your last goodbyes-”
Franklin stepped outside the house.
“What was that all about?” he asked himself.
Franklin saw his Dad’s car parked on the curb. His Dad was waiting there. Usually he sat on his phone when he was waiting, but not today. He was carrying two wrapped presents in each hand.
Franklin ran up to the car and opened the door up, and his Dad turned around with a grin.
“Hey kiddo, howzit going?” he asked. He had a smile, but he didn’t seem very happy.
“Good, good, I finally finished my homework. Mrs. Hamabe gives out so much for no reason!” Franklin complained.
“Heh heh, yeah, I know, but uh, this should cheer you up for your upcoming… vacation!” Dad said. He gave the small wrapped present to Franklin. Franklin took the gift greedily and tore the wrapping paper aside. As his eyes laid on what was inside, his eyes sparkled. It was a small case that held an ancient coin from the 1700s!
“Ha ha, I’ve been looking for this one for ages! How’d you even find it? It must’ve cost quite the penny!” Franklin cheered.
“Oh, uh, it wasn’t too hard actually,” Dad answered with a sly smile, “I found it off the market. They were selling it for cheap. Apparently because it was ‘bad luck’, but uh, it was on heads! So it has to be good luck! Good luck for your vacation, hopefully it doesn’t rain out like the last one, heh!”
“Yeah, yeah, thanks, but I don’t NEED good luck,” Franklin said with a smile.
Suddenly, the passenger seat’s car door swung open, and in came Big Brother. He must have finally finished his conversation with Mom.
“Hey Dad,” Big Brother solemnly said.
“Howdy,” Dad replied. His mood seemed even worse now. Big Brother rubbed his face, and then afterwards kicked his seat back.
“Let’s roll. Now.”
Dad held his gift out.
“Take it first.”
Big Brother grabbed the gift with his left hand and shoved it in his pocket.
“I’ll open it later, don’t worry.”
Dad started up the car, and then put his foot on the pedal, driving off to his place.
~
Franklin was eagerly playing with his games. He mashed the buttons on his device as hard as he could, moving the character around and slashing through the zombies. Franklin let out a cheer as he instantly evaporated the last one, leaving a treasure chest for him to open.
“Ha ha! Finally, now I can get my prize,” Franklin cheered as blue sparks shot out of his fingers and into the console. As the treasure chest opened… Something wondrous lay inside.
“Wah hah hah, the Ultra Legendary Mythical Omega Sword of Doom!” Franklin said with sparkling eyes, “A 0.00000001% chance to obtain on a treasure chest as easy to get as this one, my power-”
Franklin quickly stopped himself, and cleared himself.
“My luck is insane!”
“I know, right?”
The Arks: Over Heaven (by Ben)
Chapter 55.5: In Vain
Part 1/7
SLAM.
Franklin jumped up in his seat, his head jolting awake as he carried his head off his book. A dim light buzzed over his head, the lightbulb fit to die any time soon. A moth was buzzing around near the light.
The day was February 4, 2026, his older brother’s seventeenth birthday.
At the time, Franklin was only in the sixth grade.
“What was that noise?” Franklin asked himself. He spun his office chair around and got up from his seat, taking a stretch as he did. He heard soft, inconsistent footsteps. Franklin raised his eyebrow. He couldn’t recognize them. His mother’s footsteps were silent, as she always wore socks. His uncle’s were loud and energetic. His grandparents were soft yet loud, and his older brother? His were like boots that clacked across the floor.
Fearing the worst, Franklin pointed at his head with his index finger. A spark of blue shot out and hit him. Franklin then opened the drawer up… And took out a pair of sharp scissors that were conveniently stored inside.
Franklin turned around to see a teenager wearing a white button up shirt ,thin black jacket and baggy blue jeans idly standing at the dining room. He was holding something within his hand, and Franklin tensed, a bead of sweat dripping down his face.
“I’ve been through worse, so why do I feel a little scared?” Franklin thought as he clenched the scissors tighter. He almost considered calling out for his Mom or Uncle… But what were the ‘odds’ that they’d be able to get to him in time?
Franklin felt himself growing hot, and the effects of his power suddenly kicked in. The chandelier above the mysterious stranger buzzed on, and there he was: his big brother.
He had bloodshot, wide dehydrated eyes, and dilated pupils. He was clenching his right fist, and his eyes were twitching. He looked really angry, but at the same time… really sad. Franklin could recognize dried out streaks of tears running down his eyes, and he was shaking. Franklin’s eyes darted to see what he was carrying, but by the time he looked he already put the item away.
“Hey Frankie,” his big brother dully said.
“Hi.”
Big Brother looked up at the chandelier that had just turned on randomly.
“This place really is falling apart,” Big Brother said with tired eyes. He muttered something else under his breath, but Franklin couldn’t hear him. Big Brother took his jacket off and threw it over his shoulder, and then eyed the dining table solemnly. There were a few boxes that contained some taco leftovers. There were only a few left, but Mom and Uncle had decided to get a few carne asada tacos since that was Big Brother’s favorite.
Surprisingly, Big Brother pushed that box to the side and opted for an al pastor taco. Big Brother took a bite of the taco, but it seemed to put him in an even worse mood.
“Where’s Mom and Uncle, Franklin?” Big Brother asked as he chewed on the taco slowly.
“Oh, uh, I dunno. I think they were, uh, having an important talk? I don’t know what though.”
Big Brother sighed.
“Alright. Thanks.”
Big Brother walked away, leaving Franklin even more worried. Why was Big Brother acting this way? He hadn’t acted this gloomy since…
“Even THAT was years ago,” Franklin thought, as he put the scissors away, “But, his ‘vacations’ got him over it.”
A half hour later, and the familiar footsteps of his Mom approached him. He turned around and saw Mom and Big Brother standing behind him. His Mom looked more stressed than ever. Recently, she had disappeared for long periods of time, along with Uncle and Grandpa and Grandma. Furniture would end up disappearing too. The other day, the ten-year old living room couch had vanished without a trace. When Franklin asked about it, Mom inquired that they were selling it off to get a new one.
But today, Mom seemed very satisfied.
Big Brother had a red backpack slung over his shoulder, and Franklin nearly winced at the sight. He hadn’t seen that in a while. Big Brother himself didn’t recall how he got it, but…
Franklin knew.
And so did all of their cousins.
“You two are going to your Dad’s place, so pack up Frankie,” Mom told him.
“Dad’s? But it’s only a Thursday, and we’re spending the weekend with you this week! And it’s a school night!”
“We’re uh, going on a vacation next week, actually,” Big Brother reluctantly said. Sweat dripped from his face, “So uh, yeah. We’re going to Dad’s this weekend.”
“Oh… Okay.”