Clemens Household

Carson slowly dragged himself out of bed before squinting at the flashing red numbers of his digital clock to check the time. He frowned, realizing by the time he'd missed the first day of classes--his own mother hadn't even bothered to wake him, not that it came as any surprise. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Carson quickly brushed his hair and went to the bathroom to put in his contacts.
He dressed in a t-shirt and dark jeans and slid on leather sandals as he headed out the door. Even if he couldn't spend the day in class by now, Carson still longed to take one more look at his school before he finally made his debut there. He brought along with him a small emergency bag reluctantly: within it were various medicines, his wallet, and his cell phone-- things his sister Rebecca would kill him if he didn't carry with him.

On his way to the school, Carson passed by the mall and decided to look around on his own there instead. Even though he'd resided on the island his entire life, he rarely explored, especially by himself.

Drip, drip. Water dropped from the leaves on the branches above Rebecca Clemens as she napped up in her favorite tree. Her eyelids fluttered as little droplets landed on her skin. Rebecca had felt like playing hooky from school for once even though it was the first day for classes in the year, ignoring the eventual consequences, so at the moment she was being prodded awake by the sudden dampness.
"Wha-aa!!" Rebecca jolted up, nearly bumping her head against a cluster of rain-covered leaves. She jumped out of the tree and ran back into the house to grab a jacket.
"Hey Carson get up, it's rai--" She had stopped by Carson's room to wake him, only to find his bed empty and emergency bag gone. So he went out on his own? The brunette's mouth turned down out of concern, but soon relaxed with rellief. He'd taken his bag so he was probably safe, and what was more, he had actually taken initiative to go out on his own--a first in years.

Taking her cell along, Rebecca left to find some place to play.

(place to be determined.)

Carson arrived home much later than Rebecca had anticipated. And though he had called her just minutes before to ask her to unlock the front door, she hadn't paced frantically, she didn't consider negative possibilities (too many, at least), yet she had had a nagging feeling while she enjoyed Stephen King's The Shining on the TV in the Clemens' front room. Of course, all the apprehension had washed away as she welcomed her brother home. Rebecca hugged her adorable brother suddenly, ruffling his hair as he struggled to break free from her surprise attack.

The older Clemens directed the younger to sit at the table while she reheated their dinner, and he did so without complaint. All the while, Rebecca brooded over thoughts of their mother tucked away inthe back bedroom, watching the Travel Channel if she was still awake. The least their mother could do for her son was show a little concern when he went out on his own. Or welcome him back. Their mother Jane had done neither. She'd made dinner and ate at the dinner table before returning to her room with minimal mention of Carson. Rebecca sometimes wondered if she even remembered she had a son.

Carson, as usual, was uncomplaining. Rebecca knew the chicken had become tough to eat and the vegetables dry after she'd reheated them but he ate with a smile and without a single complaint. Mid-bite, Rebecca asked, "So what'd you do after school?"

"So what'd you do after school?" Carson was asked. He was actually a bit glad to relate a different kind of day than usual to his older sister.
"Well, I saw Yui again, the girl with pink hair. I actually think she's my first friend out of the hospital. That odd white-haired girl from class--she ran past us--it was kind of weird. But I also et the guy with long red hair--Gadiel....but..." Carson trailed off. His sister would likely react harshly towards Gadiel's pity or consideration for him.
"But what? He didn't mess with you, right?" There was an edge to Rebecca's voice Carson knew was her protective instinct. He still felt uncomfortable when he heard it though.
"Not at all, Becky, he was cool! It's just it was really really weird when he kneeled to talk to me. I know he was being nice, but there's a fine line sometimes.... And then this blonde girl with a bad day walked by us. I felt sorry for her. But Yui and Gadiel were mad. I guess I understand but they didn't really make that girl's day go any better." The boy stood and cleared his plate from the table and took his sister's dishes too, setting them neatly in the sink. "How about you?" He flopped on the couch, seeing a moment of a movie frozen on the screen.

Rebecca plopped by her brother and grabbed the remote. A smile grew on her face as she considered all Carson had talked about. He had really been excited to get to a physical school, and so far it wasn't letting him down "So you went and hung out with people? Awesome! I was boring, watching movies here. And going to the bank, but that's it. I almost have enough for a car finally."
She unpaused the movie and draped her arm over Carson's shoulders, being careful not t laugh as he tried to be brave and watch T.V. with her. thrillers were so not his thing, but for the sake of spending time with her, he put up with it.
Of course he was getting better, limiting his reactions to cringes and hand squeezes. Rebecca couldn't help but think he should almost have been born a girl.

When the movie was over, they went their seperate ways and headed off to sleep.

A dirty blond head peeked out from beneath, a thick ocean-blue comforter followed by half-covered, warm hazel eyes. Excitement for a new school day had Carson's internal clock waking him refreshed and early. Before public school, only Rebecca's constant prodding could wake Carson before 10 A.M... When he felt like an invalid in homeschool, he'd hated waking up.
He got dressed and ready before bursting into his older sibling's doorway. "Hey, why aren't you up yet?" he asked. "Wanna walk to school today?" He wasn't looking forward to another awkward ride to school with his other, as much as he loved her. She never seemed to know how to act around him but he wasn't really sure how to act around her either.
He waited by the front door with a blueberry muffin in each of his hands for the road.

Rebecca slipped on a lime green tank top and jean shorts before gathering her hair into a loose, messy ponytail. "You really wanna go this early?" Rebecca grinned and stole one muffin out of Carson's grasp. She mussed her brother's dripping hair, glad of the changes she was beginning to see in his demeanor. He was always sweet, but now Carson was enjoying himself. She hoped he might be brought out of the shell he'd locked himself in--he could be comfortable around people other than Rebecca and their dad, she knew it. High school would be good for him.
They were on their way to the school and in the courtyard when Carson mentioned something that made Rebecca nearly choke on a blueberry.

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