Recipe For Me

Welcome to the Frequently Asked Questions for A Good Kid. I don’t want to draw things out so let’s get started! Please note that I did change the wording of some of the questions, mostly because I don’t know if the users who asked them want to be known.

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1.  Are you referencing The Lightning Thief Musical with the title of this work?

Yes. The book title and some of the chapter titles are from Light Thief: The Musical the rest are from songs that I thought fit the book.

2. You are really accurate with your description of the Foster Care System.

Thank you. I really wanted to be as accurate as possible. So I did as much research as I could.

3. Are there going to be any ships in the series?

No. I might reference a ship here and there but otherwise no. I wanted to leave it to everyone’s own interpretation. But for me it’s all platonic. However, I am thinking of including Thomas/Nico towards the end of the series. Is that something you would all like to see?

4. Have you had any water today?

Yes I have. *Sips at a blender full of water.* Okay but seriously, I do keep a water bottle by my bed which is where I spend most of my time.

5. Do you think it would be possible for you to go back through and edit so the POV changes are more clear? It really confuses me at times.

Yes! When I started writing I instinctively wrote it in First Person Point Of View (for some reason). And once I started writing it didn’t make sense to switch over to Third Person Point Of View.

But now that I am officially done I am going to go back and rewrite everything to be Third Person Point Of View. The story will stay the same but I might edit a couple of things. However, the first section of the first chapter will stay in First Person Point Of View. But after the line break it will be in Third Person Point Of View.

6. It feels like we only get to see Virgil, Patton, and Thomas in this fic.

Yeah I’m really sorry about that. That wasn’t the plan but since Virgil is the main character and living with Patton and Thomas it made more sense to include them more. But I still love Roman and Logan which is why I gave them bonding chapters with Virgil. Don’t worry though, you’ll see a lot more of them in the series.

7. What’s yours and all of the character’s favorite cookie?

Mine is chocolate chips. Virgil’s is anything with chocolate, Roman likes sugar cookies, Logan loves thumb-print cookies with Crofters, and Patton likes just about every cookie but oatmeal raisin.  

8. Did Virgil change his last name when he got adopted?

I actually had a scene planned out that explained this but didn’t end up writing it. I might write a one-shot for it but we’ll see.

To answer your question, Thomas and Virgil talked about it. Thomas gave Virgil the choice to change his last name to Sanders or keep it as Storm. Virgil chose to change his last name and make Storm his middle name. Virgil didn’t have a middle name at the time and wanted to honor his mom and his past.

9. Where can I find extra content for the series?

I have said this a couple of times but there is this Tumblr Blog. Here I answer questions about the series and include drawings of the characters. I sometimes also release lines from future chapters!

I am also planning on starting a one-shot book which will include extra scenes from the books that didn’t make the cut or events that happened in between each book.

10. What will the other books be about?

Each book with be in the order as followed:

Virgil’s which (as you all know) is about the Foster Care system, anxiety, and PTSD.

Roman’s is the next book and will be about his struggle with an eating disorder, specifically  anorexia.

Logan’s is about his struggle with emotions and his identity. Along with trying to fit into the friend group more.

Patton’s will be about depression.

The last book will be about Janus (Virgil’s bio brother) and trying to redeem himself and him wanting to try and be Virgil’s brother again.

11. Will Remus get a book?

No. I’m sorry Remus’ fans but I can’t, I tried to figure out how a book starring Remus would fit into the whole mesh of the series. But I can’t figure out how to do it in a way that makes sense. Maybe one day I could do it as a side book but it would be after I finished the main series.

That being said, Remus will be in Roman’s book a lot. Remus plays a role that’s similar to the role Thomas’ played in A Good Kid.

12. What is the timeline?

Yeah, I know that I wasn’t very clear on this. Sorry about that.

So, A Good Kid takes place during their Freshman year of High School and started late September. The school year had already started but it was still early enough that Virgil could still register and get caught up with classes. A Good Kid ended in mid May after the school year ended.

Roman’s Book will take place during their Sophomore Year. Logan’s Book will take place during Junior Year. Patton’s book will be in between Junior and Senior year. And then Janus’ book will be set during the groups’ Senior Year. But Janus is in College during the course of his book.

The one-shot book will be during all of those gaps.

13. Which book are you writing next? And when will the first chapter be posted?

The next book is Roman’s and it will be called Shatter Me. I am currently working on an outline for the story and getting a general idea of what I want it to cover.

I am working on rewriting A Good Kid in Third Person Point Of View right now and I want to focus most of my time on that. I’ll probably write a little bit for the first chapter here and there but I’m not sure how long it will take me to finish.

Luckily, I’m almost done with classes. I did find a couple of jobs for the summer and I am taking a summer class but I’m hoping to have enough free time to write. Still, I can’t guarantee a date when the first chapter of Shatter Me will come out. I am hoping (key word hoping) that it will come out by the end of May. But I can’t guarantee anything.

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Thank you guys so much for reading A Good Kid and sticking through all of the craziness that came with it. Thank you for all of your comments, they really make my day. I hope all of you enjoyed this fic. I hope you’ll stick around and read Shatter Me too!

I love you all, have a great day. If you have any more questions put them in the comment or go over to my Tumblr.

Take it easy Guys, Gals, and Non-Binary Pals. PEACE OUT!

After the night that I had told Thomas that I wanted him to adopt me things had gotten busy. Unsurprisingly it took a lot of work to adopt a child, the next few months were full of Thomas doing paper work and making phone calls and going through home inspections.

I had felt really guilty about how much stress I was causing Thomas but Dr Picani pointed out that if he wasn’t willing to go through the work then he wouldn’t have offered to adopt me. I still feel a little bit guilty but not as much as I used too.

By the time everything had been finalized we had all finished up our freshman year of High School. Thanks to Logan helping me study I’d gotten all Bs in most of my classes, except for art which I got an A in.

And after a year of jumping from foster home to foster home I am finally in a home that I feel safe in. And this time, I don’t have to worry about leaving.

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I stood in front of the mirror in my room, struggling to tie my tie. I had watched YouTube videos on it but I still couldn’t do it. Today was finally the day, the day that I (officially) joined the Sanders family. I was nervous about it all but thankfully Thomas wasn’t making it a big thing, when Patton was adopted apparently they did it all in a formal courtroom and friends and family came to watch.

Thomas said that we weren’t doing that because of my anxiety. Instead it would just be Thomas and I along with the judge, the lawyer, and my social worker in an office going over everything. Then once it was done Thomas and I would go home to eat ice-cream and watch movies with Patton to celebrate.

I heard a light knock at the door and turned to see Thomas standing in the doorway.

“Need help?” He asked, gestring to my tie.

“Yes.”

Thomas smiled and walked over to tie it for me. Roman had made the tie with leftover fabric from when he made my hoodie, which I was wearing over a button up purple shirt Thomas had gotten me for the occasion.

“Are you nervous?” Thomas finished with the tie and took a step back.

“Oh no why would I be nervous?” I asked sarcastically.

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” I said “but honestly, yeah, I’m pretty anxious.”

“Did you take your meds today?” Thomas asked. Dr Picani had helped me get medication for my anxiety and PTSD.

“Yeah I took them.”

“Everything is going to be fine.” Thomas said “there is no reason why I shouldn’t be approved.”

“Right..” I nodded, sitting down on my bed “yeah of course…” I looked down and began to fiddle with my tie.

Thomas sat down next to me, “do you want to go over what is going to happen again?”

I looked up at my soon-to-be father “can we?”

“Of course!” Thomas said “so we’re going to go to the courthouse where we’ll meet up with Valerie and the lawyer I hired, Terrence. Then we’ll meet with the judge who will go over everything, she’ll then sign the paperwork and the adoption certificate and we’ll go home.”

“That’s it?”

Thomas nodded “yup! The judge will probably ask us a couple of questions but that's the gist.” I nodded, feeling much calmer than I did before. “Right, so are you ready to go?”

“Yeah. Lets go.”

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I sat in my chair in the conference room where everything was being finalized at the courthouse. Thomas sat next to me and across the table I could see the Judge who was looking over all of the paperwork.

“Mr. Sanders,” the judge said.

“Yes?”

“Do you agree to adopt and care for Virgil as if he was your own child?” The judge asked.

“Yes,” Thomas said with a smile “of course.”

“Virgil,” the judge turned to me “do you want Mr. Sanders to adopt you?”

I nodded “yes.” I said, surprised that I was able to keep my voice steady.

“Alright,” the judge said “that being said it looks like everything is in order.” She picked up her pen and signed a paper, she handed it to Thomas and then stood with a smile. “Congratulations to the both of you.” Then she left.

Thomas handed me the paper, confused I looked down and my breath hitched when I saw the word ‘Certificate Of Adoption’ written atop of the page in a fancy font along with my name.

“Oh my gosh,” I whispered and it suddenly hit me. I’ve been adopted, I was a Sanders now.

“Virgil?” I heard Thomas say “are you alright?”

It was then that I realized I was crying, I felt Thomas carefully take the certificate out of my hands. I lurched forward, wrapping my arms around Thomas’ neck.

“Thank you.” I whispered “thank you for wanting me.”

I felt Thomas hug me back, “of course! I love you Virgil.”

I buried my face into Thomas’ suit jacket, still crying. “I love you too dad.”

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A/N: And there you have it, the last chapter. I hope you enjoyed both the chapter and the overall story. I'm sorry this chapter is so short, but I thought that the ending wrapped everything up perfectly and I didn't want to ruin that.

 Even though this is the last chapter I will be posting one more in the form of a author's note answering frequently asked questions. So if you have any questions about me or A Good Kid (or the series overall) please send them to me and I will do my best to answer them. The deadline to send in questions will be the 19th.

Also, the chapter title comes from the song 'Bring On The Monsters' from The Lighting Thief Musical. 

I walked into the office to see my Dad bent over paperwork, which was strange because Dad’s job often doesn’t require paperwork. Just grading tests and homework and writing lesson plans.

“Hey Dad,” I said “you wanted to talk to me?”

Dad looked up with a smile “hey Pat.” He gathered up the papers and put them in one of the desk draws. “Come on, let's go chat downstairs.”

The two of us walked downstairs to the living room and sat down. “Is everything okay Dad?” I asked.

“Yeah, yeah everything’s fine” he said “I just wanted to ask you a couple of things. If you don’t mind.”

“Sure. I don’t mind.”

“So Virgil has been staying with us for almost five months now” Dad said and I nodded “what do you think about him?”

“Virgil’s great!” I said with a smile “why do you ask?”

“Well…” Dad shifted a bit in his seat, looking nervous “how would you feel about you and Virgil being brothers? Permanently.”

I gasped, my eyes going wide. I looked up at my Dad and said, “you want to adopt him?!”

“Yes,” Dad said, “if he wants me too. But you’re a part of this family and I want to make sure that you are okay with it before I ask him.”

“Of course I’m okay with it” I squealed, throwing myself at Dad and hugging him.

Dad hugged me back “I’m glad you’re so happy about this” he chuckled “but I still have to talk to Virgil, alright.”

I nodded with a wide grin on my face. I already thought of Virgil as my brother but now it will be official!

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I was sitting in my room drawing, I had just finished up the last of my homework so I decided to work on a drawing in my personal sketchbook. Ever since the art contest I’ve been feeling a lot more motivated to practice my art as much as I can.

I heard a soft knock at the door, I looked up and saw Thomas standing in the doorway. “Hey Virgil,” he said “can we talk?”

I frowned but sat up in bed and folded my legs underneath me “yeah, sure.”

Thomas grabbed the chair from my desk and pulled it over to where I was sitting on my bed. So this was a serious conversation then. After he sat down Thomas ran a hand through his hair, looking nervous.

“So before I tell you anything, I really want to tell you how much I’ve enjoyed having you here.” Thomas said and my stomach dropped.

He was sending me back, I don’t know why I thought any different. In my past homes I hadn’t cared but this time…. This time I thought that maybe things could be different, that I could have a life here with Patton and Thomas. I even admitted to Dr Picani in my session last week that I was starting to see Thomas as a dad.

I wrapped my arms around my knees, pulling them to my chest. “It’s okay,” I said softly “I understand.”

“What?”

“I mean I get it, just because you’re fostering me doesn’t mean that you have to keep me around.” I buried my head in my arm, letting out a self deprecating chuckle “it’s fine. I’m used to it, I really don’t mind.”

“Virgil” Thomas said, sounding shocked “I’m not sending you back!”

I lifted my head “y-you aren’t?”

Thomas shook his head “no of course not!”

“T-then.. Why did you want to t-talk to me?”

He smiled “I want to ask you if you would be alright with me adopting you.”

I froze, I was not expecting that “you… You want to adopt me?!”

“Only if you’re okay with it!” Thomas said “even if you aren’t you are still more than welcome to stay here.”

I stared at the pastel yellow bed covers as I thought over Thomas’ words. No one had ever wanted to adopt me before, I always thought I would grow out of the system. That's what everyone had always told me, no one wants a teenager. And yet… Thomas did. And not just anyone, he wanted me.

I heard the sound of Thomas standing up and putting the chair back in its place by my desk. “I’ll give you some time to think it over, alright?” I nodded and Thomas quietly left the room, shutting the door behind him.

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I was worried about Virgil. Ever since I told him that I wanted to adopt him, he hasn’t left his room. He didn’t even show up for dinner, I had left him a plate outside his door but he hadn't touched it. Patton seemed concerned too but I assured him that everything was fine and not to worry.

I sighed as I lay back on my bed, when I was reading about how to approach this topic with Virgil everything I read said to give the teen time to process and come to a decision. And I agree with that, but why did it have to be so hard to wait?

It had been a lot easier with Patton, in the year that I had been fostering him he had started calling me dad after six months. So it was a no brainer in whether or not Patton wanted me to adopt him. The biggest thing that I was worrying about was talking to Patton’s grandparents and asking them if they were okay with me adopting him. The two had been overjoyed as the idea and had immediately given me their blessing, they had even made jokes about me know being their honorary son.

But, of course, teenagers were different. Virgil may not have been in the system for as long as other kids but his life wasn’t easy before that. I don’t know the details and Virgil has only told me the basics. I know that his Dad is in jail and that he and his brother had been separated once put in the system. I can only imagine what he’s gone through, after all people don’t go to jail for nothing after all.

I heard a soft knock on the door and I immediately sat up “come in.”

The door opened to reveal Virgil, he seemed hesitant so as much as I wanted to rush over and ask him questions. So, I waited.

“Yes.”

“What?”

“My answer is yes,” Virgil said “I want you to adopt me.”

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I am so sorry this toke me so long, things have gotten really busy. But good news is that we only have one more chapter left! 

On another note, Virgil is getting adopted!! How many of you were expecting this outcome? The last chapter will be about (spoilers) Virgil's adoption day. Then I will be getting started on the next book. 

I burst into Virgil’s room with excitement “Virgil!” I cried.

VIrgil let out a startled yelp and fell out of his desk chair. “Gosh Pat,” he groaned as he sat up “did you have to yell?”

“Sorry!” I said as I quickly helped him up. “I’m just really excited.”

“Yeah… Me too.”

Looking over my foster brother I frowned “Virgil, why aren’t you wearing the onesie I got you?” Then a thought occurred to me “do you not like it?”

“No no I do!” Virgil assured me “I just want to make sure… are you sure that you want me to but in on your movie night?”

“Of course!” I said “you are part of the group now and we want you to join us.”

Virgil gave me a small smile at that “okay, I’ll be there in a few minutes. I just need to change super quick.

Grabbing the clothing item from his bed and slipped into the bathroom, when he came out Virgil was wearing the skeleton onesie I had gotten for him.

I smiled “you look great V!”

Virgil gave me a small smile “thanks.”

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Patton and I headed down to the living room, Logan and Roman were already sitting on the couch. Roman was wearing his Beauty and the Beastonesie and Logan was wearing his unicorn onesie.

“Right then” Patton said, as we sat down on the couch. Pulling up the hood of his cat onesie “since this is Virgil’s first movie night with us he gets to pick the movie.”

“So, what movie do you want to watch Virgil?” Logan asked.

I paused, thinking it over before I smirked “Beetlejuice.”

“Like… the musical?” Roman asked “I mean, I’m sure I can find a bootleg of it somewhere.”

I shock my head “no, I’m talking about the 1988 Tim Burton movie.”

“Ah! You mean the movie that the musical was based on.” Roman turned to Patton “do you have it?”

“Let me check” Patton went over to the cupboard that held the DVDs and began to sort through them “yup! It’s right here.”

“Sweet.” I grinned as Patton got it set up “I’ve always wanted to see this movie.”

“Have you listened to the musical’s soundtrack?” Roman asked.

“Of course.” I said “it’s amazing.”

After that Roman and I started talking about our favorite musicals. Roman like just about every musical there was, I’m more of a fan of musicals with darker themes. Like Heathers, Beeltejucie, and Bat Boy.

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Around an hour and a half later the credits began to roll and I turned to Patton. “So, what did you think?”

Patton shrugged, I could tell he was a bit horrified by some of the more darker parts “it was okay.”

I turned to Logan next “it was definitely interesting.”

“I liked it!” Roman declared “you can see the similarities between both the movie and the musical.”

“Yes,” Logan agreed “I was doing some reading on the musical when it first came out and that is one thing that the creators tried to do. They wanted the two to be similar but not the same.”

“I like the costumes” Patton piped up “and the Matildas seemed nice.”

We all spent maybe another half an hour talking and discussing how the movie compared to the musical. They would have talked longer if Thomas didn’t come back downstairs and send Logan and Roman home. Once they were gone Patton and I headed upstairs to get ready for bed.

I changed out of my onesie and into my pajamas and slipped into the bathroom to brush my teeth. Patton was already in there for the same thing.

“So what did you think of movie night?” Patton asked.

As I rinsed out my mouth I thought it over. I had to admit that as crazy and weird as it was, movie night was a lot of fun. I really hope that I would be able to stay long enough to join in on next month’s movie night.

“It was a lot of fun,” I said, “thanks for inviting me.”

“Of course!” Patton smiled “you're part of the group now.”

I stood there in shock as Patton finished up and left the bathroom before I could say anything. Never in a million years did I think I would actually gain a group of friends, especially after I was put in the system and forced to leave Remy. In all my past homes I never tried to get close to anyone, it hadn’t been until I started seeing Dr. Picani that I realized that I was too scared to get close to anyone after Janus.

“You have been doing really good these past few weeks Virgil” Dr Picani said with a smile “it is still a long road to recovery but you are off to a great start!”

“Thanks Dr Picani,” I said with a small smile.

“Now, there is one thing that I think should be discussed” he said “but only if you are comfortable with it.”

“What is it?” I asked cautiously.

“You childhood.” Dr Picani said “specifically your life before you were placed in the foster care system.”

I froze and my heart began to race, I squeezed my eyes shut and I went over one of the breathing exercises Dr Picani taught me.

The man must have noticed my panic. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

I opened my eyes “no,” I said. “It’s okay, I want to talk about it.” I took a deep breath and began my story.

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Virgil Storm was born on December 19th to two loving parents and an older brother who was two years older than him. You would think that would be the end of the story, Virgil would grow up in a loving family and live happily ever after. Unfortunately life doesn’t always work out that way.

For the first several years of his life the Storm family was your average, happy, suburban family. They did things that any normal family would do, but sometime after Virgil had turned ten everything changed. Eliza Strom was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Eliza did everything she could to fight it, but no matter what she did she was slowly losing her fight. There were times when it seemed like she was going to make it, but it never lasted. And then on February 1st, a few days before Janus’ birthday Eliza Strom lost her battle for good.

Things after that slowly began to downsprail. Virgil and Janus’ father started drinking in order to cope. It wasn’t much at first and he would only do it at night, making sure to be sober by the time that the two woke up.

But then he started drinking after work. A lot of the time he would end up passing out on the couch, forcing Janus to take care of Virgil and himself. Something that Virgil always felt guilty for. Then one night, their father snapped. Virgil doesn’t know what happened, all he knew was that it led to not only the scars on Janus’ face but also what led to his brother bullying him.

All of this led to both Virgil’s home and school life being a living nightmare. It wasn’t until Virgil started seeing Dr Picani that he realized that during this time his mind was in constant fight or flight mode. And when Virgil was thirteen everything changed, whether for better or worse he hasn’t decided yet.

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Virgil sat curled up in his closet, tears silently pouring down his cheeks. “Get back out here you ungrateful little rat” his father’s voice bellowed.

It was all his fault. Virgil had been washing some of the dirty dishes that had started to pile up when he had dropped a plate. The sound of it shattering had awoken his father from his drunken slumber. Angry the man had stormed into the kitchen yelling. Virgil was terrified, he ended up running into his room and hid in the closet. He had cut his feet on the broken glass in the process but that was the last thing he was worried about right now.

Burying his head in his lap Virgil sob quietly. Because he had run off and hid father was sure to give him a beating when he was found. For once Virgil wished Janus was here, maybe he would be able to stop this. But Janus was off hanging out with his gang.

The closet door flew open and Virgil snapped his head up to see his father. “Get out here” he slurred.

Virgil shook his head and scooted farther into the corner, he could smell the alcohol on his dad’s breath. The larger man reached in and grabbed Virgil by the hair, dragging him out of the closet. The boy screamed in both pain and fear and his father dragged him into the living room with a fistfull of his hair in hand.

When they got to the living room the man grabbed Virgil by the arm and threw him across the room into the wall. The wind was knocked out of him but before he had time to recover his father stormed over and kicked him in the stomach, taking his breath away once again. Virgil gasped for breath as his father began to repeatedly kick him in the ribs. He could hear him yelling something but he was unable to make it out due to the pain.

Then, it stopped. Surely his father wasn’t done with his beating yet. So what happened? Virgil then felt a gentle hand on his shoulder and he flinched away, a soft voice began to speak to him in a low voice. He could hear the sound of yelling and see bright light behind his eyelids. He opened his eyes a crack to see a woman in a police uniform and then it all went black.

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When Virgil woke up he was laying on a soft bed in a white room, a hospital room. He was scared and confused but an officer came in and explained everything. They had gotten an anonymous tip that his father was committing child abuse and they had gone to investagate just in time to catch his father in the act. They immediately arrested his father and took him to the hospital to be looked over. After words they had picked up Janus and brought him to the hospital to be checked for any wounds as well.

After that Virgil was forced to talk to people from CPS, luckily no one ever made him give a statement in court for they had a good case already. His father lost in court and was now serving twenty years in prison. Unfortunately Virgil never got the chance to see Janus again before the two were separated and put into separate Foster Homes.

Virgil’s  Social Worker, Ms. Torres-Rosario, said that when they had asked him Janus said that he wanted the two of them to be in separate homes. Despite all of the things that Janus had done over the years Virgil still loved his brother and the memories that the two of them shared when they were younger.

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“So yeah,” I said leaning back in my seat, wiping my eyes with the wad of tissues in my hand “that’s the story of my effed up childhood.”

“I am so sorry that you had to go through all of that Virgil.” Dr. Picani said softly “but let me ask you something, do you feel better talking about it?”

I paused before realizing that I did, it felt like a weight that I didn’t know I was carrying had lifted. “I do,” I said with a small smile.

“That's good” Dr. Picani said “talking about this can help the road to recovery, it may take some time and work but as I said earlier you are off to a great start.”

Ever since the art contest last week things were starting to look up for me. I showed Ms. Adwin my ribbon and she showed it to the whole class, while it was a little bit embarrassing I couldn’t help but feel proud of myself.

Unfortunately my other classes were going horribly, the only class that I’m doing well  in is art. That's one of the problems with Foster Care, it's really hard to get good grades when you're switching schools all the time.

It’s not that I don’t want to do well, I really do. I want to be able to go to college one day but I can’t do that unless I get good grades. Even if I do get into college I would have to go on a scholarship, I don’t know how I would pay for it otherwise.

Even if I didn’t want to go to college I would still have to work on getting my grades up. After my first session with Dr Picani Thomas and I talked about my classes and my grades. Basically he told me that he wanted me to work on getting those grades up.

Normally I couldn’t care less about what my Foster Parents wanted but there was something about Thomas that made me really want to make him proud. During (and still after) the art contest he kept saying how proud he was of me, “his kid” as he said. And now I really wanted to make him proud of me again. So here I am, at the public library, in a attempt to study,

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I sipped my ice cold water, wincing as it touched my teeth. I had gotten my braces tightened a few days ago and things were still sore, as they always were. I walked through the library to my usual stop to sit and study, the tables hidden behind the advanced astronomy book.

I frowned as I heard footsteps enter my usual table, see a person sitting at one of the tables. That was odd, I never had seen anyone sitting here before. That’s why this was my favorite spot. As I got closer I recognised the person as Patton’s foster brother, Virgil. I didn’t talk to him that often, despite him sitting with us at lunch everyday. Though it seemed like him and Roman were starting to get along better.

I sat down at a table nearby Virgil’s and began to pull out my things from my backpack. I tried to study but my eyes kept looking over at Virgil, who seemed to be having trouble with something. Finally I stood up and walked over to his table.

“Hello Virgil,” I said. The fellow teen’s head snapped up and his eyes met mine.

“Oh uh… hey Logan. What are you doing here?” He asked.

“Studying, and I am planning on looking at some books later that I wish to check out.”

“Oh.. that's cool.” Virgil said “yeah, I’m here to study too.”

“It seems you are having trouble.” I said, eyeing Virgil’s notebook.

He sighed “yeah, unfortunately.”

I frowned to myself before walking back to my table and packing up my things, I then went back to Virgil’s table and sat down across from him. “What are you having trouble with?”

“What?”

“What are you having trouble with?” I repeated “am I not making myself clear?”

“No, you're plenty clear.” Virgil said “but why are you asking me what I’m having trouble with?”

“Because maybe I can help,” I answered.

“Why would you want to do that?” Virgil asked.

I shrugged “do I need a reason?”

“I guess not.”

“So I will say again.” I said “what are you having trouble with.”

Virgil sighed “mostly math and biology.”

“I see.” I leaned over and pulled Virgil’s worksheet over so that I could look at it. “Ah, Pre-Algebra. This I pretty simple.”

“Well, not for me it isn’t.” Virgil said, and I noticed that his voice grew hard.

“Of course, that’s understandable. Math is hard for many people.” I explained “what I had meant to say is that it is easy for me. So I won't have much trouble helping you.”

“Oh, okay.”

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I’m not sure why Logan decided to help me study but I wasn’t going to complain. It turns out that Logan is really smart and was a really big help in explaining to me what I was having trouble with. As we worked the two of us started talking. I didn;t talk to Logan all that much so I found out many things that I didn’t know about him.

Logan told me all about his favorite author (Agatha Christie) and his favorite TV show (Doctor Who), Logan had gone on a long rant about his favorite jelly brand, Crofters.

But when I had asked Logan how he had become friends with Patton I found out one of the more shocking things about him.

------

“So, how did you become friends with Patton?” I asked.

“I met Patton and Roman in Middle School '' Logan said “unlike most of the other students who were all in the same Elementary School together I was not. When Patton found out about this he was quick to become friends with me and latter introduce me to Roman.”

“Why weren’t you in the same Elementary School?” I asked.

“Well,” Logan pushed his glasses farther up his nose “while I did go to the same Elementary School as Roman and Patton. I wasn’t in the same grade as them. I skipped the Fifth Grade.”

“Wait, really?” I said in shock and Logan nodded “so how old are you then? Does that make you thirteen then?”

Logan shook his head “no, I recently turned fourteen a couple of weeks ago on the third.”

“Huh.” I said, thinking about what Logan had just told me “well, that’s really cool Logan.”

Logan gave me a small smile “thank you Virgil.”

------

It was a little over an hour before the two of us decided to stop. I began to pack up my things “thanks again for your help Logan.”

“Of course, it wasn’t a problem.” He said “if you ever need my help again or someone to study with feel free to text or call me.”

“Yeah sure,” I said “can I get your number?”

“Of course,” Logan quickly wrote down his phone number for me.

“I should get going.” I said, checking the time.

“I should as well,” he said.

I walked next to Patton as we entered with Thomas into the building that the art contest was taking place. I messed with the fidget cube that Thomas had given me during the car ride when he caught me biting my nails. Gosh I was nervous. This would be the first time that someone other than my art teacher saw my art work. What if they all hated it?

“Hey,” I looked over to see it was Patton who had spoken “I’m sure it’s great!”

“Thanks Pat,” I said with a small smile.

All of the artwork was numbered and sorted by the number which they received, each entry had a small card next to it stating the student’s name, grade level, school district, and the name of the piece of work.

“Which number was yours again?” Thomas asked.

I looked down at the paper in my hand, before we left Thomas had printed out one of the emails the school sent me. The email had all of the information that we needed.

“Uh number 28” I said.

“Great!” Patton said “let go find it!”

-------

The three of us walked through the room, looking at the different paintings and artwork while trying to find mine. One thing I noticed is that it looked like the judges already came through and put out awards. Finally we got to mine.

“Wow” Thomas whispered.

My entry was a very simple drawing done with colored pencil and markers. One of the thingsI like about Florida was fireflies. I used to catch them with my mom and brother when I was little. So my drawing  was of a dark blue night sky with the moon, and you could see tall grass. In the grass sat an open jar and fireflies were flying out of it.  

“So….” I said rubbing the back of my neck “what do you think?”

“Wow,” Thomas said again and turned to me “Virgil, you're really talented.”

“It’s not really that great…”

“Really?” Patton said, looking confused “then why does it have a big ribbon next to it?”

“Wait! What?” I looked over to see what Patton had said was true, next to my drawing was a fat purple ribbon with the words 'Honorable Mention’ written on it in loppy white lettering.

I felt my legs go weak but Thomas grabbed my arm and kept me from fainting like an old lady from a 1940s movie. “I… I don’t understand.” I said “what does this mean?”

“It means,” Patton said “that your drawing is so cool that they stuck a big fat ribbon to it!”

“It’s official!” Thomas said “my kid is amazing! Nice job Virgil.”

I stood up a bit straighter “but I didn’t even win.” I argued “Honorable Mention doesn’t mean much.”

“Acally, that’s where you're wrong.” A voice said. Turning around I saw that the voice belonged to an older, dark blond haired girl who was leaning up against a table.

“What do you mean?” Patton asked.

“Well, first off” she said “just getting into this contest is a challenge of itself. Second, they don’t give out Honorable Mentions to just anyone. They’re not Participation Awards.” She snorted lightly “ getting a Honorable Mention is when the judges thought about giving you first, second, or third but decided to go with someone else but still wanted to award you in some way.”

“I see…” I said.

“Yeah,” the girl said “and besides you’re like, what, a freshman?” I nodded “well, you’re going to get better and I’m pretty sure that you’ll get in next year too.”

“How can you tell?” I asked.

“Well. I got an Honorable Mention my Freshman year too” The girl pushed herself off the table and jabbed her thumb at the ‘First Place: Senior’ ribbon that was next too what I assumed was her art piece.

“Wow!” Thomas said “congrats.”

The girl smiled, looking giddy “thanks.” She turned to me “so just enjoy your win and keep practicing!” She said “now, I got to go find my mom and tell her I won!” She then ran off.

------

For the rest of the day I let myself relax, which was something I didn’t do all that often for fear of letting my guard down. But I found that I didn’t mind. I think I’m starting to trust Patton and Thomas. The three of us spent time looking at the other art. And when people found out which one was mine they all said I did a great job.

Finally at the end of the day I collected my drawing and ribbon. I looked down at it, I wanted to do a good job and I felt really proud for how it turned out.

“Hey..” I looked up at Thomas “um.. Would it be okay if I get this framed?” I asked “I want to hang it up in my room.”

My heart had been  pounding, this was the first time I asked to change anything about my room. Thomas had just smiled and said yes. And, to be honest, I was surprised he said yes. All throughout the day he kept telling me how proud he was of me, and I felt really happy whenever he did.

“Hey,” Patton said “ready to go home?”

I was slowly starting to feel more comfortable around Patton and Thomas but Roman and Logan were another story. I never really saw either of them outside of lunch, though I did have the same math class as Logan. But other than that I never really talked to either of them.

Logan was…. Nice I guess you could say. He mostly sat and read during lunch and we never talked during class, we didn’t even sit with each other! I mean, the guy only really talks when someone asks him something. Roman and I don’t really talk too much. I don’t think he likes me all that much. Ever since our Disney Dabate he has been acting strange around him.

In the middle of lunch one day I left to go sit and draw in the library, I was feeling overwhelmed by everything and just wanted some peace and quiet. I headed over to my locker and pulled out my personal sketchbook.

“Hey newbie.” A teasing voice said behind me, and I froze.

It was the older girl and her friends that have been beating me up these past few months. Taking a deep breath I put my sketchbook back into my locker and turned around to face them. Just in time to receive a punch to the face.

-------

After I finished eating my lunch I left to go use the bathroom as I was walking something caught my eye. And it wasn’t good. It looked like Renise and her friends were beating up some poor fellow freshman. I started to turn and walk away, hoping that she wouldn’t notice me, when I saw who it was they were beating up. And it was Virgil!

As thoughts of avoiding the older students left my mind and I rushed over to help him but stopped, a better idea filled my mind of how to get Virgil out of this situation.

“Hey, Teacher!” I yelled “a kid’s getting beat up over here!” And, just like I hoped, the bullies immediately made a run for it. As soon as they were gone I knelt by Virgil’s side “are you okay?”

Slowly he sat up “I'm fine Princey.” He wiped blood off his mouth and hesitated for a moment “thanks.”

I smiled and did a half bow from where I was sitting “of course! It was no trouble at all.”  

Virgil looked over himself and crushed softly under his breath. “Great,” he muttered “they tore my hoodie.” Looking over I frowned when I saw the long rip going along the right arm of the jacket. “It's not like it was my favorite or anything.”

“Is there anything I can do?” I asked softly.

Virgil pushed himself to his feet and turned to his locker “it's fine, don’t worry about it.”

I frowned again to myself but stood up all the same and finished my trip to the bathroom.

-------

After school I sat in my room, trying to focus on my homework but a part of me just couldn’t. I couldn’t keep Virgil’s face when he saw his ruined hoodie out of my head. He looked so…. Defeated. I only wished there was something that I could do.

I smacked my forehead, how could I be so stupid? The idea was in front of my all along! And maybe now was the time I started to fix things with the dark knight. Even though I hadn’t talked much to him these past few months I could tell that what I originally thought was all wrong.

And so, like the Prince that I am, I needed to fix things with the Knight that Virgil was.

------

It had been a few days since Roman had saved me from those bullies, and we haven’t really talked since. Not like we talked normally but you know what I mean. Things have just been…. Awkward between us, when before it was just a mutual dislike. Well, it was nothing I couldn’t handle.

I sat in my room working on filling out a work sheet for my math class when Thomas called me downstairs. A small part of me was glad to have an excuse to take a break from homework, but I was mostly nervous about why Thomas was calling for me. I headed downstairs to see Roman standing in the doorway holding a package.

“Princey?” I said with surprise “what are you doing here?”

“Hey Virgil…. I wanted to see if I could talk to you…. Outside?”

“Uh sure” I gave him a look before I went outside and sat on the front porch. Soon after Roman came over and sat down next to me. “So, what did you want?”

“Just to talk” Roman said and I raised an eyebrow “and to give you this.” He then handed me the package.

I began to slowly peeled the brown paper away from what looked to be some folded back cloth. “Uh… what is it?” I asked.

Roman grinned and took it from me, he held it up and revealed a black hoodie with purple patches sewn on. The patches looked to have been sewn on with thick white stitching, it reminded me of the snitching on Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas. And on the right side of the jacket was a purple and white small patch, shaped like a storm cloud.

“This… is for me?” I said in shock.

“Yup” Roman said with a smile “I felt bad that those bullies ruined your last one so I thought I would make you a new one.”

“Wait… you made this!” I carefully took the jacket from the other teen’s hands and started down at it, still in shock.

“Yeah it did” Roman said “do you like it?”

I looked up at Roman and said “I love it!” I pulled on the jacket over my t-shirt, it was a little big but I liked my hoodies to be big. I ran my hands down the front of it “I like the storm cloud patch.”

“I’m glad,” Roman said “I designed it myself. Just like all of the other symbols in our group.” He explained.

“Other symbols?”

“Yeah, I design all of my friends a logo and put it on a custom item for them.” He explains “Patton has a pin that looks like a heart with glasses that he tends to pin unto his overalls. And Logan has a brain with glasses in the form of a patch like yours, it's on his backpack if you want to see.”

“What about you?” I asked. Roman smiled at me again and showed me the regal red and gold patch on his white and gold jacket. “Wow” I muttered.

“Thanks.” I then realized something

“Wait, does this mean you think of me as a friend?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Roman scratched at his wrist. “Look, I know I’ve been kinda of a jerk to you. And I’m sorry, you didn’t deserve that but I would really like to get to know you. So… can we just start over?” He asked.

I thought it over for a second before standing up, Roman looked up at me and I smiled and held out a hand. “Hey, I’m Virgil Storm.”