Clare

I pulled the covers from over Vada's head.

"Vada, wake up." I lightly shook her and she sighed,grumbling under her breath.

"Mom. Can I not go to school and say I did?" she whined and I smiled. I smoothed her short black and green hair and she smiled back up at me.

"Fine Mom, but let me get dressed by myself. Go wake up Benji and Izzy, I'll be ready." She opened her big green eyes and I sighed, going across the hall to Izzy's room. Izzy had a lock on her room so I had to knock on her door for her to wake-up.

Izzy had long hair, grazing her bottom, a milky red color unlike mine. It was redder and curlier. Iz had a little beauty mark that Aunt Darcy has or maybe it was Eli's. Clare couldn't place her finger on it. In regrads to her hair, she had been growing it for awhile, ever since she was. She had frost blue eyes, like Clare's but colder which didn't match her personality at all.

Izzy was the one who enjoyed sports but shopping in the same instance, a tomgirly girl in her own right. She got angry quickly and her outburts suprises everyone around her. Her 'tantrums' left her damaged for days and then she goes into bliss-ful periods of time.

She hasn't had one in a little over a month, so we figure its nothing to worry about.

But the image of her crumpled in a heap, sobbing so hard it scares us in the dark... it never leaves my mind. And now that she was starting high school... at Degrassi of all places on Earth.

"Hey Iz, it's time to wake up for school." I said and she wiped the sleep crust out of her eyes, smiling a bit.

"Thank you Mommy." I smiled at that. She, AJ, and Madeline are the only ones who call me Mommy. And she was 14, the others are 4 and 2 years old.

AJ and Benji technically were supposed to share a room but Benji ultimately always ends up crashing on the basement couch so we let him have the guest room that was down there. AJ never minded since he liked sleeping with Izzy during thunderstorms and such. And Izzy, after a fit, ould sometimes sleep with Vada, curled up in a ball after screaming. Madeline had the room next to ours because Eli and I felt that we felt better that way.

They trusted us, but Vada, Izzy, and Benji have all accidentally walked in on Eli and I, very together, once and they all wanted to protect AJ from the horrific sight of your parents... in that... situatuion.

Benji was already up, I heard his screechy black-hearted screamo music from the door to the basement. I shook my head. He seemed to love being alone as much as he loved us. True, despite the show he loved to put on, he loved us.

He was the only one that could talk to Izzy during a mood without getting ignored or slapped. He was fiercely protective of AJ, who gets bullied sometimes by somekidin his pre-k, so Eli enlisted AJ in a class at Benji's karate school. He hates bullies and would do anything to be the last one standing.

Benji has black hair, it was jet black and no other color could describe it. It was swept to one side and it almost hides one of his eyes, one blue eye and one green eye.

He adopted his father's love for accesories, with ties, scarves, hats, necklaces galore. He has always has that piercing on his cartliege and a necklace his Grandpa Bullfrog gave him. It was a target symbol. I rolled my eyes at that one, no girls were to touch my precious baby boy. That goes for AJ too.

His twin sister was Izzy, they were both freshmen and Vada was a junior, which means she gets t drive orty to school. She loves that car so much she got a hearse necklacefrom Grandma CeCe. They have six grandparents in a family of kids who love jewelry.

Madeline is going to have a lot to inherit.

I started on breakfast and made number pancakes. It was ritual. Everytime I could I made number pancakes, eggs, and hot chocolate.

Vada came downstairs in her giant Spongebob hoodie and jold leggings. She had a gold streak in her hair today, to compliement the outfit. Her shoes were Egyptian sandals and she wore golden eyeshadow that went a bit pass her eye. Her eyes were some electric shade of red and she smiled as she heard Eli and AJ racing downstairs at sweet smell of number pancakes and hot cocoa.

I watched AJ run straight to his seat, past Eli, because he knew Eli had to kiss me first.

I smiled into it as Vada and AJ pretended to throw up.

Izzy walked down and smiled at us. "The truth, on a scale of a barftastic to fantabulous, how hrrible do I look?"

Her hair was curled down to her back hich I imagine Vada had to help her with. And she wore a gray skirt, a white tee-shirt with a mustached face on it, and a red carigan. She had this cowgirl boot thing for shoes and I almost at her innocent expression as Eli squirmed in his seat. He poked Vada to look up from the comics and she did a double take, eyes widening.

"Do I look that bad?" she giggled but then her doe eyes widened. "Do I?"

"No, uh... Iz... I think... you might need a..." Vada said and looked to me.

"Uh..." I said but not before AJ looked up.

"Izzy, why are there pointy little thingies in your shirt?" he asked bluntly.

Eli choked on his food and Vada pinched her nose. I did a facepalm. He had yet to learn of her... sensitivity.

She looked down and shrieked and Vada and I sprang into action. "You can wear Vada's old ones, and we'll go shopping at Victoria's Secret without AJ, ok?"

Izzy held her arms around her chest as we scuttled past Benji who gave us looks.

"Iz..." he asked and Vada gave him a look and he walked on.


Eli

"It's a girl thing." I said to Benji's confused expression and he settle next to AJ, saving the number 7 pancake for Iz.

If anyone else ate the 7 pancake, she'd get into one of her tantrums. She screams and crys and yells and bites and kicks and throws and it doesn't matter if there at 400 number 7 pancakes, she has to have them all.

She and Benji have a twin thing and she'll only ever not hurt him. She'll sleep with Vada after and apoligize for scaring AJ and Maddy.

He and her were so different though. He wore skinny jeans that were black and a gray gangsta Bugs Bunny- shirt with a black and white plaid tie. He had these sneakers on called Osiris, I think and a gray hat because Clare would fuss that it's cold.

Benji looked to AJ as he bluntly gave a description as the girls came back downstairs and Clare whispered in his ear, he giggled as she tickled him into never talking about a girl's chest.

Izzy looked down at the seven pancake and kissed Benji's cheek, to his protest.

"Look, Vada, you need to become leader of this pack of wolves now. You hear?" I said and she smirked.

"Don't worry Daddy, it's in the bag." she smiled and Clare rolled her eyes, taking the number 5 pancake. She enjoys that one because thats the number of kids we have.

We ate, all talkng over one another as Maddy was already picked up by Darcy for Jenna's Day Care Service. There was laughing and the strangest senteces ever.

"Well plaid is very important to me-"

"Morty needs more oil, he keeps making this ka-chink sound after he brakes"

"I can't curl my tongue, it's scaring me."

"Holy fu- fudge, school starts in like ten minutes."

Vada, pack leader looked at me for the keys. I held them out as I got out a Bible. Clare rolled her eyes but Ii pressed on.

"Do you Vada Camille Goldsworthy solemnly swear on the name of the Bible thingie, to protect your sister, brother, and beloved Morty from the heart-breaking drama of Degrassi Community School?"

Vada sighed and said. "Yup." popping out the p and Clare laughed as I gave her a look of 'Teenagers'

"Alright. Get a dent in either of them and your dead,"

"I got it!" Vada giggled and I looked as Clare placed a kiss on them, marking them with the scent of a mother as if that'll ward everything bad away. She had ti envelope Benji in a strong hug to cease his protests and kissed him all over, as he yelled that he couldn't breathe.

Clare released him once Vada honked and Izzy yelled for him.

"Only in a house full of women," he griped, straightening his shirt. We waved them off and Clare looked at me and AJ, whose school started later.

"C'mere." I said and she glady excpeted the hug and I pulled AJ in before he could sneak off.

Family, sweet family.


Chapter 2, up soon!

Be ready!