The Foster's house is safe; the Jacob siblings know that - but what about when one of them gets into some serious trouble?
(Jude does something wrong at school and he's afraid of how his foster mothers will react.)
'Why did I do something so stupid?' Jude asked himself as he sat outside the principal's office waiting to be called in. 'Because you'd fail if you hadn't.' He answered himself.
Jude had been living with the Foster's for almost two months now and hadn't received even one beating - and more importantly neither had Callie. Both the siblings were safe and well cared for and neither could be happier. They were still cautious and generally well behaved but they were relaxed had let their guard down.
Until now...
Jude was sitting nervously in the school administration building. His math teacher was talking to the principal about how she'd caught him stealing the mid-term exam from her desk. His foster mother who was unfortunately also the vice principal of the school wasn't in her office, luckily, which bought him some more time. She was always good to him, they both were, but he wasn't sure how they'd react to something like this.
Jude had known that stealing was wrong and he knew that cheating was wrong too but he was so afraid of failing. He had a math mid-term in a week and when he saw his teacher put the test paper into her bottom drawer and then leave the room to answer her phone he decided to take the risk and steal it. Unfortunately he had been caught and he knew that there was no getting out of this one.
Normally Jude wouldn't have done something like this, he was a good kid. But he was afraid of failing. He had failed before and it hadn't been good - his previous foster father had gotten angry with him because they had been called to the school and had to listen to his teachers talk about him and insist that they, as his parents, helped him out. This time Jude didn't want to fail - he loved his new house and his new foster moms and he was determined to do well. Unfortunately for him, math wasn't a subject he could understand easily and he knew that there was a good chance he wouldn't pass. He didn't want to upset either Stef or Lena and risk ruining a good thing. He had no idea how he had managed to pass that placement test. He had really been lucky but he knew that he wouldn't get that lucky twice.
"Jude Jacobs." His math teacher distracted him from his thoughts. She was standing at the door of the principal's office, waiting for him to enter.
Jude reluctantly got up and walked inside.
"Jude." Principal Sanchez said as he took a seat in front of her desk. "I'm very disappointed in you. You stole a test and planned to cheat. That is not the kind of behavior we accept at this school. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
Jude remained silent. There was nothing he could say that would justify what he had done - even he knew that. He had taken a risk and had failed and now he had to pay the price. He wasn't afraid of the consequences at school - teachers rarely did anything bad. It was the punishment he would receive at home that worried him - those sometimes became violent and dangerous.
"I'm sure you know what you did was wrong." The principal continued.
Jude nodded slowly.
"Then why did you do it?" She asked him.
Jude just shrugged.
"Well, there are going to be consequences." She told him. "One weeks suspension and you'll receive an F for the mid-terms as well."
Jude accepted that. He hadn't been expecting anything less. The part he didn't like was having to stay home alone with either of his foster moms. Even Callie wouldn't be there with him during school hours and he wasn't even sure she's want to be around him after this. She had always protected him and looked after him but she had always told him to be good and honest and that it was wrong to steal and cheat. They had stolen food a couple of times and once even a jacket from a store when their clothes were torn and it was the middle of winter. But that had only been for the sake of survival, this was different and Callie wouldn't be pleased.
The door opening once again distracted Jude from his thoughts. He turn around and his face fell further when he saw Lena standing there, confusion written all over his face.
"What happened?" Lena asked as she took a seat beside Jude.
"I caught him stealing this from my desk just now." The math teacher told Lena as she handed her the booklet of questions.
Lena's eyes went wide as she looked from the booklet to Jude.
"Jude?" She asked softly, hoping that he'd give her some explanation.
But Jude looked down at his hands, answering her question without words.
"He's suspended for a week and he's banned from sitting for the math exam." Karina Sanchez told Lena.
"Alright." Lena said, resigned.
Lena gave Jude a disappointing look at she lead him out the door and to her own office. She was angry and upset but apart from that she was also confused. She knew that Jude had trouble with math, hell she had basically cheated for him as well but she never expected something like this from him. He was such a good kid and he rarely got into trouble. Why hadn't he just come to her for help?
"Sit down." Lena instructed him.
Jude did as he was asked but he didn't look up. He suddenly developed a very strong interest in a piece of lint on his jeans.
"Why did you do it Jude?" Lena asked him.
Once again Jude remained silent.
Lena sighed. She knew that she wasn't going to get him to talk right now. He was clearly afraid and she herself needed some time to cool down. She'd talk to him once they got home.
"Okay, you may go back to class." She told him and for the first time Jude looked up at her. "I don't want another complaint about you and the moment school's over I want you to meet me at the car."
Jude nodded and disappeared out the door before Lena could change her mind.
At lunch Callie headed to the middle school corridor to check on Jude just like she did everyday. She expected to find him sitting in his lunch room with his classmates just like he was everyday but was surprised to find him sitting alone, crying, instead.
"Jude?" Callie asked as she sat down beside him.
"I'm so sorry Callie." Jude said, looking terrified.
"What happened?" Callie asked, the worry evident in her voice.
"I wasn't thinking." Jude said, forgetting that his sister didn't know what he was talking about. "I thought I wouldn't get caught and I'd be able to do better."
"What did you do Jude?" Callie asked a little forcefully, trying to snap him out of his rant.
"I stole the test." Jude answered her. "I wouldn't have passed if I didn't. But the teacher caught me and I'll fail now and they told Lena."
"Jude." Callie said, the disappointment clear in her voice.
Jude looked away instantly at the sound of her voice. He had upset her just like he knew he would. Once again he wondered why he had done something so stupid.
"What will they do?" He asked softly.
Callie knew exactly what he was talking about. But she had no answer. She couldn't even imagine what would happen. These people weren't like the others - these people didn't get angry often and their punishments were always appropriate. But then again the crime had never been this big. So far the only trouble the Jacob siblings had gotten into was waking up a little late or arguing with one of the other kids.
"I don't know Jude." Callie told him. "But I'll tell them that I told you to do it." Once again she was willing to take the fall for him if it meant protecting him.
"But you'll get into more trouble than me." Jude said miserably. Bill had warned them that Callie's next stop would be a group home or juvie if she didn't watch out.
"It's okay." Callie tried to reassure him. "I'll figure something out."
The bell rang signaling the end of lunch.
"Get to class." Callie instructed Jude. She didn't want him getting into any more trouble by being late. "Don't worry, it'll be okay." She assured him once more before letting him leave.