It was weird, the first day. He was a senior, but had never been in this school before. Jack had just moved to Burgess to go to his dream school, Guardian High, which he had been trying to get into since eighth grade. The only problem was his mother. She...couldn't exactly come with her children. Jack enrolled his ten year old sister, Emma, in Burgess Elementary because she wanted to go wherever "the bestest big brother in the whole wide world" went. Since this was Emma, Jack couldn't find it in his heart to say no, especially with his mother's "ex" boyfriend. So, Jack booked a flight from Ontario to Pennsylvania and brought the cheapest house in Burgess, a house was old and half hidden in the woodsy part of town, with a lake about a mile into the woods behind it. It took awhile to convince Emma it wasn't haunted since it looked like a house from a Halloween cartoon she liked to watch. This involved Jack telling her that it was the only house in town that survived from the seventeen hundreds, without having to be rebuilt. It was a simple, yet cozy one story house with two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a living room attached to the kitchen. Jack immediately fell in love with the house, and Emma loved the big fireplace in the living room. He only hoped that school would be just as easy to settle into.
After unpacking everything, Jack decided to take Emma out and explore the town. They wandered the streets, finding bakeries, book stores, the local grocery store, a daycare, and both of their schools. Since it was such a small town Jack could easily walk Emma to school before going to his own school without having to walk too far. Emma wanted to go and meet some of the kids in the neighborhood, but Jack told her they had to get enrolled in the school system first. They went to Burgess Elementary to enroll Emma.
~Jack's POV~
"Ok, Emma, wait outside for me while I go see your principal, ok?" Emma replied in her cute little voice "Sure thing Jack!" Feeling a bit nervous, I opened the door to the principal's office. When I saw a young woman with untamed red hair, I smirked. "I know teachers live at school, but you look like the type of person to go out and have a little fun on the weekends." I quipped. "Well, I knew you'd be coming here to enroll your little sister, Jackson, your mother called yesterday to inform me." My smirk slipped off of my face at the sound of my full name, "It's just Jack, ma'am." "Well, Just Jack, I have some paperwork for you to fill out for Emma , but otherwise there is nothing else you need to do. My name is Risa, but you may call me Ms. Waltern." She gently placed a folder into my hands before she send me away. As soon as I stepped out, I was bombarded with questions. "Is she nice? I heard her call you by your whole name, did you get in trouble already? How old was she? Is she pretty? Do you like her? Do you think I'll like her? What if she doesn't like me? Jack!?" "hey, now, slow down Em, take a breath. She's seems like a nice person, I didn't get into trouble, I think...She's pretty young and yeah, pretty. I think you two will be fine and maybe even friends, sound good?" Emma nodded enthusiastically and grabbed my hand and pulled me back to the front of the school. "C'mon Jack, I wanna see your school!" "Whoa, Emma! Slow down, I'm coming, I'm coming." Before we left the office, I swear I heard a small chuckle. When we got to the steps of Guardian High, all the lights were off. I jogged up the steps to see if there was a intercom or something to buzz me in, but I found nothing. "awww, I really wanted to see your school, Jack." Emma whined, echoing my thoughts. "Me too, Emma, maybe you can see it another time, yeah?" It was getting dark by the time we made it home, so I tucked Emma into bed, telling her to sleep tight to be ready for her big first day at school tomorrow. Then I went out to the kitchen and stared out at the woods. It was all so overwhelming. Suddenly I felt trapped and ran, just ran. I didn't stop until my bare feet hit ice. I squatted down and gazed at the lake. I couldn't believe how breathtaking it was under the moonlight- dark green leaves swaying in the soft breeze, branches scratching out their nightly song, and a rock right in the middle of the glittering lake, like a secluded island. "Whoa." I sat back, and placed my hands behind my head just admiring nature. It wasn't until after the moon started to sink that I decided to go back home. "s'not like I would've slept anyways." By the time I got home and took a shower, the sun was rising. I went into my room to get dressed and back into the kitchen to make some breakfast. By the time I finished making crepes, Emma stumbled into the kitchen. "Either you're up early or my cooking must smell really good."
"Jack! Nah, school starts at 7:00 for me and 7:30 for you, remember?" I smirked and ruffled her hair, "I can't hear you, you sound like you just woke up, Ems!" She giggled and my smile widened. "Do you want strawberry or cherry jam with these?"
"Strawberry please!" I grabbed the glass jar from the top of the fridge and leaned over my sister to place it on the table, next to the pile of crepes.