Nine year-old Dean carefully leafed through the pages of an old comic book while sitting on the floor of their latest motel room. Four year-old Sammy lay sleeping on one of the room's two queen beds while John sat in front of the room's only desk, leafing through a long Latin text.
"Is there another hunt that you have to take care of?" Dean asked quietly, as his dad continued to go through the pages laid out in front of him.
"Not this week," John said, without looking up from the work that he was doing. "I'm just going over some of the stuff from last time. It's going to help me step up my game for the next time I have to take care of this kind of case."
"Oh. Okay," Dean said, while feeling a small sense of relief at the fact that his dad was not going away for at least a week. "Dad?"
"Something on your mind, Dean?" John still didn't look up from the pages of Latin.
"It's nothing," Dean asked. "It's just that…"
"Yes, son?" John finally looked up at his eldest. "What is it?"
"Are we going to stay here for long? In this town, I mean?"
"That depends on how things go with my work," John replied. "But I do intend to find us a room that we could rent for at least a couple of months."
"Oh." Dean quietly sighed. "It's just that I was hoping that me and Sammy wouldn't have to keep going to that school you signed us up for."
"Sammy and I, Dean," John automatically corrected. "And just what is wrong with that school?"
After deciding that the boys couldn't just stick around the motel while he completed whatever research he needed to complete, John registered Sam and Dean in the local elementary school. And while Sam was thrilled at the chance to both meet and play with some kids his own age, Dean hated everything about the school the moment he first walked through its doors. It was just like all the other schools he had already been to. The teacher spoke in a tedious monotone as she explained things that Dean already knew and the kids... Well, the kids all looked at Dean like he was some kind of a juvenile delinquent who had come to the school merely because he had already been expelled from every other school in the state. He had already spent the first three lunch hours he had been at the school eating alone in the schoolyard and was definitely not looking forward to the chance to go back to that… Dean felt bad about even thinking the word, hellhole.
"I don't know… " Dean stammered, not knowing how to answer his father so that he would understand. "I just get the feeling that some of the kids don't really like me."
"Dean, I know that you would rather live in a place that is closer to Uncle Bobby and your old school, but this looks like as good place as any for the three of us to settle down for the next couple of months. You know that I need to be in a place that allows me to do my research and the library that they have in this town has a lot of that necessary material. Not to mention the fact that it'll also be nice for both you and Sammy to have a bit of stability in your young lives."
"Why can't I stay home with you?" Dean asked. "I could help you with your work, you know…"
"Because you're just a kid, Dean," replied John. "Kids don't go to work, they go to school."
"I don't want to go to school," said Dean. "I'd rather stay here with you."
"Dean, you may not like your school at the moment, but the things you learn there are going to come in handy throughout your whole life. Besides, with the two of us staying at home, who will be there to take care of Sammy?"
"You're right, Dad, I'm sorry," said Dean, who hadn't really considered that point before. "Sammy needs me there."
"Good kid," said John as he turned back to his work. "And I know that over time, you may even find yourself liking this new school of yours. Trust me, kiddo."
"Ok, Dad," said Dean. After spending the last three lunch hours cooped up in the bathroom, he was having some serious trouble believing all that his dad was telling him. But this wasn't a point that he was about to argue, so Dean just nodded and moved towards the remote that lay on the floor across from the bed.
"No, Dean, I don't want you to watch TV right now," said John. "It might wake up Sammy. And it wouldn't hurt for you to go to bed either. You have school tomorrow."
"Ok, Dad," Dean repeated, without issuing another word of protest. "See you in the morning."
"You too," John said dismissively while continuing to look into his papers. "I'll turn out the light once I'm done here."
"Ok," said Dean. And with that, he climbed into bed, desperately hoping that his next day at school would turn out at least a little bit better than the preceding three.