One- Jaxon
Jaxon remembered for a long time the moment when he'd been told that he would have another little sibling. His mother had smiled at him and Gemelle, her eyes filled with tears but a hand on her belly, as she told them that she was pr nour Child if only he could, but as he'd been told that wasn't how it worked. He supposed that his request to be Grandma Jarra's honour child was probably part of the reason his parents had decided to have another baby. They didn't want to leave Grandma Jarra with just the standard memorial plaque, either.
Still, it burned that someone who didn't even exist yet, who'd never met his grandmother, would be the one bearing her name.
He could hardly remember when Gemelle was a baby, having been only a year old himself when she was born, but he knew babies were smelly, awkward, and woke everyone up at all hours of the night. Babies didn't care about time zones or whether you had a physics test the next morning, they just wanted to be heard.
Gemelle was much more pleased at the prospect, or at least she seemed to be. She clapped her hands together and smiled, sounding ecstatic at the thought of having a baby sibling to care for.
Jaxon supposed he'd probably like having a baby sibling really. He imagined it's first word being Jaxon, and a big smile spread across his face.
By the time Jaxon's mother was ready to give birth, Jaxon was feeling quite excited to see his new sister. They knew by then that the baby would be female. He was so nervous the day the birth was scheduled that he rushed out of school at the end of the day and was one of the first through the portal.
Instead of being greeted by happiness and the wails of a newborn baby, all 13 year old Jaxon heard was silence.
"Mum?" He called.
His mother's voice, sounding tired and sad, called for him to come into their living area. He did, feeling a nervous churn in his stomach. His feeling that something was terribly, terribly wrong was confirmed when he saw her face. His mother was rushing around the room, shoving things into bags, and tears were streaming down her face.
He'd never seen his mother cry before.
"Mum!" He cried, running to her. "Is...is the baby dead? What's wrong?"
He led her to a chair, pulling the bag from her hand, and made her sit down.
His mum took a deep breath and fresh tears spurted from her eyes.
"Oh, Jaxon. Your sister….Jarra...she's Handicapped. They had to portal her to Earth."
Jaxon stared at her in horror, completely speechless. He didn't understand. How could his sister be an ape? How could it be that she would live on Earth? Would he have to portal there to visit her? That would cut into the time he had for homework and being with his friends.
His mum's lookup chimed, and without a word to Jaxon she answered it. He knew it would be his father.
"Marack! Thank goodness. What should we do?"
Jaxon's father looked uncertain. He shook his head. "I can't leave here, they've already lost one commanding officer…"
"I know. Marack, they say that at least one birth parent has to move to Earth or Jarra becomes the ward of Hospital Earth. The best solution would be to move Jaxon and Gemelle to Earth-"
"What?" Jaxon interrupted, unable to believe his ears. "We can't move to Earth!"
His mother turned to him.
"Jaxon, I understand this must be very upsetting for you, but…"
Jaxon bit his lip and pushed away his mother's outstretched hand. "No! I'm not moving to Earth!" Tears burning at his eyes, he ran from the room.
If they lived on Earth, it would ruin his schooling. He'd lose all his friends, especially once they knew his sister was an ape. How was he meant to go to the Military Academy if he was living on Earth? Would they even let him in?
Besides, everyone there….everyone there was an ape, everyone knew that. Jaxon knew his parents said the Handicapped were real people, but all the vids said otherwise. He'd be constantly surrounded by smelly, stupid apes. He'd have to change schools and go to one of the Alpha Sector schools where the norm children of the apes went.
Half an hour later, Jaxon's mother came to the door to speak to him.
"Jaxon?"
She knocked. He didn't answer.
"Jaxon, I really need to talk to you."
"Why? So you can ruin my life? Because you care more about Jarra than me?" He yelled back, filled with fury.
His mother tapped in the override on his door and came in.
"Jaxon, how can you think that?" Her eyes were filled with hurt. "I want to do what's best for all my children. Moving to Earth wouldn't be so bad."
Jaxon scoffed. "I'd have to change schools! Is there even a Military school near Earth? It's not like I could portal across sectors every day. I'd rather die than go to Earth!"
His mother gasped. "Jaxon, you can't mean that. Your sister…"
He growled. "I do! I do mean it! You don't care what I feel, you just want to care for your throwback baby! I'd kill myself before I went to Earth with you!"
His mother was crying again. She forced her way in and put her arms around Jaxon.
"No, honey. No. I love you and your sister, but I love Jarra too. Can't you see that?"
Jaxon felt tears spurt from his eyes and pushed her away.
"Go away! Leave me alone and go to Earth and leave me here!"
He ran out before she could act and locked himself in the bathroom. This time, she knocked on the door, but when he refused to let her in she went away.
Probably to go see her new baby, Jaxon thought bitterly. Would anything ever be normal again?