Disclaimer: Jess is not mine, unfortunately :(
A Hopeful Birthday
If there was anything that Jess Mariano had learnt, it was that it was best to not get your hopes up. Not about yourself, and especially not about anyone else. Here he was, an eight year old boy, and he already had enough examples in his life to make him lose all hope in everything. How about the time he had waited up for Santa all night, but he had never come. Or the time his mom had passed out drunk, and left Jess to get abused by her no good boyfriend on his birthday. He had learnt not to expect anything on his birthdays, just like he didn't expect anything today. And most of all, he had learnt to accept that he would never have a father. He didn't deserve one.
Jess wondered the sidewalk, wondering where his mom was on his birthday. He had woken to an empty apartment, and had to get ready for school on his own. It wasn't as if he hadn't done that before, infact he had done so on more occasions than one. But he had hoped that maybe this morning would be different. That he would wake up to a warm hug and a paper bag packed full of lunch that he could bring to school like all his other school mates. Rule number one; never get your hopes up.
Jess made his way down to the subway to catch his usual train that took him to school in the mornings. He had become accustom to the odd looks he would often get on the train. After all, he was an eight year old boy down in the subway without a hand to hold. But Jess didn't need one; the continuous absence of his mother had taught him to take care of himself. But that didn't stop him from wanting one.
Like every other day, Jess took a seat in the back carriage, where there were less people, meaning stares were minimal. Only today, Jess was not alone on the seat. Beside him was a tattered old book, so curiously, he picked it up and turned it over to glance at the front cover. Oliver Twist. Jess looked up, trying to find the owner of the book he was holding, but deciding nobody was frantically looking for it, he opened it and stared down at the text. Some of the words were tricky for him to understand, but as he read he began to think that maybe this was all he would need. None of the gaping strangers around him mattered. It was just him and the words. And he couldn't help but think that maybe someone out there did care.
Because it was the first birthday present Jess had ever recieved.
- x - x - x - x -
AN: Sorry for another short chapter, I'll work on making the next one longer. The next chapter will also include dialogue. So please, please review and I promise I will work twice as hard:)