The following morning, Dr. Jekyll was pacing about his work area, notably his laboratory. Holt, or at this time after turning off his music, Jackson was still fast asleep. Typical for a teenager, Dr. Jekyll assumed. He wasn't a sleeper himself back in his day, knowing how involved he was in his mad science. He fiddled with his fingers nervously, picking at his nails in the process.
"I don't know if I can deal with all of this… Two boys to take care of who share the same body, but are of different family trees!?"
He dug through his pile of papers, scattering them all over the floor, retrieving a small notebook. He flipped through the pages and scanned through them, as if he were looking at a flip book.
"…And the two of them being completely different from one another, not minding each other in the slightest… Good lord."
He took out his pen and lifted up his glasses higher up the bridge of his nose, jotting down miscellaneous notes nervously, showing an outburst of anxiety. Jackson soon walked down the stairs, giving out a large yawn, letting Dr. Jekyll know he was awake.
"I'm awake, dad." Jackson mumbled, attempting to shout.
"Good morning, Jackson." Dr. Jekyll replied, slamming his pen down on his desk and gathering up his papers. Jackson walked over next to him, assisting him as much as he could by putting the papers in the same direction.
"Oh, why thank you, Jackson. Nice of you to help your elders." He chuckled, and placed the large pile of file papers onto the large metallic desk.
Jackson walked out of the laboratory and to the kitchen, sitting down at the table.
"Good, good. I needed to speak with you." Dr. Jekyll shouted to him, slowly approaching the table in which Jackson was sitting at.
He brought out a chair and sat down, staring into his offspring's eyes.
"Look, Jackson I… I've been reviewing this in my head for years now and… Now is the time I think you'll need the advice I have to offer."
Jackson nodded slowly, a bit unsure about what his father was talking about, but let him speak.
"If you feel almost as if… Holt is more 'active', in a sense, do not be alarmed. Due to all the changes going on in your body due to puberty and other wonderful things Mother Nature has granted upon us, all the advice I can give you is just to look out for anything Holt might have up his sleeve."
Dr. Jekyll folded his hands in his lap, his face flushed. Jackson closed his eyes and nodded.
"Alright, dad. Thank you for the um… Warning."
"It is not a problem. Now, I must go. I have an important appointment to attend. I am relying on you to get ready for school on time, and be out the door by 6:30. Understand?"
Dr. Jekyll walked to the coat rack to retrieve his raincoat and cap, talking as he traveled.
"Alright, dad. But I'm… I'm a bit cautious."
"Don't be, Jackson. It'll just make things worse for you."
He opened the door, as the rain shattered in.
"Have a nice day at school, son."
Dr. Jekyll concluded, walking out the door, as Jackson listened to his father lock the door behind him. Jackson let out a deep and worn out sigh, as he packed up his things hastily into his backpack. When he arrived at school, everything was going fine. Yes, he was still being picked on for remaining in his 'normy' form, yet, he didn't seem to care about what everyone had to say. He stood at his locker, where he was going to retrieve his headphones. He spoke to himself,
"It's okay, Jackson. Dad said not to be scared or frightened or a-anything… Everything is going to work out fine…"
As he said this, he slowly unlocked his lock, looking away and shutting his eyes incredibly tight. His heart began to race as he began to think about what Holt might do if he were to put on the headphones. He hushed himself plentiful times, but helped him to no avail. Gripping onto the headphones, he slowly and gently pulled them out of his locker, as Heath walked by, slapping his back, making him lose his grip on the headphones, making them fall to the ground.
"Dude you were SMOKING at Frankie's place! Well… Holt was… What is the story behind you two anyway? I'm so CONFUSED!"
He ran off afterward in a state of confusion, leaving Jackson confused as well.
"Weird…." Jackson mumbled, as he pulled the headphones over him, grabbing onto his fully charged iCoffin in his locker. "
Oh dear… I hope Holt doesn't do anything obnoxious…"
Jackson's final words were these, as he turned on his music on his iCoffin. Instead of feeling the sudden release of flame, it seemed to boil up inside him, starting from his chest and expanding everywhere else. The final bell rang, and everyone was already dashing to class, leaving Jackson alone in the hallway. He felt flames emerge from his hands and grow up his arms, soon engulfing him and leaving Holt standing there. He was coughing as he felt the moment where his father had lied his hands on his chest and prevented him from transforming. The anger was still in him, but he tried to shove it aside, making his way to class.
Holt, he didn't know, was going through a major change, as Dr. Jekyll had already observed and noted. It is nothing that needs to be medical, no. Since Mr. Hyde was only a simple creation, nothing more than a slight DNA twist, both Jackson and Holt may experience some difficulties in some areas…
