Jordan sat alone in the Pike's rec room, staring at whatever program was on the television. He could care less what he was watching, he was just happy that he was alone for once. Privacy is a hard thing to come by when you have seven siblings; that was one thing that he was sure that all of the Pike kids could agree on. It might actually be the only thing. It's not like it really mattered though. As far as he was concerned, besides Vanessa, his brothers and sisters were a waste of space. He was counting the days until he could get out of the house.
Until then, he had to grin and bear it. Or at least grin while exchanging sarcastic commentary with Vanessa. The most annoying part of his life, aside from his family, was the fact that he had to find ways to rebel while still keeping his grades and good kid image up, as to not jeopardize the sports scholarship he needed to get out of this house and town. His parents splitting up had actually made this easier, which was the best thing that they had done for him in years.
Now all of his siblings were freaking out because plans needed to be made for Christmas. At least that's what he assumed that what everyone was doing. His mom had tried to talk to everyone about it, and everyone had subsequently become upset for whatever reason. Jordan personally didn't care, as long as he received his presents. For a brief moment he wondered if perhaps he would receive more presents as a result of the situation, but reasoned that that was not very likely. His parents hated spending money on the kids like that, which was just another thing that sucked about having such a big family.
It wasn't like he was heartless or anything, but in his opinion the last few months hadn't been all that different from the rest of his life. Yeah, his dad lived a few miles away in a pathetic apartment, but it's not like he was ever home that much anyway. Jordan had only been over to his new apartment a few times. The first time, he made the mistake of going over on the same night as Byron and Nicky. He would not be doing that again. The next few times he had gone over with Vanessa, and they had spent the nights ordering take out with and charging it onto a credit card they found in their dad's bedroom. It was funny how any thoughts of guilt had faded away when they realized that they wouldn't be around when their dad received the bill.
So maybe he wasn't being totally honest. Even though things hadn't really changed that much, it sucked a little bit that his parents had split up. Not for him, personally, but he felt bad for his parents. After all, they had been married practically forever, and he could tell how much his mom was hurting in little ways, like that way that she stared absently at the family portrait that was hanging up in the living room when she though that no one was watching. Also, he knew that some of his siblings weren't handling it that well. Byron was practically torn to pieces over the whole situation, which he didn't really understand. Jordan didn't feel sorry for him, or Nicky either, who was practically Byron's clone. He did feel bad for Margo and Claire, though. Those two hadn't been doing well before the separation. Now they just had more reason to isolate themselves in their room.
Sometimes Jordan wondered if things could have turned out differently for his family. He wasn't just talking about his parents marriage, but everything. He wasn't really that happy with the way that things had turned out, nor was he that happy in general. As far as he knew, the majority of his siblings weren't either. That was another thing. As much as he hated to admit it, he had had a truly happy childhood; there had always been something going on in the Pike house, and his brothers and sisters had been the only friends he needed. Now all of the siblings had splintered off from each other; they were together under one roof and family name, but no longer in heart or spirit. Every once in awhile, Jordan toned down the cynicism and thought about this, but quickly stopped because it hurt so damn much. It was a vicious cycle.
Even though he really did wish that the situation was different, Jordan didn't really think that there was anything he could do about it. Bryon had taken it upon himself save the family anyway, and it didn't look like things were going to well for him. He didn't really want to respond like Adam either, which basically entailed smashing the hell out of whatever thing was in his path. He was currently outside playing basketball, for whatever reason, but Jordan knew that wasn't going to last. The residents of Slate Street had better watch out tonight. No, Jordan didn't want to act like either of his brothers. As usual, he did whatever he could to give himself some identity and break away from the triplet image. He responded to this, and everything else for that matter, by withdrawing from the situation. Maybe this wasn't the best way to approach things, but it worked from him. Also, it helped his image. There were many girls at Stoneybrook High who thought he was cool, calm, and collected, and not at all like his brothers. He intended to keep it that way.
Admittedly, Jordan had no idea what was in store for the Pike family, be it over the holidays or the next ten years. As much as this hurt him, it also didn't. He wouldn't let it.