Author's Note: I also figured its set in Illinois, lol. If you know me, you know I love twists of any kind :) BTW I might add some Munchausen by proxy? *recommendation twist from my friend Raygen, AKA Jerron's sister* After she and I watched an Untold Stories of the ER episode "A Day In Hell". Freaks! I may add something similar later.

P.S. If my character Bethany recommends it; so do I! As always, thanks not Ross!
P.P.S. in my last chapter, I meant the radio is 92.1 not 9.21.

Loud and early, something to Jerron's right beeped continuously. Groaning, Jerron realized the annoying item that wouldn't shut-up was an alarm clock. Moaning, he turned it over and crawled on his face. Within another five minutes, the alarm went off again and Jerron finally unplugged it. After he did, Lily walked into the room, dressed and ready for work, and sat on the bed. "Good morning, Jerron. It's time to get up! I made pancakes!"
"I don't wanna get up. I hate school!" Jerron muttered through his pillow.
Sighing, Lily asked, "What time do you normally wake up?"
"How long do you think it takes me to get dressed, brush my teeth, and comb my hair?" Jerron lazily moaned, barely hearing her question.
Gently sitting on the bed, Lily replied, "You have to eat breakfast."
"We eat lunch at school!"
"What time did you used to wake up?" Lily asked again while removing the covers from Jerron's head.
"About ten minutes before the bus came. Or if we were sleeping in our van Renee just made us change in the backseat."
A little stunned, Lily inquired why there were in a van with his teenage sister.
Jerron faced Lily for the first time that morning. "When my dad's friends come over they have music blaring and we can't sleep so Renee would tell us to bring our backpacks and a set of clean clothes and she would drive everyone but Isaiah to an empty parking lot and we'd go to sleep in the back."
Lily nodded, giving her sympathy without being direct. "I'll give you five minutes."
In just four, Jerron rolled off the bed, falling onto the floor with a thud. After quickly dressing and looking presentable, he walked downstairs to see the Kinsmans, all 6 of them ready for the day.

Although he wasn't in a thinking mood, he found the family the exact opposite of his. Firstly, whoever his mom was currently dating was always sleeping, due to staying up until 4 A.M. or a similar time.
"Hello, Jerron." John greeted while offering him a seat. Swaying back and forth from tiredness, Jerron gladly sat down and began to eat breakfast; something he rarely did at home. The pancakes that were toppled with blueberries were a good change. Even Jerron silently admitted they satisfied his hungry stomach.
"Go upstairs, brush your teeth, grab your backpack and get in the car in fifteen minutes." John ordered.

Despite the short time limit, Jerron finished his morning chores. He wondered if every single school day would be like this; and what God-given right did these people have to tell him what to do?
"I'll stay home and clean up, I guess." Lily teased as she picked up a few glasses that had a bit of orange juice at the bottom.
When at last it was time for school, Jerron was dreading it. But then again maybe he would see one of his brothers or sisters in a different class.
Walking into a strange classroom wasn't his cup of tea, and he knew he wouldn't be able to get of school if he were to be driven every day. The only way he could ever have a chance was getting expelled. Matthew was the only one of his step-siblings who had ever been expelled.
"Jerron!" Isaac said a bit harshly. It was obvious he did not want to even be around him. Isaac gratefully did what his father told him to do, except when it came to Jerron. "Hurry up!" he barked, interrupting Jerron's thoughts.
"Isaac," John rolled down the window. "Be nice and show him around."
As John drove off, Jerron sulked at the fact he would be babysat daily by a complete strangers; at least Renee was a decent babysitter who put up with every mean thing he or Matt had ever said to her.
"Jerron!" Isaac irritably chastised. "You're going to be late."
Realizing he didn't even know who his teacher was or which room he was supposed to be in, Jerron asked, "Who is my teacher?"
"356. Her name is Frank, Mrs. Frank. She's nice; I had her last year."
Jerron nodded, feeling sorry for Isaac having to take in a total stranger, only because the idiots in charge decided to split he and his siblings up. The only hope he had was seeing Matthew, or even Natalie here. "How long has she worked here?"
"This is her third year, I believe."
As Jerron scanned the long hallways, he didn't recognize anyone and before he began to focus, he felt someone's backpack jammed in his face.
"Watch where you're going!" the boy said sharply.
Stepping in between the two, Isaac forced himself to say, "Lay off. He's new."
"We couldn't tell, Kinsman!" the boy sarcastically taunted.
Grabbing Isaac, Jerron pulled him aside. "I've got it, I'm teased all the time, it's not a big deal. Please just show me my classroom."
Isaac paced the hallways with Jerron trying to follow, until they stopped at the opposite side of the room.
"Hello, Isaac!" a woman said. She had skinny black pants on that ended at her ankles, and a shirt with bling on the collar. A necklace with a few beads on the end was something small, yet nearly impossible to miss.
Although Jerron could tell Isaac didn't want him there, he had to give the boy credit for staying and introducing him. The school bell rang signifying 9 o'clock and the start of school.
"Class this is Jerron Troyer." the brunette explained. "Tell us about yourself."
Sighing, Jerron looked at the numerous pairs of eyes that all rested on him. "I'm, Jerron Troyer." he said shakily, for public speaking never came naturally to him. He glanced at his new teacher. "What do you want to know?" he asked, not understanding why he was so interesting.
Mrs. Frank casually smiled. "Tell us where you're from."
Brief and frank, Jerron replied, "Alton. Before here, though, I went the South school."

Murmuring passed through the crowd, and the only thought that processed in his mind was one of these kids had a police officer as a father.
"How many brothers and sisters do you have?" Mrs. Frank asked, trying to kindle the tedious conversation.
Jerron glanced up at her. He surely did not want the class knowing the family he was staying with was not related to him what-so-ever, but technically, he didn't have even one full sibling. Instead, he told her his number of half-siblings. "Five. I have an older sister and brother, a younger brother, and two younger sisters."
Mrs. Frank nodded, again, casually. "Landon," she asked as one brunette boy raised his hand. "Friday we voted Landon could show you around the school and make you more comfortable, alright?"
Jerron nonchalantly nodded, and walked over to his desk which was right beside Landon.
"Hey," Landon outstretched his hand. "I'm Landon Weaver."

Jerron nodded, not enjoying anyone forward. Landon seemed like a boy just interested in becoming friends, the exact opposite of what he was feeling. Jerron faced the front of the rather small classroom. The clock read seven and a half more hours of school torture.
After reading and reviewing fractions, the class darted out in surname-alphabetical order.
"We normally have assigned seats but Mrs. Frank said we can sit at one of the far-end tables." Landon grinned, with his eager blue eyes shining.
Jerron nodded with nonchalance, the situation degrading him by the second. Sitting down at the far-end tables in the corner with a shy person obviously wasn't exactly what Landon labeled fun, but he had promised his best and was going to persevere. "So, Jerron. Do you like having a lot of siblings?"
Without a doubt in his mind, Jerron nodded. "I love my siblings. Renee, the oldest, is the best. She's really nice, and she even said she would use her own money to take me to see Toy Story 3 for my birthday, which is June 30."
Landon nodded, giving him a look which signified he found the way Jerron thought the world of his older sister a bit odd, but maybe it was good that he appreciated her.

Something Jerron, and all of his siblings learned was how to read people; and Landon was one who had a completely different lifestyle than he would have ever dreamed of.
"And, my older brother Matthew, is like my hero. He taught me how to do everything; swim, bike, shoot hoops."
"What about your dad?" Landon blurted out before thinking.
Jerron stared at Landon, speechless. In truth, he didn't even know where his dad was. Instead of spilling his complex story, Jerron simply shrugged the question off without giving it much thought.

Landon immediately shut up without any more questions.

Changing the subject back to siblings, Jerron asked, "How many siblings do you have?"

Landon grinned at the conversation. "I have an older brother, Aaron. So, I don't really know what a big family is like!"

Jerron nodded, wondering what it would be like if he had only one sibling. He enjoyed having many siblings. One thing they did together was work as a team, and that team seemed to shatter into a million pieces. But one day, he was determined to find them.

"Jerron!" Landon snapped his fingers in front of Jerron's face, which snapped Jerron back into reality. "Come on. It's time for a bit of history."