He had to do it.

Xavier Raymond DuPont, eleven years old, had to file a lawsuit against his family.

He should have known that his Family Unit Bylaws had an airtight arbitration clause; after all, he wrote it.

A fellow elementary law student served as emergency judge, setting up a pro tempore court in their Livingroom. He had long hair pulled back into a bun, wearing a black t-shirt and khaki shorts. Dress code for afternoon court was relaxed, all he needed to do his work was a folding chair and an iPad in his hand.

"Ok, so I'm going to preside over this suit, case of Xavier versus Family. You can call me Judge Kevin." Judge Kevin stares at the iPad, reading the arbitration agreement.

Judge Kevin spoke without looking up from his iPad. "So your family wants to move to Oregon. That's a long drive. Looks like your FUB agreement was signed and notarized, it's right here. Wow, this arbitration agreement is totally banger. Yea there's no case here, according to the agreement, this has to go to a vote."

"Your honor, I'd like to file a motion for an emergency dissolution of the agreement, on grounds that the material facts have changed since it's inception!" Xavier was desperate for any kind of legal leverage, his hands balled into fists as he stood in the middle of the room, with his step mom, his dad and his sister all sitting on the couch watching the scene unfold, all looking a little tired.

"It says here, no material changes can affect this arbitration agreement. Motion Vacated." He clapped his hands to punctuate his order. "Whoever wrote this agreement really thought of everything. There's a clause for alien invasions, nuclear war, even the zombie apocalypse. Like, wow... they really worked overtime."

Xavier's family all stared at him. He coughed.

"Let's move this case into arbitration. Case is dismissed, arbitration arguments will follow. First up... your dad, Horus?"

Horus had lanky arms that spoke of an athletic career decades in the past, and a gut that spoke of decades of office work that followed.

"Well, I'm really excited about the job prospects. I'm moving from basic system admin to a network manager, there's stock options, great healthcare and benefits. Yea, it's super great for me. Home prices are cheap there. We can buy a house with almost twice the square feet. I vote yes."

"Ok, one vote for yes. Next is Anastasia."

Xavier's step mom gave a small cough, shifting in her seat slightly, adjusting the Yoko Ono glasses she constantly wore. She spoke with a Slavic accent. "Well, it has been of many years since I enjoy ski resort, I am rusty since I train for Olympics in '94, and they have also many hot springs and health retreats in area. And smog in the city, compared to the country? Reminds me of Moscow. I left Moscow as soon as I could. I vote yes."

"That's two for yes, Next is Eden."

Eden and Xavier shared eye contact for a few moments. His eyes silently begged her. She was his big sister after all. "Well I'm going to school in Portland, and the new town is close enough I can easily visit and do laundry on the weekend, but far enough away that dad will have to call when he comes to visit, and plus there are all those haunted cowboy hotels and ghost town tours. I'm totally into the new town!"

"That's three for yes. The vote passes. You can still make your arguments if you want, but the arbitration agreement is clear. The family is going to move."

Xavier stared at the judge, a fellow graduate of Chicago Harvard International Select Elementary of Law, or “CHISEL”. Kevin belonged to the same group of Genius Kids who's sudden onset intelligence scientists couldn't explain. He didn't help at all.

His case was dismissed.

His injunction vacated.

The vote went against him.

Even his sister voted against him.

He left, heading to his room. He cursed as he left, a word he wasn't allowed to say, fuming about arbitration agreements as he left.

Judge Kevin stood up. "Well my dad's outside, I'll just ah... see myself out."

Xavier's family was exasperated. He was upset. The house seemed eerily quiet as noises of Xavier's anger echoed from his room.

He had his whole life in front of him, figuratively literally and literaturely. He slammed the door behind him as he stomped into his room, the books setting on floating shelves he and his father had assembled together bounced with each stomp. He grabbed a small plushy stress doll from the shelves, tossing it across the room, squeaking as it hit the wall.

Striking his gaming chair caused it to spin as he walks past his gaming desk. A white high pile shag carpet dulled the sound of his steps as he threw himself on his bed, face down. Pop culture posters on the walls of his cage stared at him.

He heard a knock on the door some time later as he lay down on the bed relaxing. He'd put on some depressing music, playing in the background from the speakers next to his computer. The music reminded him of a word he’d learned: Hiraeth. Welsh - a homesickness for a time and place that you can’t go back to. The vaporwave music stank of a nostalgia for cartoons he was too young to know and a decade of fashion that he didn't experience. It matched how he felt right now.

“Come in” he called out flatly, glancing to the side to see Eden step into the room. She had jeans and a hooded sweatshirt on with a set of red lipstick covered lips on the front. If he didn't know better he'd assume it was a reference to the Rolling Stones, his dad’s favorite band, however she’d explained it’s true origin, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” She had a paper plate with two slices of pepperoni pizza, some carrots and broccoli.

“Hey kiddo, I brought you dinner! You ok?”

She was heavy into goth and grunge music, a style that Xavier never really understood or cared for, with black candles and fake skulls strewn about her room like dirty laundry. Despite their stylistic differences, they had a very close relationship, especially since their birth mother passed. Their father was distraught for many years, and she took up the mantle of mothering him. He was her one soft spot, despite her spiky goth exterior.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“I'm fine, just... listening to my sad music, getting depressed. '' he muttered dismissively as he leaned up and accepted the gift. He said that phrase, ‘getting depressed’, like an accusation.

She sat in his gaming chair, waiting for him to sit up in bed before setting the plate in his lap “Well you seemed pretty upset. You didn’t want to stay and eat with us and didn’t say anything. You know you're not making this easy, turning this whole thing into a federal case.”

Her statement prodded him, breaking the emotional shell he’d put up, unleashing his pent up anger. “Well yea, what is there to say? You’re all getting everything you want, you made your arguments.”

“Dude come on, Xavier. This just makes sense for everyone, this is a good decision.”

“Really? What do I get out of this?” His face leaned down, his eyes looking up at her, colored with anger.

"I just graduated from Elementary Law, I picked out my whole semester at Yorkshire Area Law Exclusive Middle School, I literally just got my temporary elementary law license and my practice is starting to really get off the ground. Now I have to leave my friends and practice here. Everybody wins… but me. And you’re all so happy about it.” He clenched his jaw, his words coming through gritting teeth.

“Dad’s getting a good job offer, the home prices there are crazy cheap, and I’m going to college. You know I still want to be able to see my family during college which, by the way, includes you, dummy.”

She leaned back in his gaming chair, rubbing her temples and closing her eyes as she speaks.

“Like, do you want to see me at all during college? You want me to take a flight to come home just for Thanksgiving and Christmas?” She rolled her eyes up, speaking airy and exasperated, her voice straining, obviously trying not to snap at him. “This is the smart decision, stop being so stupid.”

She’d prodded again, bursting past his anger and resentment, and striking the underlying emotion.

“You didn’t have to choose Portland! You chose to leave me!” He punctuated every 'you' by stabbing at her with his hands. His words were a desperate accusation.

He was having a hard time controlling his voice. He lifted his hands to his head, like he was about to pull out his hair. “And that’s just it. You all act like I’m just supposed to be so mature about it all, yea it’s just the ‘smart’ thing to do.” He spat out that word like it was a bug that flew in his mouth. “That’s what I always get from people!”

He struck the bed underneath him, the little thud punctuating his words, dangerously close to spilling the plate on his lap. “I’m so smart, I’m so great, I should just be all mature about everything, but do you know how hard it is to make friends when you’re just… always so much smarter than everyone?”

He looked at her with watery eyes. “Everyone my age hates me.” His voice wavered slightly as he spoke. “And older kids act like I’m a trained animal! ‘Xavier, what happened on this date in history? Xavier, can you sue my mom? Xavier, do I get custody of my girlfriend’s Xbox?’"

His breathing and emotions interrupted his flow for a moment, having to calm himself to continue his outburst. "I’m always the teacher's pet and I get special treatment… it’s just…”

He gulps. “Sometimes I think I have to pretend to be stupid just to get people to like me, because if they know that I’m a Genius Kid. they’ll think I’m just.. some kind of freak. You just don’t understand what it’s like! And now the friends I’ve made, regular kids and other G.K.'s, I have to leave…”

He was close to tears, trying to keep it together.

“Oh sweetie… I don’t…” she paused.

His words were an emotional barrage. They all loved the move, and the fact that they were so happy about it made him even more miserable in comparison, perhaps even resentful of their happiness.

What's more, he was suggesting that she, his beautiful older sister, didn’t know what it was like for people to be insecure if they thought you were more intelligent than them. Like she’d never experienced that exact kind of thing.

There was also the way he said it. ’You chose to leave me’.

“Ya know, sometimes the guys that I date get the same way, like they always feel like they have to be right about everything.”

“That’s not the same and that’s gross, I don’t wanna know about the guys you date…”

“Hey, listen to me for a second… just hear me out. I wanna tell you a secret.”

“What?” He glared at her, suspicious of her so-called ‘secret.’

He watched as she leaned in suddenly, face close to his, lowering her eyes to his level as she gathers his attention. She violated his personal space, and it was jarring enough to get him to lower his guard and match her gaze.

“All the people that would do that to you, judge you because you’re different and not be your friend?” He lifted his head, his eyes looking at her, flashing his vulnerability to her as she paused.

Eden spoke firmly. “Fuck ‘em.” He saw her eyes, unwavering as she looked at him, her eyes focusing on each of his pupils back and forth. She repeated.

“Fuck. Them." She stressed the words individually. "You’re a good kid, and you deserve to be around people that accept you. Not everyone's going to like you, and you’re not going to like everyone, and it’s totally normal to feel afraid that people don’t like you. Most people feel that way sometimes. Sometimes I feel that way too.” She lets in another breath. “But don’t let that keep you from looking at the important things in life. Like family. Your family loves you. I love you, and I would never leave you. That's why I Helped dad find the job, so you all could move with me.”

He didn’t have a response.

No objections.

No motions to the court.

No retorts.

No further witnesses.

Case closed.

The moment hung in the air, only breaking after about a minute when he took a slice from his plate. He folded it in half, New York style just like in the mob movies he likes, and looked at it for a moment. It was missing something.

“Did you bring any ranch?”

"I brought you the whole bottle. I knew you'd want it, you addict.” She deftly opens and drizzles ranch all over the folded slice, a few drops of Hidden Valley dribbling down the front to dollop on the plate.

“Thanks.” He took a bite, chewing half with his mouth closed, little wet smacking noises from the ranch covered pizza echoing around the room, mixing with the music and ambiance of the room.

“Come on, close your mouth, that’s so gross” She waited there for a minute, giving him a chance to eat, just being in his presence before she said low. “I know it's tough, I'm sorry you had to leave all your friends, but you'll make new ones there...”

Xavier sighed with his mouth full of food and suddenly coughed and hacked. Half chewed ranch-zilla had slid down his throat, into the wrong hole.

“Don't eat so fast dummy”

He coughed and hacked up the offending food, helped by his big sister who reached out and patted his back. He cleared his throat before chewing it thoroughly and swallowing that same half chewed piece.

“You totally just spit up and swallowed that piece like a cow! That’s so disgusting” She poked him in the chest. “You like being a cud chewing cow monster?”

“Shut up, you’re the… cow monster!” His mind sizzled, unable to think of a good comeback. They didn’t teach comebacks at CHISEL. He simply took another bite of the ranch soaked pizza. “I just... maybe if I find a case at my new school, I'll feel better.”

Eden reached forward and gave him a little hug. “Yea! It'll be a great year! I'll make sure to visit when I'm away from college, and we can play video games together anytime you want!”

She really was a good sister, and like usual, she was right. Xavier didn't want to admit it. Right now, he wanted to be sad. Instead, he was learning an important lesson from his big sister. It’s hard to be sad when you have ranch and pizza in your lungs.

“You wanna play Fortnite together? I'll totally beat you!” She teased.

"No you fucking won't!"

“Oh yea, we’ll see, loser” She grins. “Here, take this and read it. Maybe if you give the new place a chance, you’ll like it there.” She handed him a few pamphlets she had in her back pocket Xavier, like usual, read through them and learned everything about the town. That is, after losing to his sister in Fortnite.

The town they were moving to is called Entropy, Oregon.

What kind of name is Entropy?