“Bro, if your mom had a heartwarming speech about how much she loves her kids despite how weird they are, you’d totally cry,” Jana said, not finished complaining even as the credits rolled. The tarantula had already been put back in its cage, with some added food for the week it’d been left alone.

“Whatever you say,” he said.

“Hmph.”

Jeremy stood, then yawned. “Well, I’m going to bed. You clean up.”

“Oi! Why’s that my job?”

“Because you have telekinesis. Also, I made the food.”

“Ch!” Jana didn’t object, however, as she pooled their small mess up and began to put it all away.

While Jeremy walked toward his room, he glanced out the window, something catching his eye for some reason.

He narrowed his eyes as he did. “Who’s on that roof…whatever.” He shrugged, then walked to his room. As he opened the door, he glanced back. “Jana, are you staying today?”

She sent him an almost insulted glare. “Duh.”

“Kay.”

He walked into his room, and as Jana finished the cleaning and turned off the light, she glanced outside, where Jeremy had looked. Nobody to see.

She walked into her room.

——————————————————————————

Jeremy woke up to the sound of moving, in more ways than one.

When he walked out, he saw what was happening. Jana was moving out, her belongings sliding and flying about the main room without so much as a glance from her. She, herself, was essentially holding a pull-up while it happened, her hands gripped over a floating bar of clear ice.

He eventually made it into her peripheral vision, glancing to the right at her. For just a rare moment, he felt just a bit impressed by her build. “So, you’re leaving?”

Jana fell down with a thud. “I am,” she said. “You already get why.”

“Two hour flight, I get it,” he responded.

…

“I guess I’m going to figure out how to move closer to the school,” he muttered. “And I might need a driver’s license later on, if this drags on...”

“Maybe,” Jana simply said, turning her head out of Jeremy’s sight to make a half-guilty, half-amused expression. I feel bad for doing this to him… “But I think you’ll be fine,” she said with a ‘melancholic’ smile. It faded quickly.

“I hope so…” he said breathily.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t stay much longer,” Jana said lightly, glancing forward as her packing finished. “I could only stay for a week while that situation blew over, but now…my work’s threefold, ya know? I gotta hustle to get shit done.”

“Yeah…” he agreed listlessly.

She put a hand on his shoulder, the impact forceful enough to make him sway like a tree. “Look, you’ll be okay, got it? You’re a strong guy, you’ve got a stressful life pressing you. Chill, get some ice cream, take some day jogs, get in a nice, cold shower, get your mind settled. Not even I can solve all your problems for you.”

Jeremy nodded, his eyebrows twitching. He really wanted to tell her in a bit of banter that he couldn’t do any of that in a Canadian winter, but he didn’t have his heart in it.

Jana turned her face out of view again, another, less fun expression of guilt on her face as she did, then she looked back as though nothing had happened. “Just call me if anything comes up.”

“Got it.”

Jana glanced between him and the door. I have to go, either way. I may as well get this over with. “I’ll be seeing you, man.” She held out a hand in goodbye as she walked to the door.

Jeremy nodded, his expression an attempt to stay inscrutable, despite how clearly distraught he was.

Then, she left.

When she did, Jeremy sat at the couch, his expression turning stonier, but more strained.

He began to watch what they had watched together nearly a week ago, finishing the next episode.

As he did, he stopped looking at it.

The snowstorm whipped past the house under a fierce wind, scraping against the house with a solemn howling, a reminder of how quiet it was, beyond the show’s noise.

His eyebrows fell and rose, his eyelids twitching as something grew in his eyes.

He was alone.

His parents were gone.

His sister was gone.

Once again, he felt as though he had lived through this moment for so long. Pessimistic thoughts, thoughts almost alien to his current self began to invade his mind.

Things always ended this way. He would lose everything he loved over and over until something broke inside him.

He would remain alone, scared, and unprepared because something above the world deemed him reprehensible…

He clenched his fists, crying as he unconsciously fought back a conflict in his soul, pained.

Jeremy didn’t want his parents to be alive, he wanted to be with them.

Jeremy didn’t want his sister to be safe, he wanted to be with her.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

He was selfish, he wanted to be happy more than he wanted others to be. Maybe it was because of that that he couldn’t have what he wanted.

As Jeremy sobbed, he remembered the person he felt closest to in the moment. Jana.

He wanted her help.

And so, he thought about what she’d say to him, making a substitute for her irrepressible, determined attitude in his mind.

Stop whining, bitch, she said to him. If you’re such a damn scrawny rat, don’t be.

It was the dumbest advice he could’ve asked for.

Jeremy stood, raised the remote, and shut off the television.

Then, he slung on his winter coat, tied on his boots, and opened the door.

Whisps of snow fell into his house as he stepped out into the snowstorm.

To get some damn ice cream in the Canadian winter.

Jana gripped her forehead as she flew away from the city.

“Ugh…” she muttered to herself. “It’s all for the greater good Jana,” she muttered to herself with skepticism. “It’ll all be over soon, and you can have a nice party with cake afterward. He’ll will be happy, and it’ll be a grand old time.”

She flew up a mountain slope, barely fifty feet above it. It was slower than just flying over it like a normal person, but she clearly didn’t care, even as her luggage followed behind, battered a bit by the storm. Thankfully, she wasn’t worried about the luggage’s temperature.

“Ugh, but I still feel bad for leaving him there,” she said as she flew onto the mountain peak, and looked over the city from dozens of miles away. She glanced to the side with an extra layer of guilt. “I wanted to help you because you were just like me…” she muttered. “Your parents died before mine, and…man,” she began to speak in an abnormally grounded tone, realizing her mistakes. “I shouldn’t have ever treated your sister like that. That was some serious fatherless behavior from me, haha…ha…ha.” She sighed. “We’re all in the same boat. When my dad died…I was alone…I didn’t want to see someone else go through that again. Gah…” she let out an annoyed breath, targeted at herself. I feel like an idiot, even though nobody can hear me talk to myself. I just…I’m not going to leave you alone. Not like that.

She not-so-vividly imagined how Jeremy would react, and she couldn’t help but think that he’d be surprised.

She…she’d spent a long time with him, on that trip. Maybe…I guess we are friends, at this p- she coughed painedly, spittle flying from her mouth into the icy cold. That sounded so damn saccharine, I can’t handle it. Maybe I’m allergic to the word ‘friend’. That’d make some sense…Well, I guess there’s no use in worrying anymore.

Jana flew up.

I guess I’ll just stick to plan. No use in getting too sentimental at this point.

So she flew off, back to work.

A car pulled up to the Evergreen Middle School’s lot, and Jeremy stepped out. “I’ll need a ride to get here on weekdays, now, so I’ll need you later. See ya.”

The freelance driver nodded and left, and as he did, Jeremy tightened his backpack’s straps, then walked toward the school.

As countless people packed into the building in droves, he readied himself for the proceeding attention he’d get. It wasn’t easy to be noticed on the outside, but once he got into the narrow hallways of the school, people would begin to notice him.

And they did.

As he walked forward without so much as a glance at others, eyes turned.

Jeremy, the super psychic’s brother, had returned to the school. It wasn’t long before a friend of his, on a bench with his girlfriend in a far-off sector of the somewhat chaotic halls, stared at him wide-eyed, and muttered something before squishing his way through the crowd.

“Jeremy?” he said, making pace with his quick, almost dramatic powerwalk.

He glanced at his friend, a black guy with glasses and a fairly ordinary shirt. “Hey, whazzup?” he said. “Surprised to see me back?” No point in acting unaware.

“Yeah, I am. Didn’t your sis go poof or something?”

He shook his head from side to side, sucking a breath through his teeth. “Yeah, basically.”

“Did you figure out what happened?”

“Nope. She’s gone of the face of the damn planet,” he said bluntly.

“Damn…”

“Well, it’s good to see you again, Mia,” he said, using a shortened form of his full name, Miano. “It’s been a rough week, in a way. Could’ve been worse.”

“I mean, your sis is gone,” his friend said with a grounded tone. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Yup. House life is kinda depressing, though,” he admitted. He hadn’t stopped his brisk pace, and made it to his next classroom relatively quickly. They had a bit more time, though, so as he sat his things down, they continued talking.

“I mean, you’re…y’know, you’re alone? Are you going to be fine?”

Jeremy nodded. “I’ve got a couple million dollars in the bank, and the government isn’t exactly rushing to take me out of my house when they’ve got no clue when my sister’s coming back, so I’ll be kay’.”

“Err…seriously? You’re that rich?”

Jeremy nodded with a naive expression. “Duh. My sister is an international superpower, and you’re asking if I’m rich?”

Miano looked back and forth with a concerned expression. “Don’t tempt me to swindle you with that sweet personality, bruh.”

He waved him off with a saccharine smile. “Sorry, I probably looked naive.” His expression quickly hardened into a dangerous-like glare. “You can’t swindle me.”

“Bro, A: you watch too much anime, and B: why the fuck are you able to full that shit off…”

“The spooky glare?” Jeremy asked for clarification.

“Yeah, the ‘spoooky glare’. You’re seriously intimidating and I can’t figure out why.”

“Heh, I guess I do watch too much anime…but that’s cool to know.”

“Well,” Miano shrugged, walking to the door. “…whatever. I’m just glad you’re fine. Stay safe out there, kay?”

“I will.”

School was school, of course, and Jeremy went through it as normal. Most people he got into class with had questions to ask, but he responded to most with ‘no comment’ and vauge assurances that he was alright, making sure they knew it wasn’t anything personal.

It was midway through his second period, though, that he was called to the principal’s office.

A large bald man in a suit and somewhat casual jeans met him, sitting behind his computer as Jeremy walked in. He was unsure how annoying the encounter would be.

“Take a seat,” he said in a deep, somewhat melodic voice, motioning to a chair on the other side.

Jeremy took a somewhat slouching seat. “So, what’s up?” he asked, resigned to play it out.

“Well, for one, you don’t need to worry. I’m not going to get on your case about legal matters.”

“Cool…”

“Generally, you and your sister are basically protected by the government. You all don’t need to follow the same rules the rest of us do. While that’s fine…” he shrugged. “You aren’t so lucky when your sister is gone. I do need to know, do you have any idea when she will return to continue acting as your guardian?”

“A month, minimum,” Jeremy said.

“Alright, and at max…”

He looked to the side. After a pause, he said, “She could just be gone.”

“Alright…” he typed something on his computer then leaned back again. “So, as I said, I won’t hassle you about the legality of you remaining in your home as you always have, but I will be providing information to the government. I don’t know if they will hassle you on it, or ask me to, but it’s safe to say that you might have legal troubles if you continue to live in your own home unsupervised. With that out of the way…do you want to see your counselor? Losing a family member-”

“No, I don’t need to right now.” Remembering his sister’s training, he added, “Thanks for the offer.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I’ve got friends to get me through it, plus I’m at least rich.”

He tilted his head. “Alright, if you say so, I don’t doubt you. You can always change your mind later.”

“Thanks,” Jeremy stood from his seat. “Can I get back to class?”

“Of course.”