Forging Bonds

Part One

Dear Napoleon,

(He scoffed at that, hating his name from a young age.) Your father and I have taken into consideration that we just don't think raising a child fits under our plans for life. (Ow, that still hurts to know that your parents never wanted to raise you.) The good news is your great-uncle Maxwell agreed to take care of you while we go traveling around the world! Behave well for your uncle, will you.

-XOXO Mother Dearest

He almost ripped the letter from his mother but Napoleon Maxwell Sowachowski controlled his impulse. Taking a deep breath, he reread the note to see if he read it right. After the fifth time rereading it he couldn't hold his anger and crumpled it into a ball and flung it across his room.

They left him... again! And this time they had the audacity to have his great-uncle Maxwell, who he owed his middle name too, guardianship of him until they decide to come back. That is if they decide to.

What most readers don't know is that, Napoleon's, who would rather be referred to as Sock, great-uncle was dead; and has been dead for close to five years.

"They don't even take the time to find me a proper guardian." Sock grumbled as he ran his fingers through his crazy gravity-defying light brown hair. He flung himself onto his bed putting his face onto his pillow and screamed in frustration.

What was he going to do now? It's not like he had a job to maintain himself, nor is he old enough to live by himself. He was just sixteen years old; he'd be turning seventeen in a week. What a great birthday gift, he added sarcastically.

Now, most teens would be a little excited at having the house all too themselves but Sock wasn't. As of now, he would have to find a way to live without parents and keep it a secret, or else someone would call social services.

Pulling on his trademark hat, Sock got dressed in his usual outfit of torn jeans, brown boots, and his purple skirt with his signature red scarf and went to school.

At school he ran into his childhood friend Joane, a blonde girl his grade who always kept her hair in two low pigtails. Sock greeted her in his chipper mood. "Hey Jojo, how was your morning?"

"Napoleon," Sock inwardly cringed at that name. She knew he didn't like it but she just got a kick out of it, "You excited for your birthday? Are your folks having the party at your house? Can you believe you'll finally be seventeen? You'll finally be my age."

Sock just puffed his cheeks out trying to hide the fact that his parents left him and there probably wouldn't be a birthday party or a gift this year. Which was a shame, Sock liked his birthday. He loved eating candy and cake. It was always a blast even if they ignored him most of the time. It was the only time a year, besides Christmas, where they remembered him. Guess this year they wouldn't. "Uh, no. My folks aren't celebrating my birthday this year."

"Huh, why not?" Jojo sharp blue eyes narrowed to Sock's.

"It-it's 'cause I didn't want one," He answered meekly. "I-I mean I'm going to be seventeen for Pete's sake. Birthday parties are so childish."

Joane wasn't convinced. Sock loved being childish. He looked like a kid but she kept silent for the time being. She had other things she wanted to talk to him about.

~*~

Sock was able to keep the secret of his parents being gone for five days. That is until Joane ordered she go to his house for a study session. It's going to be fine, he reassured himself, I could excuse my parents' absence by saying they were at work. It's not like Jojo had a way to disprove it. It wasn't until she said she wanted to spend the night that Sock got worried.