Not What We Expected

5: I'm Not Crying

This was two chapters contain a lot of word-pooping (because I want every chapter to be around 2700 words), but is now one chapter, so sorry, it's around 1000 words too long and maybe a bit jumbly.

Two days later are Declan and Joanna sitting on the swings in the playground talking about Friday. Declan is still quite surprised how it all ended, how Anthony actually managed to cheer him up.

That day was a classic bad day with bad luck. He started the day with oversleeping and came late to school and his teacher wasn't happy about that. At lunch he managed to spill out his juice and despite the fact that it was his knees that become wet and sticky, of course the other boys in the class had to ask if he'd peed his pants and all that. And if that wasn't enough to bring his mood down, he also got his English assignment back.

He always gets A:s on them, okay sometimes B, but never C. Never. All Dec wanted to do was to rip the papers into a million pieces and then burn it before he could disappear under a rock. But none of those two things could he do. His father always claims his right to see all his test results and assignments that count, and also had he promised Jojo and Clara to come and see that film.

He really was in an awful mood when he arrived, and he hates when others are trying to cheer him up, so he has absolutely no clue how Anthony managed to do that.

"See, he's a nice guy!"

"That night he was nice at least.", Dec answers, not ready to totally agree and let Jojo be able to say that she told him so. "And also, Dad wasn't too disappointed about the assignment."

And in Dec's world not too disappointed meant he shown it to his Father the morning after, his Father looked at it for a moment before he looked up at Dec and said, "Declan, I know you can better.", but that was all, and that was a huge relief.

"See I was right about that too, I'm always right!", Jojo smiles confident.

"Really?", Dec snorts, "Always right, wouldn't say that.", he continues in a way that makes her chuckle. "By the way, is Anthony saying anything about me?"

"Said you're a bit weird.", she smiles, "And a bit stiff."

"He can be weird and stiff!", Dec folds his arms for a second before he is just about to fall of the swing and his best friend laughs more at him.

"But that was before Friday, he might have changed his opinion now.", Jojo smiles.

They sit there for a while until they hear two voices, one of them sounding like their conversation topic's. Dec turns around and sees Anthony with a little girl in a pushchair and he supposes she has to be Sarha, even though he had imagined her to be a bit older. At least ten and not under three.

"Jojo, don't say you've arranged this?", Dec turns towards the Joanna who jumps of the swing and starts to walk in Ant's direction.

"Come!", she just answers and gestures for him to follow her example.

Dec watches Anthony and Joanna hug each other but is more interested in saying hi to his very cute sister. He has always liked kids, he doesn't know why but sometimes it just feels like he understands them better than people on his own age. And a bonus is that they never call him short.

Dec crouches down and shakes the little girl's hand - and yeah, on the first meetings he always shakes hand - and presents himself before he asks if her name is Sarha. But the girl shakes her head and with one thumb in her mouth she says, "Emma."

"Got two sisters.", Anthony says and looks down at them, "Sarha is 12, and this is Emma-", he strokes his sisters hair and asks her, "And how old are you?"