“Oh okay,” Michelle murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. Jordan could see a flicker of hurt in her eyes, a brief glimmer of vulnerability that she quickly masked with a forced smile. Despite her efforts, the sting of rejection was evident, but Jordan tried to ignore the pang of guilt that tugged at him. It was his prerogative to decide who could touch him and who couldn’t. He didn’t want this woman treating him like some petting zoo attraction. Even so, he felt a lingering sense of responsibility; Sara’s reaction was, after all, a consequence of his actions.
“Good luck, guys,” Michelle added, her gaze lingering on Jordan perched on Sara’s shoulder for a few seconds longer before she walked away. Her steps seemed heavier, almost reluctant. Sara and Ellie made their way to their registers, logging in just before the next wave of evening moviegoers began to trickle in. The air buzzed with the anticipation of the night’s entertainment, and the faint aroma of popcorn wafted through the lobby. Sara gently set Jordan down on the counter, pointing out where the tickets would emerge.
“You just need to rip them off and hand them to the customer, Jordy. It shouldn’t be too hard. We’ll get a rush for the movies starting between six and seven, then another around eight to nine. The overnight is slower, but we don’t work that shift.”
Jordan nodded, trying to convince himself it wasn’t all that bad. He wished Sara would just tear the tickets herself and pass them to the customers in one swift motion. It would be so much easier. But she seemed determined to have him handle this task. If she were working concessions, he wouldn’t have had to help at all he thought.
Just then, Jordan noticed a couple approach Ellie’s register. She greeted them warmly, her voice taking on a customer service tone he hadn’t known she possessed. As she tallied their order, the man fished out his credit card and swiped it. Ellie ripped the printed tickets and handed them over with a practiced smile. Jordan watched, mesmerized, until a string of tickets shot out of the slot in front of him. The tickets began to curl as Sara’s voice snapped him out of his trance.
He grabbed the bottom ticket, finding the perforated edge Sara had described. Doubtful of his ability, he surprised himself by easily tearing it from the slot. Though it was just paper, his small size had made him question his strength. Taking a few steps toward a middle-aged man, he handed over the ticket.
“Thanks,” the man said simply, his wife commenting on the novelty of it as they walked away. Jordan saw Sara already taking the next order, more tickets emerging from the slot. He returned and ripped the tickets for a pair of teenage girls, who seemed unfamiliar to him. Sara didn’t engage them in conversation, so he guessed they attended a different school.
This routine continued for forty minutes before Jordan signaled to Sara that he needed a break. He watched her briefly rummage through her pocket and pull out his tablet, placing it next to her register before ringing up the next order herself. Jordan logged into his iPad, feeling the fatigue in his arms and legs from the exertion.
Surprised by how tiring the task had been, he realized it was the best workout he’d had since becoming a little. During a lull between orders, Sara reached down and gave him several gentle pets.
“My wittle man did so good,” she cooed in a cutesy voice. “You lasted longer than I thought you would,” she added, giving him another affectionate pet with her finger, her pride and affection clear.
Jordan allowed himself a moment of satisfaction, basking in her praise. Despite the challenges, he was determined to prove himself capable. The evening wore on, and as the last rush of customers dwindled, he felt a sense of accomplishment settle in.
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Stay strong jordan. You get to police who gets to hold you or not, and that’s a huge win for you. Same thing with Kelli and presumably gavin. It’ll pay dividends when Daniella asks to hold you and you get to tell sarah it’s fine lol assuming sarah accepts Jordan’s decision making ability
I feel like Mallory will police that harder than Gavin. I think Jordan has it best in this scenario as I think Kayla is a bit to loose with Kelli. Where Sara has some scrutiny.
Right. That’s kinda what I meant. I think Kelli is more in control of who she let’s hold her vs Kayla. Mallory I gave the benefit of the doubt but have no clue why lol I should know that she’ll never let anyone hold gavin, whether or not he’s okay with it
I agree with Mal policing it harder, I’d imagine it’s akin to pulling teeth for her to hand him over half the time.
But I don’t agree with you about Kayla. In 458 we already saw her accept Kelli’s rejection of Talisa’s request to hold her. If she’s siding with her sister over her best friend I 100% believe that’d carry over to any others who wanted to hold her.
I don’t trust Kayla to have her convictions to hold up if shes pressed. Talisa is her friend so she respects the no is no.
Kayla hasn’t yet demonstrated that her opinions or convictions will stand up to scrutiny or peer pressure when someone isn’t as respectful as Talisa.
As Kayla wouldn’t even defend herself against tamara and others. from bullying. If Tamara really wanted to hold Kelli and no one was around to support Kayla. We don’t know if she would still uphold Kelli’s wants over Tamara looming over her.
I think that’s fair criticism, but at the same time I do think Kayla might be different if it’s Kelli being threatened vs herself. She seemed a bit more ready to push back when she Tamera spoke badly about kelli
I agree with C M. Plus I don’t think Tamara would count as peer preasure so much as straight up intimidation. Though peer preasure could effect her negatively
We also haven’t seen Sara get peer preasured as everyone she’s interacted with either woukd have respected her, or she doesn’t respect enough to consider a peer.
Good to see Jordan happy.
Jordan deserves a win.
It’s good to see Jordan happy and feel proud of himself
He put in the work.
Chapter 9: Decisions, Decisions
The three remaining Hales sat in contemplation as the setting sun filtered into the dining room. The giggles coming from Sandi and Ciara as Joey helped get their dessert and provided as much entertainment as possible was the only noise that filled the air as Mr. and Mrs. Hale considered all that they had heard about Joey’s situation and Roni’s idea to save him from being shipped off when his time came. Neither seemed to want to say anything just yet, as they knew that the decision to both adopt Joey and then pay for not only his registration but Roni’s guardian classes was something that requires the utmost thought. They both knew that this would be a major financial burden for the family, regardless of how much money Joey would be able to provide upon his adoption, should the Calhouns agree. On top of that, everything still hinged on convincing his parents to give up their parental rights to the boy. Roni had made a convincing argument, but there was still a lot that could go wrong. The Calhouns could fight the accusations of abuse and neglect and Generitech wouldn’t be able to help, or the case wouldn’t be strong enough. Even if they didn’t fight the charges, there was still the possibility of retaliating against the Hales through other means. Mr. Hale knew that the Calhouns had strong social ties that could affect his career and his children’s social life to the point that they’d be forced to move. Mrs. Hale was more worried about what a long, drawn out legal battle would do to Roni and her kids, especially if they were to go to court and lose. To put all that effort and hope into this one option just to lose in the end isn’t something she’d want her kids to go through.
Roni, for the most part, just sat in quiet anticipation, keeping her poker face going as her mind raced. She wanted so desperately to believe that this was going to work, that her mom and dad would eventually just say ‘okay, we’ll give it a shot’, but Roni knew better than to let her hopes take over reality. After all, a few months ago, she had all the hope in the world that surgery would save her dog Biscuit from cancer, but it didn’t, nor did it help her get a lead roll in the city production of “Wicked” despite her thinking she nailed the audition. No, Roni knew that, no matter how much she wanted something to work out, having hope wouldn’t make it come true.
So she sat there, watching her parents, her mom playing with her hair, her dad drumming his fingers on the table, until finally, one of them said something.
“Roni…just so I’m certain, you completely understand the kind of commitment you’re making, right?” asked Mr. Hale, “This isn’t like another animal. An underbred would be a lifelong commitment. Hell, Joey could outlive Sandi if what I’ve heard about their biology is true”
Sighing at hearing Joey called “underbred” again, Roni looked at her father with a determined look, “Yes dad, this is what I want to do…what I need to do. He’s my best friend, and he doesn’t deserve to go from one awful home to another. I swear I can give him the life he’s always needed, and being your guys’ son…it’d be the most positive thing to happen to him in years..whether it lasts a few days or a couple of weeks.” genuine tears starting to form in her eyes as she finishes her stirring delivery. This time, there was no attempt at making her parents emotionally vulnerable, or using whatever acting skills she had developed from theater. Just a simple, heart-felt explanation that she wants to save her best friend.
Mr. Hale looks over to Mrs. Hale and they lean in to whisper with one another. They quietly discuss everything with each other while Roni does her best to keep her tears from flowing. Eventually, the two nodded before pulling apart and looking at Roni.
“Roni…your father and I…want to make sure that you completely understand our views on this. Joey will be a pet after everything is said and done. Whether or not we take him in, he is, for lack of a better term, an animal. If we agree to this, we need to know that you’ll take full responsibility for managing him, making sure he understands what we expect from him, not letting raising him distract you from the rest of your life or school work. You…would be doing a good thing, taking him in like this but…you have your own life to live still. We want to make sure you get to experience it,” said Mrs. Hale with a firm and adamant tone, her eyes filled with confidence to show that this isn’t something she would be dismayed from. “Do you see where we are coming from?”
With a brief pause, Roni thinks for a moment before nodding “yes, mom…”
Mr. Hale lets out a sigh “In that case, so long as you give your word on this…we think this is worth the risk…Like you said, Joey needs some semblance of a good home life before everything happens, and we want to be the parents he’s needed…”
Roni’s lips quiver as she smiles, tears rolling out of her eyes and down her now flushed cheeks realizing that they’ll try to follow through with this. “Th..thank you…thank you so much..” she manages to choke out as she gets up and goes around the table to hug the both of them. “I love you both. I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure this works. I swear.”
As they pull away, Mr. Hale takes a deep breath. “There’s one more thing, Roni”
1.1) getting used to rejecting people is hard, but a necessary step in setting healthy boundaries.
1 2) don’t think of Sara’s reaction as the “consequence of your actions”, you dont actually know if Sara would have Michelle hold you anyway. She’s respecting your boundaries, but if you must consider it like that, try phrasing it as “the benefit of your actions”.
2) it’s ways weird when people you know break out the customer service voice.
3) Jordan enjoying working was good, and I’m surprised and glad Sara actually gave him a break as soon as he asked for one. I hope that won’t negatively affect his already meagre point payout.
4) it’s nice to see Jordan actually strong enough to do something, it’s a nice change from all the everyday items he’s no longer strong enough for.
1.1) That is true. Michelle was a bit hurt but she will live.
1.2) I don’t think jordan likes hurting other people. So I cant imagine him viewing a scenario where someone is walking away hurt as a benefit in his eyes. Even if he should.
2) It really is. I feel like that is a universal thing.
3) Wow Sara praise. I’m surprised your fingers were able to type it lol. But in all seriousness she seemed surprised he was able to work as long as he did. So he probably beat out her expectations so I don’t know why she wouldn’t. He tried his best, i feel like she would reward his effort regardless of how much work he actually did. As she eluded to such merit at other times throughout the story. That an honest attempt and effort is all that is expected.
4) Sara is honing in on tasks that are jordy appropriate. He was also able to clean her ear buds without issue.
1.1) I’ve been on that side of rejection a lot, and I understand his guilt when having to reject someone, I don’t blame him.
1.2) even just a neutral term like “result of his actions”. I understand that about Jordan, he doesn’t even want revenge on the people who’ve wronged him let alone hurting someone who hasn’t.
2) I’d say it’d be a bigger shock here because Sara and Ellie aren’t exactly submissive people so that aspect of the customer severe voice woukd give Jordan shocking whiplash.
3) I’m trying to be more fair with her, and part if that is acknowledging if she does good. (My fingers sting like hell). That’s true, but after tasks like the baseboards it seemed to me like she had unrealistic expectations of his ability. Combined that with enrolling him in her advanced school courses and expecting him to take LAT makes me think “trying his best” isn’t all she wants from him.
She wasn’t planning on rewarding him at all, that’s why I’m concerned he would be penalised for needing breaks.
4) That’s good after the baseboards she needs to pull her head in and use her brain more.