Joey had gathered his, Sandi’s, and Ciara’s dirty plates from the kitchen island top and set them into the sink before guiding the two girls to the living room and plopping down on the couch. Taking a cautionary glance out the bay window again to confirm the silver coupe hadn’t pulled up any closer, he then grabbed the remote for the TV and changed the input to where Switch was hooked up to, eliciting big smiles from Sandi and Ciara as they start debating what game to play before settling on Mario Kart. After setting up a circuit, the three of them start playing, Joey purposely driving poorly so as to not discourage either Sandi or Ciara while they play. Mario Kart wasn’t a game that Joey is necessarily good at, but he is miles better than either of the younger Hale girls, and always found their competition with each other more entertaining than the game itself.
As the three of them raced and Ciara complained about getting hit by a red shell just as her star power had ended, Joey’s mind began to drift back to the dining room, where the doors were closed as Roni and her parents discussed his fate. He really does think that Roni’s plan would work. His parents care so much about their reputation and social standing that any kind of blemish against it would drive them to the brink of insanity. Internally, Joey could only laugh at the idea. He remembered when his grandfather on his dad’s side of the family was alive, and he never struck him as a person that cared what other people think, so Joey just isn’t too certain where his own dad got it from. Though, thought Joey, it could have just been old age and that his Grandfather figured out that reputation isn’t everything at some point during his life. Why couldn’t his father figure it out now, thought Joey somberly.
“Hey! JoJo you blue shelled me! I was about to win!” cried Ciara with a frustrated huff as Sandi crossed the finish line, along with two other AI drivers before Ciara could finish.
“Huh? Oh…sorry CiCi…” he replied as he was snapped out of thoughts at the end of the 2nd race.
“Don’t apologize Joey, she needs to learn winning isn’t everything at some point!” said Sandi, with a smirk as she playfully stuck her tongue out at her little sister. Ciara, for her part, took it in stride, but it was still obvious she was pretty steamed about losing to Sandi as the 2nd race in the circuit loaded. “Oh, cause you like losing sooo much” retored Ciara as she hit the boost on the countdown and took off into first when the race started. “Eat my dust, Sandi!” she added with a delighted squeal.
The two Hale sisters continued to banter with one another as the first lap of the race began as they competed for first place while Joey did his best to just coast in the middle of the pack. As this continued, though, Joey couldn’t help but wonder what his new future would be like as a little. Would he actually get to be Roni’s little? If not, would he go to a good home, or would he be subjected to cruel and unusual treatment just for his owners satisfaction. Sure he knew that there were laws regarding how littles are treated, but his own research on the internet showed that there were a fair amount of people that knew how to work around the rules. One reply to post on Reddit buried deeply in the comments with a high number of upvotes talked about how they use their little to organize their desk in order to earn their owners praise and even food. Joey could never confirm if this was in the United States or not, but the thought of that happening to him now that he’s condemned to that life made him sick to his stomach, and that wasn’t even the worst story. Others that had littles would discuss using them to clean their computers or organize their dirty clothes for laundry day, with very foul looking photos of their littles to accompany them. Most of the replies said that with the lack of frequency at which littles are physically checked on and the government’s lack of open communication on littles rights, they could mostly treat them however they felt so long as there weren’t signs of physical abuse and wouldn’t get caught. The fact that other countries like France and Italy were much more lax in their laws and rights for littles, but the United States still had these issues, both frightened and infuriated Joey, as he knew that if Littles were living in a facility just for them, they would be living life essentially just the same as humans. Even smallborns wouldn’t know that there was a major difference.
“JoJo! You won? You never win!” cried Ciara in surprise and frustration as she comes in second, just ahead of Sandi. “Yeah, Joey. You almost never win. What the heck!” Sandi reiterated with a huff, her competitive nature preventing her from being happy to see him take first place.
Joey snaps back to reality as he sees he had won and chews his lip a little. “Oh yeah..I..got kinda lucky with some of the items I got. I think I got a Bullet Bill in all three laps” he chuckles nervously, not wanting to let on that he normally lets them win. He knows they wouldn’t be totally upset, but he also just wants to have fun and avoid the competitiveness that the two girls have with each other. In reality, Joey almost exclusively played Mario Kart when he played anything on the Switch, so he was really good at it compared to most people, making him much better than Sandi and Ciara as a consequence.
“Wow JoJo! That’s so lucky! I never get the fun items…” said Ciara as the next race got underway.
“Yeah Joey, must be your lucky day” chuckled Sandi as she launched a greenshell backwards in an effort to hit him.
Before the race got too much farther, though, the doors to the dining room opened and Roni and Mr. and Mrs. Hale came out, joining the other 3 in the family room.
“Joey, can you pause the race? We..want to talk to you and we need to make sure we have Sandi’s and Ciara’s full attention” spoke Mrs. Hale with a warm and soothing voice.
His heart beating in his chest, Joey complies, pausing the game much to the disappointment to the younger Hale daughters. “Mooom! We were almost done!” whined Ciara as she crossed her arms.“Ciara, hush. You know they wouldn’t ask us to do this if something important wasn’t going on…” interjected Sandi in a comforting tone as she scooted closer to her.
Mrs. Hale smiles affectionately at her daughter, appreciation shining in her blue eyes. “Thank you, Honey. You’re right. We do have something very important to tell the three of you”
Sandi raises an eyebrow at this, looking at Joey as she realizes he is involved in whatever her parents are about to say. Ciara, for the most part, doesn’t seem too concerned, but is curious as to what her parents are going to say to them.
“Firstly..” started Mr. Hale as he looks to Joey “We think it’s best if you tell Sandi and Ciara the news you told us, just…so they’re aware of the…bare minimum” he says, hinting to not speak too much about how his parents are treating him.
“R..right…” Joey said cautiously before looking at Sadni and Ciara as he picks his words carefully, “Well…I..just found out I’m not immune to Smallara and…well..I’ll eventually be a little and…my parents are…wanting me to have a better life and will be giving me up to Generitech for that to happen” he says, holding back his emotions the best he can as he lies about what’s really happening.
Sandi’s jaw dropped hearing this, shocked to hear that one of the people she’s closest with is an underbred, while Ciara’s eyes light up with excited curiosity.
Before either could say anything, though, Mr. Hale steps in and continues “Since…giving Joey a err…better life…is their goal, your mother and I have…decided to see if Joey’s parents will…let us adopt him before he changes…and that way we can claim him and keep him with loved ones for the rest of his life”
Joey couldn’t help but shed tears of relief upon hearing that the Hales were really going to try to help him. It was the best news he had heard all week, after being completely abandoned by his parents and left to drift until he caught Smallara. A dam of relief burst in his heart, and all he wanted to do was jump up and hug Mr. and Mrs. Hale and to express a gratitude that he knew he wouldn’t fully be able to articulate, but he held back, knowing that things still weren’t a guarantee. Still, through choked back sobs, Joey looked in the direction of Mr. and Mrs. Hale, giving both an appreciative look, as he made direct eye contact with Roni, his green eyes meeting her hazel ones. Upon contact, the two teens shared a silent conversation, Roni’s expression confirming to Joey that he’d be her family no matter what. With his voice quivering, Joey managed just to utter two words: “thank you..”
Roni blushed and ran her hand through her black hair, a smile forming on her face. Things wouldn’t be perfect, especially with the stipulations her parents had put on the whole thing while Joey was in the livingroom playing with Ciara and Sandi, but he would be loved and cherished, forever.
“So…Joey’s an underbred and…is going to be my brother, then my…pet?” questioned Sandi as she scratched her head before running her hand through her long black hair.
“JoJo’s going to be tiny! He’ll be soo cute! We can play dolls and I can dress him up, and we can watch cartoons!” Ciara declared excitedly, the curiosity in her bright blue eyes now replaced with excitement.
“Ciara!” snapped Roni, “Joey would be your brother at that point and you’ll listen to him then just like you do now!” her hazel eyes dark with anger, quickly quieting Ciara. “Joey isn’t a little yet, either, so from now on no one will even bring it up to him!” Roni then looks over at Sandi with a more calm expression “and as a little, he won’t be your pet, he will be under my guardianship.”
Mr. Hale clears his throat to get all three girls’ attention. “Look, let’s just calm down for now. It’s been a long day, and I’m sure Joey’s tired, having been doing work for his parents and dealing with his…diagnosis. He’ll sleep down here on the couch for now, so let’s just give him some space to take this all in” he declares firmly before looking at Joey, “Tomorrow, you, Roni, and I are going to pay a visit to your parents, so be well rested, son.”
Btw, going to be out of town and away from my computer part of the week. I’ll have my phone but probably won’t be posting any updates after tomorrow, so tomorrow may be a double post. as always, thank you for reading!
“Tomorrow, you, Roni, and I are going to pay a visit to your parents, so be well rested, son.”
and prepare for the battle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It’s gonna be a big one
1) Joey losing on purpose for the kids was quite relatable.
2) Kinda sucks that Joey is in the living room while his fate is discussed in the next room without him. usually littles don’t get that till after they shrink.
3) The girl’s competition is adorable.
4) I do like that he’s acknowledging how poorly enforced little rights and safety is. how the laws re easily subverted and ignored by many and how most littles don’t actually know their rights so violating them is easier. Even Sara who loves claiming Jordan has “some rights” hasn’t actually clarified which rights, and I suspect it’s so she can change them on a whim.
5) Smallborn is one word.
6.1) “not wanting to let on that he normally lets them win” they are old enough to lose from time to time, especially Sandi at 13
6.2) “making him much better than Sandi and Ciara as a consequence” that’s a result not a consequence.
7) “Yeah Joey, it must be your lucky day” Oh the Irony
8) Having Joey tell the younger girls makes sense.
9) They are taking him in, yay.
10.1) “So…Joey’s an underbred and…is going to be my brother, then my…pet?” Logical line of thinking from Sandi
10.2) “JoJo’s going to be tiny! He’ll be soo cute! We can play dolls and I can dress him up, and we can watch cartoons!” CiCi is having an expectedly childish reaction, though doing those things could still be quite fun, so long as she’s taught little handling.
10.3) Roni’s snapping at them was good to see, I personally think she was a bit harsh, but her intent was protective and it’s understandable that her emotions would be a bit agitated at that point.
11) The Calhouns are being confronted tomorrow, I can’t wait.
1, 6.1, 6.2) I kinda took what I do for my nephews and applied it to joey. Much more fun to watch them compete than to compete against them. Plus he’s usually keeping up with them, just loses on purpose. It’s more surprising that cici wins lol
2) yeah, but he also more or less accepted it was gonna happen by keeping cici and Sandi entertained. He couldn’t have added more at this point, at least I couldn’t think of what more he could have added
3) it might be genetic lol all 3 of the Hales are super competitive and hate losing
4) yeah, he would have been a good force for change if he wasn’t an underbred. He really does think Littles could be self sufficient if they just had buildings and whatnot built for them and power supplied and things like that. I’d also add roni probably would be a little more inclined to infringe on things had joey not been so interested in Littles before his diagnosis.
5) I’ll correct this when I get home. I think google docs changed it and I didn’t notice
7) so happy you picked up on that lol I chuckled when I wrote it
8, 9) took inspiration from my dad sadly. He’s been fighting cancer but I never told anyone he knows face to face since it wasn’t my news to share. He’s doing well now, tough road but good spirits.
And yeah, they have some stipulations that I’ll allude to, but ultimately they really want to do the right thing. Especially considering the alternative
10.1) I could have done this a bit better, but you’ll see in the future that she’s having some trouble processing it. She’s right at that age where she’d have conflicted feelings about Joey becoming a little.
10.2) I like to think roni will help teach all the Hales how to at least carry and handle joey if this works out. But yeah, I think Joey’s gonna wanna spend time with everyone when he’s able to. Especially with how close with the Hales he is.
10.3) it was kinda harsh but sets a standard for how she wants Ciara to see Joey. Sandi can figure it out a lot easier but ciaras a little young and needs guidamce
11) yes. I’m excited to expand on those chapters