Unknown story title

Characters:


1. Lori Buchanan (Main Character)
2. Sara (Sister)
3. Laura (Sister)
4. Lyn (Sister)
5. Tommy (Brother)
6. Jackson (Spouse)
7. Johnathon (Son)
8. Tija (daughter)
9. Leanne (Mother)
10. Lester (Father)
11. Kathleen (Best Friend)
12. First set of twins Lily and Mark
13. Second set of twins Johnathon and Jimmy

Locations:
1. Hrodna, Belarus
2. Oak Creek, Wisconsin
3. Phoenix, Arizona




























Prologue:

Lori comes to the USA from her hometown Hrodna, Belarus. She wants to go to school in the USA because she hears that people get a better education in the states then they do in Belarus. She also hears there is better records of genealogical record such as the census and etc. She meets her husband in Wisconsin they have two kids a boy and a girl. She gets a better job offering in Phoenix, Az its her dream job of making models of different historic places. First she does her research on the historic places then she builds the models of them to the exact look. Museums buy them from her for specific displays they are featuring at that time. Lori has done excellent customized models at a businesses request.

Her two children are 14 and 16 and they do not like the idea of moving from Wisconsin to Arizona. They have a hard time making new friends in school. They both get bullied at school by other kids their age about their mother's job. Their dad is a Customer Service Call Center that deals with IT difficulties in different businesses and for different people. He put his dream on hold so Lori could live her dream. His dream was to own his own IT business and be his own boss, but he couldn't go to school for it at the same time as Lori someone needed to stay home and take care of the children. So he had to suffice with something close to his dream as IT support agent.

On one of Lori's jobs she met a young lady named Kathleen. Kathleen was a newbie to the model making business so Lori took her under her wing and became her mentor to teach Kathleen the ropes of the business. Eventually Kathleen and Lori started hanging out more with each other then their own families and they became best friends. Kathleen had been divorced two times and has four kids they are two sets of twins from her different marriages. The oldest twins were a boy and a girl and they were 16 years old. The youngest twins were two boys and they were 14 years old. They all went to the same school as Lori's two children they eventually become the best of friends but not before Lori's kids got bullied by them.

The year 2020 Lori gets a call from her younger sister Sara from Belarus saying that their parents were killed in a car accident. Lori needed to come back to Belarus to help sort out their parents final expenses and their funeral. She asked if everyone else was going to be there meaning are her other siblings going to be there. Lori was a overachiever and no matter what she was going to make her dreams happen no matter whose expense it was at. They lived in Hrodna, Belarus but that was a very poor area in Belarus growing up Lori and her siblings parents were barely making ends meet to support their children, but they always supported their children's dreams no matter what.

They may have been poor but their parents did not make it seem like they were poor. When Lori left Belarus her parents were in financial ruin their dad had lost his job as a factory worker and their mother did not have very many skills to be a productive citizen in Belarus. Thank goodness their parents had put money away, but that all went away when they were trying to help Lori get to the US to go to school. Yes Lori did some part time work to take some of the pressure off of her parents but it wasn't enough. Because of that it didn't leave much money for her siblings to grow and pursue their dreams. All of them were working two and three jobs to support their parents and Lori did not help at all. So there is a little bit of bitterness between her and her siblings and its not pleasant.

Sara kept in touch with Lori and kept her updated on how her parents were doing and her siblings were doing. Everyone except Sara and her parents basically the rest of her siblings washed their hands of Lori. So Lori was really apprehensive about giving Sara an answer on whether she would come back to Belarus or not.
She didn't want to feel unwanted by her siblings in her childhood home. She knew that it would be that way because of the bitterness between her and her siblings. She didn't know if they had forgiven her for the way she left the situation of her family dynamics. She also wondered would her family in Belarus accept her family she made in the US. What if they gave them the cold shoulder because they were outsiders of her family. Would they hold a grudge against her and her new family for not being there for their parents when they needed her the most. How would her kids feel about meeting their aunts and uncles for the first time in their whole lives.










































Part 1 2002 to 2018:


Lori was very happy with the life she had created for her husband and her two children. She never thought once about her past life in the poor part of Belarus where she grew up with her four siblings Lori was the second youngest of her siblings the youngest was her little sister Sara who kept in touch with her about the family. Lori did not regret the decision she made to leave Hrodna, Belarus when she graduated from High School at 18. She was very smart for her age she came to the US and went to The University of Wisconsin she graduated at the top of her class with a 4.0 GPA. She graduated from Belarus High School in 2002 with a 3.9 GPA. Her parents had been saving money for Lori to go to the US and go to college for a long time. The year she graduated she moved to Oak Creek Wisconsin and started he college career. Her hobby was Genealogy so she started by Majoring in Family Studies but minored in Historical Studies of the Past. Then one day she got a call from her little sister in Belarus informing Lori that their parents were killed in a car accident and she needed to come back to Belarus to help with final expenses and their funeral. She was apprehensive to answer Sara because she was in conflict with herself about how she left her family back in Belarus and how her siblings wanted nothing to do with her except for Sara and her parents of course.

Lori loved her siblings and parents but she had to get out of Belarus and her parents understood that.
She had a dream to become a well known historical model building person. She lived in the underdeveloped section of Belarus. They didn't have the proper schools she needed to get her degree in Family history and Historical representation of Historical areas of the country. She attended Belarus High School until she was 18 she graduated class of 2002. She graduated with honors and 3.9 GPA she loved school but just a general education is all they could offer. The standards you needed to graduate from High School. She excelled in History, and English Literature. Reading and math were a little bit harder for her but she got enough of them both to graduate and pass with a B- in them.

When she graduated her parents saved enough money for her to get out of Belarus and move to the US and go to a proper University. There was a catch when she graduated her dad had just lost his job in a factory of 25 years they were cutting wages and people. Since her dad was older then the rest of the employees he was forced to retire early. Her mother did not have enough skills to get a job and be a productive member of the civilization. But her parents told go to the US get a better education then what is provided here in Belarus and keep in touch. Lori knew her family was strapped for cash but she couldn't wait to get out of Belarus she hated living in the poorest area of Belarus. Her siblings thought it was disrespectful and downright selfish to go to the Us and at the most inconvenient time.


Her parents said go your brother and sisters will be fine. Lori was close to one of her siblings it was her younger sister Sara she was two years younger than Lori. She supported her sister's decision to leave Belarus. Her other siblings told her if she leaves to the US now they are washing their hands of her because it was selfish of her to do so knowing her parents were suffering for cash and did not have much left once they pay her way to get to the US and pay for her college tuition. Lori was moving to Oak Creek, Wisconsin to attend University of Wisconsin she was so excited and happy and that's all her parents needed to see was the excitement and happiness on her face.

Her parents stated that they will be fine her dad will get another factory job. Lori believed that but they just said that to ease her mind about their finances her dad never obtained another factory job. So her brother and sister started to support their parents some were working two and three jobs at a time. They spent more time working so they had no time to make families of their own and they resented that, but they knew their parents needed help to pay their bills and mortgage and etc.

So in 2002 Lori arrived in Wisconsin she started to attend University of Wisconsin. Shortly after that Sara called Lori and told her that they had to put their mother in a nursing home and it was expensive she had early onset Alzheimer's and she had also slipped and broke her hip when she was in the shower and she needed to much care for her for her dad to handle, and her siblings weren't around enough to help their dad. So Lori started looking for a job to help her parents with the expenses. So she got a part time job working in the University Book Store. Where she met her husband Jackson they got married a year after they met. They were very happy with the marriage and it showed on their faces. They were together for a year for two years before Jackson proposed to her in 2004 and she was pregnant with her daughter Tija also. So Lori and Jackson talked about one of them staying home from going to school to take care of Tija. Jackson knew that Lori came a long way to go to school so he decided to stay home and take care of Tija. When Tija was old enough to go to daycare Jackson got a full time job working in a call center as a IT representative it was close enough to his dream job of being his own boss and running an IT business.

Lori never talked much about her older siblings but always talked about Sara who was two years younger. They were very close growing up. They always had each others back when things happened.
Sara would always stick up for Lori to her older siblings because they always picked on Lori because she was the smartest sibling in the family so they got jealous. Lori quickly became the favorite of their parents. Lori would tutor Sara in subjects that were hard for her to help her pass and it worked. Lori sort of got along with her older siblings but not as much as Sara. Lori and her siblings were born two years apart Lori was the second youngest of five children. Lori was always treated like the black sheep of the family by her older siblings, but it didn't bother her.

But her parents and Sara respected Lori's skills and her decisions she made. Her parents supported all of their children's dreams but not as much as Lori's. Leanne and Lester that was her parents name they were born two years apart as well. Lester started working at the local shoe factory at 47 years old.
Leanne decide to be a stay at home mom and make sure her family was nurtured and raised happily and healthy. Before Lester worked at the factory he worked on various farms as a produce picker such as tomatoes, carrots, potatoes and strawberries and etc. but when the farms went to using machinery to cut the labor in half a lot of people got laid off because of lack of work. Eventually all the farms in Belarus were managed by machinery so they all turned to the factories for jobs.

Her older sister Lyn was a cashier at the local grocery store. She got married but never had children.
She was also working in a child care center, and a night auditor at a local hotel. Lyn loved children very much so the child care center was her favorite job. Laura the second oldest was working at a shoe store, a fast food restaurant, and a department store as a cashier. She also got married she had one kid who she spent more time at the grandparents home than her own. She was divorced because her husband could not stand all the hours she was working she had no time for him and he resented that. The third oldest was her brother Tommy he never graduated high school but he did get his GED he has two children and he has been divorced twice so each child is from a different marriage he was working manual labor jobs such as construction, roofing, and landscaping. He still lived at home along with his two children. Tommy never knew when his next job was coming so like his dad he started working in a factory but it didn't pay much he barely made ends meet to take care of his family. Sara was the youngest of the siblings she was the second smartest sibling in the household she actually managed to go to college to become a Elementary school teacher she was on financial aide all through her college years. She went all the way up to her BA in education but she was also able to teach Special Education Children which she loved. As far as she was concerned she was working her dream job and you could tell she loved it , it showed all over her face everyday. That was thanks to Lori who was very proud of Sara for making the best of a terrible situation. Sara also still lived at home she was not married yet. She wanted to enjoy her job more before she settles down and creates a family of her own. She wanted four children and the best man for her he didn't have to be perfect he just had to have a good job and love children as much as she did and he needed to make her happy and make her feel safe in their relationship.

Lori loved doing Genealogy in her spare time that is why one of her subject was a study in Family studies with a specialty of a study in Historical sites of the US. She never liked to go fishing because cutting the fish up and etc. made her sick because she was very squeamish about things like that. She loved a saying that she used regularly especially when it cam to fish “All the great men are dead and I'm not feeling too well myself.” She didn't know who said it she just heard someone say it and it stuck with her. She was highly allergic to anything with milk in it, she got the hives and her throat would feel like it was closing up on her. The sad thing is she loved milk so she was going to the doctor to get allergy shots so she could eat things with milk and drink things with milk. After all Wisconsin was called the cheese state or is it the dairy state she wasn't 100% sure , but either way she loved her milk.

Lori loved going to the University of Wisconsin but sometimes she felt like a fish out of the water. She felt everyone thought she was a know it all so other then her husband she didn't make very many friends because she always had her nose buried in books to help her get through her classes. Even at home she was a book worm she loved learning about the ways of the US. She especially loved learning about the different cultures in Wisconsin and the history of Wisconsin. All of it was so new to her and she loved sharing what she learned with her daughter Tija no matter what age she was. She would always read books to her daughter about her family genealogy the history of her family in Belarus. She talked about her siblings in Belarus especially her younger sister Sara. Tija loved hearing about her aunt and her grandparents she would always ask about them. She was also curious about her other aunts and her uncle but Lori didn't talk much about them because she didn't want her daughter to have a negative thought about them. Lori didn't want Tija to resent them as she grew up so she didn't talk much about them but Lori did share some fun and happy memories of her other siblings with her daughter. Lori was very proud of her daughter for taking so much interest in her family roots and asking questions to learn more about them. Every now and then Lori would explain the history and different cultures of Wisconsin to Tija.

Tija was growing so fast and she was so smart thanks to her mom talking to her about different things in her life. Tija was two years old when her little brother Johnathon was born she was so excited about being a big sister. As they grew up together Tija and Johnathon were very close with each other growing up. Tija would share the stuff with her brother that her mom shared with her while she was growing up. He loved hearing his sisters stories when they were growing up. As Johnathon and Tija entered their early teen years they started arguing and fighting with each other like any brother and sister would. They still loved each other but they were getting on each others nerves. They lived in a three bedroom one bathroom house. As Tija got older she would start taking longer in the bathroom like any teenage girl. Jackson and Lori were constantly putting out fires between the two of them. The funny thing is even though they got under each others skin they still had each others backs while growing up like Lori and Sara did.

Lori finally graduated from the University of Wisconsin with her BA in History in 2009. She had a 4.0 GPA and she graduated the top of her class she was Valedictorian of her school when she graduated. Lori got a job right out of college at a local history museum. She did what she loved at the time talking about the history and culture of Wisconsin. Jackson would bring Tija and Johnathon to the museum when they were having problems with their history reports in school. Johnathon Attended Meadowview Elementary school it was a K-6 school. Tija attended Oak Creek Middle school which was a standard middle school with only dealing with 7th. And 8th. graders.

Part 2 2018:

In 2018 when Lori and Jackson were 37 years old, Tija was 14, and Johnathon was 12 years old. Lori got some good news. That night the whole family went out dinner at Apple-bees. Where Lori and Jackson told Tija and Johnathon about an amazing job opportunity for Lori in Arizona. Jackson also explained about an amazing job opportunity for him in Arizona as well. Johnathon asked his dad about what kind of job opportunity it is? Jackson explained to Johnathon that he would have a chance to go back to school finally to obtain his degree in IT support. It also offered full benefits for him and the family. He also added that those benefits would not take place until after his 90 probation period. He stated my yearly pay will go up from $175.000 a year to $185,00 at first and then when he obtains his degree it will go up to $195,000 a year. Johnathon said wow that is awesome. Then Johnathon asked what is the name of the company you will be working for? Jackson Thompson and Thompson IT Support LLC. Jackson also stated that it's a larger call center then what I'm working at now, but only deals with IT support whereas the smaller call center with a smaller IT support program that does more than just IT support. Johnathon said oh ok, but we would have to move to Arizona right dad? Jackson said yes that is true Johnathon. Johnathon said I don't want to move away from my school and friends here in Wisconsin. I enjoy it to much and I have a lot of friends. What if I don't like my new school? What if I don't make any new friends there? What if there is a lot of bullies there? No I do not like the idea of moving to another state. Jackson said I understand your concerns mom and I are just as scared as you are Johnathon, but if we support each other in this new adventure we will all come out on top of this because we will be a stronger family unit. Johnathon said oh alright, but I'm still not happy about this move. Tija said to Johnathon everything will work out in the end. Tija then said to dad as far as I'm concerned I'm actually a bit excited, scared, and nervous all at the same time if that is even possible. Lori said to Tija yes you can feel all those feelings at once Tija. It's normal to have all of that happening Tija. It's scary to move some place new, a new school, a new job, to make new friends, and to move to a new home especially in the middle of your school year. Both of you are friendly to your peers and very respectful I bet the two of you will make a lot of new friends. Tija and Johnathon said at the same time do you really think so mom? Lori said yes I do kids. Then they asked their dad the same question. Jackson said I think so too.

Tija then asked her mom what kind of job opportunity will she be working? Lori said like dad I will go up from $175,00 a year to $195,000 a year. I will also get full benefits for me and all of you. I will get PTO which is paid time off, but I will get one thing more then dad, I will get a paid vacation but it will be based on how many hours I work in one month, but same as dad those things will not happen until 90 days after I start. Johnathon asked with that paid vacation can we go to Disneyland or even Disneyworld? Tija said yeah Disneyworld that would be much better than Disneyland. Lori and Jackson giggled and said maybe we could do both, but not in the same year of course. Tija and Johnathon said at the same time ah man that stinks, but that would be so cool if we could do that. Lori and Jackson said yes it would be cool, but mom can only get a paid vacation once a year. Tija and Johnathon said at the same time I guess it will be ok to move to Arizona. Tija said it sounds like fun then Johnathon said to mom and dad we will still be nervous until we get there. Lori and Jackson responded to them yes we all will, but it will be fine you'll see.

Tija asked mom so when will be moving? How will we get there? How long will it take to get there? Jackson said we leave on Monday so you two will be able to finish the rest of the week here and for you two to say goodbye to your friends. We will be driving to Arizona, and it will take five days. Johnathon asked his dad five days of constant driving with no rest? Lori said no we will stop an take breaks on the way there. Johnathon said oh ok that makes me feel better. Tija said good I'm glade about that as well. Lori said on the way there we will stop at some historical areas and I will tell you two about the history of the place. I especially want to stop at two specific sites one is in St. Louis it's a really neat looking bridge called the Twin Arches and the second one will be in Flagstaff, Arizona we will stop and see the Grand Canyon. Johnathon asked where is St. Louis? Jackson said it's in Missouri. Johnathon asked is Missouri really pretty? Lori said at this time of the year it's beautiful. Tija asked what about Flagstaff where the Grand Canyon is? Jackson said yes it has trees, grass, flowers and cactus's everywhere. Johnathon asked where is Flagstaff in Arizona? Lori said Flagstaff is in the mountains up north from where we are going to live. Lori said did you know some areas in Arizona are nothing but desert? Tija and Johnathon responded at the same time no we didn't. Jackson added to the conversation by saying to Tija and Johnathon some Indian tribes have settled in Arizona in different areas of course. Tija and Johnathon responded at the same time cool.

The rest of Tija and Johnathon's last week at their schools went by so fast. Each night when they got home they would be packing their stuff to make sure they would be ready for the move to Arizona on Monday. Lori and Jackson would be packing up their stuff and the rest of the house during the day while Tija and Johnathon were still at school. Finally Friday came they said goodbye to all their friends. They each even got to have a little party at their schools they had cupcakes and soda. They said their final goodbyes to their friends at the end of the day.

The move went off without a hitch they drove from Wisconsin to Arizona in five days. When they came across a historical monument like the bridge of St. Louis Lori would tell her children the history of how it came to be. Eventually the children started to get antsy during the drive and there was a certain anticipation of how their new home would look, how would their new school look, what kind of kids attended their new schools. On their last day of driving they stopped in Flagstaff to look at the Grand Canyon. Lori told Tija and Johnathon that Arizona is known as the Grand Canyon State. Their mom told them about the history of the Grand Canyon and then they continued after that to their new home in Phoenix.

Lori informed the children that they would both be going to the same school, that it had a school uniform the children sighed at learning this. So they asked their mom how they would be going to the same school? Lori said it is a school that has grades 6 to 12. She told them the school was called Hightower Middle and High School. Lori told them the school colors were red and black and the mascot was a Red Dragon the kids became more excited about their new school. Lori told them it was a very good school it was a highly performing school. She told them they had Chorus Group that was an undefeated National Champions and the Football Team was also the National Champions.

Finally they arrived at their new home in Phoenix, the children stared in awe at their new home. It was a two story home, it had a big front yard and even bigger back yard and they had a pool and a spa in their back yard. The yard was fenced in in with a brown fence, it even had a swing set and a jungle gym in the back yard. There was still enough room for them to even have a trampoline in the back yard. The house was blue and purple, they had tile in the kitchen, dinning room, and the living room there was a half bath downstairs just off to the right of the living room and it also had tile in it. It was four bedrooms and two and half bathrooms Johnathon was thrilled about that. He said good now I don't have to wait for Tija to get out of the bathroom so I can go to the bathroom and get ready for whatever whether it be school or a day out with my family. Tija and Johnathon asked if their mom and dad could take them to their new school to see what it's like and maybe have a tour of the school. Lori and Jackson said after we unpack.

As soon as they got into the house the children went upstairs to pick their rooms. The rooms had carpet in them but the bathrooms didn't they had tile. There was a full bathroom in the hallway and Tija picked the room that had the full bathroom in it. Lori and Jackson were fine with that their bedroom was next to Johnathon's room, Tija's bedroom was across from her parents but next to the fourth bedroom which would become Jackson's study where he would finish his degree in Technical Support and Services. The carpet in the rooms were a Powder Blue and the trimming in the rooms were a Lavender color. The walls were painted a Sky Blue in the whole house. There was a garage outside in the driveway for the car and plenty of storage as well. The outside of the house was painted Cerulean Blue and the trimming was painted Lilac. The grass in the front yard was very plush and they had plants that were planted in front of the front door, and it had a small flower garden surrounding the mailbox. The front porch was big enough to have patio furniture. The back yard had a desert landscape with some sand there was a back patio that was covered with a metal patio ceiling and patio blocks that went out quit far into the yard. There was a charcoal grill on the patio with a small flower garden on the patio. They had a wooden swing on the back patio and various different patio furniture that was a spring green with a touch of blue on it. There was a wooden shed in the back yard off to the left of the house that had a padlock on it. It was big enough to store more stuff like bikes, gardening tools, and various other things. The pool was eight feet deep had a diving board and it was set in the ground with a concrete pool deck. There was sand surrounding the swing set and jungle gym. There was a mini vegetable garden in the back yard as well to the left of the shed. This house their house was definitely the best one they have ever had, it was extremely impressive. Their house looked like it was the biggest house on the block.

Finally they were done unpacking and the kids were excited to go and see their new school. They arrived at the school it was huge it was a two story school. All inside the students did not need to go outside for anything except for lunch and or recess, or if they wanted to participate in sport events. There was lockers in the halls for the older children. Like the seventh graders and above it looked like what seemed to be 100's of lockers for the older kids. All of the sudden Tija and Johnathon started to feel a bit overwhelmed by the size of the campus and got intimidated by how many students were there. They didn't mind the school uniforms at all they actually liked that idea of having to wear the same clothes as their peers. That way no one got picked on for wearing clothes that were not in style, that relieved them a bit.

They met the principal and the vice principal of the school they seemed really nice. It was Friday afternoon they were suppose to start school on Monday they were a bit nervous again. The Principal and Vice Principal told them they would each be assigned a buddy for the first week to help them get acclimated to the school and to learn where all of their classes would be. Johnathon being in sixth grade his schedule was set it didn't change at all, Tija being in eighth grade her schedule was not set she had to switch classes every 45 minutes so she got to pick her classes but her schedule had to have some core classes in her schedule as well as electives.

School started for them both at 7:30 am and went until 3:00 PM. With a 30 minute lunch and recess so that gave them 15 minutes to eat and 15 minutes to visit or play on the playground. The middle school students had to take all their books home, but thank goodness the middle school students had lockers to put their books in them if they needed to take them home or just to store them in the locker when they didn't need them. The middle school and high school students had eight minutes between their classes in case they needed to go to their lockers for anything. Lunches for all grades were the same no matter what for the students. This was so they could socialize with their peers during the same time of the day consistently. Once the principal and vice principal welcomed them to the school by giving them a tour of the campus they all said thank you and see you Monday morning.

By the time they got home it was 5:30 PM because after the tour of the school they went shopping for school supplies and their school uniforms. It was just the basic school supplies for now but when Tija got her schedule they would buy more school supplies according to what she needs for her classes. Johnathon would get more clothes and school supplies if he needed them because he was really hard on his clothes and shoes but Tija not so much. But none the same they would both get more clothes later on as the year progressed. So when they got home they ate dinner and settled into their new home and environment.

Lori was to start her new job that following Monday when the kids started school she worked a set schedule of 9 to 5 bankers hours she liked that a lot. Which meant she could take the children to school in the morning then come home and get ready for work. Jackson would have to pick them up when he got off of work at 2:30. Jackson's hours were 7:00 am to 2:30 PM those hours worked out perfect for the whole family. That weekend they also bought a second car for Lori to use to get to work and get home. Jackson used the car they drove to Arizona for himself until they could get a new car for Jackson which he hoped would be soon because they put on a lot of miles on that car driving from Wisconsin to Arizona. Jackson was also suppose to start his new job the Monday the kids started their new school. The hours Lori and Jackson worked made it possible for one parent or the other to be home with the kids at some point in the day so they always had the support of someone to help them with their homework.

Monday finally came the whole family was a bundle of nerves that day. This was normal for they were all about to experience something new in their lives. For example the parents starting a new job and the children starting a new school. So it was understandable that they were all a bundle of nerves. At the same time they were excited to experience their new adventures in life. The day started at 6:00 AM for everyone. Lori made Breakfast for everyone it was pancakes, bacon, and scrambled eggs. Jackson finished getting ready for work and left at 6:30 AM on the dot. Tija and Johnathon ate the hearty breakfast with glee and then went upstairs to finish getting the rest of their school supplies ready and make sure their uniforms were neatly pressed and ready to wear. They each got ready for school so by 7:00 AM they were ready to go. They were both still very nervous about starting their new school but in a way they were also excited to meet new friends and attend their new classes. Lori dropped them off at school and then she went home to have some coffee and pack her lunch and get ready for work herself. The dress code for her job was Business Casual but she wanted to make a good impression. She pulled out a knee length black skirt that hugged her perfect body just right. Then she pulled out White button up dress shirt that also hugged her perfect body. Then she pulled out a pair black panty hose that also fit her perfectly hugging every curve of her body and accenting her long legs and beautiful form. Then she looked for her best looking black high heels. Most of her high heels had scuff marks on them and they didn't look very professional in her opinion. After she was dressed and ready she went downstairs and cleaned up breakfast very carefully so not to get anything on her work clothes. 8:30 AM came and she left for work. Even though she was nervous she didn't let her nerves show when she got to work.

Today was just orientation and training but she was the best dressed in the group. Everyone else was wearing jeans, tennies, and button down Polo Shirts. She felt like a fish out of water again she felt like people were starring at her because she was clearly overdressed, but she didn't care at first. Then she felt like shrinking down as small as she could get. Lori and the group of people were going to spend four hours in the same room two hours of orientation and two hours of training. Orientation talked about rules and regulations. Such as the dress code, proper work ethics, attendance rules, benefits, PTO and how to get it, vacation time how many hours they have to work to get paid vacation, and finally filling out the proper paperwork and they were given the employee manual. The training consisted of learning their work area because they were assigned to each person, they were shown where they put some hazardous products, where to get their proper materials for their individual projects. They were informed that they are on a 90 day probation period and that the company was very strict about consequences of actions. After training and orientation they went to lunch it was a 30 minute lunch break. She was also allowed one 20 minute break per shift. The break room was professionally painted, it was actually a decent size, it had two microwaves, a big TV hanging on the wall and currently the daily news was on. The break room also had six refrigerators where the employees could put their lunches. A couple of other refrigerators that had thing like yogurt, cheese and etc for sale. And a couple more refrigerators that had soda, water, tea and etc for sale as well. There was also a few coffee pots to make coffee. There was a machine against one of the walls that had like meal cards you could use to keep track of what you paid for at the machine. The break room had 10 tables with four chairs surrounding them a few arm chairs with a coffee table in front of them and several outlets around them so that the employees could charge their electronic devices such as their cell phone, or their tablet, and etc.

After her lunch break she got to her workstation it was in a office that had no more then ten standing desks spread out throughout the office. It was painted a relaxing blue color, it had a tile floor and memory foam mats for the employees to stand on when they're are working on their projects. The office also had cubicles with office chairs and computers in the cubicles for the employees to do research on their projects. What Lori also noticed there was a long hall she walked down with wooden doors closed she concluded they were other offices. Probably set up the same way as her office with the same work items in them, but maybe they were for different projects. Her first assignment was to do research on the Golden Gate Bridge and building a model for a private client she had two weeks to complete it. She was excited to get her first assignment, but she wondered how she could make it good enough for the client to be pleased with her craftsmanship. She was informed that he fancied the Golden Gate Bridge and he wanted a to scale model of it to sit in his office for display. So Lori got started on the research and her being a history major could easily get the proper information she needed to properly build it. The office had most of the supplies she needed some she had to go and purchase but the company had an expense account and each employee was given a credit card to use if they needed to buy any extra supplies. Lori thought to herself it must be a huge expense account for each employee to have their own credit card through the company. Once Lori started her research the rest of the day went by so fast it seemed to her. Because next thing she knew it was 4:45 PM to her it seemed like the day just started. Her first day went by so fast but she enjoyed it quit a bit. She knew she would though she loved the work environment and the setting of her office, her co-workers seemed very nice, and the company in general seemed like a great place to work. When 5:00 Pm came she kind of dragged her feet to leave the office that is how much she enjoyed her job.

Finally she left the office she said goodbye to all of her co-workers and she said I will see you tomorrow. They acknowledge her and said the same thing to her. It was a 30 minute drive home but she didn't see herself getting home in that 30 minutes because traffic was backed up on the interstate. On her way home she continued to think about her job and her first assignment she was excited. When she got home at 6:00 PM the children had their chores done and their homework done thanks to Jackson who also made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner with garlic bread with cheese. Tija and Johnathon could not wait for their mom to get home they wanted to tell her and their dad all about their first day at school. They also wanted to hear about their mom and dad's first day at work. That was one thing their family actually did they ate dinner at the dinner table and talked about how their day went. Lori felt blessed by that because not very many families did that anymore. Most of her friends and their families in Wisconsin would go to different areas of their home and eat dinner separately from their family and they never discussed how their days went. Her family in Belarus use to do that every night when their dad would get home from work. She figured that is where she learned that family value from. Along with a few other family values that she learned from her family in Belarus.

While they were eating dinner the kids were bursting to share how their first day at school went so Jackson and Lori let them go first. So Tija went first she talked about her buddy that showed her around the campus it was a guy she said she thought he was cute and looked forward too seeing him the next day. She said he was very nice and he was a gentleman they ate lunch together with a few of his other friends. The two of them had all the same classes together in science they were suppose to look into a frogs reproductive system they talked about how the frogs reproductive system was different from the humane reproductive system and they were assigned lab partners and they were informed they were going to dissect a frog tomorrow in science. Lori's stomach sore of lurched from hearing that but she sucked it up and said good. Lori asked Tija are you paired with your buddy for the experiment tomorrow. Tija just blushed a little bit and she said to her mom yes we are. Lori asked Tija what other classes she had. Tija said I have homeroom first thing when school starts after that I go to reading, then after that I go to English, then science, then lunch and then World history, then Pr-algebra, then PE, then study hall then back to home room at the end of the day. Lori asked her which class she enjoyed the most besides lunch. Tija giggled a little bit and said I like my Science class the best then Lori teased her and said because of some certain cute boy, Tija smiled and said yeah. Then Tija brought up The Sadie Hawkins Dance coming up in a week she asked her mom if she could go. Mom and dad both said we have to think about it it depends on how well you do for the next two weeks in your classes. Tija said ok if I can go I am going to ask Michael if he wants to go with me, then Lori asked is Michael your buddy for the first week Tija said yes and a little color flashed across her cheeks again. Next Johnathon went he was so excited he was talking so fast no one could understand him and then Tija said slow down and take a breath no one can understand you. Johnathon did exactly that then proceeded to start over from the beginning. He said my buddy's name is Max we sat next to each other at our desks. Mrs. Thompson is my teachers name we learned about the Presidents of the US. We have a test on Friday about them and how they contributed to their presidency and the US. We did current events I thought that was really fun and very interesting. We reviewed our multiplication facts and learned about geometric shapes and talked about long division which I didn't understand very well. We started to read Fahrenheit 451 we have a short summary we have due about what we read by the end of the week and we are going to be tested on what we read about. We got to bring the book home and we were assigned reading sheets that have to be signed by either you or dad that we read for 30 minutes at home everyday. Lori asked did you already read for the day at home ? Johnathon said yes. We learned about conjunctions and contractions today in English and we got assigned a list of 20 spelling words we have to memorize for our spelling test on Friday. Jackson asked what did you have for lunch? Johnathon said cheeseburgers with fries and broccoli yuck and we had chocolate milk and a pudding cup for dessert mine was chocolate yummy. My day went by so fast today when we were ready to come home it seemed like my day barely began, Tija said mine too, Jackson and Lori agreed as well. So then Tija piped up said so mom how was your first day at your new job? Lori said my day went well we had four hours of orientation and training. Johnathon said four hours each? Lori said no four hours total two hours for orientation and two hours for training. Oh ok Johnathon said did you get a break between each one? Lori said yes I did. Jackson said did you get your first assignment yet? Lori said yes I did I have to build the Golden Gate Bridge for a private client I have to have it done in two weeks. Tija asked what did your office look like? Lori said it has 10 standing tables with memory foam mats on the tile floor and each one of us in the office has our own cubicle that we can decorate how we want it has a computer and a office chair. Johnathon asked what is a standing table aren't all tables standing? Lori giggled and said yes all tables do stand but this one is where we stand at it while we are working on our assignments. Johnathon said oh ok now I understand. Jackson asked Lori what does the office look like? Lori said the walls are painted a relaxing blue the tile is a dark blue and it is actually tile not the vinyl flooring tile like we have here. Tija asked did you make any friends yet mom? Lori said no not yet but my co-workers are very friendly. Johnathon asked is your office the only office in the whole building? Lori said no it has various different offices that deal with different projects and all the offices including mine have a wooden door that remains closed during the business hours. Tija asked can we come and see it one day? I don't know I have to talk to my boss about that but let's wait awhile for that to happen. Jackson asked what are the benefits like? The benefits are actually very nice but we don't get them until after our 90 day probation period. Tija asked do you get Vacation time? Lori said yes I do but I can't get it for awhile I have to work certain amount of hours to earn them, but it's a paid vacation when we do get it. Johnathon said awesome can you play games on your computer at work? Lori giggled a little bit and said no I can't it is strictly for doing research. Then Lori said to Jackson how did your first day of work go? Jackson my day wasn't quit as exciting as all of yours were but I did get a call from someone in Paris who needed help on their computer. Lori asked Jackson what are your work benefits? Jackson said like your mom I am on a 90 day probation period before my benefits will be in effect. I can get paid to go back to college to finish my degree though. That's awesome said Lori that will be good for you when can you do that after your 90 day probation period. Johnathon so did you make any new friends today at work? Jackson not quit yet it takes time for co-workers to get to know each other before they decide to be friends. Tija asked dad what does your office look like? Jackson said it has carpet throughout the office we have people that are called job coaches they help answer any questions you have about something you don't understand about the equipment or how to answer a customers question they help with that as well. Lori asked Jackson so are you going to take advantage of going back to school after your 90 days? Jackson said I am thinking about it. Tija and Johnathon said good for you dad you should do that for yourself you took care of us the whole time mom was going to school it's time for you to go back to school and get your degree. Johnathon asked what do you want to go back to school for? And why? Jackson giggled a little bit I want to go back to school so I can learn more about the IT business to get more money and so I can eventually work from home to continue taking care of my family like I have been doing. Johnathon said oh ok I understand now you want to work from home doing what you like. Jackson yes you are correct Johnathon. Tija said your job sounds like fun can we come to see your office? Jackson said yes but not quit yet. Johnathon asked do you have a cubicle like mom? Jackson said yes and we can decorate it any way we want to also. When dinner was finished everyone chipped in and helped clean up the dinner dishes and all.

The next day came the whole family did their normal routine. But when Lori got to work there was a new face in her office. She had strawberry blonde hair she looked to be about 36 years old she had a fair complexion. She seemed like she was frustrated because she couldn't get something from the place where we have all of our working materials. So Lori went over and introduced herself and asked if she could help? She said yes please could you help me to lift this piece of wood up so I can get to the board underneath? Lori said yeah sure not a problem. Is this your first day Lori asked? She said no I have been here about a week and half. Lori said good so what is the project do you have to do? The young lady replied I have to build a model of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. By the way my name is Kathleen and what is your again? Oh my name is Lori How do you do Kathleen? I am good Lori what project do you have to do? I have to do the Golden Gate Bridge. Kathleen said I thought the Eiffel Tower would be hard but you having to build The Golden Gate Bridge is quit a task. Lori said yes it is but I think it will be pretty fun to do. Lori said I am a history major what about you Kathleen? Kathleen said the same thing as you, with a minor in archaeology. What was your minor Lori? Lori said it was in family history. So where is your cubicle Kathleen? She pointed and said right there. It just happened to be the cubicle next to Lori. Lori said you are sitting right next to me. Kathleen said great where are you from I detect a bit of a Dutch accent. Lori said yes I am Dutch I'm from Belarus. I moved to the US in 2002 when I graduated High School. Kathleen asked do you have any children Lori? Lori said yes I do I have two children a boy and a girl. Kathleen said I have two sets of twins each from two different fathers. Lori said oh ok so you are single then? Yes I am I don't want to get married again I am happy with the way my life is right now. I love my four children they are a handful they were born two years apart. One set is 14 years old and the other set is 12 years old. I have three boys and one girl. Lori sad oh wow I bet they keep you busy. Kathleen said yes they do that is for sure. My first set of twins were a boy and a girl, my second set of twins were two identical twin boys. The two boys sometimes like to play pranks on me and act like they are the other brother. Lori Giggled do they ever try to change places in their classes? Yes they tried twice and the teacher didn't even know that it was the other twin. They both got what for from me when they got home because their big sister snitched on them. Lori giggled some more and asked what are their names? Kathleen said the oldest two are Lily and Mark and the Younger two are Johnathon and Jimmy. Lori said wow my youngest son's name is Johnathon and my oldest daughters name is Tija. Tija and Johnathon go to High Tower School in Phoenix. Johnathon is in sixth grade and Tija is in eighth grade. Wow my four go to the same school the older two are in eighth grade as well and the youngest two are also in sixth grade. Wow what are the youngest two teachers name? Kathleen said Mrs. Thompson wow that is who Johnathon has for a teacher. Kathleen asks so how long have you been working here? Lori said this is only my second day. Kathleen said so you are a newbie to the office. Lori said yes I am. Kathleen said well let me be the first to welcome you to Jerome and Thompson. Lori said thank you. Kathleen said your welcome she also said if you have any questions don't be afraid to ask me. Lori said thank you I will. Lori and Kathleen spent the day at work talking to each other it turned out they had the same break and lunch time. The day went by so fast again for Lori because she made a friend and they had a lot in common.

Tija went to homeroom like she is suppose to first thing in the morning. She saw two new faces in her homeroom they looked to be very close maybe even boyfriend and girlfriend. She went up to them and said hello my name is Tija what are your names? The girl said my name is Lily and this is my brother Mark. Tija said oh ok my name is Tija this is only my second day here how long have you two been here? We have been here about a week and half. Tija said oh ok do you two want to sit with me at lunch time? They both said we don't sit with newbies because they are weird. Tija said everyone is weird once in awhile. Lily said no we are never weird, Mark said but you are and we don't like you so buzz off. Tija went back to her desk a little upset at what Lily and Mark said to her. She said to herself because I'm new that doesn't make weird why would they say something like that to me that is mean. It turned out that Lily and Mark were in the same classes as Tija. Tija was upset at that then she asked herself what if they are mean like to me all day? Sure enough they were one point in time they both deliberately bumped into Tija and knocked all her books out of her hand. They said to her watch it newbie. Then they would laugh at her and they called her a weirdo. One class Mark was spitting spit balls into Tija's hair and when she looked back they pretended that nothing happened and said to her what are you looking at weirdo mind your own business. In another class they drew a picture of her as an alien wrote her name on it and it said weirdo go home. Then Tija felt tears welling up in her eyes because of that and asked to be excused to go to the restroom Lily and Mark saw her walk out of the classroom crying and she walked out they said quietly just enough for to hear oh poor baby weirdo going to cry home to mommy. Tija just ran out of there as fast as she could crying, frustrated and sad all at once. She was so embarrassed by the picture that Lily and Mark drew of her she didn't want to go back to the classroom but she knew she had to. By the end of the day she was so miserable she never wanted to go back to school. She hoped that her little brothers day was going better for him as well as her mom and dad's day.

It turned out Johnathon's day wasn't going any better then Tija's. During group discussion about current events Max and Johnathon were paired with Johnathon and Jimmy to start a group project
about the news. They all had to work together to make a collage of related things that have happened in the past as compared to what was going on now. When Johnathon was introduced to Johnathon and Jimmy by Max saying that they fairly new to the school as well. Jimmy would say to Johnathon give my brother back his name you can't have it because there can't be more than one Johnathon in this class. Jimmy said so lets change it to dorkus membrane. Max said that is mean Jimmy why would you say that? Johnathon is not what ever that is that you said. Jimmy said well brothers name is Johnathon the great ruler. That Johnathon is a nobody as far as we are concerned and then they laughed at Johnathon and Max. Mrs. Thompson heard that and told Johnathon and Jimmy if you can't say something nice don't say anything at all. Both Jimmy and Johnathon answered yeah yeah whatever you say Mrs. Thompson but they didn't mean a word of it. Max said to Johnathon just ignore Johnathon and Jimmy they have only been here for a week and a half and they got picked on now they're going to pick on you because they think its ok to do and they are trying to impress the others in the class. They think because they have been here longer than you they have the right to bully you around, but you watch they will regret that as they get to know you better. For homework in science they are suppose memorize all of the planets in the solar system and what there environment was if it was safe for humans and animals to live on. If not they needed to explain in a five paragraph paper why it was not habitable. They got sent home with a 10 question worksheet for homework it was due at the end of the week. Mrs. Thompson also said there would be a test on the planets on Friday so take your books home to study so you are ready for it and it will help you with your research on the planets. Lunch was after Science Max and Johnathon sat at the lunch table together and ate their lunch then they went outside and played on the jungle gym and challenged each other to see who could swing the highest on the swings. They pretended the swings were a space ship and they were going to fly to the moon together. Then Johnathon and Jimmy walked by and said hey dorkus membrane what are you trying to do on those swings. Max and Johnathon said together we are pretending the swings are space ships and we are trying to get to the moon. Jimmy to Max we have another dorkus membrane so we will call you dorkus membrane one and two and as Johnathon and Jimmy walked away they were chanting to each other dorkus membrane one and two and laughing. Max said to Johnathon awe who cares about what they say about us they are the dorkus membranes not us, Johnathon agreed about that with Max and they laughed at Jimmy and Johnathon when Jimmy and Johnathon were out of earshot of course. When lunch was over it was time for their English class Johnathon couldn't wait for it to start he thought English was interesting they went over the spelling words with the teacher then they broke up into groups of two to quiz each other on the spelling of the words and the meaning of the words. Johnathon and Max paired up with each other and Jimmy and Johnathon paired up with each other and sat at the table next to Johnathon and Max and chanting just loud enough for them to hear look its dorkus membrane one and dorkus membrane two. Johnathon was starting to get a little flustered at the comments that Jimmy and Johnathon were making about him and his friend and Mrs. Thompson saw that and told Jimmy and Johnathon to move to a different table they said fine we don't want to sit next to dorkus membrane one and two anyway the class chuckled at that an Mrs. Thompson bought the class back around to focus on the task at hand. Mrs. Thompson gave Jimmy and Johnathon a warning and said to them be nice. Then Max piped up and said I don't think they know how to be nice to other people. That made Jimmy and Johnathon mad and they said watch it Max or you will be sorry for that comment. Mrs. Thompson said to the class settle down now and finish your group assignments. Johnathon said to Max thanks for that and Max said not a problem Johnathon. Despite Johnathon and Max being bullied all day by Jimmy and Johnathon they had a good day. But Johnathon was a little apprehensive about the next day. He thought to himself what if one day Max was not there to stick up for me how bad would Jimmy and Johnathon bully me. That scared Johnathon quit a bit but he tried not to let it show for the rest of the day. By the end of the day Johnathon and Max had exchanged phone numbers and they were going to to talk to their parents about one or the other going to each others house.

Finally the end of the day came for Tija and Johnathon Jackson came and picked them up from school. Tija and Johnathon were very quiet on the drive home unlike yesterday after their first day of school they were chatter boxes. Jackson asked them how was school they both answered it was ok. Then Johnathon asks Jackson what is a dorkus membrane? Jackson said that's not even a word why?
Johnathon some boys were picking on me and Max they called us dorkus membrane one and two. Jackson said that is very hurtful and I am sorry that happened to you. How did that name make you feel Johnathon? Johnathon said it made me very sad and frustrated at the same time. I was also hurt when they said that to me and Max. Why did those boys call me and Max that mean name? Jackson said I do not know, did Mrs. Thompson say something to them about that word? Johnathon said yes she did but they didn't stop calling me and Max that name. What were their names? Johnathon said Jimmy and Johnathon they were brother's twins I think. Max said something to them which made me feel good. Jackson asked what did he say? Max said out loud in front of the class and the teacher I don't think Jimmy and Johnathon know how to be nice to anyone. Jackson said Max sounds like he's a very good friend to you. Johnathon said yes he is and I got his phone number and he has mine. I was wondering dad one day could Max come home after school with me? Or can I go home with him one day after school? Jackson said mom and I will have to talk about that and we will have to meet his parents and check with them to see if they are ok with that happening. Then Jackson asked Tija about her day. Tija said it was ok but there were these two kids that picked on me too at school. Jackson asked Tija what were there names? Tija said Lily and Mark they are twins too. Jackson asked what did they say to you? Tija said they told me I weird because I was new and they drew a picture of an alien put my name on it called me an alien and I was a weirdo and they passed it around the classroom for everyone to see. Jackson said I'm sorry that happened to you are they in all of your classes? Tija responded unfortunately yes dad they are. Jackson asked did your teacher see that? I don't know because after that I asked to be excused to use the restroom. Then on the way out to the restroom they said to me just loud enough for me to hear poor baby weirdo going to go cry to your mommy? Jackson asked Tija why did they say that? Tija said because I was starting to cry and I wanted to go to the restroom so no one would see me crying. Jackson said that is an understandable reaction to bullies like that Tija. Jackson said we can talk more about your days at school when mom gets home. Tija and Johnathon said at the same time ok dad. Jackson and the kids spent the rest of the time driving home in silence.

So finally the family were all together at home. Jackson made a Pot Roast for dinner. Jackson started the conversation off by saying Johnathon has a question he wants to ask both of us. Well he already asked me, but I said we need to talk about it before we answer the question. Lori said ok Johnathon so what do you want to ask? I have a friend his name is Max we exchanged phone numbers today and he and I wanted to know if one day after school if either I could go to his house or if he could come over here after school. Lori answered dad was right this is something we need to discuss, but if we do this before it can happen we need to meet his parents and schedule a time we can as a family go and see where they live and get to know them. Maybe they could come over here one night for dinner and we can talk then ok, but not right now we are still getting settled in our home. Let me or dad call them and we can talk then ok Johnathon, then Johnathon said ok mom. Jackson asked Lori how did your day at work go today? Lori said it went very well thank you I met a friend today her name is Kathleen she has four kids three boys and one girl. She got hired at my job a week an half ago so she was fairly new herself. We talked all day we had or lunches and breaks at the same time, our cubicles are next to each other so is our workstations. So talking to Kathleen my day went by really fast it was really nice. Then Lori asked Jackson how was your day at work today? Jackson said nothing magnificent happened today for me same stuff different day. Jackson said to Tija would you like to tell your mom about what happened to you today at school? Not really dad. Lori said was it a bad day? Tija said yes it was it was miserable for me today. Lori said I'm sorry what happened Tija? I got picked on by a brother and sister today at school to the point I was crying so bad I asked my teacher if I could be excused to use the restroom. Lori said oh honey I am so sorry what did they do to you? Well at first I went an introduced myself to them in my homeroom and I asked if they wanted to sit with at lunch then I asked them how long they have been coming to my school they said a week and a half. Then they asked me how about you? I told them this was only my second day. Then they answered no we don't want to because your weird. I said to them well everyone is weird at one point and time. They said no we are never weird. They told your the newbie so your a weirdo. Lori asked Tija what were their names? Tija said Lily and Mark. I just walked a way after that but I felt a little sad because I couldn't understand why they said I was weird because I'm a newbie. Lori said I am so sorry about that what else did they do to you? On time today they bumped into me on purpose and told me to watch out weirdo. In one of my other classes they started passing a note around in class when it got to me it said my name and it said I'm a weirdo and an alien. Then in another class mark sat two seats behind me and started to spit spit balls at and every time I looked back they just acted like they did nothing and then they would say to me mind your own business weirdo. Then I started t cry but before the class saw me crying I asked my teacher if I could be excused to go to the restroom and they just happen to be sitting in the back by the door and they said loud enough for me to hear only awe poor baby weirdo you going to go and cry to your mommy. That was it I ran out of the class in full tears I didn't want to go back to the class but I knew I had to. That is how my day went Tija said to her mom Johnathon didn't have any better of a day then I did. Lori said to Johnathon oh no I'm sorry do you want to talk about it? Johnathon started it was two brothers that were picking on me and Max. Lori said to Johnathon I am so sorry tell me what they did to you. Johnathon began he said when we were doing a group project me and Max got paired up with them one of the boy's name was Johnathon and the other one was named Jimmy Max introduced me to them and they found out my name was Johnathon too. Then Jimmy said give my brother back his name there is not enough room in this class for two Johnathon's and Jimmy said I need to change my name so he started calling me dorkus membrane instead by my name. Jimmy said his brother's name was Johnathon the great king and that is final. Lori asked what did Mrs. Thompson do she told them if they can't say anything then don't say anything at all. Jimmy and Johnathon responded yeah yeah we know but it was like what she said didn't matter to them. Then Max told me the reason they're picking on me is because they were new a week and a half ago and they got picked on by the other kids and they felt they had the right to do the same to me. Then we went to lunch and me and Max were swinging on the swings on the playground and they came by and asked us what we were doing and we were saying the swings were our spaceships and we were pretending they were flying us to the moon. Then Jimmy and Johnathon started calling us dorkus one and dorkus two. Then when lunch was over we were in English and we were suppose to pair up in groups of two to go over our spelling words and Jimmy and Johnathon sat at the table next to us and just loud enough for us to hear they said look its dorkus one and dorkus two and I was getting flustered about it and Mrs. Thompson saw that and told Jimmy and Johnathon to move to another table then they said loud enough for the whole class to hear they said that's ok we didn't want to sit next to dorkus membrane one and two the whole class laughed. The Mrs. Thompson told Jimmy and Johnathon to be nice and Max said out loud for the whole class to hear I don't think they know how to be nice to anyone. Then Jimmy and Johnathon said to Max watch out or else he was going to regret making that comment. Lori said to Johnathon I'm sorry you had a bad day as well maybe tomorrow will be better. Then Tija and Johnathon said together I doubt it but we will go to school tomorrow to find out.

After Tija and Johnathon went to bed Jackson and Lori decided to talk more about what the children experienced at school. Lori said to Jackson the kids that bullied Johnathon and Tija are Kathleens children the co-worker I met yesterday. Should I talk to their mom and see if she can say something to them. Jackson no that's not a good day because if you go to their mom it will make it worse at school for Tija and Johnathon especially after what the two older children said to Tija when she was leaving the classroom to go to the restroom. Lori said its' so hard to see that after they had such a good day yesterday to go to their second day being bullied by the two sets of twins. Jackson said what we should do is see if it continues and gets worse then we can talk to your friend at work first before we go to the principal or the vice principal. Jackson also said lets see how Tija and Johnathon handle it if they can, but I don't think its a good idea to interfere quit yet Lori. Lori said I suppose your right Jackson it's just I don't like seeing them this way granted it has only just started today hopefully it doesn't happen the rest of the week and it gets better for them. Jackson said so we are in agreement to see if this continues to happen before we step in and possibly make it worse for them at school, Lori said I agree with that plan of action. Jackson said to Lori perhaps you should invite Kathleen over and her kids for dinner one night because I would like to meet her and her kids. Lori said I can bring it up to Kathleen tomorrow at work, but is it really a good idea to do that considering what her kids are doing to Tija and Johnathon? Jackson well maybe your right, but we have to give it a shot and try and see if our children and her children can actually try to get along better at school. Lori said lets give it the week and see if we need to do that. Jackson said we need to see how they interact with each other in an environment other then the school environment to see if they can get along that way. Lori said I agree, but lets for a little bit before we do that. Jackson said ok that's fine we can do that, but I would still like to meet Kathleen. Maybe we could do a dinner out with just us and her. That sound's like a good plan how about this Friday? Lori said I can bring that up to her tomorrow and see what she says. If she does agree where would like to eat dinner at? Jackson said how about a Applebees nearby. Lori said do we know where the closets Applebees is? Jackson said we can look it up on google, Lori said that is a good idea. Jackson said ok I found one its about two blocks away from us. Lori said ok I will check with Kathleen tomorrow to see if that's a good one to meet at, what time would be good so I can tell her. Jackson said how about 7:30 PM that way it gives us time to get something for the kids for dinner and Tija can watch Johnathon while we go out to eat with Kathleen. Lori said I think that is a very good idea so tomorrow I will bring this up to Kathleen and I will let you know when I get home from work what she says. Jackson ok, right now it's getting late we need to go to bed so we can be fully functioning in the morning for Tija and Johnathon.

The next day came the family got up did their normal routines. Lori made breakfast burritos for everyone for breakfast from left overs from yesterday at breakfast time. Jackson went upstairs to finish getting ready for work and he left at 6:30 on the dot like usual. Then Tija and Johnathon finished their breakfast burritos and helped Lori to clean up the breakfast dishes and then they went went upstairs to finish getting ready for school then 7:00 AM came Tija and Johnathon were dragging their feet to get out the door because neither of them wanted to go to school because of the bullies. They were not looking forward to this day like they were on Monday and Tuesday. Lori said to Tija and Johnathon I understand you two don't want to go to school to deal with your bullies but you have no choice, but it has to be done. Tija and Johnathon said at the same time very angrily to Lori your not the one getting called names we are. We don't want to have to hear that its makes us feel sad and angry for it to be happening to us. Lori said I understand but facing bullies is a normal part of life, but not everyone at the school are bullies. It doesn't matter who it is or where it happens everyone has some sort of bullies in their life its just a part life. Tija and Jackson said at the same time well that stinks why can't everyone be nice? Lori said I do not know but Tija is Michael still your buddy? Yes he is Lori asked Tija is he a bully? No he isn't. Then Lori said just try to stick with him and listen to him as much as possible today don't focus on Lily and Mark bullying you make a good thing out of a bad situation. Lori asked Johnathon is Max still your buddy? Johnathon said yes he is. Lori asked Johnathon is he a bully? Johnathon said no he isn't. Lori said to Johnathon then just try to stick with him and when Johnathon and Jimmy come to bother you just walk away and try to ignore them. Listen to what Max says not to Jimmy and Johnathon. Tija and Johnathon said at the same time a lot less angrily ok we will try but we don't like the idea that we have to deal with them being mean to us. Lori said I know but all you can do is try to have a better day today then yesterday ok. Tija and Johnathon said ok at the same time and said we will try. Lori said now lets get going so that you two are not late for your third day of school. Tija and Johnathon said ok and got into the van so that Lori could get them to school on time. Tija and Johnathon got to school barely on time but they made it.

Lori was relieved that they got over that bump of Tija and Johnathon not wanting to go to school. Lori got home put the dishes away and went upstairs and started to get ready for work. She ran to the store to get some stuff for dinner so that Jackson could make it. Lori decided tonight would be a good night for steak and potatoes for everyone tonight. She left Jackson a note and fill him in on what happened this morning with Tija and Johnathon and then she headed to work.

Lori got to work at 8:45 AM which is 15 minutes before her shift she decided to go to the break room to see if there was any coffee made and there was she poured a cup and took it to her office to drink. She sat down at her cubicle to see if she could look up the original blue prints of the Golden Gate Bridge online there wasn't but there was an address online where she could go and get them. She noticed for the original blue prints of the Golden Gate Bridge would cost $50.00. Then Kathleen came into the office and sat next to Lori and they said hi to each other and started to talk about each of their projects. Lori said to Kathleen I have to go to City Hall to get the blue prints for the Golden Gate Bridge do you need anything? Kathleen said no but thank you for asking Lori. Lori said no problem. Then Lori said to Kathleen what are you doing this Friday? Kathleen said nothing why? My husband and I would like to invite you to come to dinner with us at Applebees would be interested in that? Kathleen said that would be great which one and what time? The Applebees is 2222 N 44th st. and we were thinking about 7:30 PM does that sound good to you Kathleen? Kathleen said that is great I will see you there. Lori said good I will let my husband know tonight when I get home. Kathleen said to Lori wait a minute may I have your phone number? Lori said sure are you ready for it? Kathleen said yes I am. Lori said my number is 602-555-6789 did you get that? Yes I did. Lori asked Kathleen what is your phone number? Kathleen said are you ready? Lori said yes. Kathleen said my number is 602- 434-5900 did you get that Lori? Lori said yes I did and maybe someday we can go out for some drinks after work together does that sound good Kathleen? Kathleen said that sounds great. Then Lori said well I better go and get those blue prints from City Hall. Kathleen said that is a good idea I will see you when you get back. Lori said ok see you soon.

It was a 20 minute drive to City Hall and it took another 20 minutes to get to the right department to get those blue prints. The City Hall worker had to get into the California Archives to get the blue prints and then she printed them up it wasn't a very clear picture of the blue prints but it will work Lori said. The City Hall worker apologized and said to Lori I hope the rest of your day goes well. Lori said thank you and the same to you mam. The City Hall worker said thank you and Lori left she got back to the office about 11:00 AM and she saw Kathleen working on her project at her standing workstation. Lori caught Kathleen by surprise when she said I'm back do you want to go to INN and OUT burger for lunch with me? Kathleen said sure and we can either eat there or come back and eat in the break room which would you like to do? Lori said maybe we should come back here and eat in the break room. Kathleen said ok and I'm buying for you Lori. Lori said you don't have to do that Kathleen. Kathleen said I insist Lori. Lori said ok thank you that is very sweet of you. Kathleen said no problem Lori.

12:30 PM came and Lori asked Kathleen are you ready to go? Kathleen said 12:30 PM already wow ok lets go. Lori drove to IN and Out Burger they ordered their food it took about 10 minutes to get their food thank goodness work was across the street from work. They got their food and went back to work and ate in the break room and talked about their kids and how school was going for them. Lori didn't want to let anything go about her kids being bullies to Tija and Johnathon until the time was right. Next thing they know it's 10mnutes to 1:00 Pm and their lunch break was over. They headed back to their office talking the whole way there talking about how Lori's husband couldn't wait to meet Kathleen. Kathleen felt the same way then Kathleen brought up one day your whole family should come over to my place so I can cook you all dinner and our kids can hang out with each other. Lori said maybe someday, but I have to talk to Jackson and the kids about that first. Kathleen said ok let me know when you want to do that. Lori said I will let you know when it's a good time for us to come over and do that. Kathleen said that sounds good.

Tija's day started out in her homeroom she hoped that Lily and Mark were not there. That wasn't the case though they were day but so was Michael so she decide to take her mom's advice and just focus on what Michael had to say not Lily and Mark. That was easier said then done though they chanted the newbie is a weirdo continuously loud enough for her to hear only. She tried even harder to ignore them. Michael noticed she was getting frustrated and he asked her are you ok Tija? She said no but I will try harder to be ok. He asked her what was going on and she told Michael about what Lily and Mark have been doing to her since yesterday and how they made her cry yesterday in last period. Michael said to Tija that's not cool that is really mean to do that and they are doing that today too. Tija said yes they are and I'm trying my hardest to not let it bother me, but it's not working very well as you can see. At lunch let's brainstorm about how we can get them to stop doing that to you. Tija said that would be nice because I don't want them to drive me to tears again like they did yesterday. Michael said I don't blame you because that would make them pick on you some more. Tija said yes I know so I think it's a good idea we try and figure out what we can do to stop them. Michael helped Tija through the rest of the classes up to lunch to ignore Lily and Mark. It was difficult but he managed to help.

Finally lunch came for everyone at High Tower School. Tija and Michael went of to a table away from everybody including Lily and Mark. They did exactly what they talked about in homeroom they brainstormed about what to do. One idea Michael came up with was turn it back around on them. Tija that it was a good idea but then she thought what if they tease her more by turning back around on her. Michael said second thought maybe not because you are right it could make them tease you worse then what they are doing to you now. Tija said so what else could we do? Michael said you could tell the principal or the vice principal and they could set up a meeting with their parents to see if that resolves the issue. Tija said and have them call me a snitch on top of what they are doing already no thank you. Michael said good point so that idea isn't going to work what else do we have? Michael said what about your parents and they can say something to the principal or the vice principal. Tija said I already told them, but they want me to try and work it out on my own they don't want to make things worse for me either. Michael said good point you can always stand up to them and tell them to stop doing that. Tija said I could but what if they don't listen to me and tease me some more. Michael said you can always fight them. Tija said it would be two against one that wouldn't be fair and I could get into trouble with my parents I don't want to go that route either. Michael said true and that could get you suspended from school and that wouldn't go over well with your parents either. Tija said no it won't so we have to come up with another idea. Next thing they knew lunch was over for everyone. The last few classes went by well because Tija focused on Michael and Michael only. Next thing Tija knew the she knew the day was over.

Johnathon's day started with his Reading class Mrs. Thompson checked off their reading sheet to confirm the student's did their reading time at home. Then they did a group discussion on what they read the night before and what they thought was interesting and what was not interesting about what they read. She reminded the students they have a report due Friday on what they have read at home. Mrs. Thompson said that the students you should have the first five chapters read by Friday and the report needs to be on those first five chapters. It has to be a five paragraph report one for each chapter. So far Jimmy and Johnathon have left Johnathon and Max alone today but its only the beginning of the day. Johnathon dreaded how the rest of the day would go. Then Mrs. Thompson assigned the next assignment due next week. She also went over what was due on Friday in Reading. Then after Reading they transitioned into Math which was a hard subject for Johnathon to understand. In math they discussed the assignment they had to do last night Mrs. Thompson went over the answers with the students. Johnathon understood the multiplication facts but he didn't understand how to do the long division part. So he asked Mrs. Thompson to go over the steps of long division one more time so he could see what he did wrong. Then it started Jimmy was sitting on the other side of Johnathon and he said loud enough for Johnathon to hear does dorkus membrane one need to be in a special math class for dummies then he giggled. Johnathon turned red because he was embarrassed at what Jimmy said to him. Max sat on one side of Johnathon and Jimmy sat on the other side of him and the other Johnathon sat next to his brother. Johnathon said to himself I knew it was to good to be true he thought he would make it through the day without being picked on by Jimmy and Johnathon he was wrong. So the rest of math Johnathon was quiet because he didn't want Jimmy or Johnathon to have more of a reason to pick on him. Max noticed that because Johnathon was always asking questions in math about how to do things and he usually asked Mrs. Thompson more than once to explain something so he could Understand the work. The next class they transitioned into the next class which was Social Studies they were specifically focusing on the presidents and what they were well known for in their contribution to the Government and the US. Then Mrs. Thompson asked what they thought of President Trump and what he has done? Johnathon said to Mrs. Thompson I think President Trump is the worst president we have had. Mrs. Thompson said ok does anyone else in the class share that sentiment? Max raised his hand and a couple of other students. Mrs. Thompson said ok Johnathon why do you say that? Well I think it was stupid for him to cut the budget on things such as Art Programs and Sport Programs. We need those things as a way to express our feelings in what is going on with us. Mrs. Thompson said to the class does anyone else feel that way as well? Jimmy said to Johnathon while Mrs. Thompson addressed the class and called Johnathon a big baby for feeling that way, but of course no one else heard that except Johnathon. Then Mrs. Thompson said ok who feels in the class that President Trump has contributed a lot to the Government and the US? Of course Jimmy and Johnathon raised their hands about that topic. Johnathon was not a bit surprised by that. Mrs. Thompson then said to the class how many of you agree that he is a good president not very many raised their hands on that one. Mrs. Thompson said to Jimmy so Jimmy why do you think President Trump has been good for the US Government? Jimmy said well he ended the war between North Korea and South Korea it was good they joined forces instead of fighting each other. Johnathon said I like that he is working with Russia to deal with trying to get ride of all the nuclear bombs all over the world. Mrs. Thompson said does anyone else have something to add? No one else raised their hands. Then Mrs. Thompson said to the class how many of you are undecided on how you feel about President Trump? The rest of the class that didn't raise their hands for the other two questions. After Social Studies was PE so they transitioned into that they met at the school Gym they were playing Dodge Ball today in PE. Johnathon thought to himself oh great Jimmy Johnathon will be using me as target practice and they throw really hard. They were broken up into two teams of 10 students Johnathon and Max were picked for the same team. Jimmy and Johnathon were picked for the other team. Johnathon was not looking forward to playing dodge ball on opposing teams from Jimmy and Johnathon. Sure enough as Johnathon thought Jimmy and Johnathon were targeting him and Max. Every chance they got they would try to tag them out they missed most of the time but when they threw the ball and it hit one of them they would throw as hard as they could to hit them. By the time PE was over they had all all sorts of red marks on their arms and legs and they were hurting. Jimmy and Johnathon called Max and Johnathon a couple of wusses for complaining that they were hurting. Jimmy and Johnathon said that's the way the game is played whether you like it or not. Jimmy and Johnathon walked away laughing and sneering at Max and Johnathon. That mainly upset Johnathon, but Max said don't worry about them we will get them next time Johnathon. They went into the locker room and changed out of their PE clothes. Jimmy and Johnathon thought it would be funny to hide Johnathon's shoes and socks he eventually found them with Max's help. The next thing they had was lunch and recess Max and Johnathon as usual sat at their normal table. They talked about the upcoming Science Fair and they can pair up with anyone they want to in the class. Johnathon asked Max to be his partner and Max said that will be fine. The discussed with each other different things they could do for the Science Fair. Johnathon suggested how about we make a model of how the planets rotate around the sun and how they have different environments on them. Max said that sounds like a good idea but where would we be able to build that at? Johnathon said I can talk to my mom and she might be able to help us a little bit she builds historical models for different companies. Max asked did you talk to your parents about one or the other being able to go their home after school? Johnathon said yes I did, but they said they need to meet your parents before that could happen. Max said that is what my mom said as well they need to meet your parents. Let's see if we can set something up so they could meet each other. Max said ok what day do we want that to happen? Johnathon said how about this Saturday? Max said sounds good see if you can have your parents call my mom to see if she is ok with that. Johnathon said ok I will talk to my parents when I get home. Max asked are you ready to go outside? Johnathon said yeah what do we want to do? Max suggested how about we pretend the jungle gym is a fort and only certain people can be in it? Johnathon said ok let's go and do that. They got outside and went straight to the Jungle gym and started to play next thing they knew Jimmy and Johnathon came by and said to them so dorkus membrane one and two what are doing today. Are you pretending the jungle gym is a space ship and you're flying to the moon again? Johnathon said no the jungle gym is our fort and you two are not allowed in because you are mean to us. Jimmy said to Johnathon don't you know we are the kings of the playground and we own it and we can go wherever we want to go? Max said we don't care you are not invited to play in our fort. Then Jimmy and Johnathon said it doesn't matter you two tainted the jungle gym as soon as you climbed so we don't want your germs dorkus membrane one and two and they walked away laughing at Max and Johnathon. Then lunch and recess ended it was time for English Max and Johnathon knew that there was going to be a group discussion in the class about the spelling words so they pushed their desks together. Mrs. Thompson ok so let's pair up to go over our spelling words for a bit. Then we will start on what is an Adjective and what is plural words and nouns. Then I will give you all a mini spelling test to make sure you have been studying your spelling words. Johnathon asked Mrs. Thompson what is a adjective? Mrs Thompson said it is a descriptive word to help bring out the fine details of a story. Johnathon said oh ok thank you for clearing that up for me. Jimmy and Johnathon laughed at Johnathon and said look the dummy can't understand what descriptive words are. Mrs. Thompson said to Jimmy and Johnathon do you two know what they are?
They said yes, then Mrs. Thompson said to them name one. They thought to their selves for a minute and they both said at the same time we can't think of one right now. Then Mrs. Thompson said to them then perhaps you should let me teach the class about them without any further comments from you two. Johnathon and Max giggled a little bit. Jimmy and Johnathon said shut up dummy. Mrs. Thompson said ok let's focus on our spelling words and their definitions make sure and write them down don't forget to use your dictionaries to look them up. Mrs. Thompson please break into groups of two quiz each other on the proper spelling of the words and work together to find the words definitions in your dictionaries. After Johnathon and Max did their spelling words they quizzed each other on how to spell them properly. Johnathon got eight of the 10 words correct. Max only got five of the 10 word correctly. Then at the end of the class Mrs. Thompson gave them the practice test and they both passed the practice spelling test. Jimmy and Johnathon didn't because they didn't study the words all they did was talk to each other. Mrs. Thompson said to Jimmy and Johnathon hopefully you learned from this and actually study your spelling words to pass the test on Friday Jimmy and Johnathon said whatever you say. Max and Johnathon said to each other quietly they won't because their to busy finding ways to pick on us, Johnathon giggled a little bit and said yeah I know. Then the class went to music class with Mrs. Wilco they were learning how to read music notes and her class was kind of like a Choir class the class would practice different songs they learn. Mrs. Wilco talked about how in two months there is a pep-rally with the whole school where we will perform on stage with the older students choir first we would perform a couple of songs with the middle school students then after that a couple of songs with the high school students. That made Max and Johnathon a little nervous they have never performed on the stage of the school let alone any of the older students. Mrs. Wilco said don't worry I will be sending the songs home for all of you to practice at home and we will practice here in the classroom, but first we need to learn how to read the sheet music properly. Mrs. Wilco said if any of you want to play an instrument at the pep-rally get with me after class and we will discuss it and if you have your own instrument that you want to play at the pep-rally also get with me after class and we will discuss it ok. Max and Johnathon partnered up to go over the sheet music and the notes together and they talked as well music class went by so fast. Then they transitioned into their last class from music to Science any way their last class before the end of the day discussion group class where we discuss all the days homework assignments for all the classes. When science started Mrs. Thompson discussed the Science Fair at the end of the month and what science projects were acceptable to do which ones were not acceptable to do. One of the acceptable projects was about the Solar System Max and Johnathon asked if they could do that one for their Science Fair Project? Mrs. Thompson said yes that is fine. She said you need to construct a hypothesis on your project first. Max and Johnathon asked what is a hypothesis? Mrs. Thompson said it is basically what your project is about. What do you expect the outcome of the project to be, and you need to talk about the steps you are going to take to get the ending result you want. Max and Johnathon said oh ok thank you Mrs. Thompson. Mrs. Thompson asked the class is their anymore questions about the Science Fair Projects? No one else raised their hands, so Mrs. Thompson moved forward and said ok you need to break up into groups of two to discuss which planets are gaseous and which ones are not and then pick one of the planets to write about make sure you use the encyclopedias and no more then 15 minutes on the computers doing your research and this assignment is due the end of class today. There was only four computers in the classroom and the students had to sign up to use them. Max and Johnathon signed up for one computer and Jimmy and Johnathon signed up for another computer and it happen to be at the same time and the computers were next to each other. The whole time that Max and Johnathon were on the computer Jimmy and Johnathon so what are dorkus membrane one and two going to do and Jimmy and Johnathon would bump Max and Johnathon or mess with their research page by messing with their mouse and the computer words they would put in and as usual when the teacher would look over they would act like they were doing nothing to Max and Johnathon's research pages. They decided to do a report on Pluto. Max decided he will take the notes on what they learned and Johnathon would write it with the help of Max of course. At the end of the class Max and Johnathon read their report and research out loud in front of the whole class. Everyone had to do that not just them. Max and Johnathon were the second to the last pair to read what they found, the whole time they were up front doing the presentation Jimmy and Johnathon would laugh at them like they were joking, but Max and Johnathon got a B+ on their presentation. The last two to do their presentation was Jimmy and Johnathon and they did their report on Uranus you could tell that didn't take it serious and they got a D- on their report they were not happy. The end of the day finally came they discussed the days assignments and they went over what was do Friday and what test were going to be due. Johnathon said ok as long as my sister isn't on the phone with her latest crush in school Michael. Max gigged a little bit and said ok.


Jackson picked up Johnathon and Tija from school and he asked them how was your day today at school was it any better then yesterday? They both said at the same time no it was not much better. Jackson said oh I am sorry about that what happened today Johnathon? Johnathon said to Jackson Jimmy and Johnathon still picked on me and Max today. Jackson asked Johnathon what happened this time? Johnathon said today in Math I asked Mrs. Thompson to explain to me better how to do long division she did of course, but Jimmy said does the dummy need to be in a special class to understand long division better? I ignored him, but it failed the comment still got to me. Jackson asked Johnathon did you respond to it? Johnathon said no, but I didn't ask any more questions for the rest of Math class. I wanted to, but I was afraid to because I didn't want Jimmy to tease me some more. Jackson said to Johnathon that was a good idea to not respond to the comment while your in class. Jackson asked did Mrs. Thompson hear the comment? Johnathon said no she didn't because he only said it loud enough for me to hear. Jackson said to Johnathon oh I'm sorry that happened to you today though. Jackson asked Johnathon so What else happened with Jimmy and Johnathon today? At lunch recess Max and I made a fort out of the jungle gym. Jimmy and Johnathon asked me and Max if we were pretending the jungle gym was a spaceship again? Me and Max said no we are pretending it's a fort today and you two are not allowed in because your mean to us. Jimmy and Johnathon said to us we can go anywhere we want to and you can't stop us. Me and Max said we don't care you two are not invited in. Then Jimmy and Johnathon said to us it's ok you two contaminated it as soon as you two climbed on it so we don't want your germs. Jackson asked Johnathon don't you think that was a bit mean what you and Max did Johnathon? Johnathon said no why should we be nice to them when they aren't nice to us. Jackson sait to Johnathon I understand why you would want to do something like that, but Johnathon two wrongs don't make a right. Johnathon said to Jackson I don't care I don't like them because they are mean to me and my friend. Jackson asked Johnathon so what else happened with them at school? Johnathon said to Jackson no nothing else happened for the rest of the day to me and Max because of them. Jackson said to Johnathon well that is good Johnathon maybe tomorrow will be a better. Jackson asked Tija how did your day go at school today? I got picked on too, but not as bad though. Michael helped me to refocus on him instead of Lily and Mark. Jackson said to Tija well that is good I'm glad to hear that they didn't pick on you as much or at least it didn't bother you as much. Jackson asked Tija so what did Lily and Mark do to you today? Tija said to Jackson they just spent the day chanting the newbie is a weirdo, but only loud enough for me to hear. It made me very frustrated and Michael noticed that and he asked me what is going on? I told him about how Lily and mark have been picking on me all day and chanting the newbie is a weirdo every chance they got yesterday and today. Jackson asked Tija what did Michael do? He suggested tat at lunch we have a brainstorm session on how to get them to stop on how we meaning what Michael and I can do to get them to stop bullying me. Jackson asked Tija so how did that go? Tija said it went pretty good. Jackson asked Tija so what ideas did you two come up with? Tija said a few, but none that wouldn't expose me to more bullying or in trouble. Jackson asked Tija like what? Tija said one was to turn it around on them, another was tell the principal or the vice-principal, another one was have you and mom talk to their parents and try to solve it that way, and the final on was fight them. Jackson said to Tija those all sound like they would work, but like you said they might bully you more or get you in trouble. Jackson asked Tija did you two come up with any other ideas? Tija said no not yet, I wish we could have come up with more ideas. Jackson said to Tija we cam talk more about it when mom gets home and we can see if we can come up with more ideas that might help you to resolve your situation. Tija said to Jackson ok dad I hope we can come up with more ideas then what Michael and I did. Jackson said to Tija we can try, but that is all I can say is we can try.

They finally got home, Tija and Johnathon did their chores then they did their homework. Johnathon asked Jackson can I call Max before dinner? We have to discuss our Science Fair Project that is due at the end of the month. Jackson asked Johnathon are your chores done? Johnathon said yes then Jackson asked Johnathon is your homework done? Johnathon said yes it is. Then Johnathon asked Jackson could we meet Max's parents this Saturday? Jackson said to Johnathon let me talk to mom at dinner time. Johnathon said ok dad. Jackson as Johnathon so what is yours and Max's Science project going to be about? Johnathon said we are going to talk about the different planets in our Solar System and which ones are able to be lived on and which was are not able to be lived on. Then we are going to do our hypothesis on what would happen if we did live on one of these planets that are not livable. Jackson asked Johnathon so which one of the planets are you two going to be focusing on? Johnathon said to Jackson I don't know yet that is why I need to call Max. Jackson said go ahead and call Max, but don't be long because dinner is going to be ready soon. Mom will also be home from work soon. Johnathon said to Jackson ok dad I will do my best to not be on the phone with Max long.

Lori was just finishing up what she started on her project. She set a goal to start on her project of building the Golden gate Bridge Model by Friday. To make sure it is completed by next Friday when it is due. She clocked out at 5:00 PM exactly and headed home as usual the interstate was bumper to bumper traffic which was expected because rush hour had just begun. So she knew it would take her 30 minutes to get home would take her an hour in half to get home. The funny is that it only takes her 25 to 45 minutes to get to work. Then her mind started to wander a bit she was wondering if Tija and Johnathon's day went better today at school then it went yesterday. She remembered how upset the kids were this morning and how they didn't want to go to school. She was excited to tell Jackson that Kathleen agreed to have dinner with them this Friday. She wished the kids could come to Kathleen's and hers as well, but right she knew it was not a good idea to do because Kathleen's kids were bullying her kids at school. Lori decided that on the way home she would stop and get Ice Cream for the whole family to eat after dinner. Lori got to a store and she couldn't make up her mind what flavors of Ice Cream to get for her family so she got individual Ice Cream Pints. She remembered Tija liked Chocolate so she found Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie, she remembered Johnathon liked Cherry Ice Cream so she looked and found Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia, she remembered Jackson liked Neapolitan she looked for it in Ben and Jerry's and she didn't find it so she looked for it in Bryers and she found it, and Lori liked her Italian Ice her favorite flavor was Banana but that didn't make in the pint size so she got it in regular size, but she remembered Tija likes Italian Ice the Banana Flavor as well so she could share it with Tija.

Lori got home at 6:30 PM Tija and Johnathon were just setting the dinner table and Jackson was getting ready to serve dinner. Jackson asked Lori what took you so long to get home tonight? Lori said to Jackson I stopped off at Walmart and got some pint size Ice Cream for everyone to eat as dessert after dinner tonight. Jackson said to Lori the kids will love you for that. Tija and Johnathon said to Lori at the same time thank you mom. Lori said to them your welcome kids. Then Lori asked Jackson what is for dinner tonight? Jackson said I made Tuna Casserole, baked potatoes, and broccoli with cheddar cheese. Johnathon said to Lori and Jackson yuck I hate broccoli do I have to eat it? Lori said yes you do it tastes good with cheddar cheese melted on it. You will never know until you try it you might surprise yourself and enjoy it. Johnathon said to Lori ok mom I will try it. Tija said to Johnathon trust me you will love it I know because I do. Then Johnathon said to Tija awe your just my big sister what do you know about what I like and what I wouldn't like. Tija said to Johnathon your right, but trust me you'll like. Johnathon said to Tija I don't want to trust you, but I will trust mom. Tija said to Johnathon what ever you say it's no skin off of my back on what you think. Lori intervened on the conversation before it turned into an argument between the two of them. Lori asked Tija how was your day at school today? Was your day any better then it was yesterday? Tija said it was an ok day at school today, but it wasn't any better then yesterday Lily and Mark still picked on me. Lori asked Tija did you focusing more on Michael today then what Lily and Mark said to you? Tija said yes it did, but it was still hard. Lori said ti Tija I'm glade you took my advice and it sort of worked for you. Lori asked Johnathon how did your day go today at school? Did focusing on Max more help you to not let Jimmy and Johnathon bully you? Johnathon said to Lori it was a little better for me as well, but Jimmy and Johnathon still found other ways to pick on me and Max. Lori said to Tija and Johnathon at the same time maybe tomorrow will be better for you two. Friday is coming up really quick do you two have all your homework ready that is due this Friday? Tija and Johnathon said at the same time it is almost done. Lori said to the both of them good I'm glade. Johnathon said to Lori I am a little bit my math test and my Social Studies test, but I am excited about my spelling test, my science paper, and my reading assignment, but I am confident I will do well on them. Lori said to Johnathon good for you I'm looking forward to hearing how well you did on those. Johnathon said to Lori mom I already talked to dad about this and he said he has to talk to you. I was wondering could we meet Max's parents this Saturday? See me and Max are working on an Science Fair Project together that is due at the end of the month. We need to be able to work on it at school and at home so that means sometimes after school we need to be able to meet at each others house after school, and you and dad said to me that you have to meet his parents before you will let it happen and his parents said the same thing. So I was wondering if we could go over to his house on Saturday so that everyone can meet each other. Do you think we could make that happen mom? I already have his phone number and he has mine we could call them and set it up. Lori asked Jackson what do you think? Can we make it happen this Saturday? Jackson said to Lori I don't think it will be a problem. Jackson said to Johnathon go ahead and give either me or your mom Maxes phone number and we can call them after dinner. Johnathon said to Jackson that will be great I will go get it now. Lori said to Johnathon you are not excused from the table yet. You need to finish all of your dinner including the broccoli then we can do it. Johnathon said to Lori oh ok mom I will. Then Jackson asked Lori how was work for you today? Lori said to Jackson it was really good, I talked to Kathleen about meeting her for dinner at Apple bees this Friday and she said that is fine. Jackson said to Lori that would be great. Tija and Johnathon chimed in at the same time and asked can we go to? Lori said no this Friday is an adult only night. So Tija I need you to babysit Johnathon on Friday. Lori said to Tija dad and I will pick something up for dinner for you two that night. Tija and Johnathon chimed in at the same time can we have Chinese Food that night? Lori and Jackson said at the same time that will be fine. Lori said I will pick it up for you two on Friday on my way home from work on Friday. Tija and Johnathon said YEAH at the same time. Jackson said you two will still have to do your chores and any homework you have to do on Friday when you get home. Lori said to them and make sure you two are in bed by 10:00 PM just in case dad and I are not home to remind you. Tija and Johnathon said at the same time ok mom. Jackson said to Tija you will be in charge on Friday, but don't let it go to your head like you have done in the past. Tija said to Jackson ok dad I won't. Lori said to Tija and Johnathon no scary movies please. Tija said to Lori ok mom. Then Tija asked Lori how was your day at work today mom? Thank you for asking me Tija it went quit well I started to get what I need to start building my model of The Golden Gate Bridge, I hope by Friday I will be able to start building it. Tija asked Lori when is it due again mom? Lori said it will be due by next Friday. Tija said to Lori that is great mom. Then Johnathon asked Lori is Kathleen your friend from work? Lori said yes she is and we seem to get along very well. Johnathon said to Lori that is great mom just like me and Max get along. Lori said to Johnathon yes Kathleen and I get along just like you and Max do. Johnathon said to Lori I like friends like that they are nice and they don't tease you or pick on you. Lori said to Johnathon those type of friends are the best to have. Johnathon said to Lori yes they are mom. Then Johnathon asked Jackson how was your day at work today dad? Jackson said to Johnathon it went very well thank you for asking. Tija asked Jackson so did you make any new friends at work yet dad? Jackson said to Tija no not yet. Jackson said to Lori Tija and Johnathon still got picked on today at school. They want to know if we have any ideas about how we can help them with their bully situation. Lori said to Tija and Johnathon let's brainstorm about what positive ways we could deal with your bully situation without making it worse for the two of you. I think you two should continue to do what you are doing already Lori said. Tija said to Lori, but it still doesn't stop them from picking on us for me at least it doesn't work, but I am not sure if it works for Johnathon and Max. Tija said to Lori I'm starting to get very frustrated at them everyday and it makes me feel worse. Yes focusing on Michael helps a little, but what if one day he is not there. What do I do then? Lori said to Tija with that situation try to focus on something positive that is happening that day so that Lily and Mark don't get to you. Tija said to Lori, but its easier said then done mom. Jackson said to Tija if the teasing gets really bad you have to tell your homeroom teacher or the Principal or the Vice Principal, but only as a last resort, but let's hope it doesn't come down to that. Tija asked Jackson But won't that make them bully me some more dad? Jackson said to Tija yes that is a possibility, but if gets to bad you have to tell someone or stick up for yourself somehow to Lily and Mark. As hard as that may be you just might have do that. I know you don't want to be called a snitch, but sometimes you have to take the good and the bad at the same time. Then Jackson said to Lori what do you suggest for Tija? Lori said to Tija I agree with your dad on what he said, but let's hope you don't have to tell somebody about it. Johnathon asked Tija don't middle schoolers have counselor or something like that so they can talk to them before it goes to the principal or the vice-principal? Lori said to Tija Johnathon has a good idea can you talk to your counselor about what is going on with you at school with Lily and Mark? Tija said to Johnathon that is a good idea I forgot I was assigned a counselor when I started on Monday. Johnathon said to Tija thank you I manage to have a few good ideas once in awhile. Then Johnathon asked Lori and Jackson do you have any ideas for me and Max? Tija said to Johnathon have you ever though about telling Mrs. Thompson at the end of the school day so that Jimmy and Johnathon don't know? Johnathon said to Tija me and Max have thought about that, but like you we don't want to be called snitches and give them more of a reason to pick on us. Tija said to Johnathon I understand, but like mom and dad said it has to be done if it gets to bad. Jackson said to Johnathon like what mom said sometimes you have to take the good with the bad. Johnathon said to Jackson I know, but I was hoping there was some other ideas then telling someone about what Jimmy and Johnathon are doing to me and Max. Lori said to Johnathon you two could always stick up for yourselves or even each other. Johnathon asked Lori, but what if there is one day Max isn't at school and I freeze up when they start picking on me what do I do then? Lori said to Johnathon that is something you have to figure out for yourself. Johnathon said to Lori, but I'm also scared of them possibly beating me up one day when Max is not there. Jackson said to Johnathon that is when you tell your teacher or the playground aide. That is a perfect example of something you have to inform someone about. Tija said to Johnathon before that happens try and walk away from them or even try to talk to them, but only if you can. Johnathon said to Tija you should take your own advice sis trying talking to Lily and Mark or even walk away from them when they start bullying you. Tija said to Johnathon you have a point little brother, but I agree I don't think it will work though, but I will try that.

When dinner was done everyone cleaned up after their selves. Johnathon went and got Max's phone
number form his notebook to give to Lori and Jackson so they could call his parents to set a time to meet on Saturday. Lori called Max's home number and Max answered the phone Max said hello this is the Lakewood home my name is Max may I ask who this is calling Please? Lori said hi Max this is Johnathon's mom can I speak to either your mom or your dad please? Max said yes Mrs. Buchanan I will get my mom her name is Lynda. Lori said ok thank you Max. Max shouted to his mom Johnathon's mom is on the phone she wants to talk to you. Lynda said to Max tell her I will be there in a minute Max said ok mom. Mrs. Buchanan my mom will be here in a moment she is cleaning up the dinner dishes. Lori said to Max ok thank you. Lynda said to Max go get your homework finished so you can ready for bed. Max said ok mom.

Lynda said hello Mrs. Buchanan how are you doing? Lori said I'm good and how about you Mrs. Lakewood? Lynda said I'm doing well and please call me Lynda. Lori said to Lynda please call me Lori. Lynda said nice to meet you Lori. Lori said to Lynda same to you Lynda. Lori said to Lynda the reason my Husband and I are calling you is so we can possibly meet you and your husband this Saturday. Apparently the boys are working on a Science Fair Project that is due at the end of the month and they would like to be able to go to each others houses after school to work on it together. Lynda said to Lori that is what Max was saying and I don't have a husband he passed away a couple of years ago so it's just Max and I. Lori said I'm sorry to hear that you have our condolences. Lynda said to Lori Thank you very much Lori. Now Max was suggesting this Saturday? Lori said yes so was Johnathon. Lynda said to Lori would you and your family like to come over here on Saturday for dinner? Lori asked Jackson if that would be ok? Jackson said yes that is fine. Lori then said to Lynda that will be fine. What time? Lynda said how about 6:30 PM? Lori asked Jackson she wants to know if 6:30 Pm would be good? Jackson said to Lori that will be fine. Lori said to Lynda that would be great. What is your address Lynda? Lynda said to Lori it 3535 E Thomas rd. apt. 1015 its downstairs call me when you get here and I will give you directions as how to find our apartment number. Lori said that is fine we will do that. Lori said to Lynda I also have a daughter her Name is Tija she also goes to High Tower school she is in eighth grade and she is 14 years old. Lynda said ok I have internet so if she gets bored she can use it. Lynda said to Lori Max is an only child. I'm so glade that Johnathon and Max hit it off as friends so well and become such good friends. Lori said to Lynda I agree and like you said they have hit it off quit well. Max asked Lynda can I talk to Johnathon tonight about our Science Fair Project? Lynda said no not tonight it's getting late and you need to finish getting ready for bed. Max said ok mom. Lynda said to Max maybe tomorrow night after dinner ok Max. Max said ok mom. Lynda said to Lori it was nice talking to you Lori, but I have to be at work at 8:30 AM tomorrow so I need to get everything ready for tomorrow and help Max with whatever homework he didn't finish or understand. Lori said to Lynda it was nice talking to you as well Lynda and I understand Jackson has to be at work at 7:00 AM and I have to be at work at 9:00 AM as well so we will talk more on Saturday goodnight Lynda. Lynda said to Lori same to you and your family and thank you for calling. Then at the same time they all said goodnight and hung up.

After the kids went to bed Lori said to Jackson Lynda seems really nice and Max seems really polite, Jackson said to Lori I agree. Lori said tomorrow is Friday so are you excited to meet Kathleen? Jackson said to Lori yes I am. I look forward to meeting your friend from work she seems really nice. Lori said to Jackson she is very nice and we might even go after work for drinks for a couple of hours one night just her and I. Jackson said to Lori that would be fine just give me the heads up so I can plan dinner accordingly with the kids and me. Lori said to Jackson I will be glade to give you proper warning when I will not be home. Lori said to Jackson it's getting late and we need to call it a night so we can be up and get a fresh start. Jackson said to Lori that sounds like a plan. So they both went upstairs and got ready for bed and said goodnight and I love you.

Friday finally came everyone did their regular routine for the morning to make sure they were ready for work and school. The kids dragged their feet as usual because they did not want to go to school and deal with their bullies. The kids new they had to go even though they didn't want to, but it didn't make them feel any better with it. The kids had a positive side to think about though. They knew they would be going to school to see their friends as well as their bullies and they were ok with that. Lori and Jackson were looking forward to having dinner with Kathleen that night. Tija and Johnathon were looking forward to being home alone for the night and getting their Chinese food for dinner that night. Tija was letting it all go to her head already as Johnathon expected it to do, but he just ignored all her comments she made to him. Jackson left his normal time for work and Lori said to Tija and Johnathon hurry up you two or you going to be late for school. Lori asked Tija and Johnathon which Chinese restaurant do you two want me to get it from? The kids said at the same time we heard that May Garden was really good restaurant to go and get food to go. Lori asked the kids where is this May Garden Chinese restaurant at? Tija said to Lori you can google it and google will tell you where it is and how to get there with google maps. Lori said to Tija thanks for telling me that Tija. Tija said to Lori no problem mom. I will google it later on today to find out that information and then I will pick up the food after I get off of work. Lori said to Tija and Johnathon get the lead out of your butts we have to go. Tija and Johnathon said to Lori ok mom at the same time. On the way to school Tija bought up the Sadie Hawkins that was next Friday night. Lori said to Tija you still have one more week until it happens. Tija said to Lori I know, but I just wanted to remind you that it was coming up next week. Lori asked Tija how much does it cost to get into the dance? Tija said I don't know yet we are suppose to find out on Monday about all that stuff. Lori said to Tija once you find that out then come talk to either dad or me. Tija said ok mom I will. Lori said to Tija and Johnathon ok let's go you two so you can get to school on time. They finally got to school and it was on time too. Lori said to Tija and Johnathon you two try to have a good day despite dealing with the bullies. Tija and Johnathon said at the same time to Lori we will try mom. Lori said to Tija and Johnathon I love you two. Tija and Johnathon said at the same time to Lori we love you too mom have a good day at work today. Lori said to Tija and Johnathon I will. Lori left the school and drove home so she could get ready for work.

She got home and cleaned up the breakfast dishes and any left over food and the she went upstairs to get ready for work. Lori decided to take the breakfast left overs to work for her break and then get something there for lunch. Lori decide to go comfortable for work she wore faded blue jeans and a light blue button up polo shirt with a peacock on it and her comfortable tennis shoes that were black. Before Lori left for work she looked up where May Garden was and she said to herself that is pretty far from my work, but if that is what the kids wanted she would go and get it for them for dinner tonight after work. When Lori was finished getting ready for work she left for her 25 minute trip to get to work by now the morning rush hour has started to die down so that was good.

Lori finally got to work and she realized she still had 15 minutes until she had to clock in. So she went and sat in the break room. Lori saw Kathleen come in and she also had 15 minutes before she had to clock in. So Kathleen sat down next to Lori in the break room Kathleen went and bought a bagel with cream cheese and they talked. They talked excitedly about their dinner tonight. Lori asked Kathleen are you as excited about our dinner sate tonight as I am? Kathleen said to Lori yes I am. Then they realized it was time for them to get to their office and clock in on their computers. On the way to the office Kathleen asked Lori do you have everything you need to get started on your project? Lori said to Kathleen yes I do. Lori asked Kathleen how about you? Kathleen said to Lori actually yes I do and I start building it today. Lori said to Kathleen me as well. They both got into the office and clocked in then they saw that today they didn't have the same break today, but they did have the same lunch time.

So once Lori clocked in she gathered her stuff and started to build her model of The Golden Gate Bridge. Lori started to place the base of the frame she used a nail gun to get the nails in their properly. She measured the boards to make sure they were all the proper length that she needed first of course. Doing this took her to do all the way to her break to get it right. After her break she started to build upwards from the base of the bridge that took all the way to her lunch break and into the end of the day. Finally it was time to clock out Lori was tired she said to Kathleen see you tonight its 7:30 PM right? Kathleen said to Lori yes that is right.

Lori left work and followed the directions on google maps how to get to May Garden. It took her 30 minutes to get there. When Lori got to May Garden she called Tija and Johnathon and asked them what they wanted her to get for them? Tija said Sesame Chicken please and Johnathon said Chicken Lo Mien please for me. She ordered their dinner it took 15 minutes to get the food for her to go home. She left May Garden at 6:15 PM and she didn't get home until 6:45 PM. Tija and Johnathon devoured their Chinese Food. Lori and Jackson get ready for dinner and then they left at 7:15 PM they got to Apple bees a little before 7:30 PM Kathleen was already at their table waiting for them. Lori said to Kathleen hello how are you doing? Kathleen said hello and I'm doing fine. Kathleen asked Lori did it take you long to get here? Lori and Jackson said at the same time no not at all. Then they asked Kathleen how about you? Kathleen said no not at all for me either. Then Lori said to Kathleen, this is my husband Jackson Kathleen. Kathleen said to Jackson nice to meet you Jackson. Jackson said to Kathleen the same to you.

They ordered their dinner at 7:30 PM. Then Kathleen and Lori started talking about work. That made Jackson feel like a fish out of the water around the two of them. Then Lori said to Kathleen my husband is an IT person at Thompson and Thompson IT Support LLC. Kathleen said to Lori oh yeah I've heard of them before. I've called them for help on my computer a couple of times. Kathleen asked Jackson what department do you work in? Jackson said to Kathleen in the small appliances section. Kathleen said to Jackson oh that's good. Jackson asked Lori how is your project going? Lori said to Jackson I just started building the base of it today at work. Then Jackson asked Kathleen what are you building? Kathleen said to Jackson I am building The Eiffel Tower in Paris. Jackson said to Kathleen that must be pretty complicated. Kathleen said to Jackson yeah, but it's not as complicated as building The Golden Gate Bridge is though. Finally their dinner showed up, Kathleen ordered a Cesar Salad and some popcorn chicken with Low Fat Ranch dressing. Lori ordered the standard Garden Salad with Low Fat Ranch Dressing as well, a double cheeseburger and french fries, Jackson ordered a T-Bone Steak with Creamy Mashed Potatoes with chives and onion rings. Lori ordered Sweet Ice Tea for her drink, Kathleen ordered Strawberry Lemonade, and Jackson ordered a Diet Coke.

The conversation then turned into talking about their kids it was hard for Lori to not bring up the fact that Kathleen's two set of twins were bullying her two kids at school. Lori said to Kathleen Tija is looking forward to The Sadie Hawkins dance next Friday. What about Lily and Mark? Kathleen said to Lori Lily is looking forward to it quit a bit, but not Mark so much he doesn't do school dances. Jackson asked Kathleen so what does Mark like? Kathleen said to Jackson he likes listening to his very loud and annoying Heavy Metal music and playing his PlayStation four as much as he possibly can at home. Whether it be before school, after school after dinner, or before he goes to bed. I think if he could he would live in his Play Station four. Jackson said to Kathleen oh ok. Lori asked Kathleen so what does Lily like to do during her spare time? Kathleen said to Lori Lily is a diva she dances, sings, talks to her friends and her boyfriend at all hours of the day when she can. Kathleen asked Lori what does Tija like to do in her spare time? Lori said to Kathleen Tija mostly plays her Facebook games on her tablet. Kathleen asked Lori does Tija have any friends yet at the school? Lori said as far as I know its just one friend and his name is Michael. I know because that is all she can talk about its Michael this and Michael that. Kathleen said it sounds like she has a little crush on this Michael. Jackson said to Kathleen yes she does definitely have a crush on him. She wants to take him to The Sadie Hawkins dance next Friday. Kathleen asked Lori what does Johnathon like to do in his spare time? Lori said anything Science related, his favorite subjects in school are Reading, Spelling, and Science. In fact tomorrow we meet his friend Max's mom tomorrow for dinner. Kathleen said to Lori oh that sounds fun. In fact Johnathon is so excited about the Science fair at the end of the month. Johnathon is going to be working with Max on their Science Project. Kathleen said to Lori oh ok, Jimmy and Johnathon haven't told me anything about a Science Project that is due at the end of the month, I'm going to have to ask them about that. Lori said to Kathleen good idea. Jackson asked Kathleen so what does Jimmy like to do in his spare time? Kathleen said to Jackson pretty much anything that Mark likes to do. Lori asked Kathleen what about Johnathon what doe he like to do? Johnathon likes to Read, write, and listen to any type of music. Lori asked Kathleen so let me guess his favorite subjects are Reading, and English and the Music class? Kathleen said to Lori yes those are his favorite subject. Lori said to Kathleen Johnathon likes, his Reading Class, his Science Class, and his Music class as well. Kathleen asked Lori so what subjects does Tija like? Lori said to Kathleen I think it's any subject that Michael is in right now. Kathleen said to Lori that makes sense when someone has a crush on someone it changes their whole perception of that particular person.

Dinner finished at 9:30 pm they had dessert they talked a bit more about their children and work then they closed out the night by saying goodnight. Lori said to Kathleen I will see you on Monday at work. Kathleen said to Lori same to you. Jackson said to Kathleen it was nice meeting you Kathleen and Kathleen said same to you Jackson. Then they all went their separate ways. On the way home Lori asked Jackson so what do you think of her? Jackson said to Lori she is very nice it's hard to believe that Mark, Lily, Jimmy, and Johnathon are hers. Lori said I agree. Then Lori asked Jackson how come you haven't made any friends yet at work? Jackson said to Lori it's mostly men and we aren't that much of a sociable group of people. So we all kind of keep to ourselves when we are at work. Lori said to Jackson I have a challenge for you next week even if it's one person there approach them and get to know them and become friends with that person. Jackson said to Lori I accept that challenge I will have one friend by the end of the week by the time I get off. Lori said to Jackson good and I expect to hear about that person when I get home. Jackson said to Lori it's a deal. The rest of the way home they were talking about their dinner date with Kathleen. They got home about 10:30 pm and as per what they were told to do Tija and Johnathon were in bed, but not necessarily asleep Tija was playing her Facebook games on her tablet and Johnathon was reading more of his assigned story in his reading class. Lori and Jackson went upstairs and told Tija and Johnathon lights out it's 10:30 pm. Tija and Johnathon said at the same time ok mom and dad goodnight and we will see you tomorrow. Lori and Jackson at the same time goodnight kids.

Saturday morning came it was just a day of relaxing at home. Tija played her Facebook games most of the morning. Johnathon spent all day reading Fahrenheit 451 which is his book that Mrs. Thompson assigned for the reading class. Johnathon loves that book so much. Lori and Jackson were up by 9:00 am and then Tija and Johnathon woke up at 10:00 am. Jackson made Belgian Waffles, eggs, bacon and sausage for breakfast. Tija asked Lori so how was your dinner date with you friend Kathleen? Lori said to Tija it was fun dad and I enjoyed her company quit a bit. Johnathon said to Lori that's good I am glade you and dad had a good night last night. Jackson asked both Tija and Johnathon at the same time so what did you two do last night? Tija said to Jackson we finished our dinner which was delicious by the way thank you for that. We watched a couple of movies while we played Monopoly. Lori said to Tija so who won the game last night? Tija said to Lori I did as usual. Johnathon said to Lori yeah she cheated that's how she won. Tija said to Johnathon oh your just a sore loser Johnathon that's why you think that. Johnathon said to Tija no that's not true I am not a sore loser you a cheater that's why you won. Lori intervened before it escalated to a major argument and said to Johnathon did you call Max last night about your Science Fair Project? Johnathon said to Lori yeah I did we are talking about meeting after school at his house on Monday if that is ok with you and dad. Lori said to Johnathon did you talk to his mom about it first we were hoping to talk about it this evening when we go over there for dinner. Lori said to Johnathon ok that sounds like a plan, but always make sure it is ok with us and his mom before you set a place or time to make sure it's a convenient time for the parents. Johnathon said to Lori ok mom we will do that before we decide next time I'm sorry that we did that before talking to you and dad and his mom. Lori said to Johnathon that is ok just don't do that again Johnathon. Tija finished her breakfast and went upstairs to play her Facebook games on her tablet. Shortly after that Johnathon was finished with his breakfast and he helped his mom and dad to clean up the breakfast dishes and the food. Then he went to the living room and started to read his book again. Jackson asked Johnathon so what chapter are you on in your book now? I don't remember I don't pay attention to them I just turn the page and read on. Jackson said to Johnathon ok that works. Just don't forget to take a break once in awhile so your eyes don't start to hurt. Johnathon said to Jackson ok dad I will remember that. Then Johnathon went back to his book. Jackson turned on the news and watched it for a little bit then he started to read his newspaper. Lori finished cleaning up the kitchen and sat down at her laptop to do some more research on her project and check her email messages. When she was done she went out to the living room with Johnathon and Jackson to watch TV only when she got out there Johnathon had fallen asleep reading his book on the couch. Jackson was so wrapped up in his Newspaper he didn't see that Johnathon had fallen asleep on the couch. So Lori goes and wakes up Johnathon and said why don't you go upstairs to take a nap before Lunch Time. Johnathon said to Lori ok mom I think that is a good idea. So Johnathon took his book and himself upstairs to take a little power nap before lunch time like his mom suggested. Johnathon asked Lori can you wake me up in two hours please mom? Lori said to Johnathon not a problem sweetheart you just go and get some rest. Johnathon said to Lori ok mom I love you. Lori said to Johnathon I love you too see you in a bit. Next thing Lori sees is Jackson falling asleep on the chair she wakes him up as well and suggest that he goes upstairs and takes a nap as well. That's exactly what Jackson did he put down the Newspaper and he heads upstairs. Then Lori said to herself finally some time to myself I love my family, but its nice to have a break once in awhile so lets see what is on Hallmark Movie's and Mysteries right now. So she turns it on and sees that its a movie she has never seen before so she decided to leave it on and relax. Then Tija comes downstairs and says to Lori when are we going to have lunch? Lori said to Tija we just barely finished breakfast go in the kitchen and have some grapes or something for a snack. Tija said ok mom I will so she heads to the kitchen and looks in refrigerator and gets some grapes and she sits down at the kitchen table and she ends up finishing all of the grapes. Then she went back upstairs to check her emails and get on Facebook to chat with some of her friends back in Wisconsin. Next thing Lori new it had been two hours so she goes upstairs to wake Johnathon and Jackson up. Lori decided she was going to make grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup, and a garden salad for everyone for lunch. When they were finished with lunch Tija helped Jackson to clean up the lunch dishes and what was left of the salad. Jackson said to both the kids time to do your chores. Tija you are in charge of loading the dishwasher with all the dishes and Johnathon you empty the dishwasher and wipe the table down. Tija you clean up the counters. Then when your done with those do your laundry and clean your rooms. Jackson said to Johnathon your in charge of cleaning the bathroom up stairs in your room. Johnathon said ok dad I will. Then Jackson said to Tija you are in charge of cleaning the upstairs bathroom in the hallway. Tija said to Jackson ok dad I will. Jackson said to Johnathon when you do your laundry make sure you separate all your clothes like whites, light colors, and your dark colors don't throw them all in the washing machine together. Johnathon says to Jackson ok dad I will make sure to separate them. Jackson said to Johnathon ok just make sure its done right because your mom will be upset if you don't do it right. Johnathon said to Jackson ok dad I know that dad.

When the kids were done cleaning the kitchen Lori went in there and mopped the floor and did some final straightening up and some touch ups in the kitchen. Lori reorganized all the cabinets in the kitchen. When Lori was done she went and checked on the Tija and Johnathon to make sure they were doing the chores and not other things. She also wanted to check and make sure the bathrooms were cleaned properly. She also wanted to make sure that they were doing their clothes the right way. Then she went into the bedroom and laid down for a bit and take a nap. Only Lori couldn't sleep all she had on her mind was her project and how she could do it the proper way without any mistakes. After all the client was paying 100,000 thousand dollars for it. All she kept wondering to herself she had to make sure it was perfect for the client. Then finally she relaxed and drifted off to sleep. Next thing Lori realized it was two hours later it was now 4:00 PM she fell asleep at 2:00 PM.

Lori asked Jackson what time do we have to be at Johnathon's friends home again? Jackson said to Lori I believe it is 6:30 PM. Lori said to Jackson thank you what do you think we should bring over there for dinner as our contribution? Jackson said to Lori how about Macaroni Salad and some wine? Lori said to Jackson that sounds good. So Lori headed out to go to Walmart and pick up some white wine and the makings of her famous Macaroni Salad. She also grabbed a gallon of Sweet Tea for the kids to drink. Lori noticed how busy Walmart was and she asked herself am I going to get back home in time to make my Macaroni Salad before we have to leave to go to Johnathon's friends home for dinner. Lori was relieved to get home in time for her to make her Macaroni Salad she put the White Wine and the Sweet Tea in the refrigerator to make sure they were cold when they had to leave to go to the Lakewood's home for dinner. It took Lori 35 minutes to make her Macaroni Salad. Then she told everyone starting cleaning up your messes and start getting ready to go to the Lakewood's for dinner. a We need to leave by 5:30 pm so we get there before dinner is ready. By the time everybody had their messes cleaned up and they were dressed for their dinner date it was about 5:25 PM. Lori said to everybody come on let's get into the van so we can go. All of them came downstairs Johnathon was the first to come downstairs he was the most excited about going to Max's for dinner everyone else shortly followed. They all piled into the van and left at 5:30 PM exactly.

They all got to the Lakewood's house at 6:00 PM Johnathon was the first out of the van before anyone else had a chance to get out. Lori said to Johnathon I know you are excited to see your friend, but you need to slow down and wait until everyone else is out of the van. Johnathon said to Lori sorry mom I will slow down and wait for everyone else. Lori said to Johnathon that would be much appreciated. Finally everyone was out of the van and Johnathon was the first to the door and he knocked. Max answered the door he said hello to everyone please come in and sit in the living room my mom will be out soon. Max asked everyone for their jackets and he went and hung them all in the closet. Then Max sat down next to Johnathon and they started talking about their Science Fair Project. Then Mrs. Lakewood came out of the kitchen and said hello everyone welcome to our home. Can I get anyone some refreshments?
Lori said to Lynda hello no we are good, but thank you. Lynda said to Lori ok dinner will be ready in 30 minutes. Then Lori said to Lynda I bought my homemade Macaroni Salad, some White Wine for the adults, and some Sweet Tea for the children. Lynda said to Lori thank you very much, but you didn't have to do that. Lori said to Lynda your welcome Lynda is there anything I can do to help you in the kitchen with? Lynda said to Lori no thank you though. Lori followed Lynda into the kitchen any how. Lori said to Lynda you have such a lovely home. Lynda said to Lori well thank you. Then Lynda came back out to the living room and said to Max you and your friend can go upstairs to your room and talk about your Science Fair Project. Max said to Lynda thank you mom. Lynda said to Max I will call to you when dinner is done. So Max and Johnathon excused themselves from the living room and headed upstairs. Lynda said to Tija I have internet access if you brought your tablet and would like to get on it I can give the name of the router and the password. Tija asked Lori is that ok mom if I go on my tablet? Lori said I don't mind thank you for asking me. Tija said to Lynda could I please have that information Mrs. Lakewood? The router is called Lakewood charms, and the password is LL49JK7382 Tija said to Lynda thank you Mrs. Lakewood Lynda said to Tija your welcome young lady.

Lori asked Lynda so why is your router called Lakewood Charms? Lynda said to Lori I am terribly sorry I work from home making Charm Bracelets and different charms. I work from home so Max always has me around if he has a question and I don't like leaving him home alone after school considering he is an only child. Lori said to Lynda I understand now. Then Lori also said to Lynda that is the benefit of having more than one child and two parents. The benefit of having two parents working is we can coordinate our schedules so one or the other parent is home with children. The benefit of two children is we can go out on a date night and the older child can watch the younger child while we go out for an adult night out, whether it be just us or with friends. Lynda said to Lori I can understand that, but when I want to go out on a date I have to hire a babysitter or Max has to go stay the night at a friends house. Babysitters can be expensive so I don't get to go out much on dates or with friends. Then Jackson said to Lynda well we are going to have to remedy that all of us can go out together as friends with the children in tow. Lynda said I would like that a lot it would be nice to go out with friends and bring Max with. Without having to worry about a babysitter or him going to neighbors house I barely know let alone a friends house I barely know. Lori said to Lynda I know the feeling that is why I like having two children.

Lori said to Lynda that sounds fabulous that you can work from home. You can make your own hours and be your own boss. I don't think I would be able to work from home I would get lazy and not have a structured household like I do going into the office. If I didn't go into the office my house would be in such chaos especially with two children. No thank you I enjoy going to the office definitely. I get to meet new friends and plenty of new people. I also get a break from my children and my husband going into the office. Being at home 24/7 I would go out of my mind and constantly having my children under my feet no thank you. Lynda said Lori that is ok working from home is not for everyone you have to be very disciplined to work from home and have a lot of patience as well so I get it Lori, but that's what works for me and I wouldn't change it for anything. Lori said to Lynda that is great that it works for you and I'm glade you enjoy it a lot. Lynda asked so what does Jackson do for work? Lori told Lynda he works at a call center. He deals with IT problems with different home appliances, but after 90 days they will pay for him to go back to school to get his degree in communications and repair and be able to advance in the career and get paid better money then he eventually wants to work from home with his own IT business. That is his long term goal he enjoys being home with the children and he has so much patience with them more than I could ever have. I admire him for that quality and he is so good with the children in getting their homework done and getting their chores done before I get home not to mention he is an excellent cook. I enjoy when he cooks dinner for me and the children and the children love his food when he cooks. When Jackson cooks there is no food left on the children's plates which is great that means no dinner time struggle which I love so much. Lynda said to Lori that sounds great so have the children made any new friends since they started at school? Lori said unfortunately no neither of them have made friends, but both my daughter and son are getting bullied by two sets of twins from the same family and I'm friends with their mother. We just barely met so I haven't quit told her two sets of twins are bullying my children. I don't know how to bring it up without my friend getting defensive about her children so I'm trying to figure that out while trying to keep the peace. Lynda said to Lori it sounds like such a task. Do the children know you're friends their bullies mom? Lori said Lynda no not yet I don't know how to tell them without them getting mad at me for being friends with the mom of their bullies. Lynda said to Lori sounds like a conundrum hopefully all the children start getting along with each other on their own accordance's. Lori said to Lynda I hope so too that would be so nice, but it's killing me when I come home from and they tell me about what their bullies are doing to them at school without wanting to interfere with them at school by telling the mom or the principal or the vice-principal. I don't want them to get bullied more at school to where they don't even want to get up in the morning to go to school. Lynda said to Lori it's really hard not to interfere with what is going on with our children at school that need to protect them as a mom kicks in when you know that if you do interfere you could make it so much worse for them at school. I understand that 100%, but as parents we need to let our children try to work it out in their own ways which is hard to watch especially when you see that everything they are trying is not resolving the issues at school, but as parents we have to let it play out even if you don't like the end result. Lori said to Lynda I know, but its so hard to see my children get up everyday for school miserable and not wanting to go to school, but they go because they know they have to. Lynda said to Lori I know, but sometimes you have to let it play out until it gets so severe then you need to tell the authorities and the twins mom, but only you can decide that not me or anyone else. Lori do you mind me asking what are the children's names that are bullying your children?Lori said to Lynda the oldest set of twins are Lily and Mark and the youngest set of twins are Jimmy and Johnathon. Lynda said to Lori I know all about Jimmy and Johnathon to well. They pick on Max as well, but he rolls with the punches and he doesn't let them bother him much, but I do hear about what they do from Max everyday when he gets home from school. Lori said Lynda yeah I hear about them when I get home, but Jackson hears about them as soon as he picks them up from school. So what hours does Jackson work? He works from 7:00 AM to 2:30 PM and I work from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Lynda said to Lori so you drive them to school and Jackson picks them up from school that must be nice? Lori said to Lynda yes it is I drive them to school and I get a little break before I have to go into work myself. Lori asked Lynda so what hours do you work being that you work from home? Lynda said to Lori I start work at 8:00 AM and I'm done by 2:30 PM. Lori asked Lynda is that only part time? Lynda said to Lori yes it is, but I do some work after Max goes to bed as well. Lori said to Lynda oh ok I understand now. So when Max is home from school he has your undivided attention and then after he goes to bed you concentrate on work again, but how long do work until at night after Max goes to sleep? Lynda said to Lori I usual work until 10:30 PM in my workshop out back. During the day I work in the house putting charms on bracelets and I work on my website and I contact customers to tell them their order is ready then I go and deliver them and collect the money. I make sure all the links are properly space apart to make sure the charms fit properly on the links. Lori asked Lynda what types of chains do you use for the necklaces and bracelets gold plated or silver plated? Lynda said I use sterling silver chains for the bracelets and necklaces. Lori said to Lynda oh ok. That must be expensive to assemble and pay for. Lynda said to Lori it ca be, but also charge my customers $35.00 per chain and $10.00 per charm. Lori asked Lynda is that the price of the bracelet or the necklace or do you charge a different price for the bracelets? Lynda said to Lori the necklaces are $35.00 the bracelets are $20.00. Lori asked Lynda so how many do you sell in a day? Lynda said to Lori anywhere between 100 and 200 orders a day. Lori asked on average how many charms are usual on the bracelets or the necklaces? Lynda said most of my customers order a minimum of five charms on each. Not because that is required, but that is what they choose to have on them. I usual have plenty on back stock so no I don't have to make that amount everyday that would be very tedious if I did have to do that. Lori said to Lynda oh wow so it's a very lucrative business. Lynda said to Lori yes it is and I enjoy doing it. Lori said to Lynda that is good especially when you enjoy what you do. Did it start out as a hobby? Or did you come about it as a family business?