"Jackson Overland! Get down here this instant!"

Jack sighed. He started climbing down from his favorite treetop branch.

"Jack, where's Emma?" his mother asked.

"Probably inside playing. Why?"

"You were supposed to be watching her!"

Jack cringed. He knew his mom was touchy about his responsibility. But Emma was fine, she always was. "She's a big girl. She can take care of herself."

"Jack, if anything were to happen to her-" his mom broke off and took a deep breath. "Look, since your father left, I've been having a hard time. I need you to help me. Emma usually is fine, but if she gets hurt and you aren't there, I don't know what would happen to her."

"Sorry…" Jack was a little ashamed. He loved his sister, but sometimes he just needed to be alone.

"Just keep a closer watch on her when I'm gone, okay? Oh, and if you're going to climb trees, please wear some shoes."

Jack groaned. He hated shoes.

"Jack, bring me your laundry. And make sure I get that old sweatshirt!" his mom called down the stairs.

Jack rolled his eyes. He loved his old blue sweatshirt, and never took it off when he could avoid it. "Coming!" he called back.

"Jack! Come play with me!" Emma came running up to him, straight brown hair swinging. She had warm brown eyes like Jack, and a birthmark under her right eye.

"Just a sec, Emma. What do you want to play?" He heaved his laundry basket up the stairs.

"Can we go exploring?"

"Maybe. But I've got homework to do."

"How about hopscotch?"

"Okay." Jack smiled. Hopscotch was Emma's favorite game. He could always make time for that. "I'll meet you outside."

When their game was done, Jack started on his homework. It was a particularly frustrating biology assignment about reptiles. After the fourth eraser smudge, he called one of his best friends for help.

"Yo, Highland. Listen, did you finish the biology homework?" Highland was very smart, especially when it came to animals. He loved them. His pet bearded dragon, Toothless, (who actually did have teeth) sometimes seemed to compete with Jack for best friendship.

"Of course I finished it. Need some help?"

When the homework was done, Highland asked Jack if he wanted to hang out with him and Elsie, their other best friend. It had been a while since they'd done something together outside of school, so Jack was eager to go. He met up with the two of them in the park.

"Jack, how can you stand not wearing shoes? It's freezing out." Highland asked, his feet shrouded in large boots.

"It's not really that cold." Elsie said, "Not enough to bother me, anyway." Her long platinum blonde braid swayed a bit in the breeze.

It was, in fact, the middle of January. Snow covered the ground. Jack was currently sitting in a tree, his shoes thrown at the bottom. He'd had to wear shoes on his way over, there was only so much his feet could stand.

"You're never cold, Elsie." he laughed. She was wearing a blue long sleeved shirt and jeans. She was very pretty just now, Jack thought.

Highland was smothered in a huge brown coat that went well with his dark straight hair, and hid his scrawny-ness. He looked amused. He was giving Jack a look that said he knew what Jack was thinking. Jack turned away in embarrassment, hoping Elsie hadn't noticed. She was chuckling at something on her phone, and Highland came over to see.

Jack liked the outdoors. He wasn't a big fan of technology. He didn't mind it, but he didn't see much need for it either. He sighed.

Even with his two best friends, Jack felt a bit lonely. Sometimes he wondered if they would miss him if he was gone.