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Chapter 1: Quiet

Jasmine Fenton sits as still as stone itself. Her mind plays reminders of all the tasks she needs to complete before she can go to bed. It's late, for her. She needs to complete all the tasks Danny left unfinished while he was at the hospital. She glances around the room, checking for even one stray pencil, one uneven set of items. Her bedspread isn't quite neat, so she goes back over it. It can't be anything less than straight. If it isn't straight, she'll be thinking about it until she returns to fix it. Why didn't she notice it this morning?

Everything else is in perfect order. Good. Not even Mom and Dad can find fault with this. She walks down the steps quietly, wondering where everyone is. As she glances into the kitchen, she realizes why. Dad sits as the table, silently going over problems. Mom isn't there. It takes a moment for Jazzy to gather up the courage to enter. When she does, she moves as silently as a shadow. She is careful to follow her own guidelines: don't be loud, don't be noticed. Don't do anything wrong. If possible, don't speak. Don't even show much emotion. She never really knows what will upset them, but unlike Danny, she tries to keep them happy. It's better-no, safer that way. Danny is the one who gets slapped since he doesn't follow the rules she's tried so hard to teach him.

Jazzy settles down at the counter, at the edge of Dad's vision. Too far away and he'll think she's being "subversive", though she doesn't know what that means. Probably sneaky. If she sits too close, she risks being noticed. It's a fine balance she rests on, but one she's mastered, even at age seven. People say she's smart for her age. She thinks of it as just being more observant, more used to having to track people's moods constantly.

A small sandwich is easy to fix, so that's what she eats. She hears a distinct sound at the top of the stairs in another room. Mom's steps, light, quick, but angry. You can tell by the way she stomps a little. By how fast it is. A sharp sound that reaches her ears: skin against skin. A slap. It's Danny, she knows. They finally let him out. She sighs with relief. They've left him up there for a long time. She had been contemplating asking them to release him.

She listens closely, but no conversation follows the slap. Only the sound of feet treading down the steps. Her stomach tightens with apprehension. Is Danny alright? Finally, Mom turns the corner around the stairwell (Jazzy knows by the double squeak of the last step), and walks into the kitchen. Danny walks behind her, steps quiet. Dried tear stains streak his face, but no sniffs escape. His expression…for once, she can't read it. It isn't an open book for her anymore. She longs to know what exactly is wrong. He doesn't try to sit with his family, or with her. He sits in a corner of the room, until Mom calls him to the table. It's then that Mom notices Jazzy, and orders her to come.

An awkward silence settles. Nobody talks. Finally, Mom clears her throat, and takes the sheet of calculations that Dad has been working on away from him. Dad glances up and says, "Maddie told me you had something to tell me?" This, Jazzy recognizes, is one of his traps. Mom never said anything about Danny having to say something to them. Dad's tone is dangerous. The question isn't a question, it's a statement. She hopes Danny doesn't fall for the trap.

"Yes, sir. I'm sorry I pulled your attention away from your experiments." His tone is off, but he doesn't fall into the trap. She lets out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"Your apology is accepted." Mom is the one who says this, after a brief eye-conversation with Dad. Another cause for relief. Danny isn't in trouble yet. The tension is broken as conversation begins to flow between Mom and Dad, discussing his calculations. From what Jazzy gathers, it's a hobby, making calculations about how to make a portal to a supposed Ghost Zone. They act as though ghosts actually exist. It's silly, but Jazzy can't point it out. Maybe one day, when she's big, she can say things like that. She'll be able to say what she thinks.

Jazzy notices Danny is avoiding looking at her. He picks at his food, barely eating. Their parents finally leave, and Danny finishes his food, only to dart up the stairs the moment she tries to start a conversation. She bites down the sour feeling in her heart, eating at her like acid. She doesn't know what to do anymore about the orderly world she's established in the middle of chaos that's crumbling around her.

Chapter one of the sequel! Please remember to write a review! Does Jazzy sound okay? I haven't really done much Jazz POV writing, especially at such a young age. This entire story will mostly be in Jazz POV. It seems to fit the story better here, like Danny POV in Love Me, Love Me Not.

-MiaulinK