Page 28 of Damian & Jun, Episodes 9-12
Kimbo made a fierce face. “I’m never growing up.”
Jun laughed. “It’s not something you can stop.”
Kimbo growled and shook his head. “Nope, never growing up.”
“There’s lots of good things to growing up.”
“Like what? Adults look cranky.”
“Well, sometimes we are.”
Kimbo giggled and went back to his worksheet. He didn’t seem to need any more help. Perhaps all he’d wanted was attention or maybe connection. Jun felt eyes staring at him. He looked up; Armada was watching him. She gave a bit of a smile and gestured him away. He stepped into the hall with her. Habibi reached for her, and she took him.
“I have the meds. Miss Hypatia is coming for me. I’m staying with her till it’s done.”
Jun nodded. He and Damian had planned for this. “I have Habibi till you get back.”
Armada sighed. She stroked Habibi’s face. “Don’t feel right, leaving him.”
“He’s had a good day,” Jun said. “We did bottles and danced, and he used his diapers five times.”
Armada giggled, a sad, nervous tinge to the sound. “It’s just hard.”
Hypatia arrived a few minutes later, and Armada left the kids with orders to behave. Betti still hadn’t come back yet. She had an after-school activity, and her driver had checked in saying she wasn’t out.
Jun went back to supervising the last of the snacks and homework. Howser sulked in his own room, ignoring his siblings. Rue finished her work and fell asleep flat on her tummy on the bed behind Jun. Kimbo asked questions about math as he worked through his second packet. They came in weekly sets, but he was behind. He showed Jun pages from the previous weeks that weren’t done and a lot more for the rest of the week. Jun held Habibi as the infant fell asleep, and he and Kimbo worked through the worksheets together, coming up with practical real-world applications for the math questions and writing pages. Some of the work Jun couldn’t come up with a good reason for. Kimbo found it funny when Jun was stumped. They skipped those.
Betti still wasn’t back, and Damian hadn’t checked in. Jun texted him and then, on a whim, Collin as well.
A few moments later, Richard texted.
Jun closed his eyes and let out a slow breath. Piece of shit.
Richard continued texting.
Even when a rapist had a girl in his clutches, daily life went on. Jun glanced toward Kimbo, kicking his feet slowly, the tip of his tongue sticking out the side of his mouth as he wielded his pencil.
A few moments later, Damian texted.
Jun stepped toward the open door to the other hotel room where Howser was sulking. She shouldn’t, but there was no guarantee that she didn’t. Howser’s schoolbag was on the floor, and he was lying on his stomach, playing on a handheld gaming system.
“Let’s get homework done before dinner,” Jun called out.
Howser lifted his eyes with a glare. “I’m busy.”
You haven’t met busy, buddy, Jun thought. Until Howser saw something like the grueling twenty-hour days Bak had sometimes put Jun through at the same age, he didn’t know what the word meant.
“Wrap up in ten minutes, then show me what your assignments are.”
“You’re not Mom or Gramps. You can’t make me.”
Jun barely suppressed a roll of his eyes.
Cedric stuck his head in from the hallway where he was standing guard. “Show Mr. Gang your homework, or show me, your choice.”
Howser gave Cedric, all six-plus feet and three hundred pounds of him, a long look. His nostrils flared, and his eyes narrowed. He threw his game device down and stomped over to his bag. It was a mess. Jun moved Habibi to his hip and pointed to the desk. “Let’s sort this out.”
“I’ll watch him sort it, Mr. Gang,” Cedric said. “I know you’re busy. The boy can have it ready to show you.”
