Nicki&thePips

Chapter 5

On Thursday morning after making breakfast Nicki climbed the stairs halfway and yelled up at the kids to get out of bed like she did every school morning then went back downstairs to eat.

"Jesy it's time to get ready for school." Leigh-Anne said sleepily as she headed to the bathroom in her room that she and Jesy shared. Things always happened the same. She always had to wake Jesy up again after Nicki's initial yelling.

She emerged from the bathroom fully dressed and realized that Jesy still hadn't gotten up from bed. "Jes?" She said moving towards Jesy's bed. "If you don't hurry up and get dressed we'll be late."

Jesy rolled over so that she was facing Leigh-Anne. "Um . . . I don't feel so good Leigh." Jesy mumbled miserably.

Leigh-Anne sat at the foot of Jesy's bed. "Do you need me to stay home with you Jes? Are you okay? What exactly is wrong? Is it . . ."

Jesy shook her head quickly, "It's not anything um drastic. I've just got a tummy ache. I can handle it by myself." She tried to assure Leigh-Anne that it wasn't what she thought.

"Are you sure?" Leigh-Anne asked hesitantly. She wasn't sure what to do. Back at the foster home when anything like this happened she'd lie in bed with Jesy until she felt better and she refused to do anything short of that. She moved so that she was lying next to Jesy in the bed. "Jes you know that I love you right . . ."

At the breakfast table everyone was present and eating except for Jesy and Leigh-Anne. That's strange, Nicki thought as Leigh-Anne was usually the first person to arrive for breakfast and she almost always had Jesy in tow.

"Do any of you know what could be keeping Jesy and Leigh-Anne?" Nicki asked the rest of the kids.

They all shrugged and Prodigy mumbled something under his breath that made Roc Royal snicker.

"Maybe they overslept." Ray Ray stated matter-of-factly.

"Huh . . . I'm gonna go check on them." Nicki got up from the table and moved towards the stairs.

"Guys?" Nicki said as she knocked on their bedroom door. "Can I come in?"

There was a hesitant 'uhhh' that sounded like it came from Leigh-Anne but Nicki opened the door anyway. When she entered the room she was hit with worry as she saw both girls lying in Jesy's bed.

"What's wrong?" Nicki said as her face became the picture of a worried mother.

"Umm . . . Jesy just feels a bit ill this morning." Leigh-Anne said forcing a half smile. "But I'm sure she'll feel better in a bit."

"Jesy, baby, what's wrong?" Nicki rushed to the bed where the two little girls were cuddled up.

Jesy didn't reply so Leigh-Anne did for her; "She's got a bit of a tummy ache that's all."

Nicki sat at the foot of the bed and reached to touch Jesy's forehead. She didn't have a fever but she looked pretty sick. "Jes do you wanna stay home from school?"

"Yeah maybe we should stay home." Leigh-Anne said as she stroked Jesy's cheek in a comforting gesture.

"We? Leigh-Anne you are going to school." Nicki said surprised that Leigh-Anne would even think that that could happen. "You're not the one who's sick . . . I thought you loved school."

Leigh-Anne looked a bit frightened then shook off the look with a smile, "Um of course I love school. I'd be happy to go if that's okay with Jesy."

"Why wouldn't it be okay with Jesy?" Nicki asked bewildered.

Leigh-Anne just shook her head and started getting up from the bed. "Get better Jes. I love you. I'll be back as soon as school is over okay?" Leigh-Anne kissed Jesy's forehead.