Growing Up

The Average Day In Paradise...Or So They Thought

     The day was like any other, same routine, same places, same people. It was the average day in "paradise" for the people of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Or so they thought.

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     Johnny woke up to his alarm beeping and Juli calling his name. Yawning, the raven haired boy rolled over and turned off the alarm before walking to Juliana's bed on the other side of the room.

"Hey Juls, what's up?!" He asked, making her laugh as he made a ridiculous face towards her. Johnny always has the ability to make her laugh. He loved to see her laugh and see the joy in her ocean eyes.

"I'm hungwy." She said, still not able to pronounce her R's. Just as she said that her stomach grumbled loudly. Johnny chuckled and picked her up, resting her on his hip as they made their way downstairs and into the kitchen. Johnny made his way through the small house and into the dining room. He sat Juli down at the dining room table in her seat and went into the kitchen to make the two of them breakfast. In the end Johnny made the two pancakes and some fruit. Before he gave Juli her food Johnny cut it into smaller pieces, she is only little after all, and set the plate in front of her.

     After, Johnny finally sat down and ate himself. To everyone's surprise he's not that bad of a cook. The only thing Johnny won't make is fish, but that's only because Juli's severely allergic to it. Even if she wasn't he still wouldn't make it too much, it's not on his favorites list. As Johnny took one of the few bites left of his food, he glanced over at the clock. 7:26 am.

'Just on time.' He thought. Once the two Cade's were finished, Johnny took the dishes into the kitchen to wash them. He glanced at the clock once more and decided to get ready to leave instead, there weren't that many dishes in the sink anyway so he would do them after work once he picked Juli up from daycare. Johnny made sure to at least rinse off the dishes before he quickly dried his hands and turn to his sister.

     "Alright Juls, let's get ready for the day." The older boy said. Juli nodded, got down from her seat and followed Johnny back up the stairs.

"Now, go and get dressed while I take a shower. I won't be long." He said, walking into the bathroom with a pile of clothes for the rest of the long work day ahead.

"Okay." Juli responded. The two siblings went their separate ways in the house. Juli was an easy child to care for, she didn't cry too much or wine all of the time, she wasn't crazy loud for a toddler or a "crybaby" as Dally puts it. She's surprisingly smart for her age but most likely won't be put up a grade like Pony when he was a kid, just the honor role hopefully. She can almost tie her shoes and dresses herself to an extent.

But like any toddler, she can't do everything alone, like zippers and buttons for example. Johnny doesn't mind, he's always loved kids and he found it funny when they need help sometimes.

                              ************

     Johnny walked out of the bathroom in plain blue jeans and a dark grey t-shirt, he didn't need a uniform for his job. All he needed to wear was a army green vest and a name tag they gave him and he was good to go. As Johnny worked that job, he went from doing the pit stuff like cleaning the bathrooms to being one of the two managers, it was a big store to handle. Johnny ruffles the towel through his hair once more before he hang it up to dry and greased his hair back. He walked out of the bathroom to see Juli waiting in the living room watching the morning cartoons. Johnny walked over to Juli and helped her tie her shoes before he went back into the kitchen.

     "Ready to go?" He asked as he finished putting Juli's lunch together. She nodded and jumped up in excitement, Juli loved school even more than Ponyboy, she definitely wouldn't be put up a grade but Johnny had a feeling she'd be in AP classes in the future for sure. People thought she was already 3 because of her advanced IQ.

"Ya!" Juli squealed, jumping in excitement. Johnny found it funny just how much energy the 2 year old had in her, Johnny chuckled and shook his head slightly before he gathered everything they needed.

"Then let's go." He said, Juli didn't need to be told again, she dashed to the door and waited outside impatiently on the porch for her older brother. Inside, Johnny was walking through the house with Juli's bag in one hand and his work vest in the other. When suddenly, he stopped. A sharp pain irrupted on his right side, causing him to hunch over, grabbing his side like a life line and groaning softly to himself.

     He stayed like that for a few moments until it thankfully subsided, now a slight yet a noticeable throbbing in his abdomen. Johnny shook it off for now and met Juli outside on the porch. The duo quickly walked over to the car where Johnny buckled Juli into her car seat in the back before getting in the driver's seat. He started the car and drove to the preschool/daycare. On the way there, Johnny couldn't help but notice the pain in his side getting more and more noticeable. He simply ignored it off and told himself to deal with it once he got home before work. Yet he had a feeling it might have been sooner than expected.

                            ************

     Johnny pulled up into a parking space before he got out and unbuckled Juli from her car seat. He could feel each throb as he undid her seat belt and as he walked beside her. Within an instant, she was already halfway to the doors and waiting to say goodbye to Johnny. She couldn't wait to meet her classmates, she had a few good friends but like her big brother, she didn't have many.

     "C'mon Johnny! I wanna get to school!" She said, bouncing. Johnny chuckled and smirked as he closed the door and handed Juliana here Minnie Mouse lunchbox, complimentary to Two-bit and his hobby of swiping things off of the shelves.

     "Alright, alright. Let's go." He said. Juli nodded intensely before hurriedly walking in front of Johnny. They got to the doors and one of the employees opened the door for them. Juli hugged Johnny before she ran in and placed her things in a cubby. She went over to a small group of kids her age and began to laugh and play.

The employee stayed and talked to Johnny. This employee was Juli's favorite person there. Her name was Ava. She was the only black person there but overall the nicest, the Cade's don't judge people. She had skin about two shades darker than Johnny's and turned 18 a few months prior, she was about 5'5 and curvy, black curly hair that went down her back, and bright green eyes, rare but immensely beautiful for someone of color.

     "Good morning, Johnny! How are you?" Ava asked. A genuine smile on her face showing her pretty, straight and white smile. Johnny softly smiled back but frowned when another wave of pain shot through his side. He sucked it up and continued the conversation.

     "Mornin' Ava. I'm alright I guess...I ain't  feeling too hot. I might go to the hospital and get it checked out, I'll call if I need someone to come. If I can't call then I'll make sure someone picks her up, you know what my parents look like right?" Johnny had asked quickly. He worried all of the time if his parents would show, as if right when he put his guard down he would regret it in an instant. They hadn't come and done anything but they still could at anytime. Johnny was always paranoid, his parents and Socs were to blame. Ava smiled at Johnny's protectiveness but sighed nonetheless.

"Don't worry about that Johnny. Everyone knows what they look like, and even then we only let one of your buds take her." She put a small and delicate hand on his surprisingly broad shoulder before she spoke again.

"And I'd get a doc to check that out, you don't look so good. Maybe call off work and explain your situation." Her angelic voice suggested. Johnny thought for a moment and nodded at her words. He smiled before he started to walk away towards his car.

"I will. Have a good day, Ava." Ava simply smiled and waved back, shutting the door behind her. She sighed softly, happy she could talk to the boy she's liked since she was 15 and he was 16. 'A girl can dream...' she thought.

                               ************

Johnny pulled into the driveway of his house, deciding to call off work and get checked out by a doctor like Ava suggested.
As he opened the door, a sharp wave of pain shot through his side and abdomen once again, only stronger this time. He gasped and held his side/stomach as he locked the car and wobbled inside the house. The pain worsened by the second it seemed.