Two of a Kind

Jake the Troublemaker

"Look, Lisa bullies Zoe again," said Clara and pointed to a tall, sturdy girl. Zoe wore frayed clothes, her hair was a little tousled, but she looked very nice. Ella warned him about Lisa. She would probably bullies Ella too. Unfortunately, he was currently Ella.

"Do you like to attack smaller ones?" Jake asked.

"What do you want?" Lisa asked

"I want you to stop!"

"Oh, everyone, look here! Ella Lindsay is back from the holiday camp and has found her self-confidence! Your hairstyle is so ugly!" Lisa grinned. At that moment Jake could not hold back and hit her face hard with his fist.

"Who wants to be next?" Jake asked the bitch's friends, who suddenly disappeared.

"You'll regret that, Ella Lindsay!" She hissed.

A little later, Jake sat at the director's room and waited for his mother. In Chicago, a weekly visit to the director was nothing unusual. Hopefully Mr. Baxter was not worried that he hadn't visited him since the beginning of the new school year. Because he's pretty sure Ella hasn't been sent there yet.

"Ella, darling, are you okay? I was told you were involved in a fight!" Erin said, looking intently at her child's face after an injury. She found nothing.

"Mrs. Lindsay, your daughter broke a classmate's nose," said the director.

Erin gave a short laugh, "Not my daughter! When was she the victim again," she said.

"Mom, I'm tired of being bullied by everyone. I wanted to fight back. I know violence is not a solution, but there was simply no way out." Jake explained.

"Oh Ella, little one," said Erin, putting her arm around her child.

The director closed one eye. After all, it was Ella's first slip. No detention - nothing.

"Tell me Ella, what are you wearing?" She wondered when they went to the car. Jake wore a casual white t-shirt and black and white sweatpants.

"Don't you like it?" Jake wondered. Skirts and dresses were not necessarily his favorite clothes.

"Um, no not really. You look like a boy," Erin said. Jake stopped abruptly - damn it! He mustn't be noticed! It was of little help that girls stood on the leg side up, printed in white.

"Boys don't run around like that. They would never put on sweatpants with girls on it."

"You're going to dress properly again soon, is that clear?" that ended the discussion for Erin. They also got to the car. Jake was opening the passenger door when Erin looked at him in surprise, "I have to go back to work, but you can take the subway."

With these words she drove away. Jake sighed. Although he was now somewhat familiar with the highly complex public transport system in New York City, it was certainly not a pleasure for him. It still took him ages to find the appropriate stations and directions. How did Ella cope with that? His sister was the opposite of him! A miracle that she did not cry on the platform.

Jake sat on a bench in Central Park. For some reason every line led here. He typed a text message to his sister.

Jake: I punched Lisa, got a new girlfriend, Zoe.

Ella: WTF! What have you done? Mom will freak out!

Jake: I don't know. On the one hand, she was probably glad that you can fight back, but I think mom will find out who I am sooner or later. She hasn't believed the arm injury for days.

Ella: Put on my new dress, then buy something to eat from an Italian. Spaghetti with pesto to take away and pretend you've cooked.

Jake sighed. Rather, he longed for his father and their fast food Friday, eating burger or pizza. Vegetarian is great, but he has such a craving for ham pizza with pineapple.

It wasn't long before Jake found an Italian bistro. He ordered a pizza to eat here and already placed his order with the pesto spaghetti to take away.

He ate his pizza with relish - how much he had missed ham. His grin passed quickly when he saw a familiar car pull up. David, his mother's friend and roommate!

"Hide me!" Jake yelled in panic to the Italian, who looked at him in confusion, "He mustn't see me!" Almost with a jump, Jake disappeared behind the counter to the Italian, Alberto. He removed the napkins from the compartment and squeezed in there. David will definitely not see him here, since he was basically sitting under the cash register.

"Hello, what do you get?" Alberto asked cheerfully with an Italian accent.

"We take the 48 to go twice," said David.

Alberto nodded, pointed to the vacant seats, and started baking the pizza.

"Psst," Jake whispered, "Alberto!" he tried to get the older Italian's attention. Alberto knelt down and looked at him promptly, "Do you have something that can be mixed in the food that is extremely spicy or causes nausea?"

"I would have a laxative," Alberto whispered.

"Perfect. Can you please mix it into the pizza of the black haired man?"

Alberto nodded and got up again, he picked up a spoon, "It fell down," he said and put it in the sink before he turned to the pizzas.

Less than 3 hours later, Jake was sitting at the kitchen table. He put on the dress Erin gave him. The kitchen looked like he had cooked. The pot and the spoons used were in the sink. The table was set for two.

"Oh Ella, I didn't expect you to cook," Erin said when she got home. Also in tow: David, who immediately disappeared into the bathroom.

"David is sick," she said.

"It's time for me to cook again, even though I don't have much time left. You know, mom, I also want to meet friends and have to learn for school, too. "

"I understand, of course," Erin smiled on the table and saw the spaghetti, "Well then, let's eat."