They Motivate Me (OT4/G!P)

-13-

Jesy

On our way home, the babies were all talking at a mile a minute about their days. I was able to pick up a few things being said.

Jordin liked her teacher, Jasmine made the class laugh "for some reason", Prince said their teacher was nice, Josh drew a new cartoon, Amelio has a new best friend named Camila, and Langston hated the lunch food.

The only one that didn't speak was Leon.

"Baba, what did you think of school food?" I ask him while looking at him through the rear view. He was playing with his fingers.

"S'okay, I guess," he replies. I knit my eyebrows together, "What's wrong? Did you have a bad day?" He finally looks up at me, "Mammy, am I adopted?"

That caught me completely off guard.

"Of course not. Why would you ask that?" Josh and Amelio were looking his way as he spoke. "Because me brothers and sisters all have brown skin and I don't."

We pull up to a red light and I turn back at him, "You never cared about that before. Who said you were adopted?"

His eyes get bigger and he looks back down at his fingers. "Leon Elliot," I call him sternly and he lifts his eyes. "Who told you you were adopted because of your skin?"

He shakes his head.

"It was Bobby, wa'n't it?" Prince asks. "Bobby? Who's Bobby?" The light turns green.

"He's in our class. He asked how was he our brother when he's white. But Leon's not all white. I'm not all white," he says. "None of us is all anything."

"We're all mixed race," Jordin corrects. "But I don't look like it," Leon says sadly. "Don't listen to Bobby," I start. "Yeah, Mummy ran out of ink, like Jazzy said," Langston says.

"I told him that and he asked me if I was sure I wasn't adopted," he sounded as if he'd cry.

"He's just mad that he doesn't have a lot of siblings to play with and you do," Jasmine says strongly. "Right! Don't listen to Bobby like Mammy said," his twin adds.

"Yeah, he don't know you," Langston says with an unimpressed shake of the head. "You aren't adopted, Baba. I promise," I say while glancing at him.

He sniffs and wipes his eyes with the back of his hand. "Okay."

"How about when we get home, I'll ask Mammy Jade to make Krispy cakes?" His mood instantly changes to excitement and I couldn't help but smile at the little blond.

He's a spitting image of his mum, I tell ya.

I notice Josh was out like a light with his mouth parted open. I chuckle, "Someone's had a long day."

"He made a friend, Mammy!" Amelio says excitedly. "I played tag with them. Her name's, uh... er.. I forgot, but she has pretty hair and pretty eyes like you!"

"Really?" I ask with a smile and the boy version of Jade nods, "Aye. She runs really fast, but not faster than me."

"She caught you three times, Meli. I saw," Langston says with a giggle. "Nuh-uh. That was... Prince."

"Lies, sir. I was playing with my friend, Dell on the monkey bars." I couldn't help, but laugh at how he spoke to him. Prince likes to live up to his name.

"Fine," Amelio sighs dramatically.

A few minutes later, we arrive home and the kids practically ran into the house while I got Josh out of the car. It's great to know that he made friends today, but what happened with Leon was still stuck with me.