Adopted.

[FrankieLynn]

Lennox laughs with her new family at Jupiter's comments. They don't seem offended at all, and this further increases the girl's curiosity. It was amusing to her how the entire group could relate to things and understand what one person was talking about.


After the rather large group reaches the buffet, the kids are soon released to the dozens of counters, each covered with different pizza and pasta choices. The girl follows Hugo from the table, stopping to laugh at the irony of the tiny salad bar in the corner. No matter what, pizza can just not be seen as a healthy meal, even if one ate a handful of lettuce on the side. The teenager decides on one piece of cheese pizza, one piece of "macaroni and cheese" pizza, and one, medium-sized bread stick. She sets her plate down at the table before returning to the hustle-and-bustle of hungry people to get a drink. At the soda fountain, the girl chooses a bright red fruit punch.


After sitting in her seat at last, Lennox takes a large bite of her pizza, instantly melting her worries away. For her, comfort food was mashed potatoes and turnip greens; comfort food is pizza and Dino-Nuggets that go on sale at Walmart every month-or-so. She smiles, entertained by the large amount of food Ronan plans to consume, and sips her sugary beverage.


"So did they literally just put pasta and cheese powder on a regular cheese pizza? Or did they just add pizza crust to a spoon full of macaroni and cheese?"


Lennox turns the slice of pizza about in front of her, trying to figure out its orgin.

 

[PunkPrince]

The teenagers scattered and soon had returned to the table, all except for Jupiter, who was at the drink fountain mixing several flavors of drink together. They eventually returned, having finished the mix off with about half a glass of blue icee from the slushie machine. Eva saw Ronan smirk at them, and a small smile lit her face. "I don't know," she said as she watched Lennox examine her pizza. "I think maybe the second option is a bit more likely." She took a bite of her own pizza, which had pepperoni and mushrooms on it. How's it taste? Any good?"


Ronan glanced up. "Is it okay if Tommy comes over tomorrow?" he asked. Tommy Gunn was one of their friends. A drag king who in reality, was a skinny lesbian named Haley Porter, though they called him Haley and used female pronouns so rarely with him, they sometimes forgot what his real name even was--even if his drag name did happen to be a pun. The same was true for how he referred to them, particularly Ronan and his brother. They were always Kyra and Kasha, regardless of whether they were in drag or not. "He was gonna help me with my outfit for the show on Saturday. Tomorrow's Friday and if I don't finish it then I'm screwed."


"Fine with me," Kennedy said. "As long as you clean up after yourselves. Last time somebody was over there was glitter in weird places for like two weeks."


"Good. Glitter makes everything better," Hugo commented, taking a small bite of his pizza. "Glitter and sequins."

 

[FrankieLynn]

Lennox bites into the pasta-infused pizza, wanting to honestly answer Eva's question. She nods her approval of its taste, unable to properly talk with her mouth full. While chewing the girl listens to the twins talk about their friend. It seems she would need to get used to being around boys quickly, as another one was going to be at their house soon. Somehow, even though she has no previous experience with drag, the mention of it, along with the glitter, calms her a bit. Surely the family wouldn't be friends withsome unfriendly; it would be so unlike them to do so, based on what Lennox has learned so far.


The female continues to eat, now silent it thought. She begins to wonder about all the changes arriving more sooner, than later. School is a big one that comes to mind, and she hopes all her new siblings will be close by if she needs them. If anything, they would be able to contact Eva or Kennedy if something awful happened.


She grows full and lays out her crust and left over macaroni in a "happy face" design, hoping the cleaning staff will find it amusing. The girl sits on hands and waits for the others, perfectly fine with watching other families about the restaurant. Although theisr has two mothers and a male-bodied person in high heels, most people are too busy eating to care, or they at least pretend not to notice. Lennox continues to watch, though, for any sign of digust. She was expecting so much, it is almost frightening to her that ithhasn't came up. This town is defiantly more adaptable than her old one.

 

[PunkPrince]

Jupiter finished up their pizza first, almost completely full. They took a final sip of their drink and looked over at Ronan, laughing once they noticed that the boy had put his head down on the table, obviously having eaten just as much as he had intended to. They pushed their empty plate back, looking up as they heard a small voice speak.


"Are you a boy or a girl?"


A small girl, maybe around six or seven years old was standing in front of the table, staring intently at Jupiter, curiosity filling her deep brown eyes. Jupiter laughed. "No," they answered simply, and the girl was clearly confused by their answer. She opened her mouth to speak again, but was cut off as a woman drifted past and took her by the hand. "Come on Jocelyn, let's go," she said, pulling the girl off with her, but not before giving Jupiter a nasty glare.


Kennedy glared at the woman, but Jupiter simply laughed, seemingly not bothered at all. Eva pulled herself to her feet. "Everyone ready to get going?" she asked. Jupiter nodded and slipped from their seat. Hugo stood up too, pulling Ronan up with him. He laughed and looked back toward Eva and Kennedy. "I'm ready," he said. He looked back at Lennox. "You ever been to a drag show before?" he asked, though he was almost positive that he already knew the answer.

 

[FrankieLynn]

Lennox watches the slight drama unfold as the small child appears at their table. Just as children do, she does not greet them or explain her reasoning for walking across the room; she simply asks for the information she wants to know. It is easy for the teenager to understand the child's confusion, as she herself is still trying to understand Jupiter's gender preference. However, after this encounter with the clueless girl, Lennox decides it it is not something she needs to understand. She realizes it only needs acceptance, not understanding, because it really didn't affect her in anyway. Her respect for Jupiter also increases, as she watches them answer the kid and not take offense to the strangers' actions. She notices Kennedy's glare and glares at the odd woman, also, wondering why people become parents if they cannot keep track of their children's whereabouts.


Upon hearing the question, Lennox immediately shakes her head 'no'. She is suddenly full of excitement and curiosity, hoping to be accepted at such a place. She glances down at her A-cup chest and unruly hair and knows she would not be mistaken for a drag performer. This causes her to laugh, and she follows the other teenagers out of the restaurant, wanting to make sure everyone knows this is her family, now. She knows what it is like to feel like an outsider, but she knows being with upbeat people would decrease the chance of this happening to her at the bar.

 

[PunkPrince]

Hugo grinned. "I think you'll like it," he said. He loved drag. It was the one time he didn't feel petrified of everything around him. He'd never told anyone, but getting in drag made him feel a bit like a superhero. Or a supervillain. Even if he wasn't really all that super in real life. Far from it. He liked to pretend he was. Other people liked him more that way. He liked himself more in drag too. "You'll meet one of our friends tomorrow. Well, I guess cousin might be a better word. His drag mother and Eva both learned performing and stuff from the same burlesque performer, so they're drag sisters...and Eva is my drag mother and my actual mother. Tommy is a drag king." He paused. "His real name is Haley, but none of us really call him that."


"I miss Kurtis," Eva said as she thought of the bearded man she had learned all her performance skills from. "I wish I got to see him more. He moved to Iowa for his other job. It's nice to still have the queen I learned with though."


She slipped out of the restaurant and followed the rest of her family back toward the house, a small smile on her face.


"I miss Cherie," Jupiter said. "And her being mean to me...and her terrible boy name. Her parents pulled a Jujubee."


Ronan laughed when his sibling referenced the Rupaul's Drag Race queen. "No they didn't. Jujubee's boy name is Airline, and I think her parents didn't speak English that well. Cherie's boy name is Switch because her dad was on some hard drugs."


"Ronan!" Kennedy scolded.


"What? It's true. Cherie says it all the time."


Kennedy rolled her eyes as they walked down the street. It wasn't pitch black just yet, but it was definitely dark. They arrived back at the house and Eva unlocked the door before slipping inside, followed by Kennedy and the children. Ronan fell down onto the couch almost immediately.


"Good night!" Jupiter laughed. As Hugo darted up the stairs, they called, "Where are you going?"


"To get a razor so I can shave off his eyebrows and draw them back on with a magic marker!"


"Hugo!" Kennedy laughed. "Don't even think about it."

 

[FrankieLynn]

((Sorry I haven't replied in so long!)


As they walk home for the pizza restaurant, Lennox listens excitedly to her family's stories. Everything they say sounds so exciting and intriguing to the girl that she has nothing she wishes to add. She has nothing to bring up that would make any sense to their memories and explanations. While her hears listen, the teenager's eyes stare at the sidewalk, and her feet hop about the cracks, making sure she does not break either of her mothers' backs. At one point, when it brought up that Tommy is not actually a boy but a girl, the girls' concentration breaks and she accidentally steps on a crack. She glances at the two women nervously, paranoid about the well-being of their spinal chords. But nothing happens. Everything is still okay.


Upon arriving, Ronan collapses on the couch, and, for a moment, Lennox worries his room was given up to be hers. She quickly shoos this odd thought away with a sleepy yawn. She has had such an eventful day; it feels like it had been several weeks. The girl is tempted to curl up with the older twin, but she knows this is only her fatigue taking control. Her heart wants to laugh at Hugo's potential prank, but all she can manage to show is a closed-mouth smile and an awkward nod of her head, as if she is agreeing with someone, though it is not obvious of whom's idea she is supporting, Hugo's or Kennedy's.


"I...uh...I am going to bed, guys... See you, tomorrow...."


The teenager stumbles towards her room, drunk with sleep. Lennox waves over her shoulder at the family, but it is clear she cannot manage much else to focus her energy on. As she gets to the bedroom, the girl instinctively closes and locks the door. She waves at her guitar, dressed into a hooded-sweatshirt and sweatpants, and curls up on-top of the covers, forgetting the bed is made for her. Lennox falls into a peaceful sleep, smiling to herself.

 

[PunkPrince]

"Good night," Eva said to Lennox, smiling as she watched the girl ascend the stairs. Kennedy nudged Ronan. "You should probably get to bed too if you're really that tired," she suggested. "Stay down here and you might lose your eyebrows." She laughed and Ronan stood up, shook his head the clear it, and then yawned before saying, "Yeah. You're right. I'm tired. Night." And after a moment he too had vanished into the bedroom he shared with Hugo and fallen asleep.


Once Hugo learned that his plan had been foiled, he too went off to bed, as did Jupiter. Kennedy and Eva were the only ones left downstairs at that point, but the two didn't retire to their room nearly as quickly. Mostly, they just sat and talked, or watched TV, or something else. But eventually, they too grew tired and decided on heading to bed. Kennedy had curled up and dozed off fairly quirky, but Eva lay awake for some time, thinking about the day's events.


It had gone well, at least in her opinion. Lennox seemed happy, the kids definitely seemed to like her, and she didn't seem completely petrified of any of them anymore, which was nice. She wanted the girl to be happy, and she wanted the rest of her family happy too. It seemed like she had gotten that much. She smiled slightly at the thought as she dozed off.

 

[FrankieLynn]

The next morning, Lennox wakes up bright and early. She blinks, letting her eyes adjust to the morning light shining in from her bedroom window. The female yawns, stretches, and rolls out of bed. As soon as her feet hit the floor, the teenager feels awake and all her memories rush back to her. She's not in the group home. She doesn't have to wake up with the sun and make her bed. She doesn't have to get dressed and go check her chore list. She doesn't even have to open her eyes if she doesn't want to. To prove her point to herself, Lennox jumps back into her bed and squeezes her eyes shut, trying to sleep once more, but, alas, it is already too late. Because she does not have to listen to the horrid "house mother," however, the girl is too happy to sleep. She stands back up and tiptoes around her room, pleased with every inch of it.


After a few minutes, the teenager decides she will make her bed, and she will get dressed. Maybe she will even go check for a chore list. But, let's make this clear. Lennox will only do these things because she wants to; not because she has to. With excitement warming her whole body, Lennox makes her bed and begins to plan out her outfit for the day. She does not have more than six outfits from her clothes, but the girl lays them all out, anyways, wondering which one she should meet her family's friends in. Would the burlesque bar be hot or cold? What if it's hot outside, but she doesn't want to show her arms? The girl frowns briefly, but her joy scares it away. She decides clothes will just have to wait and quietly leaves her room, shutting the door behind her. She walks towards the kitchen, curiously wondering if anyone was up before her.


"Hey...anyone up? Kennedy? Eva?"

 

[PunkPrince]

Jupiter was the first one awake. They'd been awake since six a.m, and hadn't been able to fall asleep again. They were totally alone with their thoughts in the dark, and Jupiter's overthinking always led them to scrutinize their appearance, and their discomfort with themself would continually worsen. They were lying in bed, facedown, the covers a tangled mess. They had been crying, though they'd stopped a while ago and were simply lying there in total silence, completely unmotivated to get up.


When they heard Lennox speak, they stood up and shuffled toward the door. "Hey," they said softly, giving Lennox a small, slightly forced smile as they cracked open the door. "I'm awake. Not sure about anybody else. But are you hungry? I could make something. Like eggs. I'm pretty good at not screwing up eggs." They shrugged and slipped out the door, past Lennox and down the stairs.


Kennedy, it turned out, was also awake and had been downstairs making pancakes. "Good morning," she greeted, waiting a moment before turning to look at the teenagers. "Hungry? I made eggs too. And bacon." She gestured to the large plates of eggs and bacon on the counter next to the stove, not having gotten around to taking the larger plates to the already set table as of yet. Jupiter walked over to her and picked up the plate of bacon, moving it to the table before announcing, "I'm going to wake everybody else up," and disappearing up the stairs again.


"Eva's already up," Kennedy called after them. "I think Ronan is too. Check on Hugo though. He always tends to be the last one awake." She turned to look at Lennox. "Did you sleep okay?" she asked. "Any special requests for pancakes? I did make some with blueberries and chocolate chips already."

 

[FrankieLynn]

Lennox returns the oldest child's smile, and it widens as the mentions the idea of breakfast. She followed Jupiter downstairs, happy she isn't the only one awake. As they make it to the kitchen, the female is surprised to find food already being made, it seems to fill the whole room, and Lennox is confused as to why she didn't smell the sweet aroma of pancakes sooner. She smiles at Kennedy, admiring her work.


As Jupiter leaves to fetch the rest of the family, Lennox takes over their job by carrying other dishes of breakfast foods to the table. She then sits in a bar stool and watches Kennedy with curiosity.


"Blueberry?! I love blueberry pancakes! Do you have any syrup?"


The girl grins and practically claps her hands with excitement. She barely remembers to answer the woman's question.


"Oh, and I sleep great. That bed is so comfy, I didn't wake up at all in the middle of the night."

 

[PunkPrince]

Kennedy nodded. "Good thing you reminded me," she was as she pulled the syrup from the fridge. "I almost forgot to pull it out." She placed the bottle on the table. "Glad to see you slept well." She slid the final finished pancake onto the plate and turned the stove off before taking the pancakes to the table, wondering what was taking everyone else so long.


Just as the thought was running through her head, Ronan appeared on the stairs, skipping two or three at a time as he moved. "Good morning!" he chirped happily, grinning at his mother and sister.


Jupiter shuffled into Hugo and Ronan's room. Ronan was nowhere to be seen, but Hugo was buried underneath the covers. Jupiter picked up a pillow off the floor and threw it at him. "Hey," Jupiter said as Hugo lifted his head and glared sleepily at them. "Get out of bed." They turned to leave the room and caught a glimpse of themself in the mirror as they walked past it, sighing as they slipped out into the hall.


Just as they were about to call for her, Eva appeared from her bedroom. She recognized the look on Jupiter's face almost as soon as she saw it. "Bad morning?" she asked gently, taking the eldest child by the arm. "Here. Come with me."


Eva slipped into her room, into the attached bathroom and began rummaging through the cabinet. "Here," she said, producing a small bottle of pills and passing it to Jupiter. "It's Premarin. They refilled my prescription too early and I guess they didn't realize it. You can have this one. I don't know how much it'll do in two month's worth of pills, but it'll help. Take half of one day. And eat before or right after you take them. I get sick when I don't, and I don't want you feeling crappy."


Jupiter turned the bottle over in their hands. "Thank you," they said softly, smiling up at Eva. "But...I'm not supposed to be taking these until someone perscribes it. I-"


"And I'm not supposed to have an extra bottle," Eva said. "But I do. I'm in too deep. Just take it. You need it. I want you happy."


"Thank you," Jupiter said softly, giving Eva a hug.


Eva smiled and returned the hug. "You're welcome," she said. "Let's go eat." The two of them descended the stairs together and Jupiter bounced happily into the kitchen.


"Good morning," Eva said, smiling at Lennox when she noticed the girl. She settled into her usual spot at the table and took a couple of plain pancakes for her plate before drowning them in syrup. Hugo appeared after a moment and shuffled sleepily over to the table. "Hey," he said through a yawn.

 

[FrankieLynn]

Lennox does not have anything that must be said to the multiple morning greetings, so she simply starts to pile food on her plate. Even though she is a small girl, the female cannot say no to any type of breakfast food, and with this feast of carbohydrates, Lennox is in heaven. She piles three blueberry pancakes on her plate and then decorates around them with other luxuries of scrambled eggs, toast, and bacon. She pushes the food around with her fork, making it appealing to her artful eye. Finally, she has to move the bacon with her hands, so it looks somewhat like an "L" shape on the flapjacks.


After perfecting her food, while standing at the kitchen counter, Lennox travels to the table and sits next to Hugo, who seems rather grumpy to be awake. She hopes he doesn't mind her sitting there and takes the syrup into both her hands. As if her breakfast will be judged by professionals, the girl squeezes the liquid sugar, silently watching it cover everything on her plate. Finally, a home without set food rations. Soon, all her food is soaked, and Lennox sets the bottle back towards the middle of the table. She immediately takes a large bites, allowing her fork to gather a bit of everything from her breakfast stew.


"Yum...!"


Lennox smiles, with her mouth closed of course, as she chews her heavenly meal. It is quickly decided by the girl that she can not finish all her food, but she wasn't about to give up before her stomach burst. She takes bite after bite, with as much as excitement as a wild animal would have while eating such an unhealthy meal. She pauses after several bites, pours herself a glass of orange juice, and drinks it just as quickly. She can feel the syrup-induced sugar rush kicking in, and she leans back and forth in her chair, too happy to speak. If this is a normal morning; what would they have on holidays?!


 
**(Look at me being a loser and not posting for EIGHT WHOLE DAYS....what the heck... Sorry, you had to deal with me distracted mind for over a week!)**

 

[PunkPrince]

Hugo was obviously exhausted, and most of his plate consisted of bacon. He could probably live off of bacon if you let him. He would eat it until his stomach exploded. The boy didn't say much to anyone around him. Didn't do much either, aside from scarfing down his bacon. Kennedy looked over at him, seeming slightly concerned.


"Slow down," she told him. "You keep eating that fast you're going to wind up choking."


Hugo shrugged, not saying anything, but he slowed down his eating. He looked over at his brother. "What time is Tommy coming over?" he asked. He was quiet for a moment. "Are Lucy and Lita not coming with him? I have a pair of Lita's shorts I should probably give back." Ronan shrugged.


"I don't think so. I think she has a thing to do with her dad. You can probably just give them back to her at the show." The boy finished up his last pancake and added, "I'm not sure what time he's coming. Early, probably. At least I hope so. I could use the help." He glanced at Eva. "Do you have anymore of the low heat glue sticks? I used the last of mine yesterday and I need to glue some more stuff to my outfit." He gave her a pleading glance as he stood up to take his place to the sink.


(It's cool. I'm sorry this is so short and that it took so long!)

 

[FrankieLynn]

Lennox listens to her brothers, convinced that boy-name references are biological girls and girl-name references are biological boys. She plans on aadapting to whatever gender the other teenagers were accustomed to. The brief exchange excites and frightens the girl. She plans on watching the twins' friends, but she hopes they won't get frustrated with her. The girl wouldn't want to get in their way, and she knows better than to test the limits of what she is allowed to do. Eva had made a point that closed doors were a silent sign, meaning: "knock first". Lennox swears to abide by this rule.


"Are Lucy and Lita siblings, or something?"


The girl follows Ronan's example and goes to the sink.