With Marie driving, we didn't have to walk up to the school from the lower lot. She parked close to the building and hopped out, opening up her trunk for us. I also got out and then the four in the back squeezed out as well.

We heard a couple of laughs not far away and spotted some of the softball girls.

"It's almost like a clown car.

" One laughed as the twins stretched out. Being six feet tall, they really were squished into such a small space in a small car.

I felt guilty, glancing at the front seat.

Marie shot them a look and the other girls scattered.

We grabbed our bags and started to go our own ways.

"Look out for Zeke today!

" Dave grinned at me and Noah right before we split from them.

"Maybe walk by his locker at lunch to get a laugh.

"

Noah nodded and gave him a thumbs up.

"Try not to die before the game.

" He laughed to himself and we walked towards our class.

"We're not really going to walk by his locker later, are we?

" I asked.

"What if Zeke thinks we had something to do with that too?

"

Noah shook his head.

"We might as well sneak a peek. He'll probably think we had some part in it anyways. This is how birthdays are in the house.

" He slung his arm around my shoulders.

"Better get used to it.

"

I sucked in a huge gulp of air.

"You mean...you think I'll still be with you guys for my birthday..?

" My birthday was months away. Half a year. All the way in October. That means all of summer break and the start of the new school year with the Atkins.

"Yea, I really think so!

" Noah nodded.

"I know we never got around to looking up adoption requirements this past weekend, but we can start today. Zeke's locker is near the library. Just on the way. So we'll take a look at what Dave put together for him and then go to a computer in the library.

"

"Can we eat in the library?

" I asked. I was also wondering if I could get a chance to look up Patterson. Maybe if Noah wants to go eat, I'll have a chance.

"We can just eat on the bus ride to OLU.

" Noah shrugged.

"We leave right after anyways.

" He made a face.

"I swear my math teacher hates me because we've been missing so many afternoons.

" He smiled at me.

"But I can count on you to tutor me if I need help before finals right?

"

I nodded.

"Sure. I don't mind. Math is easy.

"

Noah rolled his eyes.

I laughed to myself. With him loving baseball so much, you'd think that he would see how much math was involved in the sport. But I guess Noah is more of an

"all instinct player

" than anything.

We went to our classroom and sat down. We had a packed morning before we could make any progress with anything else. The closer we got to lunch, the more my stomach filled with butterflies.

A lot of 'what ifs' were making it hard to concentrate during class. What if foster parents can't adopt? What if they don't really want to adopt me? What if I have to wait until they find my dad? What if Noah gets into a fight with his parents if they say no?

I was scared to find out, but anxious to find out at the same time.

We dumped the books we wouldn't need today for homework and then headed for the library. Noah led the way, making sure to pause by a tree in the center of the quad area.

He pointed to some outdoor lockers.

"Oh geez! Look what Dave did.

"

I turned and was about to ask what, but it became obvious. Glaringly obvious. There was only one locker that had pink barbie wrapping paper plastered to it, with matching balloons all tied to it. A few girls were taking pictures and posing at the locker like it was part of a photo shoot.

Noah shook his head.

"I can only imagine what Zeke will do next.

" He chuckled.

"I bet he's too scared to go to his locker with all those girls surrounding it.

"

I didn't think so. Zeke wasn't afraid of anything, let alone some girls that wanted to take pictures with all that pink.

"Let's get going before he catches us over here. It would be too suspicious.

" Noah turned.

"Why would you be afraid to get caught if you weren't afraid when you committed the crime?

" A stern voice asked.

I jumped back in surprise, bumping the tree and Noah flinched.

"Zeke...

" He squeaked out.

"What are you doing here?

"

Zeke raised an eyebrow.

"Just heading to my locker. I'm surprised you guys were able to put this together on such short notice.

"

"It wasn't me!

" Noah straightened up right away. I mimicked him.

"We're just an innocent passerby.

" Then he went on the attack.

"And you can't be mad, because we're mad at you for ditching us this morning. You were really going to make us walk! On a game day! What if we tripped and twisted an ankle or got hit by a car?! Uncool.

"

Zeke's lips twitched.

"I knew Kyle would call Marie for a ride after the team told you no. Don't be such a brat.

"

"Sureeee, you say that now.

" Noah glanced at me and nodded towards the building.

"Well, we have to get going. Some homework to do before we leave for the game. See ya on the bus.

" He turned away and hurried to the library.

I followed closely, Not willing to be left behind with Zeke. Especially if he's in a bad mood. I glanced back just in time to see him smiling lightly in the direction of his locker. Maybe he wasn't that mad. A twinge in my heart gave me a clue...Zeke was probably happy that his brothers cared enough to even celebrate.

No one has ever celebrated my birthday. I wouldn't mind being pranked like this even if the embarrassment drowned me.

"Jake? Where's your head at?

" Noah called out.

I looked at him.

"I'm here.

"

"You're here but you're not here.

" He said as he opened the door to the school library. He led me to the row of computers against the wall.

"You do that often...just drifting away mentally.

"

I shrugged.

"We're about to look up some sensitive information. What if it isn't good news..?

"

Noah shot me a look of disdain.

"Don't be such a pessimist. Worst case scenario, we pray your dad doesn't come. If he doesn't come, you don't have to leave.

" He sat in front of the computer and started to enter the school login info.

I pulled up a chair so I could also see clearly. Noah's words didn't necessarily cheer me up. Ever since my talk with Mr. Atkins, I was torn whether I wanted my dad to come back or not. At the very least...I wanted answers.

Noah went straight to Google and started to input the keywords: 'adoption in California while being a foster parent'.

It's funny to think that Mr. and Mrs. Atkins were technically already my set of 'parents'. They were my legal guardians.

"A year long process!?

" Noah mumbled angrily. I read along the lines of the article he clicked on. Adoption was really a long process, which makes sense I guess. You're basically giving kids away. The government probably wants to make sure the parents aren't murderers, molesters, and the sort.

Adopting wasnt just a long process, it was also expensive and time consuming. I cringed at the estimated $2000.

Noah comforted me.

"Don't worry about that. Mom and Dad do well as realtors. Especially when the market is good like this.

"

"But the market isn't always good.

" I whispered.

Noah waved his hand as if he could wave away those concerns.

"Never mind that. The hard part is getting Mom and Dad to take the extra classes. And then the boys also need to pass an interview with your social worker so we'll start with them. Gotta make sure they're okay splitting the inheritance one more slice.

"

I cringed.

"I don't need inheritance. It's not like I'm really their son. I'll just be happy staying here for all of high school.

"

Noah hummed, uncommitted. Then his whole body twitched with excitement. I looked at the screen to see what he was reading now. It was an article specific to parents giving up their parental rights. It even mentions that parents in prison automatically lose their rights, which means my mom can't take me back. But I knew that part...she almost killed me after all. She won't be leaving jail anytime soon.

Noah looked up with a smile.

"This is it. This can speed up the process. We find your dad and have him sign away his rights. Then my parents can outright adopt you and can do away with the waiting period.

" He tapped his chin.

"We need to find some clue. A lead to point us in the right direction.

" He looked at me expectantly.

"What?

" I shifted away from him, scared of what he wanted.

"I know you don't like talking about him...but you must have some idea of who he is, right?

" Noah looked hopeful. Almost like it would be easy to get a signature and then bam, we would be brothers.

"I don't know him. No name.

" I paused.

"I vaguely remember his face.

" In fact, I thought Jeremy Patterson was him. But that player is too young. I bit my lip; this could be a good time to tell Noah about my brother. My blood related brother who might be a baseball player on his favorite team.