Arthur Gomes' father, Dr. Jacob Gomes, came home from work after five pm. He works at a doctor's office. The dinner wasn't ready yet. He was very happy about something. Arthur was watching his younger siblings; Tyler, Zoey, and Max, while their mother, Mary Anne, was fixing dinner.

"Hi, Daddy!" exclaimed Zoey and Max excitedly.

"Hi, kids," smiled Jacob kissing his kids on their forehead.

"Hi, dear, you seemed excited tonight," said Mary Anne who came from the kitchen.

"I got big news to share at the dinner table," replied Jacob who was thrilled.

"I can't wait to hear it," smiled Mary Anne.

Arthur is going to be a teenager on October 20, 1992. He got adopted as a baby. His real parents passed on when a cruise ship sank on its way to London, England. He was with them, but he was one of the survivors. His adoptive parents were their friends and were heartbroken to hear that and they've known Arthur since he was born, so that's how they decided to adopt him right after his parents were buried. He doesn't remember them at all. He was just a year old. None of his friends knew he was adopted since it was his secret. Mary Anne became pregnant with Tyler two months later.

Tyler is turning eleven on November 22, 1994. She can be pretty bossy sometimes and Arthur tells her to stop bossing people around because she can lose her friends in a heartbeat. She loves to do poems and would like to be a poet someday.

Zoey recently turned eight on April 19, 1997. She's shy around people and is attached to Arthur. She likes to use her imagination to create things for arts and crafts.

Max is the youngest child who just turned six on March 6, 1999. He likes to play with his older siblings when they're outdoors in Seattle, Washington. He also likes to be the youngest because in the most games, it says the youngest player goes first.

"Dinnertime, children!" called Mary Anne from the kitchen.

The kids got up for the dinner table to eat.

"What kind of news you have for us, Dad?" asked Arthur.

"I'm getting promoted soon," replied Jacob who was smiling.

"That's great!" exclaimed Tyler happily.

"There's more; I worked so hard that they decided to transfer me to another state for good," continued Jacob.

The kids went silent while Tyler's smile faded.

"I'm happy for you," smiled Mary Anne.

"I'm not moving!" exclaimed Arthur.

"Us either!" cried the rest.

"We're not moving for another two months before school begins. It's only June. I'm not sure where we'll be living. They'll let me know sometime next week," said Jacob.

"I don't care, I still don't want to leave here; my life is here," said Arthur who was getting too upset to eat. "Mom, may I please leave the table?"

"Yes, of course," replied Mary Anne.

He got up and went up to his room.

"Count us out," added Max and Zoey.

"Let's get out here," continued Tyler.

"Hold on. Where are your manners?" asked their mother.

"Forget it," replied Tyler rudely.

"Tyler," warned Mary Anne who was getting angry.

"May we be excused?" asked Zoey and Max.

"Yes," replied Mary Anne.

They left for their rooms, too.

"No fair!" exclaimed Tyler angrily.

"You're not leaving the table without permission. Do that and you'll be punished for two weeks," warned Mary Anne.

"Fine. May I leave the table?" asked Tyler.

"Now you can," replied Mary Anne.

She left for her room as well.

"I thought the children would be happy for me," said Jacob whose smile faded a bit.

"It's not that, they just don't want to move, that's all," said Mary Anne. "Besides, Arthur just met a nice looking girl a couple of months ago. He even might ask her to his girlfriend before school starts."

"He can do that somewhere else," replied Jacob.

"No, he doesn't have to. They still can be together no where we are; far or nearby," said Mary Anne. "They can always visit each other. He can visit her family."

Mary Anne became an orphan when she was a child. She lost her mother when she was six and her father died six years later. She already lost her older and only brother of kidney failure, who was ten, when she was eight. She lived with a relative until she started college.

Jacob's parents live in London, England and haven't seen them very often except on any holidays or birthdays. He has two older sisters there, too. They come with his parents. He has six nieces and nephews; both of his sisters have three kids. One of them is expecting another baby in a few months.

"I was just hoping the children would be thrilled about the promotion," said Jacob.

"Honey, Tyler was happy for you before you mentioned the moving part," replied Mary Anne.

After dinner and the table was cleared off, they talked some more.

"We should have a family meeting," suggested Jacob.

"I don't know if the kids are in the mood right now," said his wife.

"They should still join us," said Jacob.

"We can always do it later or some another time," said Mary Anne.

"Fine by me then," said Jacob.

Two hours later, all the kids, except Arthur, came down.

"Is Arthur coming down?" asked Mary Anne.

"No, he doesn't want to," answered Zoey. "He's still too upset right now."

"Tell him to come down," said Jacob.

"Give him more time," Mary Anne told her husband.

The next day, Arthur felt calm a bit and came down dressed.

"Morning, sweetheart," smiled Mary Anne.

"Morning," said Arthur.

"The younger kids are with their friends for the day, so you don't have to keep an eye on them when I do some errands later on and they won't be home before dinner," said his mother.

"Okay. I'm going out with Crystal anyway. We were going out for the day as well. I'm taking her out to lunch and to the movies," said Arthur.

"What time you're leaving?" asked Mary Anne.

"At eleven-thirty am; her dad is coming for me. He said we can either call him or you when we're ready to leave. We'll be hanging-out at the mall for a bit after the movie. We told that to her father and it was fine by him," explained Arthur.

"Sounds like a good plan. This could be your first crush if it goes well between you and Crystal. I liked her a lot when you first introduced me to her," smiled his mother.

"I know," agreed Arthur. "The truth is that I really do like her very much."

"I'm sure she feels the same way as you right now," said Mary Anne who was having her coffee.

"I haven't asked her to be my girlfriend yet. I hope I can before we move," said Arthur. "Do you think we still can be together, Mom?"

"Of course you would. She'd still love you no matter what happens," replied Mary Anne smiling.

"Good, I don't want to break up with her after a short time. I don't know how she would react when I tell her. Maybe I can tell her the same way you just told me," said Arthur.

"That's a good idea," agreed Mary Anne.

At eleven-thirty am, a car honked.

"That's Crystal and her dad now. See you later, Mom," said Arthur.

"Have fun, Arthur," said Mary Anne hugging her son.

"Thanks," smiled Arthur as he headed out to the car.

"Hi, Arthur," Crystal Gracia greeted him.

"Hi, Crystal," Arthur greeted back as he got in the car.

"This is my dad, Richard," said Crystal introducing Arthur to her dad.

"Nice to meet you, Arthur," smiled Richard.

"Same here, Mr. Gracia," said Arthur shaking his hand.

"You can call me Richie," Richard told Arthur.

"He lets my old friends call him that, too," said Crystal.

"Fine by me," said Arthur.

"That looks like a nice house you have there," commented Richard.

"Thank you," replied Arthur.

"Are you the only child?" asked Richard.

"No, I have three younger siblings; two sisters, Tyler and Zoey & a brother, Max," answered Arthur. "Tyler is ten going on eleven in November, Zoey just turned eight in April, and Max recently turned six in March."

"That's nice," said Crystal.

"Yeah, I get along with them just fine," said Arthur. "Tyler can be a bit bossy. I warn her she could end up with no friends."

"That's true that can happen to anyone. They would wonder why they have no friends since they're too bossy," agreed Richard.

"My mom took off when I was only three years old. I hardly remember her. She also left my two siblings behind. My older brother, Jimmy, was five and my younger sister, Verna, was two. She doesn't remember Mom either. Jim was the only one who knew her, but wasn't happy when she left all of us behind. Dad's been raising us all by himself ever since," explained Crystal.

"That's too bad. My dad has two older sisters and his parents live in London, England. I have six cousins with one on the way soon," said Arthur. "My mom lost her whole family when she was a child. Her mom died when she was six, she lost her only older brother, who was ten, two years later, and her father passed on when she was eleven. She lived the rest of her life with a relative until she started college."

"That's cool," said Crystal.

"I have a secret of my own share and none of my friends knew about it," said Arthur. "I'll tell it to you first later."

"Okay," said Crystal.

 

2: Chapter 2

At the mall, Crystal and Arthur decided to have lunch in the food court. They had Subway; they had meatball sub. Arthur had Sprite and Crystal had Diet Coke.

"I just got diabetes last week," said Crystal.

"Really? You must if got scared," said Arthur.

"I was scared at first, but it's not so bad once you get used to it. I have to stick with my diet; I can't eat sugar or sweets and inject myself after I eat. I also have to see my doctor a lot," explained Crystal.

"How did you end up getting it?" asked Arthur.

"I've been drinking a lot of water and had a bad headache. After I had it for a few days, Dad took me to the doctor's office to have me checked. They took a blood test and told me it was diabetes that causing me to drink a lot & giving me a headache. I had your dad as my doctor," explained Crystal. "Isn't it Dr. Gomes?"

"Yes," replied Arthur. "Isn't that something?"

"I know, I liked him a lot," said Crystal.

"Everyone enjoys having him," said Arthur. "My siblings and I even have him as our own doctor."

They laughed at that.

"When are you telling me your secret?" asked Crystal.

"Mind if I tell you after the movie while we explore here?" asked Arthur.

"I don't mind," said Crystal.

"And there's something I would like to ask you as well," continued Arthur.

"Okay," said Crystal.

After lunch, they went to see Cheaper by the Dozen 2. They liked the movie. After that, they walked around a bit.

"I'll tell you my secret first," said Arthur. "I was adopted when I was a baby."

"Really?" asked Crystal.

"Yes. My real parents are dead, they were drowned when a cruise ship sank going to London, England. I was with them, but it was a miracle that I lived. Both my late parents and adoptive parents were good friends, which was why I was adopted by them. I don't remember my real parents at all; I was only a year old at that time. My adoptive mother told me that when I was Zoey's age," explained Arthur.

"Wow, that's a nice secret," said Crystal.

"Yeah, I haven't told my friends yet," said Arthur.

"Oh," said Crystal.

"Here's what I want to tell you. I enjoy being with you," began Arthur.

"Same here," smiled Crystal.

"And I like you a lot," said Arthur. "The question is would you like to be my first girlfriend?"

"You mean it?" asked Crystal happily as he nodded. "My answer is yes I would like to. I never had a boyfriend, so this would be very exciting that I'm finally getting one."

"I'm glad," smiled Arthur.

They hold hands for the rest of the day. At four pm, they called Richard and they waited outside where they walked in. He came within five minutes later. At home, Arthur went to his mother who was reading a newspaper.

"Hi, Arthur, how was your day with Crystal?" asked Mary Anne.

"Wonderful. I asked her to be my girlfriend earlier," said Arthur.

"And what did she say?" asked Mary Anne.

"She was so happy about it that she said yes. She never had a boyfriend," said Arthur.

"Glad to hear it," smiled his mother.

"I told her about our family history and how I got adopted. She was impressed about it. Her mother left her and her family behind when she was too young to remember. She has two siblings. Her older brother is Jimmy and her younger sister is Verna. Mr. Gracia ended up raising his three kids on his own ever since his wife left them all behind," explained Arthur.

"That's a shame," said Mary Anne.

"She even had Dad as her doctor last week," continued Arthur as he told her about how Crystal is now diabetic.

"Well, at least she's been doing well," said his mother. "Oh. Your siblings were invited to stay overnight at their friends' houses, so it'll be just you, me and your father for dinner. The younger kids will be home tomorrow afternoon. We'll be going out to eat."

"Sounds good to me," said Arthur. "I haven't told her that we'd be moving soon. I'll probably tell her and the others when we go to the fair this weekend. I was planning to invite her to go there plus she might want to get know my friends a bit better."

He has two best friends; Muriel Johnson, Amelia Lynn Grimes, Marcus Black, and Michael Zimmerman. Crystal moved here from North Dakota a few months ago. They met when she sat right next to him because the students were in their seats in ABC order. They've known each other ever since and Arthur liked her right away.

At five-fifteen pm, they left soon after Jacob changed into his regular clothes. They went to go eat at Seattle Chinese Restaurant.

"Arthur got Crystal as his new girlfriend today," said Mary Anne on their way there.

"Really?" asked Jacob.

"Yeah. I asked her at the mall after we saw the movie and she said yes," smiled Arthur.

"Good for you," smiled his father.

"She told me she was your patient last week," said Arthur.

"Yes," said Jacob nodding. "She's actually my new patient."

"She said she liked you a lot," said Arthur.

At the restaurant, they saw one of Arthur's old teachers, Mrs. Lynn Bloyd, from fifth grade. He's almost seventh grade now. The school just ended for the summer a week ago.

"How nice to see you again, Arthur," said Mrs. Bloyd.

"Hi," said Arthur.

"I'll be having Tyler as my fifth grade student this year when school begins again," said Mrs. Bloyd.

"Actually, we won't be here by then. We'll be moving to another state in August. My boss is promoting and transferring me, I just found out yesterday," said Jacob.

"Good for you, Jake," smiled Mrs. Bloyd.

"Thanks," said Jacob.

"I'm glad you told me before I could send a postcard to your house to let Tyler know I'd be her new teacher," said Mrs. Bloyd.

"I know," agreed Mary Anne.

Later, at home, Mary Anne had a phone call from Tyler's friend's mother saying she was being negative to her own friend and being immature.

"Thank you for telling me that, she will be punished when she returns home tomorrow. I'll come by for her at ten am instead of in the afternoon, I'm going to have a chat with her," said Mary Anne.

In the middle of the night, Arthur was dreaming.

"No, no. No, no," called Arthur out. "No, no."

He was sweating and moaning.

"No, no," continued Arthur.

Mary Anne came in noticing her son was having a nightmare as she went to him and said, "Arthur, dear."

"No, no," Arthur kept on dreaming. "No, no."

"Honey," said Mary Anne as he woke up. "You were having a bad dream."

The next day, Mary Anne left to pick Tyler up and when she got there, she was told that Tyler took off.

"You mean she ran away from here?" asked Mary Anne.

"Yes," answered Mrs. Linda Lohan.

"I'm glad you're telling this. How's Jennifer doing?" asked Mary Anne.

"She's still upset and hurt this morning," replied Linda.

"I bet. For hurting her own friend like that," said Mary Anne. "I'm going to punish Tyler for a month and make her apologize to Jennifer if I have to."

"Good idea," agreed Linda. "We can call the police while you're here and tell them to find her and bring her back home."

"Okay. Let's do that," said Mary Anne as they went inside to do so.

The police came two minutes later. Mary Anne showed the picture of Tyler and gave them her address to bring her daughter back. They left in no time. Then Mary Anne left for home. When she got home, Arthur noticed his mother without Tyler.

"What happen to Tyler, Mom?" asked Arthur.

"Well, when I got to the Lohan's residence, Mrs. Lohan told me Tyler ran away," replied his mother.

"Why?" asked Arthur who was shocked.

"Good question. She better have a good reason why she ran away. We just called the police and told them to bring her back here. She's going to be punished for a month and make her apologize to Jennifer during Tyler's punishment," explained Mary Anne.

"She's going to be wondering why people would end up stopping liking her one of these days and end up with no friends at all," said Arthur. "Especially when she can be negative, bossy, and immature at most times."

"I agree with you," said Mary Anne.

That afternoon, the doorbell rang and when Arthur answered, it was the police with Tyler.

"Where were you?" asked Arthur.

"We found her hitchhiking on the highway trying to get a ride," replied the police.

"Hitchhiking? Tyler, you know that can be very dangerous. What if you end up in a stranger's car one day? You could get kidnapped and killed," said Arthur. "Remember what Mom taught us? Never go anywhere with strangers. Thank you for bringing her home."

"Is your mother home?" asked the police.

"She's in the kitchen. I'll bring Tyler there. She's waiting to have a talk with Tyler," said Arthur.

"Thank you. Have a good day, son," said the police.

They left as he had Tyler by the hand and took her to the kitchen.

"Mom," said Arthur.

That was when Mary Anne noticed Tyler home.

"Where have you been, Tyler Gomes?" asked Mary Anne.

"The police told me she was on a highway hitchhiking," said Arthur.

"What were you doing on the highway to begin with?" asked Mary Anne. "You know you can't hitchhike. You'll never know what would happen: getting into a stranger's car and take off and have you killed. You and I are going to have a serious talk."

Arthur left the kitchen so her mother and sister can have a long, serious talk. Mary Anne did punish Tyler for a month and tells her that she better apologizes to Jennifer after that or she will no longer be Tyler's friend. Then Tyler pouts while going upstairs to her room.

"When you sit for her often, her punishment rules are she's not allowed to watch TV, she will not allowed to use the phone, no outdoors or leaving the house. She doesn't have to stay in her room unless she disobeys you. If she tries to break a rule, remind her and let me know and I'll make sure of that," said Mary Anne.

"No problem. You can count on me for that, Mom," said Arthur.

"Thank you, honey," said Mary Anne.