First Day

“Joel, hurry up; we don’t have time for this, not today.” A deep voice echoed down the hall. Almost instantaneously, a high-pitched voice rang out, “Just give me a bit longer; I’m almost ready, I swear.” In the same room where the previous voice came from, “You know you’ve had all Summer to get ready for today, right, Joel? Why are you having such a hard time deciding what to wear? It’s just school, you know.” An audible groan was given in response. “Henry, it’s my first day at this school; I’m only gonna get one shot at a first impression, so I might as well make sure I’m at my best.” Henry cocked his head to the side while sitting on Joel’s bed. “If I’m being honest, I don’t think anyone’s gonna care about what you’re wearing.” Joel turned his head, now facing the indifferent Henry. “I don’t expect you to understand, Henry; you’ve lived in this town all your life, so everyone already knows you.” Henry’s face tensed, as if he was about to say something, but he just let out a sigh as he got up off the bed. “Ok, just make sure you don’t take too much longer; Sam hates being late more than anything else in the world. You understand that, don’t you?” With one final quip, Henry left the room.

The eldest brother, Sam, was impatiently tapping his foot on the floor when Henry walked into the room. “Henry, what the hell is taking Joel so long? Doesn’t he know that if he takes too long, we’re all gonna be late?” Henry sat down on the couch while Sam was questioning him. “Man, I don’t know. He says he’s worried about first impressions or whatever, since it’s his first day at this school and stuff .” The sound of Sam’s foot tapping against the hardwood floor stopped for a moment before resuming at a slower pace. “First impressions, huh.” Sam was visibly contemplating something before reaching into his jacket pocket and tossing a metal ring with a few keys on it at Henry. “Here, Henry, go start the car; Joel and I will be out in a bit.” Henry took his time getting up from the couch, eventually making his way to the front door. “Sure, whatever you say, bro.” As Henry opened the front door, cold air rushed into the house, trailing behind Sam as he made his way down the hallway towards Joel’s room. 

Sam peered through the open doorway; unopened boxes and random pieces of furniture were scattered around the room. Joel was standing in a corner of the room, staring into a mirror that was being held up by a tower of boxes; clothes were scattered all around his feet. “Joel, cmon, we gotta get going. If we don’t leave soon, we’ll get stuck in traffic, then we’ll all be late.” Joel’s gaze was locked onto his reflection in the mirror, not even attempting to turn his head to face Sam. “Look, I know you’re nervous because it’s the first day and all, but I really don’t think what you wear is gonna make all that much of a difference.” At Sam’s remark, Joel turned towards Sam. “That’s what Henry said too. That no one's gonna care about what I’m wearing.” Joel’s voice began to strain. “Did you guys ever think about how I care? About how I care about which clothes I wear, about how I style my hair, about how my socks have to be the same color as my shoes?” Tears were streaming down Joel’s face as he spoke. “You’ve both lived here your entire lives! I’ve been here for not even 3 months! I’m sorry that I care about the first impressions I’m gonna make! Something that you and Henry have never really had to worry about!” Joel was now fully facing Sam, who stood straight up upon hearing Joel’s words. 

Sam had always been the oldest. Henry was two years younger than him, and Joel was six years younger. Though he was used to being the oldest, Sam was still not fully sure how to act around Joel. He was aware that he treated Henry and Joel differently, and even though he made efforts to treat them equally, he was still more distant with Joel. Sam’s mother had died when he was 11. Leaving his father to raise him and Henry alone, and after 7 years, their father revealed that he had met someone new, a new woman. Initially dismayed at the news, Sam couldn’t help but feel happy for his father, who hadn’t been in a relationship since his Mother’s death. Upon hearing that the woman his father met had a young son, Sam was excited. He had loved being an older brother to Henry and thought that if he could be an older brother to this new woman’s child, it would also make his father happy. A few days later, their father took them to meet the woman and her son at her house. Sam’s father knocked on the door a few times, and seconds later it swung open. On the other side of the doorway was the woman their father had told them so much about; her face was adorned with a bright smile as she welcomed them all in. Standing a few feet behind her was a timid boy; his hands were behind his back as he stared at the ground below him, not even daring to steal a glance at the three strangers who stood in front of him.

“You must be Sam and Henry. It’s so nice to finally meet you both; I’ve heard so much about you from your dad.” The woman continued to speak as she gestured to the little boy behind her. “This is my son Joel; he’s a bit shy, but I hope that you’ll both get along with him.” The small boy had barely moved since they had stepped inside. The meeting of the two families proceeded without incident, and after a while, they moved to the kitchen where Joel’s mother had prepared a meal for them all to share. While they were eating, the new couple shared their intention to get married. The boys were taken aback by the sudden news, but all three wanted to support their respective parents in their relationship. Afterwards, the rest of the meal was eaten largely in silence. Now and then, Joel’s mother would ask Sam or Henry a question, and when their father tried to do the same to Joel, silence would hang in the air until his mother spoke up, apologizing for her son being so shy. 

A few months later, when Summer began, Sam and Henry’s father told them that Joel and his mother were going to be moving in with them. Sometime later, a white sedan pulled into their driveway. The woman from the previous meeting stepped out of the vehicle, turning around to open the rear door. Out of the backseat of the car appeared the small boy who hadn’t said a single word the last time they met. The boy’s head was still facing the ground. Sam, Henry, and their father walked out to the driveway to start helping move the two new family members' belongings inside.

It took a few days for Joel to first speak to Sam and Henry. They had both helped him move his stuff into his new room, but had neglected to unpack anything since Joel had not told them where anything should go. It was only when Henry tried to open one of the boxes that Joel’s voice slipped out. “Wait, stop.” The voice was so quiet that Sam and Henry were questioning whether they were hearing things, but a few seconds later Joel walked up to the box Henry was trying to open and placed his hands on it to close it shut. Surprised at first by the sudden display, Sam eventually spoke up, “So you do know how to talk, huh?” Upon hearing this, Henry started to laugh. Sam and Joel joined in. All three boys were laughing together amid the room of unopened boxes and assorted furniture.

Sam was staring at Joel’s crying face, unsure about how to correctly mend the situation. In the short time that they had been together, this was Sam’s first time seeing Joel show so much emotion. Henry had never cried like this in front of Sam before. “Joel, are you ok, bro? I understand you're nervous, it being your first day of school in a new town and all, but it’s gonna be ok.” Joel sniffled, bringing his elbow up to his face to wipe away his tears. “You don’t know that! You don’t know that it’s gonna be ok!” He was getting more and more worked up as the conversation carried on. “You don’t know how I’m feeling! You and Henry can’t know what I’m feeling!” Sam’s body was tensing up. He knew he had to say something, but didn’t know what the right words were to say. He thought for a moment before opening his mouth. “Ok, fine, I don’t know for sure it’s gonna be ok, and I don’t fully understand how you’re feeling, but I do know that if you’re not ok then I’ll do my best to help you, and if I don’t understand how you’re feeling, I’ll wait for you to tell me how you feel, so that I can understand you. That’s what an older brother does, ok.” A few moments passed, and Joel started to calm down. Sam walked toward the small boy whose face was hidden behind his hands. Joel felt a pair of arms wrapping around him; he peeked through his hands and saw Sam in front of him, embracing him. In turn, Joel wrapped his arms around Sam as well.

While embracing, the sound of a door opening near the front of the house could be heard, followed by increasingly loud footsteps. “Yo guys, we’re gonna be late, you know?” Henry now stood in the doorway that Sam had previously occupied. As he saw the scene before him, he was visibly confused. “Uh, guys, are y’all ok?” In response to the question, Sam answered, “Yeah, we’re cool. We were just talking.” Henry started moving closer to the two who still had their arms wrapped around each other. “You guys were taking so long, so I started to get worried, but damn, you guys were just having a moment without me, huh?” While he was speaking, Henry joined in the embrace between brothers. Joel had collected himself by now. “Sorry, Sam, Henry, we’re gonna be late now, because I was taking too long to get ready.” Joel was looking up at his two older brothers with a sorrowful expression. The eldest brother, holding onto his two younger siblings, spoke while smiling, “Nah, it’s ok; we’ve got time. Not like the world's gonna end because we’re a bit late, right?” The three brothers who stood in the middle of the room full of unopened boxes and assorted pieces of furniture continued to embrace each other, relishing their bond as newfound siblings.