Esther nods as she exits the building and picks up the other kids and brings them home. The youngest, at the age of three, is sobbing right away. Then it gets most of the others crying. Esther rubs her forehead and takes a deep breath.
"Okay Esther. You've got this." She tells herself. And then, her day begins.
After 2 hours Riley fixes Fenrir..."thanks man.. i'll bring this right to her" he says
Riley smiles.."Great .. hey if you guys need anything and some upgrades to your bey.. you know who to come to" he says
El shakes his hand.."you know it" he says leaving for Esthers house
Esther was running through the house, chasing after Eddy - the seven year old. He was holding Missy's - the ten year old's, toys in his hands. It seemed like they all just had to give each other hell in order to make themselves happy. And to make Esther miserable.
"Eddy! Give Missy her stuffed animals back." Esther says, nearly out of breath. She watches as five-year old Xane runs past her, holding a lamp.
"Xane! Drop that right now!" Esther yells at him.
"Okay." Xane smiles as he lets it go. Esther jumps from one side of the room to the next, throwing her body against the floor as she catches the lamp and then sets it back onto the side table. But Zane had already started joining Eddy, and they were grabbing the other toys around the house.
"Oh lord, please help me." Esther pleads.
Esther barely makes it to the door, with three-year-old Dawn wrapped around her right leg and Xane tugging on her shirt to try and hold her back. She opens the door, and holds herself up by the door frame.
"Oh. El. Hi." Esther forces her best smile as Dawn screams at the top of her lungs, as if the noise in the background wasn't worse enough. Esther's smile didn't last long. "Alright. I suggest leaving as quickly as humanly possible."
"Thanks." Esther sighs, about to grab Fenrir but Eddy rushes by and snatches the beyblade away from El then runs up the stairs with it. Esther attempts to turn around but is tripped by Xane. Dawn is kicked into the air, and Esther gasps as she jumps to her feet and catches her. Esther was about to go up the stairs to chase after Eddy, but her mom calls out: "Esther! Could you please get me some water."
"Yeah mom!" Esther responds. She looks at El, her face dropping. "I guess I'll see you in school tomorrow. Thanks again for helping fix up Fenrir."
"Yea i can help" he says going through his back pack and handing the kids training beys since he was gonna go do some training after this.
"hey you guys can try to become great blades like your sister" he says
All of the kids happily cheer, but suddenly fall silent as one that had just shown up chucks his training beyblade at the ground. He glares at El. "We don't need you here."
Esther looks at her brother Zeke, who is the second oldest at 13. He was rarely home, this was actually one of the first times Esther had seen him this week. When he wasn't at school, he was at the doctor's. He has a chronic illness that affects his lungs. But when Zeke is in the hospital, he beyblades.
Esther looks at El in an apologetic way. Zeke is the one who had taken their father's death the hardest and he doesn't like it when other "men" come into his house, as his beyblade had been passed down their father's side - Galacticus Eosphorus...
"Oh so your already a blader..im sorry im just trying to help.." he says pulling out khensu..."why don't we have a match and your siblings can watch so your sister has time to get her work done" he says
Esther is about to say something, but Zeke snarls, "Alright." He then leads El and the others to the back yard where Esther usually trained.
"Just be careful! You know what the doctors said!" Esther shouts to her brother, who ignores her. Esther then goes to help her mother.
"Zeke is gonna get destroyed!" Xane laughs as he finds a spot to sit in the massive back yard.
"No way! Z has daddy's bey." Missy shakes her head and clenches her tiny hands into fists.
Zeke puts his beyblade on the launcher, and then gets ready. He has watched El on TV more than once.
Zeke:
Galacticus Eosphorus "Life-Bringer" and "Light Bringer" (but sometimes known as Lucifer) :
Zeke coughs into his hand, and then shakes his head. Then, he launches Eosphorus. His beyblade tears into the ground as it charges towards Khensu.
"A triple intensive bey." Zeke mutters to himself. His eyes dart about, and then lock on to a tree. Eosphorus strikes Khensu one more time before jumping into a tree and vanishing inside of the thick leaves.
"Wow pretty good.. " he says as khensu travels up the tree and circles it removing a large pile of leaves so it can find Eosphorus..."Come one khensu" he says
"Eosphorus." Zeke starts to cough, taking a step back as he cups a hand over his mouth and closes his eyes. His beyblade trembles and then flashes bright yellow as it smashes into Khensu, knocking the beyblade out of the tree. As Khensu starts to free fall, Eosphorus follows and drills into Khensu until they're both near the ground and Eosphorus moves away and lands back in the grass, slicing at the nearby strands.
El smiles.."wow.. i don't think i can beat you" he says pulling khensu away..."You clearly have talent.. wanna go see what your sister is up to...you don't look to well.. you shouldn't blade when your sick puts alot of stress on the body as they react to our spirits" he says
Zeke drops to his knees, nodding as he finishes his coughing fit. He holds his hand down in the grass and Eosphorus carefully moves into his hand and then stops spinning. He slowly gets back up and looks at El. "I've failed my father...he gave me Eosphorus...and I can't even use him to his full potential. I was supposed to help around the house. My mom told me that I had to be the man of the house...but most of my time is spent in the hospital. So now Esther has to deal with all of us. She has to buy everything, pay for mine and mom's medical bills. She can't even have her own life."
He closes his eyes to force the tears back, but several break free and plummet to the grass. He tightens his grip on Eosphorus. The other kids frown as they look at Zeke, and Missy hugs Eddy as she starts to cry.
"Aww come on man its not your fault... your not well...just help when you can...hey winning beyblade championships and tournaments means cash prizes ..im sure your sister will win and be able to pay off everything for you guys...hey just qualifying means 1,000 dollars" he says to him..."and you had my bey on the run"
Zeke wipes his tears away and looks at El with blurred vision. "But she's going to be up against a lot of really strong bladers...If I could help her I would. I know that Eosphorus has power...and I want to participate in tournaments, but I can't. Not until the doctor gives me an okay. So...I'll just have to stand back and let Esther do all of the work...and that's what bothers me the most. Isn't it wrong for me to let her do everything?"
Esther had just finished changing her mother's clothing and hands her another cup of water and medications. She gives her mother a quick kiss on the forehead before exiting the room, and then starts to prepare dinner. She pulls her hair up and puts on an apron.
Zeke sniffles and nods, smiling. "Alright. I'll do as much as I can until I get better. This is a warning to everyone out there, once I'm better I'll be number one in the world." He grins from ear to ear.
The kids start to cheer Zeke's name as they jump up and down. Then, some of their stomachs start to growl and they all laugh.
"Time to eat!" Esther opens the sliding glass doors to call out. The kids rush right past her and into the kitchen. She looks at Zeke and El, and smiles. "Hey, El, for helping you deserve some food. I wouldn't have even had the chance to cook or take care of my mom without you."
"Yeah! Could you stay a bit longer, please?" Zeke beams at El, and Eosphorus flashes blue.
Esther brings her mother out, the lady sitting peacefully in a wheelchair. She places her mom at her spot at the table, and then sets down an extra plate for El.
"It might be something different for you, but don't be scared. My father came directly from Greece, and was an excellent chef." Esther laughs. "What you see before you is a Horiatiki salata, or a Greek village salad, as well as Arni sto fourno me patates, or roast lamb with potatoes. I know lamb probably puts you off, but it tastes wonderful. You don't have to eat it if you don't want to, though. For dessert, we shall have Galaktoboureko which is a custard pastry. Enjoy~" She chimes before taking her seat by her mother. With that, all of the kids dig in as Esther helps to feed her mother. Esther was always the last one remaining at the table to eat by herself, her food cold by that time. But that's the way it has been for five years now...
Esther and El were the last ones at the table, and Zeke had wheeled their mother back to her room and put her in bed. Esther laughs, "Yeah. I've got my hands full. I don't think I'll be out of this house until the youngest is...I guess that means I'll never...." She shakes her head. "Nevermind. That's nothing you'd want to hear. But Zeke has always had this knack for beyblading. I have yet to beat him."
"Of course I'm ready." Esther laughs as she starts to play with her food. "And thanks, but I'm not sure if Fenrir is as strong as your Khensu. You're right, it's a special bey. But, could I ask you for another favor, El?"