<div style="text-align: center;"><a class="postlink" href="https://creativefreedomrpg.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&amp;t=46901&amp;p=299685#p299685">The OOC</a></div><br/>"No hay escuela hoy, Papá."<br/><br/>Miguel looked over from the television, eyeing his daughter sternly. "English, Bella."<br/><br/>A pout took form on her face with impressive speed, and she moved closer, hands now on her hips as if to assist her with standing her ground. "Mom always said English outside, and Spanish at home."<br/><br/>"That's true. But after she left us you started speaking Spanish everywhere. And we live in America."<br/><br/>She looked away, annoyed as she always was during this particular conversation (it was one of the most frequently recurring of their discussions), forcing a sheet of dark brown hair in front of her face. Her hair was always straight and smooth, with very little effort required on her part. She was the envy of her female classmates for it, as well as for her height; at around five and a half feet she was also pretty tall for being fifteen years old.<br/><br/>"You are an American. So you need to speak English."<br/><br/>"Fine," she begrudgingly allowed. She always gave in, but never without a fight. "There's no school today. Happy?"<br/><br/>He smiled. "Always. Where's your brother?"<br/><br/>She shrugged, plopping down on the couch next to him. The screen depicted a reporter standing in front of a tall brown building, with a banner flowing by beneath her with the same message on a loop. "CDC issues warning to all individuals within the Mojave region. People advised to remain indoors. Until further notice, the following schools are closed: Allied Faith High School, Arnold G. Hay Elementary, Allan Pearson High School..."<br/><br/>Miguel looked away from the scrolling words; he'd already seen the entirety of the announcement several times, and as such he was perfectly aware of the fact that both of his kids had no school that day. By the look of things they were in for a bit of a vacation, especially given that it was a Friday.<br/><br/>"He's probably still asleep. Is Uncle Julian home?"<br/><br/>"No, he headed in early today. There was something he needed to finish up."<br/><br/>"But the announcement said people are supposed to stay ind-"<br/><br/>She broke off as he lifted a hand for silence, his brow furrowed and his attention fixed once again on the screen. The reporter was finally talking again, her eyes scanning the prompter he knew was somewhere ahead of her.<br/><br/>"The illness is not believed to be life-threatening, but until more information becomes available it must be contained for precautionary purposes. Citizens are encouraged to report all instances of flu-like symptoms as soon as possible. Simply call the number at the bottom of the screen, and you will be connected to a professional who will ask you some questions so as to confirm your status. Please be sure to write the number down, and please, try to remain indoors."<br/><br/>He blinked, sitting back in his seat. From what he was hearing this mystery sickness didn't even seem too serious, and yet the reaction to it was nothing short of alarming. It reminded him of the collective panic encircling the Swine Flu a few years back. Overblown hype combined with communal paranoia were the culprits then, and he suspected the same was happening now albeit with much greater severity.<br/><br/>"The announcement is more of a guideline, Bella. Your uncle is an adult and he can decide for himself.<span style="font-style: italic">Neither</span>of us can afford to take a day off, as there is a lot we need to get done before the weekend. But you and your brother are to stay in the house until we get back home, understand?"<br/><br/>He saw the argument before it could manifest itself in the form of words; he rose from the couch, shaking his head before she could open her mouth. "I don't want to hear it. Look after your brother, and<span style="font-style: italic">be nice to him</span>," he added with a warning look in his eyes. Isabella typically wasn't cruel to Daniel, but older sisters around her age generally weren't happy about being cooped up in a house with their younger brothers. It was one of the fundamental rules of sibling rivalry.<br/><br/>"How much will you pay me to babysit?" she asked with a mischievous smirk. Miguel sighed, even as the sound of footsteps pattering down the staircase opposite them reached his ears. Several seconds later Daniel, bright eyed, skinny, and still in his batman pajamas, came barreling towards him at full speed.<br/><br/>"Morning, Dad!" he cried, head butting Miguel in the lower abdomen as he wrapped his arms around him. Sometimes he wondered how it could be possible for a kid to have<span style="font-style: italic">that</span>much enthusiasm about pretty much everything around him, but Daniel's demeanor was one of the things he liked the most about his youngest child. He'd miss it when the boy became a teenager, as in Miguel's experience that was when the joy always started to fade. Luckily he was just eight, so there was time.<br/><br/>"Good morning, Danny," he replied with a smile, putting a hand on top of his son's head. He cast a look over at Isabella, who was now watching him closely, waiting to hear his offer in exchange for watching her brother. Aside from the expectancy, there was something else there - an anguish that he caught there much more often than he'd have liked. The younger a person was, the easier it was to forget, and as such Daniel very rarely got sad about Rosa. Bella, though - Miguel doubted whether a single day went by with his daughter failing to grieve for her mother.<br/><br/>"Go brush your teeth."<br/><br/>"But I already did!"<br/><br/>The boy had the de Santa nose, long and thin, but his face was decidedly round compared to his father's. He was also much fairer of complexion, taking more after his mother in that regard. He was nearly as light as Isabella.<br/><br/>"Liar. Go brush your teeth."<br/><br/>There was a giggle (it was the same exchange they had every single morning) and then the boy-shaped torpedo was flying back upstairs to the bathroom, bare feet pounding the steps with reckless abandon.<br/><br/>"Weren't you hoping to go to Karen's birthday party this weekend?"<br/><br/>Her face lit up and she moved closer, the smile on her face transforming it in spectacular fashion. She had her mother's eyes - brown, but also with amber notes that almost made them seem golden at times.<br/><br/>"Can I?"<br/><br/>Miguel smiled. "Let's see how you do today, and we'll go from there. Alright?"<br/><br/>She nodded eagerly. "Karen's parents are setting up their whole first floor for it, plus the yard! Their house is so<span style="font-style: italic">big</span>," she added, a wistful look coming into her expression as she involuntarily glanced around at her surroundings. "Much bigger than this."<br/><br/>Julian's house was smaller than where'd they'd lived before, and the fact that the younger of the two de Santa brothers had taken in three people only made it seem even more cramped - unfortunately, Miguel was left with no choice but to sell their home when faced with the crushing medical (and assorted other) bills that hit the family around the time of Rosa's passing. After, he had spent several days arguing on and off with his brother, telling Julian that no bachelor wanted his brother and two kids living with him when he could be alone, and that it would amount to a terrible imposition.<br/><br/>Julian's counterargument was that while his big brother thought he knew everything, he had no clue what other people had going on in their heads, and he also had no idea how much he would love being able to spend more time with his niece and nephew.<br/><br/>Miguel refused to let Julian pay a dime for groceries or any of the essential things the kids needed; the leftover funds from the sale of the house helped see to that, and on his end Julian never let Miguel breathe a word of thanks to him. The importance of family was not lost on either brother.<br/><br/>"This house is plenty big enough for us, Isabella. And your uncle did a very kind thing in taking us in. He didn't have to, but he chose to do so because he loves you kids very much. So don't let me hear you talking like that again."<br/><br/>She looked away from his serious stare, facing the floor and appearing to be somewhat ashamed. She loved Julian, both of them did, and if the resentment came from anything it was from the loss they'd suffered that led to the move, not from the size of the house.<br/><br/>"I… I know, Dad. I'm sorry."<br/><br/>He grunted, pulling her into a half hug before kissing her on the forehead. "It's alright, sweetheart. I'm going to head out now - when you guys are ready to eat, pour out a bowl of cereal for your brother and yourself, alright? I don't trust you with the stove after last time."<br/><br/>"The steaks were<span style="font-style: italic">supposed</span>to be well-done, I was following the recipe!"<br/><br/>"Well-done doesn't mean 'literally on fire'. I'll see you later, and<span style="font-style: italic">call me</span>if you need anything, alright?"<br/><br/><br/>A few minutes later he was listening to the crunch of his boots on the sandy ground underfoot as he made his way over to the dark blue Jeep Grand Cherokee (at the moment it looked nearly white from the thick dust covering every inch of it, though). He ran a hand over his freshly shaven face and stared at his own reflection in the side-view mirror as he finally reached the vehicle.<br/><br/>He looked older than ever.