He'll Never Learn (Kali)

[Bailey Caraway]

To much fun, for some reason Bailey did not think there was such a thing. Even as he sat in the back of a Pilot Ridge cop car wearing a pair of one size fit all bracelets. It would only be a matter of time before Bailey was out doing God knows what to get himself into more trouble, all in the name of fun. He just never learned.

The policeman that picked Bailey up was talking about something up in the front seat, but Bailey wasn't paying him any attention. He had his head leaned back, if his eyes were open he'd be staring straight at the roof. (It's surprising that the cop didn't assume he was asleep.) Bailey felt awful. Not because he regretted what he had done, but because he knew that when he called Kali from the police station, she'd kill him the second she bailed him out. Every couple of minutes Bailey would lift his hands up off of his lap and shake them jingling his handcuffs. They were so uncomfortable. He sighed, he wished he was still wearing a shirt.

It hadn't occurred to Bailey that the cop had not read him his rights, nor did it occur to him that they had been driving for about thirty minutes and they were nowhere near the Pilot Ridge police station. In fact, the cop had started to slow down, they were pulling up in front of Bailey's home. Bailey didn't open his eyes until the cop opened his door and pulled him out of the car. He quickly looked around. "Wh- where are we?" It was still dark out, the street lights were still on but it was still difficult to see at 2:30 in the morning, not to mention his head was throbbing. "Why are we here?" Bailey hadn't quite put together that it was his lucky day. The policeman that picked Bailey up was familiar with the trouble-making nineteen year old and decided to take him home instead of taking him in. The cop pulled Bailey forward by his arm and walked up to the front door without answering any of his questions. The Officer rang the doorbell a couple times and waited.

[Kali Caraway]

Kali usually spent the night crashed out on the couch in her Kafe, but there were those rare nights that the store closed early enough for her to drive (or ride her pantomimed bicycle) home. Tonight had been one of those nights. She'd gotten home at roughly eleven thirty and had spent a good hour in a hot bath with lots of bubbles and a blasting radio--she had called for Bailey once she had gotten home but he wasn't there. After her bath she laid in bed for a while and listened to the noise of the house, the fridge kicked on, the heat turned off, and every now and then a car would go down the street.

Eventually, she had fallen asleep. But then the door bell rang. In a quick failing movement, Kali grabbed her bedside clock to gaze at the digital numbers. 2:32?! Kali hissed as she slid out of bed. She didn't run at the door to yell at who was there, yet, she needed to get dressed first; she slept in her underwear usually. Once she had a tank top and shorts on, she padded through the house with a growing agitation each time the door bell rang. Once she yanked the door open her eyes cast from the officer to her brother, to the handcuffs and repeat.

"Again? Goddamn it Bails," Kali sighed as she sagged against the door frame. "Officer, I'm sorry he's an idiot, I'll stop by the police station in the morning to pay for the vandalism. It wasn't too bad this time, right?" Kali shook her head and ran her fingers through her hair. This was becoming too close to a routine--at least she didn't have to bail her nineteen year old brother out of jail. Seriously. Samuel got into less trouble than Bailey, and Sammy was addicted to gambling. She massaged the bridge of her nose of a moment while the officer told her exactly what Bailey had done and after his recounting of the events, he turned to take off the handcuffs. She shook her head at Bailey and when the officer turned to look at her, she patted his shoulder and waved at him as he went off to his police car.

She pointed at the couch and glared at Bailey. She should be sleeping right now. "Sit." There was no other option.

[Bailey Caraway]

While Bailey and his captor waited for whoever it was they were waiting for to come and answer the door, Bailey squinted his eyes and took a good look around for the first time. He had just realized they were standing at his front door. He could be so dense sometimes. Bailey looked over at the policeman, who was about the same height as Bailey, and a huge grin spread across his face. "Awesome! I'm not going to jail!" Unfortunately Bailey's cheery disposition, was very short lived. His big goofy grin was wiped off of his face the second his older sister opened the door. She was not happy at all.

Bailey watched his sister intently, while she and the officer discussed what he had done and the fines that needed to be paid. He was hoping she would stop looking so disappointed in him, all he did was have a little fun, it's not like anyone got hurt....to badly. The way Bailey saw it, sh should be glad that he wasn't arrested, God knew he was ecstatic about it.

When he was finally freed from his handcuffs Bailey slipped past Kali and ducked into the house. He was just about to dash to his room in an attempt to put off the inedible scolding, but Kali was not about to let that happen. He winced at her command, sighed, and plopped down on the couch. "So... I guess it's a good thing you didn't stay at the Kafe tonight." He gave her a small 'I'm your adorable little brother smile' and hoped she wouldn't be to angry with him for to long.

[Kali Caraway]

"Ha!" She laughed once and loudly at what he said and his smile. He wasn't five any more so it wasn't as cute as it once was (not to mention she was tired as hell and a police officer brought him home.) "Bailey," she stressed and nearly whined while she sank into one of the arm chairs. She also used his full name, which was a big indication of how not happy she was about this. She leaned forward and ran her fingers through her hair a couple of times.

"I know you know better than this! Your exams are coming up, and you have no excuse for being out this late on a week day." She ran her fingers through her hair again, though the usually relaxing motion did little to alleviate the Little 'Bother.' It was just the same things, over and over again. Kali didn't want to act like his mother, but he lived with her and it was her responsibility to make sure he made it through Hammel and was ready to step out into reality once he graduated (it was a strong if at this point.) "You aren't stupid. You know the difference between what you can do, what you could do, and what you should do. Momma taught us all that. I'm not about to lecture you--Lord knows what good it will do." She heaved a big sigh before she moved from her spot on the chair to next to Bails on the couch.

"If Jack was here, you know what he would do?" She lifted an eyebrow and waited long enough for him to begin to guess before she cut him off. "He'd beat your ass, that's what. Now I've gotta come up with some suitable punishment that won't just make you get into trouble the first chance you get." She tapped her chin while she leaned back against the couch.

"Shit, Bails, if I wanted this responsibility I already woulda popped a kid out by now," she complained around a yawn, she stretched as far as her toes and fingers could reach, and vertebra could easily be heard adjusting as she did so.

[Bailey Caraway]

Bailey's 'Face' hadn't worked on Kali in quite a long time, it was ridiculous for him to assume that it would work now. Back in the day, when he was a tiny little trouble maker, all he had to do was make a sappy face and his sister became putty in his hands. Those were the days. Now all that look got him from his sister was a disappointing laugh. Bailey sighed, he could tell this was going to be a long annoying talk. He kicked his shoes off his feet, stretched out on the couch, and put his hands behind his head. He might as well get comfortable.

School and exams were the farthest things from his mind at the moment. He sighed when she brought that up. His head was hurting, not from stress but from being punched earlier that night, and he did not need another lecture about how he was doing in school. "It's not like I have a curfew anymore, and I'm doing fine in school and I'll do fine on my exams." He didn't look at her as he spoke. He just stared up at the ceiling, mostly because he was lying his ass off. He hadn't even been to class in the past couple of days and he was sure he missed a test the other day. "Sounds like a lecture to me." He mumbled as Kali continued.

When Kali mentioned their oldest brother Jack, Bailey looked over at her. He opened his mouth but nothing came out. He couldn't argue with her about that, because she was right. Jack would have really let him have it if he was there. "Punishment!? What do you mean? I'm not a kid anymore Kali." Bailey stood up. He didn't like where their conversation was going.

[Kali Caraway]

When Kali heard his sigh, her temper flared again. Did he expect to just mooch for the rest of his life? He was at the stage where he needed to start growing up and start to focus on the important things; like school and perhaps a job. He was nineteen now, and she was sure there was somewhere in Pilot Ridge where he could find some work, he was a bright individual when he wasn't doing stupid things like getting into fights that break windows and benches, and things. "Well maybe you should have a curfew." Kali lived at Hammel all the years she went there, and broke curfew a handful of times, she would admit that, but they were few and far between. And she didn't get into the kind of trouble that ended in handcuffs on those outings either.

She knew one of the signs of Bailey lying through his teeth was breaking contact and staring at something. She watched as he looked away from her and at the ceiling while he spoke about how he was doing in school. It took all of her control not to snort. "'Fine' is the neutral word you use when you mean the exact opposite. I wonder if your teachers would say your work is 'fine'? You know I have been wanting to visit Hammel again, see the old faces. I think I'll do that on Monday, how's that sound?" She was teasing, but she honestly had been wanting to return to the school for a day.

She glared momentarily at him when he made his quiet comment. She rolled her eyes. It certainly wasn't that much of a lecture, just the preamble to one she decided would do absolutely no good. However, she seemed to poke at a few of his buttons when she mentioned a punishment. When he jumped to his feet, she reclined back against the couch and casually crossed her legs at her ankles and folded her arms across her chest. "I mean if you've got so much time on your hands where you are getting into fights and vandalizing property, you'll need something to do." She then laughed at his comment about not being a kid anymore. "Give me one good reason why you aren't a kid anymore, Bails." She held up one finger and waited expectantly.

"Now. The first part of your punishment will be handled by the lovely Hammel officials, who will be hearing about this, and I suspect your lack of attendance will also get attention." Kali was no fool. "And the second part of your punishment...." Kali tapped her chin in thought as she readjusted herself on the couch by folding her legs beneath her and pulling a blanket over her lap. "You've got a week to get a job. And if you haven't gotten one when time is up, I'm calling Mom about this and we'll see what she thinks about your police escort, how does that sound?"

[Bailey Caraway]

Now it was Bailey's turn to let out one loud laugh. "Ha." A curfew? He didn't think so. Even before he was eighteen and he had the standard Hammel curfew, it didn't keep him from having the nightlife fun. There were numerous occasions where he and Johnny, their brother, would sneak out after curfew and be gone all night, and most of the time they never got caught. "So go ahead, give me a curfew." He thought smugly, "Doesn't mean I'll abide by it." This thought put a evil little smile on his face. He quickly got rid of it though, Kali knew him to well, if she saw that smile she would have known that he was thinking something devious.

Bailey looked appalled at Bailey's threat to check up on his grades. It's not like his siblings hadn't checked up on him before, but it still sucked big time when they did. "Okay Damn! I'm not doing that great! Happy now!?" Bailey crossed his arms and glared at his sister. Bailey used to love the fact that all his siblings had gone to Hammel before him, but in this circumstance, he wasn't to thrilled about it.

Kali was really good at silencing her brother. It was about the third time that night that she had manged to render him speechless. Bailey just glared at her as she went on about him needing to keep busy and about his maturity level. Kali really knew how to get under his skin. Bailey usually didn't get to angry about anything, he's usually the kind of guy where nothing could make him unhappy because being angry or upset just wasn't fun. He needed to calm down, he didn't like how upset he had gotten. Without another word to his sister and during one of her pauses, Bailey sped off to his room. He was back standing in front of Kali seconds later wearing a black shirt that said "Boobies Make Me Smile" on the front. (He had lost the shirt he was wearing that night during his fight) "I was cold." He said quietly in a much softer tone than before. In those few seconds he spent in his room Bailey was able to calm down a considerable amount.

When Kali went on to describe Bailey inedible punishment to him. he sighed again and sat down on the floor at his sisters feet in front of her chair. He hugged his legs bringing his knees up to rest his chin on them. Now he looked like a child. He was pretty tired, and he knew Kali was only looking out for him, there's was no need to be angry. "Fine, I can handle a detention or two from school." The first part of his punishment wasn't so bad but when she got to the second part Bailey's stomach dropped. "A job!? You want me to do better in school and hold down a job? C'mon Kali what if I just start going to class everyday?" The thought of having to get a job was not fun at all, Bailey would have no problem sitting through his classes if it meant he didn't have to get a job yet. "And mom doesn't need to know about any of this. She'll kill me. And if I'm dead how am I supposed to do better in school like you want?" Bailey hoped his small joke and change in attitude could get his sister to take it easy on him.

[Kali Caraway]

Kali knew the idea of a curfew wouldn't sit well with him, at all. But what else was there for her to do? She certainly couldn't let this go, because he was almost arrested, but if she also gave him a harsh punishment--or any sort really--it wouldn't do absolutely any good. She wasn't experienced enough in raising children to know what the absolutely best option here was, and she was a little angry that she had to make this sort of decision all on her own, as well.

"Well no. I'm not happy at all. In fact I'm quite unhappy about this. Bails you aren't stupid. There is no reason why you shouldn't be top twenty percent of your class--hell top five percent. You know you're smart--we all do. All your teachers do too. I just don't understand how you can't see how this is important an--" She cut herself off because she was yelling and it any hold she had on this conversation--if you could call it that--was slipping away. She needed to stay calm. She had half a mind to just tell him they'd finish this talk in the morning, but Bailey would probably be up and out of the house before she had even showered, or even woken up, and she'd bet a weeks income that he wouldn't go to school if this wasn't settled tonight.

However. Dammit all, she was just too angry. When he suddenly took off down the hall, she almost shouted out in a feral rage and tore off after him, but really. If Bails was going to run away, she'd never catch up to him, even in her car. She closed her eyes and rubbed her palms over her eyes, and pulled at her bangs. Breath. She needed to do that. When she opened her eyes again, her brother was magically back wearing a ridiculous shirt that made her roll her eyes. She did feel better, mostly, about what was going on, and in better control of herself. She took his explanation to his sudden absence with a wave of her hand.

When he sat down on the floor in front of her, she leaned forward with her elbows on her knees and patted his head with one of her hands, much like he was [still] a child. "I have no doubt that once you start going to school, the grades will never be a problem. You never had a problem with it before, when you kept up with it, anyway." She was speaking lightly, of course, because they were making some progress with this. She laughed again at his small joke. She really didn't want to inform their mother about what happened, because it wouldn't help anyone, at all. However, Bailey couldn't get it into his head that Kali would just let him get away with stuff like that. He was her baby brother! She used to help change his diapers! (well watch and comment on how absolutely awful they smelled).

"How about this? You do better in school, and go when you are supposed to, and don't get into any trouble, with the police or otherwise, and I'll retract the job stipulation. But that goes into effect if just going to school doesn't seem to be helping, alright? And don't you think I won't keep up with it, either." She poked him lightly on the nose.

[Bailey Caraway]

Bailey couldn't help but roll his eyes and sigh. His sister's yelling didn't phase him at all. He had heard it all before, he was tired of hearing the same old lecture and you would think everyone was tired of giving it. Why couldn't they just accept that school just wasn't his thing. He wasn't book smart, he was fine with that, he thought everyone else should be too. Bailey didn't say anything though, he let her go on with her ranting and yelling. at least he was smart enough to keep his mouth shut... sometimes.

Most of the women in the caraway family hated Bailey's taste in shirts. Kali was always the one that gave him the most grief about them though. It was a little surprising to Bailey that all she did was roll her eyes, but he was thankful for that. He didn't need her going off on him anymore that night.

The atmosphere in the caraway residence had changed drastically for the better. The two caraway siblings were speaking to each other in decent tones, and they were coming to a compromise. All Bailey had to do was keep up with school and he wouldn't have to get a job. For him, going to school regularly was going to be a difficult task but it was better than having to work. Bailey nodded his head in agreement to everything his sister was saying. He was so comfortable on the floor in front of Kali, that he had realized how tired he was. "Well, I guess since now that I'm gonna have to go to school tomorrow I should get some sleep." He said lazily. Before running off to his bed, Bailey muttered a quick, "Sorry." for the night events and gave his sister a quick hug.

[Kali Caraway]

Kali didn't exactly like the motherly tone she had adopted when she was yelling at him, she also didn't like the fact she hadn't been able to keep her head about it either. She sounded just like their mother if one of her babies came home with a bad behavior report. Momma C often flipped a lid and their large family home rang with it to every corner and back. That Midwestern woman learned how to yell back in her day, for sure.

It wasn't that Kali didn't like the shirts, some were quite comical, actually, but things like 'boobies make me smile' aren't exactly appropriate to just wear around. However the main reason why Kali gave him grief about his mature-content shirts was because he was her baby brother and it was hard to believe he was grown up enough to wear them. In her mind, he was still five.

Kali was glad that the fight was over now, even if she could call it a fight, whatever it was--the two of them had agreed upon the new course of action that would stop him from doing this again. When he mentioned sleep, Kali nodded her head with a large yawn, she certainly was exhausted. "'Night." She waved tiredly, and returned his hug with a smile. She had half a mind to get up and walk to her bed, but dammit if she didn't want to get up. She reclined on the couch and stretched out and pulled a blanket over her and went to sleep pretty damn fast.