Aging Up Special, Chapter 2.5: Everyone's Aging, Something's Changing

When Mars aged up, Jessi felt as if something was slightly off. His irises had an odd habit of never quite lining up, and his attention span was shorter than Lotus' hair - abnormal even for a toddler of his age. To her best efforts, Jessi tried to teach the little boy how to speak, but he always seemed more interested in his shoes than her constant repetition of "caaaaat, raaaat". Sometimes, he'd stare at her as if he had finally understood, and Jessi half expected for him to get on his legs and say "Well, that was lovely, mother, but can you feed me now?" - but then he would just gurgle and stick his fist in his mouth, leaving Jessi at square one once more.

She knew that it wasn't right to be this frustrated with her gurgling son: after all, he was just a toddler. But she felt as if this process had sped along must faster with her previous three, and wondered if she was doing something wrong. But eventually, Mars got the hang of things, resulting in his growth from toddler to child.

Meanwhile, the triplets faced obstacles of their own.

Petal was facing serious stress at school, where she overexerted herself tremendously to reach the top of her class. Soon, her siblings found her sleeping in the oddest of places, usually the carpet of the living room floor, too burnt out from her workload to drag herself to a proper bed.

She was a regular Sleeping Beauty.

And things could only get worse for her health, as the triplet's teenage years loomed around the corner, meaning high school was now coming into the picture for the three triplets. Before they could age up, however, Jessi insisted on some individual photographs. "You'll thank me when I'm older," she insisted as she forced them into position.

Axel was first on his mother's insistence, always a Momma's boy. He forced a smile, then lumbered back to his easel.

Lotus gave her best, passive smile into the lens. "I wish you'd grow your hair out again, like when you were a toddler." Jessi sighed.

"Leave me alone, mum. I like it this way."

Jessi supposed it was miracle enough she had gotten her to pose for a photo to begin with, and took what she could get.

Last was Petal.

"Babe, are those bags under your eyes?" she asked, worried.

"What? Oh, no. Don't worry." Petal lied, yawning.

Later that night, their transformations started. Jessi could have sworn that the air grew heavier with the addition of raging teen hormones, but she guessed that she couldn't complain: aging meant new sources of income, and as much as she hated relying on her children for money, it was a necessary part of their lifestyle.

Being the oldest, Axel reached teenagehood first.

He was very excited for this event, too much of a Daredevil to be nervous about the turmoil of his teenage years. Though it was doubtful he'd even realize that he was in turmoil once it caught up to him - he was a great artist, sure, but he wasn't exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer. Jessi sometimes worried for his safety, as any good mother is wont to do.

Axel's baby fat carried over from childhood, and his face still retained its childish innocence. While he wouldn't be getting on the honor role soon, he was constantly bringing home artistic and music based awards: age had made him quite the Virtouso, as it proved.

Lotus had made the decision to grow her hair longer, partly to appease her mother and partly to try out something new - it was only by her mother's pleading that she didn't dye it an outrageous color, like orange. Though she still kept the coloring in a secret package, hidden in the bathroom's uppermost cabinet. She at least kept it in a boy-like cut, staying true to her tomboy personality and in an attempt to break out of her shell a little more. People seemed to be drawn to her spunky, yet to-the-point personality, and as she discovered this little by little, it made her want to explore her world more. Large groups still made her uncomfortable, but she soon made friends willing to work around this barrier.

As for Petal, her hair began to reflect her personality: somewhat hidden from the rest of the world. If possible, age had made her even more withdrawn from the family, spending her days either in the backyard or the local library, rarely returning to the inside of the Deliah household until after midnight. Her eyes grew tired and sunken, and her childhood interests largely remained the same.

 

Her tradition of lurking in strange places continued.

All in all, Jessica was pleased with the growth of her children, albeit a bit worried that the day they would have to leave her nest was approaching too close for comfort. But on the bright side, she still had Mars - whom she quickly discovered had picked up the Insane trait, possibly attributing to his eccentric behavior - and an uncountable amount of suitors at her beck and call, so the excitement of her life was far from over.

Just how excited things would get in the Deliah family, however, was unpredictable by even Jessica herself.