The doorbell didn’t normally ring at Jo-Jo’s house. In fact, he wasn’t sure he’d ever heard it ring this early in the day. He thought about just ignoring it and staying where he was; watching the TV in silence from the comfort of the floor, but the ring sounded once more and he decided against it. Pushing himself to his feet, Jo-Jo made his way toward the front door. He moved slowly; hoping one of his other family members would answer it for him.
His silent prayers were answered when he heard the ever peppy voice of his father wander its way to him. “I’ll get it!!!” Jo-Jo’s father was the Mayor of the town they called home. Actually, that was all he was. Mayor. Sure Jo-Jo and his sister’s called him dad and his mother called him a variety of pet names, but to everyone else he was just Mayor.
Jo-Jo moved to the railing of the stairs to look down at his father who was about to answer the door. He rolled his eyes as he watched his father attempt to fix himself up a bit before greeting his guest, but his attention was soon taken toward the figure standing in the doorway.
“Good morning Sir! I don’t believe we’ve met.” His dad extended his hand in introduction to the stranger in the doorway with a bright smile and Jo-Jo couldn’t help but crane his neck to see who it was that had come calling. Another hand reached out to take the Mayor’s in a firm handshake and it was easy to tell that this was most certainly a man; most likely older than Jo-Jo’s dad. He entered there home as the Mayor stepped aside and Jo-Jo stared at the large who in wonder. He was huge. Not huge as in overweight, but huge as in abnormally tall and wide.
Not to mention his bright red and grey hair. He was rather shaggy with a large brown jacket that seemed a bit small at the sleeves, quite unnecessary for the hot weather outside, and his eyes were small; glistening with a strange darkness that Jo-Jo couldn’t quite figure out. As the two men spoke, Jo-Jo managed to pick up a bit of what they said.
“We just moved here,” was the first thing that triggered something in his mind. New neighbors perhaps? Jo-Jo crept down the stairs trying to be as quiet as possible so his father wouldn’t notice him eavesdropping. As always though, Jo-Jo’s luck ran short. In mid-step, Jo-Jo’s foot missed the step and he was sent crashing and tumbling down the remaining stairs. “Jo-Jo! What a way to make an entrance,” the Mayor stated with a laugh. “Greg, this is my son. Son, this is Greg!”
The usual sarcastic look crossed over Jo-Jo’s face as he blew a strand of black hair from his eyes. The stranger, or Greg as his father now called him,  placed a giant hand on Jo-Jo’s shoulder and lifted him to his feet. “Good to meet you lad. You know, I’ve got a kid about your age. Adorable little thing. You two would probably get along.” The man rambled on for a moment while Jo-Jo brushed himself off; uninterested in every way.
His dad, however, was the complete opposite. “That’s great! Why don’t you bring your family over tonight for dinner and we can all get to know each other.” The glare that the Mayor received from his son was one of pure hatred. Why did he always have to be the nice guy? Before he knew it, the two men had arranged for them to meet and have dinner that night.

Jo-Jo watched as his family hustled about the house; preparing for their dinner guests who would be arriving any minute. Like they didn’t have enough people to feed already. His sisters had dressed up, his parents had taken out the good dishes, and he was supposed to be cleaning up everything he could find. Jo-Jo saw no point in making a fuss though and sat in his chair in the kitchen with his arms crossed over his chest and a lollypop in his mouth. The sooner this dinner was over, the better. For the second time that day, Jo-Jo heard the gong of the doorbell.
“Jo-Jo! Get the door!” Definitely one of his sisters. Deciding it was better to do what they said in order to get through this evening, he got up from his chair and shuffled solemnly to the front door. As he opened the front door  Jo-Jo’s eyes grew wide and his jaw fell slightly slack; causing his lollypop to fall and hit the ground. “You must be Jo-Jo. My name’s Alyssa.”