If you believe Cinderella, stepfamilies are the start of something evil, involving laborious cleaning and pumpkin magic. But Sophomores Jason Wallace and Nicole Schabow know that the only “curse” involved is the start of a new friendship.
When Wallace and Schabow moved in together four years ago, they didn’t think much of it. An almost life long friendship happened to culminate in their parents getting into a relationship and deciding to buy a house together. No parent trap involved, they promise.
Wallace and Schabow met at Live Oak Park when they were five, where Schabow watched Wallace and her brother play in the park’s Youth Football League. As it happens, Schabow’s mother and Wallace’s father were in attendance as well, striking up a relationship that would bring their families together six years later.
When the sophomores found out that they’d be moving in together in middle school, neither was surprised.
“When I found out that we’d be moving into a new house together, I was really excited,” Wallace said. “Our families have known each other for so long that the idea of moving in wasn’t really that weird.”
As the families planned to consolidate into a new home, Schabow voiced some concerns about the arrangement.
“Finding out that I was going to have two more brothers was very scary,” Schabow said. “Living with one brother was hard enough, let alone living with three!”
In addition to getting used to a new order at home, Wallace had to become accustomed to a new academic setting as well. At the start of freshman year, he transferred from Monrovia to Temple City to attend the same district as Schabow. As a result the two have gotten to know each other better as family members and friends.
“Since our freshman year, we’ve gotten a lot closer,” Schabow said. “Hanging out both at school and at home kind of does that to you.”
Contrary to a lot of sibling relationships on campus, the two interact on campus more than just getting out of the same car. Schabow and Wallace often walk together, talk together and enjoy eating lunch on the quad together. It’s obvious to most of their friends that there’s a special bond here.
“We’re so close, it’s essentially like having a normal brother,” Schabow said. “Although that comes with its own downsides too.”
Their parents aren’t married, but Schabow feels as if she already shares a sibling bond with Wallace.
“It’s pretty cool having a sister,” Wallace said. “It’s nice being able to talk with her about pretty much anything.”
At home, Wallace and Schabow enjoy watching TV shows like “The Voice” and “Key and Peele” together. They also bond over frequent family outings to the outdoors.
“Our family goes out into the desert a lot,” Wallace said.“We bring our jeeps, quads and dirtbikes to ride around and have fun. We also like to wakeboard and cruise the river in our boat.”
Wallace, who is on JV Football, and Schabow, who is on Varsity Softball, jokes that it’s not all fun and games at home.
“He says I make him look bad,” Schabow said. “He always does things like leave the dishes out.”
Of course, some aspects of the fairytale remain. Dirty dishes, it seems, are a domestic constant.
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