It's not just about you, Bruno!
Every time you come up with one
of your crazy, wacky schemes,
we're the ones who have to deal
with the consequences,
while you just go ahead
and do something else crazy.
And we've had enough. Enough!

Chris lay awake in bed, thinking over what he said, regretting every word. Why did he have to go and break his pact over something as stupid as one of Bruno's schemes? Admittedly, it was illegal, but still. He made a promise, and a Talbot's word is supposed to be his honour. But he'd lost his cool and broken his promise.

"So, you aren't mute or anything?"
He was sitting with his friends at breakfast, practically under interrogation after having avoided them the previous day.
He held up his sketchpad that had YES|NO written on it and pointed to the NO.
Wilbur looked confused. "So why don't you talk?"
Chris pointed to the bottom of the page, which read "Yes/no questions only"
"Okay," Wilbur said thoughtfully, "Are you going to tell us why?"
Chris pointed to the YES.
"Today?"
NO.
"Do you know when?" Elmer interjected.
NO.
"Guys," Boots interrupted, "Leave him alone. It's his business, not ours. I'm sure he'll tell us when he's ready. Right, Chris?"
YES, accompanied by a nod and a grin.
Bruno sighed. "Okay, okay, but this is beside the point. We still need to find a way to raise the rest of the money."
"Bruno, it's finished. You heard what the Fish said-"
Chris started to zone out. Boots and Bruno had both been given detention for the rest of the year, but Elmer, Wilbur and Chris had gotten out of it after Bruno said that they had nothing to do with it. Chris knew that his speech had caused Bruno to do this. It still didn't make him feel any better.

Chris woke up one day to Wilbur banging on his door.
"Come on, dude, it's half term. Mom says that you can come into town with us if you're ready when we are."
Usually, Chris would have thrown a pillow at the door as a way of acknowledging what Wilbur had said, but today he just didn't have the energy.
"Dude? You awake?"
Silence.
"Hey, I'm coming in, okay?"
Chris rolled over, trying to hide the tears slowly leaking out of his eyes.
Wilbur came in and saw him lying on is side, his back to the door.
"You okay, dude?"
Chris nodded.
"Bummed that your parents couldn't make it again?"
Another nod.
"It's probably hard to travel all the way from England to Canada, isn't it?"
Chris shook his head.
Wilbur sat down on the bed. "Hey, I'm sure they want to be here. It's probably just too expensive."
He shook his head again.
"Well, do you want to come with my family?"
Chris mimed pen and paper, and Wilbur passed him his sketchpad and pencil.
My parents don't come to Canada for the same reason they sent me here in the first place, He wrote.
"And what reason was that?"
They don't like me.
"I doubt that's true."
It is.
"If you say so."
I do say so.
"Well, are you coming with my family or not?"
Chris nodded, smiling.
Thank you.