A.N.: Mike is just 10 years old in this story, maybe 11. I don´t know if a 11-years-old´s mind works like I wrote it, but in some way noticing all this things he marks is possible for every kid, because kids aren´t so stupid as some adults might think – they can be really clever.

Many thanks to my beta VladdieChica. And many thanks to Islanda for reviewing.

Chapter 36: Angry Old Man Mike

Even if I didn't know what was wrong, I would have been scared seeing Dad so angry.

It was Thursday evening, next Sunday there would be a wedding in our house. An hour ago – still working at seven p.m. - the workers who arranged everything made the house looking like a white and green princess castle.

Normally I would have said that it sucked, but – in some way – I started to like the way the house looked. Tidied up, clean – not like the Baker house at all. That was the fact of the matter. It didn't look like it would be our family's, but some other, rich, cultured guys, those who have white wine with the fish (A.N.: This sentence is taken form dinner for one) and wear golden rings and satin underwear. We were living in another world.

For one week and three days, we could flee from our lives.

But we couldn´t. Because, even if the outside looked like a glass castle, like a house of a fairy, inside lived still the same family we were all those months before. And when Dad ordered Nigel, Kyle, Mark and me into the living room, with a look on his face like he was sending you to hell, I remembered that everything around us wasn't who we were.

"So -" , he said. "So…"

I almost that "What?", but smartly I shut up. It would just anger him more. His forehead moved, there was this vein that pulsed in rhythm to his heartbeat.

"You -" he pointed at Mark, the twins and I and took a deep breath. "You four need to explain a lot."

Oh. That.

I didn't actually think that Mum and Dad would ever noticed that Nigel, Kyle and I had got detention over detention, that we were failing school, that the director had a talk with me about it – but some way they did. No idea what Mark had done, though.

"Detention. Detention, Mike! How many times did you get detention the past two months?"

"Ermm … math isn't my best subject you know… I stopped counting but for the past week I tried my best to do OK at school and I didn't get anymore detentions." Because I promised the director and Henry.

"But why did youget so many before, honey?" Mum asked. "I know it´s not easy for you nowadays, but what did you do -"

"Nothing."

Nigel and Kyle laughed a bit.

"Mike!" Dad screamed so loud that the neighbors must have heard it. "Just tell your mother the truth."

I watched my feet while I mumbled that I pulled pranks the teachers, ignored them, played games during classes – a lot. "School´s boring", I ended.

But I started to play hockey there. It had been only once, because there weren´t so many practices, but I did. And hockey wasn´t boring. I told them.

"That´s – that´s good Mike, but you need to -" Suddenly the phone rang and Mum left the room.

"The thing is" - it was scary how red Dad´s face was. "that I am disappointed. And – I don´t know -"

"Tom!" Mum called him from the floor.

"What?" He was still angry.

„Come here, please."

„Why?" Every second he could not yell at his sons seemed to be another tick of a time bomb.

"There´s something wrong with Charlie"

Okay guys, I´m really sad. Four weeks and I get one review? Even if you hate what I write, can´t you tell me?

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