Brandi Broke blew raspberries at her two-year-old son Beau as she fed him a spoonful of yoghurt. In between mouthfuls, Beau squealed with delight and mimicked his mother, showering her in yoghurt. At least he's not a fussy eater, Brandi thought. It wasn't easy to find things to be optimistic about in the Broke household. A widow as of three ago, Brandi was raising three sons alone. Her youngest son, Zane, was six months old, and sleeping in his cot. Looking after her younger sons took its toll on Brandi. She had slept for two of the last forty eight hours. Even if she had more time to sleep, Brandi didn't think she could. Worry plagued her mind over her teenage son Dustin. After his father's death, he had stepped up to the challenge of providing for the family. Dustin had found a job to work at night, but refused to tell his mother exactly how he earned money.

'If I told you, I'd have to kill you,' Dustin had replied, the first time she had asked. When she received the same response the next time she asked, Brandi worried that he wasn't lying.

A front door suddenly slammed open, and Dustin appeared, his hair sandy blonde hair ruffled and his eyes bloodshot and sleepy.

"Did you just get home from work?" Brandi said, surprised. "It's nearly 9 o'clock!"

"Double shift. Extra hours, extra money." Dustin mumbled as he slowly made his way to the refrigerator.

"I thought you had left for school early when I saw you weren't in bed." said Brandi confused.

"One of guys called in sick. Had to cover for him."

"Dustin, you can't skip school because of work."

"DO YOU WANT FOOD TO EAT OR NOT?" Dustin roared.

Brandi froze. Her eldest son had an attitude problem, but had never spoken to her like that.

A cry from the back room broke the tension.

"You've woken Zane up," Brandi said irritated, and quickly went to the back room to attend to her infant son.

Dustin put some bread in the toaster, and rubbed his head. He hadn't told his mother yet, but there was little chance he'd pass his classes this year. Working at night left him too tired to pay attention at school. Seeing no point in further study, he'd accepted extra shifts in the evening.

Dustin knew what social workers did to children whose families couldn't provide for them, and shuddered as he scraped what he could out of a nearly empty jar of peanut butter.

The government had given the Broke family no assistance in their time of crisis, and this only added to Dustin's anger. Screw them, Dustin thought as he sat down next to his little brother at the table. He took a bite from his toast, tore off a piece and placed it in front of Beau.

Brandi returned from the bedroom, clutching her wailing youngest son to her chest.

"Did you really work?" She asked. "Or did you see Angela?"

Dustin put his piece of toast down.

"I worked!" Feeling his voice rising again, he took a deep breath and calmed his voice.

"Angela had a violin lesson. Her parents would never have let her see me last night. She's got an exam today."

"You've been seeing an awful lot of that girl, lately,"

"And what's wrong with that?"

Beau picked up the piece of peanut-buttered toast and threw it on the floor.

"I just don't see how you have time to work, go to school, and date at the moment."

Dustin couldn't be bothered replying. They'd had this argument many times before. He deserved a bit of happiness after everything he was doing to keep the family together. Why couldn't she see that?

Brandi walked over the kitchen, bouncing her son in her arms, trying to calm him. She peered out the window of their tiny home, and gazed at the rest of Pleasantview. In the distance, she saw the Goth Manor. It was hard to miss, being the largest house in the vicinity. Mortimer Goth was rich, and his children were intelligent. They didn't have to work like dogs just to make ends meet. Why can't our lives be like that? Brandi thought of Cassandra's upcoming wedding to the handsome Don. Brandi hadn't been invited. Almost everyone else she knew had received an invitation. The thought hurt but she brushed it off. She hadn't really spoken to either Cassandra in a while. Sometimes people just grow apart, she reasoned.

Brandi's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Dustin getting out of his chair.

"I'll sleep for a few hours, and go to school at noon." Dustin gave her a half smile.

"Okay, darling." Brandi smiled back, and Dustin retired to his room.

Zane had stopped crying, and Beau seemed content to play with what was left of the peanut-buttered toast.

Dustin would doze off a soon as his head hit the pillow. His mother would give him a kiss on the cheek, tuck in him, and turn off his alarm, so he could spend the day sleeping and regaining strength for the long night of work ahead.