"I'll be right back," Ruthie said. "I'm just going to take our pizza dishes downstairs."
"Okay," Peter replied, leaning in closer to the beautiful coal mine that had taken the better part of the day to create.
Ruthie rolled her eyes but picked up the plates and the leftover pizza—they had ordered in hours ago—and went down the stairs. What she saw in the kitchen however, made her freeze. Her brown eyes widened and then, without a sound, she ran back up the stairs, still clutching the used plates tightly in her hands.
"Ruthie?" Peter was surprised to see her back so quickly. "That was fast." Then he saw her face. "What's the matter?"
Ruthie didn't answer, but put the plates down roughly on her dresser and grabbed Matt's old baseball bat up in her hands. Angrily, she ran over to the model that she and Peter had worked so hard on and brought the bat down on it.
"RUTHIE?!" Peter jumped to his feet in alarm, blue eyes wide with surprise. His hands went to his hair, tugging. "Ruthie, what are you doing?" he shouted.
Ruthie didn't answer, just kept on pounding the model until it was unrecognizable. Then, she collapsed into her chair, sobbing.
"Ruthie, are you okay?" Peter asked, laying a hand on her shoulder.
Ruthie looked up and glared at her friend. "No," she sniffled. "I am not okay. I just saw Rabbi Glass downstairs and he was…well…he was kissing my mom!" she burst out.
Peter's eyes widened even further. "Are you sure?" he asked.
Ruthie nodded sadly, her curls hanging limply around her face. "Yes. And right under Dad's nose. How could she do this to him—to us?"
Peter shook his head, disbelief clear on his face. Not the Camdens. Mr. and Mrs. Camden loved each other, Mrs. Camden wouldn't cheat. They loved each other too much and their home was always open to everyone! Was that about to change? "No," Peter shook his head again. "No, it can't be true. It must have been a mistake."
"It wasn't a mistake," Ruthie said sadly, looking at her ruined model. "I saw it."
Peter was still having a hard time absorbing the information. "Well, umm, I don't know what to say Ruthie."
Ruthie shook her head. "Nothing to say. Just-just go, Peter. Maybe we can fix this tomorrow." By this, Ruthie meant the coal mine.
"Okay," Peter said, slowly getting to his feet. "See you later, Ruthie."
"Bye," Ruthie answered listlessly.
"Knock, knock," Ruthie looked up from her arms to see Simon's friend standing in the doorway.
"What do you want?" she asked.
Martin came in and took in the scene. "Project not go so well?" he asked.
Ruthie shook her head and looked at what had once been her coal mine. Fresh tears entered her eyes. "No," she cried. "It was a disaster."
Martin sighed and came to sit by Ruthie. "But that's not the problem, is it?"
Ruthie glared at him. "What do you care?"
Martin shrugged. "I dunno. I just want to know what's wrong." Martin didn't really know why he cared. After all, he had just met this girl, but something made him want to help her, maker her feel…better.
"My mom's cheating on my dad!" Ruthie burst out.
Martin drew back, surprised. From what he had seen today, Mr. and Mrs. Camden loved each other very much. How could Mrs. Camden be cheating? "Are you sure?" Martin asked Ruthie.
"Yes I'm sure! I saw it with my own eyes! I-I just got so mad that I came back up here then and I-well, you can see what I did."
Martin looked over the wreckage and nodded. "Well, maybe this is the way it was supposed to be," he said. At Ruthie's glare, Martin quickly rephrased. "I was talking about the project," he said. "Maybe the coal mine was too hard for you. Choose something simpler and start over?" he suggested.
Ruthie looked over the broken coal mine and nodded. "It was too much work. I just hope Peter will be able to forgive me for ruining this."
Martin smiled. "Somehow, I think he'll understand," he reassured her.
Ruthie smiled back, slowly. "Thanks," she said.
"No problem. But I do think that maybe you should talk to your mom about this. See her side of the story?"
Ruthie thought for a moment and then sighed, and nodded. "I guess you're right," she said. "I'll go talk to her. Bye," and without another word, Ruthie left the room in search of her mother, leaving Martin sitting in the too small chair and staring at the wreckage on the table.