Monday

Sunlight warmed Casey's eyelids, and she smiled contentedly as she awoke. Really, the whole thing with the maple syrup had worked remarkably well. She couldn't remember the last time she'd slept so well. She was still warm and comfortable and the comforter was pulled up to her chin and she was lying on her right side, facing the door, and somebody's arm was draped across her middle from behind.

Wait. What?

Casey bolted up in bed. Derek's arm fell limply into her lap, and she looked down at him lying next to her in shock.

"Derek!" she hissed. "What are you doing?"

"Five more minutes, Mom," Derek mumbled, burying his face in his pillow.

"I am not your mother!" Casey whisper-yelled. "What are you doing in your bed?"

"Now there's a question I don't get much." Derek seemed to be waking up a little, although his eyes were still shut.

"Der-ek." She shook his shoulder until he opened one eye a tiny bit and glared at her.

"Do you mind? I'm trying to sleep here."

"You're supposed to be sleeping on the floor!" she said, raising her voice from a whisper-shout to a murmur-shout. "How did you end up in here?"

"Um…" Derek turned over, facing away from her. "Sleepwalked?"

"You just can't take your punishment," she said, glaring daggers at his back. "You can't take one night of sleeping on the floor because of something you did—"

"Do you always talk this much in the morning?" Derek interrupted her.

"Ugh!" Casey threw back the covers and got out of bed. "Fine. I'm going to go brush my teeth. But tonight you're staying on the floor and keeping your arms to yourself! I am not a teddy bear!" She stormed out of the room.

Little did she know he was asleep from the time she'd said "ugh".

"Today in Sociology we will be studying how people act differently in different environments," said Ms. Martinez later that day, pacing in front of the class. Derek slumped in his seat, already wishing the barely-begun period was over. "Last week we covered code-switch, the way we talk to different people. Who can give me a recap of last week's topic?"

Casey's hand, as usual, shot straight into the air before most people had time to blink. Derek rolled his eyes.

"Yes, Casey."

"Code-switching is the different vocabulary we use in the presence of different people. For instance, you would talk differently to the Prime Minister than you would to an employee at Burger King. You're more formal to your teacher than with your friends. You use simpler words and shorter sentences if you're talking to a kindergartener or Derek Venturi."

Ouch.

"Very good, Casey," Ms. Martinez said over the students' laughter. "This week we will be looking at how people act—that includes talking, reactions, actions—not with different people, but in different places. Derek," she said sharply, cutting into his boredom. "Do you react to things differently while playing hockey than you would at a restaurant?"

"Yeah…" Derek said, feeling this was the answer she wanted to hear.

"And why is that, do you think? Are your reactions based on your feelings in those places? This isn't psychology, remember, but the two sciences are inextricably linked."

"Um," Derek said, not exactly sure what he was supposed to say here.

"For instance, do you feel adrenaline on the ice rink that makes you react to situations differently? Do you feel comfortable with your friends and safe in your bed?"

"Not exactly," Derek said, thinking of last night. "After all, the bed is always susceptible to being invaded by outsiders."

The class and teacher were left in confusion as Casey turned slowly in her seat and glared at Derek. He smirked.

"Mom!" Casey called before the front door was completely closed behind her. "Mom?"

"Yes, Casey, what is it?" Nora said, rushing out of the kitchen. "Where's the emergency?"

"Did you buy a new mattress yet?" Casey asked urgently.

"Oh." Nora let out a big breath. "I thought it was something important!"

Casey raised her eyebrows.

"I mean…oh, sorry, honey," Nora said. "No, we didn't. But we took it into the dry cleaners and they told us there was actually a way they could clean it!"

"By when?"

"Next week."

"You expect me to sleep in Derek's bed for a week? Tell me you're not serious!"

"I'm sorry, honey, but it's cheaper just to get it cleaned than to buy a new one…"

"Who cares? Derek's paying, isn't he?"

"Now, Casey…"

"Oh, whatever," Casey said grumpily. "Can't we just let Derek have the camp bed? I know his punishment is supposed to be sleeping on the floor and all…but hasn't he suffered enough?"

"Okay, first of all, I know perfectly well you're not begging for the camp bed for Derek's sake. Second, I lent the camp bed to a friend."

"You did what?"

"Well, AnnaMarie was telling me that her mother was coming to visit and how stressed she was because they didn't have an extra bed, so I sort of lent her ours for two weeks."

"I don't believe it!" Casey said in a high-pitched voice. She stomped upstairs.

"'Ello, Princesss!" Derek said, bounding into Casey's room at about ten that night. "I'm going to bed in a minute. You coming?" He paused. "Okay, that sounded really weird…"

"What's got you so chipper?" she said, still cranky.

"Me? Nothing, nothing. I'm just feeling particularly well-rested." He winked at her. She turned away in annoyance.

"I'll be right there," she said. "Just give me a minute to change into my nightclothes."

"As you wish, Space Case," he said, walking away.

"Derek!" He was back in her doorway a second later.

"What?" he asked exasperatedly.

"Why don't you sleep on the floor of my room tonight, instead? Or in the living room? Or Edwin's room? Or the couch?"

"Why don't you?" She glared at him. "Sorry, Case, but I really don't sleep well outside my room. So either you leave, or we're still roomies."

She entered his room five minutes later, in her pajamas and clutching an extra blanket, to find Derek already on the bed.

"Rats," he said, making an exaggerated show of rolling off the bed and falling onto the floor. "I was hoping you'd go with the couch."

"Not a chance," she sniffed, climbing beneath the covers he had just vacated. "I deserve to sleep in a bed."

"Princess," he muttered. She pretended like she hadn't heard. Sighing, Derek crawled back into his sleeping bag and Casey turned off the lamp.

She was just drifting off to sleep when she heard a rustle beside her. Her eyes snapped open and she sat up.

"Der-ek!"

"Shhh! Keep your voice down."

Casey flipped the lamp on again. "What are you doing?"

"Being tormented by my step-sister while trying to sleep in my own bed? Now, if you don't mind, it's a school night. I need my rest." He leaned over her and turned the lamp off again. She turned it back on.

"Get. Out." she said. He groaned and sank back onto his pillow, closing his eyes. "Get out now!"

"Mmph," he said, snuggling deeper under the covers.

"Derek! We can't both sleep in here! And Mom and George said I could have your bed this week, if you didn't notice, because it's your fault I have no bed anyway! So you need to get out and back into your sleeping bag!" She was answered with a light, obviously faked, snore.

"Fine! You won't get off? I'll make you!" This time he snorted.

"Get…out…now!" she grunted, pushing on his back. She hadn't realized he was quite so heavy before. But when he didn't want to move, he obviously couldn't be moved easily.

"Caaaasey, stop," he mumbled, tired of her shoving him.

"I will not stop until you get off!" With a final shove, he tumbled off the side of the bed.

"Thanks a lot," he said from the ground, his voice muffled.

"No problem," she said, trying on his signature smirk, before turning the lights off and lying back down.

Ten minutes later he was back again. Knowing it wasn't worth the effort, she just let him be.