Lucas had been mortified about the interception of his private messages by his parents and although they were not at all at fault he was angry with them for intruding on his personal turf. For the next few days he was moody, surly and generally uncooperative. It was Natalie telling him to knock it off before he actually got into trouble as he explained the warnings he had received that morning. Since neither parent had spoken to him again then he should drop the attitude before he found himself in hot water and needing to explain them further.
The school bell rang and both kids walked to class together, Lucas feeling better for the first time since the weekend. As he sat down in his homeroom desk Mr. Carter gently slapped down a green slip on the desk in front of the boy. Growling to himself Lucas slumped back in his chair and shook his head. Yet another tardy slip, Lucas quickly did a calculation of previous infractions and was relieved to figure out he had not accumulated ten. By the end of the school day Lucas' calculations were confirmed with a slip from the office warning that he had reached 9 demerits and that once 10 had been collected he would be invited to an interview with the principal and punishment as per the student hand book would be handed out. Rolling his eyes Lucas scrunched up the pink warning slip and pitched into the trash can on the way out of last class. Natalie noticed his cranky demeanor and asked if he was back to brooding about the IM'ing. The two kids talked for some time and about nothing in particular but by the time they parted ways Lucas was smiling and Natalie laughing about his predicament.
Lucas apologized to Miss Carmichael as he retrieved Sam a bit later than usual and was given a big smile for forgiveness. The two boys walked home quietly. Sam noticed his brother's silence and put that together with his lateness he asked "Luc you alright?" "I'm fine" he smiled at his little brother. They walked on towards home, needing time offered "Sam, you want to stop at the park for a couple of minutes? It is a beautiful spring day don't you think?"
Sam not caring what kind of day it was happily agreed that time at the park would be great. Lucas hadn't agreed to let Sam play on the way home all winter due to the cold weather. Sam didn't care about the snow or cold but Lucas was the one that had to sit on the bench waiting. Sam ran ahead throwing his backpack beside the climbers. Lucas sat on the bench and quickly texted Kayla they would be late before IM'ing with many of his friends about the day's events. He spent a few minutes "chatting" online with everyone before sitting quietly contemplating his situation. When he finally gave Sam the warning it was time to go Sam whined and fussed that he wasn't ready to leave. Normally Lucas wanted to be the "cool" big brother in these situations but with his day he had no patience and he snapped at Sam to be quiet and not to whine or he wouldn't agree to stop again.
The boys stomped home angrily, each for their own reason. Kayla had learned years earlier that when cranky boys arrive home as quick snack helps. With Sam fed and given permission to watch television he was happy once again. Lucas moped at the table long enough that Kayla decided she ask a question or two to see if she could help. "You alright Luc?"
"Ya" he sighed obviously not alright.
"Doesn't sound like you're alright" Kayla stated hoping the preteen would keep talking.
"No, Really I'm fine. I have a load of homework I need to do." He finished quickly as he stormed off to his room dragging his bag up the stairs. The threat of the 10th demerit being his only driving force, Lucas had a hard time concentrating and realized he had to shake it all off it he was going to keep himself out of both the principal's office and the one downstairs.
Pulling out his computer he worked on his math class, calculating, combining and figuring were actually things he found calming and comforting. A trait he had gained from both his parents. After a few minutes with the numbers he was happy to receive a "Hey how are you?" IM from Natalie. She did seem to have very good timing. Luc would answer her questions and they chatted while both youngsters finished their homework. Having accomplished everything he needed to Lucas turned up the tunes and threw himself on his bed while he continued to talk with Natalie and Sean every now and then.
Kayla was happy to see a more relaxed Luc when she called the boys back to the table for supper; and didn't bother mentioning his surly and uncharacteristic behavior to Abby when she walked through the door an hour later.