Sean hadn't witnessed all that had occurred between Luc and the administration. So when the boys were finally alone in his room for the night he was surprised to see a distressed friend. "What's your problem?" Sean asked somewhat sarcastically.
Taking a deep breath and letting it out quickly Lucas spilled the story at break neck speed to his buddy. He gave details only, no need to cloud the description with emotion. And Sean knew Luc there was no need to explain.
Having dealt with Lucas and his worries and anxieties for years as well us having complete understanding of the situation, Sean was easily able to redirect Luc to other activities. He joked about the 'close encounter' with Natalie and moved quickly onto getting him interested in other pursuits. Turning on his computer Sean kicked off a battle royal and both kids got lost in the make believe world of online characters. They temporarily but it to rest when Sean's mother told them to shut it all down and go to bed; however as soon as she had shut the door the computer was booted back up and an they played until the birds started to sing and the sun slipped over the horizon.
With exhaustion aching in every molecule of his body, Lucas had no problems falling into a deep and blissful sleep. It was lunchtime when Sean's older brother barged into the room and threw himself across the room. His intention was to aggravate his younger sibling rather than the reason he'd been sent up. Patrick was supposed to be relaying the message that Lucas' ride was on their way to get him. Patrick was a rough and tumble teen and playfully dragged Sean and Lucas out of their beds. Sean not happy with his brother's wake up fought back and the two boys ended up in a full out wrestling match. Lucas quickly rolled himself still stuffed in his sleeping bag out of the way as the two bodies fell to the floor and almost landed on him.
With insufficient sleep and a not so gentle wake up Lucas was feeling pretty miserable and that was before he recalled the happenings of the evening before that would give him a reason for his misery. Ignoring the flailing mess of arms and legs beside him, Lucas freed himself from the room and spent a few minutes in the bathroom alone. Splashing water on his face he started to wake a little more so that his mind worked that much more clearly.
By the time Luc had extricated himself out of the washroom, Patrick had disappeared and Sean was nowhere upstairs. After packing up his gear the visitor carried it all down to the front door and then headed to the kitchen where he assumed he would find his friend. History had a way of repeating itself and so Lucas' assumptions were correct, Sean was grabbing bacon and toast off the counter smiling at his friend across the room. "Cheer up, you look so depressed, and really there isn't that much to be worried about… and really the more mopey you are the more likely someone is going to catch on before they need to or have to at all really!" Sean explained. Having been by Lucas' side for many years Sean understood his pal's family as much as his own. Sean smiled a wide grin optimistic that his suggestion would be taken to heart and Luc would cheer up.
Luc smiled understanding Sean's warning for what it was. When he thought about it with food in his stomach he realized that Monday morning was really what he had to worry about and hopefully he could sweet talk his way out of a phone call home being made. Everything else he could deal with, it wouldn't be the first time he'd been called up on the carpet and with only a week left at the school he was hoping to pull a bit of a con to get himself out of the predicament he had himself in. With his new interpretation of the situation Luc was relaxed by the time Abby walked through the door.
Having been in deep water in the past Luc knew that good behavior was remembered and often taken into account when push came to shove. So Saturday afternoon Luc spent playing with Sam letting his little brother pick the sport. The weather was beautiful and so they spent part of the afternoon in the back yard running about the fort.
After supper Luc had hoped to lay across his bed texting with Natalie and playing a video game or two, but Sam was whining that he wanted to sleep out in the fort. He wouldn't do it alone even if he was allowed. Tim was at work and Abby was writing up files for court so asked Luc if he would be so kind as to have a sleep out with his brother. When asked Luc threw his head back and was about to complain when reality hit him and he quickly changed his tune.
"Ya sure. I can stay out there with him, but could you help us get everything out there first?" his tone so sweet and sticky you could almost see the honey dripping from the words.
Abby, happier than either of the boys, got the fort set up with camping mats, sleeping bags and pillows. She told stories of how she and Luca had camped out in their back yard as kids, staying up late, telling ghost stories and eating treats. Luc only half listened as he got water bottles and juice boxes as well as a bag of popcorn for them to share. It wasn't until Abby asked "Do you understand?" that Lucas realized he had zoned out and was unsure of exactly what he was agreeing to but nodded verification anyway.
When he heard the screen door snap shut he asked Sam "What did I just understand?" Sam laughed and shrugged his shoulders "I have no idea". The brothers laughed at their situation. Luc tucked Sam in and then pulled out his ipod, thank goodness for a techie father; the wifi reached the back of the yard! Luc got to be the doting big brother figure his mother could be proud of as well as chat with his friends.