Louise nervously chewed on her lip. She wondered if the "Serious Talk" would still happen, given what had happened. Even though she had sworn she would not run away again anytime soon. She still found herself fighting the urge to jump out of the car onto the highway. Linda drove the family towards Pop-Pop's house. Bob sat in the passenger seat staring straight ahead, not saying a word. Gene was behind Linda staring out the window seemingly lost in thought. Tina was behind Bob, her phone hung loosely in her hands. Louise could see the text from Tammy "OMG! SO SORRY 4 UR LOSS! HERE ARE SOME STYLISH FUNERAL DRESSES!" Tammy had gotten a lot nicer since starting high school, but boy was she still dumb.

"Seriously Pop-Pop is literally dead, and Tammy is only worried about fashion?" Louise scoffed.

"I mean I am going to need a funeral dress." Tina reminded.

"What about the dress from Grandpa Al's funeral? It was literally two months ago." Louise questioned.

"Isn't it bad luck to wear the same dress to two different funerals?" Tina asked.

"Uh no, why do you think that?" Louise questioned.

"Wasn't it in that Boyz 4 Now song "Somebody You Love Died"?" Tina recalled.

"Come on Tina!" Louise moaned.

"That's enough girls!" Bob snapped.

"Sorry" Tina apologized.

"Sorry dad" Louise agreed.

"Tina if you really want to get a new dress. I will take you shopping tomorrow but you will have to use your "Fresh Feed" money." Linda offered.

"Thank you, I guess I better get two dresses." Tina commented.

"Oh My God, Tina!" Louise snapped.

"Sorry" Tina apologized.

Louise regretted arguing with Tina, aside from the fact that it really stressed Bob out. She knew how much Tina struggled in unfamiliar situations. That's why she had stayed back home when Grandpa Al was dying. She also realized that sending Tina links to black dresses was probably Tammy genuinely wanting to reach out. Still, she was exhausted. She barely got any sleep the night before and was just really starting to drift off. When Linda came into her room and told her to wake up. She was still processing that Jessica was dying and now she had to deal with Pop-Pop being dead. She just prayed that Mort arrived before them, and she would not have to see his body.

"Hey Louise?" Tina called.

"What?" Louise asked.

"I really am sorry." Tina apologized.

"It's fine." Louise assured.

"Are you sure you are, OK?" Tina questioned.

"Fine I only got like three hours sleep last night." Louise reminded.

"I know but you seem upset, and I don't blame you. That is a lot of grief to endure in one day." Tina explained.

"I said I was fine! Bother Gene! They've been staring out the window the entire drive." Louise hissed.

Gene heard snippets of their sister's argument and subsequent apology conversation, but they still were not one hundred percent sure what was going on. Until Louise begged Tina to leave her alone and check on Gene. They were completely lost in thought but they were not thinking about Pop-Pop. As they had heard Bob whisper. No, they were thinking of the mysterious troll boy from lunch the day before. OK maybe calling him a troll was inappropriate, but he had asked them to answer three riddles and Gene had noticed the troll doll sticking out of his backpack in drama class. Gene now knew the boy's name was Elisha and he had moved to Seymour's Bay to live with his brother over the summer. Gene wondered why Elisha was living with his brother and where his parents were, but he did not offer, and the school psychologist had gotten very firm with Gene about asking overly personal questions in the past. So, they decided it would be best just to let it go for now.

"Gene are you OK?" Tina asked.

"Fine why do you ask?" Gene questioned.

"Uh because our grandfather is dead, and you have been acting extra weird today." Louise commented.

"Oh, sorry just thinking about school and wishing I were there." Gene whispered.

"Why would you want to be at school?" Louise questioned.

"Maybe I like school now?! Is that OK?!" Gene snapped.

"It's weird and wrong but as long as you are happy." Louise sighed.

Tina looked over at her siblings. She could forgive Louise's irritability. She could not imagine what her younger sister was going through. It was bad enough to lose both grandfathers within three months and to know that your surviving grandmother likely would not be far behind, but to add one of your best friends being terminally ill. Especially when she was only thirteen. Tina knew Louise's heart must be shattering. Louise's behavior made sense, but she was more confused and concerned about Gene. Of course, she knew that Gene was hurting but Gene had been acting strangely ever since they got home from school the day before. Of course, Tina was curious but then their parents told them about Jessica and everything else went out the window.

Everything was strange at Big Bob's house. The first thing they saw was Pete sitting on the couch crying. His partner Jasper sat beside him rubbing his back. Bob stumbled into the living room with Linda close behind him. Pete gave Bob his condolences and Bob did the same. Wordlessly the two couples plus Tina and Gene walked back to Big Bob's room where his body remained. Louise chose to instead retreated to the safety of Bob's childhood room. She collapsed onto his bed and buried her face in the old teddy bear Grandma Lily had made for him when he was a baby. She wondered why he had left it when he moved out. After a while Tina came and asked if she wanted to see the body. She shuddered at the thought. Normally, she did not have a problem with death. She had been the first of the kids to go up to Grandpa Al's casket and pretty much anytime she was at Mort's she would either try to or successfully sneak down to the basement. Why was she so afraid of seeing Pop-Pop? And why did she have horrible images of Jessica lying in a casket every time she closed her eyes?

Elisha desperately scanned the lunchroom for Gene. He had noticed the exuberant and jovial individual as soon as they danced into his first period history class the day before. He nearly burst into excitement when they asked him to join him. He had no idea what he had been thinking with that "riddles three" thing. He felt even worse when he learned that Gene was the student who had the homophobic slur scratched into their locker. He was sure that Gene thought he was another bully. He was sure that Gene hated him. Gene was not at lunch either. Drama was next period and Elisha prayed he would see them then. He spotted the boy and girl that Gene had been sitting with at the start of lunch, but they were carrying on in their conversation. He soon spotted a kid he knew from drama class, who he suspected knew Gene.

"Hey uh, Benj? Right?" Elisha greeted.

"Oh, hi Elisha." Benj replied.

"You know Gene Belcher, right?" Elisha inquired.

"Yeah, uh I mean I am closer to his younger sister Louise, but I know Gene pretty well." Benj replied.

"Uh does Louise go here?" Elisha asked.

"No, she is still at Wagstaff, why?" Benj questioned.

"I was just uh wondering where Gene was." Elisha replied.

"Uh we only have drama together, but my locker is right next to his sister Tina's, and I don't recall seeing her today." Benj explained.

"Any idea where they could be?" Elisha asked.

"No but I can text their sister Louise." Benj replied. "Siri text Louise Belcher. "Hey, Louise? Where are Tina and Gene? I haven't seen them today. Hope all is well. Maybe we can catch up this weekend. Oh, by the way Megan told me about Jessica. I am sorry." He said into his Apple Watch.

"Whose Jessica?" Elisha asked.

"A friend of Louise's. She has cancer." Benj replied.

"Oh, my dad has cancer." Elisha replied.

"I am sorry to hear that. is that why you live with your brother?" Benj asked instantly regretting his words.

"Not exactly. Hey if Gene isn't around, I am going to go sit with my friends from yesterday." Elisha replied nervously.

"I am sorry. I didn't mean to." Benj apologized.

"I know you didn't. It's just a long story. Talk to you in drama." Elisha replied.

Rudy kept his head down as he fought his way to the front of the school. At least he had made it through another day. Only one hundred and seventy-three more to go. Wagstaff left a lot to be desired, but it was paradise compared to "Prescott Academy." The stuffy private school his stepdad insisted he attend. The uniform was itchy and hot, and that was the least of his concerns. The teachers were strict, and the other kids were mean. The brochure showed kids of all races high fiving a boy in a wheelchair on the basketball court. Was nothing more than a nasty ploy to make the school seem diverse and accepting. Maybe it was diverse, but it was far from accepting. At least that's how it seemed to Rudy. Who once everybody found out he was asthmatic and preferred drama over sports. Made him an instant bully target. Back at Wagstaff he had the security of being best friends with Louise Belcher. Everybody knew he was off limits. Kids rarely gave him trouble and if they did, they soon regretted it. Louise was not at Prescott. Here he was completely on his own. By some miracle he made it out of the building. He climbed onto the bus, retrieved his phone and air pods, put on his favorite Podcast, and tried to settle in for a peaceful ride home. He made a terrible mistake and opened Facebook. Where he saw two crushing posts. One was from Linda Belcher announcing the death of Louise's grandfather. The other was from Wagstaff announcing that Jessica's cancer had returned, and she was terminal. Rudy's heart shattered for his best friend. He shoved his phone back into the side pocket of his backpack. One thing was now for certain. He had to get back to Seymour's Bay and fast.