It had been an eventful week for Mary. First her skipping habit had been found out when Grace told Danny and Steve about what had happened on Friday when the girls skipped class to go to the mall as had her forging Steve's and Danny's signature to get her back into class without detention. Mary was still angry at Grace for ratting her out. Then on Tuesday, Wo Fat had sent her a copy of the Sherlock Holmes book that she had been looking at when he bumped into her at the bookstore on Friday. Mary wanted nothing to do with it. She tossed the book in the garbage, now afraid that Wo Fat had tainted her love for those stories.
Mary had never seen her brother so angry before than she did on Monday when he called her out on her skipping. It had scared Mary as her brother always seemed to be able to keep his emotions in check and she had never seen him truly lose his temper like he had. After she had been grounded for probably the rest of her life, she had been trying hard to behave and stick to the boundaries of her grounding and be good in school. But then she got in her moody friend's face and a fight had started which had landed her in the principal's office, Steve being called in and she had earned a few days of detention.
She was doing her homework at the kitchen table when she saw Steve grab some beers and take them outside. She didn't say anything or follow him but instead continued to work on her homework. After awhile, she paused, getting up from her seat and looking out the window and saw her brother sitting out on a deck chair. Mary frowned as she watched her brother. He had been acting strangely and seemed to be withdrawing from the family and she couldn't help but wonder if it's because of her.
She knew she wasn't allowed to leave the house unless Steve or Danny accompanied her but after popping some popcorn for a snack, she poured it into a bowl and she went outside and down to where her brother was, sitting down in the chair beside him. She expected him to chase her back into the house but she didn't care. She was going to take the chance.
She handed the bowl of popcorn over to her brother. "I thought you'd like some company." She eyed the multiple bottles of beer around his chair. She resisted the urge to ask if he was okay as she knew the answer to that question.