Matt pulled the bracelet out and let out a torrent of wishes and prayers to his mother while letting his mind wander.
One thought out desire was that the bracelet was more masculine and would be safe from accidentally coming off or being stolen so he could wear it at school. The other was that he had gotten a decent meal that would fill him up and nourish him.
Matt didn't want to go out to the movies with Cody and his friends, he just wanted to be considered, like a sibling should be. He also didn't care if his sister wanted to try special diets and actually wanted to be supportive of her trying different lifestyles, but he has needs of his own which weren't being fulfilled...
Everything else that passed through his head was only half thought out and immediately triggered a branching roller coaster of ideas and emotions which his mind followed until his body fell asleep.
The next morning Matt awoke surprisingly well rested and less famished than he expected. Getting dressed quickly he ran downstairs to find the kitchen bustling. Cody, Ariel and Ashley looked like they slept poorly, and Ashley was shoving mountains of pancakes drizzled in syrup into her mouth, apparently ravenous. Lisa was having a normal portion. Cody looked like he didn't get any sleep all night.
"Good morning everyone." Matt chimed.
Lisa smiled back with a small wave, Cody only moved his eyes to look at Matt and grunted, Ashley continued gorging, and Ariel dropped a plate of two pancakes in front of him to get him started.
Eric bounded down the stairs immediately taking stock of the room, "Jeez guys, did somebody die?"
Ariel piped up first, "Something Ashley and I ate didn't agree with us. We were up and down since midnight."
Cody added. "The guys and I were out a little late. I ended up having a little too much caffeine a little too late."
"Well, I'm sorry you guys aren't feeling well. I'm going to be late again tonight." he went over to Ariel giving her a kiss. "Love you honey, I appreciate you taking care of literally everything while I'm at work getting the project back on track."
"Love you too." she mumbled back clearly wanting nothing but to crawl back in bed for another 4 hours.
An unspoken signal went across the table and everyone cleared out heading to the bus stop, or in the case of Cody and Ashley, their cars.