Matt hadn’t even put his key in the lock before he could hear the shouting match going on inside, the neighbours probably could too. He had originally planned to ask his Mom if she thought the ring he had found whilst walking home was valuable, but apparently she and his brother were having a ‘disagreement’.
Which in and of itself wasn’t too unusual, teenagers rarely make nice with their parents, but it was odd for it to escalate into a shouting much. He only saw (and heard) his younger brother stomping off up the stairs as he came through the door to be greeted by his mother, whatever was being discussed Tim had apparently decided the conversation was over.
“Whats up with the squirt now?”
His mother still looked frustrated, and slightly dazed from how quickly the conversation came to an end, “We were just talking, he takes everything to heart. I’m trying to help, I’m trying to help both of you.”
‘Ah’ Matt thought ‘this again, guilt trip in 5,4,3,2..’
“You still have a good relationship with your father, god knows I don’t. But neither does Timmy, and while your father may be an ass, he still has responsibilities to both you and your brother. You could help with that; your little brother looks up to you, he wants to do the things you do. I’ve never understood why you boys stopped spending time with each other”.
“It’s probably got something to do with the fact he’s an unsociable weirdo who barely leaves his room. But since when is all this my fault? You're the one who got divorced!” he was rolling the ring around in his pocket, with his brow starting to furrow and his voice getting louder, at this point he was about ready to stomp up the stairs himself, no wonder Tim hadn’t stuck around for a longer chat.
“Matthew Bell don’t you dare insult your brother! And it’s not my fault all this is going on! And it certainly isn’t his, it’s perfectly understandable that he’s having some trouble adjusting. You don’t seem to appreciate it’s a lot harder for him, when you’re that young and your parents divorce.”
As far as Matt was concerned this conversation wasn’t going to go anywhere but with the blame ending up at either his own or his Dads feet. He wasn’t exactly happy his Dad left, but he wasn’t the bad guy, he hadn’t been mean, they still did stuff. Whereas his Mom and Tim just seemed to whine and blame everyone else. Honestly Matt kinda wanted to leave himself.
“Anyway” his mother began in a lighter but firm tone that told him he wasn’t going to like where it ended, “I’ve signed your brother up to some activities, something to help get him out of the house” she shuffled some papers around on the coffee table, pulling a flier from the pile and handing it to Matt. “And I want you two to do this together”. The paper was luminous green with large black text and pictures ‘Adventure course for kids and teens, exciting outdoor fun’.
Now it’s worth considering that this wouldn’t be a problem normally, an adventure course wasn’t what Matt would call fun, but it wouldn’t be challenging, and he already spent most of his time out and about; but having to take Tim? It would be unbearable, the little snot would just whine the entire time.
Refusing however wouldn’t get him out of it, his Mom was obviously pinning her hopes on this to be some sort of ‘bonding experience’. And that meant she wouldn’t be giving up easily.
“Look, Mom, you know I wish I could be closer to Tim, but I’m so busy right now, I’ve got school, sports, and friends to juggle. It’s a lot of pressure” there was a beat while it seemed as though she was considering it. Matt could pull off sincerity when he needed to, with puppy dog eyes thrown in for special occasions; unfortunately however he was also incapable of keeping his mouth shut, even when he was ahead.
“And anyway, there’s no way Tim would be able to complete an assault course like that, he’s a weakling”.
At that Sarah’s eyes narrowed, this was too much she grumbled to herself, one son who won’t leave the house, and the other who’s never home; and neither want to spend time with either her or each other. “Enough, no more discussion, you will do this, not for me, and if not for your brother, then because if you don’t I’m grounding you for a month with no allowance.”
She looked at her watch “I’m not discussing this anymore. I’ve got to go out for a few hours I've still got errands to run, I’ll leave some cash on the kitchen counter, order a pizza for you and Tim.”
As Matt turned away, grabbing his bag from where he left it on the floor and made his way up to his room he racked his brain trying to think of some excuse, anything really that he could use to get out of it; but something that wouldn’t involve being stuck in the house grounded with nothing to do for a month.
Too busy pondering schemes however, he failed to notice two things; the first was Tim scampering away from the top of stairs, where he had sat for the last two minutes listening to the conversation about him going on below. And the second was the ring in his pocket had now begun to glow ever so slightly, radiating faint heat.