That first day of school set the tone for the rest of the school year. Lori and her court knew not to directly mess with Luke. The cost of getting caught was too high. Mr. Noth did run a tight ship at school. He held a welcome back assembly to explain his policies on bullying and other changes. He made sure that all the teachers and personnel were on board. The verbal bullying at school became almost nonexistent. Some of the parents were upset that their children got suspended for bullying, but Mr. Noth easily handled their complaints. Having signed paperwork from the parents which stated they read the handbook was why it did not take that much time.

Not having to deal with the mocking by Lori and her friends directly, made going to school easier on Luke. The snide comments came from afar, and those instances were hard to prove. That plus the lessening of the bullying was outweigh by one huge negative. Luke felt so isolated. More of his fellow students talked to him, but he felt like an outcast. Luke had no friends, only acquaintances. He never had plans to do anything outside of school with anyone.

Another way Luke was made to feel isolated was by the cyberbullying. On Facebook and other social media, a profile was made for Lumpy Luka. Even with knowing Lori and her friends were behind it, Luke was powerless to stop it. They could not track down who was doing it. This was because a coward was, and would not admit to it. Blake was the person who made the profiles and only told Lori. Lori was smart enough to not gloat about it even to her friends.

How devious Blake was, made Lori like him even more. Those two started to go out. Having to deal with Blake being in his home, made Luke uncomfortable. The whispers between Lori and Blake then the laughing as they looked at Luke let him know it was aimed at him. This was only done when Fred was not at home and Alice accused Luke of being self-centered. This came from her telling Lori to just ignore her brother. Alice assumed that the Brat Princess was a golden child and listened to her.

By the spring Luke was talking to Renee and Matt. Those chats were not long and never about anything major. He was going to be cordial to them. He missed being close to them, but could not trust them enough to become friends at that time. Matt and Renee did try to push hanging out with Luke. They got a definite no. Even if the trust was not there, Luke would have still said no. The reason was Renee wanted Tom and Matt wanted Mike to be there. Luke might be lonely but he was not lonely enough to spend time with someone who treated him as bad as Tom or Mike

Luke was right in turning down the offer to hang out with his former friends. Tom had not changed. Renee turned a blind eye to how her boyfriend would down talk Luke. To her, him saying Luka not Luke was harmless and only a little jerky. Being a jerk was the way Tom was protecting his pride. That actually calling Luke Luka was a sign of respect. It showed that Tom had to make himself look better than Luke. Wanting to see the best in people can make someone take strange leaps of logic.

Fred and Alice bickered the entire year about the situation. Luke’s situation was not getting any better, and they weren’t any closer in giving their son a new start. The objection about the new houses were never valid. One was too close to Pittsburgh, then the next one which wasn’t as close, was too far away. The dismissal of the houses made Fred feel like Sisyphus pushing a boulder up the hill only to have his wife knock the huge rock back down. Fred warned his wife that he was thinking of getting an apartment for next school year. Alice kept her stalling. The apartment had to be a shallow threat because even with this small issue Alice knew her husband loved her. Fred did, but he would do what was right for his son over staying with his wife. Her refusal to budge was making his love for her to lessen.

**********

The school year was over on June 2nd that year, five days after Lori and Luke’s birthday. The little celebration for Luke was not going to be until June 3rd. This was because Aunt Bridgett and her husband Maurice along with their youngest son, Sam, were coming to visit. Sam just graduated from UCLA and they were coming back to Bridgett’s hometown to celebrate with family.

Luke was always Bridgett’s favorite nephew. She saw a lot of herself in him. He valued family and connection. Luke was always looking for ways to help others. That also Luke was an inclusive extrovert, making sure everyone felt like they belong and were having a good time. This was why she was concerned when Luke was not his normal self. Alice said it was because Luke was just like their brother Dom.

The loving aunt was not buying what her sister told her. Bridgett knew that Alice wanted her daughter’s childhood to be like hers so she pictured her son more like her brother. Wanting to get the information from Fred was what helped make so Luke standing on that new beach greeting the sun with its promise of a new day and a new beginning about to happen.

Fred did not give much details about the issue Luke was having, but enough that Bridgett suggested that Luke came out to visit her this summer. She knew Luke needed time away from his sister. Fred loved the idea. His son would be away from Lori for just a little bit. Luke would be able to be himself.

Alice on the other hand put up resistance. Luke was going to get something which Lori would not. To Alice that was not fair. It did not matter that Alice was falling back on giving Lori extra, like having that small birthday party for her at Renee’s. Lori was the youngest so she deserved to have that party without her brother there.

Alice finally agreed when Lori overheard those two talking about the visit. The Brat Princess was overjoyed at hearing that Luke would be sent away from her presence for a while. This was how it should be, no chance of the spotlight going to him. Maybe with her brother being gone her dad would see how much more special she was than Luke. Maybe they would make this banishment permanent. That is what she wished for, but people need to be careful what they wish for because they might get it.

So it was settled, Luke was going to spend two months in California with his aunt and uncle. This would not be announced until they gave Luke his presents. Fred had a plan of either they will have a new house for Luke to come home to or else he would be getting an apartment. Alice was happy that the stress of dealing with two teenage kids would be gone for a while.

The day of the celebrations came. Even with not being a couple Matt and Renee went in together to buy both Luke and Lori a gift. Renee offered to go in with Tom first, but he turned her down. There was no way he was buying Luka a gift. Renee wanted to get Luke a gift as a way to keep on extending her friendship to their friend. Matt was on board because he agreed with the sentiment behind the gift.

For Lori the gift was a blue and white striped dress. The idea came from Lori mentioning she needed a new one. The one for Luke was a long sleeve shirt with the skateboard legend Tony Hawk’s logo on it. They saw how good their friend was getting on the skateboard and that shirt would show their support of him.

Tom being jealous of how his girlfriend was treating Luka played a vital role in Luke being able to stay on that new beach greeting a new day and new beginning along with Lori getting what she wished for. He switched gift tags and offered to run the gift up to Luke’s. Renee trying to see the best in her boy thought that was sweet of him to do so. He was trying to help get ready for the party.

*************

After Luke ate his Birthday cannoli, yes his nanno and nanna still got him one each year, they started to open up the presents. Luke went for the one from Renee and Matt first. It touched him that they got him something. He was open now to hanging out with them, as long as Mike and Tom were not around and would tell them the next time he saw them. It would be good to have the Saturday Morning Bike Club ride once again

Then he opened the gift and looked in wrapping and threw it to the floor. Seeing that blue and white striped dress hurt him. Luke felt like a fool to even think that those two ever cared about him. Fred went to see what could have upset his son so much. After he picked up the package and saw the content he said “Luke, don’t worry son. Those two will apologize for this and they are not worth your time. You are better than Lori and her friends.”

“If I am why does Lori always get her way. Why does she have friends and I do not? Why does mommyhreaten and put me in dresses when Lori wants it? Why did she call me Luka when no one is around? Why didmommy do it also?”

When a kid gives a barrage of questions any good parents will answer the most pressing one first. “Luke, your mom only put you in a dress once. I know she plays favorites but she would never hurt you like that again.”

“She did it many times dad. She said if I told you that you would think I was being a crybaby and deserve to be in a dress. Boys don’t cry, I am not a crybaby. Tears came down but I never cried. I never even let mommysee those tears. I was strong. I didn’t deserve to be in a dress.”

Tears started to fall from Fred’s eyes. Finally finding out the entire truth about his wife’s treatment of their children was devastating. He needed to hold Luke, to be close to his son. He wanted his arms to somehow protect Luke from all the pain from the past “Son, not only do boys cry, but men do also. It is fine to be sad and express it. I would never see you as a crybaby or think you deserve to be in a dress because you show your emotions.”

“It doesn’t matter daddy. No one likes me anyways. I have no friends here.”

“Son, we are going to move soon. You will get a new start.”

Luke got mad. He felt his dad was lying and even if that was the truth the move would not change anything. “We are not moving! Lori and mommy don’t want to. Even if we did, it would not matter. Lori will just tell everyone about me being in a dress.”

“Luke you will move. This summer we are going to move. If we do not buy a house, then just me and you buddy will be in an apartment. You will get a new start. I promise you.”

Luke believed his dad. “I will still be stuck here until we move.”

Bridgett knew her brother-in-law needed help and she had it with her present. Her gift was not just telling Luke about his summer in California, but giving her nephew the tickets. “You are not stuck here until then Luke. You have not gotten my present yet. You are spending the summer with me and your uncle. You always wanted to come to visit us and we are going to love having you.”

That ticket holder held more than the travel itinerary of Luke’s visit to his aunt. It held more than his way to see a new ocean. It held Luke’s way to freedom. Luke was looking forward to being away from who was holding him back, Lori. This sounded too good to be true. Luke was not supposed to get anything better than Lori. He wanted to make sure that only he was going. “No Lori.”

“Only you and you can stay even longer than the ticket.”

“Can I stay until we get a new house?”

“If your mom and dad say so, yes Luke.”

A sadness came to Luke’s voice. He knew his mom would fight moving and she would force him back. “Then I can’t.”

“Yes, you can and you will son. It is only up to me. I will not let your mom try to bring you back until you have a new start here. Like I said we will get an apartment somewhere. I am going to do whatever is best for you.”

Joy came back to Luke’s voice “I am so looking forward to this. Thank you Aunt Bridget and Uncle Maurice.”

Bridgett said “Then it is settled. We will talk about your visit as we go, where do you want to go now?”

“Can we go to the bike park?”

“Yes we can, Luke. Get what you are going to need and we will get going.”

As Luke left to get his skateboard and gear, Fred thanked Maurice and Bridgett. Maurice said “Don’t worry about it. We want to do what is best for Luke. Now call your wife. I know you want to get her home now to talk with her. We will have Luke out of here before she gets home.”

Maria said “We will take Lori off of your hands. We think that you want a long one on one conversation with Alice.”

Fred then called his wife and said “Get home now we need to talk.”

**********

Lori was opening her gifts when she got to the one which had Matt and Renee’s names on it. She expected to see a blue and white striped dress when she opened it. Instead, inside was Luke’s shirt. This mix up was an example of why it was Luke’s fate to be the punchline of jokes. She laughed out loud when she saw that shirt. Then she held it up and said “Luke is going to be so disappointed that that dress isn’t his real present.”

Everyone other than Renee, Matt, Mike, and Mandy started to laugh. How hard Tom was laughing made Renee see the truth about her boy. Her boyfriend played a dirty trick on Luke. He was nothing more than an immature jerk who loved picking on those who could not fight back. Tom switched the gifts. Now Luke thought that she and Matt gave him a joke gift to make fun of him. Renee got up and said “Everyone leave now. The party is over I don’t want anything to do with this party. Now go.”

Mandy never really acted upon wanting to become better friends with Renee. The hostess of Lori’s birthday taking action right now changed that. Until then, Renee might have been saying the right things about Luke but her actions were not backing them up. Now that Renee was taking a stand Mandy was ready to be right beside her. She knew that doing the right thing will not make her friendless.

Everyone was still laughing, not taking Renee’s demand seriously, when Mandy quit Lori’s alliance. The girl who was doing the right thing said “You all crossed the line today. Renee said leave the party is over. So, go.”

Tom trying to keep on his deception of Renee said “Calm down sweetie. You put the wrong tags on the gifts. Luka will understand.”

Matt was not going to run away from conflict anymore. He was going to stand his ground. “Tom, you shut up. His name is Luke.”

Blake wanting to calm this down. The last thing he needed was his dad to find out about this commotion. He would be in big trouble. “Matt, be cool. We all call Luke Luka. That is his nickname we gave him.”

“Blake, you shut up also. That is not his nickname and he doesn’t want it. You will not dare say Luka around Luke unless you have protection. You are scared of him. You are such a tough guy picking on someone when they are not around or you have the numbers.”

By now the parents who were hanging out inside came out from the noise. They found out what was going on. Meg and Al agreed with their daughter and the party was over. As Lori was gathering her gifts and thinking about how great it was Luke was feeling down Alice’s phone rang. She saw the call was from her husband. He was going to overreact on this mistake but at least she was ready to deal with it.

“Dear before you say anything. I know about the mix up with the gifts. Luke will be fine when he sees the real gift that Renee and Matt got him so just calm down. Luke just needs not to take this so personal. That is why no one really likes him.”

Fred responded “Get home now we need to talk.”

Alice was not going to be talked down to like that by anyone, let alone her husband. “Listen here. We do need to talk. You do not tell me what to do. I am your wife not your servant.

“Also, here is another thing, you protect Luke too much. I told you it was under control. We are on our way home and will be there in a couple of minutes. Then you will listen to me when we talk.”

Fred was pissed by how his wife acted. She put Luke in dresses many times yet was playing it off as Fred was overprotecting Luke. If anything, Fred felt like he let Luke down and did not do enough for his son. He should have pushed to find out exactly what was going on instead of being happy with knowing some. There was no way he could have known there was more, how could he even contemplate the issue was his wife putting Luke in a dress, when she saw how much that hurt their son.

Even with being mad he was smart enough to know this was not a conversation to have over the phone. “Just get home right now. Your mom and dad will be outside to take Lori.”

******************

Tom went to try to comfort Renee. He hated seeing her upset even if it was for something as insignificant as Luke’s feelings. At the same time, he was not going to take blame for switching the gift tags. They were done if Renee kept on believing the truth. Reaching out to hug her Tom said “Honey, it is fine if you messed up those tags. You were doing a lot today. Luke is not worth being this upset about. He turned his back on you just because you like me.”

Renee flinched when feeling Tom’s touch and pushed her boyfriend off of her. The last thing she wanted was to be touched by that jerk. Just the thought of him touching her made her skin crawl like the worm her ex-boyfriend was. “Don’t touch me. Don’t say Luke turned his back on me. I did that to him when I called him Luka and when I acted like it was not a big deal. I wanted him to get over it without me seeing it was a big deal.

“Now leave me alone. I don’t want anything to do with you. We are done!

“How could I even have thought for a moment that you were a nice guy?”

Tom could not save his relationship with Renee but he could save face. “Fine be that way. Call me when you come to your senses.”

**************

Alice was getting madder by the moment. She might have messed up before with her kids, but not today. Her husband needed to not look down at her. By the time she was home and doing the hand off of Lori to her parents Alice wanted to know right away why her husband was being so unreasonable and treating her with disdain. “Mom, dad what is wrong with Fred? Why didn’t you talk to him? Why did you let him talk to me like that?”

Dino and Maria acted like any good parent when their kid barraged them with questions. They answered the most important one first. Maria shook her head in disapproval. “Alice you need to hear that from your husband, not us.”

Dino joined in “Yes, you really do not want to hear what we have to say.”

The non-answers by her parents were a little unsettling to Alice. She was their blood so they should be on her side. If Alice did not know better she would have sworn they were mad at her. This did not change her plan of going in the home all guns blazing. There was no need to show a united front, it would only be her and Fred. “Listen here, never talk to me like that again ever. Never call me and give me orders. I am not your servant and I am not your child. You treat me like your equal. Now say you are sorry and I am right”

“Never put our son in a dress again. Do you understand?”

Seeing the blue and white striped dress in her husband’s hand, made Alice think she understood his anger. Yes, that was an unfortunate gift but still it was an accident. “Sorry honey. I should not have gotten mad. That was a mistake a long time ago.”

“Don’t lie to me woman. Don’t ever lie to me again. I know the truth. I know you kept on doing it after we had the talk. I know you told Luke boys don’t cry. I know you told Luke that I would think he should be in a dress if I found out he cried. If you try to deny it right now we are done. Do you understand?”

“Luke should have never told you.”

“Never say that again. You treated our son badly and now you are trying to blame him.”

“I am not blaming him. I know I messed up and quit doing so on my own. It was just so frustrating dealing with both of them. They would fight over nothing and Lori would start with her high pitch crying. You did not have to deal with them by yourself everyday like I did. You got to go to work and not deal with them like I did.

“I quit putting him in a dress after he told me he hated me. I know I messed up. I know I messed up big time. That is why I said that Luke should have never told you. I was not blaming him. There is just nothing you can do other than get mad.”

“There is something I can do. You know how Luke is going to California, Bridgett offered for him to stay out there until we find a new house. I said yes. If you even try to have him come home before, I will be getting an apartment and filing for divorce. I love you but I have to do what is best for my son. It pains me to say that sending him to live with your sister is what is best. But it is my fault. I did not try to get to the real bottom of why you and Luke were not close.”

“We are his parents. We need to talk about this before we make this decision.”

“No, you did not talk to me about putting our son in a dress so there is no need to talk about this. Him moving away from you is what is best for him. Don’t worry, you still have Lori to make your Brat Princess.”

“Don’t call our daughter a brat. She is the youngest.”

“She is a brat. You made her a brat. You always made sure she did not get in trouble. You only stopped Luke. We talked about this before. Did you ever think why Lori never stopped using that crying on you? It is because it worked. You gave in to her way all the time. You made it so frustrating dealing with them because you only dealt with Luke and not Lori.”

“Please let me talk to Luke, first. I can make it better. I will make it better. We will get a new home. I promise you we will. I just don’t want Luke to think that he has to live anywhere but his home.”

“No. If you keep your promise then Luke will come home. He knows that if we have a new place he will be coming home.”

“I got to tell him I will handle Lori better.”

“No, you don’t. I am going to handle Lori and Luke's relationship from now on. I will be in the loop about everything. You will make sure of it.”

“I can do it. I can handle our kids. You don’t need to watch over me.”

“No, you can’t. Until I believe you can that is how it is going to be.”

“You don’t trust me?”

Fred held up the dress “How many times did you put Luke in one of these?”

“Don’t keep throwing in my face that I messed up. I know I did.”

“Then act that way. Show you are going to accept how it is going to be. Right now, you have no say because of your actions. You need to show you deserve a say again. Support my decision and trust me on this, then I will start to trust you on how you will treat Luke and Lori.”

The next words of Alice’s mouth were a sign that she accepted Fred’s terms. “How are we going to handle Lori?”

**********

There were plates with half eaten pieces of cake on them scattered on the picnic table. The wicker coffee table had empty pop cans on it. The swimming pool ladder railings had towels drying out laid over them. The back yard had pieces of wrapping paper with some napkins peppered in between them. Renee and Matt were together cleaning up after the party.

The messy backyard perfectly represented how their personal life was at the moment. Renee and Matt doing the dirty work of cleaning up the mess they made also represented what they were going to do with their personal life, get rid of the trash. They did the first step by getting rid of Lori and most of her court. The only two they are going to stay friends with were the two who offer to stay and help clean. Mike Patton and Mandy Travers.

When taking inventory of who to get rid of Mike and Mandy were not on the list. Mike quit laughing at any reference of Luka and lately had been telling the others to grow up. Mandy being kept was a little surprising. She was quite being vocal about picking on Luke but never defended him until today. Her leaving Lori’s court on her own, was showing she was on Renee’s side.

During clean up duties Renee was also talking about the personal trash she was taking out of her life. The biggest piece of it was Tom. The girl let what she wanted to be true cloud her from seeing reality. Her friend Matt being at her side cleaning made her regret being Tom’s girlfriend even more. Someone like him was who she should have shared her first kiss with.

Hearing this backyard confession took Matt back. It also led to his own. Matt had the same regret. Having his first kiss with Lori made that a memory he wanted to forget. A moment which should be looked with a smile now was done so with pain. Pain of being used, pain of betraying a friend. He supportive Renee’s assertion that by saying his first kiss should have been with someone like her.

Cleaning up the physical and personal mess was easy. All it took was time and a little effort. After they were done with the backyard came the hard part, trying to salvage what they threw away a year ago, Luke’s friendship.

**************

Bridget, Maurice and Sam offered to take Luke wherever he wanted to go. The hurt boy picked his favorite place of refuge, the bike park. He wanted to ride his skateboard. Having to concentrate on performing the tricks would take his mind off of the pain of being hurt once again by Renee and Matt. Keeping his balance would keep his mind off of feeling like a fool about thinking those two like him.

As they got to the park, Luke warmed up by doing some tricks. He started off simple with a couple of ollies, a simple jump performed by tapping the tail of the board on the ground. Then he moved on doing a couple of kickflips, an ollie with the board rotating 360 degrees in the air. He would switch the rotation between clockwise and counterclockwise. Doing these simple tricks was a way to stretch and get in the right mindset.

Then when he was a little more comfortable on the board he went to the rails. He did a couple of rail slides where the skater slides the underside of the deck along an object as in this case a rail. Then he did a couple of nose slides. The same as a rail slide except it was just the tip of the board sliding on the rail.

Before Luke went to the halfpipe he saw a new kid at the park. This kid was trying to do an ollie. Luke could tell it was the first time and made his way to the kid. The only reason he was the first to offer help was that he was the first to notice the kid. A couple of the other skaters arrived right after Luke so he got the lead. They stuck around to give moral support to the new kid. Luke introduced himself, then showed and explained what to do. After a couple of attempts Luke and the other skaters kept on encouraging the new kid. Finally after the fourth attempt, the kid nailed the ollie. Luke gave him a high five.

Seeing Luke’s personality made Sam look forward to spending time with him in Cali. Having Luke there was going to be like having a younger brother. They shared the same love for skateboarding so hanging out with him would be cool. How good Luke was with that board along with his love of the ocean made Sam believe that his cousin would love surfboarding. They would go to the Cove, a place where surfers hung out, and Luke would learn and fit in with the others.

At the halfpipe Luke was doing great. The air which Luke had when doing a 180 twist let Sam know his cousin could do a McTwist, a 540 twist. Sam wanted to start truly hanging out with Luke right then. He could help him learn the McTwist. Luke was climbing up the top of the halfpipe when Sam said “Dude you are great. Have you ever done a McTwist?”

Luke was a little self-conscious now. He went from not thinking about anything to how his life was. “No, Sam. I can’t.”

“Luke, dude, I know you can. I see the air you get. You have more than enough space between you and the pipe to do it. Try it man. Just rotate the board as hard as you can and use your right hand to stop it when the nose is facing down. Do it at the end of the run. Have a big finale. You can do it. It will be sick.”

The first run Luke tried it he failed. He missed the landing and had to skid down the pipe on his knee pads. Before self-doubt could creep in Sam said “So close dude. You have it. You know you do. Come on, us skateboarders almost never pull off a trick the first time we try it.”

Those words of encouragement gave Luke the resolve to try again. He felt the support of his cousin. The other skaters were also supporting Luke. The ones who were waiting to use the halfpipe let him jump ahead in line. Trying that trick again right away was important. Luke needed to have no time to think.

The next run was perfect, Luke was grinding his board so well on the top of the halfpipe. His movements were so fluid when he grabbed the top of the pipe and held onto the board so it did not launch into the air. Then after picking up the speed and momentum Luke tried the McTwist again. He landed the trick and ended his run.

Coming off of the halfpipe the other skaters gave him props with high fives, hugs and fist pumps. The best prop he got was from his cousin. It was a fist bump which became the too sweet sign. They both said too sweet in honor of the sign and also it was the truth about landing the McTwist. This bonding moment made Luke look forward to going to California instead of getting away from Lori.

***********

On the way home from spending the time with her grandparents, Lori was mad. Her nanno and nanna ruined finally being able to spend time with her during her birthday celebration. They did not do what she wanted, to be the center of attention, her birthday celebration. Today was her special day, and they should be talking about whatever she wanted. Each time she tried to steer the topic of conversation about her party, the reception to it was colder than the leftover pizza from supper was going to be tomorrow morning.

If them acting like today as if it was any other day was not bad enough, what they did at Mineos actually hurt her. Finally, she was going to get a birthday cannoli. Luke was not going to be able to have that one up on her anymore. Then after ordering the waitress to bring her one of those special treats Nanno said “No, we are not celebrating your birthday. We are only here to eat and give your mom and dad time to talk. Do not bring up anything about your birthday again.”

Lori was going to get back at them by denying them her affection. Those two would only get a bye from her when she got home. The Cadillac pulled up and Lori enacted her revenge. It was only bitter. Nanno and Nanna did not ask where their hugs or her saying I love you. She had to ramp it up and hurried up to get in the house. Entering solo was a protest to show they were not part of her group.

As soon as she came into a quiet living room Lori knew something was up. Whatever was up was also bad for her. The signs of big trouble were even clearer when she was greeted with only the sight of her dad. Then why the big trouble became clear when she saw that blue and white striped dress in his hand. Fred still had not let go of it since talking with his wife.

“Dad, I can explain. Renee messed up putting the birthday tags on my and Luke’s gifts. We are being nice to him. He is just not in our circle of friends. You always said not to hang out with anyone you don’t want to. I don’t want to hang out with my brother.”

Fred was sick of all the lies. He was sick of his daughter always trying to play him as a fool. He was sick of how she treated her own flesh and blood. “Lori, if you know what is good for you then you will sit down and shut up right now.”

“You are blowing a little mistake all out of proportion. I did nothing to Luke and it is not fair to think so because he is crying. That is why kids don’t like hanging out with him. He is a crybaby. I am not calling him a name, just stating a fact.”

That lie about his son being a crybaby only achieved getting Lori’s father even more pissed off at her. His mind started to fill with images of Luke being strong. First, Luke’s silent tears today came to Fred’s mind. Luke not crying after breaking his leg last summer then came. Then how Luke held it together all those times his wife put their son in a dress came up. Luke’s strength being one of the factors in Alice being able to keep her petticoat punishment from him hurt him. He should have not just written off the permanent distance between mother and son from his wife’s playing favorites. “Your brother is strong, do not lie about him anymore. I finally know everything you have been doing for the past 5 years. So, don’t bullshit me anymore. Just sit down and shut up.”

Lori could not accept that the entire truth was out. There was no way Luke would have told. He might be standing up more to her friends and their mom, but Luke was so scared of his dad finding out about him being in a dress. Luke did not want his dad to think him to be less than a man and no man would wear a dress. “Ok fine I call him Luka around my friends and he can hear it sometimes. We laugh about him being in that dress once. Yes, we are a little childish, but we are children. I am guilty of being a teenager so how long am I grounded?”

Nanno and Nanna walked at this moment. They wanted to say bye to their son-in-law and daughter. They just turned around. Giving Fred the privacy to handle his daughter was more important than making sure they followed etiquette.

“Lori for the last time, sit down and shut up. I know about you getting your mom to keep on putting Luke in a dress.”

Lori followed orders and sat down. One reason was she did not want to get in more trouble. The second she was off balance finding her foot in her mouth.

“You disappoint me. It was not enough that you made Luke a social outcast. You also had to ruin any happiness in his life. This gift prank you went too far. Why?”

Lori could not answer. She did not have a hand in the prank. Even if she could answer she would not have an answer. The last thing she wanted was to get in more trouble by not following orders.

Lori’s dad said “Answer me when I ask you a question why did you have Renee do that to your brother?”

“I didn’t dad.”

“Don’t bullshit me. You torment your brother so much. Why did you have to try to ruin his birthday by doing this?”

“I didn’t do it dad. Renee must have done it all on her own. I am not stupid enough to do that right in front of you.”

“True. You are too devious to have me see how bad of a person you truly are.

You still were the one who fostered it. If you had not done anything within your power to put your brother down, your followers would not have joined in.”

“I am not a bad person dad. I just don’t like my brother at all. I don’t want anything to do with him. It would be great if he just left.”

“Lori, it pains me to say this, you are a bad person. Your mom and I messed up by not stopping you. You need to grow up, you need to start treating people better, and you need to quit needing to be the center of attention.”

“I am the youngest I should have all the attention.”

“Ok fine you want all the attention, you will get it. You are also getting your brother leaving. He is going to California for the summer. I will have more time to devote to you and trust me little lady I am going to give you all the attention you deserve.”

Lori got what she wished for yet felt horrible. Instead of basking in the glory of getting everything her way, the young girl was trying to figure out which was worse. The fact her dad was going to be hounding her for the summer or that her brother was getting to go somewhere without her. This situation is exactly why people need to be careful what they wish for. The attention she got was not the kind she wanted and her brother being sent to exile was going to be a nice vacation.

Lori was soaking in how getting her way was going so wrong when her dad started to inform her about more of the prizes she won for playing her stupid games. “You wanted to know how long you are grounded. You are not. Grounding you will not do any good. That does not mean you are getting away with what you did to Luke. Things will be changing around here. I am in charge now. You will be asking me if you can do anything. I even mean calling your friends. There better be a good reason why you want to call them also. Just chatting is not a good reason. I have the final say. Do not even think of going to your mom to get permission. She will clear it with me.

“You will give details about anything you want to do. Those details better be true. You will have your phone on and on you at all times. You will answer it when either your mom or me call. I am going to be straightforward with you, the phone will be tracking where you are, so you better be truthful. I will be watching over you. I will be giving you so much more attention.

“You know that car your mom has been talking about getting you when you turn 16. You will not be getting it. You will still learn how to drive, but you will only be using a car if you get my permission. I will tell you know that you will be driving only to go to work or if you need, not want, to go somewhere.

“There is more, you will be volunteering with bullied kids. You will work with them and see the damage people like you have done. I hope it makes you empathetic. I hope it makes you see that the world doesn't revolves around you. I hope this makes you a better person.

“This is until you are not living under this roof or you totally change as a person.”

Lori knew nothing worse could happen to her. This harkens back to what that wise lady said about freedom, it is when you have nothing to lose. So, she fired off her last shot at her dad to try to get him to change his mind by saying “I hate you.” Knowing how she felt about him might make her dad change his evil ways towards her. Her dad should want to be in the good graces of the Brat Princess and knowing he was not would hurt.

“Good, I am not your friend. I am your parent. Right now, I don’t care if you like me. I do care if you respect me. I do care that you see this as a wakeup call and change who you are. I really hope you do, for your sake. I also do hope you change so that I did not let you down as a parent. Now go to your room.”

*************

The backyard was finally tidied up by Matt and Renee. The sense of accomplishing this goal made them ready to take on their next cleanup project, the state of their friendship with Luke. The yard after the party was a minor mess compared to the relationship. They also neglected putting the right amount of time and effort into fixing the relationship right away so that added to the state of mess the relationship was in.

Matt and Renee started to go towards the wooden backyard gate to make their way up to Luke’s. Their plan was simple, just state to Luke what happened then be open to hearing him out. To the two-person clean-up crew this seemed like the right course of action. Going to clear this up was as controversial as stating it was sunny on a clear day. As Renee went to open the gate she told their parents her plan and expected them to react the same way if she told them it was sunny on a clear day.

Instead of getting the uneventful response of ok which was expected, all four of the parents gave variations of hold up. Those two going to Luke was a bad idea. Matt’s mom, Shanthi took the lead and went down to talk with the children. The other three on the deck stayed behind. They did not want Matt and Renee to feel like they were being ganged up on. This was an important moment in both parenting and their children becoming adults. They needed to make sure that Matt and Renee do not feel forced to do the right thing, but concluded to do it on their own. The decision being their own choice would ensure that Matt and Renee learned the lesson that sometimes things cannot go back to normal.

Shanthi said “Son, Renee, is it a good idea to go see Luke now?”

With the question coming from Matt’s mom the boy took the lead in answering it. “Yes, mom. We need to set this right, right now in the right way. We see everything we did wrong and will not try to defend ourselves.”

Renee added to her friend’s answer “Yes, Ms. Thayil. We are going there expecting forgiveness. We are going there expecting to do what it takes to be close with Luke again.”

This moment was heartbreaking for Shanthi. She was about to give those two a hard lesson about life. She smiled to ease her pain and to try to come off caring and understanding. Those two were going to need support after hearing what she had to say and Matt’s mom wanted to be a bedrock for them. “I know you want to be close to Luke again and learn from your mistakes. It is just if you are expecting to be close with him again you are also going to be expecting forgiveness. He is hurt right now so he might not be ready. You need to give him time.”

Matt still wanted to take the chance of being rejected. His friendship with Luke was worth the risk of being hurt. “Mom it should be easy to get forgiveness from Luke. We have been nice to him. We have been talking with him for a while. I can even tell he has been close to saying yes to hanging out with us. Something was holding him back from doing what he wanted.”

“Son, today was a big setback in your relationship with Luke. He thinks you two sent him a dress as a gift.”

Renee jumped in “But we did not. You know that. How could anyone ever even think that?”

“Renee, you know your past with Luke. You know how you messed up calling him Luka and started to hang around the gang which was still picking on him. You kept on doing this. Matt we are going to have a talk about that when we get home. You two made it so Luke can believe you would send it. Do you want to hurt Luke even more?”

“Never. I just want to make this right. I just want to not feel so bad about how we treated Luke.”

“Then worry about forgiving yourself. Both of you forgive yourself. Part of getting forgiveness is making amends. Make sure you become better people from this.”

Al came down to join in. He wanted to make the point that his daughter was wrong himself. “Renee, Shanthi is right. You hid how you and your friends were still mocking Luke. You want to be a strong girl, you stand up for your friends not join in with the crowd picking on anyone. The yard is clean get ready to come in.”

Matt responded to his mom “We will wait to talk with Luke. It will not be forced. I just want to make this right. I do not want him to think I was that horrible to him.”

Shanti said “Good, now say bye to Renee and get ready to go home. You will see her tomorrow at the bike park.”

Hearing about the bike park made Matt not feel as bad as a teenager with his first hangover. In fact, he was looking forward to talking with his mom and dad as much as that teenager with his first hangover was to having that first drink which led to the hangover. The discussion at home would be about him becoming a better person and not just to punish him.

*******

Getting that major air and pulling off the McTwist on the halfpipe still had Luke’s spirits high on his way home from the bike park. Having faith in himself and a bright future with a good support system made the skater feel strong and confident. Those did not have the need to lash out to protect himself. The petty words of petty people were below him.

Alice was upstairs finishing in trying to make Lori understand how much trouble the Brat Princess was in. She did try to downplay Fred calling her daughter a bad person by telling Lori that her actions were bad. The hurtful truth had to be denied, downplayed or else Alice would have to accept another hurtful truth. She was a bad person. After all Lori’s mom was the creator of the monster which was her daughter.

Alice was worn out from the stressful day so she went to lay down until Luke came home. The brutal fight with her husband made it so that she also wanted to stay away from him. Round two could happen and her husband would be justified in starting it.

As she was laying down wondering in how she was going to keep her family together and her fantasy about her family intact, hope came to Alice. From being in the comfy bed the mom heard the front door open and then her son in a robust voice said “Dad, I am home.”

Hearing the vigorous voice and how forcefully Luke let his presence be known gave Alice the strength to face him. The energetic boy’s presence could be felt all the way upstairs. He has not drawn attention to himself in this magnitude for a long time. Luke was fine in her eyes.

Alice was still too weak to face the truth that moving was not an option, it was the only choice. Alice had the self-serving narrative going of things will work out fine and Luke will be home soon. The story the deluded mom was telling herself left out some important facts. The emotional place her son was at that moment also convinced Alice that they will not have to move. Luke being Luke again was from him knowing he was not long for the personal hell he had been in.

Alice went downstairs to join her husband and son. She wanted to be closer to the positive energy that Luke was emitting. Getting closer to that power was making it even easier for her to start to downplay how much damage she had done to him even more. There was no way that a boy who was hurt as bad as Fred made it out to be could be how Luke was. Being full of life and energy was a sign that someone was in good mental health.

Alice greeted her son “Hey Luke, where were you?”

Luke gave the stare to his mom. She knew that look well so she was not thrown off by it. His voice did set her back. How full of life it was a sonic blast to her soul. “I was at the bike park mother.”

Hearing mother being used made Alice correct her son. He was too happy to be mad at her. The atmosphere of the room was wrong for him to bring up the past. “Son call me mom.”

Fred said “Luke you can use mother if you want.”

“I understand you are mad Luke. I am just happy that you are happy and want to share it with you and you only call me mother when you are mad at me. I know I messed up with putting you in a dress. It will not happen again. I did not do so for a long time.

It is going to be so good to see you like this when you come back here after your summer in Cali. Just think of how your friends at school will be happy for you.”

“Mother I will not be coming back here. We are moving.”

“Come on Luke we do not have to now. This is your home. You are doing so good. You will be back to being friends with Matt and Renee in no time. Renee kicked Lori and her friends out of the party and broke up with Tom. That Tom is no good, he was the one who switched tags. He meant no harm but he should have not done it.”

“Mother, this is not my home. Matt and Renee are not my friends. I am not going back to that school. I am going to California and will only be back when we do not live here. Right Dad?”

Fred had stayed out of it until then. He wanted for his wife to know not to push having changing the plans “Right son.”

The next step, was to get rid of Luke so he could make sure his wife knew to not bring up having Luke live here again. So in a joking manner he said “Why don’t you take a shower? I can smell you from here. Then after you are done share the story of hitting the McTwist with your mom. I know she will love it and I want to hear it again.”

Luke went upstairs radiating even more confidence than before. He walked past Lori's closed door on his way to get ready to take a shower. Lori felt a huge disturbance in the status quo when Luke walked by. Feeling how sure her brother was of himself hurt her self-esteem. It seemed like all her work on putting Luke in his place and hogging the spotlight was for not. All she could do was wait until Luke left and then start over in trying to make sure she was not in his shadow ever again.