I'm putting my sandwich into my school bag when Catherine comes down the stairs, followed by Raven. He's dressed in another black outfit with some blurry slogan on the front of his tee shirt. He looks his usual self, nothing in his face giving away how sleepless the night has been—or perhaps all the evidence is hidden under his excessive make up.

"Morning, sweetie," says Catherine, pecking me on the cheek. "Did you make a sandwich for Raven, too?"

"He's not a baby," I mutter. "He can do it himself."

"Yes, but a bit of thoughtfulness could go a long way," she says before disappearing into the kitchen. Raven pauses to give me a smug grin.

"Morning, sweetie," he says quietly so that Catherine wouldn't hear. "Have fun at school," he adds, louder. "I'm, sadly, suspended."

"Yes, and I hope you'll use it to prepare for that math test," Catherine says from the kitchen.

"Sure, I will." He turns away from me and goes into the kitchen. "One of my friends has agreed to come and help me to study, if you don’t mind,"

"Uhm…sure. When?"

"At about three PM?"

"Sure. Jamie, will you be home by then, or do you have practice today?"

"Practice until six," I answer, putting by backpack on my back and walking over to the kitchen. I find Catherine rummaging in the fridge. Raven sits on a stool, his hands folded on his lap, a poster image of a good boy.

"I see James likes baseball very much," he says. "He practices almost every day."

"Yes." Catherine reappears from behind the fridge door and beams at him. "He could actually become a professional player one day, you know? His coach brought some people from New York to see him, and they were really impressed, so he will surely play in college, and--"

"Mom, enough," I say. Her excitement about my successes in baseball can only compare to her complete lack of knowledge about the game. Even though she hasn’t missed any of my games, she has a very vague idea as to what it's all about. Still, that doesn’t prevent her from talking about it to anyone who would listen.

I don’t want her to talk to Raven, though. I don’t want him to know anything about the things that I like, the things that could be used against me. It's enough that his presence is poisoning the atmosphere at home. I don’t want him to taint my other activities.

"Why, I find it very interesting." He cocks his head, giving me a half-smile. "Maybe I could come to one of your games? Do some cheerleading?"

"No," I say.

"James." Catherine gives me a strict look. "Be nice."

I take a deep breath. Raven is grinning at me, as if he's not only sensing my exasperation, but feeding on it, like a vampire. The smile leaves his face immediately the moment Catherine turns away from the fridge. By the time she looks at him, his face is wearing the neutral good boy expression he has been sporting before.

"I'll make you scrambled eggs," she says.

"Thank you, ma'am." Raven looks at me again. "Won’t you be late for school, Jamie?"

"The name's James," I snap. "Get it in your stupid head."

"James!" Catherine exclaims, and the disappointed look on her face hits me like a slap. "What kind of language is that!"

"The one he deserves," I mutter.

"You better go to school now," she says, "and in the evening, we will talk about this."

"Bye, Jamie." Raven waves at me.

I just standing there, staring at them. It suddenly feels like this familiar house isn’t quite mine anymore. Like I'm being banished. Embarrassing or not, I almost wish for Catherine to come over and give me another kiss, but she has already moved over to the sink.

"I'll be back at six," I say, turning away.

"See you," Raven says behind my back. "Take your time."