Toby was still exhausted the next morning when he woke up. When he checked his phone for the time, he saw that it wasn’t even 4 am yet. Groaning, he rolled back over and attempted to go to sleep, but was unsuccessful. He ended up playing games on his phone until his alarm went off at 6:30. He slowly got up out of his bed, and got dressed, dreading the day before him. It was friday though, and for that he was glad. He intended to spend his entire weekend laying in bed and reading books.

     He floated through the day in a haze, barely able to pay attention to anything his teachers had been saying. When it came time for english, he just sat in his desk and put his head down. His teacher usually didn’t get mad at him when he didn’t follow along, as she knew he was ahead of the other students. English was probably the only subject he was really good at.

     Suddenly he heard the moving of chairs and desks, and frowned. Great, we’re doing group work and I didn’t even pay attention to the instructions. Toby was brought out of his thoughts when someone plopped into the seat in front of him and turned around to look at him. Realizing that it was Marcy, Toby gave a weak smile, and looked down at his paper.

     “Having a rough day?” Marcy asked. Toby just nodded, then yawned. “We’re supposed to work in pairs to read this section and answer these questions. I saw you didn’t have a partner, so I came over. Is… that ok?” She explained. Toby only nodded again.

     After Marcy explained what they were supposed to be working on, the two started working in silence. After a few minutes, Marcy tried to start a conversation.

     “So, Marc tells me you went over to hang out yesterday? How was it? I know he can be a bit too hyper sometimes.”

Toby took a moment to think before he responded “It was fun, but I was tired.There was a lot of people there.”

     “Yeah, theres usually a lot of people at my cousin’s house. He’s a pretty popular guy, but not in an obnoxious way, if that makes sense.” Toby nodded, understanding what she meant.

     Things got awkward for a moment, neither of them knowing what to say next. Eventually, the pair went back to working in silence. They finished their work quickly, with more than half the class period left. After giving their papers to their teacher, Toby pulled out his book and pretended to read. He couldn’t believe that Marcy was related to Marc at all. While Marc was loud and energetic, she was more reserved and quiet. It seemed like at times she was almost uncomfortable, but Toby just thought maybe she had anxiety like him. Toby found that while he preferred to work on his class work by himself, he didn’t mind working with Marcy as a partner. She was efficient and did her own share of the work.

     Toby put his book down for a second, suddenly having something he was curious about. “You don’t live with your cousin, do you?”

     Marcy looked at him, confusion on her face.

     “I mean, I didn’t see you there yesterday, and I left the house pretty late in the day.”

     “Oh, yeah, I don’t live there. Marc doesn’t get along with our parents really well. They used to constantly be at war with each other. Our cousin’s roommate moved out, so Marc asked if he could move in.” Toby let that info sink in. He couldn’t begin to imagine how bad things must have been for Marc to move out. While his dad is a little eccentric, he and Toby had always gotten along, and his dad was always on his side when it came to school and teachers.

     The bell rang, and Toby quickly threw his stuff in his bag. He gave an awkward wave to Marcy, then went to his last class for the day. He spent the entire last period spaced out, which was fine because all they had to do was walk around the track field. Once the final bell rang, Toby quickly got changed, and started walking towards the front of the school.

     It was finally the weekend. He wouldn’t have to do anything, and he could spend as much time as he wanted in bed because his dad usually worked, and wouldn’t be home to bug him about waking up. The thought of a relaxing weekend put a little pep in his step as he finally reached the front of the school.

     Toby’s happiness was interrupted though when he felt his phone buzzing in his pocket. Pulling it out, he saw he had a text from Marc that read: “Hey, you should come hang out this weekend! I have lots of video games and its usually pretty chill here on the weekends!”. Toby lowered his phone and thought for a moment. If he went to Marc’s, he was likely to be in an uncomfortable situation, and he’d have to get up and get out of his comfortable pajamas. But if he didn’t say yes, Marc would either keep bugging him, or would be sad. He wasn’t sure which was worse, so against all of his instincts, Toby agreed, then walked back slowly to his house, the pep in his step lesser than it was earlier.

     When he got home, he was greeted by his dad from the kitchen, who was wearing an apron. Another person appeared behind his dad, and Toby didn’t have to guess who it was. His dad had been dating for a while, and this was his most recent boyfriend. Toby liked this one though. He was nice, and was generally good at cooking, though sometimes he made weird dishes that Toby didn’t know what to call.

     “Toby! I’m so glad you’re home! Come on in and tell us about your day while we finish cooking!”

     Toby smiled at his dad, and shook his head “No thanks, I’ve got some homework I’d like to finish up.” Then he headed upstairs towards his room. He felt a little guilty about lying to his dad, but He didn’t want to be the third wheel. When he got upstairs, he tossed his bag onto the floor, and plopped face first onto his bed, groaning.

     What a strange week it’s been. Toby thought, already feeling sleep starting to take him over.