--Edited by Artix of Wundercomics--

Tommy scribbled down the last few answers to his math homework. Then, with a small sigh, the little boy looked up at the time. It was nearly four o'clock and the young boy was already tired of school only after the first two weeks!

Tommy looked around him again at the table in front of him. His older brother, Zach, who was in seventh grade, was mindlessly playing his Nintendo DS when the little second grade approached him and began looking over his brother's shoulder as Zach attempted to play Metriod; Zero Mission.

"So..." Tommy began, ribbing his bare arm with one hand, pushing the sleeve of his T-shirt up past his shoulder.

"In a little bit." Zach said, pressing more buttons on the small screen of the system. Tommy nodded. "I'm waiting for Gavin to get here so we can go."

"Gavin's coming?" Tommy asked. The boy's shoulders drooped sadly. Zach was the type of brother who never spent any time with his younger brother, and when friends were around it was only worse.

"That's right," Zach said, looking back at Tommy. "Is that a problem?"

"Well..."

"If it is you're not coming." Zach told Tommy very bluntly. Tommy fell silent. "And you're lucky that..." Zach trailed off. "Never mind."

"That what?"

"I said never mind," Zach growled, setting down the DS as the doorbell rang. "Now come on, let's go."

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Tommy walked behind Gavin and Zach for most of the way, trying to ignore the fact that he himself was being ignored. The young boy had to almost jog as he tried to keep pace with the two older boys.

"So, Tommy?" Gavin asked him at long last. Tommy jumped slightly, surprised that he was even being addressed. "Zach said you were in Boy Scouts?"

"Yeah," Tommy asked, suddenly slightly worried about where this conversation was going to go. "Why?"

"Just curious," Gavin said, slowing down to walk next to the young boy. "So, where did you want to go?"

At this Zach turned around. "What? I thought we were gonna--" Gavin held up a finger to silence him.

"Well, if you didn't feel like going anywhere else, Zach and I were going to head up to my clubhouse up in the woods, would you like to come?" Gavin asked politely. Zach opened his mouth to protest. "I've got a few things up there I think you might be interested in."

Tommy thought for a moment, then looked at Zach's devilish glare. Quailing back, Tommy tried to stammer an excuse for not being able to go. "No dude, it's fine." Gavin said, putting an arm around Tommy's shoulders. "And, how about this, to make you feel better, I'll get you some ice cream once we come back down, okay?"

Tommy thought for a moment, staring at the concrete below his shoes. "Okay..."
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