Chapter Text
An ill person can cry 'why me?' all they like, but it doesn't change a thing.
An ill person can cry 'why us?' all they like, and that would make them feel worse than any sickness.
Scar never wanted his sickness to be a burden to his family. See, himself he could accept, that was just how it worked. But not his family.
So, as you can imagine, upon being told that they were moving across the country to be closer to one specific hospital, he really started to hate himself.
He had been in a bad mood since he was told. Not in an angry kind of mood, but just sort of numb. Guilty, maybe. His mother, Cleo, said it was for the best—said that all the travelling per appointment wouldn't be good for anyone. And, yes, maybe he agreed, he hated driving for hours just to be told that nothing's changing, and living closer would be the best option long term. But he still felt awful for being the reason they leave everything behind.
His brother, Bdubs, had said he didn't care about leaving—something about his boyfriend having another boyfriend??—but Scar knew he'd complain at some point. Cleo said the same, but Scar could tell it was still a lot of pressure for her, which he couldn't fix.
Basically, his uncontrollable, incurable chronic illness was bothering his family more than just him.
He didn't say a word for the whole 16 hour drive, unless it was important. Just stared out the window, threw up once or twice from motion sickness (again, inconvenience), and didn't bother pretending that he was just okay with this.
He did some research on the town they were moving to, but it just sounded even more depressing. Small irrelevant town named Drearford—that name was already bad enough. He couldn't find much else on it other than it was very religious, agricultural, and was best known for a long river that ran through the whole town named River Beau.
Basically, a whole lot of nothing.
They arrived at 4 am. Cleo insisted on driving through the last five or six hours instead of just finding a motel for the night. She took up a favour from a friend and got some help moving everything in weeks ago, so they could just go to bed.
Scar didn't even bother looking around at all. His head was spinning, his throat felt like it was being stretched, and his jaw was far too tight to be safe. He vomited again, which just upset him more. He instead tried focusing on what he could hear Cleo and Bdubs talking about.
And it was him. Which should've been more surprising.
"he hasn't even seen the place yet, how can he hate it?"
"I think him being in a shit mood is justified. We have just up and left, and he is going to blame himself."
"That's stupid, we're just trying to help him…"
"Go easy on him, alright?"
He spaced out after that. Or passed out. He couldn't remember, but when he regained some semblance of consciousness, he was back in his bed at late morning.
For a while, he just stared at the ceiling, at the glow-in-the-dark stars he asked to be stuck up there. He didn't want to move, didn't want to face a whole new environment. But he got hungry, and he smelled breakfast.
He walked down the stairs slowly, he still felt a bit shaky on his legs. But, then again, when did he not? He lingered in the kitchen doorway, just watching his mother work. He did want to speak, but words felt wrong.
When Cleo noticed him just standing there, they gave him that awful pitying look. The one that every doctor, nurse, physical therapist, emotional therapist, and any adult gave him when he looked the slightest bit too pale or shaky.
"I'm fine." He reassured, though his voice was hoarse and tired. "Still a bit dizzy is all."
"I can tell. You up to doing anything today?"
That question was always a trap. That normally meant there was something that needed to be done, no matter what he said here. "How important is it?"
"School meeting."
"Already?!" Said Bdubs, who had appeared behind Scar, looking way more awake than he was. "School year hasn't even started yet!"
Cleo just sighed, brushing some hair from her eyes, "Yes, it has. You're already a week late."
Bdubs just groaned and went back off to wherever he came from. Scar appreciated the quiet after that. Although, he was also bothered by that. He stepped more into the kitchen, leaning against the side of the fridge.
"Mom, you said I don't have to go back to school this year." He muttered, but he didn't care all that much. He didn't like school, everyone looked at him weird and he didn't enjoy being constantly picked on. "You said we'd homeschool."
"I know, I know." Cleo sighed again, but this time it sounded more apologetic. Suddenly, Scar felt bad for asking. "Can you just try? Just until we're settled, and if you hate it, you can drop out."
Scar just nodded. He could try, if it meant she was less stressed. And he knew Cleo would keep their word on that. "Sure…so when's this meeting thing then?"
Cleo seemed relieved when he agreed, like she wasn't actually expecting it without complaint. "Midday. You've got an hour and a half, think you can manage that?"
Scar hesitated for a second before giving a slow nod, which just meant a maybe. A maybe leaning more to yes. A probably. In the back of his mind, he really wanted to go back to sleep and skip it entirely. But the rest of him—the slightly more rational part—said that it was important enough.
Scar was ready by 11. At least, he was dressed and slightly less nauseous, which was good enough for him. He stood outside, leaning against the car, just waiting. He knew it'd be a lot of time to wait, but he needed the air.
It was warmer here, compared to home. Better, he thought. He preferred the sun over the rain. Snow was an exception, but that depended on his mood. Then he wondered about that lake he read about. Lake? River? Ah, same difference. He hoped that he could get to it easily some day soon.
He still hated everything about moving.
But maybe this was the one little good thing.
They finally got the school, just past midday. Scar didn't mind being late, but he really wanted to walk and move and be out of the car, he was slowly getting restless.
It wasn't a big building. Actually, it was smaller than expected, by far. Bdubs said it looked scary and Scar could only agree that it was unsettling in a way. The only thing saving it was people there. As they were driving, they noticed that the whole town looked that way. Just dry and empty and sad. Like someone had sucked the life out of everything.
The man they met at the front desk was also just as scary. He was tall, dressed really professional, and had a permanent grumpy look on his face. Even when he greeted them all and had a smile on his face, it didn't ever reach his eyes.
While the man spoke to Cleo, Scar looked around the office. It connected to the main cafeteria, where he could see only a couple full tables, which all looked equally as exhausted as the rest of the town.
They were then led up to a different office, this one for the principal. As it turns out, the man downstairs was a pastor. Something about the school working closely with the church? Scar wasn't listening enough for that, but he got the general gist of it and that was enough for him.
The principal was less scary, but still had that air around of him of 'I'm superior to you, get used to it'. Scar spaced out for most of the conversation, at least the first half, that was just about Bdubs (who was sulking the whole time). And then his name came up and he actually had to listen.
"Now, Scar, we don't have much on you here, regarding school.." The principal started, before Cleo interrupted.
"I pulled him at out at the start of last year, and we have been homeschooling since. Wasn't working out."
He just nodded, but looked slightly skeptical. Then there was silence as he read over the file thing he was given. Scar could only assume he was reading through all of the medical things. His file and Bdubs' were just about the same size, but for very different reasons.
"Well, I suppose we'll just put you in all middle level classes— we work in levels based on skill and work ethic here— and see how you get along, if we need to move you up or down at all."
Scar just nodded. But he did notice the way Mr Principal avoided the big topic. He also noticed the way the Principal eyed up his cane, like it was something mythical and unheard of. He didn't like that at all, but he saw no point in starting some kind of debate here and now. He could just complain and gossip with Bdubs later.
A bell rang shortly after, a shrill, vibrating sound, the kind that reverberated around your head after hearing it. At Scar's last school, it was quieter, and more of a toll. He didn't like this one, and he figured it'd be an issue everyday.
Two people came in after that, but they seemed to be Scar's age instead of teachers or scary pastors. One looked relatively relaxed and content, and the other looked like he wanted to be anywhere else.
"Perfect timing." The principal spoke first, sounding oddly relieved. "These two are Grian and Anthony, and they'll be giving you a tour of the school."
Cleo stood up, which was Scar and Bdubs' cue to do the same, and, with no fanfare, they were taken around the school. It was clear that one of them was much more social than the other—Scar didn't pay attention to whose name belonged to who.
The school felt bigger on the inside. They were first led through the top floor, which had all the chem labs and smelled like burning and stale chemicals, then the middle floor, which just looked like basic non-specific classrooms and a little support bit, and then bottom floor, which had workshops and sharp tools and other cool stuff. There was the cafeteria—which didn't have many more tables than what Scar saw when walking in—and the library, and the infirmary.
The whole placed seemed dark, even through the lit up windows. It was clear that the building was old, and Scar was slightly surprised that it was still standing at all. As they passed along classrooms, he looked at the few students in each room. Maybe it was just the general atmosphere, but they looked just as empty in the eyes. And they all had uniforms to wear. It seemed like a bother at first, but at least it meant less panic over what to wear every single day.
The ended back at the office desk soon after, where Cleo was given some paperwork. Meanwhile, Bdubs was talking to those two boys. Scar stayed behind, but he just watched them, watched how effortlessly his brother got along with them. He was almost jealous.
One of those boys, the one that looked perpetually detached, was looking at…him. Right at him. Scar caught his eye, but he still didn't look away. Scar almost went to speak to him, but panicked a bit and just stepped back to Cleo's side. That seemed childish, he knew that, but he wasn't all too ready to socialise just yet.
The Pastor man soon came back, and he took the angry boy away from the others. Scar watched them, a little skeptically, but he saw no need to follow or to question. He was an outsider, he knew nothing.
They left very soon after, and Scar couldn't be happier to just get out of there. He wanted to go home and take a nap, but Cleo had to go get their new uniforms, so there was no point in making the extra journey.
The store they had to go to was on the top floor of a toy store. It sounded odd, but to Scar it meant getting to look at different Lego sets, so he didn't regret coming after all. However, that was the only good part, because the actual uniform store part was disgustingly warm and uncomfortable.
"A medium will fit, I don't want to try it on…" Scar's voice was quieter than usual. The whole building was silent—which made sense, since the school year already started, people weren't buying uniforms—and he felt like talking too loud would be bad. "What if other people have tried it on? That's gross and unsafe."
Cleo just hummed, clearly distracted by shirt sizes, but she didn't ask again. Scar did have a point, in a way, and they knew he wouldn't dare to even risk something like that. She got the medium.
On the other hand, Bdubs was more than happy to try on any clothes there, and just ended up mixing and matching, which made Scar laugh. He ended up buying a random pair of sunglasses that he liked, despite Cleo telling him to put them back. Scar just thought they suited him, and he picked up a matching pair for himself.
Scar didn't like the uniform when he had to try it on at home. Well, it wasn't uncomfortable or anything, but it felt off on him. He wasn't used to having rules on clothes, especially for school.
It was simple: white shirt, dark blue tie and blazer, and whatever pants he felt like. He didn't want to wear the professional-looking ones, and the school had to just deal with that.
As soon as Cleo judged how well everything fit, he got out of those clothes as fast as he could. He spent the rest of his afternoon just building the Lego set that he was eyeing up earlier (Cleo caved and bought it after he begged for a minute or seven).
When he actually thought about it, he didn't actually want to go to school, whether it be big and crowded or small and lonely. He hated the way people looked at him, like he was contagious, or dying on the spot. And the questions they asked that were just a waste of oxygen.
But if his mother was asking him to try, then he had to. He didn't want to burden her more with everything moving so quickly.
Speaking of, whilst he considered that fact, Cleo appeared in the doorway. "Hiya. How's it going?"
"Good…I think. It looks right."
"I wasn't talking about the Lego. But that is going well too, I can see that." She said through a chuckle as he stepped inside and sat down in front of him.
"Okay, well, what were you talking about?" Scar moved some of the loose Lego pieces away before he lost them. He definitely knew what Cleo was talking about, but as long as he could feign ignorance, the less it bothered him.
"All of this." Cleo spoke more gently than usual, which felt like pity to Scar, "I know you're not happy about the move. But it's for the best, even without the hospital stuff."
Scar just huffed. He didn't believe that.
"We weren't doing good back home. At least here it's quieter, less overwhelming."
Scar still didn't budge.
"You'll feel better soon. And the school doesn't seem all bad." Then they sighed, seeing that nothing could really change Scar's opinion, at least not yet. "You have to help yourself too. If you don't bother trying, you'll just loop through this forever."
Then Scar's stubbornness cracked, because he knew that was true. He didn't want to like any of this, so he was making himself unreasonably miserable over it. "Sorry, I'll try."
Bdubs came in too after that. Scar almost told them both to leave, but he restrained himself. And Cleo left on her own anyway, which normally meant Bdubs' time to gossip. Or to be a nuisance.
"So, I did some digging…"
A start like that was never safe.
"Remember that Pastor guy from the school? And the waffle-looking one that had to show us around?" Bdubs sat in front of Scar, leaning in like this was some big secret. "Turns out they're freaking related, dude. The Pastor guy is his dad."
"No way." Scar tried to sound like he cared more than he actually did. He doubted that he'd ever see that boy again, at least not much. "Maybe that's why he looked so pissed. If our dad was scary like that, I would…if we had one."
Bdubs just nodded, happy that Scar was at least feigning interest. "And a lot of the stuff at school is funded by the church. Oh, and it's a scarily Catholic school and we have to pray everyday."
Scar grimaced, "I don't wanna do that, we're not religious."
Bdubs just groaned and leaned back again, almost tipping himself over in the process. "I know, but I don't think we have a choice."
"Who says we can't just refuse?"
"It's a school with uniforms and scary lookin' guys, Scar, what if they hurt us?" Bdubs deadpanned, knowing all too well of how dramatic that sounded. But for a second—only a second—Scar considered the question.
But before he could think too hard about it, Bdubs was already on to another topic. Something he'd spoken about at least a hundred times, but Scar still listened anyway. Not that he could really get out of it.
"so now I hate both of them. How's your love life, brother?"
"Love? Oh, non-existent." See, Scar only needed little bits and pieces of a ramble to get the gist of it…most of the time. He did always listen, but he wasn't very good at it.
"That's boring." Bdubs huffed, clearly not appeased with the lack of response. "Are you still friends with those two losers? or have they already forgotten about you?"
Scar made a strangled sound of offence, theatrically putting a hand over his heart and fell onto his back. "You dare to insult my Bamboozlers?" He then sat back up, dropping the act again.
"Yes. They are still my bestest friends, and they called earlier."
Bdubs just scoffed, to which Scar hit his shoulder, barely hard enough to hurt. "We've not been here long enough for them to 'forget' about me…"
His voice got a bit quieter. His friends wouldn't just forget him, would they? No, no, of course not.
"Well, you can make new friends easy. You're, like, the nicest guy ever…you're annoying, but you make it work."
Scar just nodded. Sure. He could. Maybe?
Bdubs left after that. There was no more to talk about and Scar wanted to get on with his Lego. The last thing he mentioned before going was that they started school on Wednesday. Random, he thought, but it gave him four days of freedom.
Sunday. More to do that day, Cleo said. 3 days until school.
"Aw, I don't wanna go see some crazy church people. I have unresolved drama with my ex-boyfriend that I need to attend to."
"Well, we have to. They're important here, and we need to start making friends."
Standing in the doorway seemed safest now, Scar thought. Watching Bdubs whine and complain wasn't something he wanted to get involved in, especially when he was trying to get Cleo to change her mind about something. That wasn't never an easy feat.
"They won't like me anyway, I'll say something mean."
"Ha..! No you won't."
They were right. He wouldn't. Not whilst they were all there, trying to make a good first impression to people that were clearly prominent in this town. He wouldn't dare to embarrass his family like that…intentionally.
"Fine! But I'm not being all nice and sweet talking."
"I didn't ask that. I asked that you come with me and don't say anything offensive."
Bdubs gave up after that. Neither of them could fight Cleo for very long. Scar almost laughed, but he knew that would get himself hit.
They arrived at the church at midday, around the same time they arrived at school yesterday. Scar felt some kind of deja vu because of that.
The church was oddly pretty, at least compared to the other buildings they had seen around. It was definitely old, but it had such detail to it, like one of those super big cathedrals that only seemed real in pictures. Stained glass with swirls and figures, crosses everywhere—although they all did fit perfectly—and little wooden accents that just put it all together. Sure, it was a bit creepy, but that seemed almost intentional.
The cobbled path surrounding it was more cracked and wobbly, with some small gaps in between, which made Scar more cautious as he walked, almost tripping over his cane once or twice.
"Why's there so many people here?" Bdubs asked, his voice seeming louder in the near silence of the churchyard. "I can see them through the window…"
No one answered him. They just walked inside.
There was a receptionist there, who looked completely dazed by everything. She spoke to Cleo, kind of slowly, like she was in a trance. They were then sent through to a bigger room, and then outside. There looked to be some kind of event going on. A really sad, really dry one.
There was a decent amount of people standing around, mingling and whatnot. The pastor man from the school was there. And so was the angry looking boy. So Bdubs wasn't lying about him being the pastor's son.
He was sat against a low stone wall—the same kind of stone as the path outside—staring at everything and nothing, fidgeting with what looked like a necklace. He was…well, he was pretty. And he looked less angry than at school, which was also a nice surprise. Scar watched the pastor talk to his mother. He seemed stiff, like he was forced into being here, or maybe he was angry at something. Either way, Scar didn't like it.
He didn't know what to do now. He didn't know any of these people, and therefore, he didn't like any of these people. Was he meant to talk to them? There did seem to be some other teenagers there, but they were all with friends or family. When he turned to Bdubs, he saw the exact same perplexed look.
He then heard the pastor man call his son over, to which the boy complied immediately.
"Grian," The pastor started, putting both hands on his son's shoulders. "I believe you've all met before."
The boy—Grian—just gave the three of them a tight-lipped smile, it didn't quite reach his eyes. He looked just as forced to be there as his father did, if not more. Scar wondered if that was the case, because that didn't sit well with him.
"Would you mind keeping these two boys entertained for a minute?"
Grian just nodded. And in mere seconds, both Scar and Bdubs were sent off with Grian. They didn't get a choice. The pretty boy—he really didn't look angry anymore—led them around to the front of the church.
"So, who are you both anyway?" He asked bluntly. It was the first time either of them had heard him speak. His voice was so dull, but it had such a bite to it that was almost startling.
"I'm Bdubs," The youngest of the three started, not realising that this boy definitely couldn't care any less. "who are you?"
"Grian." He responded instantly, squinting his eyes at Bdubs. It seemed like he didn't appreciate the confrontational tone.
Of course though, Bdubs didn't back down. Not even at that look. "Okay, but who are you?"
Grian just huffed a sigh, like he was already done with the conversation, "Changing the emphasis doesn't change anything else…"
He then looked to Scar for a second, as if offering another challenge, but Scar swiftly declined by looking off into the distance, and basically at anything that wasn't Grian and his scary angry eyes.
"I'm Grian," The boy started again, speaking slower and more mockingly, "I have lived here my whole life, my father's the pastor, and I don't want to be here. Better?"
Neither of them answered, which was enough for Grian and he backed down. But he still seemed so distant. Then, he looked back to Scar.
"You didn't answer me."
"Hm? oh, I'm Scar…"
Grian nodded slowly, as if he was expecting more, but wasn't willing to push it. Then he just…started walking again, so both of them followed. They didn't have anything better to do.
Grian led them down a path leading into a forest. Bdubs kept asking whatever questions popped into his head, and getting very limited answers, if any at all. The forest itself was kind of beautiful. The trees weren't completely bare yet, but they were slowly losing their leaves under the autumn. The air was misty, making it difficult to see through, whilst the sky was grey, giving it a creepy aura.
There were old wooden fences lining the path, caked in moss and damp from dew. There were more fences further behind those ones, but with barbed wire strung around the planks. Scar watched a small bird perch upon one of those fences, in a small gap between wire and wood. Dangerous move, but he respected it.
Soon, Grian deviated off of the path, which the other two didn't understand.
"Where are you off to?" Bdubs asked, before Scar could even consider doing so himself. Grian didn't answer, just kept wandering off to wherever.
Bdubs wasn't up for following. Instead, he continued walking along the path. "Well, let me know when you get eaten by something!"
Scar was kind of conflicted. Going one way was his little brother, and the other was this weirdly interesting boy. He decided to follow Grian. Bdubs could handle his own.
He stayed at least two steps behind Grian; he wasn't even told if he could follow or not, but he'd made that decision on his own. They kept walking slowly downhill, and at the bottom it just got muddier and muddier. But Grian walked a certain way that seemed to avoid anything sticky, walking over rocks and dry patches in the dirt. Scar figured he knew the area well.
After another minute of walking, they reached a body of water. A long stream that branched out to a huge river. There were a rotten, decaying sign nearby that read 'River Beau', in scrawled black letters. That solved that mystery. There was a worn down wooden dock, damp and moss covered, which was where Grian went to stand, and Scar followed. He watched Grian crouch down at the edge of the dock.
"Are we allowed to be here?" Scar asked dumbly. With the state of the sign and the decay of the wood, and all the fences, it made sense as to why they shouldn't be there. Grian didn't answer at first, just kept his eyes on the running water.
"Yes…but also no." He finally spoke. Then he sighed, but this time, some of the tension left his shoulders. "People just think it's just dangerous. And no one's here to watch over it anymore."
Slowly, Scar sat down next to Grian, despite the wood being wet. He doubted he'd be able to hold himself up for long if he also crouched. He set his cane down beside him initially, but then got suddenly worried that he'd knock it into the water, and instead held it steady between his legs.
"It's a nice place to think though," Grian continued. His voice had lost that previous snappiness, leaving a kind of emptiness in its wake. "my father would kill me if he knew I was here."
"How often do you come?"
"…when I need to."
They sat in silence after that. Nothing but the sound of running water and birds chirping from the trees. Scar took that moment to really look at Grian. They were going to be at the same school, in the same grade, so maybe they could be friends.
And Grian was quite pretty, Scar could acknowledge that. His hair was a dusty kind of blonde, that fell just over his eyes. Speaking of, his eyes were a light shade of blue, but a dull one at that. The rest of his face seemed…perfectly proportionate. He wasn't like Scar—no bruises or blemishes, no old scars or rough skin. Just freckles and, well, gold.
Next to Grian, Scar felt inadequate. This boy, he was so perfect looking. And Scar wasn't any of that.
"Why did you move here, Scar?" Grian suddenly asked, saying Scar's name like he had to adjust to it. But Scar didn't have to hesitate and think of an answer.
"Because I'm sick."
No more and no less than that.
Grian understood that.
And they went back to peaceful silence, sat by a murky stream.
They could've been sat there for hours, or for days, and neither of them would've noticed. They didn't know each other, but what they knew in the moment was that sitting together felt just right.
But soon enough, they had to leave. Grian stood first, mumbling something about his father and the church, and Scar followed without question, brushing whatever little flecks of mud had landed on him.
"Won't your mother be mad that you got your clothes dirty?" Grian asked, not teasingly, just genuinely curious. Scar just shrugged in response; Cleo didn't get mad mad very often, and never at him and Bdubs.
They trudged back up to the main path—Scar had to stop and lean against the fence when they made it back up, which gave them enough time to catch Bdubs walking back in that direction too.
"Aw, Scar! There you are!" Bdubs seemed way too excited about something, which wasn't good for Scar, since his head was spinning too much to actually pay attention. He was fine, he just needed a second to breathe.
Bdubs went on a small tangent about some cool sticks he found or something, Grian stayed too, despite wanting to rush back to his father. This seemed important. But he kept a safe distance away; it wasn't his place to interrupt. Scar simply nodded along to what he heard, despite only hearing a couple words. Normally, that would be enough for him, but now even those few words were kind of muffled and weak.
"Scar..? You still in there, dude?"
Scar nodded again, but it was almost like he was on autopilot. He could hear the words but they made no sense. All that made sense was a pain in his calves, the spinning in his head, and the incomprehensible sound in his ears.
"Okay, let's— let's get you back to mom…"
Bdubs put an arm around Scar's shoulders, slowly walking them both back off in the direction of the church. Grian walked next to them, not touching Scar without being told to. If they could handle this themselves, then he'd at least stay by. Bdubs didn't care—he barely noticed that Grian was there—he just wanted his brother to be okay.
Their walk back was significantly slower than getting there. They had to stop a couple times when Scar stumbled or breathed too heavily. Grian eventually asked if he could help, but got no response. Bdubs didn't like seeing Scar this way—who was fine before disappearing off with this stranger boy.
The second they got back to church, Scar was breathing better—he could actually process words instead of just hearing them now—but he definitely wasn't in a good way. Cleo saw him immediately, before they'd even got there. She took Scar off of Bdubs' hands, first checking that he wasn't badly hurt.
"Oh, what's happened?"
"He went off with this weirdo and came back all spacey." Bdubs scowled at Grian, not even considering the fact that maybe it wasn't Grian's fault. Grian didn't even try to defend himself, he just went back inside.
"Mom, I'm telling you, that guy is weird." Bdubs whispered, although he wasn't too good at that. "Scar followed him somewhere random and then he comes back like this."
"Grian didn't do anything." Scar finally managed to croak out. He coughed a little after, looking at Cleo like a desperate plead not to listen to Bdubs. Cleo just nodded, she got the hint.
"Okay, but that guy is still weird."
"That's enough, Bdubs. Let's go home."
By the time they were all home, Scar was definitely feeling better. But he was still a bit off emotionally. Feeling ill like that always shook him up, especially in front of people that weren't family. It was embarrassing. He just sat in bed, staring at nothing, reliving it in his head. Cleo checked up on him more than usual, which wasn't helping. He told them that they didn't need to, but that didn't do much.
3 days until he started school.
It'd be fine.