Chapter Text
When Scott, Tyler, and Alyssa returned to the Academy later the following week, it was as if the brothers had never left. They rejoined the soccer team, which then made the playoffs. Alyssa, on the other hand, seemed out of spirits, and not her usual cheerful self. She was quiet and polite, but reserved. She turned down invitations to go shopping with her friends, saying that she needed to catch up on her studying, and didn't go to any parties. She spent a lot of time running by herself, coming back with red eyes from crying. Scott and Tyler were considerate, and gave her space, telling their friends that the resolution of a family situation that they couldn't talk about really weighed heavily on her. She declined to eat meat. She read Our Mutual Friend, then Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. And started to go to church with her uncle on Sunday mornings.