"Would you like to watch it now?"

Brynn rolled her bottom lip into her mouth before she slowly nodded. They were actually going to get the movie for her.

"You do not wish for the original copy?" Zayne asked, using his fore and middle finger to drag the book closer to him.

Brynn didn't understand why he thought that was what she was going to ask for. "Just the move, please."

Zayne looked up from the book to stare for a few moments. Then, he nodded slowly, "very well."

Callan started moving around the island, "I'll go set it up then. We'll have it somewhere."

He walked past Brynn, Brynn almost turning to follow until she looked at Zayne, who looked at her.

She joined her hands back together behind her back, rolling subtly on her heels, then to her toes, repeating the action thrice.

Zayne made some form of movement, slipping his fingers underneath the paperback book and lifting it. He held it out to her, Brynn looking at the item, then up.

She reached one hand, her right hand, out to take it, bringing it back towards her chest and rolling back on her heels. "Thank you."

Zayne didn't say anything back and if he was going to, Brynn didn't leave an opening to because she turned around, following Callan's path to, what she guessed, was the big screen cinema room.

It was the cinema room Callan was in, one hand on his left hip and remote in his right hand as he clicked through the screen.

He seemed to have found the film Brynn had requested for, leaving the screen on the "Watch Now" button.

He placed the remote on one of the arm rests at the front, turning to Brynn. "Told you we had it somewhere."

Brynn grinned, looking over the screen. She was really excited to watch Matilda.

Reading the book over four times wasn't enough. Now she could actually watch it.

The only reason she knew there was a movie was because Penny had told her about it and now she actually had it in her metaphorical grasp.

She balanced the book against the wall by the door and took a seat, the seat to the right of the arm rest on which the remote was placed. Bringing her legs up, she watched the screen in awe already, as if expecting the movie to start playing on its own and the opening credits were the most amazing thing she'd ever seen.

She couldn't see Callan's face properly, but she knew he was looking down at her, so when she moved her head up, he gave a small smile, messing with the front of his suit and straightening up.

"You enjoy then, Brynn." The latter nodded smally, watching as he walked towards the door and playing with her hands on her lap.

Eyes trained on Callan's exiting form, she was quickly becoming more and more conflicted. From his shoes to the back of his head, she looked, messing her hands around more agitatedly and grinding her back teeth.

Then she made up her mind.

"Callan."

The man stopped, seconds away from closing the room door, with wide eyes. He let go of the door handle, "yes?"

"Would you like to watch it with me?"

Brynn brought her right hand up to bite at her thumbs hangnail. Callan, on the other hand, his face appeared to momentarily pause. Ensuingly, he nodded, "I would very much like that."

Brynn felt the ends of her mouth move upwards, "cool." Her eyes darted to the remote on her left and then back at Callan, who followed her gaze to the remote then back to her face.

"Right, I'll just go get some drinks, then. You start, I'll only be a moment," he said, his body indicating that he was about to go and do such, when Brynn stopped him again, mind made up once again.

"The others can watch too," the playing with her hands never ceased, "if they want. They're all invited too."

She didn't know if half of them would want to be invited, but it felt odd to not include them all. And it also felt odd to watch a movie alone in such a large room.

Callan nodded, "very well, I'll let them know that." He left properly then.

Brynn nodded, although no one was watching now. She didn't really expect most of the others to come, but she wanted the invitation to be out there. They were welcome.

She also didn't know how long Callan would take, but she definitely wasn't going to start the movie yet, even though the anticipation was almost torturous seeing as the Watch Now button was right there.

Instead, she chose to look around the room, to the seats behind her. There were like five rows behind her and she'd never sat in any of them, only the first row.

If she could ask Callan and Zayne for a movie, she could sit in another row.

She didn't want to overreach, though, the second row would do. The second row was perfect.

She took the remote with her, placing it back down onto the armrest on her left as she took a seat dead centre in the second row. Just in time, too, because Callan re-entered, two bottles of coke in his hands.

His eyes initially looked towards the previous seat, slightly furrowing and then unfurrowing when he saw her on the second row. He came to sit on the second row too.

Brynn wasn't expecting Brayden or Zach to come in straight after, however. Nor Zaiden after Zach either. Sure, the invite was there, but the movie was Matilda. She wasn't sure if it would be too childish for them. Or if they weren't aware what the movie was.

It didn't matter to her what they thought was playing. They came.

The three sat on the first row, Zach turning around from his middle seat and waving before he focused on the screen. They each brought their own food and drinks.

Brynn, herself, held her bottle of coke tighter, if possible, even more excited for this movie.

She pressed the Watch Now button, watching as the screen faded to black and then the opening credits came on. Nothing else had her attention or her enthusiasm.

A few times, she mindlessly brought the coke up to take a sip, eyes never leaving the screen. More than once, Callan looked down to catch her facial expression reacting to the current scene.

Furrowed when Mrs Trunchball made that boy eat the cake in front of the school. Furrowed whenever Matilda's parents spoke to Matilda in a harsh manner. Softly whenever Miss Honey spoke to Matilda.

The point when the the young girl steals back the doll and two chocolates was one of the only times Brynn's eyes diverted away from the movie. It was when the cinema room door opened and in stomped Silas, to the seat next to Zaiden, going for his bowl of popcorn immediately.

Brynn sunk into her seat, her face feeling hot. The four people on the seats in front of her and the one to the right of her came to watch the movie with her.

Callan leaned down to her right ear, "Ezra is at work."

Brynn nodded. She hadn't really expected Ezra to come, even if he wasn't at work.

She placed her drink into the left drink pocket and brought her knees to her chest. Five of them still came and watched.

It didn't really look like they were as fully immersed as she was, especially Zaiden and Silas at the front with their blank expressions and slouched positions. All of their eyes were on the screen, however, no matter how unfocused they seemed on it. Brynn didn't notice.

In fact, the only time she heard anything out of them was when Mrs Trunchball had the children lined up, singling Matilda out and shoving cruel words out of her throat.

"Bitch," Zaiden mumbled, shifting around in his seat and ignoring the shooting looks Brayden gave him to his left.

And the only other time she heard something from one of them was when Callan pointed at the screen, at the final scene with Matilda's parents, "they're married in real life, you know."

And if Brynn was honest, building up the courage to ask Callan and Zayne to watch this was so worth it. Every scene she compared with the book, every character felt right and she didn't have to watch it alone.

And if she walked back to her bedroom that night, five minutes before lights were supposed to be out, with her heart full, nobody had to know.

"Brynn."

That full heart still remained. Even as she stopped walking, it just stuttered a little.

She turned around the very second she caught wind of the familiar sound of her name leaving one of her brothers lips. She believed it to be one of the most common things she had heard whilst living here.

Zayne didn't stand so far away, about five feet.

Brynn's eyes softened, matching the unsure frown which formed, "yeah?"

His hands were behind his back, his usual stance. "Did you enjoy your movie?"

The frown didn't remain, a held back- but still there- grin overtaking it. "It was great, thank you."

Silence came after it, Brynn not able to think of anything else to say and Zayne just letting the silence linger.

Until he felt like presuming.

"Do you have a favourite character?"

Brynn nodded, happy for the silence to be diminished with such a question, "yes. Miss Honey."

Zayne's head went back a little, slowly coming down to finish the tedious nod. "Hm, strange. I always thought Matilda would be your favourite. She is mine."

If Brynn had excellent face control, she would have raised a brow. "You've watched Matilda?"

"Read it, watched it."

Brynn tensed her lips to make them form a tight, refrained smile.

"And Matilda is your favourite?"

"Mhm," he hummed in answer.

Brynn tapped her toes on the ground.

Then she chose to look down on them, "I like the book Matilda and the movie Matilda. Miss Honey's just..." she chewed her bottom lip, moving her eyeline back up, "Miss Honey's just really nice in the movie."

Miss Honey was absolutely lovely in the movie. She smiled a lot.

Zayne hummed again, the conversation halting there as Brynn, rhythmically, tapped her toes against the hardwood at a quickening pace.

Just as she was going to ask if she could leave to go back to her bedroom, Zayne spoke again. "I've been thinking about what you said."

Brynn's face held no effort in trying to hide her confusion, brows slanted inwards and frown plastered back on.

What she said?

"That night."

Brynn's face held no effort in trying to hide her red cheeks either. The night when she'd asked to be left alone. When she'd told Zayne that he wouldn't understand what it was like and actually told him to go.

She didn't know if she was in trouble or if Zayne was only now going to reprimand her for it, seeing as she was feeling better, but this time, those anxieties didn't have time to form or function properly. Zayne's voice didn't allow them too.

"You are not in trouble, Brynn."

He stepped closer; five feet becoming, at most, three.

"I thought about giving you somewhere just for you."

Brynn's confusion and skepticism returned. She watched as Zayne's right arm moved, from behind his figure to the front, his fore and middle finger dangling a chain with a single key attached to it. He held it in between them.

"I know that you have your room, but I understand that it might be hard to relax with seven other people in the same hallway," Brynn kept her eyebrows furrowed as she looked him in the eyes, occasionally getting side tracked and looking at the key.

Zayne lifted the key up a little higher, "this is the key to the library. You can lock it when you are in it, out of it, you can keep it open if that is what you so wish."

He brought the metal object closer to her, "it is yours."

Brynn brought her right hand up, her palm grazing the pointed metal at the end before she semi-retracted it. She looked up at Zayne's face, locking eye contact. "Really?" she asked almost serenely.

Nodding once, Zayne moved his fingers so that the key moved, "really."

Brynn's already lifted palm took its time going back up to where it had initially semi-retracted.

She let her palm touch the pointed metal again first, scanning Zayne's fingers for any sign of retraction on his part.

Zayne didn't move at all. Brynn moved her fingers up, to curl around the rounded chain holding the key, at the bottom half so she wouldn't touch Zayne's fingers on the top.

The second she had a stable, good hold of the key, Zayne let go. Brynn enclosed the entire key with her hand, only the chain not fitting inside her grasp. Looking straight at Zayne, she gulped.

"I'd like to go to school tomorrow, please."

"Are you sure?"

Brynn's tongue rolled over her bottom lip as she nodded, now not so sure now that he asked. "Yes."

"Very well."

Brynn's mind had trouble wracking some stuff. She requested a movie and that request was granted. Now, she had requested going back to school and that, too, had been granted.

And all she did was ask.

"Thank you."

Inchmeal, she stepped back. She felt this was the end of the conversation and with each step back she took, she felt more confident in her decision as she wasn't stopped. She turned, now not so fixed on going back to her room, more so, her library.

---

Brynn's right hand covered her mouth and the fast growing grin which was about to dominate her face.

"Do you think I've been too generous with making her frown so small?" Heather, a girl who Brynn sat next to in Maths, mumbled quietly, grinning just as wide as Brynn as she started shading her drawing.

An over exaggerated cartoonish drawing of Mrs Gren, who currently sat her desk, marking a pupil's work with that permanent frown of hers on her face.

Brynn half snorted, her fingers digging into her cheeks as she pushed her palm harder into her lips to stop any noise escaping.

The drawing over exaggerated a lot of Mrs Gren's features. Her tattooed frown and angered eyebrows. The same striped suit, but with badges attached to it by Heather. One featuring the phrase "I hate children".

It reminded Brynn of some of the illustrations she'd read in some of her books. The ones with the embellished with more squiggles to make them look more daunting.

Brynn chuckled as quietly as she could, bringing her pencil up to add her own detail. Heather watched as Brynn added a square speech bubble and writing, in capitals, the words, "Stupid Verlices'".

Creases took over Heather's face as she, too, willed herself not to laugh. She nudged Brynn, "hey, that's pretty accurate."

Brynn grinned, dropping her pencil. The two of them didn't add any more to it and just stopped to get a good look at it, which probably wasn't the best idea because the more their eyes roamed, the more they were forcing themselves not to laugh.

Any thought of laughing dissipated when Heather looked up and saw Mrs Gren getting up from her desk. Her face dropped as she grabbed the paper and tucked it underneath her Maths book.

Brynn looked at her, confused, then to Mrs Gren's figure standing up.

Mrs Gren walked forwards, past the first four rows of desks, getting to the fifth; their row.

The girls pretended to be focused on their worksheets, holding their breaths as they saw her from the corners of their eyes.

But then she passed and proceeded onto the row behind them.

No longer having to hold their breaths, they looked at each other, grins quickly reforming.

Brynn kept her grin for most of the day, especially at lunch when she got to see Penny and Aubrey for the first time in a while.

"We missed you," Penny stated, taking out her lunchbox and placing it on the table. Then she grumbled, "don't know how many times I have to tell you not to leave me alone with Aubrey."

Aubrey threw a red grape at her, "thanks."

Brynn took her own lunch out, a ham sandwich, apple and, instead of her usual bottled water, Callan gave her a can of lemonade. This day was going pretty well for her.

Brynn started with her apple, "what have I missed?"

"Oh, so much," Aubrey started, "Penny got, like, five detentions from Miss Cohen, because she kept having her phone out in lessons and Malcolm has been quieter than usual which, let's be honest, has nothing, but benefits."

Brynn paused, Malcolm.

She shifted in her spot, now a bit more aware of what happened last time she was at school, "oh."

"I know- Penny getting a detention. We were all collectively confused."

Brynn tried to stop thinking about and tried to tease, "Penny, since when did you rebel?"

"I'm not rebelling. Not my fault my mum messages me important things in the middle of Chemistry."

"Excuses, excuses," Aubrey tutted, shaking her head and reaching into her crisp packet. "Penny's just trying to fit in with Malcolm's crowd now. The wannabe vigilantes."

Brynn tutted alongside, shaking her head, "unacceptable. Do you not love us anymore, Pen?"

"You're leaving us?" Aubrey said, face fakely hurt.

"Penny, after everything we've been through?"

"Just like that?"

"You hate us?"

"We are both very disappointed."

"I hate you both."

---

If there was one place Brynn liked to do homework, it was the kitchen island.

In her room, on her desk, she could easily get distracted by anything else. In rooms with televisions, it was tempting to put something on to watch instead. In the library, there were so many other more interesting things to read. And it was much too cold to be doing anything in the garden.

She liked sitting at the end of the island, having the rest of her books to her left for when she needed to use them.

She had a lot of homework, not only from today, but also for the days she missed- previous worksheets from the lessons she had missed were there too. A few teachers insisted she do them over the weekend.

Not ideal, but also not something she had an excuse for. She had the time to do them over the weekend. She just wish most of it wasn't Maths.

Her face was concentrated on the work that lay in front of her, expanding quadratics.

The rubber at the end of her pencil rubbed against the right edge of her mouth as she re-read the question over and over again. The more she read it, the more the words seemed to make less sense even as she tried to make sense of them.

Mrs Gren liked to teach this way. She always gave them worksheets to do at home about topics they had never learnt, so she could mark them to see how much they already knew.

Brynn didn't know if it worked for other students, but everytime she got those worksheets back, she never really felt good about herself afterwards.

She felt quite behind her classmates when Mrs Gren announced the highest marks. Sometimes she felt like she wasn't doing enough and she'd watch videos at home to help her understand the topic. But that always ended with Mrs Gren leaving a comment telling her to do it herself next time.

Brynn huffed, dropping the pencil and resting her chin on her left palm, her left elbow holding it up. She couldn't win with Mrs Gren.

"Have you tried the grid method?"

She jumped, looking to the right to the voice. Silas walked past her, past the island, to the other side.

Brynn looked up at him, "the grid method?"

Silas nodded boredly. "Or the easier method."

Brynn picked her pencil back up, unsure if she wanted Silas to help her again. Mrs Gren always seemed to know when she had help.

Silas, apparently, wasn't in the mood for waiting. He made his way back around the counter, taking the pencil from her hand. He turned the sheet around with his left hand so he could read the question she was on. The first one.

He turned it back around so it was at an angle, so they both could see it properly, then he slouched down over the island to start writing.

"So it wants you to expand this," he circled the two brackets of the question.

(x+6)(x-7)

"So, first off, you're going to do the x's," he circled both x's.

"So, what's x times x?"

Brynn knew that, "x-squared."

Silas wrote that down first. "Now, what do you get when you add a negative number," he underlined the minus seven, "to a positive number," he underlined the six.

Brynn knew that, too. "A minus instead of a plus."

"So what do you get when you do six plus negative seven?"

"Minus one."

Silas wrote down some more.

"And what do you get when you multiply six by negative seven?"

She took a second longer answering this one, "negative forty two."

"Okay, so there's your answer, x-squared minus x minus forty two." He slammed the pencil down, standing back up to his original height and made his way to the fridge.

Brynn pulled a face, bringing the sheet so it sat entirely in front of her again, re-reading the answer and unsure if it truly was that simple.

She looked back up at Silas, eyes on the back of his blazer, as he searched through the contents on the fridge, tapping his fingers on the surface of the door from where his hand held the handle.

She sat herself a little straighter, gaining some courage.

"Do you like maths?"

Silas back straightened a little more.

"No."

He reached into the fridge and pulled out a can of something fizzy.

Brynn pulled another face, he didn't like something he could do?

Silas closed the fridge, leaning back on it and opening the can in his hands. "Just something I can do."

Brynn was sure her mouth made some sort of 'oh' shape as she used both hands to spin her pencil around. Once it became clear that Silas was going to say no more, she ducked her head back down to attempt question two.

"How..."

It was before Brynn even put her pencil down that Silas started speaking, having her attention instantaneously. But when her head went upwards, his eyes shot down to the top of his can.

Brynn sucked her bottom lip in for a second, waiting for him to finish, if he was going to.

He didn't.

She tried to attempt the next question again. Silas, however, stayed watching the rim of his can.

Until he whirled it a little, swishing the liquid inside.

"How was your day?"

Brynn didn't look up this time, but she did hear and all her movements at attempting the next question stopped.

At snail's pace, she lifted her head to look at him. He wasn't looking at the top of the can anymore.

She wanted this feeling to last, whatever it was.

Despite wanting that, she found herself nodding unenthusiastically, slowly, "yeah, it was good."

Silas nodded just like she did, pursing his lips and shifting his vision to the counter in front, then down to the top of the can.

She didn't want it to go away, "I had Maths, first. That was boring." She brought the pencil between both hands again to thumb the wood, roughly.

"This girl, who sits next to me, started drawing this drawing with me. It was of Mrs Gren, so that was funny," she watched his features because he might not have found it as funny as she did.

"And- and in drama, we got to use the costume box. Mr Peters never usually lets us use the costume box because some people lose some stuff, but we promised we wouldn't. So we got to use it."

She started digging her thumb nails into the wood. He didn't really give any indication that he was going to reply at any point. He rested the can on the countertop behind him and walked forward, opening one of the drawers in the island.

Her tongue swiped over her lips, "and..."

Silas rummaged around the drawer.

"And the drawing from Maths, we almost got caught, but she- Heather- hid it underneath her book so we didn't. I, even, added a speech bubble."

Silas got a packet of crisps out, closing the drawer with his right hip, simultaneously opening the packet.

Maybe she had said too much.

He leaned back against the countertop, reaching into the packet and Brynn would be lying if she said something inside didn't sting.

She swallowed, trying to focus back on her work, but her gaze kept going upwards to Silas, who reached into the packet and brought out a couple of crisps.

The pencil was transferred from two hands to her left one as she began to actually start the next question.

She circled the brackets, like Silas had. And she could already answer the first part of her calculations.

"What did your speech bubble say?"

She shot her head up.

Silas was no longer looking at his packet, although his left hand held it up and his right one was still holding a few crisps.

The pencil was back in both hands as she sat up a little straighter. Silas might not find it as funny as she, or Heather, did.

She was a little quieter saying it, "stupid Verlices." It did sound a bit childish now that she thought about it.

Silas snorted, smirking into his packet. "Accurate."

---

<3