As everyone else filed out of the room, Penelope trudged up to Mr. Dillard’s desk.  He glared at her with angry eyes.  “I think that I have given you more than enough lean way this past month.”  He said in all but a whisper.  “I know that Dylan was your friend.  I know that this must be very hard on you, but Penelope, it’s been a month…”  He gave her a tired look.  “Before the incident, you didn’t talk much, but at least you were a good student.  You did your work, you answered the questions given to, and you were respectful.  Now you’re like a robot.  You don’t pay attention, you don’t do your work, your grades are slipping, and I don’t know what else I can do!”  He sighed and leaned back in his chair.  “I need you to do better or you won’t pass this class.”  He waited for her to respond.  “Penelope?”

“I understand.”  She whispered.  He gave a relieved sigh.

“Good, so you’ll try to do better?”  She nodded, not looking him in the eyes.  He gave her a small smile.  “Okay.  Now get going before you’re late for your next class.”  He put on his wide rimmed glasses and motioned towards the door.  She glided out of the room knowing that nothing would change.  Nothing could dull this pain, and until it did, Penelope would continue to stare out windows.

Logan waited for Penelope outside of the school.  She walked up to slowly.

“You know you really don’t have to drive me home every day.”  She said in a small voice.  He gave her a sad little smile.

“Well… with my brother gone, I sorta figured that you’re out of a ride.”  His eyes crinkled at the sides like Dylan’s used to when he smiled.  Lately she often found herself scouring for little similarities between the two brothers.  “So, do you want the ride or not?”  She smiled and hopped into the convertible.

“So, how’s Kelley?”  Penelope asked.  She thought of the bouncy blonde she had seen multiple times at their house.  “She make head cheerleader?”  She smirked.

He laughed.  “You know, just because you’re a little cynic doesn’t mean that everyone else has to be.”  He smirked.  “And anyway, she didn’t even go to tryouts this year.”

“Tired of rejection?”  Penelope asked in a calm voice.  Logan burst out laughing.

“Stop bashing my girlfriend!  It’s not nice.”  He scanned his surroundings.  “And if she heard me laughing about it, she’d kill me.”  Penelope gave a small smile.  She never really used to hang out with Logan before Dylan died.  When she used to go over to their house, she and Dylan would go straight to the basement, while Logan and Kelly, if she was there, would stay upstairs in the living room.  Then one day, about three weeks ago, he had seen her trudging home, not willing to ask one of the harpies in her class for a ride and refusing to take the bus.  He told her to hop in.  When he asked her why she was walking the five miles to her house, she was silent, he knew what it meant.  It meant that the loss of his little brother had left more than emotional gaps in her life.  When she got out of school the next day, he was there.  It surprised her how cool he was.  She had always known that he was nice, she even poked fun at him, and his girlfriend at times, but she never really got to know him until he started taking her home.

“Ryan’s coming in tomorrow.”  He said casually.  The only Manson brother she didn’t know.  He was the oldest and was still a mystery to Penelope.  “He’ll be in at around three.  Mom wanted me to ask you if you wanted to come over for dinner and meet him… She misses you, you know?”  He gave her a side glance.  He was trying to make her feel guilty.  It was working.  She hadn’t been to their house since the death.  She didn’t know if she was ready for it.  But, she would do it.  She would do it for her beloved Mrs. Manson, the amazing replacement for the mother that she had lost so many years ago.  She would do it for her.  She would do it for the mystery Manson.  For this family, she would do anything.