“Well,” said Ness, hanging out at the front desk with Paula and Poo, “I did say five minutes. You know how Jeff is.” They had arrived at the front desk three minutes after Ness called Jeff and told him to meet at the front desk.

“So,” asked Paula, “What were you going to see with Michelle tonight?”

“Gangs of New York.”

“Really? Michelle’s interested in that movie?”

“Well, it was directed by Martin Scorcese.”

“Oh yeah, should’ve known. One of Michelle’s big five.”

“Big five?” asked Poo.

“Michelle’s a bit of a movie geek,” explained Paula, “She likes most films, but she’ll go nuts over certain movies directed by one of her ‘Big Five’ – that is, Kevin Smith, Paul Thomas Anderson, Quentin Tarantino, John Woo, and Martin Scorcese.”

“John Woo? She likes John Woo?”

“I know, I know you hate him, Poo,” said Paula, with a smile.

“I do not hate him,” said Poo, “I just find that his move to conventional American cinema helped turned the fight, which easterners like myself consider a sacred artform, into a commercial vehicle for Americans. I cannot buy into that, I am afraid.”

“Well,” said Ness, “If it makes you feel better, Michelle’s more into John Woo’s Hong Kong years. Once a Thief, The Killer, Hard Boiled, Bullet in the Head—and God forbid she finds out that someone in this world has never heard of A Better Tomorrow.”

Around this time, Jeff finally showed up. After giving Poo a strong hug, he asked what was up.

“Apparently, our story as the Chosen Four hasn’t hit the ‘happily ever after’ part just yet,” said Ness, “In fact, it probably never will.”

“OK, so who are we going after this time?”

“We’re about to find out,” said Ness. He turned to the concierge and asked, “Is there someone named Aldrin staying at your hotel?”

“Are you Ness?” he asked.

“Yeah, Ness Franklin.”

“He’s expecting all four of you. Room 171, I’ll let him know you’re here.”

“Thank you, sir.” They all walked to room 171.

“By the way,” asked Jeff, “What were you talking about earlier?”

“John Woo,” said Paula.

“Never heard of him,” said Jeff.

“When you meet Michelle,” said Ness, “make sure she doesn’t find out.”

EarthBound: The Perpetual Adventures

Episode 2: Flying Foxes

By Michael DePalma

C2003 Michael DePalma. All Rights Reserved.

The room was a dazzling white. White furniture, white bed, white carpet, white walls. Buzz Buzz was sitting there dressed in black casual clothes. Obviously, he was trying to stand out, as if the ability to change from human to insect and back again wasn’t differentiating enough. “Come in,” he said, the door wide open to the four teenagers. Ness and company walked in, Poo shutting the door behind him.

“Buzz Buzz,” said Ness, “Allow me to introduce you to the rest of the Chosen Four. This is Paula Polestar, Jeff Andonuts, and Prince Poo Mishinta.”

“It is quite the honor to meet you all,” said Buzz Buzz, “But please, Buzz Buzz is not my real name.”

“Really?” asked Ness, “Why didn’t you tell me your real name before?”

“Even I must admit that a talking insect would be quite a shock to you. Imagine the shock of a talking insect introducing himself as Matthew Norris.”

“…well, yeah, that would’ve been a lot weirder, but I’m talking about when you scared the cra—I mean, the heck out of me on Sunday night.”

Buzz Buzz—rather, Matthew Norris, smiled. “You never asked,” he stated.

“Well, did I ask just now?”

“Ness!” shot Paula, speaking a silent command to get on with it already.

“OK, OK, look, I’m here because I have a few questions about this new destiny.”

“Go on, then.”

Ness told Norris about the red glint in the eye of the cop, and how he and his partner tried to knock off the drugstore, and how the glint went out when he and Paula took them down.

Norris, who didn’t look the least bit fazed, invited the four to have a seat wherever they could find one, and then he began to explain.  “When you went on your adventure, several animals and humans attacked you.  This is because they were under Giygas’ influence.  Now that Giygas is defeated, you would think that they would return to normal.  This, unfortunately, is not the case.

“Some people were under such a strong influence, that they couldn’t go back to normal when Giygas was removed from the equation.  Therefore, they’re still under his influence.  This influence, as usual, has to be beaten out of the person.  In some cases, you may have to kill or permanently lock up someone under the influence.”

            “Wh…what?”  Ness asked, in a state of panic.

            “It shouldn’t be too many, so don’t worry about it too much.  Trust me, those lives that must be taken, you will want to take.”

            “How could you want to take a life?” asked Paula.

            “You have not yet known such hatred.  But you will one day, I promise.”

            “OK,” said Ness, “But lets focus on who we don’t want to kill. What about what I went through with that cop? How come I was able to see that glint when Jeff couldn’t?”

            “It’s a skill that only you, the Chosen Boy, have developed in preparation for this mission.  Before, when Giygas was living to control those who he influenced, you would know who was under Giygas’ control by who attacked you.

“Now that Giygas no longer has control over those he influenced…just imagine having such evil in your heart, as well as having free will to do what you wish with it.  Say what you will about Giygas, but the fact that he focused his efforts into having you disposed of and slowly preparing for his special brand of doomsday kept those he influenced in check.  Now that he’s not telling them what to do anymore…

“I apologize for beating around the bush, Ness.  The point is, they’re busy committing other, more terrible crimes; they’re not going to bother with you.  So you have developed the talent to spot those influenced—we’ll call the influence GIS.  You saw a red glint—you’ll see two others, blue and black. Each color indicates a stage of GIS. Stage 1 is indicated by a blue glint. They can be saved with PSI Flash, that is, if they’re willing to be saved.  The red glint indicates the most common stage, Stage 2, and has to be beaten until you see the glint go out, indicating that they have lost Giygas’ influence.  The black glint, Stage 3, may require lockup or murder, as I’ve stated.  The deed must be done posthaste, however, because people with Stage 3 can give others GIS Stage 1 merely by coming in physical contact with them or speaking to them, and lesser stages can develop into greater stages in various amounts of time.”  Jeff slowly raised his hand.  “Go ahead, Jeff.”

“Yeah, uh, question.  How many people are influenced?”

“The number of those with GIS Stage 3, worldwide, is about two million.  One billion worldwide have Stage 1, two billion have the more common Stage 2.”  Upon hearing those figures, the one picture that leapt to Jeff’s mind was the face plant that they do all the time in humorous anime.  “Jeff, do not worry,” continued Norris, “Our researchers in the future, whom we call the Post-Giygas Cleanup Crew, figured that the world outside of Eagleland can work itself out, although fate will bring you to locations outside of Eagleland where you are needed.  That’s the good news.  The bad news is that for reasons which we can’t figure out yet, Eagleland is a prime breeding ground for GIS, and you are all that stands between the state of Eagleland and Ground Zero for Doomsday.”

“Jesus,” said Paula. Ness nodded. If Paula was calling out to the son of God, she must think that there’s a big problem.

That was all that Ness needed. At that moment, he found his courage. “Count me in.” He looked at Paula, who wore a proud smile.

“Yeah,” she said, “I’m in too.”

“I never let Ness down in the past,” said Jeff, “it would be absurd to stop now.”

“I have already come to face this destiny,” said Poo.

“Excellent,” said Norris, “In that case, I wish you all the best of luck.  I’m still here physically for the next twelve days, but I’ll always contact you through telepathy when I sense you to be in emotional distress.”

Ness extended his hand to shake Norris’s hand.  “It was especially good to see you again, no matter what bad news you brought me.”

“Ha!” said Norris, “I know what you’re going through.”

“Yeah, yeah.  My psychic powers are no match for yours.”  Norris said nothing.  He just gave Ness a wan smile and went to shake Paula’s hand.  He shook Jeff’s hand, and finally he shook Poo’s hand.  Then the four left the hotel room, ready to accept their new destiny.

“OK,” said Paula, as they left the hotel, “We’re the defenders of the Earth again. Where do we start?”

As if Paula’s words were some kind of cue, Ness’ cell phone rang. He picked it up and said, “Hello?”

“Hey, Ness, it’s Michelle!”

“Michelle, hey, how are you?”

“Yeah, I’m OK, I’m—HEY! GET BACK HERE!”

“Michelle?”

The other end was quiet for about a minute. All Ness could hear was wind. Finally, the wind died down and Michelle Walker, breathing heavily, exclaimed, “Some guy just made off with my new dice!”

“Wait, your dice?”

“For D and D, I just bought them!”

“Whoa, why would somebody steal your dice?”

“Because they were in my purse!”

“Jesus, that’s terrible!” Ness looked at the others and gave them the thumbs up. “Did you get a good look at the guy?”

“No, he wore a mask! For the love of…why didn’t I notice him? A guy in a face mask is ALWAYS looking for trouble! Stupid, stupid, stupid!”

“Michelle, calm down! This could happen to anybody, OK?”

“I’m OK now, I’m OK. Look, Ness, don’t get worked up over this, OK? It’s really not a big deal, come to think of it. I’ll calm down, I’ll get some new dice. Besides, I don’t even know where the guy went.”

“All right,” said Ness, slightly disappointed, “Why’d you call originally?”

“Tommy and Gina can’t make it to the movies tonight. Is Paula interested?”

“Hang on,” Ness put his hand over the microphone of the cell phone and said “Paula, you know how Michelle’s dad won’t let her go out alone?”

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“Tommy and Gina can’t double date with me and Michelle tonight. Are you down for Gangs of New York?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Anyone else want to come along? Jeff? Poo?”

“I must report the situation back to my father,” said Poo, “It appears that I am in no position to leave Eagleland for an extended amount of time, and this means preparations must be made for me to leave home.”

“That’s a good point,” said Ness, “Jeff, maybe you should think about leaving Snow Wood. I hate to say it, but—“

“Agreed, wholly agreed. I’m raring to go,” said Jeff.

“Wow,” said Ness, “What about Gangs, you wanna come?”

“Sure.”

Ness went back to his cell phone. “Yo, Michelle, Paula and another friend of mine, Jeff, can come.”

“Great!” said Michelle, “I really didn’t want to call this movie off. You know how psyched I am for tonight.”

“Yes I do,” said Ness, “OK, I’ll see you in twenty minutes. Love you. Sorry about the purse.”

“Yeah, yeah, be sorry for the dice. I love you too.” Michelle hung up, and so did Ness.

“What was the thumbs up for?” asked Paula.

“Michelle’s purse was stolen. Thought it might be someone with GIS that we could get our hands on.” He chuckled. “You know, I never thought I’d be happy to know a purse snatcher was on the loose.”

“Oh, wait till my purse is snatched, Ness,” said Paula, “Trust me, you’ll regret saying those words.”

“OK, let’s save it,” said Jeff, “We’ve got a movie to catch. See you later, Poo!”

“I will see you all soon!” Poo teleported away.

The Dalaam palace glowed in the bright sunlight. The royal guards saw their crown prince arrive, and they made sure to let all of Dalaam hear “HAIL PRINCE POO, HEIR TO THE KING, FOR HE HAS RETURNED!” There was no need for heavy security, no need for the guards to have weapons. The most skilled assasins dared not touch the crown prince, or any member of the royal family for that matter. This was mostly out of respect, but the fear element was there as well. God help the man that harms one hair on the head of any member of the Mishinta dynasty.

Prince Poo walked the corridors of the palace until he reached the throne room. He bowed toward the guard who let him enter. There sat his father, serene as the ripples on an ocean surface. “Father,” said Poo, “I fear that this new task set before me may jeopardize our dynasty.”

“Our dynasty,” said the King, “Will not be worth preservation if the universe it is situated in is on the brink of destruction.” He said all this with the serenity still present. “Do you fear for your life?”

“No, father,” said Poo, “I fear that I will not return. I must stay in Eagleland at all costs. I may leave it for shortened amounts of time, but not long enough to fulfill my duties here. If I am to accept what fate has laid before me, the throne cannot be passed down to me. Whether you are disappointed or proud, I must accept this fate.”

“Yes,” said the King, “You must. Now is not the time for survival, it is the time for sacrifice. There are things more imporant than power. How can one enjoy power when he controls nothing?”

“I appreciate your support, father.”

“The throne will continue on to your cousin, Omar, then. I will make it known before the last light of day. Tomorrow, we shall have a feast in your honor to wish you luck in your great journey.”

“May I invite the others?”

“It would be a great honor to be in their presence.”

The movie got out at 10. Ness, Paula, Jeff, and Michelle strolled out of the theater, talking about the movie at great length. They all seemed to agree that the movie was very good. Michelle was very partial to it, as expected, but Jeff looked like he was ready to float away at any second. Perhaps, Ness thought, Jeff was starting to get something that had been shut out to him for a long time.

On the way to Michelle’s house, the talking about the movie came to a standstill. Michelle brushed away her shoulder-length brown hair from her thin blue eyes with her hand, looked around, smiled, and said, “You know, I never realized Twoson was so beautiful at night. It will vanish one day, that's for sure.”

Ness and Paula smiled at that one, but Jeff was stupid enough to say “That’s an interesting observation.”

Everybody stopped in their tracks. Ness and Paula looked at each other at that moment. Their mouths said nothing. Their faces said “Oh, crap.”

Michelle looked at Jeff dumbfoundedly. “You’ve never seen A Better Tomorrow?”

“I, uh…no.”

“The quintessential Hong Kong movie. My prerequiste for any friend of mine is that they must see this movie.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, Jeff,” said Ness, “It’s an insane movie.”

“I saw it too,” said Paula, “You’ll…yeah, you’ll like it.”

“First stop, my house, so I can loan you the DVD. Wait, you have a DVD player?”

“Even better,” said Jeff, “I have this device that reads discs that are two inches wide—“

“Jeff,” said Ness, “Do you have a DVD player or not?”

“Yeah,” said Jeff, “Yeah, I do.”

“Good, then I’ll let you borrow the DVD.”

“You know, I’ll just get it at Mr. Movie or something.”

“HA! If you can get A Better Tomorrow at Mr. Movie, I will pay you double the price of rental. Come on.”

It was a short walk to Michelle’s house, three blocks away from the theater. It was a simple Levitt house, a car in the driveway – a beat up station wagon with an NRA bumper sticker on it. “I’ll be right back,” said Michelle. She walked into the house while Ness, Paula, and Jeff waited.

“You know,” said Jeff, “She’s not a bad person.”

“Not at all,” said Ness, “one of the nicest girls I ever met.”

“Hey, why didn’t Michelle’s parents pick us up?”

“Eh, they don’t feel like it,” said Paula.

“Wait, they don’t care to give her a lift from the movie theater, but if you and her should go see a movie alone, there’s a problem,” observed Jeff, “Am I the only one who finds this hilarious? Even MY dad shows concern that he doesn’t spend a lot of time with me.”

“You know,” said Ness, “I never thought about that.”

“Yeah,” said Paula, “She never brings stuff like that up. I don’t know what it is, but the whole parental issue doesn’t seem to bother her.”

“Odd…” thought Jeff, aloud.

There was silence between the two until Michelle came back, a DVD case in hand. “Here you go,” she said, handing the DVD case to Jeff, “Enjoy it. Although you have a serious problem if you don’t.” She turned to Ness and kissed him. “I’ll see you later,” she said.

“Love you,” said Ness.

“Love you too.” Michelle turned to Paula and said, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“You got it,” said Paula.

“Great meeting you, Jeff,” said Michelle, now turning to him. She shook his hand.

“Good meeting you, too,” said Jeff. Michelle, with that, walked back into the house.

It was soon after this that they heard a single voice in their head. Ness, Paula, Jeff, said the voice that belonged to Poo, I’m being honored in the Palace tomorrow at the last light of day, which is around five o’clock, my time. I would consider it an honor if you could come.

“Must be his exit reception or something,” observed Jeff.

“OK,” said Ness. He converted Dalaamese time into Eastern Standard Time and said, “We leave tomorrow at 11 PM.”

“Yikes,” said Paula, who closed her eyes and told Poo, Of course we’ll be there.

Wednesday marked the first day of winter break. This is never a bad thing to a fourteen year old, but it was especially relieving to Ness, Paula, and Jeff, who would need the extra rest for Poo’s reception.

At 10:55, Paula and Jeff arrived at Ness’s house, where they teleported to Dalaam. When they arrived, they put their hands up to their eyes instinctivley, for the unexpected brightness of the sun had blinded them for a short amount of time. “You know,” Ness remarked as soon as his vision returned, “I was never a fan of international travel, but this really is a nice place.”

“I like it, too,” said Paula. They entered the Dalaam palace.

The inner sanctum of the palace was festivley decorated. An abundance of food that explained the problem of world hunger was on the table, with the King of Dalaam at the head ot it, his son, Poo, next to him. There was another boy, on the other side of the King, who looked at Ness—

“Hey,” said Ness, “See that guy next to the king?”

“Yeah, Ness,” said Jeff, sarcastically, “Don’t be embarassed, his name is Poo.”

“Jeff, for a guy with a high IQ, you can be a complete dummy sometimes.”

“Thank you,” said Jeff, who took a mock bow as Paula pinged Ness on his temple.

“Ow!” said Ness, rubbing the temple of his head inconspicuously, “As I was saying, I was talking about the other guy next to the king. He has GIS!”

“What level?” asked Paula.

“It looks like Level Two. It’s a red glint.”

“Well, what are we waiting for?” asked Paula, “Let’s tell Poo.”

As Ness, Paula, and Jeff approached the banquet table, Poo saw them and whispered something into his father’s ear. The King of Dalaam raised his arms to his sides, silently commanding silence. He got it a split second after his arms froze in position.

“My people,” said the King, “As you know, you are all here in celebration of your prince, my only son, Poo. He is leaving us to go on a great journey in order to guarantee the safety of ourselves and our brothers and sisters around this good Earth. I present to you the three others he will go on this journey with. Ness Franklin, Paula Polestar, and Jeff Andonuts. Honor them as you honor your Prince, and the new heir to the Kingdom, Omar.”

Ness’s eyes shrank at that moment. His jaw would have dropped, but he didn’t want to alert the whole kingdom. This was because as the King mentioned the new heir to the throne, he pointed to the other person next to him.

Paula and Jeff read his mind. “Uh-oh,” the three of them said, in perfect sync, as the attendees of the banquet applauded Ness, Paula, Jeff, Poo, and the adventure they were set to embark on.

Poo then approached the three of them, and bowed. “Poo!” whispered Ness, “The heir to the throne, Omar, he’s GIS Level Two!”

“What?” Poo whispered back.

“We have to fight him!” said Jeff.

“If we touch him, we will die by the sword, no matter who we are!”

“My son,” said the King, “Is there any request you would like to make before we send you off?”

Poo looked at Ness and gave a quick nod to him. He turned around to face his father. “Father,” he said, “I look around this room, and although all here wish me a safe journey, I sense that there is a great sadness amongst my people. I wish to leave this country while it is in smiles. Therefore, I request a public spar with Omar.”

There was a slight collective gasp, but Omar seemed all smiles. “It would be my pleasure, cousin,” he said.

“So it shall be done,” said the King, “What do we fight to?”

“To the word of my friend Ness,” said Poo.

“Fine,” said Omar.

“Anyone who wishes to witness this battle will follow me to the sparring room.” Of course, everyone was raring to watch. They followed the King and his combatants like sheep.

The royal sparring room was but a simple, rectangular room with padding on the floors and mirrors on the walls. The king entered first, followed by Poo and Omar, followed by Ness, Paula, and Jeff, followed by the rest of the crowd. The king stood at the head of the sparring room, a symbol of serenity, flanked by Paula and Jeff. The rest of the crowd leaned against the walls of the sparring room, with the exception of Ness, Poo, and Omar, who stood at the center. Poo and Omar faced each other while Ness stood between them, hovering just outside their personal space.

“Any rules that you guys want to make at the last minute, now’s the time.”

“No weapons, no Mu,” said Omar, “Hand to hand combat, strictly.”

That’s how Poo knew that Omar had lost it. “Do not say such words,” said Poo, “Mu is how we live our day to day life, even through simple sparring.”

“Fine,” said Omar, “no special powers channeled through Mu, then.”

“Agreed,” said Poo.

“OK,” said Ness, “No weapons or PSI. Poo, are you ready?”

“Yes.”

“Omar, are you ready?”

“Yes.”

Ness remained silent for a few seconds to build up tension. Yet no one complained, no one broke a sweat. They were like machines, waiting for the one variable that would put their code into action. Ness activated the variable and said “Go!”

Poo threw the first punch, which Omar blocked. Poo tried a kick to the midsection immediatley after, but that was blocked too. Poo tried to punch with his other hand—another block, as Omar moved backwards to absorb the kinetic energy running through the both of them. Poo jumped and lashed out with another kick which missed its mark. Poo made another leap, this time with a spinning roundhouse which Omar ducked under. As he landed, Poo kept his roundhouse foot in the air and lashed out with another punch. Omar bent backwards and caught the punch. Poo pulled Omar toward him and, with the foot that still hung in the air, kicked Omar again. Again, it was blocked, and Omar unleashed an assault of his own.

He kicked Poo with his left foot, which was blocked. Then he kicked with his right foot, which hit Poo right in the gut. Poo went down to one knee, his fist still held by Omar. Omar went for another kick, but Poo blocked it and pulled Omar over his head and threw him down. Omar let go of Poo’s hand, but Poo grabbed Omar’s hand now. Omar tried to kick him in the face, but Poo grabbed the foot, and, holding hand and foot, tossed Omar to the side. He flew seven feet before hitting the ground. The crowd applauded.

Ness checked Omar’s eyes. The red glint was gone. “That’s it!” he called, and the crowd burst into heavier applause.

Poo called out to Omar telepathically. Omar! Are you okay?

Omar responded, sounding dazed and confused. I am here, but…what happened?

You were under an evil spell, said Poo, and now, you are free to rule in my place as the Prince of Dalaam.

Bless you, said Omar.

The time finally came to say goodbye. Poo went up to his father and kneeled before him. “My son,” he said, “You have grown to become a warrior already. No warrior should fight without a proper weapon.”

With that, the King took out a sheathed sword. He slowly unsheathed it, revealing the golden blade of the sword that had slain a million enemies. He gave the sheath to Omar, who casually tossed it to Poo. Poo tied the sheath around his waist, and received the Sword of Kings ceremoniously. “May Mu be with you,” said the King.

Poo took it and faced the crowd. He spun the sword around his hand before sheathing it. He then spoke.

“My friends,” he said, “Do not be upset. I may not return to reclaim the kingdom any time soon. But I will return, that I promise, for this is my home. And no matter how many houses I may live in, this will always be my home.”

With that, Omar stood and proclaimed “HAIL PRINCE POO! PRINCE OF DALAAM AND TRUE HEIR TO THE THRONE!”

“HAIL PRINCE POO!” chanted the crowd, as Ness, Paula, and Jeff flanked Poo and walked out of the palace.

“Are you OK, Poo?” asked Paula.

“I carry with me my memories, and the spirit of Dalaam” said Poo, “It is enough.”

“Well,” said Ness, “You’ll also need a roof over your head. You wanna crash with me until you work something out?”

“It is fine,” said Poo, “I already have a place to stay.”

“I’ll take you house-hunting tomorrow,” said Paula.

“Which reminds me,” said Jeff, “I gotta transfer out of Snow Wood tomorrow.”

“Well,” said Ness, “I’ll drop you all off so you guys can rest up. It seems we have a big day lined up for tomorrow.”

They teleported away.

Jeff was in Winters, Paula and Poo were sleeping and getting ready for tomorrow, Michelle was probably playing Counter-Strike, and that left Ness all alone to do what he wished. His wish would have to wait, though, because at that moment the phone rang.

Ness picked it up on the first ring. “It’s one o’clock in the morning. Whoever this is, get a life.”

“Ness, it’s your father.”

“OH!” exclaimed Ness, careful not to wake Mom and Tracy, “Dad, what are you calling for so late at night? Is everything OK?”

“Everything’s fine. Your mother said you’d be home by this time, so I figured that I’d call then.”

“Oh, OK…how are you doing?”

“I’m OK, Ness. How’s life over on your end?”

“It’s been nuts. I’m going on another adventure with the guys.”

“Really? We’ll have to talk more about it when I call you again at a better hour. How’s Michelle doing?”

“Michelle’s OK, she’s doing good. We, uh, we went to see Gangs of New York last night.”

“I saw that. I’ll tell you, if that doesn’t get an Oscar, then the whole thing is rigged.”

“Yeah…”

There was a pause until Dad said “Anyway, I was just calling to check up.”

“It’s fine,” lied Ness, “I’m just tired, let’s talk more tomorrow or something.”

“OK,” said Dad, “Do you think I can talk to your mother?”

“Sure. I’m going to put you on hold and tell Mom to pick up. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

Ness hit the “hold” button and hung up the phone. He went upstairs, and told Mom to pick up. He then went into his room and changed into his pajamas. He could hear his mother’s voice from across the hall, hushed, yet firm. And angry, very angry.

What a psychotic week.