Back at the kitchen
Salem has froze. His body doesn't, as of this moment, know what to do. His brain is fried, then he feels his body get hotter slowly. The heat rises.
Not of anger, but of the misfortunate death that happened.
Wonder: 'This wasn't your fault.'
This surprises him because he wasn't thinking that it was his fault anyway, deep down he was just surprised at the sudden death of Stone.
Salem: 'What does that mean?'
Salem asks the question in his mind and Wonder gives a sound that makes it sound like it cleared it's mythical sounding voice.
Wonder: 'I think the wiggly thing in the field is what drove him to the point of killing himself, but Salem. That's just a speculation.'
The last part felt like it was added to try and soothe Salem in a sense.
Mickey: "Mommy. What's a sue-ee-side?"
Mickey tries to pronounce it but fails.
Both Marissa and Salem look over at Mickey and Salem feels himself grow hotter.
Salem then begins to not only feel distraught but disappointed of himself. Mostly because of the death of Stone.
Marissa feels the energy shift, literally, and in that moment she feels it get hotter.
Marissa: "Mouse lets go get ready for school."
She puts on a smile and changes the subject to protect her child's innocence.
Mickey smile and jumps out of the seat.
Mickey: "Yay! School!"
Marissa looks surprised, Salem would be too if he wasn't already stuck in his own thoughts.
Marissa smiles genuinely at Mickey and gets off the table as well, Mickey grabs his plate and runs to the sink. His plate is empty so he drops it down into the unseen abyss for him, but to his mother she sees, his syrup soaked plated, with some areas missing because the fact is he licked the plate when the two were talk.
Marissa: "Well someone is rushing to get to school?"
She looks down on the little boy, with pure sarcasm in her voice.
Mickey: "My friend said she'd talk to me today at school. I can't wait."
His voice barely contains his own excitement for the day he's about to have.
Marissa then picks up the small child bringing him over the edge and closer to the sink, as she splashes water on Mickey.
Marissa: "Okay then lets get you cleaned up and ready for school. Yeah?"
As the water still gets splashed on him.
Mickey: "Yes."
He swallows some, but spits the rest out.
Marissa then puts Mickey down. Mickey breaks into a sprint right to his mothers room.
A quick open of the door then a creak, but the door sounds like it falls short of closing.
Salem still sits, there his mind thinking about the weird, white, wiggly thing in the field, that Salem didn't stop Stone from getting seemingly to close to.
Marissa: "Salem you don't need to go to school today if you don't want to. I understand how good Stone has been to you as a Mentor for work and stuff."
Marissa sounds sad, not only for herself but for her son that lost an apparent friend to him, but Salem isn't only sad because of the lose of a friend, but the fact he could have stopped his death, from what Wonder has said.
Salem: "No..."
He shakes his head.
Salem: "I'll... I'll go to school today."
Salem is distraught, but the unsocial person inside of him is scared to disappoint the only other thing he has to a friend.
Marissa puts an arm on her son's shoulder than, wraps her arms around her son. Giving him the ever so slight feeling of happiness.
(Distant) Mickey: "Mom, what do I wear to school?"
Marissa lets out a chuckle then slightly pulls off of Salem.
Marissa: "Okay now I gotta deal with the other brother... You sure you'll be okay?"
Salem for some reason can't open his mouth, like he can't let out words.
So instead he just nods.
Marissa takes that as an answer and pulls off of him and heads around the corner into a room as her voice is heard very faintly in the other side of the house.
Wonder: 'You wouldn't have known this would be the outcome of this whole situation.'
Wonder tries to comfort him, but fails.
Salem: 'But it's the fact i didn't move to try adn stop him from getting to close. Why didn't I move?'
Wonder: 'You were Afraid. It's a reasonable reaction to being afraid, you were stuck in place.'
Salem thinks on it.
Salem: 'What if it's my brother next, or my mother..? I can't live without them.'
Wonder goes speechless.
Salem is now on the edge of tears as he gets to that thought.
Mickey: "Salem! Look, don't I look cool?!"
Mickey comes out wearing a jacket that has a Naruto headband design like the Akatsuki. With a blue sash around his body and a silver plate where the cloud is on the middle and right across the cloud, in a thin line, is a dash as if crossing it out faintly.
Salem looks down at Mickey and smiles at him.
Salem: "You look super cool."
His voice holds back his tears.
Mickey smiles then gives a small hug to his brother at around his waist as Salem sits on the chair, that's pretty high off of the ground.
Mickey: "It's going to be okay brother. Mommy said that if you need to talk she's there for you."
Salem wants to cry, but a while ago just before his father left them out of the blue he told himself that he wouldn't cry in front of his brother.
Salem embraces Mickey and hugs him back with one hand around him.
Salem: "Thank you Mouse."
Mickey then lets go and jumps around.
Mickey: "My friend is going to like this so much."
Salem just smiles, then Mickey goes back around the corner.
Salem finishes his meal while his brother changes, and then heads to the sink, washing the dishes in them. Which is his mothers plate, his brothers, extremely sticky plate and his plate.
After he does that he wipes his hand on a hand rag that hangs on the bar of the oven, that they use once in a blue moon.
Salem then goes into the kitchen, then the living room, turning the corner, then heading into the hallway, where Mickey and Marissa are talking and giggling.
Salem enters his own room, closes the door and begins to change his clothes.
Getting out his own, bright blue and white colored shirt with blue jeans.
A knock is heard at his door as he pulls his jeans up his left leg.
Marissa on the other side of the door.
Marissa: "Salem me and your brother are done changing, we'll wait for you in the car."
Footsteps are then heard retreating from the door as they fade out.
Salem: 'If I did stop him in that moment Wonder...? Would he still be alive?'
Salem asks that question even though the answer seems to be obvious.
Wonder doesn't answer for a bit, leaving Salem in the fog of his own empty mind.
Wonder: 'Yes... It is likely that if you stopped him, He would be alive.'
Salem then feels himself do everything else after as a blur. Moving on autopilot, because of the disheartening thing he just heard.
He finished changing, left his room, then his house. Out to the car he opened the door to get into the passenger seat, and that's when Marissa felt he was being distant.
Marissa: "Salem. Are you okay?"
Salem felt himself pull back into his minds driver seat, looked at his mom and nodded.
Salem: "Im fine."
He smiled and that's when Marissa started the car and drove. Going out into the traffic and heading in the same direction that Salem's school is in, because Mickey's school is also in that direction.
Marissa stops at the stoplight right before Salem's school and drives past it. Salem looks at the school as Marissa drives by it then back to his mother.
Salem: "You passed the school?"
Marissa: "I know, I just want to give you some time to think it through fully before you head to school."
Salem looks surprised.
Salem: "Think what through?"
Marissa: "Staying home today."
She smiles as she looks away from the room for a second and then back to the road.
After a while they pull up the Mickey's school.
The cars are in a line as two by two, parents stop drop their kids off with a goodbye, then drive off.
Marissa and her boys slowly get to the front entrance, car by car. Eventually it's Mickey's turn and he open the door himself, giving his mom a kiss on the cheek from around the corner of the headrest, then getting out of the car and running inside with a wave back towards the car.
Salem smiles as he sees Mickey smile.
This was truly a difference from before where his brother would try to stay out of school for many days, or when he'd try and go in later then you were allowed to.
Marissa pulls out of the school then goes back in the same direction of Salem's school now.
For a split second Salem feels it. The same feeling, as in that field. This time an energy way more terrifying from before. Giving him a feeling worse than fear.
Dread.
Salem then feels his breath come back to him, but his mind goes blank as he looks back, seeing nothing then calms down.
Marissa looks at him surprised.
Marissa: "You okay?"
Salem: "Yes."
He said nearly breathless.
Wonder: 'You felt that energy too?'
Salem: 'What was it?'
Wonder: 'We'll figure it out soon.'
Marissa: "Salem did you hear me?"
Salem looks at her and shakes his head, then remembered that she's driving.
Salem: "No, sorry."
Marissa: "It's okay. Will you stay home today?"
Marissa then pull up to the school, surprising Salem since he didn't even feel like he was on the drive back from more than three seconds.
Salem shakes his head again.
Salem: "No... I'll be fine mom."
Marissa stops the car and pulls up to the curb for Salem to step out.
He opens the door and puts one foot on the curb before pulling his whole body out and blowing his mom a kiss, then that's when she waves and rives off.
As Salem continues to the front entrance. His mind still hurts from the death of Stone.