"Come on, Frank. Time to get ready for school." Mom had already left for work so I was in charge of taking Mikey and Frank to school.

"I don't wanna!" He yelled, pulling the pillow over his head.

"Why not? It's your first day of school. Mikey will be there too."

"Sixth grade is too hard. And Mikey is in the older classes and he's smart. He doesn't want to hang out with me."

I knew Mikey and he would always hang out with Frank if Frank wanted to. "How do you know that? Did you ever try to hang out with Mikey?" I asked. "And maybe, since he's in seventh grade, he can tutor you." Frank sniffles but gave in. "Good. Now get ready. I washed your Pokèmon shirt so you can wear that."

"Okay," Frank said, getting up and getting dressed.

I walked into the kitchen where Mikey was eating breakfast. I made myself a cup of coffee and got out a bowl for Frank's cereal. "Mikey can you try to hang out with Frank? He feels like he has no friends and he's not smart enough to be there."

"Of course. He can eat lunch with me. We have the same lunch this year. "

"Thank you, Mikey." I loved my brother and I felt bad that he always had to take care of himself. Mom and Dad were always on business trips and most of the time I had to help Frank, so here was Mikey, 13 and could take care of himself completely if he had an income of some sort.
Mikey and Frank were both turning 13 during this school year but Frank had been held back. He did okay in third and fourth grade and struggled a little in fifth but he didn't understand anything he was learning in sixth grade. The doctor said we would probably have to take Frank out of school, so mom agreed if he didn't pass this school year, we would.

I took Frank and Mikey to school and came back home to work on my latest painting.
Just before I was going to leave I got a call from Mikey.

"Hey, Gee. My friend Ray's mom is already here. Can they give us a ride home and then he stay over for a little while?" I thought about it.

"I guess but only because I know Ray. Don't do it with any of your other friends."

"I won't. Thanks!" He said and hung up. I unlocked the front door and sat at the table sketching.

"We're home!" Mikey called as he opened the front door.

"Gee!" Frank yelled as he ran into the room.

"Frankie!" I yelled back. He came over and jumped in my lap, throwing his arms around my neck. "How was your day?"

"Good. Mikey actually asked me to sit with him at lunch," Frank beamed, "and I got to meet his friend Ray. Ray is really nice and he let me play with his afro."

"He did? Well that was nice of him," I said as Ray and Mikey entered the kitchen. "Did you tell him thank you?" I asked.

Frank blushed and ran over to Ray. "Thank you!"

"Do you have homework, Frankie?" I asked.

"Nope. Not today."

"Would you like to draw?"

"Yes please!" He replied, sitting next to me. I gave him some paper and a pencil and left him to draw.

I walked over to Ray and Mikey. "Would you guys like something to eat?" Mikey nodded and looked to Ray who also nodded. I walked to the freezer and got a few hot pockets for them.

"Why does Frank act like that?" I heard Ray whisper.

Mikey looked at me, making sure it was okay to tell him. I nodded. "He has PPS," Mikey answered.

"What's that?"

"Peter Pan Syndrome. He still thinks he's an eight year old. That's why he was held back. He's thirteen, almost fourteen, but his mind is stuck as an eight year old. " Ray glanced to Frank sympathetically.

"So you guys take care of him?" I nodded as I gave them the hot pockets.

"As soon as I've built a reputation as an artist I'm moving out and taking care of Frank and Mikey," I told him.


"Will you live nearby?"

"Of course," I said, smiling. "We could never leave Belleville. It's just our parents are always working. It'd be better that way."

Notes

yes, Ray in the prologue is the same Ray, he'd just lived with his grandparents for a few years