As the crowd dissipated, Tanya and Glenn joined the masses to go home. While Tanya wanted to join those who were going out for a meal- her cheese fries, she despaired, had been dropped when the fight started- Glenn decided against it. And since Tanya had gotten her friend to go to the soccer game and in the pit, she relented. While the girl tried to ask to go visit Matt, Glenn decided against it. "I'm going to be your sense of responsibility," he informed her, "and remind you that you can visit tomorrow. They probably have visiting hours, anyways- and I'm sure that you've got work you haven't done yet."
Tanya grinned, sheepishly, at him, while they walked to her house. It was closer, for one thing, and both had taken the bus that morning, for another. Their conversation meandered through various topics- teachers, administration, friends, the game, and what have you- until they arrived back at Tanya's home. The lights were on and the door was unlocked; when Tanya opened it, a white and grey mass of fur jumped up on her, then Glenn, then her again, in greeting. Then the dog ran outside, squatted quickly, and ran back in, where Tanya waited with the door open. She shut it after him, and turned around to face her father, who was sipping a beer at the crowded counter.
"Hey, guys," Don Greenfield greeted easily. "How was the game?" He was a tired looking man; his clothes were always just a bit disheveled, and he never really got quite enough sleep, it seemed. Don had much darker hair than Tanya, though some grey was starting to peer through the strands, and stubble across his chin, cheeks, and upper lip. He had circles under his eyes, which were the same green as Tanya's, but they had a dull sort of kindness to them.
"First game, and they've already got someone in the hospital!" Tanya gushed. "Other than that it was, you know, a regular game- oh, can we give Glenn a ride home, by the way?"
Don chuckled. "Sure." The man set down his beer- "I haven't had more than a couple sips yet, anyways,"- and picked up his keys. "I'm ready whenever you are, Glenn. It's nice seeing you, by the way."
"Thanks, and you," Glenn replied, and smiled. He always did appreciate Tanya's father's easy-going manner. "I'm ready to leave," he added, and the two stepped out the door.
While they headed for the Gressen household, Tanya changed, and pulled out her homework. She started on that and, when her father came home, procrastinated on what she had left by telling him about the game, and her heroic actions of being among the first to call the medical station's attention to the scene. Then Tanya returned to her room to finish her homework and shove it in her bag, then gladly fall into bed when that was all finished.
The next morning went similarly to the previous one- shower, getting dressed, brushing teeth, checking that the bag was packed, letting the dog out, and leaving were all in there in some order. Don was, again, asleep as Tanya left, but she did start the coffee for him. The bus was less crowded that day, which Tanya didn't mind, though she didn't see Glenn. Not a particular surprise, as he did get to take his mom's car to school, sometimes. When the bus arrived, Tanya looked at the time, and grinned. It was early today, 12 minutes until class, which gave her plenty of time to search the halls for one friend or another.
Glenn's return home wasn't nearly so eventful. His house was quiet at the time of night, now; an older sister in college, a mother who went to bed early, and a father who was likely sitting somewhere with a snack and a book, being quiet as possible so as to not wake his wife or son, resulted in few words to be exchanged. This suited Glenn perfectly, however, as he crept up the stairs, over that creaky step and around those squealing floorboards. He pulled out his work, but it was all finished, and slid it back into his bag. He changed, and turned the lights off, and finally crawled into bed, glad for the rest to come.
The next morning was nearly identical to the previous one. Mother served as an alarm, shower, get dressed, brush teeth, eat breakfast, brush teeth again, leave. Today, however, Glenn drove his mother's car to school. He much preferred this mode of transportation to the school bus, as it was much quieter. However, it also left him much later, giving Glenn only just enough time to get to his locker to pick up the books he'd left there the previous night that he needed for his first class, which Glenn wasted no time in getting to- biology, room 508.
