Grayson stopped. He didn't do work in class. He didn't talk to us. He barely ate. He only cared about protecting his little dog. Jack, I think was its name. The more we tried to get Grayson back, the farther he drifted. He walked without us in the hallway. He sat on the opposite side of the classroom. He sat alone during lunch.

Teachers were starting to yell at him. How he had been such a great student and then he let it go. So he did his work. We hadn't even been in the world for a week and Grayson has started causing issues. What were we going to do?

"I'm worried about Grayson," I said to Drake during lunch that Friday. "What do we do?"

"I don't know," Drake replied. "I'm worried about him too."

I looked across the cafeteria to see Grayson with his backpack on the table and his hands inside. He was petting his dog without a doubt. Other than the dog, he was all alone.

"Maybe we should talk to Armen," I said.

"No Mia, we don't want to overwhelm him. We can figure this out on our on. Just because we look like kids doesn't mean we have to act like kids."

"I guess you're right. But what should we do?"

"I have an idea. Follow my lead."

Drake picked up his lunch tray and walked towards Grayson. I did the same. We sat down with him, getting closer than we've been able to all week.

"Leave me alone," Grayson said.

"We're worried about you," Drake told him.

"We can't leave you alone anymore," I added.

"Yes, you can. I'm done with this world. I want to go home. Talk to me once you get me home." Grayson was being difficult.

"Armen is trying to fix everything," Drake said in attempts to help.

"He's not trying hard enough," Grayson grumpily stated. "If he was trying it you'll be fixed by now."

"Grayson," I said. "We want to go home just as much as you do. We are trying to make the best out of the situation. If you would please stop acting like this, things wouldn't be so bad. We could figure things out together."

He looked at me. "Things will always be this bad," he said.

"No they won't," I almost shouted. "It will all be okay."

"Really? You think so? Well you don't have abusive parents who are ALWAYS drunk!"

"I have to stay at an abusive orphanage though. And the food is awful."

"At least they feed you. I always have to find something because my so called parents are too busy to take care of me."

"Well, you really are an adult. So you should be able to take care of yourself."

"And you should be able to just leave me alone."

He picked up his backpack and walked away. I started to get up to follow him, but Drake grabbed my arm.

"Give him so time to calm down," he said. "He's just really stressed out."

I watched him walk away. I didn't want him to be so upset like this. I wanted everything to be like it used to be. "I'm still worried," I said.

"We both are."