"You need to get a job." The younger boy said, looking up from his gaming device to scowl at his brother.
Ryou didn't take his eyes off his paper. "Shut up, Ataru." He muttered, reaching for his calculator. He had always hated algebra, and having to do it when it wasn't even a school day made the whole ordeal even worse. Of course, he could have just finished it one Friday when he was supposed to, instead of pushing it to Sunday.
Ataru frowned at him from the couch. "I have a job already." He boasted. "Why don't you?"
"You're eight years old and get paid for doing the dishes. That doesn't count." Ryou snapped, scribbling an answer down on the page. Just... ten more questions left. Terrific.
"At least stop coming over, then. You don't even live here." Ataru said, tossing his game to the floor and sitting upright. "Go back to your own house."
Ryou looked up from his homework page and began tapping his pencil on the counter. He had only started living in his apartment at the beginning of the year. He thought it would have at least taken more than a few months for his family to stop missing him, but apparently not. Lately he was realizing that Ataru wasn't the only one who got over his absence rather quickly. Heck, his own parents made it fairly obvious that they didn't want him in their house. Ouch. What a way to show love, huh?
"Aw come on. You want me to stay, right?" Ryou said loosely, trying not to look like he was inwardly hoping his brother wouldn't
tell him to take a hike. That would be a bit embarrassing.
"Not really." Ataru said flatly.
Ah, well... that settled it. For an eight year old, the kid really had a talent for making others feel terrible.
He tucked his papers back into his binder and dropped it into his school bag. When the bag was zipped up, he slung it over his shoulder and hopped off the dining stool. He glanced over at his brother, and taking in a deep breath he gave it another shot."You sure? We could... play baseball at the park or something."
"I don't like baseball."
You don't like anything. Ryou thought bitterly, walking towards the door. He left the house without another word, but once he was at the bottom of the front steps, he realized that he didn't want to head back to his apartment just yet. The place was a mess at the moment, anyway. If he went there, he knew he'd have to clean it and actually do some laundry and the dishes for once.
With a nod to himself, Ryou decided that much like with his homework he could avoid going home until he really had to.