the back of his head.
" Jeff ought to go, too, " nodded Mom, looking at her other son. " We ' ve been meaning to take him up to Penn State anyway, so we could kill two birds with one stone. "
" Huh ? " grunted Jeff, eyes glued to the TV. Apparently, he hadn ' t yet heard a single word of the conversation going on around him, and had only stirred at the mention of his name.
" We were just talking about going to Penn State for a day, so Dave can look into grad school. We were saying that we should take you along, since you ' re thinking about going there. " There was a trace of annoyance in Mom ' s voice, a hint of irritation at having to repeat herself for Jeff ' s benefit.
" I don ' t know, " muttered Jeff, still concentrating on the TV. " I ' ll have to see what ' s going on. " His disinterested tone made it clear that he didn ' t want to be bothered. The seventeen - year - old didn ' t seem to care at all about college, though his parents frequently pressed him to make plans for a college career. He had other things on his mind nowadays, like hanging out with his friends and having fun and chasing girls. Bob and Ann thought he ran around too much, and they wished that he would work harder in school, because he was only pulling a " C " - average. Since Dave had always gotten " A ' s " and " B ' s " in school, Mom and Dad expected the same from Jeff.
" I ' m sure you can spare one day to go with us, " said Mom.
" I said I don ' t know, " resisted Jeff, shifting restlessly on the loveseat. Testily, he dropped his empty dinner plate to the carpet, then dug down into the cushions and folded his arms across his chest. Too tall to stretch out on the loveseat, he had to lie with his legs bent and knees in the air.
" When we go up there, you ' re going with us, " Mom declared firmly. " It won ' t hurt you to spend one day looking around a college. "
" Mom ! " Jeff snapped curtly. " Don ' t push me! I said I ' ll have to let you know , all right? "
" Hey! Don ' t talk to your mother like that, " ordered Dad, raising his voice.
" I ' m just trying to watch TV here ! " flouted Jeff, flapping his hands at the set. " I can ' t even hear what ' s going on! "
" Calm yourself down, " Dad said threateningly. " You don ' t need to get all bent out of shape just because we want you to do something with the rest of the family for once. "
" I ' m not getting bent out of shape ! " hollered Jeff. " You ' re the one who ' s getting bent out of shape! "
As Jeff and Dad bickered, Dave sighed deeply and adopted a weary expression. Arguments between his brother and father happened often, and he was tired of listening to them. Though the fights were only shouting matches and never came to blows, they seemed to erupt every time that Jeff and Dad were in the same room for more than five minutes.
Since the age of fifteen, Jeff had grown progressively more rebellious; he'd always been high - strung and precocious, but after reaching fifteen, he'd become downright volatile. Willful and cranky and argumentative, he disputed every suggestion or request from the rest of the family with angry fervor. He resented every intrusion on his privacy and independence, overreacted to every question that his parents asked.
Despite his hot temper and moodiness, though, Jeff wasn ' t really a bad kid. He sometimes made life miserable for the family, and he was awfully irresponsible, but Dave still liked him. Dave believed that Jeff was just at a difficult age, an age when touchiness and hostility were the norms; he recalled that when he himself had been sixteen, he'd behaved in much the same way, but had mellowed with time.
Dave sincerely believed that his brother would do likewise, that he would eventually straighten up and his better qualities would come to the forefront. Unfortunately, it didn ' t seem likely that this change would occur in the near future.
It definitely wouldn ' t happen tonight.
" I told you, " hollered Dad, leaning forward on the
" Jeff ought to go, too, " nodded Mom, looking at her other son. " We ' ve been meaning to take him up to Penn State anyway, so we could kill two birds with one stone. "
" Huh ? " grunted Jeff, eyes glued to the TV. Apparently, he hadn ' t yet heard a single word of the conversation going on around him, and had only stirred at the mention of his name.
" We were just talking about going to Penn State for a day, so Dave can look into grad school. We were saying that we should take you along, since you ' re thinking about going there. " There was a trace of annoyance in Mom ' s voice, a hint of irritation at having to repeat herself for Jeff ' s benefit.
" I don ' t know, " muttered Jeff, still concentrating on the TV. " I ' ll have to see what ' s going on. " His disinterested tone made it clear that he didn ' t want to be bothered. The seventeen - year - old didn ' t seem to care at all about college, though his parents frequently pressed him to make plans for a college career. He had other things on his mind nowadays, like hanging out with his friends and having fun and chasing girls. Bob and Ann thought he ran around too much, and they wished that he would work harder in school, because he was only pulling a " C " - average. Since Dave had always gotten " A ' s " and " B ' s " in school, Mom and Dad expected the same from Jeff.
" I ' m sure you can spare one day to go with us, " said Mom.
" I said I don ' t know, " resisted Jeff, shifting restlessly on the loveseat. Testily, he dropped his empty dinner plate to the carpet, then dug down into the cushions and folded his arms across his chest. Too tall to stretch out on the loveseat, he had to lie with his legs bent and knees in the air.
" When we go up there, you ' re going with us, " Mom declared firmly. " It won ' t hurt you to spend one day looking around a college. "
" Mom ! " Jeff snapped curtly. " Don ' t push me! I said I ' ll have to let you know , all right? "
" Hey! Don ' t talk to your mother like that, " ordered Dad, raising his voice.
" I ' m just trying to watch TV here ! " flouted Jeff, flapping his hands at the set. " I can ' t even hear what ' s going on! "
" Calm yourself down, " Dad said threateningly. " You don ' t need to get all bent out of shape just because we want you to do something with the rest of the family for once. "
" I ' m not getting bent out of shape ! " hollered Jeff. " You ' re the one who ' s getting bent out of shape! "
As Jeff and Dad bickered, Dave sighed deeply and adopted a weary expression. Arguments between his brother and father happened often, and he was tired of listening to them. Though the fights were only shouting matches and never came to blows, they seemed to erupt every time that Jeff and Dad were in the same room for more than five minutes.
Since the age of fifteen, Jeff had grown progressively more rebellious; he'd always been high - strung and precocious, but after reaching fifteen, he'd become downright volatile. Willful and cranky and argumentative, he disputed every suggestion or request from the rest of the family with angry fervor. He resented every intrusion on his privacy and independence, overreacted to every question that his parents asked.
Despite his hot temper and moodiness, though, Jeff wasn ' t really a bad kid. He sometimes made life miserable for the family, and he was awfully irresponsible, but Dave still liked him. Dave believed that Jeff was just at a difficult age, an age when touchiness and hostility were the norms; he recalled that when he himself had been sixteen, he'd behaved in much the same way, but had mellowed with time.
Dave sincerely believed that his brother would do likewise, that he would eventually straighten up and his better qualities would come to the forefront. Unfortunately, it didn ' t seem likely that this change would occur in the near future.
It definitely wouldn ' t happen tonight.
" I told you, " hollered Dad, leaning forward on the
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