“The next round of beers,” Mikey said, as if we were in a pub and it was my turn to pay. He must’ve seen disbelief on my face because he laughed as he stuck a DVD into his player. “Relax. By the time we’re ready for more, Dad’s friends will be too busy with their game to notice you sneak downstairs. I’m putting in Aliens. It’s better than the first movie anyway.” I barely heard him. The thought of sneaking downstairs to steal more beers terrified me. What if Mr. Pierce chose that exact moment to enter the kitchen for a refill himself? Or if one of his friends caught me? Clutching the neck of my bottle, I swore to pace myself. As long as I still had some beer left to drink, I’d have an excuse not to go get Mikey another. With any luck, we’d get so caught up in the movie that he’d forget al