Mike+M

=//**That Was Then, This Is Now**//=

1) **Who are Bryon and Mark?:** Bryon and Mark are the book's two main characters. Bryon and Mark are like brothers, but they are not. Mark's Mom and Dad killed each other in a drunken fight when he was little. He moved in with Bryon and they were both raised together by Bryon's Mom. Bryon is a well built, muscular sixteen year-old. Mark is a smaller build, but is just as strong as Bryon. Bryon has dark hair, while Mark has lighter hair.

2) **Who are the two young people Bryon meets at the hospital?:** The two young people that Bryon meet in the hospital are Mike Chambers, and Cathy, M&M's older sister.

3) **What kind of relationship does Bryon have with Charlie?:** Bryon and Charlie are very close. They became best friends ever since Bryon dated his sister. Even though Bryon broke up with her, they continue to have a strong friendship which later pays off for Bryon. Charlie is also lax with Bryon and Mark about paying for their drinks right away, but if he does not get his money, he will go out of his way to get it.

4) **What happens at the dance?:** Angel persuaded one of her friends to start a fight with Ponyboy Curtis. Her friend brought a bottle, which he planned to use against Ponyboy. Mark stepped in to try to break up the fight, and Angel's friend hit him in the head with the bottle. Mark was badly hurt, but he recovered a few days later.

5) **What does Bryon begin to discover in his private conversations with Mark?:** Bryon learns that Mark and him are not as close as they used to be, but they still love each other like brothers. Mark does not think of Bryon's mom as his own mother, but he still thinks of Bryon as a brother.

6)**What happened to Charlie? How do Bryon and Mark feel about it?:** Bryon and Mark were walking home after their occasional pool hustling technique, when out of the blue, the guys they hustled showed up. The two men were not very happy about being hustled, so they pulled out weapons. Then, a familiar voice told them to surrender their weapons. Mark and Bryon realized that it was Charlie. One of the men fired their gun and Charlie slammed Mark and Bryon to the ground. After repeatedly saying Charlie, the boys realized that he was dead. He had been shot just above his eye. Mark and Bryon were both traumatized. Mark got over it quickly, where the fear and regret stuck with Bryon. After all, it was their fault that Charlie died.

7) **What do Mark and Cathy think of each other?:** They do not think very highly of each other. Mark is jealous that Bryon spends more time with Cathy and not him. Cathy thinks that Mark is a bad influence on Bryon.

8) **What does mark do to Angel? Why?:** After getting Angel drunk, Mark cuts off most of her hair to get even with her.

9) **In chapter seven, what does Bryon begin to discover about his good friend Mark?:** Bryon learns that Mark's parents killed each other in a disagreement over whose child he was. All Mark thought about was moving in with Bryon, this later came true. Bryon also learns that they are drifting further away.

10) **What happens to Bryon at Terry Jones’ house? How does his attitude change?:** Tim Shepard and his brother Curley show up at Terry's house. They came to get revenge on Bryon, and thats what they did. Instead of ratting Mark out, he took the punishment. He also does not want to "get even" with the Shepards. His attitude changes about fights.

11) **In chapter nine, what happens to M&M? Why does this move Bryon?:** Bryon and Cathy drive to a "hippie house," where M&M is supposedly staying. When the hippies bring them to M&M, he is out of it. They find out that he has been doing LSD, or acid. He is complaining about spiders eating him, and holding him down. This moves Bryon, and his whole attitude changes.

12) **What shocking discovery does Bryon make in Mark’s bedroom (chapter 10)? What does he do?:** One night when Mark was out, Bryon reached under his mattress to grab some cigarettes, but instead he found a cylinder with tablets in it. After realizing that these tablets were drugs, it all made sense for Bryon. Thats how Mark was making all that money. He was selling drugs.

13) **How does Bryon’s relationship with his friends and his attitude toward life completely change?:** Bryon broke up with Cathy, and she started to date Ponyboy Curtis. Bryon did not hate Ponyboy anymore. He caught a glimpse of M&M at the drugstore. He realized that Mark is not his friend anymore. He started a steady job and saw Angel, who had not hit on him at all. Bryon failed all his friends. All he had left was his mother.

14) **How does Bryon feel at the end of the book?:** Bryon feels dead inside. He always asks himself what he should have done. He has no friends, but still manages to go on in life with a steady job to support him and his mom.

15) **What do you think about this book and what life message does it teach?:** This was a great book. It teaches you a lot about life and it's ups and downs. It has a lot of unsuspecting changes in it. I think this book teaches you that you should get to know a person better before you call them a friend. They might be hiding secrets from you or lying to you. It can lead to trouble or the ending of a friendship.