Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie

After Jeffrey returns home from the hospital, Christmas Break flies by. Steven spends most of his vacation doing makeup work, and Jeffrey’s hair begins to fall out from the chemotherapy. At home, Jeffrey is driving Steven crazy because the steroids he takes make him hyperactive, and Jeffrey demands a lot of his brother’s attention. Just as Steven finishes all his makeup work for school, he gets a bad flu and is sent to stay with his grandparents so that Jeffrey will not get sick. Steven is unhappy about being banished to his grandparents’ house, where there is no DVD player, computer, or PlayStation. Furthermore, his grandma “starves” him by only letting him eat bland foods like rice, applesauce, and toast while he is recovering. While Steven is sick, Jeffrey sends him his Matt Medic action figure to help him get better. When Steven finally gets home from his grandparents’ house, he calls Annette, who tells him that everyone, including Renee, has been asking about him at school. After fighting with his parents about leaving him at his grandparents’, Steven goes to practice the drums before bed. Afterwards, he goes upstairs and finds his dad crying over a stack of papers in the kitchen.