"If he knows where the line between getting attention and crossing the line is, he doesn't care, but he could be too young just not to know." Bunny pauses, processing information. "He threatened to call an exterminator on Gadget. Not the sort of comment you let slide. But I thought the school where kids killed each other was a little too on the nose not to be something."

Bunny takes a long deep breath, working the problem. "He's trying to keep people at arm's length. Know them better than they know him. That's just good survival sense, but it does mean he's not going to have many friends in the process."

Not many places to seek comfort or feel safe. What a hard situation for a kid to feel is the best course of action for himself.