Pat tossed the nailfile back on Yolanda's desk, got up and slammed her bedroom door. She could still hear their voices as they went back down the stairs. "I should ask you the same thing."

"Huh?"

"All that stuff with Maria. Before they came in you were like, 'Oh, I'm not all over her' then you're begging her to sit next to you in class."

"God, excuse me! I was just being nice because she said she would save us seats at the games. We might as well get something out of having to put up with them."

This sounded like the old Diana. Pat softened a little. "Well, she probably didn't mean it anyway."

"Don't be such a baby. Why would she say it then?"

"She likes Brian, she wants him to see her being nice," Pat mumbled. She sat on the edge of the bed and traced the pattern on her quilt with a finger.

"Maybe so, but she looks really nice when you're sitting there being mean."

Pat looked up. "I'm not mean."

"Yeah, right." Diana smiled and nudged Pat in the shoulder.

"Well Diana, they came busting in here, totally ignoring us until we give them a complement."

"Richard said hi to you," Diana said.

"Well, just because he was sitting right next to me," Pat said.

"Well, nobody but Maria talked to me, what was I supposed to do?"

"I don't know," Pat said.

There was silence. While Pat went back to tracing her pattern.

Finally Diana said, "What's the big deal anyway? I say hi to her in math, and we don't have get to the games all early and sit there for hours like goobs."

"That's true," Pat said.

"The drill team sits right in the middle, we can see everybody, that's what I was really thinking about when I told her to sit near me and Janet. It's not like she can be snobby either because she feels all weird about being in a freshman class anyway. It's a perfect opportunity."

Pat nodded. "I did hear her say that."

"Yeah so, look, instead of letting them get on our nerves, we'll be nice and maybe we can get them to introduce us to guys. Oh! And when they get their licenses...the possibilities are endless, cuz."

"I guess I didn't think of all that."

"Duh!"

Pat groaned. "How nice do I have to be to Maria?"

"Forget about her. You work on Anne."

"Well," Pat said with a sheepish smile, "you know, I'm dense about that stuff. Next time tell me your big plans before I go making Anne think she wont make cheerleading."

"When was that?"

"I guess when I said they choose a lot of the same girls who make freshman year. Brian gave me this look, and Maria changed the subject like I told Anne she sucked or something. I mean, I didn't know what to say. Since when do they care about what I think anyway?"

Diana nodded sympathetically. "I wouldn't worry about it. She's probably still feeling bad about telling the joke. If you went up to her and just started talking I'm sure she'd be fine."

"I give up on this social stuff."

"That's what I'm for!" Diana said brightly.

"For real," Pat said, "Brian should be your brother. You'd get more use out of it."

"Hmm," Diana shook her head. "Cousin is better. I can use him without having to live with him. When he turns macho I just go home."

They laughed as the Fab Four trooped into the Coppenhagen's basement, unaware of Pat and Diana's plans.

"Brian, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make her mad. I just don't think sometimes," Anne said on their way downstairs. "Geez, of course you guys wouldn't think that was funny. Now that I really think about it, it's not."

"Forget about my sister; she's a pain in the ass," Brian lowered his voice. They had crossed the family room to get to the basement door and were in his parents' earshot.

"Well..."

"Don't worry about it, Anne. Patella has never liked me, so she probably hates you too because you're my friend," Maria said.

"But I'm Brian's friend too."

Brian shrugged. "Well, we all know she hates me."

"Well, I gave her a reason now," Anne said.

"Anne, don't lose sleep over the pole up my sister's butt. I sure don't."

"Yeah, who cares?" Maria added, " Look, the next time someone says something like that, you'll know. We had to learn how to react to stuff like that, you aren't automatically born with that knowledge."

"Well," Richard said picking up Anne in the fireman's carry, "look at the bright side, Pat loves me," he said with a grin.

"You can have her!" Maria called down as Richard continued down the stairs with Anne slung across his shoulders, hanging from her waist.

Brian pulled the basement door shut behind them and paused. He wasn't being entirely truthful when he told Anne he never bothered about Pat's attitude. While he wasn't actually staying up worrying, the thought did cross his mind now and again. What did he do that made her so hostile all the time besides mind his own business? Today he hardly said anything during the whole conversation and she still attacked him. True, they had all burst into her room, but it was a big day! She told Richard congratulations but lectured him. Truth be told, he was none too pleased about the extra pressure of 159 people's expectations on him. Why couldn't he be just a player on the team like everyone else anyway? But he wouldn't dare say that to Pat. In fact, after he told her off for being such a bitch to his friends he was through trying to have any kind of conversation with her. Who needed it?

He felt a tug on his hand and looked down, realizing he was still at the top of the basement stairs. Anne and Richard's voices sounded far away; they were already in the basement. Maria was waving her hand near his face.

"Hello...."

Brian smiled. "Sorry, I was just thinking."

"Oh Brian, don't worry about all that. My sister always has to show off to prove how cool she is. It's a bunch of crap."

Brian blinked. He looked down at Maria, who was nodding to reassure him. How did she know what he was thinking?

"I guess," was all he could think to say.

Maria tugged at his hand and started down the stairs. Brian marveled at how natural holding her hand felt. He'd known Maria since elementary school; they had endured all kinds of teasing when they played together as kids, and the subject of romance was off limits to both families. But lately he was very aware of her presence. He found himself maneuvering to sit next to her, and saying things to try and make her laugh. He also admitted to himself, as he got a better grip on her hand, that his favorite day of the week was when the drill team wore their uniforms with the short skirts.

"There you guys are," Anne said when they reached the basement rec room. Richard had freed her from the fireman's carry and they were thumbwrestling on the floor.

"Yeah, we were talking about what a joy having younger sisters is," Maria said. They sat down on the couch and Brian reluctantly let go of her hand. "Cheer up Brian, at least she doesn't borrow your clothes. I don't even need a closet; I can just get dressed in Monica's room."

"Yeah, you're lucky, you could have a mother that borrows clothes." Anne released her fist from Richard's grip and scooted over to the foot of the couch. "My mom wears my clothes on dates, can you believe that?"

"Your mom is dating?" Richard asked with a significant look at Brian.

"Hey, tell her I'll be able to drive in a month," Brian said with a smirk.

"I heard that!" laughed Richard, holding out his hand for Brian to hit.

"Yeah, if she wants to go to jail for statutory rape," Maria said, holding out her hand to Anne in an imitation of Richard.

"Yeah well, I wouldn't press charges," Brian said.

"I know what you'd press." Richard snickered.

"Ugh!! You pig!" exclaimed Anne. Richard burped and the boys howled with laughter.

Maria shook her head. "Nope. It's against the law even if the minor consents."

"Oh..." Richard looked up at her, "you sure know a lot about it."

Brian elbowed her. "Is that why you've been going with Anne on those weekends to her Dad's?"

"Oh please!" Maria shoved him.

"Could we please stop talking about my parents and sex? I'm going to puke right now," Anne said. She reached inside Maria's schoolbag and pulled out a little package that was wrapped in paper colored burgundy and royal blue, Seb's school colors. "When are you going to open this?"

"Oh!" Maria exclaimed, reaching out for it. "Right now!"

"Oooo," squealed Richard, "what is it? Let me see!" He took the package from Maria and held it back out of her reach.

"Richard, give it!"

"What is it?" Richard arched his wrist and threw the package over the head of Anne, who was hitting him on the chest to try and knock him over.

Brian caught it with a neat two-handed catch. He shook it next to his ear.

"Brian stop! I don't know what's in there, it might break or something, give it." Maria said.

"I hear something rattling!" Anne said. She snatched it from Brian, proceeding to rattle it a lot more than either Brian or Richard did. Maria accepted it with a weary smile.

"What is it anyway?" Brian asked as Maria ran a fingernail across the side of the box to slit the fold in the paper.

"Senior wills," Maria answered, checking the nail for damage.

"Who died?" Richard asked.

"Ha-ha," Anne said. "senior wills are stuff Seniors leave people after they graduate. A lot of clubs and teams do it. The cheerleaders do--basketball probably does too," Anne said.

"So who left you something?" Brian asked Maria. She had discovered a little card taped to the bottom of the box and was reading it.

"Alex! Remember my friend Alex who was captain last year?"

"Oh yeah..." he answered, exchanging a glance with the others. "Why didn't she give it to you last year?"

"I wasn't in school that day," Maria said. "Then she forgot until now."

"Yeah, but it's been all summer and the beginning of school," Richard said.

"So what?" Maria was a little definsive.

They had heard a lot about Alex last year when Maria was going through drill team tryouts. Alex had apparently helped Maria get on the team despite her status as a freshman, which was as one girl put it, "The only thing holding Maria back." Maria thought it had to do with race and she voiced her suspicions to Brian nightly during tryouts.

He heard all about how Alex kept using her as an example when she was showing moves in try-outs and how Maria thought Alex was the one that kept her in as the group got smaller with first and second cuts. Nearly every other veteran member approached Maria and told her how they were looking forward to having her on the team...when she was a Sophomore.

"Just rip it," Brian told Maria, who was carefully peeling the burgundy and blue wrapping off of the box.

"I want to save to the paper," Maria said.

"Because it's from Alex..ooo!" Richard said. Brian and Anne smiled.

"Shutup, I'm opening it now." Maria said. She pulled off the paper and laid it aside with a little pat that made the others exchange another smile. She lifted off the top of the box and sifted through the tissue as Anne and Richard leaned over to look.