Melissa lead them down the wide main hall and showed them the sets of doors to the field house, where indoor varsity sports were played and gym classes were held.

"Why do you want to see the gym?" asked Troy.

Yolanda went over to the first set of doors and yanked. "Help us find an open door. Brian's Varsity Roster is in here and I told him I would go look at it." she said as she moved to try the next door.

"What? I wouldn't have come if I knew that's what we were looking for," Troy said. He frowned and leaned against the wall. Yolanda walked around the corner to try some other doors.

Finally, she pulled on a door that clicked open. "Troy! Melissa! Over here!"

Troy reluctantly followed Yolanda and Melissa inside the gym. "What's so great about a stupid list with Brian's name on it?" he asked.

"Richard's name is on it too," Melissa said.

"Now I really don't care." Troy said.

"It's not just a list, it's the varsity roster." Yolanda took one last look outside the door, then let it close with a little click.

Melissa was squinting through the dim glow of the emergency lights. "Is that it?" She pointed.

Yolanda followed her gaze. "Maybe." They moved towards the opposite wall.

"It is!" Yolanda cried. She and Melissa craned their necks to study two sheets of paper taped to the wall about a foot above their heads.

"Here, it's this sheet," Yolanda said, pointing up, "look right there-Coppenhagen, B and Cudaghy, R. You see it?"

"Oh okay," Melissa replied.

"Okay!" Troy said. "We've seen their names, party, party! Let's go."

"What's that written next to their names?" Melissa said.

"Where?" Yolanda moved closer. She could barely make out some markings next to Brian and Richard's names.

Yolanda looked around the darkened gym. She walked over to a group of chairs and pushed one towards Melissa. They hopped up on the chair at the same time and bent towards the list.

"Affirmative action," Melissa read slowly while Yolanda was still trying to figure out the first word.

"What's that?" Yolanda asked.

"I don't know, but I've heard Dad talk about it with Aunt Julia," Melissa offered.

Yolanda nodded. "Something about black people then."

"How do you know that?" Troy asked.

"Because they always talk about that stuff," Yolanda answered.

"Aw, you guys don't know," Troy said.

"Look though," Melissa put her finger on the paper, "they're the only ones with anything next to their names."

"That's true Troy, and there's an arrow pointing right at them," Yolanda said.

"Richard's not black," replied Troy.

"Yeah, but he's not white," Melissa said.

"Yes he is," Troy argued, "Spanish people are just another kind of white people."

"Na-uh," countered Melissa.

While Troy and Melissa argued over Hispanics, Yolanda looked at the list. Something about the written comment still bothered her. She didn't like the way the words were in neat block letters. It was as if someone had meant to put it up there, taking care to get it neat and even, adding the arrows and an exclamation point for emphasis. Though her reasoning was still hazy, Yolanda lifted her hand and began to run her thumbnail across one of the taped corners.

"Yolanda? What are you doing?" Troy asked, interrupting Melissa mid-point.

"You guys, I think this is something mean." Yolanda freed the first bottom corner and moved her hand to the second.

"Yeah, but..." Melissa said.

"What?" She pressed her nail harder against the wall.

"We don't really know if it's about black people or not," Troy said.

"I don't want this up here." Yolanda freed the second corner and lifted up the bottom of the list.

"But you can't just take the list off the wall!" gasped Melissa.

Yolanda carefully lifted the roster until the tape pulled away from the wall. She folded neatly and put it in her pocket. "Looks like I just did," she said.

"That's stealing!" Melissa said.

"I was going to show Brian and tell him to put it back, so there, nosy. I knew we shouldn't have brought you, right Troy?"

"Don't look at me. I thought this whole thing was a stupid idea," said Troy.

Yolanda frowned at this lack of support. "Let's go," she said, turning to avoid Melissa's look. In trying to turn around and jump off the chair at the same time, she twisted her foot and tumbled from the chair, sitting down hard on the gym floor. A sharp pain sliced up her back, then settled in her bottom.

"Oh crap!" she yelled, rolling over slowly on her side.

"Good job," Melissa said, jumping successfully from the chair.

"Aw, my butt!"

"Are you okay?" Troy said.

Yolanda nodded slowly from the floor.

"Good," Troy said. He burst into laughter.

"Troy! It's not funny! I broke my buttbone, it kills!"

"Yolanda, you can't break your butt, there's no bone back there." Troy said as Melissa giggled.

"Well, there's something back there, because it hurts like crap!" Yolanda rubbed her bottom, still stretched out on the floor.

"C'mon, we gotta go." Troy took Yolanda's hand and tried to pull her up.

"Oh," Yolanda groaned, "I'll probably need a stretcher."

"Give it up, you fell about a foot on the softest part of your body. Probably the biggest, too," Troy said, with a grin at Melissa.

"Shutup, jerk, it hurts."

All three looked up as the gym doors began to rattle one after another.

"Someone's trying to get in!" Melissa said.

"Shh. Put the chair back, Come on, Yolanda," Troy said.

"Put the list back!" Melissa said, pointing to the wall.

"No!" Yolanda hissed, starting to move slowly. "I don't want it up there!"

"Who cares?" muttered Troy. "Someone's trying to get in, come on!" he pulled Yolanda to her feet.

Melissa hurriedly pushed the chair towards where Yolanda found it as Troy scrambled for a side exit, dragging Yolanda, who was shuffling behind him.

When they turned the corner to get to Seb's main hall they encountered their mother, their father, George, and a distracted Jeff.

"Where have you been?" their mother asked. "Jeff has been looking all over for you!"

"We were just...uh walking around," Yolanda said.

"You weren't supposed to be walking around, you were supposed to be waiting. People were looking all over for you." As George was saying this, Kathey, Michelle, Kelly and Linda came around the corner. "Oh, they found them," someone said.

"It's fine, they're back," Jeff said to the girls. "I guess when I said told them to get lost they took it literally." He said this in an off-hand manner, but the girls laughed as if he were doing a stand-up comedy routine.

"I guess we took a wrong turn or something," Yolanda said weakly. She was getting mad that Troy and Melissa were making her do all the talking.

"That's not the point. We're leaving," Her mother grasped Yolanda and Troy each by an arm and led them out the door.

"Mom," protested Troy as Melissa followed after them, swinging her free arms, "c'mon, we're not babies." Yolanda refused to look back. She knew the rest of the girls were watching her being dragged out of the building in disgrace.

"Excuse me!" Jeff said suddenly. "Uh, could we borrow Yolanda for one quick thing?"

"Oh, I'm sorry Jeff, I thought she was finished." Heather let go of Yolanda and Troy. "Yolanda, Jeff needs you," she said as if Yolanda couldn't hear.

Yolanda slowed turned back around and walked towards the theater.

"One last read, remember?" Jeff said to her.

Yolanda nodded and went back through the theater doors with her head up. She had probably lost her chance to be in the play, but that didn't mean she had to embarrass herself too.

There was now only one desk onstage. Yolanda went up and sat in it. She looked out towards where Mr. Rome and Jess were sitting a few rows away. He didn't look up, but Jess, who stood and walked back towards the stage gave her smile. Yolanda waved sadly.

Jess handed her two pages from the script. "Okay," she said, as Jeff sat back down next to Mr. Rome, "We'll be looking at two scenes again. The first one dialogue and the second is kind of like a voice over and pantomime together. The character is writing something and telling the audience out loud what it is, you understand?"

Yolanda nodded.

"Okay, first the dialogue scene, I'll play the other part. Take a minute to read and then we'll start."

Yolanda tried to put what happened in the hall out of her mind and focus on the script. In the first speech, this girl was describing a crush. Maybe she could think about David.

"Ready?" Jess said when Yolanda looked up.

They started to read the scene. Yolanda felt Mr. Rome and Jeff's eyes watching her and wondered if they had all ready decided not to put her in the play because she might wonder off again. Suddenly her face felt tight through the whole reading and her hands were shaking. She tripped over a few words and forgot to look directly at Jess, but she basically read the same way she did before. At least she remembered to talk loud. Although she might have felt better if Mr. Rome had yelled, "Projection!" again. With him so quiet she couldn't tell if he was mad or not.

"Okay, that was good," Jess said at the end of the scene. Yolanda blinked.

There was silence as everyone waited, listening to the sound of Mr. Rome's pen scratching as he made notes.

"Thank you," Mr. Rome finally said in an even voice that Yolanda couldn't tell anything from.

"Okay, thanks a lot," Jeff said when they finished. He smiled quickly as a dismissal. Mr. Rome still didn't look up. Yolanda quietly walked offstage and left.

"How did the second reading go?" Heather asked Yolanda as they got into the car. Troy opened the car door. Yolanda followed him through and shut the door behind her before Melissa could get in. Melissa slid in the front seat next to Heather.

"It went fine," Yolanda answered with tight lips. "Mom, you guys didn't have to drag us out of there. We're not little kids."

"Then act like it. Why were you wandering around instead of waiting for us like you were supposed to?" Heather asked.

"We wanted to see something, that's all," Troy said quickly.

George opened the passenger door and got in. "So did you find out where our weary travelers had gone?"

"They had to see something," Heather answered as she started the car. "What's the rush anyway?" she asked. "You'll be going to school there in a couple of years."

Yolanda and Troy exchanged a glance. Yolanda wondered if her mother could have said anything more useless. "That's not the point, Mom."

"No, the point is that they're already worried about having kids as young as you over there. So if you don't want to answer to all the other seventh graders in drama when they pull you out, I suggest you don't pull that again."

"God Mom, they wouldn't kick us out because of that!" Yolanda said.

"Hey!" snapped Heather. "Keep talking like that, here? I'll pull your little tail out of the show myself." Troy kicked her ankle under the back seat. Yolanda shoved him back for kicking her too hard, but remained silent.

Yolanda glared at the back of Melissa's head, wishing she could shove her into the dashboard. Instead, she opened her script. Her behind was still sore from the fall.

"No more disappearing, understood?" George said now.

"Yeah..." the twins grumbled.

"I'm sorry?" George asked.

"Yes," they said louder.

"Daddy?" said Melissa.

"Pumpkin?"

Pumpkin. Yolanda snorted in disgust. Their father only called Melissa that-the spoiled little baby. She made a mental note to ask Melissa when they were out of earshot if anybody else in the sixth grade was called Pumpkin. She and Troy never lost an opportunity to point out that skipping a grade made Melissa even more immature.

"Doesn't Affirmative Action have to do with Black people?"

Yolanda sat up. She was never going to allow Melissa to go anywhere with her again!

"Sure does, why?" George asked.

"Um, I heard it on T.V," Melissa said.

Yolanda relaxed a little. At least Melissa had some sense.

"Affirmative action is basically making things fair for Black people when they look for jobs," George said.

"In a manner of speaking," Her mother added.

"So if you didn't have Black people in a place before and then you did, is that Affirmative Action?" Yolanda found herself asking.

Her father turned. "Not necessarily. Affirmative action is supposed to give people opportunities, but it's no easy guarantee. The person still has to deserve the job."

"But don't people think that somebody got a job just because they're Black...or Spanish?" Melissa asked.

"Sometimes," their father said.

"Oh," Melissa said, nodding. The car pulled up to the house and the twins were practically out of the car before it stopped. Melissa crawled over George to follow them.

"Good grief," he said.

Yolanda stepped in the house and pulled Troy up the stairs before Melissa caught up to them. "C'mon, we've got to tell Brian."

"Why?" Troy asked, as Melissa called to them from the foot of the stairs.

"Don't you think he should know?"

"Whatever. I could care less." Troy said and continued down the hall.

"Hey Yolanda," Melissa came up behind her, "did you hear how I asked Dad in the car?"

Yolanda whirled around. "Just stay out of it, Melissa, you have a big mouth." She turned from Melissa's crestfallen face and followed Troy down the hall into the room he shared with Brian. She was mildly surprised to see Maria Cierra there. She looked around for Anne, but Maria and Brian were there alone.

"What do you want?" Brian snapped as if Troy didn't have every right to be in his own room.

Yolanda opened her mouth to tell Brian about before an argument broke out. But Troy was too quick for her.

"Dad says you can't have people upstairs when they're not home." Troy said, sitting on his bed with his arms folded.

"We were going to leave in a second," Maria said with a winning smile.

"You don't have to explain anything to him. Troy, get out," Brian said.

"Why should I?"

"Yolanda? Where are you?" George called from the foot of the stairs.

"Up here!" Troy called out before Yolanda could move to go downstairs. She got up and to go to the door.

"Well, I'd better go anyway," Maria said.

"Hey Brian, guess what I saw today." Yolanda said as they walked down the hall.

He ignored her, walking past with Maria. George came up the stairs and saw the three of them.

"Well, hello Maria."

"Hi, Mr. Coppenhagen, I was just leaving," she said brightly.

"Brian, may I speak to you please?" George said.

"Dad, did you want something?" Yolanda asked.

"In a minute, Yolanda. Maria, Brian will be down in a minute."

Yolanda shrugged and started down the stairs. She had tried. She waited on the family room couch with her message. She could hear Brian protesting and George answering, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. Finally Brian came down the stairs.

"Fine, I heard you the first time!" he yelled up the stairs as he flew by Yolanda. She followed him to the front door.

"Brian, Maria said she would wait outside," she said quickly. He went out the front door without a word.

Yolanda waited patiently for him to return. She assumed he would be in the mood he was in the night he picked her up and turned her upside down. Being with Maria put him in a good mood lately.

When Brian came back into the house again, Yolanda jumped up and went into the foyer.

"Hey Brian!" she said, bouncing up and down on her toes.

"What?" he snapped as he was taking off of his jacket.

Not the mood Yolanda was hoping for. She stopped bouncing and leaned against a corner of the wall.

"Nothing. I just saw your basketball list today."

"It's called a roster." He walked past her into the kitchen.

"Well, yeah, right. Anyway, I saw you and Richard's names," she said, following him into the kitchen. Brian opened the refrigerator and looked in.

"Well, that's the idea, we're on the team."

"What's your problem? Troy got you in trouble, I didn't." Yolanda slouched in a kitchen chair, arms folded.

Brian straightened up and closed the refrigerator. He was about to say something when the phone rang. Brian stepped up and grabbed it.

"Hello? Hold on."

He tossed the phone to Yolanda. "It's for you. Hurry up, Maria's supposed to call when she gets home."

Yolanda stood up and took the phone. "Get over it," she said. "Hello?"

"Hi, is this Yolanda? It's Jeff Kealy."

"Yeah, hi." Yolanda dropped back down in the kitchen chair. What did he want? Was her mother right about them taking her out of the show? She swallowed. "Is there something wrong?"

"Oh no," Jeff said, "I just wanted to say I hope all that stuff before the second reading didn't get you in trouble or anything. I guess I kind of freaked out when I couldn't find you."

"Well, sorry about that. I didn't think that I'd be gone that long. It turned out to be a dumb reason anyway," Yolanda said, frowning at Brian's back.

"Well, ...I don't want us to get off on the wrong foot. You seemed kind of upset when you came back in. The reading was good, but you were different."

"Oh, I.." He noticed she was quiet? "Actually, it was almost good that stuff happened, you know?"

"Really?" Jeff said.

"Yeah, kind of because it made me feel like that girl Alice might have felt trying to talk to the teacher she likes, you know, she might be scared."

"Exactly! So you used your feeling in your performance. That's great Yolanda."

"Thanks," she said through a big smile.

"Yeah," Jeff went on, "so anyway, Mr. Rome wanted to help out Mr. Dale, so that's where this whole idea came from. But he's still being kind of weird about it, plus the county had him running back and forth and dealing with these forms; it was a mess. So I have to keep convincing him that we need you guys before he decides it's too much of a pain. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Oh Jeff! I promise I wont go anywhere again, I swear," Yolanda said.

"Oh I know. Besides, let's just say you guys will have a pretty good reason to stick around."

"Really?" Yolanda said.

"Really. So I need your help okay? Don't give Rome a reason to think it's not worth it."

"No way, I swear," she said.

"Okay, well, I'm glad we talked. See ya."

"Bye Jeff."

"Bye." Yolanda said. She listened to him hang up and took the phone from her ear slowly. A good reason to stick around. That had to mean that they got the parts!

"So who's Jeff?" Brian asked, taking the phone.

Yolanda looked up at him. She had almost forgotten he was there. She had definitely forgotten what she wanted to tell him. Besides, he had been mean. "Jeff Kealy. You wouldn't know him; he's a senior," she said coolly on her way out. She went upstairs to tell Troy.