On Monday the GT students met in the morning while the rest of the class had their reading groups. Mrs. Houston’s students were sitting at a big round table doing math meet problems. As they worked, Melissa noticed a sheet in Christina Wong’s report folder that she hadn’t seen before.

"What’s that?" she asked.

Christina looked confused. "The sheet for the extra credit report."

"What report?" Melissa asked. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Aimee nudge Eric. She could feel the tight worried feeling she got in her chest when she had run-ins with Erika.

"You know," Christina looked around the table at the others, then back at Melissa, "we take the stuff from our report and present it in front of the class. Didn’t she give you one?"

"No," Melissa said with worried eyes as the rest of the students piped up with, "I got one!"

"What’s going on gang? "Mr. Cahill, their GT instructor came up and sat big chair down next to him. He put his hands on the table and folded them. The table came up to his waist while it hit everyone else in the chest.

Aimee jerked her thumb at Melissa. "Melissa’s mad; she didn’t get the extra credit because she still doesn’t have a topic for the report."

"I do so!" said Melissa.

"Okay, what is it?" challenged Aimee.

"Teen suicide."

"Ugh, gross." Christina Wong screwed up her face.

"What does that have to do anything?" Aimee asked rather sharply.

"How’d you come up with that, Melissa?" asked Mr. Cahill, looking over at Aimee.

"Well, it does have to do with my family, because almost everyone but me and my parents are teenagers."

Mr. Cahill nodded.

"So over the weekend I was talking to them about how my sister had to read Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story," Melissa continued, speaking as if she always had discussions with brother and sister. "My brother Brian thinks people could get ideas from watching all those movies about death, but my sister said if somebody wanted to do it, they would just do it."

"So you’re going to research it and see who’s right?" Mr. Cahill said.

"Umm, yeah something like that."

"Do you have an outline?" Aimee asked, sounding for all the world like Melissa’s parents. Aimee’s tone annoyed her--but her meek answer made her angrier at herself.

"Yes," she said.

"Well, maybe when you turn that in, she’ll give you your extra credit sheet," Christina said. She patted Melissa’s arm. "She probably had one for all the GT students."

Aimee shook her head. "Na-uh, not just GT. Erika got one."

Erika Biswan had the extra credit and she wasn’t even in GT? "Well, then I should definitely have one," Melissa said.

"What’s that supposed to mean?" snapped Aimee.

"Okay girls, let’s finish the math meet pages," Mr. Cahill said.

Melissa was still worried about the extra credit, but she bent over her sheet, appearing unconcerned. She felt Aimee’s eyes on her.

Mrs. Houston said she was meeting with people about their reports after recess. Melissa didn’t want to wait that long but Mrs. Houston shooed her out the door with the rest. Melissa barely felt the sun and heard the playground noise when someone grasped her and yanked her around.

She turned to face Erika Biswan with her hands on her hips and a frown. Aimee stood to Erika’s left with her arms folded. Eric, Joey, and Shane were behind her. Joey and Shane nudged one another, grinning and expectant.

"So I heard you said I was stupid," Erika said.

Melissa mentally flipped through the morning, unable to recall talking about Erika at all. "I did not!"

Joey and Shane laughed and smacked each others’ hands. "I know she would say that!" Joey said. Eric smiled. Aimee and Erika ignored them and kept staring at Melissa.

"So you’re not just a snitch, you’re a liar too, baby!" Erika reached out and gave Melissa’s shoulder a push. Joey, Shane and Eric responded with "Ooo!" Shane said he like watching girls try to fight.

Melissa knew Erika was referring to the hall running incident where she was accused by the same group. She couldn’t keep repeating herself: I did not! I am not! She would sound like Troy when he was losing a fight with Richard and Brian laughed at him. So she said simply. "Don’t push me."

She thought her voice sounded small and weak, but her statement was greeted with more hoots from the boys.

"Girl fight!" cried Joey.

Erika stepped closer. "I can do whatever I want. I heard what you said about me in the GT room," she said.

Melissa may not have gotten the extra credit but she was smart enough to know who told her about things in the GT room. She looked over at Aimee. "You’re the liar! I never said anything about Erika."

Aimee looked startled, but naturally said nothing. Erika stepped in front of her and pushed Melissa again. "Don’t talk to her! She doesn’t have to talk to you, Baby Snitch!"

Joey, Shane and Eric were beside themselves now. Shane called out for a two-handed shove. Erika complied.

"Stop it!" said Melissa

"Stop it!" Joey and Shane shrieked simultaneously mimicking her. Somewhere in the noise she heard Bobbie Mason yelling for Mrs. Houston and Aimee yelling at the boys. Melissa was going to have to do something soon. Erika was right in her face and the boys crowded around her, pushing past Aimee and Bobbie, who was trying to get to Melissa.

"What are you gonna do?" Erika said. She didn’t have to yell now--they were so close.

"Yeah, what are you going to do Melissa?" called one of the boys.

"Stop it Erika!" yelled Melissa.

"Stop it Erika!" cried the boys.

"Make me," said Erika.

"Leave her alone!" Bobbie yelled.

Erika’s next push knocked Melissa over and she sat down hard on the playground. Erika advanced as Melissa scrambled to get to her feet. She hardly remembered what happened next. "C’mon Baby Snit..."

Crack! Erika didn’t even get a chance to finish her sentence, for Melissa’s right hand shot out and met squarely with Erika’s cheek. The boys’ yelling got even louder, here was the show they were looking for.

To Melissa it seemed that she was standing in a vacuum and the next events were swirling around her. She stood and stared at Erika holding her cheek and watched the tears spring up in her eyes. Aimee seemed to have found her tongue; she began yelling at Melissa and trying to gently pry Erika’s hand from her cheek.

Melissa just shook her head. Bobbie managed to get through the crowd, suddenly the entire sixth grade seemed to be on the blacktop.

Melissa watched the next events as if they were on a movie screen; Mrs. Houston and two teachers came over, fingers of witnesses pointing back and forth at Erika and Melissa. Erika’s reddened cheek was examined and Eric, Joey and Shane made themselves scarce. Finally, she and Erika were hustled into two separate girls’ bathrooms.

Bobbie Mason, Sarah Coombly and a tall dark-haired girl named Christy that Melissa recognized from the other sixth grade were with Melissa. Her powers of speech returned as Bobbie and Sarah wet the rough brown school paper towels under cold water and handed them to her.

"She w...wouldn’t stop pushing me," she said.

"We know Melissa," Christy said, "we saw the whole thing."

Bobbie and Sarah nodded from either side of Melissa.

"She knocked me down. But I didn’t know I was going to hit her." Melissa looked one at time at each girl.

"You should’ve! I’d have hit her!" Christy said with much spirit. Melissa looked at her, a small smile escaped from behind the paper towels. Christy grinned and held up her fist. That gesture was more comforting to Melissa than Bobbie and Sarah’s gentle pats on the arm and soothing voices. They made her want to cry.

Jennifer Kyle came in from Mrs. Houston’s class. "Mrs. Houston wants you and Erika and them right now," she said.

"Oh boy." Melissa had her face back in the towel.

Bobbie and Sarah started up again. "Don’t worry Melissa, they’re probably in more trouble," Bobbie said.

"Yeah. Erika started it anyway," Christy added.

Melissa nodded, took the towel away from her face and threw it in the trash. "Okay," she said.

Bobbie, Sarah and Christy walked with her to the door of the classroom. She took one last look at them as she went in the door.

"Melissa, come in and sit down please," said Mrs. Houston.

Erika was there, sitting next to Mrs. Houston’s desk. Eric, Joey, and Shane were scattered at their desks, each writing something down on a piece of paper. At the front of the room on the chalkboard was written, "I will not contribute to fights in the playground."

Melissa walked over and sat down in the chair Mrs. Houston was pointing at. Erika looked at the floor, the red mark from Melissa’s hand fading. Melissa sat down and also looked at her feet. It seemed like a good thing to do.

Mrs. Houston stood behind her desk. After what seemed like a very long time she spoke.

"First I want to talk about what happened on the playground. Erika, why did you yell at and push Melissa?"

"She said I was stupid," Erika mumbled.

"Did you hear Melissa say that exactly?"

Erika shook her head.

Since you didn’t know whether or not Melissa actually said that, what do you think you should have done instead of yelling and pushing people down?"

There was silence. Finally, Erika lifted her shoulders.

"You don’t know?" Mrs. Houston asked.

"No."

"Do you think you should have asked Melissa if she made that remark and if she did, ask her why?"

Erika lifted her head. "But Mrs. Houston, Aimee told me that Melissa said I was dumb in the GT room."

"Perhaps you should have found out for yourself instead of yelling and pushing. Mr. Cahill said that Melissa said nothing of the kind."

Erika was quiet.

"Don’t you think so?"

Glumly: "Yes."

Mrs. Houston turned to Melissa. "Melissa could you think of better way you could have responded to Erika besides hitting?"

"Not hit," Melissa answered. That seemed safe.

"What else?"

Melissa shrugged. "Walk away."

"That’s right. Girls, remember you are sixth graders, you set an example for the younger children in this school. Do you think it’s right for them to see you pushing and slapping people or talking out a disagreement?"

"Talk," Erika mumbled.

"Talk," Melissa repeated, holding in a disgusted sigh. What planet did teachers live on anyway?

"That’s right. In addition to your homework I want you each to write me two paragraphs on why we shouldn’t fight in school. Please take your seats."

The rest of the class filed in. They took in Erika and Melissa’s faces and the words on the board the boys were copying. A low level buzz filled the room. Melissa kept in her head down, all her concentration on her extra assignment.

For the rest of the day she said nothing and didn’t look up. Not even when Mrs. Houston called Aimee out of the room during quiet reading. Or when she heard Joey, Shane and Eric joking with their friends that ‘nobody better mess with Melissa’.

Mrs. Houston didn’t call on her. The extra credit was never mentioned.