"Your father has already called," Julia said when Melissa met her at the car.

"Oh," Melissa said carefully, "Did they ask about me?"

"He wanted to know if you had the math meet workbook or something."

"Man," sighed Melissa as they fastened themselves in, "I forgot to bring that book one time and now he has to ask everytime we go to math meet."

As they backed out of the driveway, Julia chuckled. "I know the feeling," she said.

Melissa couldn't possibly see how Julia would know about George's nagging without being one of his kids, but she didn't say anything.

George and Heather, like most parents about important things, were completely dense about why Melissa didn't want to join the math meet team at Edwards Elementary at first.

"They're the best team in the county, Melissa. We don't understand why you don't want to join."

Of course they didn't. The fact that Edwards was the best team was the whole reason Melissa didn't want to join. She didn't want to join because everyone hated the Edwards team. They won too much.

What Melissa called Math Meet was actually a part of the gifted program; a series called College Bound. It gathered students in a number of activities where were ideally supposed to help them score high on a test they were going to take in high school called the SAT. Part of this program was gathering all the students into groups from their elementary schools and having them solve all kinds of math and logic problems for points. A lot of kids thought this was a dumb way to spend one Saturday morning a month, but Melissa thought it was sort of fun. At least it was, back with her old team at Concord Elementary with her old friends. Their goal every month was to beat the obnoxious team from Edwards, which had been the best overall team for two years, a year before Melissa got into GT.

Concord had come close last year, when Melissa was in the fourth grade; they lost by only two points, and the Edwards team jumped up and screamed really loud. Mrs. Randall, Concord's team advisor last year, said that Edwards only cheered so loud because they were worried; no other team had gotten that close to them in two years. But that barely made anyone feel better as they had to watch the Edwards team give each other high fives around the table, especially since Mrs. Randall, who was big on sportsmanship, made them go shake their hands.

At the start of the school year, no one on the Concord Team had forgotten those cheers and they were rallying the battle cry anew, "Beat those jerks at Edwards!" they hissed when Mrs. Randall was out of earshot. And now here was Melissa, one of the Edwards jerks. But her parents said she couldn't drop out of Math Meet.

"Oh honey, if they're really your friends, they wont mind what team you're on," said Heather. But Melissa knew better. When she tried to wave to her old Concord team, only a couple of them waved back halfheartedly.

"Have you gone up and tried to talk to them?" asked George.

"No," Melissa admitted. They hadn't really looked like they wanted to talk to her.

"Well, maybe they think you don't want to talk to them," said George, "you have to go up and show them that you haven't changed just because you're on a different team."

"I haven't changed," Melissa said. She still hated the Edwards team, just for different reason. She had to admit that they were good, very fast at solving all of the problems, but unlike Mrs. Houston's class, no one ever bothered her in Math Meet, in fact people sometimes said, "Good job." But Melissa still didn't like it.

At least on Saturdays Aimee's main focus was something other than bothering with Melissa. Aimee, who had been on the Edwards team for its past two undefeated years, was so set on Edwards staying number one for her last year in Math Meet that as long as Edwards was staying ahead of everyone she wasn't mean at all, even towards Melissa.

The truth was, Melissa was part of the reason that Concord nearly beat Edwards last year, so her addition went a long way to keeping Edwards' number one spot safe. Aimee recognized that, and at least in Math Meet Melissa never heard the name Baby Snitch.

After the ride back to school and the note exchange after the GT field trip, Mr. Cahill made Aimee and Melissa research partners in GT class. One day Aimee asked Melissa about Brian and Melissa found herself talking about all of the warning signs with her.

To her surprise, Aimee didn't make fun of her at all. She simply said gravely, "You better watch him Melissa."

They talked off and on at math meet and GT class after that. Melissa knew that people made fun of Aimee for talking to her. "She's my research partner, I have to talk to her," she heard Aimee tell Erika once.

Melissa knew she should probably care that Aimee pretended they weren't friends outside of GT class, but on the other hand, it was funny that Erika thought she was so hot and meanwhile her best friend was talking to her, Melissa, the girl she hated most.

The morning after Danny's party, Melissa walked straight over to Aimee at the Edwards table. "Guess what Brian did last night?" she asked

Aimee looked up. "What?" she answered quickly, sounding almost like Diana when she talked to Pat.

"Brian and Pat snuck out to a party last night when they were supposed to be babysitting us. Brian came home drunk and they had to leave our car at the party and walk home. That's two more warning signs, Aimee, drugs and tasking risks," Melissa sat down at the table with a dramatic pause.

"Well, when are you going to have the confrontation?" Aimee asked, easily using a word from Melissa's own research that she herself had not been able to work into conversation yet.

"I don't know," said Melissa, sighing. "Everytime I think he's really in trouble he goes back and acts normal again. "

"That's what they do," said Aimee.

"I know, I know…"

"Melissa, how many more warning signs is he going to have to show before you do something?"

"I know, but then other times he does something jerky and I don't feel like it."

"Don't feel like it?" asked Aimee. "People say mean things to you at school everyday and you don't care about that, what's the difference?"

Melissa stared at her. Did Aimee, supposedly the smartest girl in class --at least before her, Melissa, now they were probably in a tie -- really think the name-calling and the whole class ganging up didn't matter to her?

"What?" was all she could say.

Then math meet started and they couldn't talk anymore. Melissa kept to herself during the break, but as they were leaving she caught up to Aimee and said, "I never said I didn't care what people said about me. I hate people who are mean to people for no reason," she said.

"Well….duh," said Aimee. She turned quickly and hurried away to her parents' car. Melissa stood watching her with satisfaction, pleased that she had put Aimee at a loss for words.

She was surprised to Julia out front waiting for her instead of one of her parents. Although, she was pleased to the passenger door open and Andie's head pop up over the roof of the car.

"Hi Melissa!" she called, waving.

Melissa waved as she started towards the car. On her way she saw a group from her old Concord team waiting for their own rides. She paused with an uncertain hello, feeling that she would be walking by too closely to pretend she didn't see them.

"Hi," said a girl named Julie. The others were quiet.

There was an awkward pause. Melissa searched for something say, knowing that Julia hated to be kept waiting. "Well, good luck this year, you guys."

"I guess you think we'll need it now that you're on their team, huh?" asked a boy named Chris.

"That's not what I said…"

"You meant it though, right?"

"No I…"

"Beat Edwards Jerks." Someone hissed. People started snickering and Melissa walked away.

She nearly ran into Andie, who had gotten out of the car and was walking to meet her. Melissa was vaguely annoyed that Andie hadn't waited in the car and hence, had heard the whole exchange with the Concord team. Melissa knew Andie would ask about it.

Sure enough. "What was that about? Who were they?" Andie asked loud enough for the Concord team to hear.

"Nothing, c'mon," Melissa said. She dragged Andie towards Julia's car, vowing silently to never take her father's advice about social things again. Walking up to people may have worked in olden times, like it did on those black and white TV shows from when her parents were kids, but it had failed Melissa miserably in living modern day color.

"Hi Julia, why are you here?" asked Melissa as she slid into the car behind her. Andie had shouted "Shotgun!" and ran around to the front.

"Because you can't drive," said Julia.

"I know thaaat," Melissa said. Sometimes Julia teased them just like Brian and Pat did. "Mom and Dad aren't home yet?"

"Oh they're home," said Julia, "but no one else was, so they had to stay behind and find out what you all were up to last night, since no one wanted to tell me the truth."

"Somebody's in trouble…" Andie chimed from the front seat.

"Who?" said Melissa, worried.

"All your brothers and sisters. When your parents got back nobody was there, so they came over to our house," answered Andie.

"Apparently the car wasn't there either, do you know anything about that?" said Julia. They were stopped at a light, and Julia looked back at Melissa in the rearview mirror.

Melissa shrugged. "How should I know? They don't tell me what's going on. They go, 'Melissa, you're too young, go to bed. You're bothering us, go away!' So I let them get in trouble."

"Well, I thought as much," said Julia. The light changed and she drove on.

Melissa settled back in seat, relieved. Being in trouble with the aunts took longer to get out of that being in trouble at home. If the aunts got mad at you, then your parents were automatically mad at you for making them look bad or whatever-it turned into a big mess. She wondered if her cousins went through the same thing. She reminded herself to ask Andie sometime.

"They're probably getting yelled at; you should just come over to our house until your parents come and get you," said Andie.

"Can I stay at your house, Julia?" asked Melissa.

"That's fine, just call home when we get there," said Julia. Melissa nodded and Andie grinned back at her.

Unfortunately, Melissa forgot all about calling home once she and Andie settled at the kitchen table with some snacks. Talking to her cousin wasn't like talking to anyone else; Andie got Melissa to talk about a lot of things, Andie's school, which was Melissa's old school, their brothers and sisters, even hair and makeup. It would have amazed anyone who thought all Melissa could talk about was school. Then they heard a knock on the Aaron's door and George's voice.

Melissa couldn't make out what he was saying, but then she heard her aunt say, "Of course she's here; you ordered me to go pick her up."

Andie, her finger to her lips, pulled Melissa out of her kitchen chair and towards the door.

They heard George saying, "I did not order you to pick up Melissa. I thought it was the least you could do."

"The least I could do? And what is that supposed to mean, George?"

"It means you could have told me what was going on last night, instead of letting us come home to a disaster."

"I told you everything I knew."

"I'm not getting into this with you," George said quietly. "Where is Melissa?"

"Upstairs."

Melissa beckoned to Andie and they met George halfway up the stairs.

"C'mon Melissa," George said, "we're going home."

"I want to stay with Andie," Melissa said.

"Please George, can she stay here?" asked Andie.

"Melissa has to go home," said Julia. "So her father can find out what else I did wrong."

George turned back to look at Julia. "Not now," he said.

"I'm not one of your children," Julia answered.

"Well then don't act like it," said George.

"I don't; I tell the truth."

Melissa and Andie paused on the stairs, uncertain.

"C'mon Melissa, let's go."

Melissa and Andie meekly waved to each other and Melissa walked down the stairs after her father.

"'Bye Julia," she said.

"Bye bye Melissa, you can come over anytime you like," she said before she closed the door.

"I'm sorry I forgot to call when I came over there," Melissa said as they left.

"Don't worry about it," George said. He started walking across the street so fast Melissa could hardly keep up.

"Are you mad?" Melissa asked.

"Not at you," George said. He turned and looked at her. "What did you know about last night?"

"Umm…well," Melissa said as they walked up the Coppenhagen's lawn, "they didn't really tell me a lot; they just didn't bring the car home. "

"In the future Melissa, when you see things going on that you know your mother and I don't approve of you have to tell an adult." They were paused on the front stoop.

"But Dad, that's being a tattletale. They already don't like me," Melissa said in a small voice.

"You know that's not true, plus that's not the point, when your brother and sisters are doing something dangerous an adult needs to know. They won't stay mad at you."

Yeah right, Melissa thought as they went in. Typical that she was in trouble for something the other four did.

She and George walked through the foyer and into the house. They came upon a grim scene in the living room. Brian, Pat, Troy and Yolanda were all lined up on the couch in front of Heather, who was frowning. No one was talking.

"She was over at Julia's," George said.

"Melissa, you know you're supposed to call if you don't come straight home from school, math meet or anywhere else," Heather said.

"I know, but I thought that you knew…"

"Nevermind, go upstairs, we'll talk to you later," Heather said.

"Why am I in trouble?" Melissa said.

"Melissa, upstairs, now."

With a frown towards her brothers and sisters, Melissa went.