Melissa jogged down the stairs, pulling her limp, fried black hair into a ponytail. Her sneakers slapped against the wooden stairs as she approached the bottom, and she dropped her hands down, picking up both the backpack off the floor and the keys off the table as she ran by.

“Mel! Wait!” She slid to a halt at the front door, her hand grasping tightly onto the knob.

“What is it, Daddy? I’m gonna be late!” He walked out, and held out an envelope.

“Drop this off in the mailbox on your way to school. I’ll call and let them know you’re on your way, your car wasn’t starting up.” She smiled, and kissed his cheek.

“Thanks, Daddy,” she said, and ran out door, tossing her back in the backseat of the black convertible. She dropped into the driver’s seat, and closed her door, buckling herself in as she started the car. He watched her peel out of the driveway, and tear off down the street. Shaking his head, he closed the door, and walked back into the kitchen.

Melissa shoved her locker closed, and slid her glasses on, hurrying down the hall as she pushed the tiny headphone into her left ear, letting her hair fall to cover it. She slid into the classroom, and dropped into her desk as the bell rang.

“Just in time, Miss Cahntolli,” the teacher said, setting his glasses on the desk as he stood. Melissa sighed.

“Sir, it’s Cintelli…” He nodded.

“Sorry, Miss Cahntolli.” She groaned, but rolled her eyes, ignoring it.

“That’s fine, Mr. Eedawardes…”

“It’s Mr. Edwards…”

“Of course, Mr. Eedawardes…” He raised an eyebrow.

“Are you getting smart with me?”

“No, sir, of course not…”

“Good, because if you are…”

“I know…a detention…or worse! A suspension!” He nodded, not hearing the sarcasm in her voice. Mr. Edwards picked the papers up off his desk, and walked around the room, setting one paper on each desk.

“Your test is today, and though I do hope you remembered to study,” he began, hearing half the class groan, “it’s your own fault if you didn’t because you still have to take the test.” Melissa nodded her head, turning her test a bit on her desk and signing her name on the top of the paper.

She bit down on the end of her blue pen, staring at her test.

Which war came first? A. The American Revolution. B. The War of 1812. C. The Civil War. D. World War I…I don’t fuckin’ know, Melissa thought to herself, struggling to remember what Mr. Edwards had told them the week before. She shrugged, and lifted her eyes, looking into the left side of her glasses to see if she could spot the reflection of the answer on the test behind her. After a minute, she smiled slightly, and jotted down the letter A. She flipped thru the rest of the test, answering what she knew, copying down letters from the test behind her on ones she didn’t know. Standing, she walked to the front of the room, placing the test on Mr. Edwards desk. He caught her eye, and stared at her, holding her at the front of his desk for only a minute before blinking. She went back, and sat, moving a bit in her seat.

She closed her locker, and jumped. Mr. Edwards stood, looking at her.

“Mr. Edwards, you surprised me…can I help you?”

“Were you trying to cheat on that test today?” She raised an eyebrow.

‘What? Of course not…I don’t cheat, sir…Never have…” He nodded, skeptically, and started to walk away. She started towards the front doors, casting a glance at the clock as it clicked over to 3:14, but felt his hand grab her elbow. Melissa looked back at him.

“If you have cheated, Melissa, mark my words, I will find out. Oh, yes, I will find out.” She nodded, and jogged out of the building.

“Psycho,” she muttered, pulling the little headphone out of her ear and jamming it into her pocket. She shot one last look over her shoulder, and saw Mr. Edwards still watching her thin yet lightly built body bouncing down the steps. She speeded up, eyebrows knitted together, and raced around the building to the parking lot, to her car.

Melissa climbed up the front steps, and unlocked the door, stepping inside. As she locked the door, she heard a faint beeping sound coming from the dining room. She sighed, shaking her head, and turned, trudging into the next room.

“Must be dad…” she muttered, flipping on the lamp next to the table. She looked down at the blinking light on the answering machine, and pushed the button right next to it.

“You have one new message. Time: 2:57 P.M….” She rolled her eyes.

“I hate that voice,” she grumbled.

“Melissa? It’s Dad…” She crossed the room, picking up the TV remote off the entertainment center, and tossing it to the couch. Melissa headed into the kitchen, still listening, but rolling her eyes.

“Knew it…”

“Honey, listen, I’m really sorry about this. I won’t be home tonight for dinner…or tomorrow for lunch, actually…I just got off a plane, but I can’t tell you where I am…’cause, actually, I’m not entirely sure. Listen, there’s money in the coffee can under the sink in case of emergencies, and if you wanna order a pizza or something. Remember to lock the doors and windows before you go to sleep, and set the alarm, too. I’ll be home sometime around dinnertime tomorrow, but I’ll call you when I’m on my way home, so you aren’t surprised when I show up. Love you, Melissa…” She heard the beep, and walked back into the dining room, pressing “Erase” on the machine.

“No new messages…” the voice said. She sighed, and clicked on the TV as she walked back to the kitchen.

“Pizza, eh? Sounds good to me…” She dropped onto her knee, opening the cupboard beneath the sink. Before she could pull out the coffee can, the phone rang. “Damnit…” She stood, and walked over to the phone, lifting it off the hook. “What?”

“Mel?” She smiled faintly.

“Oh, hey Josh. What’s up?”

“I got my report card…”

“And?” she asked, pulling open the fridge and moving things around, trying to find a drink.

“I got a D in History! Can you believe that?”

“What?” she asked, standing up with a Pepsi in her hand.

“Yeah! I thought I’d done all my work, but it says right here, ‘Missing Assignments!’ What could I be missing?” She sighed, and set the unopened can back in the fridge.

“You want me to find out for you?”

“Please?”

“You’re my boy, Josh, course I will…” He laughed.

“Kay…”

“Alright…I’ll get in touch with you when I get there,” she said, and hung up, setting the phone on the table.

She pressed herself flat against the wall, and looked around for signs of life. In seeing none, she turned, and carefully pulled open the window near her with her gloved hands. After a second of hesitation, she climbed inside, and pulled the window nearly closed. Looking around the darkened classroom, Melissa saw the faint glow coming from the monitor of the computer in the corner. She shook her head.

“Mr. Edwards, they keep telling you to shut off your computer when you leave…” she whispered, smirking. She crossed the room, and looked around. No sign of anyone. She pulled out her little walkie-talkie, and pushed a button. “Josh?”

“You there?”

“Yep, I’m in…” Sitting in the chair, she shook the mouse, and found a screen reading, “Password please…” “Damnit,” she muttered.

“What?”

“Need a password…”

“What’s the screen name?”

“Uh…EdwardsEmilia-sevenfortythree,” she said, reading the screen.

“Ooookay…whatever….”

“Oh, I know…it’s threefortyseven-EmiliaEdwards,” she said, typing it in.

“You’re a genius, Melissa.”

“I know, I know,” she smiled. She brought up a grade screen, and skimmed it for Josh’s name. When she found it, she pulled up his grade sheet, and looked for the blank spots.

“What’s missing?”

“Wow…You have quite a few things missing…I’m just gonna print it off for you, okay?”

“Yeah, that’s good…Thanks, Mel.”

“Welcome, Josh…” She clicked on one of the buttons on the top of the screen, and printed it off, hearing only the soft hum of the printer in the corner as it warmed up and printed it off. She shut down the grade screens, and did a quick check, deleting all traces of her doing this. Then she paused. Quickly, she brought the screen up again, and printed off one for all the other students in her grade, deleted the traces, and closed the grade screens. After logging out, she grabbed up all the papers out of the printer, put the chair back exactly where it had been, and climbed out the window.

As she jammed the papers into the little bag she had over her shoulder, she heard a voice behind her call out, “What do you think your doing?!” She widened her eyes, and looked into the glasses she wore. Mr. Edwards stood about ten feet behind her.

“Shit…” she hissed, and took off running the opposite direction of him.

“Hey! Get back here!!” he screamed. She sprinted into the trees behind the school, and darted around in the darkness, trying to lose him. Finally she emerged from the trees, in someone’s backyard. After a few seconds, she shrugged, and ran up to the back door, pushing it open, and closing it, right before Mr. Edwards raced out of the trees. “I will find you!” She took a deep breath, her head dropped against the door.

“Mel?” She looked up as a somewhat tall blonde boy walked into the room, eyebrows knitted together.

“Hey, Josh…”

“What’re you doin’ here?” She stood up straight, and pulled his paper out of her bag.

“Edwards almost caught me, Josh. Be grateful.” He skimmed it, and nodded.

“Thanks, much, Mel. I owe you…” She held out her hand.

“Ten bucks…”

“What?” he asked, eyes wide.

“Usually its thirty-five per person, but since you’re my buddy, I’m bein’ nice.” Sighing, Josh pulled a ten dollar bill out of his pocket, and jammed it into her hand.

“Fine.”

“Thanks much.” She started to the front door, but stopped, and turned around. “Uh…Josh?”

“What?” he asked, jamming the paper into his pocket.

“Would you mind giving me a ride home?” she asked sweetly, batting her eyes at him. He grumbled, but shook his head.

“Come on, let’s go.”

She waved to him from the front door, and locked it as she closed it behind her. Turning, she set the alarm, and flipped on the light. She stopped, and took a deep breath.

“Now…Dinner…” She crossed the room, and lifted up the phone.

“Pizza Villa…This is Jerry, how can I help you?” She smiled to herself.

“Hey, Jerry. It’s Melissa…” There was a slight pause on the other end, and she shook her head, going into the kitchen, and grabbing a cold can of Pepsi from the fridge.

“Oh! Hey, Mel. What’s up?”

“Wanna order a pizza, buddy.” She dropped into a chair on the kitchen table, and crossed her legs.

“Oh, yeah, sure…mm…what kind of pizza do you want?”

“Pepperoni…and lemme ask you something,” she stated, standing and pulling the coffee can out from under the sink.

“Shoot…”

“When do you get off?” He paused.

“Well…thirty minutes. I’m gonna make your pizza and bring it to you, and then I’m goin’ home…why?”

“Wanna come over for a while? My dad’s out, I figure we can watch a movie, and hang out…It is Friday,” she said, sitting back down and rifling thru the can for money.

“Uh…well…yeah, sure, why not?” She smiled.

“Cool. See you then, okay?”

“Yep…And, listen, I’ll pay for your pizza, so long as you pay me back.”

“No problem, Jerry.”

“Kay. See you in a while.” They hung up, and she pulled out a twenty, pushing the can back under the sink and heading into the living room to wait.