The incident from Mrs. Demonbreun's class passed without preamble. But it wasn't the end of our worries. It wasn't the first incident and we knew damn well it wouldn't be the last.

That same afternoon I headed to Heather's car with Corey Kittrell. I've actually known Corey longer than I have any of the other girls. We went to preschool together in Johnstown and somehow both our families wound up here in Altoona. His mother and mine belonged to the International Wives Club years ago. It was mainly just some sort of social club where middle aged women got together and did many activities together including gossiping, talking about their husbands, and shopping. There was nothing "international" about it, just a bunch of upper class WASPs who thought they were better than everyone. My mother obviously didn't fit in with them so she quit. Corey's mother still belonged and occasionally badgered my mom into rejoining.

But anyhow, Corey was somewhat of my best guy friend. He wasn't a part of my little circle of friends but they all knew him. He came out gay in the seventh grade and has been ostracized even more than he already was because of it. But like Heather, I didn't abandon my good old friend. We still hung out. On that particular day, he'd invited himself over to my house and on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays Heather was my ride home. Heather was a tad bit homophobic herself and hadn't really warmed up to the idea of Corey riding in her car but she'd get over it. He was my friend.

I tried to keep up with his long, gangly legs. He sort of reminded me of a male version of Heather actually. They were both the exact same height, blond, blue eyed, and thin. But Corey wasn't all too attractive. More average looking whereas Heather was drop dead gorgeous. Just like anyone else walking with Corey Kittrell, I had to endure the shouts and catcalls.

One kid leaned out the window of a nearby bus. "Hey faggot!" Seconds later we were squirted with cold water. He gave me a sad smile but kept walking. I wrapped my arm around his to show my support and followed him.

Out of nowhere Dallas Tenpenny showed up and blocked our way. Our attempts to move around him failed as another one of his cronies showed up and leered at us.

Dallas bore his gaze into mine. Refusing to give in, I pinned him with my ever so famous glare. Moments later he held his hands up in defeat. Glancing over at Corey his whistled.

"Damn, Nadia. I know you can do better than your fairy friend over here."

"Don't call me that," Corey grumbled.

Dallas ignored him and stepped closer to me. "Why don't you let a real man escort you home." He held a hand out to me. The three of us just stood there silent for about a minute. Seriously. All we did was breathe. I stood my ground as I saw Dallas's gaze go cold. "Have it your way, bitch."

I knew better than to think he was actually making a pass at me. His intent was to just make me uncomfortable and offend Corey. He brushed passed me but not without roughly tapping my bottom with the palm of his hand. His friend grabbed my belt loop and tugged me with him a few feet before letting out a huge guffaw and releasing me. I took Corey's arm again and led him to Heather's car.

"This bullshit has got to stop," I mumbled, talking more to myself than him. I was more than angry. I was pissed. I felt like a piece of meat thrown to the lions every time I came to school. It wasn't supposed to be that way.

Heather was already inside her new Accord when we reached it. I hopped in the passenger seat without a word. "Hey Heather," Corey greeted. She pointedly ignored him. Normally I would have chided her for being rude but I was too involved in my own problems with the assholes of this school. Heather started chatting away about some shit that happened during her chemistry class but I simply didn't care. I didn't even bother to feign interest. I leaned against the window and moped.

I found a strange car in our front lawn after Corey and I were dropped off. It was a small black Camry with torn leather seats. The hell...? My brother Colin was inside with a duffle bag slung over his shoulder.

He grinned wildly. "Fall break, bitches!" He nodded in Corey's direction. I groaned. My day couldn't get worse. I thought that when Colin transferred to NYU this semester I'd never see his ass again. He'd just left two months earlier. It was too soon. "Did you steal that Camry in the grass?"

"The hell I did. I bought it."

"You bastard. What possessed you to park it in the front lawn?"

He lit a cigarette. I pulled Corey up to my room. My parents didn't worry about having him in there because of course, he was gay. He wouldn't make a pass at me. He plopped himself on my bed and gazed up at me with his big droopy eyes. "So. Does Dallas have it in for you?"

I tried avoiding my family at all costs. I had no need to explain why I avoided Colin. He was my older, twenty-year-old brother. Of course I didn't like him. He was loud and obnoxious and very embarrassing, even more so than my parents. I started to believe in God when he transferred from Penn State to NYU. Now all I had to do was wait for Ciana to leave. Of course, she was only thirteen but she had the maturity of a thirty-year-old. She was the one who gave me the birds and the bees talk when I was eleven.

And she was only eight.

Pathetic, I know. Couldn't stand her smart alecky self. She thought she was better than me and spoke down to me like I was some kind of low life imbecile. I got along better with a sheet of paper. My parents were parents. Just like everyone else's: annoying and wrapped up in their own lives. So I basically lived on my own. That's why my friends were very important to me. I lose my friends, I die. Since we weren't allowed to eat dinner in our rooms, I had to endure thirty minutes in the presence of these four people called my family. Corey had excused himself and left minutes earlier. Colin went on and on about NYU and how much ass he was able to get there compared to here.

"Ya know, now that I'm living in New York, I realize now how sheltered I was in here in PA. There's a whole other world out there, you guys."

Mom ran her hand through his hair. "Oh, I'm so proud of you, Colin." He showed us his mug shot from when he was arrested several weeks earlier. What a dud.

"You look high," Ciana commented.

"I was high." He looked at me. "New York, milady. New York. God, I missed you all."

It took every ounce of power in my body to keep from flinging my fork at him. After who knows how long of everyone falling all over Colin, I had to watch him wolf down his food. It was disgusting. I noticed that he'd gained a little bit of weight. "They not feeding you up there in the Big Apple?" I ventured sarcastically. Ciana poked his rounding belly. My folks laughed like it was the cutest thing in the world. Colin smirked. "That is gonna turn into muscle. You just wait."

I rolled my eyes. As arrogant as ever. Boys. No, Colin wasn't a man; he was a boy, twenty-years-old or not. He may not look like one with his shaggy hair and scraggly beard. It looked as if he hadn't shaved in a couple days but it made him look older. Beneath the facial hair and the wild locks, was a baby face. Like the rest of us he had small brown eyes but that whole combination gave him a certain boyish appeal that teen-aged girls and middle aged women went crazy over. The tomato sauce in the corners of his mouth made him seem younger today. Maybe I should actually give this guy a chance.

He burped and flicked his nose bringing another smile to my parents' faces. Never mind. After a couple more minutes Mom announced that my cousin Will was coming back from Iraq. Apparently he'd been injured by a bomb and had shrapnel imbedded all over his body. Will's father was Mom's older brother by several years and he lived with his wife in suburban Chicago. My uncle Bill had nine kids with Hilary (yes, Bill and Hilary..I found that so damn funny). Their youngest, Katrina was exactly my age, starting her junior year in school. When things got pretty hellish at home I always threatened to go move in with her and turn into a pot smoking hippie. That girl was pretty cool.

My dad grunted. "I knew Will shouldn't have joined the army."

"It pays for college tuition," Ciana added. "Maybe Nadia should join." She snickered. Colin choked on...whatever the hell was in his mouth. "Nadia? In the army? I'd join just to see how she would put out."

"Put out?" I bleated.

Mom made a sound of distress. "Please. Guys. William is hurt." Ciana nodded sagely. "I think we should go see him."

My mom brightened up. "That's a good idea. Randy." She looked at my dad. He shrugged and gave another soft grunt. "I don't see why not." Colin smacked the table. "Can I drive?"

"Hell, you ain't comin," I cut in.

Mom raised a silencing hand. "Nadia. Language. And Colin, we are not driving. We are taking a plane. Drive to Illinois? Who heard of such a thing?"

I know right. I was not about to spend two days in a car with these people. I supported the plane idea 110 percent. But I didn't want to mention that the last time the Hazletts visited us a couple years ago, they had driven the whole way. At that time only their two youngest kids were living at home: Katrina and AK, who just started her freshman year at Northwestern. Both girls had emerged from their minivan moaning and groaning about the hellish trip and swore that they'd rather drain their bank account by buying a plane ticket than do it again. So dad immediately went online to buy our tickets. We were spending Christmas break with them in Glen Ellyn. The whole family would be home then. All nine children with their respective spouses and children. It was going to be awesome. Unfortunately Colin was going to be with us, but I could just as easily avoid him that whole week. Already I was looking forward to it.

"X-mas in Illinois, huh?" I called Georgie later that night and told her about our plans. I'd already informed her about the incident with Ramona and she was furious. Not that we'd do anything about it. We didn't want that Keith jerk to turn on us next. And who knew what was to happen? The junior boys at Brush Mountain High School had a problem. "Take me with you," I heard Georgie say. Jerking back to the present, I focused on our phone conversation.

"What?"

"To Illinois. Girl, I never leave the state. All my family lives here. I'm bored."

"Uhhh I dunno if my parents want you to come. This is a family thing."

"Damn you."

"What do you think is going to happen tomorrow?" I immediately changed the subject.

My best friend went silent on the other end.

A/N: Thanks to AMillionMilesTooClose for the reviews so far.