Arthur

The New Girl

Original Name: Melina Saramaku Tatakashi

Cover Name: May Maruka Akatsuki

Adoptive Name: May Read

Age: 7 ½, going on 8

Abilities: Morphing, Being able to see and hear Nadine and understand Babies, Animals and Toys

Attitude: Outgoing, Shy and Determined

Friends: Arthur, D.W., Mr. and Mrs. Read, Kate, Grandma Thora, Grandpa Dave, Pal, Nadine, Buster, Francine, The Brain, Sue Ellen, Muffy, Binky, Mei—Lin, Prunella, Jenna, Vecita, Alberto, Amigo, Bubby, etc.

Secret Agency Protection: C.R.U. Children Relocation Unit

Intro Episode: The New Girl

Weapon: My Whole Body

Epilogue

Oh, hello. It's me, Arthur. I'm on a plan right now. Have you ever wondered how much someone on a plane can effect your life? Like, maybe that large man in seat 403 will be a professional wrestler called The Boulder. Or that four-year-old boy in seat 234. Maybe he'll grow up to be the world's next Einstein. Or even that girl in seat 102, who keeps looking out the window sadly. She might have more of an impact on someone's life than anyone else on this planet. Maybe she'll even be— Excuse me? Huh? What? If you don't mind, Arthur, it's time to start the story. Everyone will know who I am in a short while. Oh, sorry. I shouldn't have taken so much time. Anyway, enjoy the story.

The New Girl

It was snowing lightly. All of Elwood City was covered under a blanket of white snow. Unusual weather for summer, but no one was complaining. Arthur, Buster and Francine were sledding down the slopes.

'Yeah!' Francine yelled, speeding down the slope.

'Yahoo!' Arthur yelled, right behind her.

'Yeeha!' Buster yelled, right behind him.

'You guys will never catch me!' Francine called, turning around to look back at Arthur and Buster.

'Yeah!' they yelled, grinning.

'Oh!' Buster cried, hitting a bump, his sled toppling over.

Francine gasped, Arthur getting up to her. They hit the hedge of the bottom of the slope, Francine touching it first by a second.

'I won! I won!' Arthur cried, punching his fists in the air.

'Did not,' Francine said, frowning and turning to look back up the slope. 'Buster, who won?'

'Hey, guys,' Buster called down, pointing to the distance. 'Look, moving—van.'

He got back on his sled and slid down the slope to where they were.

'I wonder who it could be,' Francine said, watching as the truck turned down a street.

'Their heading for the street where my Grandma lives,' Arthur said. 'Come on, let's go see.'

They ran, heading down the street. They saw the truck stop.

'Arthur,' Francine said, surprised. 'It stopped next to your Grandma's house.'

'Yeah,' Arthur said, surprised himself. 'I wonder why.'

'I wonder if they have any kids,' Buster said.

One of the movers, a duck—like man wearing overalls, took a red bike with ribbons on the handlebars out of the truck.

'Well, at least one kid,' Francine said, shrugging.

'Come, let's go see who they are,' Arthur said, heading towards the truck.

'Just put those boxes in the backroom,' Grandma Read told the movers.

'Hey, Grandma,' Arthur said, as he, Buster and Francine ran up to her.

'Oh, hello, Arthur,' Grandma said, turning as they stopped in front of her.

'Grandma, why are these movers putting all these things in your house?' Arthur asked as one of the movers walked passed him, carrying a box marked 'Clothes'.

'Oh,' Grandma said, smiling. 'I'm expecting a guest.'

'A kid guest?' Francine asked.

'Well, yes,' Grandma said, nodding. 'I'm expecting a girl, about your age, kids.'

They looked at each other.

'I signed up for an agency that takes care of children from other countries,' Grandma said, smiling. 'I'm expecting her tomorrow from Japan.'

The next morning, Arthur and Buster returned, watching Grandma's house from the hill. A black car pulled up the front of Grandma's house. Arthur and Buster looked through some binoculars. A man stepped out of the driver's side. He had flat black hair. He was wearing a black suit and tinted glasses.

'Who's that?' Buster said, frowning through his binoculars.

A bird pooped on his head.

'Hey!' Buster said angrily, looking up.

The bird chirped and flew away.

'Hey, get back here!' Buster said angrily, shaking his fist at it.

Arthur was looking through his binoculars. The man in the black suit looked around, as if making sure no one was watching. Then he opened the back passenger door and a girl stepped out. It was me. I had brown hair and blue eyes. I was wearing a red shirt with very light—gray sleeves and a blue skirt.

'Who's that?' Arthur asked, frowning.

'Who?' Buster asked, turning.

Arthur watched through binoculars. The man led me to the front door, knocking twice. Grandma opened the door. When she saw me, she smiled. She bent down. Arthur was able to tell that she was saying hello. I seemed to be acting really shy. Buster put his binoculars to his eyes again. The man said something to Grandma. She nodded, stepping back to let us in. We walked in and she closed the door.

'Whoa,' Arthur and Buster said, looking at each other.

'It was like he was guarding her, or something,' Buster said, later that day at the Sugar Bowl. 'He must have been making sure they wouldn't get captured and taken to a military base.'

'Maybe he was just a friend of her family,' Francine said, shrugging.

'That's just the kind of thinking that's going to get the planet conquered, Francine,' Buster said, smacking the table.

Francine huffed, closing her eyes and folding her arms.

'I heard strange things about her, too,' Prunella said, turning her head to look at them.

'I knew it,' Buster said, whacking his fist on the table in triumph. 'What did ya hear, Prunella?'

'My sister, Rubella, heard she had to leave her old home,' Prunella said, turning around completely.

'Why?' Francine asked.

'Maybe her planet's water became too polluted, so she came to steal ours and—' Buster began. Then he stopped, drinking his soda.

'She has a lot of statues and painting and stuff,' Prunella said, and everyone looked at her again. 'You know what I think?'

Everyone stared, intrigued.

'I think she was in another city,' Prunella said, grinning, slyly. 'Like Paris, France.'

It was night time in France, the Louvre's security guards were walking around outside and inside. Above the Louvre, a blimp was hovering within the clouds. I stood at the door to the blimp. I was wearing a black bodysuit and a black mask on my face. I fired a rope with a grappling—hook on the end down through the clouds from a grappler gun. It hooked next to the large, squared—off skylight on the roof of the Louvre. I slid down the rope, landing next to the skylight. I watched as the two security guards down inside the Louvre split up to do their rounds. One stayed where he was and the other went off to another place in the Louvre. The guard who had stayed, took a Croissant from his pocket and took a bite. I tossed a pebble across the skylight. The guard looked around, frowning. He turned on his torch and started looking around. I sliced through one of the glass squares with a knife, grabbing it just as it fell and lowered down a rope. The security guard backed up, moving his torch around. Suddenly he bumped into someone. He quickly turned around. It was the other security guard. He was holding a slice of chocolate cake in one hand and a mug of steaming coffee in the other. They started talking to each other. I slid down the rope, landing lightly on the ground. I ran off, gathering all the paintings. It took me twenty seconds. When I was done I rolled up the last painting, putting it into the bag behind my back and snuck back to the rope and grabbed it, ready to climb. At that moment, the security guard with the chocolate cake and coffee saw me. He dropped his cake and blew his whistle. The other security guard turned around, noticed me and gasped. I was a little surprised, then I grinned, letting go of the rope and running off down the hall. One of the security guards pulled a switch and an alarm sounded throughout the Louvre. The security guard blew his whistle again and ran after me. I ran at the wall, running up it, kicking off and using the momentum to flip over the security guard's head. He watched in amazement as I went over him, landing behind him, turning and running back to the rope. I grabbed the rope, looking up and gasped. The other security guard held his croissant at my face like a gun. I grinned, pressing a button on my belt. My shoes smoked and I soared into the air. Both the security guards stared as I soared high. I smiled down at them, putting my arms over my head as I smashed through the skylight. I watched as the guards scattered to avoid the falling shards of glass. I looked up, giving a thumbs up. The rope was wound up, pulling me through the clouds. I got back into the blimp.

'We must leave this country,' I said, pulling the rope back in. 'Set course, for a place called—'

'Elwood city, where no one will suspect I'll be there to rob them,' Prunella finished.

'Whoa,' Francine said, breathing out.

'I saw her,' Arthur said. 'She's not the cat—burglar type.'

I was walking towards a man with wild white hair and a white lab coat, working at a computer, carrying a tea tray towards him.

'Thank you, Miss Jones,' he said, waving his hand, not looking back.

I pulled an electric Tazer out from the teapot and dropping the tray, the cups and teapot crashing to the floor.

'Ah!' he cried, jumping as I placed my hand on his shoulder.

'I'm not Miss Jones,' I said, grinning, holding the Tazer to the computer. 'Give me the Master Program, or I'll destroy your computer's systems, forever!'

The man quickly got out of his chair. I watched him, grinning. He unlocked the safe behind a painting over some lab equipment, taking out a computer disk and handing it to me, taking in a breath. I held the disk, grinning.

'I spy for country, that even I can't pronounce the name of,' I said, activating the Tazer, scrambling the computer's circuits. 'But soon, everyone will be struggling to say it as we conquer the world!'

'Ah!' the man cried, watching as the computer went offline.

I pulled up in a red car in front of a building with NGNGAFAFHG Embassy on a golden plaque at the front gate. It opened, revealing the head of a man wearing tinted glasses behind it.

'Everyone is after you,' he said as I handed him the Master Program disk. 'Where will you go?'

'Somewhere I can pretend to be an ordinary girl for a while,' I said, grinning. 'But one day… I'll return to Ngnaga— Ngngafafhg— Ngngafafhg… Hmm... I'll come back here.'

I put the pedal to the metal, zooming off into the distance.

'Arthur,' Buster said, shaking his head. 'That's the most ridiculous thing I ever heard. I'm telling you… She's part of an alien invasion force given human form.'

Inside a space ship an alien with tentacles and a large brain had a large white tube go over it. It glowed with electricity. When it came up the alien looked like the girl Arthur and Buster had seen.

'Hey, bravo,' one of the other aliens said, and I smiled.

'Alright,' the one at the controls said.

The ship landed in a farmer's field. It opened and I came down the escalator—stairs laughing. Another of the aliens followed me, disguised as a ratty human. The third one came out looking like D.W., laughing the way D.W. does.

'Who knows how many of them walk among us,' Buster said.

Everyone looked around. No one believed his idea. It was clear, even to him.

That night everyone was on the phone, talking about me and what they thought I was like. The next day, Arthur and Buster were making snowballs.

'Um… e—excuse me,' a voice said nervously.

They looked up and Arthur dropped the snowball he'd just made. I was standing on the path in front of them. I was wearing a pink overcoat and shoes and a blue beanie on my head, keeping my hair in.

'I—I'm May,' I said nervously, not meeting their eyes. I had an American accent. 'I just moved here. W—which way is the post office?'

'Uh… that way,' Arthur and Buster said at the same time, pointing in opposite directions.

I bent down, picking up some snow in my hands.

'Hmm, snow is so weird,' I said, giving the tiniest smile, letting it dropped through my hands. 'It's like, cold, wet sand.'

'Didn't they have snow on your planet—' Buster asked. 'Uh— I mean, um, where you're from?'

I shook my head a little.

'No,' I said, still not meeting their eyes and still sounding a little nervous. 'I've never seen it before.'

Arthur and Buster looked at each other.

'A—anyway, thanks for your help,' I said, turning to leave. 'Bye.'

They watched me walk away until I was out of sight. At 4 O'clock Arthur went home.

'Oh, Arthur, perfect timing,' Mrs. Read said, as Arthur put his coat on the coat rack.

'Why?' Arthur asked, turning around.

'Grandma Thora's coming over with that new girl and I need help getting everything ready,' Mrs. Read said, setting some cutlery on the table.

'What?' Arthur gasped.

'I thought, since your Grandma's going to be taking care of that new girl, we should make her feel like a part of the family,' Mrs. Read said smiling.

'Yippee,' D.W. cried, running happily into the room.

'Why are you so excited?' Arthur asked, raising an eyebrow.

'Because that new girl's a girl, like me,' D.W. said smiling, pointing to herself. 'She'll want to do all the things with me you don't.'

Arthur rolled his eyes.

Later that evening, there was a knock on the door. Mrs. Read opened it. Standing on the doorstep was Grandma Thora and me, dressed in overcoats. Killer was by Grandma's feet, sitting patiently and wagging her tail.

'It's great to see you, Thora,' Mrs. Read said, stepping back so we could walk in.

'It's good to see you too, dear,' Grandma said, as we both took off our coats, hanging them on the coat rack by the door.

'And this must be May,' Mrs. Read said, looking at me.

I was wearing a sleeveless red dress with blue—laced hems. In a way, I looked like an older version of D.W.

'Yes,' Grandma said, putting her hand on my shoulder. 'This is May Akatsuki.'

'It's very nice to meet you, May,' Mrs. Read said, bending down a little.

'Th—thank you... Mrs. Read,' I said quietly, looking down.

'Oh, just call me mom,' she said smiling. 'You're a part of the family now.'

'Yippee!' D.W. cried, running in and stopping in front of me. 'Hi, I'm D.W. It's nice to meet you!'

I quickly hid behind Grandma, looking out nervously from behind her.

'Hey, what's wrong?' D.W. asked, confused.

'D.W.,' Mrs. Read whispered, putting her hand on D.W.'s shoulder.

'What?' D.W. asked, looking up.

Grandma smiled, looking at me.

'May's a little bit shy,' she explained to D.W. as I looked out from behind her.

'Why?' D.W. asked, confused. 'If she's a part of our family now, what's there to be shy about?'

'May use to live in Japan,' Grandma said, as I continued to look out from behind her. 'She's never been to Elwood City before, so she's a little nervous about being by herself in a foreign country.'

'Oh,' D.W. said, still a little confused. 'Why didn't her parents come with her?'

I shied behind Grandma again, looking more nervous.

'What's say, we all have dinner now?' Mrs. Read said, clapping her hands together and smiling.

Mr. Read had made a few Japanese dishes since that was where I came from. There was Miso soup with clams, fried rice with pork and Ramen noodles with bacon pieces. During dinner, everyone wanted to know more about me.

'May's been to lots of places around the world,' Grandma said.

She had to answer for me because I was still too shy to speak up enough.

'How come you said you didn't know what snow was?' Arthur asked kindly.

'M—my parents never lived in places when snow fell,' I said quietly. 'T—they didn't like me being in such cold environments.'

Arthur looked confused, but nodded and ate another piece of stir—fried chicken.

'If you're Japanese, why do you have an American accent?' D.W. asked, looking confused.

I looked away, poking my rice with my fork.

'I—I watched a lot of American TV when I was little,' I said, quietly.

'Oh,' D.W. said, looking like she was trying to figure out how that worked.

'So, what did your parents do?' Arthur asked, looking me.

'Were they samurai, working for a secret underground Japanese Police force?' D.W. asked, swinging her knife like a sword.

Tears welled in my eyes.

'May, is something wrong?' Mrs. Read asked, noticing my tears as a few slid down my face.

'N—no, I'm fine,' I said, quickly wiping my eyes with my right arm. 'C—can I please be excused for a minute?'

Mr. and Mrs. Read looked at each other.

'Well, sure,' Mr. Read said, a little taken aback.

'Thank you,' I sniffed, pushing my chair back and hurrying up the stairs.

'D.W.,' Arthur said firmly, once I was out of ear sort.

'What?' D.W. asked, looking confused. 'What did I do?'

'May doesn't like to talk about her parents, dear,' Grandma said, looking at D.W.

'Why?' D.W. asked, raising an eyebrow.

'The program I signed up for is for children who don't have a home to go home to anymore, dear,' Grandma said.

'What does that mean?' D.W. asked, cocking her head to one side. 'And why does that mean May doesn't want to talk about her parents?'

Grandma took in a deep breath.

'May doesn't have any parents, dear,' she said sadly.

'How come?' D.W. asked confused.

'Wait, Grandma, you don't mean—' Arthur gasped.

'Yes, Arthur,' Grandma said, nodding grimly. 'May's an orphan. Her parents… died.'

'What?' D.W. cried. 'How'd they die? Why'd they die? When did they die?'

'I don't know, dear,' Grandma said, shaking her head. 'I wasn't given any details about it by the agency. And May doesn't like to talk about it. All I know is that she was with them when it happened.'

'So that's why she doesn't talk that much,' Arthur said, looking up the stairs.

'Sadly, I haven't been able to help her much,' Grandma sighed. 'I haven't even seen her smile.'

'Not even once?' D.W. asked, looking sad.

Grandma shook her head.

'I only know her smile thanks to some of the photos May has of her and her parents, from back in Japan,' she said sadly. 'The agency told me that, since her parents' deaths, May hasn't smiled once.'

'I feel so bad for her,' Arthur said, thinking about all the outrageous stories he and the other kids had been making up about me.

Upstairs, I was wiping my eyes in the bathroom.

'I know they're trying to help,' I sniffed, drying my eyes with my hands. 'But I don't know them. And they don't know me.'

I walked out of the bathroom. As I began to head back for the stairs, I noticed Pal run into Kate's room. I frowned.

'What's that dog doing?' I thought, following him.

'What do you think of that girl, May?' I heard a girl's voice ask.

'I'm not really sure,' a male voice said. 'She seems nice, but so quiet. She's almost like D.W.'s exact opposite.'

'Why do you have to talk behind my back?' I asked, walking in, tears streaming down my face.

But there was no one in the room except for Kate in her crib and Pal sitting in front of it. They were looking at me, looking a little confused.

'Do you think she was talking to us?' Pal asked, looking at Kate.

'You can talk?' I gasped, backing into the wall.

'She heard you!' Kate gasped.

'You too?' I gasped, my legs shaking.

'How can she understand us?' Pal asked, looking from me to Kate. 'And how can we understand her?'

'Not even my own mother can understand me that well,' Kate said, looking at me through the bars on her crib. 'How can she hear us?'

'What's going on?' I said, slumping to the ground, putting my head on my knees and wrapping my arms around my legs.

'You can hear us,' Kate said, amazed.

'I can't believe it,' Pal said, shaking his head. 'A human that can actually understand what I'm saying. Will wonders never cease?'

'Wait a minute,' I said, looking up at Kate, frowning. 'What do you mean; even you own mother can't hear you that well?'

'Well,' Kate said, looking at Pal.

'You see,' Pal said, taking a step forward. 'All dogs, cats, every animal and babies can understand each other. Kate can speak a bit of their language, though not much. But you're the first human over Kate's age that has ever heard us, or that we've been able to completely understand.'

'And Kate can talk too?' I said, looking at her.

'Yes,' Kate said, nodding. 'But no one ever seems to know what I'm saying that often. Though I have trouble knowing what they say, either.'

'I guess all they hear is baby talk,' I said, shaking my head. 'And here I thought I was weird enough as it is.'

'Weird?' they asked, frowning.

I grinned and morphed into Kate. They gasped.

'See?' I said, in Kate's voice. 'And I can do more.' I morphed into a girl dog, the same breed as Pal.

They shook their heads, rubbing their eyes.

'How did you—?' Kate asked, amazed.

'I've been able to do it since I was born,' I said, morphing back into myself.

'Can you turn into Arthur?' Kate asked, standing in her crib.

'No,' I said, shaking my head, smiling. 'I used to be able to switch between boys and girls, but not anymore.'

'What do you mean?' Pal asked, raising an eyebrow.

I grinned.

'I was born a boy,' I said.

'What?' they both cried.

'It's true,' I said, sitting down in front of Kate's crib. 'But not anymore.'

'Why?' Kate asked, concerned. 'What happened?'

'I just couldn't,' I said, shrugging. 'I morphed into a girl when I was three and now I can only change into girls. Human or otherwise.'

'Interesting,' Kate said, thinking. 'Have you tried?'

'Um, yeah,' I said, grinning sheepishly. 'But... it doesn't quite work.'

'Why?' Pal asked, cocking his head to one side.

I morphed into Arthur. Except, I wasn't Arthur. I was a girl version of Arthur. Pal and Kate looked at me, not quite sure what to say.

'That's why,' I said, changing back into me again. 'I can turn into a boy...'

'But it would be a girl version of the boy,' Kate said, nodding.

'Anyway, enough about me and my weird habits,' I said, closing my eyes and smiling. 'What about you two?'

Everyone was watching me from the door. They'd only just arrived so they hadn't seen me change.

'It's like she understands what Kate and Pal are saying,' D.W. whispered.

'I'm glad,' Grandma said, smiling, a tear leaking from her eye.

'Why?' Arthur whispered, looking from me to Grandma.

'I haven't seen May smile like that,' Grandma said happily, watching as I talked to Kate and Pal and laughed at something Kate said in baby talk. 'It means May is finally feeling at home.'

The next day I went to school with Arthur. Mr. Ratburn introduced me to the class.

'Konichiwa, everyone,' I said, bowing the traditional Japanese way.

I was also wearing a green Japanese Kimono with pink sakura patterns on it. I'd thought I could say a little more about myself and my culture if I wore it that day. I happily explained where my parents and I had lived. I'd been born in Japan, but we hadn't just lived there. We'd lived all over the world. We'd been to Paris, France, Texas, Australia, Germany, Siberia, Costa Rica, Berlin. We'd even visited China early in the year, where we'd heard a baby crying for a little bit during a Chinese Opera.

'Sorry,' Binky said, raising his hand. 'That might have been my little sister.'

'It was okay,' I said, smiling. 'We understood why she would have been crying.'

The previous night had really helped me. I was more outgoing and expressive now. I wasn't shy anymore. Well... okay. I was still a little bit shy, but not much. When I was done explaining all I wanted to, I bowed to the class again.

'Thank you, May,' Mr. Ratburn said, clapping, the rest of the class joining in. 'And welcome to our school. You can take the spare seat next to Francine.'

As I sat down, Arthur winked at me from across the desk. I winked back. During recess we had a snowball fight in the playground. It was girls against boys. Even though I'd never been in a snowball fight before, I seemed like an expert. But that was only because I knew a little Judo. After all, I am Japanese. I was able to launch five snowballs at the boy's team before they could even react.

'We win!' Muffy cried, at the end of recess, punching the air.

'No fair,' Binky said, folding his arms. 'You had a Ninja on your team.'

'Well, I wouldn't say I'm a Ninja,' I said, blushing. 'I just know a few Judo moves, that's all.'

After school I walked home with Arthur and D.W. We'd stopped by Preschool to pick her up, since Mrs. Read had had a meeting at the time and Mr. Read was finishing of a cake for a big business person. D.W.'s class had had a snow day activity, which was why we'd had to go pick her up.

'How was your first day at school, May?' D.W. asked, holding my hand as she skipped along next to me.

'It was okay,' I said, smiling. 'I had a lot of fun— AH!'

I cried out, as something cold and damp went down my neck and into my jumper.

'May, what is it?' Arthur asked.

There was snickering laughter from the tree above us.

'Tibbles!' D.W. called angrily.

Tommy and Timmy Tibble came out from behind some branches.

'That was mean,' D.W. said, folding her arms and frowning.

'No,' Timmy said, chuckling.

'It was funny,' Tommy said chuckling along with his brother.

'Th—there's nothing f—f—funny about it,' I said angrily, shivering.

The Tibbles laughed again, jumping down and landing in front of us.

'You're right,' Timmy said, grinning.

'It was hilarious,' Tommy finished.

They ran off, laughing. D.W. glared after them.

'Tibbles,' she muttered angrily.

I shivered.

'Here, May,' Arthur said, taking his coat off and putting it on me.

'Th—thanks, Arthur,' I said, smiling.

'Let's get back home,' he said, nodding. D.W. and I didn't object.

'We're home,' Arthur called as we came through the door a few minutes later, taking off our coats and hanging them on the coat rack.

'Man, it's freezing out there,' I said, hugging myself and shivering.

'Welcome back, kids,' Grandma said, walking in, wearing an apron.

'Grandma?' Arthur and D.W. said, surprised.

I just stared, surprised myself.

'What are you doing here?' D.W. asked, raising an eyebrow.

'We'll your parents are going to be away for a while,' Grandma said, leading us into the lounge room.

I sat down by the heater, grateful for the heat of the flames. My hair became damp as the snow and ice in it melted from the heat.

'Why?' D.W. asked, raising an eyebrow.

'Well,' Grandma said, smiling. 'You're parents have gone to Japan for a couple of days.'

'Huh?' we said confused.

'Well, we've been talking,' Grandma said, smiling at me and turning to Arthur and D.W. 'And we've decided that your parents will adopt May.'

'What?' Arthur and D.W. gasped.

I was just stunned.

'May and I will be staying here for the next couples of nights,' Grandma said, smiling. 'I've already got the spare room upstairs ready for her.'

I blinked, still stunned. I sneezed, shivering.

'May, you're shivering,' Grandma said, concerned.

'Yeah,' D.W. muttered angrily. 'The Tibbles did it.'

'What did they do?' Grandma asked, putting her hands on my shoulders, looking at Arthur.

'They dropped snow down May's coat,' he said, sounding annoyed himself.

'It's nothing,' I said, sneezing. 'A few minutes in front of the heater and I'll be fine.'

'Hmm,' Grandma said, still not quite sure.

'I'll be fine,' I said, closing my eyes and smiling.

The next morning, when Arthur, D.W. and Grandma came downstairs, I wasn't there. They went to check on me. I was sitting up in bed, stretching. I'd just woken up.

'Guess I must've slept in a little,' I said, rubbing the back of my head, grinning. During breakfast the others kept glancing at me, concerned looks on their faces. I looked up and sneezed.

'I'm fine,' I said, closing my eyes and smiling. 'It's probably just the sniffles.'

They all still looked unsure. Grandma drove Arthur and me to school after dropping D.W. at preschool.

'Bye Grandma,' Arthur said as he got out of the car.

'Bye Mrs. Re— I'm mean Grandma,' I said, smiling as I closed the car door. 'Thanks for the lift.'

'Bye, kids,' she said smiling, driving off.

'May, why'd you just call Arthur's grandma 'Grandma'?' Francine asked, coming over as we headed into school.

'Oh,' I said, looking away and blushing.

'My parents are going to adopt May,' Arthur said, coming to my rescue.

'What?' everyone gasped.

'I thought your grandma was just taking care of her,' Muffy said, looking confused.

'She is,' Arthur said, nodding. 'But she was talking with my parents and they've decided that May will become my new sister.'

'Cool,' Binky said, giving us a thumbs up. 'Just like with my baby sister, Mei—Lin.'

'Another baby I can talk to,' I thought, grinning to myself.

'Yeah, kinda,' I said, closing my eyes and smiling.

The bell went and we all went to class. During Mathematics we were doing Algebra. As Mr. Ratburn was explaining how x2 can equal g + y – x2, when divided by g – y, I sneezed, quite loudly.

'Yes, May?' Mr. Ratburn said, turning from the black board and looking at me.

'Sorry, Mr. Ratburn,' I said, blowing my noise into a tissue and putting it in my pocket. 'It was just a sneeze.'

As we left for Gym class an hour later I sneezed twice, even louder than before.

'May, are sure you're alright?' Arthur asked, coming up next to me.

'I'm fine, Arthur,' I said, coughing twice.

'But—' Arthur began.

'Arthur, I'm—' — cough, cough— 'I'm fine,' I said firmly. 'Stop fussing. I may be your sister now, but you don't need to fuss over me so much, okay? Unlike D.W., I know a lot more about taking care of myself.'

Meanwhile, back at home, Grandma got a call from the C.R.U. agency.

'Mrs. Read, how are things going?' a man's voice asked on the other end. He had a Japanese accent.

'Oh, everything's fine, Mr. Masaki,' Grandma said, happily. 'May's been so happy these past few days.'

'That is good news,' Masaki said on the other end. 'I am very happy to hear that.'

'This isn't a social call, though, is it?' Grandma asked smiling.

'No, I am afraid not,' Masaki said, sounding nervous. 'We sent you a paper about May's health history. You should have received it by now.'

'Yes, I did,' Grandma said, picking up the large envelope on the table marked, Mr. and Mrs. Read and pulling out some papers. 'What's all this about?'

'Back when she was six, May's body became very weak,' Masaki said, sounding a little shaky.

'What do you mean?' Grandma asked, frowning. 'May's been fit as a fiddle.'

'Yes,' Masaki's voice sounded a little strained. 'She is a fighter, that May.'

'What do you mean?' Grandma asked, concerned now.

'When May was six she became very sick,' Masaki said. 'A small part of her D.N.A. made her body become very venerable to illnesses.'

'Oh, my,' Grandma gasped.

'She is not in danger all the time,' Masaki said assuredly. 'But there will be times when, if she is exposed to any harmful environments, then her body will not be able to cope properly. It is why, back when she travelled with her parents, May never stayed in places when it was snowing.'

'You mean, if say, snow went down her shirt and she still had to walk home in the snow, that she could get very sick?' Grandma asked, nervously.

'Even a cold would be dangerous for her, during her body's vulnerable times, Mrs. Read,' Masaki said, sounding grim. 'It would take affect in a mater of hours. If for instance, she had that happen to her last night, she would already be sick now.'

'But May seemed completely fine, this morning,' Grandma said, her voice going a little higher. 'Just a sneeze or two, that's all.'

'That is May for you,' Masaki said, sighing. 'She might feel it coming, but she keeps a brave face and fights on. She is a tough one, that girl. And we know it.'

During Gym class we had a soccer match. Girls against boys. The girls won, naturally, with me on their side. I won the game for us by head butting the ball into the net at the last minute, it slipping through Arthur's fingers.

'Yeah,' Francine and I cheered, slapping each other a high—five.

As we headed from Gym to Art class I started feeling a bit dizzy. I leaned against the wall, breathing heavily.

'What's wrong with me?' I gasped, coughing violently.

Once I'd stopped coughing I shook my head. The dizziness subsided somewhat. I went to Art class as if nothing had happened. We were painting today. While I was painting a picture of Tokyo Station, I started getting a headache. I put my head in my hands. This was one painful headache.

'May, are you okay?' Sue Ellen whispered, looking over and noticing me holding my head.

'Yeah,' I managed to gasp, looking up and giving a strained grin. 'I'm fine. Nothing to... worry… about…'

My eyes became diluted and I started to fall sideways.

'MAY!' Sue Ellen cried, hurrying towards me. I hit the floor with a shuddering thud.

Everyone gasped, hurrying over to me, lying unconscious on the ground, my breathing strained. I was rushed to the Infirmary, where, after a quick check on my condition, the nurse called the hospital. The ambulance arrived a few minutes later, I was loaded in on a stretcher—bed and it drove off, heading for the hospital. Grandma was notified right after the ambulance had been called. She arrived at the school a few minutes after the ambulance had left, Kate and D.W. in the back of the car. Arthur was excused from school and they drove to the hospital. D.W. was very edgy. When Arthur told her what had happened she started to cry, worried sick about me. Oh, how ironic. I just made a joke during a critical situation. Worried sick, get it? Anyway, half an hour later, they were in the hospital, trying to find out where I was and what my condition had become.

'Paging Mrs. Thora Read,' a light—female's voice said over the intercom. 'You're granddaughter is in Room 235. Repeat. Paging Mrs. Thora Read. You're granddaughter is in Room 235. '

'Room 235,' Arthur said hurriedly.

They all ran off up the stairs, towards Room 235. When they got there they opened the door. I was lying in a bed asleep. A grey cat—like doctor was standing next to me. When he saw them he stepped aside, letting Arthur and D.W. pass and sit next to my bed.

'Hmm,' I said, opening my eyes.

I saw them looking anxiously at me and smiled weakly.

'Hey,' I said, closing my eyes the way I do.

'May, I thought you were going to die!' D.W. cried dramatically, hugging me. Not very comfortably, I might add.

'I'm fine, D.W.,' I said, giving her a weak smile.

Grandma went outside the room with the doctor.

'How is she?' she asked, as soon as the door was closed.

'It's a good thing we got her here so fast,' the doctor said firmly. 'She'd already gone into pneumonic shock.'

'But she'll be alright, now?' Grandma asked anxiously.

'Yes,' the doctor said, nodding. 'The agency she came from already informed me of her situation and sent the necessary medicine for her. I was just giving it to her when you and your grandchildren came in. She should be fighting fit again in a week or so.'