"Yes that is correct. Please come and answer this question on the board Charley," Mrs. Brown said. Charley stepped up to the board. On the board it said:

48+32-126+67+890=N

Let's see? 48 and 32 are 80 and 126 plus 80 is 206? Yeah, that was right. Ok so 206 plus 67 is 13 carry the one, 273? Ok, I got that down, 273 plus 890 is 3 in the ones place 6 in the tens place so it would be 963, no that wasn't right. It would be 1,163. That sounded better. Charley wrote down 1,163 on the board. "Is that correct class?" Mrs. Brown said in her peachy soft voice to the 4th graders. They nodded there heads. Will anyone check it for me and do the math on the board. A girl named Gloria raised her hand. Mrs. Brown called her up and she started writing on the board. She was left handed. She looked nice with a long braid going down her back. Pieces of hair were coming out of the braid and it looked messy. When Gloria finished writing the steps of the problem she sat back down again. Jenny and Kelly started to giggle. "What is it girls," Mrs. Brown asked.

"Nothing, sorry," Kelly managed to say while she was giggling.

"Don't' do it again, it interrupts class," Jessica said.

"Jessica is always trying to be the teachers pet," Jenny said. Mrs. Brown turned to the board and started looking over Gloria's work. "That is correct. That was a challenging problem wasn't it class? Well that was just to end class. See you all tomorrow. Oh never mind, it is Saturday tomorrow. Have a good weekend," Mrs. Brown said just as the bell rang. The students got up and filed out of class to go to their buses or walk home.

Alice and Lizzy stayed after class to talk to Mrs. Brown. "Girls run along now, you might miss you bus," Mrs. Brown said as she looked out the classroom window to make sure everything was ok outside. Jenna walked in looking worried.

"Where is Jenny?" Questioned Jenna her older sister.

"Outside ready to get on the bus," said Mrs. Brown. "Why do you want to know? Is everything alright?"

"Not really." Jenna answered truthfully and looked at Lizzy and Alice to make sure they weren't frightened. Mrs. Brown looked up from what she was doing, her glasses on the tip of her nose. She had a questioned look on her face and her crystal eyes looked worried.

"It isn't that bad, all it is is that she didn't do her homework because she was so too tired. She is not good at giving notes so I decided to give it to you after school and here it is. Thanks and bye." Jenna hurried out of the classroom.

"Bye Jenna thank you."" Now, Lizzy, Alice, what do you need to talk to me about?" Mrs. Brown asked.

"Well Mrs. Brown, we were wondering two things. One thing is that Lizzy and I don't understand how to carry the number to the next place. And we also," there was a pause as Alice and Lizzy looked at each other. Lizzy started to talk, her quiet voice just barley over a whisper.

"You see we…," there was another pause, "We… we… we have something to tell you about. You see Alice and I, well we, we have been having trouble with a bully.

"A bully? What is his name? Tell me at once and I can stop him and protect you two." Mrs. Brown very worried now.

"Well you see Mrs. Brown the problem is at home, in our town. First these scary men who live in a dark street always smell bad and there are lots of beer bottles around and they shot guns at the wall and sometime they see us and pretend to shoot us. Last time they did shoot at us but there aim was of. And then when we get to the bakery my dad, I see him stealing stuff, things. And Lizzy's dad is at home and he has a lot of money he is holding.

"Yeah once I saw a whole lot of 100 dollar bills, maybe like, 50 of 'em," Lizzy finished for Alice.

"Well girls, I, I don't know what to say." Mrs. Brown was stunned. These cute little girls at home with a dads who are monsters? She couldn't let that happen any longer.

"What about your mothers?" Mrs. Brown asked hoping that they would be a lot better.

Alice started to talk first, "My mother is a nurse, who works in New York City. She is a night time nurse and she usually sleeps over at a hotel because she wants to sleep, cause she's so tired after work."

"And my mom," said Lizzy, "is trying to make money, and she don't know that my pop has lots and lots of money. I hear him counting it when I go to bed. I think there is a lot of money in my house. She comes home every night very tired and I think that she doesn't make a single penny."