A/N: Hey, guyz, new chapter!!!! For this story, we r havin' Mal tell her story as flash-backs and sum present time. Let us kno if its confusin!!! This one is a memry!

Plz revieeeeew!!!

Chapter Two

A child's life is filled with injustices, slights from parents, teachers, siblings, and friends. That injustice is doubled when you are the eldest, especially in a large family. It seemed like something was always happening in the Pike household and if it went wrong, it was "where were you, Mal?" It didn't make sense to me, being so close in age to the triplets and Vanessa, but it was the way of my world.

Of course, these injustices often brought surprises, and even good ones. I remember the first day I met one of the girls who would become my best friends. Vanessa had gone through my diaries that morning and amused herself by reciting my secrets in rhymes.

Mallory, oh Mallory, how she whines

On the pages of her diary, each line

She hates her life, she has no friends

She doesn't know if this will end

Why oh why did that stork

Bring the Pike family such a dork?

What would any older sister have done? I read it, tracked Vanessa down and bloodied her nose. She screamed and cried and my mom blew her top. Which is why, when the rest of my family were at the St. Anne's 48th Annual Church Bazaar, doing the cakewalk and eating chicken salad sandwiches, I sat at home with the babysitter downstairs and Vanessa crying about how no one appreciated her art.

I decided that I was going to be grown up about things. I walked downstairs to greet the babysitter, some girl named Claudia Kishi. Apparently our old babysitter, her big sister, was too busy taking college classes.

I remember that when I entered the family room, my world changed. A gorgeous girl with almond shaped eyes and clear skin sat on the floor, as she sketched a fake flower arrangement. And her clothes! On that day, she wore a red pleather miniskirt with lots of zippers, orange lace leggings, and a lime green t-shirt with lots of holes so I could see the black tank top underneath. She had her hair in tons of little braids and one of her earrings was a fake mini cigar and the other was a fake mini lighter!

I also knew she was the "bad girl" in that family. My mom volunteered at the library where her mother worked, which is how we met Janine, her big sister. Janine would talk about her silly sister, who cared more about stupid mystery stories than mathematics. I heard my mother tell my dad that the Kishis were worried Claudia was on the wrong track. I was fascinated by her. The wrong track? Like heavy metal and piercings and smoking? She did have a cigar on her ear. My ears were barren, forbidden from even clip-on jewelry until middle school and even long until I could have real earrings.

As I flounced into the room, I noticed how shiny her jet black hair was and I wished I could straighten my red tangles. Our hair would gleam together, like a shampoo commercial! When I came in, she smiled. "You must be Mallory!"

When she said my name, I knew she would be my friend.

I smiled brightly and ran over to sit next to her on the floor. I stared at her for about five minutes before she asked me if I wanted her to draw me something.

Did I want her to draw me something? What a silly question! The only real dilemma was whether I wanted to ask for a unicorn or a horse.

I decided on a horse and Claudia drew me one that seemed so read that it could gallop off the page. I named it Misty, since I liked horse books. Even now, I have that sketch posted above my wall, especially since it reminded me of the conversation that came next.

"So are you excited for the summer?" Claudia smudged one of her lines carefully and looked at me.

"No, I'll just have to take care of the little kids and then in the school year I'll be back to elementary school and NO FRIENDS!" I burst into tears.

I don't know why I started crying. I wasn't used to people asking me questions. My parents loved me, sure, but there were 8 kids in our family! If I hadn't been followed immediately by triplets, I'm sure things would have been different, but face time was limited. I quickly tried to stop sniveling, but didn't quite succeed.

Claudia just smiled and pulled glittering markers out of her bag and gave Misty a beautiful magenta coat.

"I didn't have a lot of friends in elementary school," she admitted. "I wasn't very good at math and reading, so I spent a lot of time in the resource room catching up and so the other kids thought I was weird." I couldn't believe anyone thinking that this cool, artistic girl was weird.

"I spend a lot of time in the gifted reading program," I said, "It's the same thing. Kids think I'm weird. The only other kids in the reading program are Emma Gannon and Ben Ott, and Emma is being homeschooled next year and Ben teases me."

I will forever remember what happened next. Claudia looked me deep in the eye and said, "I'm your friend. Remember that."

And I have. And I will.

At that moment, I stopped caring about church bazaars and chicken salad and winning the bean bag toss, which was the worst part of not going, because I was champion every year. Claudia told me she liked babysitting, and so I should think of taking care of my brothers and sisters as that. A responsibility. A job. Not a chore.

Something that grown-ups do.

She also told me in middle school, people change classes each period and so you have lots of classmates, who don't know if you go to a different reading class than they do.

Vanessa ruined it and joined us, but I knew I was a grown-up and offered her crayons as we all sketched together. A babysitter, a babysitter in training, and a stupid younger sister.

Claudia smiled at our pictures. "What a nice dog, Vanessa!" she cooed. She cocked her head at mine, critiquing it with the skeptic eye of the artist. "Tell me about your picture, Mallory."

And, two mature women, we discussed the arts.