Jonah squinted at the morning sunlight that streamed through his bedroom window.

There was a knock on his door and seconds later the door opened.

He raised his head and looked around the room.

"Dad?"
"No, it's me." Annie said as she walked to his bed.

Jonah felt a tinge of anger when he noticed Annie wearing his mother's blue terrycloth robe. He'd picked it out with his dad for her birthday.

"Hi." He said in the most monotone voice he could muster.

"Time to get up. The bus will be here soon. I've got your breakfast all ready for you downstairs."

Jonah yawned and stretched. "Where's Dad?"

He couldn't help but notice her crestfallen expression.

"Oh, he had a meeting at the office this morning, but he'll be back in a few hours." Annie said.

"When Jonah sighed, she gave him a watery smile and left the room.

Suddenly he felt guilty. After all, she'd been nothing but nice to him since they met on Valentine's Day. She'd even said hello to Howard!

Still, he couldn't stop thinking about how one day; she'd arrived at the front door with several bags in hand.

Then weeks later, a moving truck appeared, dropping off a million pounds of stuff.

Geez...

But his dad was happy and Jonah guessed that was the most important part.

"Jonah, hurry up! Your breakfast!" Annie called from downstairs.

Jonah rummaged through his dresser drawer, tossing aside clothes until he found a pair of tan pants and a maroon sweatshirt. Socks and shoes completed the outfit. He grabbed his backpack and dragged it down the stairs.

"Here you go, Jonah." Annie said pointing proudly to the bowl of cereal on the counter.

Dropping the backpack on the floor, Jonah climbed onto the tall chair and began to eat his breakfast.

"Fruity Flakes are your favorites, right?" Annie asked, referring to the cereal. "Your dad told me that you and he used to sit in front of the TV on Saturday mornings watching cartoons and eating Fruity Flakes when you lived in Chicago. I did that when I was a little girl." She added with a sigh.

"We don't do that anymore." He said curtly.

"Oh... Well, your dad's job is very demanding. At first I hardly ever saw him. But now that I live here..."

A pause...

"You're okay with it, aren't you, Jonah?"

"Sure." He said, not even looking at her.

"Because I-I'm here if you want to talk. I want us to be friends, and..."

Jonah peered out of the window. "The bus is here."

Quickly he grabbed his backpack and began to head for the door. Just as he was stepping onto the wooden walkway, he heard her calling him.

"Jonah!"

Embarrassed, he turned and walked back to the house. To his horror, Annie held out his Superman lunchbox.

God how embarrassing! He hadn't used that thing since he was five! His mother always put his lunch in a brown paper bag, the way Jessica's mom did.

"Thanks." He mumbled before running to catch the bus.

"Jonah! Over here!" Jessica called.

Jonah made his way down the aisle and slid into the seat next to his friend.

"What is that?" She asked pointing in disgust at the lunchbox.

"Oh..." he tried his best to hide the childish item.

"Annie." He explained.

Jessica nodded knowingly. "She made your lunch again, didn't she?"

"Yeah." Jonah answered.

"Why don't you just tell her? She's practically your new mother and it's up to you to explain how things are supposed to be." Jessica said.

"But I don't know how things are supposed to be!" Jonah said. "I'm not used to there being three of us around. It's always been just me and my dad."

Jessica sighed. "Jonah, after all the trouble we went through to find her, now you're having second thoughts? Do you have any idea how much trouble I got into?"

"My dad told me that he talked to your parents and that they understood, so you wouldn't get into trouble." Jonah said.

Jessica rolled her eyes. "They understood, all right. For about five seconds!"

"Well, maybe if I talk to my dad again, he'll..."

"Forget it." Jessica said. "Besides, I've kind of gotten used to coming straight home after school, going to bed at 8:30."

Jonah was stunned.

"8:30? Wow! My dad lets me stay up until 11!"

"Fine. Rub it in, why don't you?" Jessica said, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "You never even said thank you."

"I'm sorry." Jonah said. "And, um... thank you, okay?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"How much longer are you grounded for?"

Jessica shrugged. "It's U.T.M.P..."

He wrinkled his nose in confusion. "U.T.M.P?"

"Up To My Parents." She explained.

Jonah thought for a minute, until a smile spread across his face. "Hey! What about Annie? Maybe she could talk to your parents!"

"No! N.W!" Jessica said.

Jonah ran the letters through his head; "N.W. N.W."

"No Way, all right?" She yelled.

"Why not?"

"Jonah, she's the reason I'm grounded!"

"But she didn't do anything! I'm the one who called the radio station." Jonah said.

When the bus slowed to a stop in front of James Madison Elementary school, Jessica angrily grabbed her Boy Meets World backpack and pushed her way past Jonah, almost knocking him to the ground in the process.

"Hey!" Jonah yelled, regaining his balance.

But Jessica was already heading for the covered playground.

Jonah shrugged, wondering what had gotten into his friend.