"Well, I have three Aces, is that a good hand?" Sara asked, as she laid her cards down on the table for Jesse and Joey to see. Joey sighed and slammed his cards down.

"Jess, this isn't fair! She's been winning all night, and she doesn't even know how to play." He complained. Sara shrugged with a small smile.

"I guess that means it's a good hand." She said innocently. Joey glared at her, and Jesse laughed.

It was the weekend now, and Stephanie was having Gia sleep over. The two of them were up in Steph's room, looking at magazines and talking about all the cute boys who attended their middle school. Sara hadn't been invited to join in on their sleep over, so she had decided to spend the evening doing homework, but soon found herself bored. Though she was already in her pajamas, she found it was too early to go to bed. Nikki and Alex hadn't even gone to bed yet. They had been playing with Michelle in the living room since dinner was over. DJ had gone out with her boyfriend Steve, and Becky and Danny were busy planning their show for the next day. Sara had wandered the house for something to do when she had come across Joey and Jesse playing a game of poker at the kitchen table, and made herself comfortable as their audience. It had been Joey's suggestion to teach her how to play, but as she was slowly learning, he found himself losing to every hand she laid out.

"It's a good thing we aren't betting any money, or I'd be broke." Joey said as he shuffled the cards for the next hand. Jesse smirked.

"Yeah, 'cause Becky would be thrilled at the idea of me letting Sara gamble." He rolled his eyes. Sara shrugged.

"We don't have to tell her." She smiled as Jesse playfully punched her.

As Joey dealt the next hand, Sara heard Steph and Gia's giggles from where she was sitting. She wasn't the only one. Joey sighed.

"They've been doing that all night." He shook his head. "Jess, I swear, I'll never understand teenage girls." Sara turned and raised an eyebrow at Joey, who shrugged.

"What? I'm serious!" He confessed.

"Have you ever heard me giggle like that, Joey?" Sara asked, crossing her arms. Joey cocked his head, and appeared to be thinking. Jesse suppressed a smile.

"I guess not. No, I don't think I've heard you giggle like that." Joey concluded. Sara nodded.

"That's what I thought." She took her set of cards, and began organize them in her hand, trying to make sense of them.

"Just out of curiosity, squirt, why aren't you hanging out with Steph and Gia instead of me and Joey." He widened his eyes. "Don't get me wrong, it's been great teaching you how to play poker. I just thought you'd be more interested in hanging around somebody, you know, hip and young like you."

Sara sighed.

"Don't ask." She said simply, trying to conceal the fact that she had been ignored by Stephanie and Gia for the last few days. She waited as Joey and Jesse finally revealed their hands, before she laid down her own cards.

"Are those any good?" She asked. Joey groaned as he stared at the cards, and Jesse sighed, throwing his hands in the air.

"A royal flush." Joey said disbelievingly, as he turned to Jesse. "That's it. I quit."


After Sara helped gather the cards and clean up the table before Danny saw the mess of potato chips and soda, she headed upstairs to her bedroom to listen to some music. As she reached the top of the staircase to the second floor, she heard the ever-famous giggles coming from Stephanie's bedroom, and Sara rolled her eyes. Will this ever end? She thought, as Steph's door flew open, and Michelle came storming out, clutching a pillow tightly.

"Hey Michelle, what's going on?" Sara wanted to know. Michelle sighed.

"I'm staying with DJ tonight." She confessed, glaring in the direction of the bedroom she shared with Stephanie. "They are not being nice! Besides, they're too loud!" Michelle allowed herself entrance to DJ's room, and shut the door behind her. Sara had to laugh. I wonder how DJ's going to react when she comes home to find Michelle making herself comfortable in her room.

Sara continued along to her attic home, passing by Stephanie's bedroom in the meantime, still hearing the giggles. She ignored them, passing by casually, but slowed when she could make out what Gia was saying.

"She's so weird! She tries so hard to just fit in, but she can't. Seriously, Steph, are you the only friend Sara has?" Gia asked, still laughing. Sara felt her stomach drop, as she leaned in closer. Surely Stephanie would defend her, wouldn't she?

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure. I mean, she has a friend back at Jacobson, but yeah, she hangs out with me all the time." Stephanie replied, following Gia's contagious giggles.

"Honestly, that's pathetic! It's actually sad. What a loser." Gia and Stephanie continued to laugh, and Sara listened to Gia's cruel remarks and Stephanie's silence and laughter from the hallway, tears threatening to spill.

"Honestly Steph, what are you doing hanging out with her? It won't do much for your reputation, and besides, you have me now." Gia said. Sara couldn't take it anymore. She ran from where she had been eavesdropping and darted toward her bedroom, tears finally escaping from her eyes. She barely saw Becky sitting at the table in the attic, who was working on new show ideas. Sara slammed her bedroom door behind her and threw herself onto her bed, crying uncontrollably. Why didn't she defend me? She's supposed to be my best friend! Why would she just let Gia say those awful things? What's happening to Steph? I hate Gia! I hate her!

Sara didn't even hear her bedroom door slowly open as her muffled sobs ran through her ears. Becky carefully approached her daughter, sinking onto the bed next to her, speaking calmly.

"Sara?" She soothed. "What happened?" Becky was patient, and waited as Sara's crying suddenly stopped, replaced by a deep breathing.

"Nothing, it's okay." She managed to say. Becky shook her head. Despite her terrific progress over the last nine months in opening up, there were still times when Sara insisted on handling things on her own.

"Sara, don't lie to me." Becky said quietly, rubbing Sara's back. "Just tell me." Sara's sniffles died down, and after a while, she finally sat up, but still faced the wall, not wanting Becky to see she had been crying.

"It's Stephanie." Sara said through gritted teeth. Her sadness was slowly turning into anger, as she could feel the tension building up inside of her. How could she just let Gia talk like that?

"What about Stephanie? What happened?" Becky asked. Sara hesitated but finally recounted for Becky exactly what she had heard Gia say about her; every cruel word, every nasty name, every time Stephanie just sat there, letting Gia talk that way about a girl who was supposed to be her friend, and then laugh about it. Sara's emotions were raging inside of her; feelings of betrayal ran through her veins, angering her more and more each moment.

"Sara, you know none of those things are true. Gia's just got some problems, and she seems to think that by finding somebody to tease and make fun of, it will make her seem cool." Becky said quietly.

"But Stephanie is supposed to be my friend! But instead of sticking up for me, she went along with it! How could she?" Sara asked loudly, shaking her head. Becky was silent, until she finally wrapped her arms around Sara and held her.

"It's okay, Sara. Everything will be okay. You and Stephanie are friends, and eventually Steph will realize what she did was wrong, and she'll come to her senses. She's just caught up in the moment of having a new friend." Becky waited. "I think you need to talk to Stephanie, sweetie. You know how important it is to talk things out, and I think Stephanie needs to know what you heard, so she can understand the seriousness of what she did. So please, Sara, try talking to her before you let this anger build up inside. You know that's not good for you."

Sara sighed, knowing Becky was right, but feeling so angry at the moment, she didn't even want to consider talking to Stephanie ever again.

"I can't talk to her right now, she's with Gia." Sara admitted, feeling as though her head were going to explode.

"I know, Sara, you don't have to do it tonight, but please consider it. Don't let it wait too long." Becky asked. Sara hesitated for quite some time before she finally nodded and agreed. Becky nodded.

"That's my girl."


Becky had managed to get Sara to calm down enough to go to bed, and as Becky quietly closed the door to Sara's bedroom behind her, she saw Jesse lounging on the couch, watching TV. He looked up and could read Becky's face like a book.

"Is she okay?" Jesse asked. Becky sighed, and lowered herself down on the couch, allowing herself to be held by her husband.

"I think she will be. There's just problems between her and Steph right now." Becky explained.

"What kind of problems?" Jesse asked. Becky explained to Jesse all about what Sara heard, and Jesse breathed out a sigh.

"Joey had the right idea. I don't think I'll ever understand teenage girls either." Jesse said, feeling frustrated.

"I'm sure this will pass over fairly quickly, but I don't know how I feel about this Gia girl. Stephanie shouldn't even be hanging out with her. Steph has never been one to make fun of other people, whether she's doing it directly or not. She's always stuck up for the people she loves. It's just not like her to go against that." Becky replied, staring at Sara's door, hoping she would be able to get some sleep.

"I guess you're right. Stephanie and Sara have been close since day one." Jesse said, rubbing his eyes. "This will probably all blow over in a couple of days."