It had been over a week since the Altruists tried to kidnap Erica and Tracey. For the most part, Erica was over it. She was scared for a few days and slept in Amanda and Michael's room, but after that, she was fine. Michael and Amanda decided to send her and Tracey to therapy despite Michael's obvious protests about it. Lester had found a good psychologist that didn't overcharge and actually listened to his patients. The therapist was surprised at how fast the nine year old got over it, but he explained to Amanda that she had admitted to being in similar situations before and that Amanda should consider making sure she's never in such a situation again. Tracey, however, was still shaken up by the entire event. She slipped back into her partying habits and said how she was going to drop out of school. Michael, however, talked her out of this by saying that he was extremely proud of her for doing something with her life and reminded her that if she completed it, she'd be the first one to graduate from college in the family. This motivated her more so than therapy because she was always searching for some form of approval from her father.

Erica could understand why Tracey wanted that from her father because she wanted the exact same thing from her own mother. The only difference was that Michael was proud of his daughter while Elizabeth thought of her daughter as a mistake. There wasn't anything she could do about it other than ignore the resentment she had developed towards her cousin. Erica thought Tracey was stupid for throwing up after she ate and rarely felt bad for her anymore when she did so. She thought her reasoning was stupid because she doubted that Michael ever said that he didn't want a fat daughter. He didn't really seem to care about that, considering Jimmy was overweight himself and Michael wouldn't really comment on it. Therefore, when Tracey ran up to the bathroom that afternoon, Erica rushed up the stairs after her, not allowing her to shut the door. "What are you doing?" Erica questioned.

"Please, just leave me alone," Tracey snarled. Erica had greatly improved within the past week during her acting, singing, and dancing lessons. When she showed off the new songs she learned as she had gotten over her stage fright, Tracey looked angry when she noticed that the nine year old had more talent than her when it came to singing and dancing. Erica tried to be nice about it, but Tracey could be, well, a bitch. Erica wanted to show Tracey that she could also be bitchy. Because of this little rivalry they had going on, Erica would always ask Amanda or Michael if they wanted to see what she learned. They always would encourage her and when they left the room. Erica would give Tracey a look to tell her to give up, but the blonde wouldn't be so easily defeated by a kid.

"I don't think I can feel bad for you anymore. What you're doing is stupid. I bet if you were poor you wouldn't be throwing up all this food," Erica shrugged.

"How would you know?" Tracey glared.

"Because I don't think you're actually suffering from this illness. You just do it for attention. I've noticed something interesting though," Erica said. She was good at causing trouble. She really hadn't been this mean since she left North Yankton, but she felt since Tracey was mean to her earlier and humiliating her in front of Jimmy, she'd get her back. Before all of this was happening in the bathroom, Tracey reminded her that Erica was trailer park trash and wouldn't ever get to be an actress.

"And what would that be?"

"You didn't care when I got close with your mom. I actually think you were happy for me. But just recently when I got close with your dad, you suddenly hate me," Erica replied, narrowing her eyes. "Watch out, blondie, because you don't know who you're messing with."

"A nine year old girl who's too short for her age doesn't scare me," Tracey replied nonchalantly.

"Oh, be very afraid, Tracey. Be very afraid."

"Whatever," Tracey rolled her eyes and left the bathroom. Erica smirked, knowing that she had just stopped Tracey from harming herself as well as winning that little argument.

"What was that about?" Jimmy asked his younger cousin when he saw Tracey storm out of the bathroom and then slam her door.

"Tracey was going to puke, but then we got in a fight, and I think she forgot about it," Erica shrugged.

"What happened between you guys? You were, like, really close."

"It's a long story."

"I've got time," Jimmy said. He grabbed Erica's small hand and led her into his room. He shut the door so that their conversation would remain private. She hated how dark his room was, so she opened the curtains to let in the natural light. She sat beside him on his bed and kicked her feet against it. "Talk," he demanded, but gently.

"She's been mad at me ever since she saw me sleeping in the same bed as Michael after the whole…thing," she said, referring to the almost Altruist kidnapping that occurred. "But I was scared. I did want Amanda, but she was in Tracey's room and I didn't want to wake her up and everything. So, I went to Michael. I just didn't want to be alone that night." She said this quickly thinking that if she slowed down, she wouldn't be able to say it.

"So I guess now you like hanging out with my dad, and she doesn't like it," Jimmy stated.

"Yeah," Erica nodded. "I don't get why she gets so jealous."

"Me either," Jimmy agreed. "I don't give a crap if you hang out with my parents. Gets them off my back. She should be happy that you're distracting them," he laughed. "I sure am!"

"Did Amanda forget to mention to you that you four are going out to the movies?" Erica grinned.

"What do you mean?" Jimmy said, eyes wide.

"You, Tracey, Amanda, and Michael are going out tonight."

"What about you?"

"I'm going to theater practice," Erica replied as if he should know this.

"And you aren't going because…"

"Because I'm too young to see a rated R movie. I don't know why, though. But she said it would be good for the four of you to bond."

"Take my place and beg to see a kid movie?" Jimmy asked hopefully.

"No, I already have plans. And besides, I'm just a kid."

"You don't mind being left out?"

"No, I spend plenty of time with both of your parents. You and Tracey don't hang out with them a lot so it's fair," she said crossing her arms with a smile on her face.

"Yeah, yeah. Go to your theater thing and totally make me suffer. That's so fair," he joked.

Erica arrived at the theater and immediately reported to Margarita's private studio. She did her warmups before she started doing the ballet routine she was taught. She was very close to perfecting it; she just had to learn how to pirouette without stumbling at the end. In her spare time, she practiced balancing and even had Amanda teach her how to do some yoga positions that helped with her balance. Her attitude in school approved and she wouldn't talk back anymore. She found that taking orders wasn't as bad as she initially thought and did as she was told.

Margarita was obviously proud of her progress and reported that her discipline had greatly improved. However, today Erica was doing rather poorly when she danced and Margarita commented on it multiple times. Disappointment was evident in her tone which only caused Erica to stumble more than usual. "Stop, stop!" Margarita said and shut off the music. "Let's sit down," she said and went into her office that was attached to the studio. Erica followed and took a seat across from one of the few people that believed in her.

"I'm sorry," she hung her head in defeat.

"Don't apologize. However, when you're a professional, you can't let things that bother you affect your acting. It's all part of the job. But I do recognize that you are only a child right now. So tell me what's on your mind," Margarita said with concern. Erica picked at her pink tights that clung to her legs. She pinched the fabric, stretched it, and let go. She did this several times before answering and bit her lower lip in thought.

"Tracey and I had a fight," Erica said and forced herself to stop fidgeting and look her mentor in the eye.

"I see. What is it about, if I may ask?"

"I got scared one night and instead of getting my aunt, I got my uncle instead. And she didn't like it. And it makes her mad that he's proud of me because I can dance and I got good at singing and stuff," Erica explained.

"So, Tracey is jealous then?"

Erica nodded in confirmation. "She always wanted to be a singer and a dancer, but she's just not good enough. She tried to win Fame or Shame to get famous. Since all this jealousy started, she hasn't been nice to me and I miss how things used to be."

"Don't let her get you down. She'll get over it," Margarita responded. "Especially since you'll be playing Glinda in The Wizard of Oz."

"What?" Erica asked in complete shock.

"The girl who was supposed to play her quit. Turns out she hated acting and her parents finally took her out."

"But shouldn't that part go to someone older or, well, better?"

"Probably, but I think you can handle Glinda. All you do is wear a dress and appear three times in the entire show. She's an icon, but her part is actually not that big. It'll be a good beginner role for you and you'll see whether or not you'd want to continue this back at home. It's not like I'm giving you the role of Dorothy. Besides, you have the right hair color."

"Thank you so much, Margarita. I won't let you down," Erica said excitedly as she accepted the role.

"If you do a great job, why, you could be a star. A real star. Not one of those girls on Fame or Shame."

Later that night, Erica gathered the script and happily got into the car where Michael was waiting for her. She told him that she got the part as Glinda. Being a movie producer and a lover of old classics, he was extremely happy for her. She did remind him it wasn't that big of a role; it wasn't like she was Dorothy or the Scarecrow, but nevertheless, he was as happy for her as he would have been if she had been the star of the show. She read some of her lines and giggled in excitement.

When they arrived home, Michael made her blush furiously when he walked into the living room and announced that his niece was going to be a star someday. Amanda and Jimmy congratulated her while Tracey stayed silent on the couch. "She's gonna be a star on Broadway someday," Michael said and sat down on the couch pulling Erica onto his lap. She showed Amanda the script and eagerly showed her the highlighted lines.

"There aren't a whole lot of lines," she explained. "But I have to start somewhere."

"It's not the lead, but it's a role people will remember," Amanda replied. "I'm very proud of you."

"Jimmy, take note; Erica worked hard at something and got a role. Work hard at getting a job and you'll get one," Michael joked. Jimmy rolled his eyes but didn't want to ruin the moment for his cousin. He no longer had that jealousy or the lingering envy he kept to himself. Instead, that seemed to pass on to his sister who showed it.

"Will you help me rehearse?" Erica asked her uncle. Momentarily, she forgot about the rivalry that had developed between her and her cousin. It seemed that Tracey hadn't and scoffed at the idea of her father helping this girl.

"Yeah, of course. We'll start first thing tomorrow," Michael promised. Tracey stormed out of the room which the rest of the family ignored as she made her way into the kitchen. Within thirty seconds, she came right back into the room holding up a piece of paper.

"What is this?" the blonde asked in an annoyed tone. Erica just realized that her cousin's voice was somewhat annoying as it was too nasally. She began to wonder if it was forced or if she really spoke like a valley girl by coincidence.

"Erica's spelling test. What's the matter with you tonight?" Amanda asked in an annoyed tone.

"Did you see what she wrote on it?" Tracey queried.

"What do you mean?" Amanda was obviously confused. Erica had done well on her test and received a one hundred so Amanda put it on the refrigerator like she used to when her own kids were that age.

"Look at the name on the top," Tracey said and handed her mother the test. It read: Erica De Santa.

"Oh," Amanda said, not sure what else to say since she didn't notice it until it was pointed out.

"Why are you using our last name?" Tracey asked Erica.

"Why does it matter?" Erica replied and crossed her arms.

"Stop it, you two," Michael said before anything could escalate.

"You're going to tell her that she should use her, like, own last name. Right, daddy?"

"Well, Tracey's right. You should use your own last name," Michael said.

"What's wrong with Meyers?" Amanda asked.

"I don't really know why. I think I was sad that day. Sometimes I don't want to go back to North Yankton, so I pretend that I am a De Santa. It won't happen again. I'll be more careful."

"I don't think it really matters," Jimmy finally spoke up. "I mean, it's not like she's signing important stuff. And she's probably smart enough to use her real last name if, like, I don't know…if a cop asks her or a judge or something."

"I think Jimmy's actually right this time," Michael said, making his final decision. "Now, no fighting and no gloating," he said as he turned to his daughter and son respectively. "It's almost your bedtime, kid. Go up and get ready." Erica nodded and stayed silent as she hopped off of his lap and made her way up the stairs. She stood on the top of the stairs for a moment to hear Amanda's harsh whispering to Tracey. She couldn't make out what they were saying, but she did hear Tracey make a high pitched grunt in annoyance and storm out of the room. This was Erica's cue to run into the bathroom and brush her teeth. She made sure nobody was in the hallway before she darted into her bedroom. Right before she shut the door, Tracey stopped her.

"I can't wait until you go back to where you came from."

"And I can't wait until you see my name up in lights in ten years."

Uh oh! Some "sibling" rivalry to mix things up!

Thanks again to everyone who reads and reviews!