And, with the introduction of Sami in the last arc of the story, now we leap into the start of a new arc. "What is this new arc?" you might be asking. Read on to find out, my loves. And, enjoy. =)

Bayley still couldn't believe that she had made such a good friend in Sami. Just the fact that he still wanted to hang out with her despite all of what happened the day they first met was pretty surprising to the brunette preteen. If there was actually one thing that made their newfound friendship a bit tricky to work around, it was the fact that, after a few days and the paperwork finally went through, Sami started to go to the middle school that was in town. While she was still able to hang out with Sami when he got out of school, it still made Bayley a bit antsy to have to wait a few hours just to be able to hang out with Sami. And, some days, she couldn't even do that because Sami would have homework to work on that he couldn't get away from. It actually bummed Bayley out quite a bit that she couldn't hang out with one of her friends, but she just got used to it. After all, school seemed pretty important to Sami, so she just made due with time on her own while Sami was in school.

"School's been pretty fun," Sami said one day when he was sitting in the local ice cream shop with Bayley. "I'm sure you'd like it a lot if you came."

"I think I would too, Sami. But...I don't really do so well around crowds sometimes," Bayley said, twirling her spoon around in the ice cream sundae she had.

"Trust me. I know the feeling," Sami said, plucking off a piece of his ice cream sandwich and then popping it into his mouth. "After getting moved around a lot, making friends isn't exactly one of my strong suits."

"Well...you made friends with me and Seth," Bayley pointed out, sticking her tongue out at the redhead. "That's two friends for you right there."

Laughing at what the brunette said, Sami said "Yeah, you're right. It's just... I don't know. Part of me just gets worried that...the minute I do make any friends, my parents will just up and say one day that we have to move again."

Hearing Sami say all of this, Bayley could sort of relate to the redhead in a way. While she couldn't speak from experience about leaving behind friends, she could definitely get how it felt to have friends leave you. She could very vaguely remember times when Seth, Dean, and Roman would have others come visit the house that she knew were like them. She had become pretty close to them, and it always made her feel a bit bummed out when they would leave because, honestly, she would have no idea when she'd get to see any of them again. Taking a scoop of the strawberry ice cream in her sundae up, Bayley suggested "Well... What if I were to come to school with you?"

"What? Bayley. You would actually do that for me?" Sami asked, surprised to hear Bayley say this.

"Well...yeah," Bayley said, shoving the spoonful of ice cream into her mouth. Swallowing down the creamy confection, Bayley said "Sami. I know you've been here in Emerald Pines for a while now...and I know that you haven't really had the best luck with making friends outside of me, Seth, Dean, and Roman. So, I was thinking...maybe me being in school with you could be a big help to you. Plus, it could be something in the way of me making more friends, like the guys want me to."

"That actually sounds like a good idea when you put it that way. Plus, we could always be study buddies if we have some of the classes together," Sami mused out loud. A smile coming over his face, Sami said "OK! You talk to Seth and the others about it, and I'll be waiting to here the news from you."

"OK!" Bayley chirped. As she went back to finishing her ice cream with Sami doing the same, Bayley was honestly wondering just how her talk with the older Gems would go. She knew that Seth would be onboard with the idea because it would mean that she'd be getting an education of a sort, and Dean would be okay with it because it would mean that she'd be able to make some new friends. The only person that might have something in the way of an objection to this would be Roman, but...hopefully, Bayley would be able to convince Roman to let her start going to school. It was just going to take some very strong convincing on her end.

That evening

"Pleeeeease can I go to school, Roman?" Bayley insisted as she looked up to the dark-haired Gem, her best puppy dog pout on her face to try to soften Roman up. She had just got done telling the older Gems about her plan to start going to school so that she could be there for Sami. She had already laid out the positives that Seth and Dean would respectively want her to get out of the possible experience, which were getting an education and making some new friends. Now all she had to do was get Roman on her side with letting her attend school.

"Hmm..." Roman mumbled as he thought through all of what Bayley just said. He knew that sooner or later, the time was going to come that he and the other Gems let Bayley start to attend school. They had done their best to give her something in the way of an education, but their knowledge of humans, their ways, and the various areas of their history was fairly sparse and different from what was taught to human children. While there were parts of him that didn't quite agree with this idea, Roman knew it would be for the best to let Bayley have this experience. Finally coming to a realized decision, Roman said "OK."

"Hmm. What? What'd you say, Ro?" Bayley asked, a bit confused by Roman's response.

"OK, you can start going to school," Roman said. Seeing the excited look start to come across Bayley's face, Roman said "We've been wanting to send you to school for some time now, but we could never decide on a good time. And...since you're getting older, what better time than now?"

"Thanks, Ro!" Bayley said as she excitedly wrapped her arms around Roman in a hug. "So, when can I start going?"

"Well, we'll have to go to the school and talk to the people there about enrolling you first," Seth eagerly chimed in. "Then, we'll have to take you shopping for school supplies and new school clothes. Then, there'll be the matter of setting a homework schedule and a bedtime for you..."

As Seth eagerly rambled on about just what he and the others were going to have to do for Bayley when she started going to school, Dean asked "So, who's gonna go down to the school and talk with the folks there about enrolling squirt?"

"I'll go tomorrow morning," Roman said with Bayley still hugging his waist. "I can just tell the administrators there that I'm her dad. I'll also make sure to mention that you and Seth are her uncles in the event that she made need someone to pick her up from school early one day."

"That sounds pretty fair," Dean said, nodding his head. Looking over to Seth, who was still rambling on about stuff for Bayley when she started going to school, Dean said "Hey, mom! While you're over there making lists, I'll be making Bayley some dinner."

Snapping out of his list-making near insanity, Seth said "Let me help you, Dean. We wouldn't want something to happen like that night me and Roman trusted you to make soup."

"So, I let the water in the pot for the potatoes completely boil out," Dean said, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly. "I put more in there, didn't I?"

"Yeah. But, not before you almost let the pot get scorched!" Seth said, chastising the sandy blonde Gem.

As the other two Gems argued back and forth, Roman looked down at Bayley and said "Why don't you go take your bath and get dressed for bed, Bayley? I'll be in here helping these two get dinner prepared."

"OK!" Bayley chirped. Giving Roman one last squeeze, Bayley let the older Gem go and ran up the stairs that led to the level where her bed was and got her pajamas and other stuff she'd need to take her bath. She honestly couldn't believe that she would actually get to go to school and be there with Sami. She just hoped that Roman would be able to get her enrolled when he went to the school tomorrow.

Aww, how cute! Bayley wants to school! That's gonna make for some possibly adorable times. But, first things first. Roman's gotta go to the school and talk with someone about enrolling Bayley in the school. So, until next time, don't forget to R&R please. =)