A/N note: I have Mary Anne's house fire take place the summer after tenth grade. The house fire plot is Ann Martin's idea, not the current author's. The Fabulous Five is Betsy Haynes' creation, not the current author's. And the other usual disclaimers.

The BSC Legacy - Book 3: When Numbers Really Count

By: CNJ

PG-13

4: New Blood At SHS

Mary Anne:

I had trouble eating. I had a pain in my stomach and even though the awfulness of last night's nightmares, two of them in a row, were fading, I felt shaky and fearful.

"Are you all right, honey?" Sharon asked softly, touching my face. I nodded.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay home just for today?" Dad asked.

"No, I'll be all right later," I tried to smile. "I'm...I'm just nervous." I sipped some apple juice, my stomach bucking all the way.

"Go ahead and eat what you can," Sharon told me.

"We've been through a lot this summer and you're feeling the effects," Dawn added, sipping her juice and wolfing down her bagel and egg. "Not to mention what you and your other friends went through last year."

"Thanks..." I said softly, grateful that my stepsister was back here for junior and senior year.

I was also grateful for my family's support. I'm so glad we didn't leave Stoneybrook after all, but at the same time our rental house still feels very strange. I think all of us feel strange.

I'm so sad that our old house, the beautiful farmhouse is gone. Sharon and Dad are talking about using the barn to re-build the house.

If only I felt more at home here, I thought as we finished eating. I just nibbled on a bagel and forced myself to drink the juice.

Dawn and I hugged our parents before they left for work. Then Dawn and I got our school stuff and left a few minutes later.

"Still feeling lost?" Dawn asked on the way to school.

"Yes. It's so weird..." I tried to put my feeling into words. "It...feels like I'm living in this strange house and don't know where I belong in it. "Dawn... is it odd being back here?"

Dawn was quiet a minute. "A little...I'm glad to be back. I missed all of you. Our rental house does feel a little strange to me...kind of like a void that still needs to be filled."

"We will," I told her. If only I could be sure. "We're re-starting our new lives."

"Yeah. We've replaced most of our clothes and little things. And even at school, there'll be a lot of new students this year."

Due to re-zoning and the closing of the high school in the rural area of Stoneybrook, there are a lot of new students from all four grades coming to SHS this year. I guess if we could replace the feeling of...home, I'd say we've re-built what we lost in last summer's fire and our house would be back up again.

Anna:

Mom hugged Abby and me both for good luck, then we headed for school.

We were quiet a minute, then Abby told me, "I hope none of the new kids get sucked into the IN clique."

"Me too." I nodded. "I heard Ms. Silverbein is setting up a student mediation program at school and I overheard Mom on the phone talking to Ms. Brewer about taking more steps to watch the clique more closely."

"Good..." Abby muttered. "After what we all went through last year, we need all the support we can get."

I could sense that Abby was feeling a trace of anxiety remembering the In clique terrorizing SHS for most of last year.

Remembering the incident at Aster and Dusker's last March where a clique from Burkeview harassed us, I mentioned, "I hope Burkeview's principal is also doing something about their clique...from what that girl...Mona, I think her name is...Burkeview's also having trouble with their clique also."

"Me too," Abby agreed. "If they aren't, we can ask Ms. Silverbein."

"Good idea..." We reached SHS grounds by this time and headed in.

Abby is in a different homeroom, so we hugged each other good luck and parted ways until lunch.

Mona:

I'm in a homeroom with a Ms. Bird. I sat near the front and looked around. There weren't many kids in here yet, since it was kind of early. I didn't know any of them.

I was hoping one of the girls from the baby-sitters' Club might be in this homeroom, but so far I hadn't seen any of them. They're the only kids here I'd be familiar with. I first saw them in ninth grade at this big hangout place called Aster and Dusker's in Washington Mall, but got to really know them last year.

We met in an odd way. There's an IN group here at SHS and a snobby clique at my former school, Burkeview High.

Some of the BIG clique had found the BSC at Asterand Dusker's and were harassing them. I was there and had witnessed the whole incident. I got so fed up with them that I'd told them off! They'd been embarrassed and slunk off. The BSC had thanked me and invited me to sit with them for a while.

We talked and they're a nice group. That's when they told me about the IN crowd at their school who ran over other kids...including them.

They'd been a target of theirs for most of that late winter and spring of last year. Mary Anne Spier was in tears and two of the others...I think Stephanie or Tracey and a curly-haired one, I forgot her name, were just miserable.

Kristy Thomas is the leader of their club, kind of like Jana Morgan used to be the leader of the Fabulous Five back in middle school. It's the former Fabulous Five now.

Katie, Christie, and Beth are no longer friends with Jana or Melanie. Jana and Beth used to be best friends, but had a huge falling-out last April and Jana said some really awful things to Beth and Beth was devastated. So now Jana, her boyfriend, Randy, and Melanie are part of the BIG clique.

The first bell rang and more kids poured in. That's when I heard a familiar voice and looked up.

Mary Anne and the curly haired girl from the BSC were here! They stood in the doorway for a minute, their brown eyes wide and peering around nervously. They even look like they could be sisters, I thought. They have the same coloring.

I smiled, noticing that they both had terrific haircuts! Mary Anne's dark hair was now cut in a short layered style with her bangs feathered a little and slightly long in the back. Her friend's hair, which had been long last year, was now very short and curled softly around her face.

"Mary Anne!" I called.

Mary Anne saw me and her face lit up in a terrific warm smile. She and the other girl headed toward me and sat. Good thing we had empty seats nearby.

"Mona!" Mary Anne sighed. "It's good to see you here of all places!"

"Welcome to Stoneybrook High, Mona," the other girl smiled softly. "I'm Anna Stevenson."

"And I'm Mona Vaughn." I felt my shyness fade away.

Anna. That's her name. She seemed quieter, though. I had the impression of her last year as being really bubbly, athletic, and outgoing.

"Nice haircuts," I told them. "So...Anna, are you in the soccer team here?"

"No," Anna shook her head.

"She means Abby," Mary Anne put in. "Anna has a twin sister, Abby, who's into sports."

"Oh, I get it."

Now I understood. I'd wondered why she seemed so different from last year. So it had been Abby I'd talked to last year, not Anna.

"I'm so glad we're in the same homeroom," Mary Anne told us. "Kristy, Claudia, and Abby are in a homeroom with Ms. Chen."

"How are the others?" I asked and we launched into a conversation.

All of us began to relax. I learned that the one I'd thought was Stephanie was actually Stacey. I also found out that I was in Mary Anne's gym and sociology classes and in Anna's English and music classes.

"I guess today'll be all right after all," Mary Anne said. "I was a bit...nervous this morning." I nodded sympathetically. I know Mary Anne is shy like me.

Mary Anne:

It was a little like our first day of freshman year seeing all these new kids, strangers. But this time, it was us who knew our way around.

In addition to the usual lost freshman, there were a lot of lost new kids from other grades too. My heart went out to them as they struggled to find their way around.

It's good to have Mona here at SHS. I helped her find her way around classes, so she wouldn't be too lost. Fortunately, we had several classes together and she was in Anna's music class.

The day was still a little overwhelming, but I didn't feel as shaky as I did this morning. On the way to lunch, I saw Ms. Fedders, the moderator of the SHS Beacon and our freshman and sophomore English teacher.

I waved at her and she waved back. She came over to me.

"How've you been Mary Anne?" She asked me softly.

I managed a weak smile. "Better."

I wondered if I should tell her that I haven't been able to laugh since the fire, which happened in June and that I haven't had a period since then either. Dawn tells me that it's the stress that's holding my periods up.

"I just want you to know...I heard about that awful fire and what you and your family went through. I hope you got the silverware that I donated. I also want you to know that if you or Dawn ever want to talk, come find me. I can imagine how frightening it must have been for you." She spoke in a low voice, so no one in the halls could hear.

"Thank you, Ms. Fedders," I whispered, my throat tightening. I was touched by her kindness. "I did get the silverware. We all appreciate your help." We walked down the hall a bit and I told her about the rental house and how Sharon and my dad were going to renovate the barn.

"Oh, I'm so glad to hear that," she told me. "Are you sleeping well?"

"Yes and no..." I told her that I'd had some really bad nightmares over the summer and had a couple last night, but that they were becoming less intense and frequent now. We parted and Ms. Fedders gave me a hug.

"Just remember that I'm here for you," she told me before she headed into what I guessed was the teachers' lounge.

I felt more at ease, better than I had in months. It looked like this day was going to be a decent one...Ms. Fedders' offering her support, Dawn back here for the last two years of high school...and maybe, maybe with all these new kids, the IN clique won't be so scary and intimidating as it was last year.

I headed to the cafeteria and managed to walk by Riles Greer and his cronies without shuddering or cringing, even when they snickered a little.

I had just finished my homework that night and wandered toward the kitchen to get a snack.

I found Sharon sitting on the living room floor, leafing through photos, the ones Grandma had given us last summer after the fire. Some of them were sticking together and I stooped on the floor and helped Sharon pull them apart without tearing them.

I looked at my natural mother's ring on my finger and felt a sad ache in my stomach.

"If I hadn't picked that house..." Sharon said softly. I noticed her eyes were full of tears.

"Sharon, what's...?"

"I wish I hadn't...if I'd picked another, better house, none of this would have happened...we wouldn't be in this house..."

Sharon looked at me, her eyes so pained that I felt tears well in my eyes too. "You wouldn't have gone through all that you did last summer..."

She's feeling guilty, I thought, my heart wrenching for her.

"Oh, Sh-Sharon, it's not your fault," I hugged her.

We both cried for a good long time. I never knew my stepmom was blaming herself. We then leaned on the couch.

"You..." I sniffled. "...had no way of knowing about...the wiring." I wiped my eyes. How awful it must have been for her!

"Thanks, Mary Anne," Sharon stroked my hair. "You've been great throughout this whole ordeal."

I leaned on her, glad that we'd survived that awful fire.

After I grabbed a snack of sugar cookies, I went to bed. I cried a few fresh tears after I got into bed.

I guess I was crying mostly for Sharon, but partly for our old house and all that we'd lost.

I guess my tears were also of relief...that we'd all made it out alive, that Grandma brought over more mementos, that not all of my diaries were lost, and that even Tigger was here, meewing softly and climbing on my bed. He reached over and licked face.

"Yeah, Mousekins, I'm glad we're here," I whispered, stroking him.