ChAPTER FOUR
Michelle grinned broadly. "That's so cute," she said to herself. "Does he know it yet?"
"He will. He liked my dancing. And, he gave me a flower," Suzie answered.
Michelle figured Nicky had comlpimented Suzie's dancing when Michelle wasn't paying attention. She didn't have much time to think about that, though. Rachel walked up to her almost as soon as she started the practice.
"I figured you could use another cheerleader," Rachel said. Then, she looked at Suzie. "Don't tell me you're going to try cheerleading. You're just a little kid."
"Oh, yeah? Watch this." Suzie jumped and yelled "hooray." She tried to turn a cartwheel before falling over halfway through. She got up and hollered, "Yay, team!"
Rachel waved her off. "That's a piece of cake. Watch this." Rachel did several acrobatic spins. She then did two somersaults, jumped up, and hollered, "Comets!"
Michelle whistled. "Wow, Rachel, you are good." Suddenly, Michelle had an idea. Rachel was starting to be friendly, but she'd never learned to be nice. Maybe teaching someone would help her learn. "Can I see you for a second?"
Rachel and Michelle met behind the water cooler. "What is it?"
"Look, Suzie was going to cheer with Cassie and Mandy. But, you might be able to teach her yourself." Rachel beamed. "Now, she's almost six years younger than you."
"Well, duh," Rachel commented.
"Rachel, listen. That means she needs lots of encouragement. No nasty talk. If you have to corect her, be nice about it. Compliment the things she does right. If you can be really nice, she'll look up to you. And, you'll have made a great friend." She smiled warmly at Rachel. "Haven't I always said I love doing nice things?"
Rachel thought for a moment, then sighed. She remembered how Michelle had been nice to her last spring, even when she wasn't nice back. She could tell Michelle had enjoyed helping her a lot, even when Rachel hadn't wanted her help. Rachel imagined that she cold get the same kind of feelng.
"You're right, Michelle. You have tried. I still remember that penguin job you gave me in the ice show. I didn't think I'd like it, but I was the star." Rachel purposely avoided mentioning the more recent episode, near the end of the school year. Having someone follow in her footsteps seemed to be intriguing Rachel. "You'll really let me show her I'm the best?"
"I'll let you show her how to be like the best," Michelle corrected her.
"Cool. What do I do now?"
"Show her a few simple cheers. Cassie and Mandy will help you," Michelle said.
Michelle and Rachel walked over to the other three girls. They were doing jumping jacks. "Guys, take five. Rachel's going to coach Suzie in cheerleading." She read incredible shock on her friends' faces. "Look, it'll be okay. I told her just what I expect."
D.J. walked over with her boyfriend, Steve. They and several parents would be supervising the practice. "Are you sure that's a good idea, Michelle," D.J. wanted to know.
Michelle nodded. "Reember what you always said about your best friend Kimmy?"
"Kimmy's quite a character. But, she was always a lot friendlier than Rachel," D.J. said out of the corner of her mouth.
"But, you kept showing her how to be good. Just like I try to show Rachel how to be nice," Michelle whispered.
D.J. grinned. "Okay. But, you might have to help her. And you're already coaching."
"That's what Cassie and Mandy are here for," Michelle said.
"Okay, good luck." D.J. and Steve walked back to their seats.
Michelle checked over the roster, then scanned the children in front of her. "Hey, we're missing some boys."
"A couple kids came down with chicken pox. And, Roy broke his arm," Jamar explained.
Michelle rolled her eyes. Roy was one of their starting receivers. Another of the missing kids also caught balls.
The league's rules said no player could be above a certain weight. But, they didn't say anything about a minimum weight. "Derek, do you think you could play?" Derek leaped up quickly. "Sure. I played in a mitey-mite league back home."
"What about me," Suzie said.
Derek chuckled, shaking his head. "I don't think a girl can play football."
Rachel said she could help. "I could be a receiver. In fact, I'd like to play Saturday. But, Michelle told me to teach Suzie. Suzie and I will practice catching the ball, as well as cheerleading."
Michelle laughed. It wasn't likely that either Rachel or Suzie would play. So, she agreed. "Okay, Rachel. That's fair. Derek, get in..."
Mrs. Anderson, the team mother, walked up to Michelle. "We'll need Mrs. Johnson to sign a permission form. I have one in my car. Practice with the others while I take it to her."
Michelle grinned. Some of her problems were solved. By the time Mrs. Anderson returned, Michelle had had the team practicing many running plays. Mrs. Anderson showed up with Mrs. Johnson and Mark. Becky had picked up the twins right before Mrs. Anderson got there.
Mark walked up to Michelle as she wrote on her clipboard. "Our Grandma knows your Mommy."
Michelle bit her lip. She felt and looked uneasy. How would she explain that her mother was dead? She wasn't on the earth for their grandma to know. Michelle had never known her herself. It would be such a shock to him.
Thankfully, Cassie was nearby. "Is your Grandma in Heaven?" came the guess. When Mark said "yes," Michelle passed Cassie a look of immense relief.
Mark had noticed Michelle's face. Not sure what it meant, he guessed. "Are you sad 'cause you don't have a Mommy?"
Not sure of what to do, Michelle simply nodded slowly. "She died when I was a baby."
Mark instantly hugged Michelle. The warmth of the impromptu show of love meant a lot to Michelle. She had a wonderful family. There was always lots of warmth and love shown in her home. And, at times like this, a big hug was very helpful.
Something else would have warmed her heart even more, had she noticed. Rachel and Suzie had observed the entire scene.
CHAPTER FIVE
Suzie turned to face Rachel. She noticed her cheerleading coach was gazing intently. "Michelle's nice, isn't she, Rachel?"
"Yeah," Rachel mumbled. "Come on, let's try another of those."
"Okay. I like doing ferris wheels."
Rachel bit her tongue. "It's carthweels," she muttered under her breath.
"Whatever. Hold my legs up, that's my problem." Rachel helped Suzie turn cartwheels while they spoke. "When did you first meet Michelle?"
Michelle glanced over and smiled. She was excited to see Rachel trying to be patient.
"Last year." Rachel tried to let go, but Suzie's left foot nearly hit her in the nose. "Watch where those feet are flying!" she complained.
"Sorry. I'll bet you were sad when you heard she didn't have a Mommy." Suzie nearly made it three-quarters of the way before falling when Rachel let go.
Rachel formed a half-grin. "Not bad for a beginner. Try to shift your body a little." Rachel did one of her own to demonstrate.
"Okay. I'll try that. So, were you sad?"
Rachel could tell Suzie wouldn't budge until she answered. She said half-heartedly "I didn't really think about it."
Michelle sighed. At least Rachel wasn't claiming she was better because she had a mom.
"It's scary, huh?" Suzie said sadly. She couldn't stand to think about not having a mother. "I felt really bad for Michelle. I went in and gave my mommy a really big hug. Did you do that?"
"Look, can we stop talking about this?" Rachel stormed.
"Why?"
Rachel rolled her eyes. She was trying very hard to be nice, like Michelle said. Plus, she wanted this girl to think of her as a great coach. "I just don't want to think about it," she said with a growl in her voice.
"It's okay to be scared," Suzie assured her.
Rachel fumed, clenching her fists and walking away. Michelle wasn't sure what to say, but she walked towrd Rachel, anyway.
Mary sat by Rachel on the bench. "Hey, you're doing a good job teaching Suzie." She paused a moment. "You know, this is the first time my children have ever considered that Mommies can die young. I bet you never thought about that before you met Michelle, either."
Rachel shook her head.
"But you know what I told them? There would always be someone around to love them. Someone to hug them and tuck them in and tell them stories and all that. I told them if something happens, their Daddy and I have everything planned. Just like Michelle's did. So, they'll always be in a home with lots of love," Mrs. Johnson said.
Rachel forced a grin. "I'm sure it'll never happen. But..." She breathed heavily. "I guess it is scary." She gave a look of shock. "Don't you dare tell anyone I said that, Michelle. I can't believe I admitted that."
Michelle nodded and walked away slowly. She wished she could think of something to say. She'd never thought of how Rachel might have felt about learning Michelle didn't have a mom. Of course, being scared didn't give Rachel the right to be mean. But, maybe Michelle could help her, somehow.
She would do that later, though. Right now, she had a football team to coach.
Suzie, meanwhile, was discussing her "true love" with Cassie. She turned quickly to Rachel. "Do you think Michelle's cousins are cute, Rachel?"
Rachel decided to have some fun. "I never thought much about them. But, you see that quarterback?" She pointed toward a tall fifth grader with wavy black hair. "That's Simon Granger. Michelle thinks he's hot."
Cassie shot Rachel a look as Suzie turned a cartwheel. "Rachel, Michelle says he's 'cute.' But I have never heard her say he's hot."
"Come on, Cassie. I just want to have a little fun. Hey, you did it," Rachel said with shock. Suzie had turned her first cartwheel on her own! The other girls cheered.
"Yep. So, should I tell Michelle's cousin I like him?" Suzie asked.
Rachel smirked. She teased, "Sure. If you play your cards right, you could be married to him by the end of the week."
"Oh, boy. Thanks, Rachel," Suzie shouted. Cassie and Mandy both stared hard at Rachel.
CHAPTER SIX
After practice, Michelle and her friends ate some pizzas that someone ordered. They sat at a picnic table with Suzie and her mom.
"Will those boys be coming over here tomorrow," Suzie asked as she bit into a piece of pizza.
Michelle smiled. "She must really like one of them." "Uncle Jesse's taking tomorrow off. He'll be home for them."
Mary nodded. "I'm sorry, sweetheart, we won't have to babysit them. But, they seem like a very nice family. You can go over there when they're not in school," Mary remarked.
"Good." Suzie took a sip of soda. "Can I get married now when I'm five?"
Milk came out Michelle's nose because she laughed while drinking it. "Suzie, D.J.'s not even married yet."
"I'm sure she's talking about a play wedding," Mrs. Johnson said.
"Michelle's friend said I could. And she wouldn't lie," Suzie said.
Michelle decided to let it go. She determined that Suzie had to know they were playing, if one of her friends told her that.
The next day, the Johnsons went sightseeing. They stopped by the Tanners after school. Michelle was doing her homework before going to Lee's practice. Jesse was upstairs. Stephanie and her friends were watching the twins in the back yard while they studied.
The Johnson children quickly went upstairs to the attic. "Wow. This is like another home!" Suzie said.
Jesse came out of the boys' room. "Hey, nifty apartment, huh? Careful, don't touch all that," he said. He pointed at a large collection of Elvis Presley items.
Derek said, "It looks just like our attic. They've got junk, too."
Jesse rolled his eyes. He explained patiently. "Look, this isn't junk. It's Elvis Presley memorabilia. This is the king of rock and roll here."
"Where's his crown," Mark asked.
"Look, it's obvious you don't appreciate all this. That's fine. But it's to look at, then. Not to touch. Why don't you go play outside? I've got a little work to do while my boys are occupied."
Alex came upstairs at that moment. "I came to get my jacket. Hi, Suzie," he said with a smile.
"Hi. Your daddy loves Elvis," Suzie said.
"Yeah." He put his jacket on, then pulled a cookie out of the pocket.. "Here, this is from school yesterday. Do you want it?"
Suzie took the cookie. "Thank you. These are my favorite kind."
"Hey, when do we get some," Derek complained.
"I'll show you the cookie jar." Alex led them downstairs. They failed to hear Jesse telling Alex to only give each person one cookie.
Alex ran outside ahead of the others after each got a cookie. He ran around to the front while Mary said "what do we say?"
"Thank you," the children cried as Nicky rode his tricycle into the back yard.
"You're welcome," Nicky said. He turned to Mrs. Johnson. "What did I do?"
"What, you don't remember," Derek asked. Nicky had on the same style jacket as Alex, and the same blue jumpsuit.
"He's just being nice," Suzie shot back at Derek. She took Nicky's hands. "You're a very nice host. First you give me a flower, now this." Suzie sighed. "Rachel's right," she said to herself.
Suzie went inside. Suzie found Michelle doing homework in her bedroom . "Michelle," she said, "your cousin just gave me a cookie. It was my favorite kind."
Michelle looked up from her paper. "Yeah, they're really nice, huh?" She glanced at her watch. "Well, I've only got a couple more math problems. I'll do them when we get back."
"Michelle, were you ever in love?"
Michelle chuckled, and turned all her attention to the girl who seemed to be her "little sib" then. "I thought I was when I was a little older than you. Steve gave me a valentine candy. I thought that meant he wanted to marry me. We had a play wedding, but I was hoping it was real." She scratched her head. "Why?"
"I think your cousin likes me," Suzie explained.
"Well, you better ask him first," Michelle remarked. As they prepared to leave for practice, Michelle wished she had a little sister like Suzie. She was helping just like Stephanie and D.J. had helped her for so many years.
Michelle grinned broadly. "That's so cute," she said to herself. "Does he know it yet?"
"He will. He liked my dancing. And, he gave me a flower," Suzie answered.
Michelle figured Nicky had comlpimented Suzie's dancing when Michelle wasn't paying attention. She didn't have much time to think about that, though. Rachel walked up to her almost as soon as she started the practice.
"I figured you could use another cheerleader," Rachel said. Then, she looked at Suzie. "Don't tell me you're going to try cheerleading. You're just a little kid."
"Oh, yeah? Watch this." Suzie jumped and yelled "hooray." She tried to turn a cartwheel before falling over halfway through. She got up and hollered, "Yay, team!"
Rachel waved her off. "That's a piece of cake. Watch this." Rachel did several acrobatic spins. She then did two somersaults, jumped up, and hollered, "Comets!"
Michelle whistled. "Wow, Rachel, you are good." Suddenly, Michelle had an idea. Rachel was starting to be friendly, but she'd never learned to be nice. Maybe teaching someone would help her learn. "Can I see you for a second?"
Rachel and Michelle met behind the water cooler. "What is it?"
"Look, Suzie was going to cheer with Cassie and Mandy. But, you might be able to teach her yourself." Rachel beamed. "Now, she's almost six years younger than you."
"Well, duh," Rachel commented.
"Rachel, listen. That means she needs lots of encouragement. No nasty talk. If you have to corect her, be nice about it. Compliment the things she does right. If you can be really nice, she'll look up to you. And, you'll have made a great friend." She smiled warmly at Rachel. "Haven't I always said I love doing nice things?"
Rachel thought for a moment, then sighed. She remembered how Michelle had been nice to her last spring, even when she wasn't nice back. She could tell Michelle had enjoyed helping her a lot, even when Rachel hadn't wanted her help. Rachel imagined that she cold get the same kind of feelng.
"You're right, Michelle. You have tried. I still remember that penguin job you gave me in the ice show. I didn't think I'd like it, but I was the star." Rachel purposely avoided mentioning the more recent episode, near the end of the school year. Having someone follow in her footsteps seemed to be intriguing Rachel. "You'll really let me show her I'm the best?"
"I'll let you show her how to be like the best," Michelle corrected her.
"Cool. What do I do now?"
"Show her a few simple cheers. Cassie and Mandy will help you," Michelle said.
Michelle and Rachel walked over to the other three girls. They were doing jumping jacks. "Guys, take five. Rachel's going to coach Suzie in cheerleading." She read incredible shock on her friends' faces. "Look, it'll be okay. I told her just what I expect."
D.J. walked over with her boyfriend, Steve. They and several parents would be supervising the practice. "Are you sure that's a good idea, Michelle," D.J. wanted to know.
Michelle nodded. "Reember what you always said about your best friend Kimmy?"
"Kimmy's quite a character. But, she was always a lot friendlier than Rachel," D.J. said out of the corner of her mouth.
"But, you kept showing her how to be good. Just like I try to show Rachel how to be nice," Michelle whispered.
D.J. grinned. "Okay. But, you might have to help her. And you're already coaching."
"That's what Cassie and Mandy are here for," Michelle said.
"Okay, good luck." D.J. and Steve walked back to their seats.
Michelle checked over the roster, then scanned the children in front of her. "Hey, we're missing some boys."
"A couple kids came down with chicken pox. And, Roy broke his arm," Jamar explained.
Michelle rolled her eyes. Roy was one of their starting receivers. Another of the missing kids also caught balls.
The league's rules said no player could be above a certain weight. But, they didn't say anything about a minimum weight. "Derek, do you think you could play?" Derek leaped up quickly. "Sure. I played in a mitey-mite league back home."
"What about me," Suzie said.
Derek chuckled, shaking his head. "I don't think a girl can play football."
Rachel said she could help. "I could be a receiver. In fact, I'd like to play Saturday. But, Michelle told me to teach Suzie. Suzie and I will practice catching the ball, as well as cheerleading."
Michelle laughed. It wasn't likely that either Rachel or Suzie would play. So, she agreed. "Okay, Rachel. That's fair. Derek, get in..."
Mrs. Anderson, the team mother, walked up to Michelle. "We'll need Mrs. Johnson to sign a permission form. I have one in my car. Practice with the others while I take it to her."
Michelle grinned. Some of her problems were solved. By the time Mrs. Anderson returned, Michelle had had the team practicing many running plays. Mrs. Anderson showed up with Mrs. Johnson and Mark. Becky had picked up the twins right before Mrs. Anderson got there.
Mark walked up to Michelle as she wrote on her clipboard. "Our Grandma knows your Mommy."
Michelle bit her lip. She felt and looked uneasy. How would she explain that her mother was dead? She wasn't on the earth for their grandma to know. Michelle had never known her herself. It would be such a shock to him.
Thankfully, Cassie was nearby. "Is your Grandma in Heaven?" came the guess. When Mark said "yes," Michelle passed Cassie a look of immense relief.
Mark had noticed Michelle's face. Not sure what it meant, he guessed. "Are you sad 'cause you don't have a Mommy?"
Not sure of what to do, Michelle simply nodded slowly. "She died when I was a baby."
Mark instantly hugged Michelle. The warmth of the impromptu show of love meant a lot to Michelle. She had a wonderful family. There was always lots of warmth and love shown in her home. And, at times like this, a big hug was very helpful.
Something else would have warmed her heart even more, had she noticed. Rachel and Suzie had observed the entire scene.
CHAPTER FIVE
Suzie turned to face Rachel. She noticed her cheerleading coach was gazing intently. "Michelle's nice, isn't she, Rachel?"
"Yeah," Rachel mumbled. "Come on, let's try another of those."
"Okay. I like doing ferris wheels."
Rachel bit her tongue. "It's carthweels," she muttered under her breath.
"Whatever. Hold my legs up, that's my problem." Rachel helped Suzie turn cartwheels while they spoke. "When did you first meet Michelle?"
Michelle glanced over and smiled. She was excited to see Rachel trying to be patient.
"Last year." Rachel tried to let go, but Suzie's left foot nearly hit her in the nose. "Watch where those feet are flying!" she complained.
"Sorry. I'll bet you were sad when you heard she didn't have a Mommy." Suzie nearly made it three-quarters of the way before falling when Rachel let go.
Rachel formed a half-grin. "Not bad for a beginner. Try to shift your body a little." Rachel did one of her own to demonstrate.
"Okay. I'll try that. So, were you sad?"
Rachel could tell Suzie wouldn't budge until she answered. She said half-heartedly "I didn't really think about it."
Michelle sighed. At least Rachel wasn't claiming she was better because she had a mom.
"It's scary, huh?" Suzie said sadly. She couldn't stand to think about not having a mother. "I felt really bad for Michelle. I went in and gave my mommy a really big hug. Did you do that?"
"Look, can we stop talking about this?" Rachel stormed.
"Why?"
Rachel rolled her eyes. She was trying very hard to be nice, like Michelle said. Plus, she wanted this girl to think of her as a great coach. "I just don't want to think about it," she said with a growl in her voice.
"It's okay to be scared," Suzie assured her.
Rachel fumed, clenching her fists and walking away. Michelle wasn't sure what to say, but she walked towrd Rachel, anyway.
Mary sat by Rachel on the bench. "Hey, you're doing a good job teaching Suzie." She paused a moment. "You know, this is the first time my children have ever considered that Mommies can die young. I bet you never thought about that before you met Michelle, either."
Rachel shook her head.
"But you know what I told them? There would always be someone around to love them. Someone to hug them and tuck them in and tell them stories and all that. I told them if something happens, their Daddy and I have everything planned. Just like Michelle's did. So, they'll always be in a home with lots of love," Mrs. Johnson said.
Rachel forced a grin. "I'm sure it'll never happen. But..." She breathed heavily. "I guess it is scary." She gave a look of shock. "Don't you dare tell anyone I said that, Michelle. I can't believe I admitted that."
Michelle nodded and walked away slowly. She wished she could think of something to say. She'd never thought of how Rachel might have felt about learning Michelle didn't have a mom. Of course, being scared didn't give Rachel the right to be mean. But, maybe Michelle could help her, somehow.
She would do that later, though. Right now, she had a football team to coach.
Suzie, meanwhile, was discussing her "true love" with Cassie. She turned quickly to Rachel. "Do you think Michelle's cousins are cute, Rachel?"
Rachel decided to have some fun. "I never thought much about them. But, you see that quarterback?" She pointed toward a tall fifth grader with wavy black hair. "That's Simon Granger. Michelle thinks he's hot."
Cassie shot Rachel a look as Suzie turned a cartwheel. "Rachel, Michelle says he's 'cute.' But I have never heard her say he's hot."
"Come on, Cassie. I just want to have a little fun. Hey, you did it," Rachel said with shock. Suzie had turned her first cartwheel on her own! The other girls cheered.
"Yep. So, should I tell Michelle's cousin I like him?" Suzie asked.
Rachel smirked. She teased, "Sure. If you play your cards right, you could be married to him by the end of the week."
"Oh, boy. Thanks, Rachel," Suzie shouted. Cassie and Mandy both stared hard at Rachel.
CHAPTER SIX
After practice, Michelle and her friends ate some pizzas that someone ordered. They sat at a picnic table with Suzie and her mom.
"Will those boys be coming over here tomorrow," Suzie asked as she bit into a piece of pizza.
Michelle smiled. "She must really like one of them." "Uncle Jesse's taking tomorrow off. He'll be home for them."
Mary nodded. "I'm sorry, sweetheart, we won't have to babysit them. But, they seem like a very nice family. You can go over there when they're not in school," Mary remarked.
"Good." Suzie took a sip of soda. "Can I get married now when I'm five?"
Milk came out Michelle's nose because she laughed while drinking it. "Suzie, D.J.'s not even married yet."
"I'm sure she's talking about a play wedding," Mrs. Johnson said.
"Michelle's friend said I could. And she wouldn't lie," Suzie said.
Michelle decided to let it go. She determined that Suzie had to know they were playing, if one of her friends told her that.
The next day, the Johnsons went sightseeing. They stopped by the Tanners after school. Michelle was doing her homework before going to Lee's practice. Jesse was upstairs. Stephanie and her friends were watching the twins in the back yard while they studied.
The Johnson children quickly went upstairs to the attic. "Wow. This is like another home!" Suzie said.
Jesse came out of the boys' room. "Hey, nifty apartment, huh? Careful, don't touch all that," he said. He pointed at a large collection of Elvis Presley items.
Derek said, "It looks just like our attic. They've got junk, too."
Jesse rolled his eyes. He explained patiently. "Look, this isn't junk. It's Elvis Presley memorabilia. This is the king of rock and roll here."
"Where's his crown," Mark asked.
"Look, it's obvious you don't appreciate all this. That's fine. But it's to look at, then. Not to touch. Why don't you go play outside? I've got a little work to do while my boys are occupied."
Alex came upstairs at that moment. "I came to get my jacket. Hi, Suzie," he said with a smile.
"Hi. Your daddy loves Elvis," Suzie said.
"Yeah." He put his jacket on, then pulled a cookie out of the pocket.. "Here, this is from school yesterday. Do you want it?"
Suzie took the cookie. "Thank you. These are my favorite kind."
"Hey, when do we get some," Derek complained.
"I'll show you the cookie jar." Alex led them downstairs. They failed to hear Jesse telling Alex to only give each person one cookie.
Alex ran outside ahead of the others after each got a cookie. He ran around to the front while Mary said "what do we say?"
"Thank you," the children cried as Nicky rode his tricycle into the back yard.
"You're welcome," Nicky said. He turned to Mrs. Johnson. "What did I do?"
"What, you don't remember," Derek asked. Nicky had on the same style jacket as Alex, and the same blue jumpsuit.
"He's just being nice," Suzie shot back at Derek. She took Nicky's hands. "You're a very nice host. First you give me a flower, now this." Suzie sighed. "Rachel's right," she said to herself.
Suzie went inside. Suzie found Michelle doing homework in her bedroom . "Michelle," she said, "your cousin just gave me a cookie. It was my favorite kind."
Michelle looked up from her paper. "Yeah, they're really nice, huh?" She glanced at her watch. "Well, I've only got a couple more math problems. I'll do them when we get back."
"Michelle, were you ever in love?"
Michelle chuckled, and turned all her attention to the girl who seemed to be her "little sib" then. "I thought I was when I was a little older than you. Steve gave me a valentine candy. I thought that meant he wanted to marry me. We had a play wedding, but I was hoping it was real." She scratched her head. "Why?"
"I think your cousin likes me," Suzie explained.
"Well, you better ask him first," Michelle remarked. As they prepared to leave for practice, Michelle wished she had a little sister like Suzie. She was helping just like Stephanie and D.J. had helped her for so many years.