ANOTHER chapter! Already! Haha, this stuff is too much fun to write, really. Thanks to Riley, maroonedpirate and Ace, I love all your reviews…but you're going to have to keep guessing, Riley. I don't know how your story inspired me, but it just did, it made me wanna write about these kids. Cara having an eating disorder is a good guess…but it's something very different…you'll find out, promise. :)

Thanks to Lyn for Freddy's screenname!

Oh, and please r&r my other (more lighthearted) story, Strange Holiday!

-Sienna

Zack sat down in the same chair he'd used before, on his previous visit to Dr. Whitford's living-room-like office. The doctor scooted his rolling chair closer. His notebook was open on his lap.

"So how are you since our last visit, Zachary?" Dr. Whitford asked, his pen poised over the page.

"Fine," said Zack.

"How's your band?"

"Good."

"Good, that's good. You have lots of friends in the band, your parents tell me?"

"Yeah," Zack said, thinking that was a kind of weird thing for his parents to mention. "They're all kids from my class in school, so I know like everybody."

"Tell me about them."

"Everyone?"

"Well, the ones who are most important to you."

"Okay…well, first there's Freddy. He's like my best friend I guess…he plays the drums, he can be really crazy but he's a good guy. He always knows when there's something bugging me or whatever. And I can talk to him about stuff, so I guess that makes him my best friend."

"It's always good to have someone to talk to, isn't it?"

"Sure. Plus, he has a lot of the same problems as me, so…yeah."

"He understands where you're coming from?"

"Yeah."

"Even better. Who else are you friends with?"

"Frankie is cool. We're not that close, but we hang out sometimes, you know?"

"I know what you mean."

"And then there's Katie, I think we're really good friends. But right now…I dunno, I think she's mad at me."

Dr. Whitford made a note of something. Zack watched the pen move.

"Why would she be mad at you?"

"What are you writing?"

"Just notes. Why would she be mad? Does she get mad often?"

Zack frowned. "No, hardly ever. She's really nice, but quiet. Sometimes I thinks she feels left out…and the other day, she was going to tell me something, but my dad yelled at me to come downstairs and when I got back she was all annoyed and wouldn't tell me."

"What did she say?"

"Just, like 'fine' and 'forget about it' and stuff. Then she signed off."

Dr. Whitford nodded and made another note. "And you haven't talked to her since then?"

"Not really."

"Have you ever had a girlfriend?"

"What?" Zack said, surprised. "I mean, no. I'm ten years old, Doc. That's teenager stuff."

The doctor smiled. "Ah, the innocence of the young…."

Zack stared at him. "Are you trying to tell me something?"

"No, no, best you figure things out for yourself."

"But it's your job to help me figure things out. That's what we're paying you for."

Furrowing his eyebrows, Dr. Whitford rose and walked over to a little egg timer on his desk. As he touched it, it binged, signaling the end of their time.

"We'll have to continue this conversation at a later date," he said. "Would you like to come see me again, privately? Without your parents?"

"Why? I don't have any problems, except for them."

"I don't know. I think you're a very complicated young man, Zachary, but you just don't realize it." He walked over to the door and held it open.

Zack went out, stopping only in the doorway to give the doctor a weird look. He didn't like being called complicated. He was how he was. It wasn't any shrink's business to try and figure out why, unless he killed somebody or something.

His parents sat on the sofa, casting nervous glances alternately at each other, or at Cara, who was pretending not to notice them. She gave Zack a half-smile.

"See you Monday," said Dr. Whitford to his patients.

"See you Monday," echoed Cara softly.

Zack had a feeling she would be there.

pretty111vacant: hey

pinhead78: hey man

pretty111vacant: how was the doc thing

pinhead78: ok I got to sit in the lobby most of it

pretty111vacant: cool

pinhead78: have u talked to Katie?

pretty111vacant: ya she was online earlier

pinhead78: was she in a bad mood?

pretty111vacant: no she was fine

pinhead78: I think shes mad at me

pretty111vacant: y

pinhead78: I dunno really

pinhead78: I was talking to her yesterday when my dad yelled at me so I had to go…and when I came back she wouldn't talk to me

pretty111vacant: ya she mentioned somethin like that

pinhead78: what did she say?

pretty111vacant: she had a few good ideas for the band

pinhead78: like what?

pretty111vacant: im not sposed to tell

pretty111vacant: ask her urself

pretty111vacant: 609-662-0932

Zack sat back and looked at the phone number Freddy had just given him. Should he call Katie? What if she doesn't want to talk to me? But I won't really get a chance to talk to her tomorrow in school, and then it's the weekend…I probably should call her. Is that weird, to call her?

No, it's just like calling Freddy or Frankie. Only you've never done it before, and she's a girl. But since you're friends it's okay.

Right, phone….

He went into the den to use the phone. It was only a little after seven. Not too late to call, right? He dialed and it began to ring.

"Hello?" said a female voice, too mature to be Katie's.

"Hi. Is Katie there?"

"Whom shall I say is calling?"

"Zack."

"Who?"

"Zack Mooneyham…I'm a friend from school."

"Okay, hold on."

He waited, hoping her mother or whoever had answered the phone wouldn't tell Katie it was him.

"Hi."

"Hey, Katie. It's Zack."

"I know. What is it?" she said in a way that he heard, "what do you want?"

Zack sighed and decided to be blunt.

"Are you mad at me?"

There was a pause. "Maybe."

"Why? Because of yesterday?"

He heard shuffling, like she shrugged with the phone on her shoulder. "Yeah."

"I'm sorry I disappeared like that…I wanna hear your ideas, Katie."

"It just bothers me. I mean, I was getting ready to tell you something important and you were just gone. I kept waiting for you to come back."

"I did come back."

"Yeah, but not for like 20 minutes."

"Well, I'm sorry, okay?"

"Okay."

Zack thought a little before speaking again. It seemed unusual for Katie to get so ticked about such a little thing. But then he thought about what he'd told Dr. Whitford that day, about how he figured she felt left out sometimes. I don't think she's so mad at me for disappearing, but more like…she's feeling ignored again….

"So what were your ideas?" he asked finally.

"Okay, well, I talked to my uncle last week," she said, back to her normal self. Zack could tell she was excited about whatever she had to say. "And he's got this friend from high school who works at a music and DJ supply store, you know? And he said…if we wanted to use their studio…he'd give us a price break on recording time."

"Recording? Like—"

"Like making a CD, yeah."

"Dude, that would be cool!"

Katie laughed. "You sound like Freddy. That's almost exactly what he said when I told him."

"Well, it is! And he's my best friend, so yeah. Have you told Summer yet?"

"No, I wanted to run it by you guys first. You know, Summer can be really…not nice…when she thinks you're wasting her time."

"I thought you were friends with Summer."

"I am! We are. I mean, it's just…I dunno. She's great, and I definitely get along with her better than I do with Marta and Eleni and all the other girls." He heard the shrugging noise again.

"But…" Zack prompted.

Katie sighed. "But…she's not my best friend."

"Oh. So who is?"

"No one, but I'm taking applications."

Zack chuckled. "Who's left? If you don't like Marta, Alicia, Eleni and Michelle, and Summer's your friend but not your best friend—"

"And Hillary moved away," Katie interrupted, reminding him of the girl who had been in their class last year.

"Right, she's gone—you were pretty close to her, weren't you?"

"Yeah. It sucks."

"Yeah…Tomika?"

"I don't really know her…. I dunno, you can't just pick best friends, you know?"

"True." He tried to think of something to say. "Well, I'll have to check with Freddy, but I'm pretty sure you're always welcome to hang with us."

The smile in her voice was audible. "Really?"

"Of course. You're not all girly, I'm sure it'd be cool." He remembered the summer before last, when he'd gone over Freddy's house almost every day. He lived on the other side of Oak Road, in the same neighborhood as Katie, Hillary and a bunch of other kids from school. Katie and Hillary were the girls who climbed through the woods and built forts with the boys, instead of riding pink bicycles in endless circles with the other girls.

"Thanks, Zack."

"No problem."

"Hey, I've gotta go—my sister needs help with something. I'll see you in school tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay, see you."

"'Bye!"

Zack hung up, feeling much better and extremely glad he called. I forgot about Hillary. Imagine how bad that would suck to have your best friend move away, and there's no one else you really like in your class….

A calendar next to the window caught his eye. He walked over to it, counting out the days until November 18th. Thirteen days until my birthday, he thought, only mildly excited. Birthdays weren't a big deal in his family. He'd probably get a few video games and a cake, and money from relatives…and he'd be a year older. Thirteen days until I'm eleven.

Suddenly, he thought he saw something through the window, moving around in his backyard. He cupped his hands over the glass and peered out, just in time to see a dark figure dart across the lawn and into the bushes on the other side.

Zack went to the back door and locked it.