The weeks seemed to move much faster after the dance. With only four weeks of grade ten left, and two weeks until the beginning of the end of year exams, most of my time was spent (naturally) studying. Expect for a few precious moments that were spent with Uub, Lucas and Mez.

The final weekend before exams began, I planned to shut myself up in isolation and revise. However, my plans were changed almost instantly. Uub cornered me after school on Friday, his face a vibrant shade or red.

"Are you busy this weekend?" He asked, following me to the bus stop. "If you're not doing anything....I was thinking-I mean, hoping.....you might....want to.....you know...."

"For once, I do not know, Uub." I said through a raised eyebrow. "What are you talking about?'

"Do you.....wanttocometomyplace?" He blurted out quickly. Again I was forced to rely on my raised eyebrows to convey my confusion. "Err....I mean, you want to my place this weekend. Because, Lorna is really interested in meeting you because she wants to talk to you about telephones, and my mother wants to meet you as well-you know how mothers are. And-"

"Uub," Interrupted, struggling to contain a laugh. "I'll meet you tomorrow." It was virtually impossible to stop myself from spluttering with laughter at the look of sheer relief on his face. "It's better than complete isolation, after all. And I think I've studied enough."

"I never thought I'd hear you say that." Uub said happily, still recovering from asking me over and when I agreed.

"Just shut up and tell me where you live." I sighed, tapping my wristwatch. "I have a bus to catch."

"Oh, right. Erm....how about I pick you up tomorrow around ten?" Uub said, shifting from one foot to the other nervously.

"Suits me." I shrugged, leaning forward and pecking him on the cheek, feeling my face flush brilliant red: almost as red as his own. "See you tomorrow, then."

I met a distorted Trunks at the bus stop, his head buried in a book. This was highly unusual, considering my brother's social status. But remembering the pressure he had on his hands to get a decent grade at the moment, I decided it would be much kinder to make no comments and mentally registered the strange effect exams had on people.

"Bra, praise the gods!" Trunks cried when he saw me approach. "I'm going to need serious help studying this weekend."

"Sorry, Trunks. But you're going to have to find another study buddy. I'm spending the weekend with Uub." I replied calmly.

"But....exams!" Trunks exclaimed, gripping my shoulders and shaking them violently. "You may be the smartest person in this school, including the teachers, but even you still need to study!"

"I've done all the studying I can." I said with a shrug, causing my brother's hands to slip from my shoulders. "Now get off me, the bus is here."

As none of my friends lived in Capsule city, I caught the bus alone and sat behind Marron and Goten, who were displaying obvious signs of affection. It was now obvious that the two of them had a better night last week than anyone else had. Filled with happiness for my brother's best friend, I sunk into a state of boredom, watching Marron rest her blonde head on Goten's shoulder and thinking of what the weekend would hold for me.

Truth be told, I was more than excited about meeting Uub's family tomorrow.

I awoke the following morning to a loud pounding on my door. Without warning, Bulma burst into the room and shook me awake violently. Groaning and cursing under my breath, I sat up and let my bleary eyes focus on my mother, dressed in a pink silk kimono with her hair lying disheveled about her hair.

"Wow." I whispered hoarsely, blinking stupidly at my mother. I hadn't seen her without makeup for a long time, and was surprised to see her once elegant face was covered in faint aging wrinkles. I smirked to myself; beauty obviously wasn't eternal. Yet intelligence most definitely was.

"Why the hell did you tell Uub he could call in at ten in the morning?" Bulma cried angrily. "Didn't it occur to you that we would all still be asleep? I had to answer the door looking like this and made a total ass of myself!"

"Calm down, woman." I mumbled, pushing off my blankets and stumbling across the room to my closet and wrenching the doors open, laughing inwardly at myself. "Hey, look at me. Quoting my dear old father."

"Bra," Bulma said wearily. "Next time you arrange a date, why don't you tell me about it?"

"Oh, sure." I lied, pulling my favorite shirt over my head (The S.O.S-Save our solar system shirt) and slipping into a pair of jeans.

"When will you be back?" Asked Bulma, leaning against the doorframe and watching me with what appeared to be admiration.

"I'm not sure." I said truthfully. "Depends, really. Why are you staring at me like that."

"Just thinking," Bulma sighed. "Bra, I'm so glad you turned out the way you did. I can't help thinking about all the times I tried to turn you into a copy of myself and I'm so happy that you decided you didn't care about others and their opinions. You just do what you want to do and you became the woman you wanted to be. I guess I'm just....I'm so happy to see that you were so much more sensible than I was."

The words my mother said were simple, and yet they seemed to touch me deeply. Crossing the room, I wrapped my arms around her tightly and hugged her, gripping my mother's shoulders tightly and eventually pulling away from her and smiling. Bulma grinned, tucking strands of my hair behind my ear.

"Go." Bulma whispered. "Have fun."

Nodding, I hurried downstairs to see Uub waiting patiently in the front entrance. Smiling cheerily, I took his hand and kissed his cheek in greeting, causing him to blush.

In moments, we had flown into the clouds, heading towards Uub's house.

"This is where you live?" I asked, staring in awe at the sight bellow me and then at Uub, who nodded slowly.

It was nothing more than a small town, positioned on the edge of a snowy cliff. The two streets were lined with tiny hovels, surrounded by a dark and murky wood. The only other visible object was an old well resting on the outskirts of the town. I couldn't even call it a town....it was simply a cluster of homes for the unfortunate.

I read about third world countries all the time. I researched them on the internet, in books and by means of primary sources. But in reality, everything seemed much worse. The few people who exited their hovels were staring to us in confusion, their faces clouded with dirt and scarred with hard work. Their clothes were mingled and rough, without the proper fabric for the harsh weather conditions.

"My God." I whispered, feeling Uub's eyes on my neck. I turned back to him, feeling tears gather in the corners of my eyes. "Uub...I-I had no idea what it was like..."

"What are you talking about?" Uub asked with a laugh, taking my hand. "Come, I'll introduce you to my family and the other villagers."

We flew to the ground and landed in the snow with a crunch. I shivered, feeling the ice burn into my bare arms and wished I had remembered to bring a jacket. Seeing me shiver, Uub removed his own red jacket and placed it over me, revealing a short sleeved tattered grey shirt underneath.

"No, you wear it." I insisted, but Uub simply shook his head. I gave him a sympathetic look, but he merely moved away from me and joined the circle of confused villagers gathering around us.

"This is my mother." He said, addressing an incredibly skinny woman who resembled her son in every way, with the acceptation of her long cascades of black hair that fell limply down to her waist. I suddenly struck me that there was no overweight people in the village, or any who were the correct weight anyway. Uub then gestured to the shivering toddler who clung to her mother's dress, her own hair no more than a short stubble atop her head. Her eyes were wide with hunger and her teeth chattered in the cold. "And this is my baby sister, Kida."

Uub moved to three boys standing behind his mother, all identical accept in height and hairstyle. They were all stony faced and dull, with hair cut to different lengths and in different styles and dressed in mismatching winter outfits. "These are my three brothers, Thai, Saul and Garron."

Uub then continued around the circle of villagers, introducing each in turn. Overall, there was about twenty of them, all whether elderly or babies, equally starving and shivering in the winter chill. I felt my heart lurch with the introduction of each person, as if feeling their pain rebound into myself.

"And finally," Said Uub, placing his hand on the shoulder of a lanky girl with hair cut neatly on her shoulders and eyes coloured like coal stones. She dressed in a simple blue dress made of a flimsy material that had no chance of blocking out the cold. Her arms were wrapped around a dusty book, which she clutched to her chest as if it were her most sacred possession. "This is my sister, Lorna."

Lorna stepped forward, a shy smile quivering on her thin lips as her bare feet crunched in the snow. Still clutching her book, she knelt in the snow before me. Perhaps it was a form of greeting, but it only increased my pain. I felt as if the child was bowing to me as if I were her better. Just because I was rich.

"Welcome to our village, Bra." Lorna said in a mousy tone. "Your presence is more than appreciated here."

Pulling Uub's red jacket closer to my skin, I knelt and touched the child's arm, feeling the dirt and bitterness on her skin. "Stand up. The snow will be too cold on your legs."

Lorna glanced up at me in perplexity, but obeyed, scrambling to her feet with difficulty caused by the book in her arms. I noticed the front cover, printed on in faded lettering.

"A little princess?" I asked in a whisper, running my hand across the tattered cover, then meeting her eyes and again feeling shock at the starvation lingering in them. "Is it your favorite book?"

Lorna nodded enthusiastically. "I've read it so much now, I could tell you every line. It's the only book we have here, you see. And I love reading so much."

"Me too." I said with a faint smile. "Uub tells me that your pretty smart for your age."

"She is." Said her mother proudly. "Lorna is the smartest girl in the village. All she needs is a good education."

"Uub tells us you're rich." Said Garron darkly. "Is it true that you live in a castle?"

I almost laughed at the comment, but then realization swept over me. Compared to the simple homes of the people here, my house was a castle. I nodded, causing the crowd to chatter amongst themselves. I turned back to Lorna, tears swelling in my eyes.

"Lorna, would you like to bring more books?" I asked, sniffing.

"Oh yes!" Lorna exclaimed happily. "But, there's no way I could ever have anymore than one."

"I'll bring you some next time I visit, ok?" I said, wiping tears from my eyes.

"You're going to come back here again?" Lorna asked hopefully. "I'd really like it if you did."

"She'll come back as long as she still stays with Uub." Said Thai.

Smiling despite my tears, I gripped Uub's hand, ignoring the worry evident in his eyes for the time being, squeezing it tightly and entwining his fingers with my own.

"Then it looks like I'm going to be paying visits to you for the rest of my life." I said, smiling to Uub and then looking back into Lorna's eyes, so filled with hope and ambition.

If only there was something I could do....