The first day of school... As she pulled into the busy drop off drive of Susie's new school, she remembered her own jitters and excitement of the first days in the past. She pulled the car to a stop and looked back at Susie in the back seat with Cosmo.

"Do you remember how to find your home room?" she asked. Susie nodded and opened the back door. "Chuck will be here to pick you up at the end of the day."Susie climbed out and lifted her backpack of school supplies off the seat. She pointed a finger at Cosmo in his car seat.

"Remember..." Susie said. "Use your words and no biting. It's not cool." Cosmo nodded his head furiously, his eyes wide as he watched her close the door. Susan smiled and then sat for a moment as her niece moved into the line of similarly uniformed girls headed into the school building. Susie turned around and threw her a wan smile and small wave.

Chuck and Susie were sitting at the kitchen table when Susan walked in with Cosmo and a bag of groceries at the end of the day.

"Hey, how did it go?" she asked as she set the groceries on the counter. Cosmo climbed into Chuck's lap. Susie looked at her with a gloomy face and sighed.

"That bad?" Susan asked as she sat across from her.

"She has to play a team sport," Chuck said suppressing a smile.

"It's required," Susie said sadly.

"Well, that's a good thing," Susan said. "Kind of inspires development of the whole student, doesn't it?" Chuck shrugged.

"What are your choices?" Susan asked. Susie slid a paper across the table to her.

'Volleyball? Volleyball is good..." Susan said.

"They are all WAY taller than I am," Susie replied.

"Softball?"

"I can't throw."

"Basketball?"

"The height thing..."

"Lacrosse?"

"Get real. Have you seen their equipment? That little ball hurts!"

"Soccer?"

"I'd have to run. I run like a duck." Susie dropped her forehead to the table with a clunk.

"First day of school and I am doomed." she groaned. Susan looked across at Chuck and they both chuckled softly.

"Not necessarily, sweetie," Susan said. "Look, soccer and softball are spring sports. Sign up for one of them and we'll help you get some of those skills together before then." Susie lifted her head and looked at her quizzically.

"You can teach me not to run like a duck?" she said. "I thought it was hereditary?" Susan grimaced.

"Sports aside, how did the rest of your day go?" she asked. "Make any friends?"

"No...not yet." Susie said. "That always takes a while for me to do. I am kind of...socially inept." She sat up straighter. "I am going to totally love my physics class! And calculus rocks. I knew that it would." She was thoughtful for a moment and then frowned.

"You know, I can't be the only one with this sports issue thing," she said. "Maybe I will sign up for a spring sport. That will give me lots of time to organize a protest."

"Susie!" Susan scolded. "It's your first day there."

"Aunt Susan," she said as she stood up. "Some people are meant to be players and some people are meant to watch. It's time people understood that." She turned on her heel, hitched the yellow blouse out of the band of her plaid skirt and stalked out of the kitchen. Cosmo climbed down from Chuck's lap and trotted after her. Chuck watched them go and turned to smile at Susan.

"She is so damned cute," he said. Susan rolled her eyes.

"You think so?" she sighed and rested her forehead in her hands. "I am hearing the telephone ring with a summons to the principal's office...already! Chuck, what just happened here?" Chuck laughed and stood up. He circled the table and kissed the top of Susan's head.

"We have witnessed the birth of a 'movement', babe," he said. "Now, do you want to make the salad or should I?" Susan slumped back in her chair and shook her head.