{What's with her?} Michael asked Michelle, {Is she some sort of whore or something?}

Both were flying home now, in robin morph. The weather was humid, so neither cared for the long hot walk back to Michelle's home.

{That's just her,} Michelle answered. She veered away for a moment, doing a little dance in the air, {She says that she's changed, but she hasn't really. Not too much, anyway. Flying is so much fun...}

{Yeah. It's definitely relaxing,} Michael agreed, {Too bad we can't do this that often. How would your parents react if they found out that we could do this.}

{They would say that it was a wonderful blessing, but that I must be careful with it, responsibility is growing with me now, I can't use it for foolish purposes, yadda yadda yah.}

{You don't always agree with your parents, do you?}

{I rarely do now,} answered Michelle, {But I still try to obey them. Even if I think that they're wrong. But not all the time. I argue a lot with my mom. Actually, it's her that gives the most instructions, and never really cares what I think. My dad knows me better than her.}

{How come? You're a girl, so your mom's supposed to know you really well.}

{Does your dad know you well?}

{No...} Michael hesitated, then added, {It's not like he really cares what I think. Or my mom, or Cherry.}

{You so sure?} Michelle quickly turned and hovered in front of Michael, blocking his way, {Are you sure that they don't actually want to know about you, but don't know how to ask? Or maybe you don't want them to know?}

{All right, fine,} Michael flew over Michelle, and resumed his course, {Maybe I don't tell them anything. But if they found out...}

{Like they found out about those two gangs that're after you? They kept you away from the Uganda so that you wouldn't get hurt, and kept Cherry away so that she wouldn't be targeted either,} Michelle sighed, {Listen, they spoke to me before they left for the Philippines. They wanted me to make sure that you wouldn't get mixed up in the stuff that you were in before. They didn't tell me why, and it's not like I'm some kind of expert with this.}

{Hey, it's not like I can do anything about this now. I'm a people- pleaser. I told you all this. It's my life.}

{For how long?!?} Michelle suddenly yelled.

Up to this time, she had been talking calmly. Now, as they landed in Michelle's backyard, she started yelling. Both transformed human, knowing that her parents and cousin were either working or at a relative's house.

"Listen, what would quitting marijuana and avoiding those gangs mean now? Eventually I'll go back to the way I was before!"

"Either that or you'll DIE because of substance abuse, or by some gang member. You know it too! It really isn't your life anymore!"

"So you're saying that you're in charge of it now?"

"NO! I'm saying that it's really pitiful that you're giving up on yourself! What is you life now anyway? Making out with every girl you date, dating one person for today, then switching to someone else the next? Beating up people and then get hunted down by the rest of their friends? Drinking, and taking pot so that people will be 'friends' with you?"

"What about you? Do you have the perfect life?"

"I never said that."

"What's your life then?"

"If you think my life's great, how would you feel about getting yelled at by parents when they're tired or worried or angry, and feel like taking it out on you, just because you happen to be in the room? Being a stand-in mom for your younger brother, because his real mother is always too busy? Acting as a tutor, and only person in the house that he can talk to without being laughed at? Worrying about your grandfather, who is hospitalised, and if he gets a second heart-attack, he'll die because no-one can treat him, and yet not being able to talk with anyone because the only person that will listen is too young to be worried about something like this? Being all of your friends' support, and helper, and yet never having anyone to lean on yourself? About being totally ignored in your family, because you used to be a cry-baby, and then a bully, and now no-one cares about you? Do you find that a perfect life?"

Without waiting for an answer, Michelle ran inside to her room and slammed the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Michelle..." Michael knocked on her room's door for the fifth time. He'd given her half an hour to cool down, and was now trying to talk to her again. "Michelle...come on. You can't stay in there forever."

"It's not like I intend to," came a muffled reply.

Michael opened the door. It immediately got caught on something on the floor, and he needed to lean on the door to get a large enough opening to walk into the room. He closed the door behind him. Michelle was curled up on her bed, hugging a pillow. Her eyes were red.

"Join the pity party."

"You know your room's a mess?" Michael said gently. He sat on the edge of her bed.

"It's not like I ever want to clean up. I'm too lazy to do that," answered Michelle. She looked at him, "I'm sorry about blowing up. It's really none of my business to do that," she said, sitting up, beside him.

"Hey, it's ok," he took the pillow from her and put his arms around her, cradling her, "I didn't know that you had problems like that. I didn't hear about your grandfather. And your parents always seemed so nice."

"My parents like you. And it wasn't always like this. In...grade 5, my aunt wanted her own house, where she, her sons, and my grandparents could live. So, to make ends meet, when she moved out, my dad found a job. And it's been hard since he'd always been around."

"At least you have an excuse. It wasn't your fault. Me, I-"

"-found really bad friends and ended up joining a gang, and didn't realize it until they wouldn't let you hang around anyone else. Right?"

"Hey, you really do listen."

"I tend to do it a lot."

Both looked at each other, and couldn't help but grin foolishly.

"Adam really doesn't like me, does he?" asked Michael.

"No," answered Michelle, shaking her head.

But both didn't seem to care.