Chapter 30

"So what'd you get, Sammy?" Bryan asked as they waited for their bus.

"Dad or Gram has to sign a letter," Sam said. "I'm going to get into trouble."

"You prolly won't be able to come to Jakey's party, huh?" Quinn asked.

Sam shook her head. "Where is Jake?"

"He had something to take care of," Bryan told her, his eyes meeting Quinn's.

"He'll be here any minute, I'm sure," Quinn assured her. He spied Jake headed their way. "Here he is."

Sam turned to where they were looking, seeing Jake striding towards them.

"Everything okay, Jakey?" Bryan asked.

Jake gave a curt nod.

Quinn grinned at him.

"Did you forget something?" Sam asked.

"No," Jake shook his head. "I had to do something."

"I don't think I can come over today," Sam told him.

"It's okay, Brat," Jake assured her. "It's not a big deal."

"It's your birthday," Sam disagreed. "It is a big deal to me."

"We'll miss our hiker," Jake grinned at her.

Sam smiled wistfully. It would be the first time she had missed his birthday since she had met him four years ago.

Their bus arrived and they climbed up. Sam sat on the seat next to Jake. She noticed that Jake was flexing his right hand and saw what looked like scrape marks.

"What happened to your hand?" Sam asked, picking it up to look at it.

She heard the snorts from Jake's brothers behind her, but Jake pulled his hand out of hers.

"It's nothin'," Jake told her.

"Did you fall down?" Sam wondered, remembering when she had scraped her hand when she had fallen.

"I don't think Jake was the one who fell down," Quinn joked.

Sam turned to look at him, not getting what he was saying.

"It's okay, Sam," Jake said. "Just forget it."

"Okay," Sam murmured. Then she sighed. "I'm never wearing a skirt to school again. It just gets me into trouble."

All three Elys snorted.

"I think you look cute in a skirt," Bryan told her.

"Even with that wussy pink pony backpack," Quinn teased. "I couldn't help but notice your underpants matched."

Sam groaned.

"I see London," Bryan started as he was laughing.

"I see France," Quinn laughed.

Sam turned around and glared at them both which had them choking on their laughter. She felt Jake's laughter and punched his arm.

"Ow," Jake's laughter broke through. "I think you're in enough trouble for hitting today."

Sam sobered, knowing Dad and Gram were going to ground her from riding and everything else for awhile. She wondered if she could convince them she had no choice.

"I couldn't let them get away with it," Sam murmured.

"Who? Those boys?" Jake asked.

Sam nodded. "They kept lifting our skirts up and wouldn't leave us alone."

"What is it about you that attracts these bullies, Sammy?" Bryan said.

"I bet because I'm not blond," Sam mused. She heard a scoffing noise from Jake.

"Not that again," Jake responded. "You can't believe that they went after you because you weren't blond."

"Why then?" Sam wondered.

"What?" both Bryan and Quinn yelped. Jake turned to look at them and shook his head.

"You're a third grader," Jake shrugged.

"So were they," Sam reminded him.

"Third graders aren't all that smart," Jake told her, ignoring her outrage.

"Especially when the girl they're picking on has red hair and knows how to hit," Bryan laughed.

"They were fooled by the pink underpants and the wussy pink backpack," Quinn teased.

Sam almost crawled over the backseat to get to him, but Jake grabbed her and made her sit down. The boys were all laughing, enjoying her reaction. They loved teasing her and sometimes she made it so easy for them.