Hey guys!

Wow! Thank you so much for your numerous reviews! Reviews spur me on to write write write! And they make me smile :)

I am currently house-sitting and dog-sitting and cat-sitting and .. well I am 'sitting' everything there is. So I have some time on my hands and BOOM! I have started on several new chapters. So chapters 20-25 are nearly finished. The one after this one here however ... not so much, haha.

And I have started to write down Maddie's first day at her private school and how she managed to get herself kicked out of Junior High. But I have no idea when I will post it and how. I could do it as a new story, or put it in this story in flashbacks (even though I don't know how, it'll be more than 6 chapters) ... we'll see. I'll let you know in time ... if you are interested, that is ;-) Are you?

Okay, don't wanna keep you any longer. Enjoy the chapter!

Maddie whimpered.

Her father sounded angry ... and she had already been smacked that day! What else? What did he find out now?

Ugh, why her? She was constantly in trouble, why couldn't they just let her be?

She reluctantly stood up from her bed, threw her book across the room and walked out the door, bracing herself for the tongue-lashing that was about to take place.

On the second floor however, she was stopped by Rose who looked tense and discontent.

"Go back upstairs, Maddie," she ordered and turned her sister back around.

Maddie was taken aback and wondered if Rose wanted to get her killed. "But I am supposed to come to the living room!" she complained and walked towards the stairs that would lead her to the living room.

Rose stopped her again. "Do as I say."

"Are you kidding me? Seriously Rose, I-" "- I'll handle it, just go."

Maddie felt uneasy, not knowing what to do, but then decided to obey her sister. Rose would be in trouble after all.

But what was that about? Maddie had no clue.

Rose rushed down the stairs and into the living room where Esme, Jasper and Carlisle were waiting. Esme was sitting on the couch, opposite from Jasper, who was currently occupying the big armchair. Carlisle just stood there with his eyes closed, one hand on his hip, the other one pinching the bridge of his nose.

The moment Rose entered the room however, Carlisle looked up, expecting to see Maddie. His eyes darkened visibly when he realised that his youngest had not bothered to follow his instructions.

"Where is Madeline?" he was running out of patience.

"I told her to go back to her room," Rose replied.

"I want her down here so we can talk to her. Why would you send her upstairs again, Rosalie?"

Rose sighed. "You shouldn't be angry with Maddie, she wouldn't understand right now."

"She deliberately stole from someone, how can she not understand what is wrong with that?" Jasper requested.

"For an empath you are pretty oblivious to her emotions," she retorted, shooting him a glare.

Carlisle was not following. "Rose, kindly explain to us what you are talking about."

"She doesn't understand that what she did was wrong, you cannot punish her for that."

"I beg your pardon?" Carlisle asked, slightly confused.

"She needs to be held accountable for what she did to her classmate!" Jasper again.

"You better be quiet!" Rose admonished.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Your bickering will stop, right now!" Carlisle ordered in a strict tone, not willing to listen to these two insulting each other.

Esme spoke up then, looking at her son. "Jasper, you have already told us what happened during our absence. Now give Rose a chance to explain, please."

Rosalie thanked her mother, then said, "Maddie took something that didn't belong to her, yes, but her motivation was not what Jasper just told you."

Jasper raised his voice. "She stole! How can you be okay with stealing?"

"I'm not okay with stealing!" Rose snapped at her brother.

Carlisle just boiled over. "Silence! Jasper, not another word until Rosalie has finished explaining!"

"Thank you," she said to her father, then continued. "To Maddie it wasn't stealing, it was getting even."

All three of them looked at Rose as if she had just grown a second head.

"Told you," she commented, then sat on the couch, crossed her legs and felt smug. She knew they wouldn't have figured out her sister's true motivation.

"Why would she want to get even? What happened?" Esme was all churned up inside. Did someone hurt her baby?

"There is a girl in Maddie's class that tries to get a rise out of her, but Maddie doesn't react to her provocations. So said girl ruined Maddie's homework a while ago to get her attention. That is why Maddie decided to take her homework; it was convenient and she got even."

"It is still stealing and misusing her ability," Jasper threw in.

"Can't you see? It never crossed her mind that she was stealing at that time!" Rose countered exasperatedly.

"Ignorance is no excuse in law." Jasper would not give up, obviously. He wanted his sister to be held accountable for her actions; she had carried things too far at school and would not change for the better without proper chastisement.

"Why are you still sitting here? You told on her, your job is done here," Rosalie spat at Jasper.

"Rose, that was uncalled for."

She huffed at the rebuke coming from her father, put her elbow on the armrest of the couch and cupped her chin in her hand.

"Did you talk to her?" Esme asked, addressing her eldest daughter.

"Of course, that's how I found out what happened. At first I, too, thought she had stolen."

"Did you explain to her why taking revenge is wrong, Rosalie?"

Rosalie shook her head. "No, I didn't. I had to collect myself first and think about how to approach the matter. But I don't know if I am the right person to do it."

Esme sighed, hurting for Rose that she was confronted with her past once more. "Rosalie, she doesn't know what happened all those years ago, dear."

Rose looked down at her hands and quietly said, "Yes, but I do."

"I understand," she replied and reached out to place a hand on Rosalie's folded ones. "Then I would like to talk to her if you'd agree."

They nodded, consenting to it.

So Esme walked up the stairs to see her youngest.

She knocked on the door and waited.

"Come in," Maddie said, her voice tense. She sat on the floor with her back leaning against the side of her bed, hugging her knees to her chest.

"Oh honey, come, don't sit on the floor." Esme closed the door behind herself and walked over to the bed.

Maddie actually liked sitting on the floor, she was quite comfortable there; but she reached a hand out towards her Mom then, who took it and pulled her daughter up into a standing position. They seated themselves on the nice, big bed and looked at each other.

"See? That's better, isn't it?" Esme smiled and rubbed Maddie's shoulder in order to ease the tension.

"What's going on down there?" Maddie asked, ignoring her Mom's question.

"When your siblings came back home from their hunting trip today, we conversed," Esme started to explain.

So? Maddie waited for her to go on.

Then Esme spoke again. "Do you remember what happened at the beginning of this week?"

Maddie nodded, looking at her mother cautiously. Of course she remembered, vampires do not forget easily.

And then it dawned on Maddie what this was all about.

"We were informed that you ... used your ability at school," her mother added.

"It was nothing worth mentioning, really! I didn't hurt anyone, I just ..."

"... got even," Esme finished for her.

Maddie looked up at her mother, eyes wide.

"That is what you did, am I right?" Esme asked knowingly.

"Yeah."

"I understand," Esme said and folded her hands in her lap.

Maddie squirmed a bit, then asked, "I am in trouble, right? Could you tell Dad to just come upstairs and wallop me now? I really don't wanna sit here and wait."

"Why do you think your father would discipline you?" Esme asked.

"Jasper told you everything that happened on Monday, didn't he? Then he told you that I stole, and I don't think Daddy likes stealing," Maddie replied uneasily.

"You are right, he does not like stealing, because it is wrong. But I would like to hear from you if you stole."

If? "What do you mean?"

Esme fixed her eyes on her daughter. "Tell me what you did at school."

"Jasper told you, I stole," Maddie answered, confusion thick in her voice.

"Sweetie please, just answer my question. When you were at school, did you plan to steal something from your classmate? Were you aware that what you did was stealing?"

Maddie became nervous - was this a trick question?

Esme waited patiently for her daughter to answer.

"No," Maddie said after a moment of hesitating.

"Go on," Esme encouraged.

"I ... She started it." Lame explanation, Maddie.

"Do you understand that what you did was avenge yourself?"

"Yes." Why the question? It is exactly what Rose asked, and Maddie didn't understand why they would ask her something like that.

Then Esme sighed. "Taking revenge is never the right thing to do, honey."

Maddie looked confused. "Huh?"

Esme figured that maybe an example would help her daughter understand. "Imagine somebody pushes you. Would you push back?"

Maddie nodded. You could bet your ass that she would push back.

"Then you would feel even, wouldn't you?"

"Yes."

"But it might have been a misunderstanding, because the person tripped and accidentally bumped into you. You would be in the wrong now for pushing. If the person pushes back now, the situation escalates, don't you think?" Esme explained.

Hm. "I guess."

"See? You have to give others the chance to explain themselves first; don't just assume they are being hostile to you."

Maddie groaned and let herself fall back onto the bed from her sitting position. She held her hand over her eyes and said, "But Mom, that is so different."

"How?"

Maddie took her hand away and looked at her mother. "First of all: It wasn't a misunderstanding, she ruined my essay on purpose. And I got even with her, but she doesn't know it was me!"

Esme wanted to say something, but Maddie went on, propping herself up on her elbows. "So she has no reason whatsoever to get back at me now. See? Problem solved."

Esme could see where that would make sense to Maddie.

"And why did she feel the need to ruin your homework in the first place?" Esme probed; there could be a reason behind that, after all.

"I am not the mind reader in this family, how would I know?" Maddie was annoyed but tried not to show it. Her Mom could still save her ass from her father, so better not be insolent.

Esme tried to explain. "Maybe she felt offended by something you did, even though you did not mean any harm."

"I didn't do anything, Mom," Maddie replied with finality.

"Sweetie, even though this particular situation might not have been a misunderstanding, you avenging yourself was still not the right thing to do. What I mean to tell you is, that when you take revenge for something you place yourself on the same level as the other person who wronged your first."

"So?" That didn't sound too bad.

"Aren't you better than people who have to bully others in order to make themselves feel better?"

Now Esme had a point, and she saw that she finally got through to her daughter.

"Oh." Maddie was quiet for a moment. "But I don't bully other people." She didn't want anyone to think that she was no different than people who bullied.

"I know you don't, dear. That is why I don't understand why you would put yourself on the same level as people who do."

Maddie frowned. "But what am I supposed to do if somebody wrongs me?"

"You could talk to the person, tell a teacher or tell us."

"Isn't that the same as taking revenge? I tell someone so the person gets punished."

"No, sweetie. Your teachers are persons of authority. It is their duty to educate and guide their students. If somebody does you injustice, tell them and they'll help you."

"I don't tattle."

"It is not tattling."

"Is too!" Maddie complained.

"No. The school is to provide the students with a safe and healthy environment. Your teachers are responsible for your well-being while you are there, that is why they wish to be informed of bullying and harassment, so they can take care of it, not you."

Maddie listened to her mother's explanation, nodded her head and watched her attentively.

Esme sighed and asked, "Do you understand that?"

"I do."

Maddie never saw the other girl's behaviour as bullying towards her, because she didn't care enough about that stupid human girl to listen to her. But if her parents thought she got bullied, maybe she wouldn't be in trouble now; she really liked that thought.

"I think we should head downstairs now to talk to your father. He, too, has some things to say to you; I only addressed your comprehension of retribution."

Nooo.

Maddie started to chew on her bottom lip. "So he's mad at me, right?"

Phew, originally it was Rose's job to talk to Maddie, but I wasn't sure how to do it. And Esme is the mother, so *shrug* But it was still harder to write than the other chapters were.

Anyways ... what is going to happen? Do you think Maddie should be in trouble or is a lecture enough?

REVIEW and tell me!