The clock ticked slowly on the wall and Colton glanced up at it, chewing on his pencil and letting out a sigh. He'd finished his math test already and was trying to check it over, but his eyes kept wandering to the clock, waiting for the bell to ring. He loved school but by Friday afternoon he was ready for a little break. He liked getting his homework done in the afternoon and staying up late reading, sleeping in a little on Saturday and getting to spend the weekend doing whatever he wanted.

Sighing, he looked back at his paper and checked the rest of his answers over again before turning the paper over and waiting while his teacher collected the completed tests from different students in the room. He glanced around and winked at Isa who had just finished making a paper airplane with some scratch paper. She grinned at him and stuck the airplane into her backpack with what looked like at least five more. She was a good test taker and had probably been one of the first to finish, meaning she'd had to sit there for a long time, waiting for everyone else.

Once all the tests were handed in, they were instructed to write down their homework from the list on the board and pack up their things before the bell rang.

"Colt are we riding your bus or mine today?" Isa questioned, tossing her messy braid over her shoulder.

"Mine. My daddy's going to wait for us because we have family dinner tonight at our house."

"Oh good, I hope Indy makes those super mashed potatoes like last time."

"They taste good but they're great for a food fight too," Colton agreed with a laugh, slinging his backpack onto his shoulder, then holding Isa's for her while she stooped down to tie her shoe. "C'mon, let's go get the boys before we go to the bus."

They left the classroom and walked down the hallway to the bench where Sarah was already waiting for them. Her arms were piled with rolled up butcher paper and when she looked up to greet them, they noticed blue paint on her nose.

"Looks like you painted outside the lines," Isa giggled.

"Yeah, well it was on my hand and I had a nose itch. I just decided to leave it there because Averylin will think it's funny."

"It looks like you sneezed out a Smurf."

Sarah laughed and rearranged the paintings in her arms while the door across the hall opened and Junior's class filed out.

"Dudes," he started, running his sleeve across his forehead. "We had five extra minutes in my class and I won Heads Up Seven Up three times! We should all play it sometime!"

"There ain't seven of us."

"Well maybe we could call it something else! I want to defend my title though."

"I will think up something, Daniel. Maybe an obstacle course."

"Okay. Hey Ben!" he shouted, waving as the next classroom door opened and Ben came bounding out, pushing his glasses up and adjusting his messenger bag. "Sarah is gonna make an obstacle course."

"Oh sweet! I like those things and it's a great thing to start the weekend too!"

"Let's go to the bus," Colton suggested, taking Ben's hand. "Make sure we get good seats."

"I like to sit in the backy-back. 'specially when we go over bumps."

"Don't you remember that time we went over the bump and you smacked your head on the window?" Isa asked with a frown. "That's no fun is it?"

"Well that time I was bouncin' up and down before the bump. I don't do that anymore."

Isa gave him a look and sighed a little as they walked out of the building and to the line for their bus.

"Yes, the backy-back is open!" Junior shouted, running for the back seats. "Me and Ben and Sarah can sit in this one and you guys can sit in the other one."

They all took their places and Colton opened his backpack, peering inside until he found the book he'd checked out from the library that morning. Isa leaned over and read along with him for a bit, then shook her head.

"I can't read with you when you start in the middle."

"Didn't start in the middle," he said, keeping his eyes on the book. "I started at the beginning right after I checked it out. When we were walking back to our class."

"Why do you like to read so much Colt?"

He looked up at her and blinked twice.

"Because my mama and daddy said that when you read you can have every adventure that's written down. And they're right. So I like to read books so I can have as many adventures as I can because lord knows nothing interesting like finding escaped monkeys ever happens in my real life."

"That's true. I just thought you liked to read to get away from real life."

"Why would I do that? My life is good."

"I just mean that the rest of us kids are pretty crazy when we all get together. Even Sarah gets wild sometimes. And then you stick your nose in a book."

"Sometimes I just want to know what's happening next in the adventure and I have to start reading again because I can't wait. That's how come I'm not allowed to have a nightlight or flashlights in my room anymore, because I will read too much and not sleep. At least that's what mama said when she found my spare flashlight where I had it hidden."

"Did you get in much trouble?"

"Well she said she can't punish me for expanding my mind but that I was in trouble for disobeying, so I have to clean the bathroom all this week."

"That's gross. Don't you think that's kind of harsh?"

"Well, I did disobey."

She gave him a half grin.

"Boy, Colt you're probably the easiest kid in the world."

"I do my best to be good."

"I hate getting grounded," she admitted softly. "Sometimes I say things before I think about how it's not a good idea to say them."

"I heard your ma tellin' my mama the last thing you said. She was laughing about it and said it was real hard to be mad because you said it so funny."

"Well I was serious."

"What did you get grounded from this time?"

"Going to a baseball game with my daddy this weekend. They're all going to go and I have to stay with my grandma."

"That stinks."

"I've really got to learn to control my mouth," she sighed, looking out the window. "Let me know if you think of any advice about that."

"Okay."

They settled back into the seat and didn't say much else to each other until the bus stopped at their corner. Even though Adam was standing there waiting for them, they all made sure they were holding hands with someone as they got off the bus.

"Hey kidlets. How was school?"

"Sarah!" Avery hollered from her spot on Adam's shoulders. "Yourself got a blue nose!"

"I know! Is it funny Averylin?"

"Oh yes, I laugh lots."

"Daddy, Sarah is going to make us a obstacle course! Will you do it today Sarah?"

"I don't know yet. Maybe. I will have to make a plan before I can do it."

"Okay! Hey, ask me what I done on the playground today! Ask me that daddy!"

"What did you do on the playground today Ben?"

"I done the monkey bars all the way and turned around and did them all the way back without dropping! Dunner cheered for me the whole way and I did it! Finally after so long of trying."

"That's great buddy. I know you've been working on that for a while."

"Yep. I even got calluses now. See 'em? This one is peeling."

"Wear it as a badge of honor."

Ben chuckled and skipped down the sidewalk with the rest of the kids while Sarah took Adam's hand.

"I did a lot of paintings in art today," she started, taking big steps to keep up. "Would you like to see them?"

"I'd love to. You know how much I love your paintings."

"I made one for Averylin's room so we can put it up in there, yeah?"

"Sure kiddo."

"C'mon everybody, let's get home fast so the weekend can start!"

"Alright class, I need you to break into groups of six and start planning your presentations for our history lesson. Colton and Drake, I need to see you both up front please."

Colton looked over at Isa who gave him a shrug and moved her desk around to join a group with some of the girls in the class. Stomach rumbling in fear, Colton stood up and went to the front of the room where his teacher was sitting at her desk. Drake joined him after a moment and they each pulled up one of the small chairs, sitting down while she handed them each a paper.

"Those are your math tests," she started. "You both did very well. Unfortunately, you gave the same answer for every question. You even got the same ones wrong."

Colton looked at his paper, then over at Drake's. Sure enough, everything was identical.

"Do you boys understand what this means?"

They both shook their heads, and the sick feeling in Colton's stomach started to get worse.

"This means that it looks as if one of you has cheated off the others paper."

"It wasn't me!" Colton said immediately. "I don't do that!"

"I know you both understand what a serious offense cheating is. Our school has a zero tolerance policy for it. Do you know what that means?"

"It means whoever did it is in a whole lot of trouble but it wasn't me Miss Flynn, it wasn't!"

"At this point I have no proof of who did it and who didn't. For now you both have a zero on the test. You may stay in at recess and retake it if you would like."

"But that's recess!" Drake pouted. "I took the test already!"

"Well until someone confesses, I have to assume that it could be either one of you."

"So after we take the test we're off the hook?"

"After you take the test, you will both have grades for it, but I still won't know who cheated. Whoever did it has until the end of the day to tell me what happened. If no one tells me, we will be involving your parents."

Colton blinked back a few tears and took a breath. He didn't want parents to get involved. They were much too busy to deal with something like this. But he wasn't going to confess to something he didn't do, he wasn't going to make himself untrustworthy, and he wasn't going to disappoint his family and his teacher, just to avoid a hard situation.

"Miss Flynn, I didn't do it. But I will take the test again at recess."

"I didn't either and I don't want to take the test again but I will."

"Alright then, you've both made your decisions. Go ahead and join your groups."

"Well I didn't do it," Drake whispered as they both walked to the back of the room. "I know it was you."

"It wasn't me," Colton said, shaking his head. "I don't know what happened but I know for sure it wasn't me. I don't cheat."

Drake gave a little grunt and joined his group while Colton slid into a seat next to Isa.

"Hey Colt, we're going to act out how they made Manhattan bigger out of stuff from a landfill and… Colt, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing, I'll tell you later."

She scooted a little closer to him, dropping her voice slightly and patting his hand.

"I'm on your side."

"I know."

"Are you going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine. Thanks, Sweet Thing."

She grinned at the nickname and turned back to the group discussion while Colton sat only half listening. He could have been mad about how unfair the whole thing was, but in his heart he knew that there were many other things that were much more unfair that could have happened. He wasn't really mad, but he was upset. He didn't want people to think he was a cheater. He didn't want his teacher to stop trusting him or for the kids to stop looking up to him. He could already imagine how disappointed Ben would be if he thought his big brother was a cheater. Somehow, he had to prove it wasn't him. Somehow he had to make them all understand that he didn't cheat, he didn't want to cheat, and he had no reason to do it anyway.

Figuring it would be a good idea not to slack off on the group assignment, he turned his attention back to what they were talking about. Isa handed him a sheet of paper with the information they had to present on it and he skimmed over it, his mind occasionally wandering back to the math test. Had he cheated? Had he looked over at Drake's paper and not remembered it? Or was the whole thing a coincidence? Maybe it was just chance that they'd missed the same questions. Was that possible?

"Colt? Hey Colt!"

"What?"

"You have to say the part about Battery Park."

"Oh, right."

He read off the few sentences then slumped back into his seat. He had to retake a test, he'd been accused of cheating and now he couldn't even pay attention to his other responsibilities. He was failing at everything.

"Now my teacher says we have to have a meeting with me and Drake and the parents. And I'm sorry because I know you're busy with work."

"Colton, you didn't do anything wrong," Lindsay assured, rubbing his back and looking over the letter his teacher had sent home.

"But it's my fault!"

"How is it your fault?"

"Because… because… I don't know it just is."

"Colton, did you cheat on this test?"

"No daddy, I swear I didn't."

"Then this is not your fault."

"You believe me?"

"Of course. You're not lying, are you?"

"No! I don't lie or cheat."

"I believe you, son. We'll all go to the meeting and get this figured out, alright?"

Colton nodded and rested his chin in his hands, his eyes roaming over the pattern on the counter tiles.

"I don't want people to think I'm a cheater. Especially Ben and Aves."

"I don't think you're a cheater, Cole!" Ben hollered from the doorway where he'd been eavesdropping. "I believe you when you say that you didn't do it! Because you never lied to me before!"

The declaration didn't help Colton's mood much and he gave a half grin, then returned to staring at the counter.

"This whole family would believe you Cole! So that must mean that you're tellin' the truth. Don't be upset! We still think you're grand!"

"Thanks Ben."

"I don't think my words did much to improve your brooding. Want me to go get sissy? She will do the Truffle Shuffle like on that movie and it will make you laugh!"

"Maybe later. I need to go do the rest of my homework."

"I will go with you, on account of I need to do mine and finish my reading for today. And will you check over mine before bedtime?"

"Sure Ben."

They left Adam and Lindsay in the kitchen to discuss things further, and went upstairs to their room. Ben's homework was spread out all over his bed; he preferred to kneel there to work rather than sitting at his desk by the window. That was specifically used for drawing and making Lego creations.

Colton sat down at his desk and finished the two worksheets he had left, then tucked them into the Pee-Chee folder in his backpack, zipping it up and hanging it from the hook by the door. He climbed onto his bed and cracked open his new library book Do Bananas Chew Gum and sat back against the wall, trying to concentrate on the story. Ben joined him after a few minutes, sitting close and opening his own book as he spoke.

"Know what Cole?"

"What?"

"All the kids in my class, they're jealous that I got a brother like you. One what doesn't pick on me and is a good kid. All of them are jealous of that. They think you're awesome."

"Thanks Ben."

"Well hello boys!" Avery greeted, gliding into the room with a grin. "Ooh, you reading! You read to me?"

"I gotta do my readin' for school, sissy."

"I'll read to you, Aves. Go get a book."

"Yay!"

She thundered out of the room and returned a few moments later obviously thinking that "a book" meant five. She climbed up onto the bed and into Colton's lap, then folded her hands in expectation.

"Ready for an adventure in these pages?"

"Oh yes so most! Coley you the best for you read to me! I like this book, about doggies! I want bring them all home."

"You want to have a Dalmatian plantation?" Ben asked with a giggle. "But what if Cruella De Ville comes to snatch your puppies?"

"Austin will 'rest her with the cuffs an' make her in jail!" Avery answered with a convinced nod. "No scary lady steals my puppies! For I love them."

"Aves, maybe you should start telling mama and daddy that you would like a puppy. Then we could all enjoy it."

"Oh Coley, that great idea! I go now!"

She hopped off the bed and out of the room, stomping down the stairs.

"It's a good thing she's spoiled and we can talk her into a lot of stuff," Ben observed. "I bet we get a puppy in no time!"

No one ever said that the playground was a friendly place, and if they did, they probably had never been on one during lunch recess. Fueled by food and a longer break time, this seemed to be the recess in which the most kids felt left out or picked on. Colton had seen other kids getting picked on before and he'd even stepped in a few times, but he didn't realize how bad it really was until today when he was on the receiving end of it. He wasn't sure how anyone had found out about the math tests, all he knew for sure was that he was getting called a cheater while Drake was off playing soccer as if nothing had happened. He couldn't tell if the kids really thought he was a cheater or if they just liked chanting the word over and over again. He'd asked them to stop, then he'd told them to stop and they'd kept on anyway.

"I'm going to tell a teacher if you don't leave me alone!" he said, looking around for an adult. "You're not hurting my feelings, you're just annoying me."

They continued anyway and he sighed, breaking through the group and walking in the other direction. They followed him.

"Hey Colt, me and Sarah are playing Star Wars, want to play with us?" Isa asked, not hearing the teasing.

"Well I don't know."

Cheater, cheater, cheater.

"Sarah is Leia and I am Luke so you could be Han or something."

Cheater, cheater, cheater.

"I would like to play but-"

Cheater, cheater, cheater!

"Hey!" Sarah shouted, jumping off the tireswing she'd been sitting on and walking over to the group of kids who all stood at least a head taller than her. "Colton Matthew is not a cheater! You'd better take that back now!"

"He did cheat! You don't know, you're just a little kid."

"He didn't cheat and it doesn't matter how big I am! Bully!"

Colton and Isa exchanged glances, neither one of them had ever heard Sarah raise her voice like that.

"He's a cheater!"

"He is not! You guys are bullies!" she hollered again, taking another step forward. "Bully! Bully! Bully!"

"Sarah-"

"Get out of here you good for nothing, mean, unhappy, selfish bullies! Get!"

She'd advanced far enough upon them that the height difference was quite pronounced. She stood her ground, toe to toe with who she perceived to be the ringleader of the group.

"You gotta send a girl to defend you?"

"Hey, there ain't nothing wrong with being a girl!" Isa hollered.

"You wouldn't know anything about that, you're barely even a girl at all."

"She's more of a man than you'll ever be and more of a woman than you'll ever get!" Sarah announced, her voice getting high pitched. "You need to get out of here now!"

"Make me, little twerp."

Fire blazed in Sarah's eyes, her fists balled up and she launched back, getting great momentum for a punch that never hit its target. Besides the fact that the other kids had backed off when they realized Sarah meant business, Isa had grabbed her around the waist, saving her by inches, from likely punishment.

"You'd better get out of here before I let her go!" Isa warned. "She's vicious and I taught her everything I know!"

"Whatever."

The kids wandered off across the playground and Isa threw her hands on her hips, looking down at Sarah carefully.

"What in the world were you doing?"

"I just got so mad, Isa."

"That's not like you."

"I know, I know. Am I going to get in trouble?"

"No, I don't think so. C'mon, let's forget about it and go play."

Even after the big meeting, Colton didn't feel any better. Drake wouldn't admit to cheating and Colton wasn't about to confess to something he didn't do, especially since the whole class seemed to believe it already.

"Buddy, you're pretty quiet back there. Anything on your mind?" Adam asked glancing in the rearview mirror.

"No, daddy."

"Are you sure?"

"Well… it's just… how come you guys didn't stick up for me in that meeting? You didn't say anything! Drake's parents stuck up for him and you just didn't even say anything, you didn't even say that it wasn't me! You just left me hangin'!" he said, dropping his hands against the seat in frustration.

"I understand that you're upset," Lindsay soothed, turning slightly to look at him. "But daddy and I talked about it and we decided that this was something you needed to do on your own."

"Why?"

"Because you're old enough to stand up for yourself. This doesn't mean that we're not on your side, and it doesn't mean that we don't believe you. We just know it's important for you to be able to tell the truth yourself."

"But I did tell it and she didn't believe me!"

"She didn't believe Drake either, Colton."

"But it's not fair! I didn't cheat and now people think I did."

"Son, there are going to be many times in life when people don't believe you. Mama and I wanted you to know that you're able to stand up for yourself. We also want you to remember that it doesn't matter what other people think in most situations. You know that you didn't cheat, and your family knows that. No one else matters. They can think what they want but you know the truth and that's important."

"How come when you guys are trying to teach me something you don't tell me what you're trying to teach me first?"

"You won't remember it if we just tell it to you."

He contemplated that for a while, watching out the window but not really seeing anything that passed by. He knew he could still be mad at them, they would understand and they always encouraged him to feel whatever he felt. But there was a side of him that had always tried to understand, when things didn't go his way or his expectations weren't met, there was a bit of his personality that took it all a little slower. This part made him think it over and decide to give them the benefit of the doubt on the whole matter. They did love him and they did want what was best for him. Sometimes that wasn't easy and sometimes that meant a lot of work. But in the end it was what was important, and he couldn't be upset with them for trying to teach him what was best.

"Well maybe next time you might give me a tiny warning?"

"Okay Colton, that would be fair."

"What's going to happen now? What did my teacher tell you guys when me and Drake left the room?"

"She said that for now the matter is closed but she will be watching you both closely for any signs of cheating. She said that your grades in all subjects are very similar and because neither of you have ever had any problems or gotten into any trouble before, she can't even guess who did it, so she has to assume it was a coincidence."

"Is she going to tell the class we didn't cheat?"

"No she's not. If you feel like they are teasing you or anything like that, then you need to tell her. But she doesn't think it would be right to bring attention to it when it's already been handled. She'll stick up for you if you need her to."

"I got the rotten end of the deal this time."

"Yes you did. And while mama and I are upset for you about that, we also have to accept that in life, sometimes things like that happen. We can't let them ruin our days or define who we are. We have to push through it and make something better happen."

"Okay."

"Sweetheart, please remember that no matter what happens, we still love you. Even when it's things like this and you get sucked up into something that's not your fault. Even if you ever did anything like that and it was your fault, we still love you and we are still proud and happy that you're our son."

"Even if I decide that I don't want to be exactly friendly to Drake anymore? I mean, I won't be a jerk to him but I just think it would be a good idea for me not to talk to him much, you know?"

"If that is what you feel like you need to do, then that's okay. Don't betray what you know is right, and do your best to be the man you know you are. And if that gets to be too hard, that's why daddy and I are still around, to help you make decisions. You are a very smart boy and we trust you, but that doesn't mean you will never need our help again. Okay?"

"I will remember that. It's like I'm somewhere between an adult and a kid, huh?"

"Yeah. It's a hard place to be, son. But we're there to help guide you through it. We're all a team, okay?"

"Okay daddy. I'm just… I'm just real glad that you're my parents and not someone else because… well I got lucky I think. When the stork dropped me off or whatever."

"Or whatever," Adam agreed with a chuckle. "Mama and I are pretty sure we're the lucky ones though. Never thought any different."

"Well that makes me feel good. Now I have a proposition. I think maybe we should stop for some ice-cream real quick before we pick up Ben and Aves. What say you lot?"

"Absolutely, buddy."

"Sweet, and let's not tell 'em. I am your firstborn after all, some things have got to be kept sacred."