"Okay, one more time before I leave?" I asked Auntie, looking at the list in my hand. Auntie yawned and stretched.

"Opal, it is 7:15. You don't have to be at school until 8:00, why are you leaving so early?"

"I promised one of my basketball boys I'd look over his homework before class starts," I said. Auntie perked up right away,

"Is it Dajan?" she asked excitedly and I rolled my eyes.

"Yes and no. Dajan is going to be there, but it's Brandon that needs my help. Are you ready?" Auntie propped her chin in one hand and waved her hand, signaling me to go on.

"The girls and I will arrive right after school and you'll have the fruit and veggie trays that we made last night out. We'll have a snack and just talk about the day. Then we'll either put in a movie or play a game if Kim brings one that all the girls want to play. After that we'll, uh, do our nails?" I asked hesitantly, looking up at Auntie.

"Honestly, Opal, you would think that this was your first sleepover! Painting your nails is a must at sleepovers," Auntie insisted emphatically and I smiled uneasily.

"Uh yah, right, just... wanted to make sure. Well, after that we'll have our pajama 'contest' and bring all of the pillows into the living room. Once we're all changed we'll put in the pizzas and bring out the ice cream. We'll definitely watch a movie then, right?"

"Yes, I think watching a movie while eating dinner is a great idea," Auntie said with a smile.

"And you really don't mind if we eat in the living room?" I asked nervously. 

The first time I had spilled something in Mother's living room I had been sentenced to my room for three days with nothing but bread and water to eat. It seemed like a foreign concept to eat anywhere but the kitchen or dining room.

"If something spills I'll just hire a cleaning service. Don't stress about it!" Auntie reassured me and I smiled, looking back at my list.

"Okay, so after the movie, we'll see what the girls want to do. We could either just talk some more, play a game, or watch another movie if they want. And I'm supposed to expect a random pillow fight to break out at some point after the movie and pizza, right?" 

Auntie shook her head and made a tutting sound. "It's so sad that I had to tell you that. Those prep school girls must have been real snobs to never have a pillow fight." 

I folded up the list carefully and stuck it in my jeans pocket. Auntie was under the impression that I had lots of friends in my old private school and I saw no reason to tell her otherwise.

"Well, I better go now, Auntie. Thank you for all the help. Do I look okay?" I asked nervously. Auntie had insisted that I wear a pale pink one-shoulder shirt that showed the thick strap of my purple undershirt. I had paired it with jean capris and purple flats with my hair pulled up into a messy bun.

"You look great, Opal. I knew you'd be able to pull off the one-shoulder look! I'll have to design a dress for you sometime with a one-shoulder," Auntie said wistfully and I tried to smile.

Wearing clothes that showed this much skin still made me nervous. I would find myself tugging on my jeans or covering my shoulder as if there were still bruises for me to cover up.

Mentally chiding myself for not letting the old habits die, I kissed Auntie's cheek before leaving the apartment. I walked quickly, enjoying the crisp morning air while making my way to the library. When I arrived I was surprised to see nobody was there. Pulling out my cell phone, I realized I had missed a text from Dajan.

Brandon slept in. I'm heading to the gym. I'll see you at lunch.

I chuckled slightly; Dajan's texts were very to the point. I wondered if Brandon was even awake yet. Brandon had done this to us three times before and Dajan always went to shoot hoops. I went with him once and he had tried to teach me how to shoot, but I was horrible, so I didn't think I'd be doing that again anytime soon.

I went to my locker and took out the books that I'd need for my morning classes. Glancing at my cell phone I saw I still had fifteen minutes before school started. I stuck my cell phone in my backpack and shut my locker, wondering what I should do. All my homework was done so I started towards the library again, thinking I could maybe check out a new book.

As I walked up to the library though, I glanced down the hall towards the student council room. I hadn't talked to Nathaniel in a couple of days. It was strange, but I sort of missed him. Slowly I came to a stop, debating, but ultimately my feet turned and I found myself walking down the hall. I stood outside the student council room chewing my lip, wondering if this was really a good idea. Suddenly, the door opened and I jumped back before Nathaniel collided with me.

"Opal?" Nathaniel took a step back in surprise and then he smiled. "Hey! I haven't seen you in a while."

"Oh, hi, Nathaniel. Sorry about that," I said apologetically, readjusting my grip on my textbooks.

"What are you doing here so early? Did you need something?" Nathaniel asked kindly and I shook my head.

"I was going to help someone with their homework, but they didn't show. I had some time so... well, I was just going to come say good morning." 

Nathaniel blinked and then smiled broadly. "Well, good morning then. I was just going to grab a snack from the vending machine, would you like to join me?"

"Sure. Wait, did you not have breakfast?" I asked as I followed him towards the vending machines.

"Nah. I woke up kind of late and I needed to get started on some filing the principal asked me to take care of," Nathaniel said flippantly as he pulled his wallet out of his back pocket.

"The principal sure asks you to do a lot of things," I commented and he shrugged.

"Yah, I guess. But I don't really mind. The secretary broke her leg over spring break so I've been doing everything I can to help her out."

"Oh, I didn't know that. That's so generous of you." Nathaniel laughed, shaking his head.

"Anyone would do it," he said with a nonchalant shrug. 

Without looking at his options Nathaniel pushed some buttons and inserted three dollars. A packet of sun chips and a granola bar plopped to the bottom and Nathaniel retrieved them expertly.

"You don't skip breakfast often, do you?" I asked suspiciously and he grinned.

"Not too often," he responded vaguely as he headed back to the student council room.

"That really isn't much of a breakfast," I commented, and Nathaniel shrugged.

"It gets me through till lunchtime. And my mom always makes a big dinner."

"Hmmm," I hummed noncommittally, thinking of my own large breakfast of hash browns and sunny-side-up eggs that Auntie had made me this morning.

"So, any exciting plans for the weekend?" Nathaniel asked, popping a sun chip in his mouth.

"Actually, yes. I'm hosting a sleepover," I said and a feeling of nervous excitement filled me.

"That's great! I'm glad you've been able to make friends! Uh, Amber hasn't been bothering you lately, has she?" Nathaniel asked uneasily.

"Actually, no. Ever since the basketball boys adopted me she hasn't bothered me. I haven't even seen her."

"Right. I had heard about that," Nathaniel said and his voice sounded hard. I looked up at him quizzically, wondering what was wrong. "So you and Dajan... you're pretty close, I hear?" he asked without meeting my eyes.

"Yah, he and all the basketball boys. They look out for me and in exchange I help them with homework," I explained and Nathaniel looked at me in surprise.

"Homework?"

"Yah, I've kind of become their private tutor. I helped bring Troy's math grade from a D to a B+," I recounted with pride and Nathaniel gave me an odd look.

"Tutor..." he said slowly. "I thought... well... you spend so much time with Dajan I thought..." Nathaniel trailed off and I looked at him, waiting expectantly.

"Thought what?" I asked and he looked away.

"Nothing, I guess. Someone just told me you and Dajan were dating."

"WHAT?!" I yelped and Nathaniel's eyes went wide in surprise. I could feel the blood drain from my face. "N-n-n-no! I'm not dating him! I'm not dating anyone!" I denied forcefully and then turned away.

What on earth were people thinking? I couldn't date Dajan, I couldn't date anyone! No one deserves to be with a mistake like me. All I'd do is hurt them! I thought to myself in a panic.

I heard Nathaniel laugh and I turned around slowly. He laughed for quite a while and I stood there, trying to banish the dreadful thoughts. Slowly Nathaniel's laugh eased my panicked thoughts and I found myself smiling hesitantly.

"Well, I'm glad I asked. I'll be sure to let Mr. Simmons know you aren't dating him."

"Mr. Simmons? My Physics teacher?" I asked in surprise and Nathaniel nodded.

"He's seen Dajan pick you up after class to take you to the cafeteria so he asked me if you were dating him. Apparently he didn't think his best student should be dating someone with a B average," Nathaniel said with amusement. I was torn between smiling and frowning. It was nice to know Mr. Simmons liked me, but it made me upset that he thought I was too good for Dajan because I got good grades. That made no sense whatsoever.

"Well, it doesn't matter now. Do you want to help me with the filing until school starts?" I agreed and Nathaniel and I spent the next ten minutes chatting easily. 

The rest of the day flew by and before I knew it school had ended for the weekend. I looked over at Violette and we both smiled. A flutter of excitement made my stomach seem to flip over.

"I'll meet you out by the doors, okay?" I asked and Violette nodded, trotting to her locker. 

I grabbed my empty backpack and headed for the entrance doors where Iris and Melody were already waiting. I waved and Iris waved back enthusiastically while Melody simply nodded, smiling in an almost regal fashion. We all waited as Violette, Kim, and finally Rosalya all came to the meeting place. I got in Kim's car and gave her directions while keeping an eye out back to make sure Iris was following us.

"Wow, nice place, Opal," Kim complimented with approval as she parked the car.

"Thanks. Auntie's waiting for us with some snacks. Did you bring any games?"

"I brought Apples to Apples," Kim said, holding up a red box. I smiled silently, not knowing what that was but now wanting to seem ignorant. 

We got out of the car just as Iris and the others pulled up. I led the girls up the stairs to our flat and before I could even reach for the doorknob the door sprang open, revealing Auntie wearing a silver shirt, dark purple shorts, and a blue frilly apron.

"Welcome girls! Come in, come in! Set your backpacks wherever you want then come into the kitchen for a snack," Auntie instructed exuberantly. 

Rosalya suddenly squealed and rushed forward, grabbing Auntie's hands in hers.

"You're Yuki Sato, aren't you?!?!" she asked breathlessly and Auntie grinned.

"Yes, I am! How did you know?"

"Oh, I was a huge fan of the last line of clothes you designed! My boyfriend Leigh actually has a couple pictures of your designs in his studio for inspiration. I can't believe your aunt is THE Yuki Sato, Opal!" Rosalya gushed and I smiled proudly. Auntie hadn't been a super famous designer, but it was nice to know that she still had fans.

The rest of the girls, who had never heard of Auntie, asked her dozens of questions about what it had been like being a fashion designer as we all munched on pieces of fruit and vegetables. Kim brought out her Apples to Apples game and we ended up playing for nearly two hours! At the end of the game Kim said that each card we had won described our personalities and everyone's eyes went to Auntie's cards. She had gotten sexy, wicked, superstitious, and creepy. Everyone laughed and Auntie did her best 'creepy' voice which had everyone in hysterics. We were all having a wonderful time which made me feel relieved.

"Okay girls, who wants to paint their nails?" Auntie asked when our laughter had finally died down. Rosalya jumped up and down in excitement which caused another round of laughter.

Auntie brought in her copious amounts of nail polishes and we all oohed and aahed over the color choices. I looked at all the colors and surreptitiously watched the other girls as they started to apply the polish to see how it was done. It seemed straightforward enough so I selected a shiny magenta color and carefully brushed the color onto my nails as I listened to Iris and Melody tell stories about their childhood. Auntie had ducked out of the dining room into the kitchen to put the pizzas in the oven and she returned with her digital camera.

"Alright girls, hands in the middle of the table. Let me see your artwork!"

We complied and I openly admired Violette's nails. She had chosen a pale purple and then added dots of dark purple in varying sizes. Rosalya's were also very creative, she had chosen white and then stroked black stripes onto it to make it look like a zebra print. Auntie snapped a picture and then had us all cluster together and took another with one hand displaying our nails.

She told us to hold our positions and whipped out her cellphone, snapping a picture on that as well and an uneasy feeling had me wondering if she was going to send the picture to Father. I breathed a shallow sigh of relief when she slipped it back into her pocket and picked up the camera with a beautiful smile.

"Perfect! Now we are going to have a little fun. It's time for a pajama contest!" Auntie said with excitement and the girls looked at me with confused expressions.

"It's not really a contest, more of a fashion show. One at a time we'll go change into our pajamas and then come out and show them off for all of us. We don't have to though if you don't want to," I said worriedly, hoping I wasn't being weird. Rosalya grinned and stood up.

"Me first then! Leigh designed it though, so don't you all feel too shabby, alright?" she said sweetly. 

Kim scoffed, Iris smirked, Melody smiled, and Violette nodded as if she thought Rosalya was serious. She grabbed her backpack and headed down the hallway to the bathroom with a bounce in her step.

"This has been really fun. Thank you for inviting us, Ms. Yuki," Iris said and Auntie put her hands on her hips with a huff.

"Now Iris, no one who has heard my creepy voice is allowed to call me Ms.! It's just Yuki, and that goes for all of you," she said, sweeping her finger over all the girls in the room.

They all smiled and nodded just as Rosalya emerged. She was wearing a short purple spaghetti strap nightdress with a black bow right at the top and a strip of black fabric down the middle. We all clapped and she struck a model's pose, with a serious face. Her usual grin soon replaced it almost immediately though and she urged Violette to go next, sitting down at the table.

Violette returned wearing a pair of white pajamas. The top was a short tank top with thick lace straps. The shorts puffed out at the bottom with lace trim. She was fidgeting with a little pink stuffed lamb the length of her forearm and she looked up nervously. We all clapped again and I commented on how cute her lamb was. She smiled in relief and sat down.

"My turn," Kim said and scooped up her backpack before entering the bathroom. She came back out wearing a baggy, off-the-shoulder shirt with the words New York plastered in block letters on the front with black shorts that hugged her hips. Another round of applause and she made the rock-on sign before sitting down. "Go for it Melody," Kim urged and Melody stood up with a small smile.

"Now just as a warning, mine are pretty boring compared to your guys'," Melody said before heading into the bathroom. She emerged quickly wearing a pale blue, long-sleeved pajama top with matching bottoms. 

 Applause was given again and Iris disappeared into the bathroom, coming back out in a dark green, short-sleeved pajama shirt with a yellow duckling in the bottom corner and matching knee-length shorts.

Finally, it was my turn. I ducked into my room, changing quickly into the pajamas that Auntie had helped me pick out. I came out in a tight black pajama shirt with three gold stars across my right shoulder and muted gold sweatpants. I was holding the little black teddy bear Auntie had given me years ago and Violette's eyes lit up. The girls applauded one more time and we all looked over at Auntie.

"Oh no, girls, I don't need to."

"Yuki! Yuki! Yuki!..." Iris began chanting Auntie's name and soon all the girls and I joined in, clapping to the beat until she finally grinned and went into her bedroom. She emerged in her silk red robe that ended right above her knees. We all cheered and she curtsied.

"Alright, girls. The pizza should be just about done. We have either pepperoni or Hawaiian so tell me what you want and I'll bring it out to you while Opal sticks in a movie."

"Ooo, let's watch a chick flick!" Rosalya suggested excitedly. 

I brought out the three movies Auntie and I had decided on and Rosalya chose. I put in the movie and helped Auntie bring the girls their pizza. We all settled in to watch the movie on Auntie's 42" flat screen. By the time the movie was over, all the pizza was gone, a carton of rocky road and mint chocolate ice cream had been polished off, and almost all of the girls were in tears (Auntie included).

"Oh, I would have DIED if he had chosen that no good, weasel!" Rosalya declared dramatically as she flopped onto one of the pillows that littered the living room floor. 

I gathered up all the girls' ice cream dishes as they discussed the movie. Auntie followed me into the kitchen with the rest of the bowls.

"I think it's going great, Opal!" she said happily, rinsing the bowls before placing them in the dishwasher. "Are you having fun, sweetheart?"

"Yah, I am," I answered and I meant it. This was the strangest thing I had ever done, and the movie had been completely ridiculous in my own opinion, but I loved that the girls were enjoying themselves and I could be here with them.

I heard a squeal and a small 'whap' sound followed by peals of laughter. Auntie and I rushed to the living room to see all the girls hitting each other with any pillow that they could get their hands on, even throwing them at each other. Auntie laughed and clapped her hands just as a pillow came sailing toward us. I snatched it out of the air before it could hit Auntie and she grinned at me.

"Pillow Fight!" Auntie cried out with a gleeful squeal. 

She grabbed the pillow from my hands and whacked me softly with it before diving into the fray. I blinked and looked at her and then at all the girls before gulping uncertainly. Following Auntie's lead, I reached down to scoop up a pillow and joined in the 'fight'.

I was very gentle when hitting others and years of survival instinct kicked in so I would dodge every attempted blow. Pretty soon all the girls ganged up on me. I laughed as I used my own pillow as a shield, swatting the pillows away, ducking, dipping, and spinning out of reach. Finally, Violette's pillow connected with my arm and I threw up my pillow in defeat. All the girls cheered and collapsed onto the ground, giggling. I sat down after collecting Gregory, my teddy bear, and leaned against the couch, waiting for everyone's gasps and giggles to quiet down.

"So Iris, tell us. Have you made a move yet?" Rosalya asked, lying on the floor and looking up at the ceiling. 

Iris groaned and covered her head with a bright pink pillow. "I can't! I can't even speak when I'm near him!"

"Iris, he's a boy, he'll never know how you feel unless you tell him," Melody said. Her tone was kind but her eyes were hard and I frowned slightly, wondering if I was imagining things.

"Who are you talking about? Iris, did you find a hottie?" Kim asked, resting her elbows on a long, green pillow. Violette, who was lying next to her on a dark red pillow that had come from Auntie's room, looked over to Iris with quiet interest.

"Well, technically Opal found him. I wouldn't have ever talked to him if the basketball team hadn't become Opal's bodyguards," Iris said and I leaned forward.

"Iris, you like one of the basketball boys?"

"You haven't noticed, Opal? She ALWAYS sits next to him but she never says a word to him except hi," Rosalya pouted and Iris whacked her lightly with her pillow.

"I just... I think he likes someone else," Iris said quietly. I wracked my brain, trying to think of who it could be. Suddenly I gasped and grinned.

"Brandon? You like Brandon?" 

Iris turned bright red and covered her face again.

"Isn't he the tall skinny one with short brown hair?" Kim asked and Iris lowered the pillow to sigh longingly.

"And the most gorgeously deep brown eyes I have ever seen in my life! He's nice, a little quiet, but he works really hard! He's always trying his best. I watch the basketball practices sometimes and he's easily the second-best player on the team. No one can beat Dajan of course, but... Brandon looks so cool when he goes up for a layup and he is completely focused on that one shot..." Iris trailed off as Rosalya and Kim cat called and Melody laughed at her friend. 

I looked around nervously, wondering why they were teasing her when she was expressing her feelings so beautifully.

"Iris you have to tell him! Whoever he thinks he likes couldn't be better than you!" Rosalya said encouragingly and we all nodded in agreement.

"I'll think about it," Iris said noncommittally and then turned to me.

"What about you, Opal. Do you have anyone you like?"

"What are you talking about? Opal's dating Dajan," Melody remarked and my mouth dropped open in shock.

"No, I'm not!" I denied as all the girls crowded around me, begging for details.

"Why not?! He's totally hot, and it's obvious he has a thing for you," Iris pointed out. I shook my head firmly.

"Dajan and I are friends, but I don't have any feelings for him. Besides, he protects me because I remind him of his cousin. There's nothing going on between us." The girls all looked disappointed but I folded my arms emphatically and shook my head. "There is NOTHING going on between us," I repeated and they finally moved back to their previous positions. I looked over at Melody and saw her frowning slightly.

"So if you don't like Dajan, is there someone else that you like?" Melody asked quietly.

"No," I said simply with a shake of my head.

"Well, you're no fun. Love is such a wonderful thing, Opal! You don't know what you're missing!" Rosalya exclaimed and I chuckled.

"Well, besides Rosalya, are any of you dating anyone?" I asked, desperate to change the subject before the mischief in Auntie's eyes became a comment I didn't want to hear.

"Melody, you just broke up with your boy toy, right?" Rosalya asked and she nodded stiffly.

"David was so arrogant. I broke it off."

"Wait, you mean David Scopes? The soccer captain?" Kim asked in interest and Melody nodded absentmindedly.

"Well, I'm not dating anyone, and neither is Violette, but I have a boy that I go see concerts with. His name is Andrew. He's a freshman in college."

"Oooo, a college boy, huh?" Auntie asked with a twinkle in her eyes. 

We all talked for what seemed like hours. Melody was the first one to fall asleep, crashing on one of the couches. Auntie brought in an air mattress and soon Kim, Violette, and Rosalya were sound asleep. Iris fell asleep on the other couch which left only me and Auntie.

"Thank you, Auntie. This was so much fun, it wouldn't have been near as fun if you hadn't helped me," I whispered. 

Auntie smiled, slipping one of her arms around my shoulders and giving me a short squeeze as we leaned against the wall next to the TV. Only the sounds of the heavy breathing of the sleeping girls could be heard for a while as I basked in the happiness I felt next to Auntie.

"Opal, I have a question for you," Auntie whispered back and I tried to stifle a yawn. When the yawn had passed Auntie continued. "Sweetheart... do you really not like anybody?"

"I really don't, Auntie. Why?"

"Opal... just because things didn't work out between your parents, doesn't mean love doesn't exist," she said gently.

"Oh, that's not... I mean... it's just that..." I searched for something to say. 

I couldn't tell Auntie the truth. She didn't know that I was a mistake. If she found out... what if she stopped loving me too? The thought made me shudder inwardly and I pressed myself a little closer to her side. There was no way I could risk my precious spot in Auntie's heart.

"It's okay, Opal. I understand if it's still too soon for you. But really, you should give yourself a chance. Love is a wonderful thing."

"Well, what about you Auntie?" I asked and she sighed.

"Oh, Opal. Love came to me too soon. I'll tell you about it some other time." Her voice had gone hoarse so I nodded, letting the subject drop.

Auntie got up to go sleep in her bed but I gathered some blankets and pillows and stretched out on the ground next to the air mattress. So many things were buzzing through my brain but as soon as I relaxed into my pillow my eyes closed and sleep overcame me.