We walk into the dining room when Emma calls us, and Nick sits down beside me. When I sit down, I feel some pain shoot up in my side, making me forget about the fun time I just had and remember that I'm not exactly okay.

"Nick, tell me when you think you'll get into the studio," my uncle says as we pass the food around the table.

"Well," Nick clears his throat, "I'm almost finished writing another song. I'm planning on having it finished and recorded by the time the Clearwater Bay Festival comes around so that I can perform it for everyone. I hope that works within my contract?"

My uncle pauses and then replies, "It would be a great way to get an even bigger fanbase here. I think we can deal with that. Do you want to release it before or after the festival?"

Nick pauses and then replies, "I think either way would work. Why don't we wait for a little while before deciding?"

"Okay. Just remember that we have to start promoting it before you release it," my uncle tells him.

Nick nods, and Emma turns her attention to me and asks, "How was school?"

Everyone puts their attention on me, so I slightly cheerfully say, "It was fine. School is school."

They all just nod before taking a bite of their food. I just surprised them with my somewhat cheerful response, so I guess they're trying to hide their surprise. Too bad I'm too smart to not notice what they're trying to do.

The conversation starts back up again in a few minutes, and the pain in my side starts to grow a little more. When I reach for the salt shaker, I feel a sudden burst of pain, and I grimace and let out a small groan.

Emma turns to me and worriedly asks, "Are you alright?"

I look at Nick and my uncle and see that both of them are also looking at me worriedly. I just nod and grab the salt shaker and relax back in my seat. Emma and my uncle start their conversation again, but Nick looks at me with suspicion.

I look away from him and season my food with the salt. The rest of the meal isn't so bad, and I don't get asked very many questions. When the meal is over, Emma tells us to go sit in the living room, so, naturally, we do what she says.

I feel more pain when I stand up, but I cover it up and follow my uncle and Nick into the living room. I sit down on a couch and lean back on the pillows, allowing me to have some support that eases some of the pain because I can relax and not have to sit up straight.

Nick sits down next to me and continues to stare at me with suspicion. I ignore him. My uncle sits down across from us, and we awkwardly sit in silence and look around the room. I never realized it until now; Emma is the one who gets the conversations going.

Before the silence can get any more awkward, Emma walks in and cheerfully says to my uncle, "Sam, I need your help with something. Could you please come with me?"

My uncle smiles at her and jumps up from his seat, leaving me alone with Nick. Nick clears his throat as though he wants me to say something. I look over at him, and he's still staring at me with suspicion. I roll my eyes and stare back.

It takes a few minutes, but he finally sighs and asks, "Are you going to actually tell me what's wrong with you? You can't cover up that groan you made earlier."

I sigh. "Nothing's wrong. I'm just a little sore from some exercising I did. And, that wasn't even a groan."

I look over a him, and he shakes his head. "You can't get a lie past me, Maya. I'm observant, remember?"

I roll my eyes at him again. "You think you know me so well. I've only known you for a few weeks. Plus, you're not always right."

His eyes twinkle as he replies, "Oh, I'm definitely always right."

Despite not wanting to laugh, I do, and my side begins to hurt again. I let out another groan, and Nick looks at me with a knowing look.

I glare. "I'm just sore."

"And how exactly are you sore?" he asks.

"I was working out earlier today," I lamely explain.

"You? Work out with people? I find that very hard to believe," he teases.

I laugh and push him jokingly. "I'm not that bad with people."

He raises his eyebrow. "Well..."

I whack him with my hand at his joke. "You can stop that," I tell him.

He laughs and then looks at me seriously again. "Seriously, Maya, tell me what happened. We both know I know that you're not telling the truth."

I sigh. "Why'd you have to ruin the fun when I was actually having a little bit of fun?"

"Don't try to change the subject," he says.

I roll my eyes and don't respond. He's right; I can't get a lie past him, so I won't try to get a lie past him. I just won't strike up a conversation with him for the rest of the night. Plus, my uncle will be back in here in a few minutes, so my uncle will occupy Nick.

When my uncle does come back into the room, I let my thoughts drift away. I can't tell Nick the truth because I know how he'll react. He'll tell me the exact same thing he told me the second time I ran into him-- that I should go tell an adult.

If he found out, he would probably tell my uncle. Then, my uncle would get involved and make the situation even worse in an effort to make it better. I can't deal with more drama, so I resolve to make sure they have no idea about what's going on.

~•••••~

For the next month, I arrive at school everyday with my old hood over my head. The whispers always start when I enter the building, and they begin to get to me as the month goes by.

Still, I have someone to help me through the rumors and whispers; Alli. Despite my hesitancy to become friends with her, I do, and I don't regret it. For some reason, she understands me, and I find myself allowing her into my life a little bit.

Of course, I keep certain pieces of information from her, but she knows that my father wasn't the kindest. What she doesn't know is how abusive he was toward my mom and me, and I don't think I'll be telling her any of that anytime soon because it's still a touchy subject. Plus, I'm still me, which means I'm still wary about people.

My wariness has come in handy because I've been able to avoid Nick's questions, and my uncle and Emma have no idea what's going on at school with Cassandra or anyone else. Cassandra is still her usual self, but she's become even worse as the month has gone by.

Her words are meaner, and she's gotten more on the physical side of things after that day on my way home. It hasn't been anything huge like last time, just tripping me and pushing me around, but when I step inside school today, I get an uncomfortable feeling.

I'm walking next to Alli, but I see more stares and hear more whispers. Glares are sent in our direction. I begin to worry even more when I see Cassandra and her clique in the middle of it all. She usually doesn't get here until the late bell almost rings, so I know something has to be up.

Alli gently pulls me through the crowd to our first class. We sit down in the back of the room and wait for all the seats to fill up. I tug my hood down and smooth out my ponytail before turning to look at Alli.

"Is it just me, or do you think something's up?" she asks me.

I nod. "This is why I told you to not get caught up in my messes. This past month has gotten worse and worse for you."

She smiles at me. "Maybe in the eyes of everyone else. But for me, I'm still perfectly fine. I've gained a friend, and I don't care what everyone else says about you or tries to say about you."

I sigh. "You never know when to give up."

She laughs. "I guess I don't."

The second warning bell rings, and the classroom begins to fill up with students. The teacher soon walks in after the classroom is almost completely full. She signals for attention after the late bell rings.

"Class," she says, "Please be quiet. Today, we have a special announcement, so I need to take roll and then we will go into the gym."

A buzz fills the room, but the teacher still manages to take attendance. Alli and I don't buzz about what the announcement is because Nick told us that he's announcing the show that the high school is going to do at the festival. After the teacher finishes taking the roll, we all stand up and head for the door.

As we walk toward the gym, Cassandra somehow finds me and walks beside me just long enough to shove me and whisper a few horrible names. She quickly walks away from me after she does that, and I turn my head to look at Alli who is shaking her head.

When we get inside the gym, Alli and I sit down on the bottom row at the end of the bleachers. Principal Beck walks to the center of the court with a microphone in his hand, and he calls everyone to attention. It takes awhile, but everyone manages to silence themselves.

"Students, today, we have an exciting announcement for all of you, and we have a special guest here to tell you about it. Please give a warm welcome to Nick Caldwell!" Principal Beck exclaims, making all the girls scream and begin to clap.

The girls scream even more when Nick goes to the center of the court, and I then realize that Nick has managed to stay out of sight during the last couple of months. Nobody has actually seen him and recognized him walking around town because he doesn't walk around in town all that often. I can't believe I just noticed that.

I go back to the conversation we held about a month ago, where I showed him that I also pay attention to details. I remember telling him that he was hiding, and what I just noticed is making me feel like I was right; he's hiding. Why else would he avoid having people recognizing him?

"Thank you so much for the warm welcome," I hear Nick say as he quiets down the crowd. I turn my attention back to him as he goes on. "I'm very excited to announce that for this year's annual festival, the high school will be hosting a show! This show will raise money for one of the charity's I love to support. Also, all of you will be able to participate in it! The drama classes will perform a short little play, and some of you will be able to perform a song. More information will be announced over the next few months. If you're already interested, please go to the office and sign up! Thanks again, and I hope many of you will consider participating!"

After he finishes, everyone begins to talk again. He waves at everyone and then leaves with some guys walking behind him that look to be his security. Principal Beck goes back the the center of the court and manages to get everyone's attention again.

"Students! I'm sure all of you are excited by this news, but remember that you still have school today. Signup sheets will be in the office after school. Now, get to class," he orders.

Everyone stands up, but not many make their way back to the classrooms, even though the teachers are ordering them to. Alli and I go back to our first class and find ourselves two of the five back in the classroom.

"I forgot how famous he is," Alli comments as we sit down.

I nod. "Yeah. I guess his annoying side really does cover up the fact that he's actually considered one of the most famous people of today."

Alli playfully shoves me and says, "Rude! I think he's nice."

I roll my eyes. "Hmmm."

She laughs and then opens up one of her two books she brought into the classroom. I sigh and look down at my desk and let my thoughts take over.

I'm determined to figure out what Nick is hiding from me. I know that there's a reason why he moved here and why he's been avoiding meeting people. I just have to figure out that reason.

Once again, the teacher calls the class back into order, snapping me out of my thoughts. She begins to give us a long lecture, and I want to fall asleep. I look over at Alli and see her writing down notes but with a bored expression on her face.

I laugh to myself and sigh. If Alli is bored, that means that everyone else here is. She lives for this class, so I'm surprised that she looks this bored.

"Maya, since you seem so thrilled by this subject, would you like to answer my question?" the teacher says to me, making everyone turn around and stare at me.

This is my worst nightmare-- for the teacher to call on me and for everyone to be staring at me. To get out of this situation, I do what any normal person would do; I tell her that I have to go to the restroom. She isn't convinced, so I tell her that I'm about to throw up. She immediately lets me go.

I hurry out of the classroom and to the bathroom. If that was any indication how this school day is going to be, then I'm going to have so much fun.