I hurry out of school at the end of the day and ignore Alli's voice calling after me. I can't let her see. I can't let her figure it out. I can't.

"Maya Walker, stop moving this second," Cassandra's high-pitched voice commands.

I sigh, take a deep breath, and carefully turn around. She's storming toward me with her clique right behind her. Fellow classmates have stopped what they're doing and are now staring at the scene before them. I don't really blame them because anything with Cassandra is bound to be dramatic.

"What is it?" I ask in a bored tone, knowing that I'll make her even more upset.

In one swift motion, she pushes me down and bends over me with her clique circling around her. "Don't even try to act innocent. I can't believe you'd have the nerve to go against me. Who do you think you are-- someone special? Well, I'm here to tell you that you're not! You're not special or cool or even remotely decent. Don't go trying to be someone you're not."

I don't know what exactly happened during her speech, but something inside me just snaps. I stand up and look her in the eye and quietly yet forcefully state, "For once, I am being who I am, and nobody is going to stop me. Not even you, Cassandra Beckham, can stop me. Now, go home."

Cassandra doesn't move or reply. In fact, she stares at me like I have two heads. Her clique also stares at me. I don't stop staring at her, and she soon shifts under my gaze. And then, within just a few seconds, she and her clique are gone.

Alli steps up, and I realize that she was behind Cassandra the whole time. "Maya..." she trails off.

I look away from her and see some classmates still staring at me. They quickly turn away when I catch them staring at me, but they don't turn quickly enough to keep me from seeing the new looks they have; looks of respect.

I smile to myself and begin to walk away from the school. For the first time, I'm walking away from school with my head held high and some respect from other classmates. I guess miracles can happen.

"Maya!" Alli calls.

I don't reply, but she keeps following me. It's not until I'm at the path to my uncle's house when I turn around and tell her, "Alli, I really don't want to talk about this right now. Please just let me go to the house and think. That's all I want to do right now."

She slowly nods and backs away. "Okay. Just know that I am going to figure it out. I'm not going to forget."

I nod as she waves goodbye. When she's out of sight, I saunter down the path and look at the trees surrounding the path. I don't know why, but I can suddenly hear the birds chirping, and I can fully see how beautiful everything looks.

It's so beautiful that I stop and close my eyes to take in the nature. For just a few minutes, it's just me, the birds, and the gentle breeze. I take a deep breath and open my eyes. I then walk up to my uncle's house. I open the door and shut it behind me.

Emma comes around a corner and says, "Glad you're home! I just need to let you know that we're all having dinner at Nick's house tonight."

"Hmm?" I question, still in a slight daze.

She smiles and snaps her fingers in front of my face. "We are going to eat dinner at Nick's house at around six-thirty," she says slowly.

I snap out of my daze and ask, "Nick? Dinner?"

Emma looks at me worriedly. "Are you feeling okay? You're acting very weird."

I nod. "Yeah, I was just thinking about something. I'm fine. Around six-thirty at Nick's house for dinner."

She laughs. "I'm going to have to meet you and your uncle there because I'm going into town to run a few errands and then heading straight over to his house. Don't let your uncle forget!"

I nod again and hurry upstairs to my room so I can get my homework finished. I quickly finish the paper I have to write for history. After putting the paper away, the rest of my homework doesn't take long to finish. I soon finish and have some free time until we have to go to Nick's house.

I take my laptop out to my balcony and sit down in my chair. I open up my blog and the post I had been writing. I plug in my flash drive and download the blogpost onto it before erasing the post and starting over. I sit and try to come up with a post, but I only come up with lame ideas.

I close my blog and open up my writing folder. I see my story right where I left it off just about a month ago. For some reason, I can't get myself to write anything. This story began as a way to express the feelings I was feeling. Now, I feel like a different person because I have extremely different feelings than I did when I first started the story.

I sigh and close my laptop. I set it on the table next to me and take a deep breath. I stare at the ocean and let my thoughts wander.

I don't know what's changed, but I feel better about myself than I have in a long time. It's been about two months since my uncle made the first move to reconciling our relationship, and despite still not forgiving him, he hasn't left. He's still here, and I'm beginning to wonder if it's time for me to forgive him.

Two months ago I wouldn't have even considered the idea of forgiving him, but something has changed in my life. I don't know if this change is because of Alli or Nick or Emma. Maybe all three of them have caused this change, but what I do know is that I kind of like the change I've made. I feel stronger and happier. I feel hope, and that's something I've always had trouble feeling.

I sigh and look away from the ocean. Suddenly, I catch sight of the clock in my room and see that it's almost six-thirty. I jump up from my chair and pick my laptop up. I hurry back inside and close the balcony door behind me. I set my laptop down on my bed, grab my phone, and hurry downstairs. I practically run into my uncle's office and stop when I hear him having another serious conversation with someone.

"What did I tell you?" he pauses, "I don't care. I need you to do what I asked. I can't let this happen to either of them."

He turns his chair around and stops when he sees me. He almost drops his phone before hurriedly saying that he has to go and hanging up on the person.

I don't let him ask me if I heard everything because I quickly tell him, "It's almost six-thirty, and we're having dinner at Nick's house."

He nods and stands up. We quickly walk out of the house and farther down the path to Nick's house. The short walk is awkward. We walk in silence, but he occasionally clears his throat and coughs as though he wants to say something but can't figure out what.

In just a few minutes, the awkward silence ends because as soon as we enter Nick's house, there's a flurry of activity. First of all, we are a couple of minutes late and Emma begins to scold my uncle. Mrs. Caldwell, Nick's aunt, is cooking away and dropping things everywhere because she is clumsy. Nick is teasing me and chasing me around his house like we are five year olds.

By the time we sit down for dinner, all my energy is gone. It looks like it's the same with everyone else because everyone is so quiet and sort of gasping for breath. Emma offers a prayer, and then we begin to eat.

"So, Maya, how'd school go?" Nick asks me.

Everyone turns their attention to me, and I reply, "It was fine. Just school."

"Nothing exciting?" Nick pushes.

"Nope," I say shortly.

Just then, the doorbell rings. Nick excuses himself and goes to answer the door. He comes back in a couple of minutes with none other than Alli. She smiles at everyone and sits down in the empty chair beside me.

Nick pulls her chair out like he did for me and then sits down in his own seat. "I thought it would nice if Alli could join us."

We all just nod at his explanation and go back to eating. For a short time, it's silent because everyone is eating. Nobody even tries to start a conversation.

Then, Nick clears his throat. "I kind of needed to ask you guys some questions about the festival."

"Like what?" my uncle asks.

"What does an event like the one I want to have, entail?"

My uncle takes a bite of food, chews, and then begins, "Well, you've got to go to the tryouts and choose who you want. Then, you'll need to help them choose their songs. After that, you'll have to make sure that everything goes back to what kind of town Clearwater Bay is."

"And what is that?" Nick asks curiously.

"Kind, loving, exciting, and local," my uncle quickly describes.

I snort, making everyone turn and stare at me. "What?" I ask them.

"What was that sound for?" Nick teases.

"I just don't exactly think my uncle's description is accurate. After all, I've spent more time here than any of you combined," I answer honestly.

"Then elaborate, the please," Nick says with a hint of humor in his voice.

"I've lived here for the last four years and the only people who have taken time to get to know me are you and Alli, and you two just moved here," I explain.

Everyone except Alli and Nick look away from me. My uncle shifts in his chair uncomfortably, while Emma and Mrs. Caldwell sneak looks at each other. I can't tell what they're thinking, but I must have said something that bothers them.

All of a sudden, my uncle asks, "Are you sure it was just the people in this town? Are you sure there wasn't something else?"

I scowl and raise my voice as I almost fiercely reply, "Do you think that I secluded myself from the beginning? If you do, you couldn't be further away from the truth. I did try to make friends, and I did try to get to know people. The only problem was that nobody, and I mean nobody, gave me a chance to show them who I was. Everyone judged me and stayed away from me like I had the plague. They still do. Plus, it didn't help when Dr. Brown decided to blab about my private feelings. So, no, I don't think there was anything else!"

Alli touches my hand that's sitting on the table, and I look over at her. She gives me a small smile as though she's comforting me. Nick clears his throat, and I look at him and see him tilting his head in my uncle's direction. I look at my uncle and see him staring at me with an unreadable look.

"Maya," Emma says quietly, "Do you mind if I speak with you for a second?"

I turn my attention to her and see her trying to send me a message through her eyes and eyebrows. I sigh and stand up. Emma also gets up and follows me to the living room. Once we're alone, I cross my arms and face Emma.

"What?" I ask.

Emma clears her throat and also crosses her arms, but unlike me, it's a relaxed position. "Maya, I appreciate your honesty, but I think you need to not hold anything against anyone, especially your uncle."

I sigh and sit down. "What?"

"Maya, why didn't you ever tell anyone? Why have you been keeping secrets from your uncle? And what exactly is going on at school?" she questions, avoiding my question.

I narrow my eyes. "What do you think you're talking about?"

"Maya, I'm observant. I've been noticing things, and you've been going through some changes. Also, don't think I haven't noticed that you haven't struck an argument with your uncle for around a month," she replies carefully.

"What do you want? Do you want me to spill my guts to like I did that first night you were here?" I demand.

She sighs and sits down across from me. "You know that I'm not that kind of person. Sure, I'd like to help you, but I can't force anything from you. I've seen what happens when you're forced."

I sigh. "What if I did tell you something? Would you go and blab to everyone about my personal emotions and feelings?"

Emma raises an eyebrow. "Did I tell anyone how you felt when you talked to me the first night I was here?"

I sigh again and shake my head. "No, you didn't, so I'll tell you that I am changing, and it's for the better. That's all I'll say."

Emma nods and stands up. "Alright, I can live with that. Now, let's get back to the dinner table before they begin to wonder what's going on."

"Could I just go for a walk on the beach? I'm not sure I want to face the questions that I know my uncle has waiting for me. I don't want to see Alli or Nick's questioning faces," I say.

She gives me a small smile. "If you must. I'll head back in there and tell them that you needed some fresh air, but I don't want you to think that I agree with this."

I smile, and she smiles back. As she begins to walk away, I notice something different. She's no longer wearing her engagement ring on her left hand. Instead, the ring is on her right hand.

"Emma?" I ask, making her stop and turn around and wait for me to continue. "When did you move your ring to your right hand?"

She sighs. "You notice details too. I moved it before I came to dinner."

"If you don't mind, what does that mean?" I ask a little hesitantly.

She gives me a mysterious look. "I guess you'll have to find out. Now, go take your walk."

She walks away, and I rise from my seat. I slide open Nick's back door and walk outside. I close the door and head down to the beach. It's time for me to have another peaceful time to go over my thoughts.