Backstories - Book One: The Fifth Grade

# Chapter One: The 5th Grade

## Dezerae Rose Edgar

Hi, My name is Dezerae, but people call me ‘Dez’. Today’s the first day of the fifth grade and I’m super excited! I’m in advanced reading and math with two of my best friends; Ryan and Courtney (Who we all call Coracoradingdong). If you’d like to hear the story behind that… here it is: I also have a little sister named Ruby (Who I call Rubs [R-oo-bs]). Courtney’s mom called Courtney ‘Coracoradingdong’ and my mom called Ruby “Rubalubadingdong”. So there’s that story! Sorry if I’m off topic! My two other good friends are Phoebe; Who I used to do gymnastics with. Phoebe lives across the street from my mom’s house. Skyler is my other friend. She’s the tallest out of Ryan, Cora, Phoebe, and I. Phoebe is the smallest. But man is she mighty! I also love writing, volleyball, math, and biking for miles.

Today is the first day of fifth grade and you can’t get much more scared than I am now. I mean I’m a fifth-grader. I will be in the highest grade in our school but I’m the size of a baby second grader (Ruby’s in second grade). I don’t just have one sister. I have two step-sisters, one sister, one sister that is about to be born, and two step-brothers. But you’ll hear more about them later. Today at school, I introduced myself to the class.

“H-hi I am Dezerae you can call me Dez. My name, Dezerae, means wanted in French. My besties are Skyler, Ryan, Courtney, and Phoebe. We love hanging out! I’m a gymnast and a volleyball player and I’m happy for a new school year and to meet some fantastic people.” I said.

We then headed to the gym and we played kickball with another class. My heart sank when I realized that Tatiana Derby was in the other class. Tatiana HATES me. Last year, I wanted to be friends with Tatiana because we were in gymnastics together. I would ask to hang out with her at every recess but all she would say is, “Like, go AWAY!” I got pretty upset and I told my besties what was going on. When Tatiana found out that I was talking to my friends, she came up to me and said, “If you don’t stop spreading rumors about me, I will spread a big one about you!” Of course, I didn’t stop talking to my friends about something going on in my life, so she told everybody, “Dezerae doesn’t have any little sisters! She is such a big fat LIAR! Also, she *pays* her friends to hang out with her!”

Sigh. Mom calls Ruby “Rubalubadingdong” and you know what? She calls me “Honest Dezerae” and that’s what I have to live by; Honesty. And, my friends honestly don’t pay me. I guess I’m okay at playing kickball, I mean, I can kick the ball, run, sprint even. But, I can’t *catch* the ball and get anyone out. It’s no biggie though because Cora’s the fastest girl in the fifth grade and I had her on my team so you would think we would win. The problem is, Alydia was on the other team, and man is she fast! When I looked over at her, I felt my stomach sink even lower. Alydia was standing right next to Tatiana and it looked like they were best friends now. In the end, we got creamed by the other class and Cora was positively fuming.

I’m going to tell you more about this Alydia girl. She moved into the open apartment right next to my house. I was pretty surprised because the town I live in has a LOT of apartments. Usually, when you move from a different continent, in this case, Africa, you move into an apartment. Her family’s pretty wealthy though so I thought they were going to buy a house. When they didn’t, I could already tell Lidi was different! I tried to be as nice to her as I could because I knew that she would either get bullied or she would be so popular and I would be her bestie!

Now (\*cries\*), I have to go home on the stupid, smelly bus. Our bus smells *sooo* bad that I swear, one day, I’m gonna *faint* from the fumes. Three girls, Kayla, Julie, and Brianna bring perfume and spray it around so we don’t *die.* I feel like I’ve been talking about bullies quite a bit so, now’s as good as ever to give you a little more inside info. Rya’s been through her fair share of bullies since first grade. I was bullied myself in kindergarten. While Rya, Cora, Sky, and Pheebs went off to the public school, I went off to a private school.

In kindergarten, there was a girl named Jes. Not Jessica. Just Jes. The teacher didn’t want to mix up ‘Jes’ with ‘Dez’ so I had to stay Dezerae. A lot of people made fun of me and called me “Pez-erase”. When Jes moved halfway through the year though, I was finally able to be Dez. I thought it would be great but, even now, Katie Smith still calls me just Dezerae.  I’m fine with that. I just don’t want to remember Jes. Jes also bullied my only friend; Avery. But, Avery stayed at the private school while I went back to the public school.

Okay. There’s one other thing you might want to know about Sky, Cora, Rya, Pheebs, and I. We consider ourselves a friend group called “The Drama Seekers!”. We love getting into juicy drama. It started last year when this boy named Caleb had a crush on me. Ever since then, we’ve stuck together like glue. Our motto is, “If there IS drama, it’s good. If there’s NO drama, it’s bad.” When I got home from school, there was a box on my front steps. *Finally!* I thought. My new yo-yo was here! I opened up the package and there it was; The clear yo-yo with glittery gold sides. I practiced using my yo-yo for about an hour with silence since Ruby and Kenzie were with Mom, and Dad was at work before the kids across the street called my name through the window.

“Hi! Do you wanna come over?” I asked but they told me that they were just looking for Ruby. In the end, only their older sister Nola came over.

Nola is in seventh grade and is very pretty but more on the girly side and is always wearing stuff like pink and makeup. We chatted about things like drama, gossip, boys, school… After half an hour, Nola’s phone pinged and she looked down at the text message and then jumped up quickly.

“What are you doing?” I asked and Nola looked at me nervously.

“Oh, uh, Alydia texted me and asked me to come over to her house straight away. Do you mind?” she replied, questioningly.

“Of course not!” I exclaimed quickly. “Can I come with you?”

“Um… n-no. Alydia told me t-to come by myself,” Nola said and looked down at the floor.

“Well, okay. By then,” I said and tried to sound happy when I felt sad.

Why would Lidia do that? I thought we were friends?! I quickly texted her and asked her if she wanted to hang out. Her reply was short and clear.

**Sorry. No. Tati is over. :(** I *know* that she lied! Did Tatiana finally turn her to the dark side like in Star Wars?

## Ryan Myla Sienna Yuuko

Hi! My name’s Ryan but people usually call me Rya. My mom is an accountant that works from home and my dad’s a scientist. I own a kiosk and a website where I sell baked goods. I have brown hair that gets blonde streaks in the summer and green-blue eyes. I also have allergies. Specifically- tree nuts. I have two siblings named Jazmine and Austin Yuuko. There’s this new girl named Alydia. Dez and I are friends with her. I know Pheebs knows Alydia since the three of them live on the same street but I’m not sure if Cora or Sky know her. For Lidi's birthday last weekend, I made her these adorable galaxy cake pops and she loved them! Dez and I were super happy about that because we want Lidi to feel welcome here.

While we’re talking, let me move on to TATIANA. You’re probably wondering, “Who is this freaking Tatiana person?” Well, Tatianna is the most obnoxious, rude, mean, and stupid person in the ENTIRE WORLD. Last year, Tatiana started spreading rumors about my bestie Dez. At the time, I was just becoming friends with them and didn’t know much about Tatiana. Once I realized what she did, anytime I saw her, I would think in my head, “Would you please just shut your big, fat mouth, crawl into a hole, and flippin’ die??” For obvious reasons though, I couldn’t exactly tell her that without her tattling to a teacher.

Onto my friends. In preschool, I met Cora and we were tight until we got separated in kindergarten and sorta drifted apart until fourth grade. In kindergarten, I met Sky and we were friends but again, we drifted after that. In second grade I was bullied by Penny Lockwood who bossed everyone around. Penny had short wavy blonde hair that looked almost white and big blue eyes. I didn’t get why but everyone said she was *sooo* pretty and half the girls practically worshipped that little girl. In third grade, I hung out with Aaliyah Hermes and Katie Smith. In that grade, we were stuck with a bunch of stuck-up popular girls and we were the only three sane girls in the class so we bonded. I hated the ‘*core besties*’ in the popular group; Kayla Bricksonn, Julie Needman, Brianna Green, Emma Dawson, and Mira-Jane Yellowsun.

In fourth, Katie and I fell out but through the years I’ve still hung out with Aaliyah. Fourth grade was the year I reunited with Cora and she dragged me over to the others. It took us a couple of months to become close but then we were all besties and I joined the Drama Seekers. Today’s the first day of fifth grade and I was flipping my head off in fear. You’re probably thinking, “What the flap?” I’ll tell you, I feel comfortable talking with my friends but I’m shy with new people so I was nervous for a good reason.

When it was my turn, I stood up and said, “H-hi. M-my name is Ryan but, um, you can call me R-Rya,”

After I finished saying that I sat down as quickly as possible. Then, the worst possible thing happened. Flippin’ Mrs. Franconos said, “How about you share something about yourself?”

*SERIOUSLY lady?!?* I thought. Then I stood up and said, “Well, I, um, o-own a baking website and business called ‘Delectable Delights’. I have two siblings, I enjoy writing, baking, and reading,”

After intros, we did the usual boring first-day stuff. We finally did something fun by going to the gym and playing kickball. Well, it was fun until the opposing team kicked our butts. But, not TOO shabby for day one of school.

## Skyler Brianna Simon

I’m Skyler Simon and yes, Dez and my other friend have talked about me before. Today’s the first day of school and I’m excited to see my besties; Dez, Phoebe, Cora, and Ryan. My dad dropped me off at the front of the school with my chaotic (and slightly insane) little sister, Paisley.

“Bye, Dad!” I said. My dad’s a realtor and my mom’s a zoo-keeper. My mom isn’t just ANY kind of zoo-keeper though. She’s the kind that works with medications and injured animals- birds especially. My favorite bird is the trumpeter swan.

Later, it was my turn to introduce myself and I showed my classmates this cool idea my mom had. I made this drawing about my sister and I and how I love trumpeter swans. I looked around the classroom and groaned as I saw Andre Mackey in my class again. My dad and Andre’s dad were best friends in college and that’s the ONLY reason I know him.

Andre’s a know-it-all and is super rude. He called Dez a bunch of inappropriate words. I also had Marco Pantero, Declan Maxizz, Kody Mantra, and Calen Uana in my class again; the most annoying idiots in the school. Pheebs and I aren’t in the advanced classes but I know Dez, Ryan, Cora, and this Alydia girl who Dez is friends with are.

Anyway, back to my presentation. “Well, well, well,” said Mrs. Franconos. “Another Simon. I had Scott, you know!”

“Hello! I’m Skyler! My dad’s a realtor and my mom’s a zoo-keeper-” I started but the teacher cut me off.

“What? Scott got married?” Mrs. Franconos asked in shock.

“Yeah, and my mom had my sister Paisley and I!. Anyway, I’ve always thought that it would be kinda hard to express myself. So,” I continued rambling on with my little speech until I was finished. I think it went GREAT! At the end of the day, we went to gym class and got ourselves beaten in kickball by all of the teacher’s pets. Including TATIANA. And boy, was Cora MAD.

## Phoebe Annie Delgado

Hi, my name is Phoebe! I’m a new fifth grader. I have four other best friends. Their names are Ryan, Skyler, Courtney, and Dez! It’s the first day of school and I often get scared and shy on the first day. The reason I feel shy and scared is that I might not know a lot of people. However, I may know people that were in my class last year. This year is probably going to be crazy.

“I’m scared, what if I don’t like my teacher!” I whispered to myself. Then, I shut my locker and headed into the classroom. I looked around and ran over to my best friends. “Ryan, Skyler, Courtney, Dez, you're in my class!” I said excitedly.

“How did we get in the same class again?” Dez laughed.

Then, Ryan and Dez squeezed me so hard I felt like I was going to explode. After saying ‘hi’, we did intros.

Mrs. Franconos got to me pretty soon since my last name is Delgado in the ‘Ds’. “Phoebe? Would you like to share?” she asked. I nodded.

“Hi! I’m Phoebe and I do gymnastics. I’m an only child and my best friends are Ryan, Skyler, Cora, and Dez.” I said and I smiled as I sat down.

Later, we headed to lunch. I bought hot lunch today since it was Dorito Taco day. Yum! I sat with Dez, Ryan, Cora, and Sky at an open lunch table. The other end was filled with Marco, Declan, Kody, and Calen. They’re pretty annoying and right then, they were laughing hysterically. Recess was next. I worked on the monkey bars, practicing jumping up since I’m short. A boy walked past me followed by a group of kids. Dez, Ryan, and I rolled our eyes.

We ALL knew who that was. Xander Avian. He pretends that his name is Veronica and is always sashaying around the playground with the “Veronica Fan Club”. SO annoying, but funny. Finally, we played kickball which I’m okay at playing. Cora’s the best, Dez, Sky, and I are okay at it, and Ryan looked completely clueless. In the end, we lost against the other team but I had fun all the same.

## Courtney Meriea Byrne

For starters, I’m not a girl that will easily give up things. If someone gets mad at me, I’ll rant for days. So when Tatiana and Alydia made fun of me in kickball, I FUMED! The first thing I did was yell. Second, I pushed. Third I tackled, and fourth I got tackled and yelled at by none other than Tatiana’s mom, Ms. Derby, a gym student-teacher. Let me give you a backstory; My hatred dates back to second grade. Dez and I were chilling in the library for recess because we wanted to. Then comes the perfect teacher’s brat, Tatiana, because she was a student shelfer in the library. Fine, whatever.

“Let's leave our books on the floor, so the bragging brat can pick them up consecutively,” Dez whispered.

Our plan was in motion. I went to the heavy book section and said, ”Oops!” And dropped three heavy books.

I did it because Tatiana is weak. She's a weakling. When we did pull-ups in the gym, she got 0, but because she's a teacher's pet, Mr. Kilko wrote that she did 10! Like what the actual heck?! But when Skyler got 0, he made her go to the Unsuccessful Corner, and stand there for the rest of the gym class. Tatiana went over to pick up the books and grunted.

“Ugh!” She picked up the books only to run into the heavy shelf and over 10 HEAVY BOOKS fell on her!

“Ugh! These idiots dropped books and MADE ME run into a place that made me break my skull!” Tatiana whined.

“None of the books even fell on *your* head! You're just a drama queen!” I said.

Tatiana stuck her hand in the air and snapped. “Let's go,” Dez said.

We left. She kept shooting dark looks at us from then on. Anyway, hi! My name is Courtney. My friends call me Cora and Coracoradingdong. My teachers, parents, and siblings call me Courtney. To everyone else, I'm Cora. Only Ryan, Dezerae, Phoebe, and Skyler can call me Coracoradingdong. I'm a tomboy. I play soccer, basketball, softball, and volleyball. I'm going to run track when I'm older, the track coach already has a spot for me. AND I’M IN FIFTH GRADE!

Ryan and Dez are good friends with this Lydia girl. I'm not a big fan of her. Yeah, she's pretty nice and very smart but, she makes the dumbest decisions EVER! She said she was faster than me. That troll is NOT. I don’t see HER getting 7.0 seconds in the 50-yard dash?!? NOOOO I don’t!!!! Also, she’s a flippin’ IDIOT when it comes to friend choices! Her smartest decision was being friends with Rya and Dez. Yet, she picked TATIANA DERBY to be her BFF!!! Tatiana Derby is the most idiotic, stupid, obnoxious, person in the ENTIRE WORLLLDDD!!!!!! My bad- the ENTIRE. FLIPPIN’. UNIVERSSSEEEE!!!

Tatiana also says “like” wayyy too much. Like EVERY single time she speaks. I wish she’d just LEAVE planet Earth!!!!!!!!! UGHHHH! Now, I’ve been talking a lot about who I DON’T like but, I als.o have people I’m friends with. Dez, Sky, Rya, and Pheebs. First, I met Rya in preschool since we were in the same class. Then we got separated until fourth grade when remembered that we’d known each other.

I met Dezerae in first grade. We were friends but it was distant. She was already wrapped up with this other girl, Ella. In the time that we had loop-yeared with our teacher for first and second grade, the two of them had gotten into three world wars with each other. I solved their problems but mainly it was just the “Dezerae and Ella Show!”. I couldn’t be bothered by people who believed that friendship was a two-person thing. Their problems were ‘Girl Drama’ and I didn’t wanna be in it, but I was stuck in the middle. I had to decide who won, which was PATHETIC.

In third grade, Dez and Ella weren’t in the same class so I decided to join Dez’s friend group. Dez changed a lot without Ella being all clingy. She switched from girly-girl type to chill; she wasn’t quite a tomboy but she was nice and she’s super smart. We bonded and now she’s my best friend.  I don't mind school. But the first day is always boring. It's my first impression. I didn't like Tatiana in second, third, fourth, so I DREADED having to have her in my class!

When I found out she wasn’t in my class, I went to my room, which I have my own now that I moved. I went to my bay window, which was sectioned off by curtains, so it was like a private area. I started laughing and screaming my head off. NO CRAPPY TATI! YESSSSSSSSSS!!! The teacher called me up for an intro, and Rya had blown it. She’s confident about what she says. Now I was scared!! Rya kept stuttering and she NEVER stutters!

“Courtney Byrne.”

Oh, shoot! Think of something! “Hi, I’m Courtney Byrne. I have two brothers named Declan and Colin and two sisters named Madelynn and Lily. And I’m seventy percent Irish.”

What was I THINKING!?! Seventy percent Irish? I coulda said, “I have run 13 5k’s in my life.” But NOOO! I had to think outside the box! The teacher thought the fact was interesting.

“Courtney tell us more about your Irish heritage.” Mrs. Franconos said.

I had to go back up to the front. “I have grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts and uncles, and over twenty cousins (first and second cousins to be exact) living in Ireland. I actually have a home in Ireland. I go to Ireland every Christmas. I know more about my relatives in Ireland than I do with my cousins in Texas.”

Finally, school was over. I could sit back and relax with no parents at home. I started to rethink my opinion on Alydia AND HER STUPID DECISIONS! Like being friends with TATIANA! It’s like putting ketchup and ice cream in the SAME BOWL! It’s DISGUSTING! I don’t even LIKE ketchup so it’s a big no-no for me! Alydia and I just have VERY different personalities and styles.

## Alydia Onyeka Igwe

Hi! I’m Alydia Onyeka Igwe and my friends call me ‘Lidi’ or “Lidia”. I moved here from South Africa and I live in an apartment on the same street as my new friend Dezerae. Dez is super nice and I’m also friends with her friend Ryan. For my birthday last weekend, Rya even made me galaxy cake pops that tasted like pop rocks! My mom is going back to college here so that she can be an astronomer and my dad is serving in the army. I have twin siblings named Pezro and Esi who are both three. Our apartment is pretty small and I have to share a bedroom with my siblings. Only a few people have ever been to my house. Dez, Rya, Dez’s best friend Phoebe, and a girl named Nola.

At school, we played kickball and I was against Dez and her friends. One girl got mad at me because I was faster than her and got my team the victory. I just remembered the girl’s name! Courtney! She’s friends with Dez. We also had Tatiana who’s a teacher’s pet on our team. After school, I texted Nola, asking her to come over to talk. Specifically to talk about my diabetes. Yeah, I have type one diabetes and it’s not great. Nola knows by accident because she came over to my house just as I was taking my insulin. She’s great about it though and it’s nice to have a friend who’s cool with it. After Nola left, I sucked up all my courage and texted Dez, asking her to come over. She arrived at my door after two minutes.

“Hey, Dezzy!” I said.

“Hey!” Dez smiled. “So, what did you need to tell me?”

I took a deep breath. “Promise you won’t tell anyone until I’m ready?” I asked.

“Umm, sure?” Dez replied.

“Thank you,” I said. Here we go. “I have type one diabetes,” I blurted out.

“You do?” Dez asked. Then she hugged me. “I won’t tell ANYONE,”

“Thanks,” I said. Dez pulled away and ran back to her house. I felt like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders as I headed inside, ready to start dinner.

## Tatiana Amara Derby

Hi! I’m Tatiana Derby and I’m the nicest kid in the world. My BFFAs usually call me “Tati”. On the other hand, my enemies Dezerae, Ryan, Skyler, Phoebe, and Courtney call me “Tatiana the Tooter”! Like, how rude is that?!? My besties Molly and Bella are also super nice. My old BFFA Kris moved away, but I still text and email her. I miss her. Today was the first day of fifth grade and obviously started with intros.

“I have lots of jellybeans in this bag,” said Mrs. Yanoe as she held up a black purse. “And, whoever picks the black one, does their intro first. Then, of course, you get to eat the jelly bean!”

*Oh. My. GODDESS! I need to win!* I thought to myself. I took a jellybean and when we showed them, I had the black one! I smiled, walked to the center of the circle, put my hands on my hips, and flipped my hair.

“Hi!!! I’m like, Tatiana Derby! I’m eleven and I have two BFFAs named Bella and Molly!” I said.

Everyone gave me a standing ovation as I sat back down. We had to do the usual BORRRRING stuff until we finally did kickball in the gym. It was class vs class and The Horrible Five (Ryan, Dezerae, Skyler, Courtney, and Phoebe) were against us. Luckily, we had this like, new girl named like, Alydia or something, who’s faster than everyone. We OBVI beat the other class but it was a little sad seeing them lose. NOT!! We won fair and square! Well…. Not COMPLETELY fair and square. Because like, we cheated a little. But, I’m a teacher’s pet so she didn’t care. So… YAS!

After gym, I walked over and congratulated Alydia. “Hi! I’m Tati!” I said.

“Oh, yeah! You went first in intros, right?” Alydia asked.

“Yeah. Anyway, those were like, some super cool moves in kickball, gurl!” I said and smiled.

“Oh, thanks!” Alydia said and she smiled too.

“D’you like, wanna come over to my house?” I asked.

“I can’t today but tomorrow?” Alydia replied.

“Totes!” I smiled before walking home.

Now that SCHOOOOL is over, I’ll tell you about my peeps. First, there’s the Alydia girl. She’s totes gonna be my new BFFA! She’s super sweet and comes from AFRICA! Then there’s Dezerae a.k.a Pez-Erase. She’s literally the most annoying girl on the PLANET. Then there’s Ryan who everyone calls Rya a.k.a Pie-A who’s the kind of girl that doesn’t talk to anyone without stuttering. There’s Courtney a.k.a, Corbutt who thinks she’s super sporty but really, she IS NOOOOTTT! There’s Skyler a.k.a Shy-Gurl who I’ve never even heard talk (she’s one of those hypothetical ‘art girls’). The last of the Horrible Five; Phoebe. A.k.a Pee-Bee. A.k.a, the girl who everyone thinks is nice but she really isn’t. My two BFFA’s nicknames are Belly-Bear (Bella) and M’ (Molly).

# Chapter Two: Who Are We?

## Dezerae Rose Edgar

I have a big family. Two sisters, two step-sisters, two step-brothers, and one soon-to-be adopted sister. My parents are trying to adopt a baby and Eliza Crozabed chose us to adopt her baby girl in a mother or so! My mom Shelby, and my dad Max have always wanted a big family and they had Kingsley, Ruby, and I. They filled out a bunch of papers to try to adopt but it didn’t really work until Eliza. Sadly, Mom and Dad got divorced. Dad got married to a girl named Meghan and Meghan had two sons- Dylan and Kylo. Then, Mom married Evan and he had two daughters already- Averly and Sierra.

At Dad’s house, I can tell dad makes sure Ruby, Kingsley, and I NEVER see Dylan or Kylo because, for some reason, they’re always at Meghan’s house when we visit Dad. Ruby and I share a room at Dad’s house, Kingsley gets her own room, and Kylo and Dylan also share a room. At Mom and Evan’s house, I have my own room, and Ruby and Kinglsey share a room. Sierra and Averly are always there, and their mom died when they were younger.

If we move onto appearances, my whole family looks fine. My hair is blonde, but I HATE having curly hair. I can brush it without it getting knotted! I’m also a March baby. I want to have a fun OUTDOOR party, but then I’d have to wait like three months to have it. Averly is the oldest out of all of us. She has brown hair, light-tan skin like Evan, brown eyes, and freckles. She has a boyfriend named Harry or something, but Mom doesn’t know, and I’ve never met him. Averly’s hair is medium, but she likes wearing braids.

Sierra is the second oldest. She has long, straight black hair that reaches her bottom, and the same light tan skin. Sierra is the most fashionable since she designs her own clothing and accessories. I design some too but most of them are for Rub, Kenzie, and I. Sierra is also the crybaby. She does dance, and one time she messed up on her solo dance during practice, and she started CRYING! I get it's a solo, but chill! Before I go any further I also made a chart about my weird family stuff.

Mom also bought me a phone but doesn’t let me use it at Dad’s house unless it’s an emergency because he hasn’t paid half of the costs yet. Ruby and Kenzie will also get phones when they’re eleven, but that's not for a while. Mom’s house is super big with three floors. On the main floor, we have the kitchen dining room, family room, and bathroom. On the second floor, we have Mom and Evan’s room, Sierra’s room/sewing room, Averly’s room, Kenzie and Ruby’s room, and my room. And then the basement has a playroom/craft room, a laundry room, and a guest bedroom.

My room colors are blue, pink, and purple, and it has kinda an old-timey feel. It has an old computer for writing and an old landline phone. It also has Polaroid pictures of my BFFs and I hanging by string lights. Mom also had two dogs so they usually sleep on the rug by my door. The reason there’s a rug is that one time Ce-ce threw up on the steps and Mom just bought a rug to hide the stain. At Dad’s house, Ruby’s side of the room is pink, and my side is blue. Kenzie’s room has all these animal stickers on it, and they used to be cut when she was a baby, but now they’re just creepy. My family is crazy, weird, exciting, and big, and I’m a small person.

## Ryan Myla Sienna Yuuko

Now, my family isn’t normal. Not in the SLIGHTEST. My mom has only ever had the three of us; Austin, Jazmine, and I. I’m the oldest which is both great and horrible. It’s horrible because I have to be a role model. I need to be that ‘brave big sister’ type for them. In reality though, I’m just a book nerd who can’t talk to people without stuttering. It’s also great though because it means I get to babysit them since I love working with kids. Jazmine’s full name is Jazmine Estelle Yuuko, she’s eight years old, and has allergies, like me. She’s a second-grader and loves sewing, guitar, and gymnastics. While we’re talking about Jazmine, I might as well add on to the whole guitar category. She’s REALLY good. Not to mention, she has a great singing voice and does both of them AT THE SAME TIME!

My sister’s pretty much a genius. She’s also smart and I like to call her Jaz. Now, Jazmine may be sweet, but I mean sweetness OVERLOAD. Jaz is so lovable, she’ll run up to any stranger at the mall and become their BFF. She’s a big talker and proud of it. Austin on the other hand… he’s a bit shyer. Austin is pretty shy but the thing about him, once you get him talking, he doesn’t stop. Austin’s nickname is Auzzi and he’s only five. He’s obsessed with cars and dinosaurs and so is his best friend Braxton. Braxton also has an older sister named Lianna who is friends with Jaz even though she’s a year younger than her.

A lot of people say that Jaz and I look similar but I just don’t see it. I mean, yeah, we both have brown hair but mine has some blonde from the sun and it’s longer whereas Jaz’s hair is short with bangs. We both have blue eyes, but my freckles have faded and Jaz’s are popping up everywhere. Auzzi has darker brown hair that grows really fast and blue-green eyes. I’m an introvert unlike my two extroverted siblings and I like the quiet. I’m shy and more of a bookworm. My parents are both pretty fun and caring but can be overprotective. In my house I have a loooot of nicknames so, to make it easier, I drew a graph.

Now, here’s the info about my house. My house isn’t the biggest and it’s a bit old. We’re redoing the kitchen and other areas so it’ll look nicer though. We don’t have a second floor. Just a main floor, basement, and attic. My room is beach-themed. It has teal walls, a loft bed, a desk, and a dresser. Now, my family may be insane, odd, and totally weird, I love ‘em all anyway.

## Skyler Brianna Simon

My family is just me, mom, dad, and Paisley. My mom loves animals and is super optimistic and fun. She has curly dirty blonde hair and blue eyes. My dad is very big with everyone and always stands up for me and Paisley. My dad has dirty blonde hair with glasses and brown eyes. Paisley Kelly Simon is my seven-year-old sister that looks exactly like me without glasses.

Paisley is basically a crazy person that runs around being… well… Paisley. Our house is a medium size. We all have our own room, kitchen, dining area, and bathroom.  Paisley’s room is always messy and is princess-themed with Barbies always on the floor. My mom’s room is here and there, whereas my dad’s room is neat as a pin. My room has a small baby bed and a dresser, and a book nook.

## Phoebe Annie Delgado

I’m an only child. I would LOVE to have siblings. Especially a sister. It’s a bit lonely sometimes since I have no one young enough to hang out with me that actually LIVES with me. Just my mom and dad. It’s nice too though because then I get plenty of love and attention from my parents. I am very similar to my parents. They are both funny, lovable, caring, and people who want to make the world a better place- just like me! I look similar to both of my parents. Dirty blonde hair, light skin, and blue eyes. My house isn’t the biggest but it isn’t little either. It has plenty of room for all of us.

I’ve always wanted a pet. A bunny or a kitten- a fish even. But our rule is no pets. When I’m older, I’m going to buy lots of bunnies. Lots of my friends have big families so it’s nice to be one of the smaller families. Just like my size! Now that I think about it, being an only child can be nice because you don’t have to fight with your siblings but you can fight with your parents, but it’s a pain because you have to do a BUNCH of chores around the house. I have to do them every weekend and it's annoying. The worst job I have to do is probably dust or empty the dishwasher.

## Courtney Meriea Byrne

I moved about last month. SAME CITY THOUGH! I LOVE my new house. My house has five bedrooms and a huge finished basement, with two possible bedrooms. I live on the second floor, in a nice open bedroom. (I sound so braggy saying that, yikes!) My bedroom is medium-sized, similar in shape to my old room. My bedroom is painted a blue teal color. My bed is AWESOME. It’s memory foam and it’s a double bed. It has a nice blue fuzzy rug underneath. Perfect for falling off the bed and sleeping off the floor.

To the right, is my brother Colin's bedroom. (More about my siblings in a moment.) His room is light green and dark blue. He loves to watch movies and play games. To the left of my room is my brother Declan’s room. I’m surprised that he didn't move to the basement. The only sound I hear from his room is when he’s watching sports. Which in my case is quite a lot. I hear him screaming several things here’s a list:

Football: “CATCH THE BALL YOU IDIOT!”

Soccer: “MAKE A PASS!”

Basketball: “MAKE A SHOT!”

Baseball: “HIT THE FREAKING' BALL!”

If you can’t tell his theme in his room, it is sports. He plays baseball and soccer and is currently a freshman in high school. Now to my half-sister Lily. She’s my dad’s daughter and is a sophomore in college. Her major in college is creative writing. Lily is creative and peaceful.  Her college is really close to home, so she lives at our house. Lily’s room is beautiful. It’s quite small but she has her own walk-in closet with tons of mirrors. She also has her desk which is so pretty. Her bedroom theme is glamorous but rustic. Last but not least is Madelynn. She is in eighth grade, tall, athletic, and artistic. Madelynn sleeps in the basement. I think she likes it there, a nice break away from the family. She plays basketball, volleyball, and softball. She has a temper when dealing with me. It must run in the family. She has a baby blue colored room, with a desk and bed, and has her own closet.

Enough about my siblings. Back to me. As many people would describe me, I am hot-headed, impatient, ambitious, athletic, mysterious, honest, and probably a bunch of others you don’t want to know. If you can’t tell, I’m an extrovert compared to introverted Ryan and Sky. My family looks pretty similar, but yet VERY different in how we look. Here’s a graph to make it easier.

We look like a family on a TV show. All have similar features but don’t look exactly alike. I live in a crazy, chaotic, drama-filled, comedy, mystery TV that NOBODY can describe.

## Alydia Onyeka Igwe

Here are some things you may want to know about me, Alydia Onyeka Igwe. My mom is currently in college to become an astronomer while my dad serves in the army. I have two twin siblings who are both three. Their names are Pezro and Esi. We all have black skin and brown eyes. Pezro has dimples and Esi’s hair is short. My hair is medium length and wavy. Pezro is very talkative and sweet. Esi is the opposite. She’s very quiet and adorable.

I’m also a quieter person but I can still talk the talk. Mom is more like Pezro; very outgoing and friendly and Dad’s a bit more serious like me. I take a lot of responsibility at my house like cooking, cleaning, and walking Esi and Pezro to daycare early in the morning. I guess it's a good thing though because that’s why they got me a phone when we moved. Our apartment is small. If Dad were here, he would share the room the Mom sleeps in.

Dad’s supposed to come home soon but I’m not sure if it’s to visit or stay permanently. I’m hoping that it’s because he’s too old. After all, I don’t want him to get hurt. Mom and Dad’s bedroom have a queen bed, a small closet, and a small bathroom. Pezro, Esi, and I share a room. I have a twin-sized bed and they have a bunk bed. We don’t have another bathroom so it’s a bit weird to walk through my parents’ bedroom just to go to the bathroom. My family is still adjusting to American standards, but my only worry is about Dad.

## Tatiana Amara Derby

I USED to be an only child. I USED to get all of my grandma’s attention. It’s not like, I’m an orphan because like, my mom loves me, but she needed to go like, finish college so I stayed with my grandma until I was five. When I moved in with my mom she was dating some guy. By the time I was eight, they were having a wedding. I was there as the flower girl in this white and blue dress. When my mom’s lips touched Anthony’s, I cried. Now I had three older step-siblings. I wasn’t the center of attention. Mom notices me, but I’m the baby of the family, and Anthony’s too busy with work to bother. But, Tati wants time too!

“It’s not fair,” I sighed to my mom one day as she was brushing my long, beautiful hair. “I just want friends!”

“Life’s not fair, Tati. I could finally get a good job and give you a perfect life.” Mom replied.

Ellenor is the second youngest. She’s thirteen and kinda pretty. Mom always tries to make her look perfect even though she has pimples everywhere. I think that Mom tries to make her look TOO perfect. Elle is nice to me and she always lets me hang out with her Sometimes, I feel like I’m more mature than Elle but it’s okay because she’s the best out of all three of my siblings. Lucas is fourteen and he’s one of those athletic, smart, popular, good-looking types. He’s not that good at being a big brother though. If I were to come in second place at a beauty pageant, out of one hundred people, he’d still make me feel like a loser.

Amber is the oldest and she’s fifteen. She goes to get her nails done every month. Here’s a little backstory for you to get to know Amber. She was going to go and get her nails done today and decided that I could come. Amber wasn’t old enough to drive a car yet and Anothony didn’t want to drive us there. The nail salon is only two blocks away, so I thought we could walk there.

“Daddy,” Amber said sweetly. “We’re going to walk to the salon today but can we take an Uber to get home?”

“Sure, Amber,” said Anthony.

“I want to come this time!” Elle added.

“Oh my gorrrshhh!” Amber moaned. “Nooo. You’re staying here!”

“I want to come!” Elle snapped and she flicked her hair.

“She can come, Amber.” I pleaded.

“Who's paying?” Amber snapped.

So, as you can tell, Amber has to get what Amber wants. That’s why my family has damage control that’s needed to be done EVERY. SINGLE. FLIPPIN. DAYYY.

# Chapter Three: The Slumber Party

## Dezerae Rose Edgar

Today, Lidia, Rya, Cora, Pheebs, and Sky came to my Grandma Yaswasi’s house for a SLEEPOVER!!! She has a sleepover room that she lets my sisters and I use upstairs to have sleepovers. Ryan is the one who knows Grammy the best since she takes cooking classes every Friday, and we have a sleepover on the last Friday of each month! Rya is OBSESSED with Grammy’s enchiladas and chorizo, it’s hilarious! I picked up Lidi and Phoebe and we drove to Grammy’s house. We waited outside and after a few minutes, Rya showed up. Then, Sky, and then Cora. We all put on pajamas right away so that we could chill in them all night. Then, we sat down on the couch and shilled, eating chips and stuff while going on devices. Then we got bored and put on a movie. During the second movie, Alydia’s phone rang.

“Head into the bathroom so you can have privacy if you want,” I said.

Lidi nodded and walked into the bathroom. Alydia came back out after a minute or so and she looked nervous.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, pausing ‘Hamilton’.

“So… um… Uh. Tatiana somehow found out about the sleepover and just asked if she could come over too…”

“O-M-Goodness!” I said.

“What the flip?” Ryan asked.

“WHAT?!?” Cora yelled. Oh no. “Why the heck did you answer? Omigosh! How in the name of LIFE could you be this stupid?!”

“Shut it!” Sky snapped back and Alydia started crying.

“Guys, it’s okay. Lidi, just tell Tater Tot that we said she’s not allowed to come, and that you couldn’t change our minds. Also, Cora, chill.” I said.

“She said she’s already on her way! She will kill me if I tell her she can't come!” Alydia cried. I gave everyone a meaningful glance meaning, *Don’t say anything stupid right now.*

“Alydia, do you want to go outside for a minute?” Phoebe asked.

“Oh-kay,” Alydia panted.

Pheebs took Lidi outside and after a few minutes, they came back. Then, Tatiana arrived with a HUGE present. I knew the others were bringing gifts to say thank you, but I didn’t think TATIANA would! I knew that the safest thing was to just do presents.

“Rya, can I open yours?” I asked.

“Yasss, girl!” Ryan squealed, handing me a silver gift bag with glitter tissue paper that was in the shape of flowers.

I pulled out the flowers and smiled. “Oh, no way! Fifty dollars to your website? Eeeh!” I looked in the bag and pulled out a gift card. “And thirty-five dollars for Kohls? Thank you!”

I hugged Rya and asked, “Cora? Can I do yours next?”

“Sure,” Cora said as she leaned against the couch-bed. She got up and handed me a yellow and green bag with gold tissue paper.

“Oooh! Yesss! A volleyball with Harry Potter characters!” I grinned. “Thanks!!!”

I tried hugging Cora but that isn’t really Cora’s thing, so she scooted away. Ryan laughed and pushed Cora forward playfully.

“Sky? Can I do yours?” I asked.

“Yes, Yes, YES!! Please DO!” said Sky.

I opened the gift bag and smiled. “Okay… huh. Ahh! This drawing is so good! And twenty-bucks for the Disney Store? Thank you!”

I turned to Pheebs. “Can I open yours, Phoebe?”

“Sure!” Pheebs said.

“Awesome! Thank you so much!” I squealed. Rya peeked over my shoulder and saw the sack of candy. Ryan jumped up and high-fived Phoebe.

“Luckyyyy!” Ryan squealed.

“Lidi? How about you next?” I asked and Tatiana frowned.

Alydia nodded and handed me a box with pink and blue wrapping paper. I opened it and Rya peeked over my shoulder again. I carefully pulled out a pair of slippers and a dress with colorful designs on it but I wasn’t quite sure what it was.

“Thanks?” I said almost questioningly.

“They’re a type of clothing from Africa. If anyone saw you wearing them In my country, you would show you a LOT of respect.” Alydia explained.

“Okay,” Ryan joked. “Well, it looks like we have a tie for the best present of the night. It’s coming down to Alydia Igwe and Phoebe Delgado!”

We laughed. Tatiana seemed to want attention, so she jumped in front of Rya squealing, “Tati Time!!!”

She gave me the big box and I took it cautiously. “Uh… I will open this SLOWLY.” I opened the box and saw a PUPPY! “Is this trained?” I asked nervously.

The puppy walked over to the trash can and peed. “Good thing it didn’t pee on you!” Lidi said.

“Uh, like, yeah, sure.” Tatiana rolled her eyes.

“Your eyes are gonna get stuck like that,” Sky said.

“Yeah, RIGHT!” Tati growled.

“You’re such a Tater Tot Tooter,” Ryan said and we all laughed except Tatiana who glared at her.

“Sheesh… Let’s just like, go to bed. It’s like, ten o’clock.” Tatiana sighed.

“What are you up to, gurrrl?” Sky asked suspiciously.

“That’s a good idea! Let’s go to bed!” I said quickly, glancing at the others. I KNEW Tatiana was up to something.

We went upstairs, brushed our teeth, and went to bed. Then, I heard puking and bolted out of bed. It was 1:44. I ran into the bathroom and saw Ryan. I ran downstairs, grabbed some paper towels, and shook Phoebe and Lidi’s shoulders.

“Guys,” I said. “Rya’s puking! Can you get Grammy?”

I handed Rya the paper towels as Grandma Yaswasi came into the bathroom and said, “Dezerae, go get your phone and call Mrs. Yuuko. Okay, sweetie?”

“Okay,” I replied.

I called Mrs. Yuuko and explained what had happened. “I’ll be there as soon as I can, Rye Bread!” she said.

Tatiana stomped into the bathroom and snapped, “Ryan! You jerk! You RUINED my sleepover! Omg! Dezerae, how could you be friends with HER?!”

“Go wake your other friend up,” Grandma Yaswasi said to me, ignoring Tatiana.

“Huh? Oh, okay!” I said. “Cora! Cora, wake up!!”

“Muh-muh-ggn-nooooo, no, no, noooo,” Cora moaned.

“Cora!” I snapped and she flicked her ear.

“Fine! I know she’s puking! Now leave me alone,” Cora groaned.

Everyone besides Grandma Yaswasi, Rya, and I went downstairs to play Nintendo. “What do I do, Grammy?” I asked. “The sleepover was a whole disaster!”

“No, no. The sleepover was not a disaster. You got friend time! Correct? No disaster; just high hopes.”

Rya’s mom appeared and helped Ryan home. I waved. “Bye, Ryan!”

## Ryan Myla Sienna Yuuko

Today, Dez invited Sky, Pheebs, Cora, Lidi, and I over to her grandmother’s house for a sleepover. Her grandma is awesome! She made Dez and her sisters their own sleepover room on the second floor of the house that has two loft beds, three couch beds, a bathroom, and a pantry full of junk for us to eat. Dez grandma (Yaswasi) is super nice; She’s the sweetest anyone could ever ask for! She’s also a really good chef! So good, that I take baking/cooking classes from her every Friday! After lessons, Dez and I always have a sleepover and it's a great time for the two of us to bond. After lessons, she also always makes the flipping BEST EVER enchiladas and chorizo for dinner.

The order of us getting to the sleepover was Dez (obvi), Pheebs, Lidi, me, Sky, and finally Cora. We all put on PJ’s and here’s where I’m gonna get descriptive ‘cause I’m pretty good at it. I put on a white tank-top, fuzzy teal overalls, and I put my brown hair up in a bun. Dez wore this silky-blue two-piece of shorts and t-shirt and her hair blonde hair in a braid. Pheebs was sunny as usual with her yellow sweatpants, gold top, and her dirty blonde hair down. Lidi wore a white top, lavender shorts, and put her black hair in a half-bun where half of the hair was in a bun and the other half was down. Sky wore a blue nightgown, a light blue robe, and her hair was down. Finally, Cora wore coral shorts and a teal t-shirt.

Once we were all in pajamas, we sat down on the couch and vegged, eating chips and pretzels while playing on our different devices for the first hour. When we got bored of that, we started watching movies. We were on the second when Lidi’s phone rang.

“Head into the bathroom so you can have privacy if you want,” Dez said.

Alydia nodded. I could hear her through the door faintly but I couldn’t make out any words. A moment later, Lidi came back to us and her face was pale.

“What’s wrong?” Dez asked as she paused the movie.

“So… um…” Lidi began. “Uh, Tatiana somehow found out about the sleepover and just asked if she could come over too…”

“Oh-M-Goodness!” Dez exclaimed.

“What the flip?” I shrieked.

“WHAT?!?” Cora screamed. “Why the heck did you answer?! O-M-Gosh! How in the name of LIFE could you be this stupid?!?!”

“Shut it!” Sky snapped. Sky doesn’t like anyone fighting. Lidi started crying.

“Guys,” Dez said in a calm voice. “It’s okay. Lidi, just tell Tater Tot that we said she’s not allowed to come and that you couldn’t change our minds. Also, Cora, chill.”

“She said she’s already on her way! She’ll kill me if I tell her she can’t come!” Alydia sobbed. Dez gave a meaningful glance at everyone.

“Alydia? Do you want to go outside for a minute?” Phoebe suggested.

“Oh-oh-kay-uh,” Alydia said, out of breath.

Phoebe took Alydia outside for a minute before the two of them came back. Then, Tatiana arrived. When she entered the room, Tatiana held a HUGE present. I knew that the rest of us were bringing gifts as a ‘thank you’ for inviting everyone. Since Tatiana was here, our safest bet was to start by opening the gifts.

“Rya, can I open yours?” Dez asked.

“Yassss girl!” I said and I handed her a silver gift bag with glittery teal tissue paper.

Dez pulled out the tissue paper which my dad had helped me fold into the shapes of flowers. I couldn’t wait for Dez to open mine because A: I knew she was going to like it. And B: I’m an impatient person.

Dez pulled out the flowers, smiling. “Oooh! No way! Fifty dollars to your website? Eeeh!”

That was only the beginning. Anytime my friends have a party or something, I give them a gift. I’m a pretty crafty person so I’m fine with it.

“AND thirty-five dollars to Kohls? Thank you!!” Dez finished and she hugged me. “Cora? Can I do yours next?” Dez asked.

“Sure,” Cora smiled as she leaned against the couch-bed.

She got up and handed Dez a big green and yellow gift bag with gold tissue paper. I was guessing it had something to do with sports since Cora is naturally sporty.

“Oooh! Yesss! A volleyball with Harry Potter characters!” Dez squealed. “Thanks!!!” She tried to hug Cora but she scooched away. I pushed Cora forward and laughed.

“Sky? Can I do yours?” Dez asked.

“Yes, Yes, YES!! Please DO!” said Sky.

I rolled my eyes. Sky tries to be dramatic and all it is annoying. Dez and I are the most dramatic of the group but we are normally saying things like, “Yassss!” “Noooo wayyyy!” or “Okay, gurrrrl,”. Skyler on the other hand… tries to do it and ends up squealing obnoxiously at the top of her lungs. Dez opened the blue gift bag and smiled.

“Okay… huh. Ahh! This drawing is so good! And twenty-bucks for the Disney Store? Thank you!” Then Dez turned to Pheebs. “Can I open yours, Phoebe?”

“Sure!” smiled Pheebs.

“Awesome! Thank you so much!” Dez squealed as she opened the gift bag. I peeked over her shoulder and saw a sack of candy. I high-fived Pheebs.

“Luckyyyy!” I squealed.

“Lidi? How about you next?” Dez asked and Tatiana frowned, realizing she would be the last one.

Lidi nodded and handed Dez a box with pink and blue wrapping paper that reminded me of cotton candy. Dez opened it and I peeked over her shoulder for the second time. I watched as Dez pulled out a dress and slippers from the package. Everyone around me looked skeptical of the new clothes but I was excited. I love learning about new cultures and to see an outfit from Africa right in front of me was exciting.

“Uh… thanks?” Dez said.

“They’re a type of clothing from Africa. If anyone saw you wearing them In my country, you would show you a LOT of respect.” Lidi said.

“Okay,” I said in a silly announcer voice. “Well, it looks like we have a tie for the best present of the night. It’s coming down to Alydia Igwe and Phoebe Delgado!”

Everyone laughed. Tatiana seemed to be bored so she jumped in front of me squealing, “Tati Time!!!”

She handed Dez the big, sparkly, pink box and Dez took it cautiously. “Uh… I will open this SLOWLY.” She opened the box and a Shih Tzu popped out of it. “Is this trained?” Dez asked nervously.

The puppy walked over to the trash can and peed. “Good thing it didn’t pee on you!” Lidi said.

“Uh, like, yeah, sure.” Tatiana rolled her eyes.

“Your eyes are gonna get stuck like that,” Sky said matter of factly.

“Yeah, RIGHT!” snapped Tati.

“You’re such a Tater Tot Tooter,” I said and everyone laughed except Tatiana who glared.

“Sheesh… Let’s just like, go to bed. It’s like, ten o’clock.” Tatiana said.

“What are you up to, gurrrl?” Sky asked suspiciously.

“That’s a good idea! Let’s go to bed!” Dez said quickly, glancing at all of us. She could tell that Tatiana was up to something.

We went upstairs, brushed our teeth, and went to bed. I fell asleep pretty quickly but I woke back up in the middle of the night. I looked at the clock. 1:44. Ugh. My stomach gurgled so I walked quietly into the bathroom. I looked in the mirror and saw a sheen of sweat covering my face. I dampened it in cold water before sitting on the toilet. My stomach gurgled and my mouth watered. I immediately knew what was coming. Puke. I turned around and leaned forward. I puked; right into the toilet.

Dez was by my side in two seconds flat. Her sister pukes often so she’s used to waking up when someone gets sick. She quickly went downstairs, got a few paper towels, handed them to me, and then woke Lidi and Pheebs so they could go wake up Grandma Yaswasi.

Grandma Yaswasi came into the bathroom and said, “Dezerae, go get your phone and call Mrs. Yuuko. Okay, sweetie?”

“Okay,” Dez replied.

I felt horrible. Grandma Yaswasi had to take care of someone throwing up! That, someone, was ME! Dez called my Mom and put the phone next to my ear as I leaned heavily on the toilet seat.

“I’ll be there as soon as I can, Rye Bread!” Mom said. Mom’s always been bad with puke.

Tatiana came into the bathroom and snapped, “Ryan! You jerk! You RUINED my sleepover! Omg! Dezerae, how could you be friends with HER?!”

I wanted to snap back that this wasn’t even HER sleepover but then I started puking again.

“Go wake your other friend up,” Grandma Yaswasi said. I noticed that Cora was the only one still asleep.

“Huh? Oh, okay!” Dez said. “Cora! Cora, wake up!!”

“Muh-muh-ggn-nooooo, no, no, noooo,” Cora moaned.

“Cora!” Dez snapped and she flicked her.

“Fine! I know she’s puking! Now leave me alone,” Cora groaned.

Everyone besides Grandma Yaswasi, Dez, and I went downstairs to play Nintendo. “What do I do, Grammy?” I heard Dez cry. “The sleepover was a whole disaster!” Dez asked Grandma Yaswasi.

“No, no. The sleepover was not a disaster. You got friend time! Correct? No disaster; just high hopes.”

I smiled to myself. Then, my mom came running up the steps. She took me home and Dez waved, “Bye, Ryan!”

## Skyler Brianna Simon

Today I went to the awesome sleepover that Dez invited me to. “Are you excited?” asked Mom.

“Of COURSE!” I squealed.

“Well, then calm down!” Mom laughed.

We drove to Dez’s grandmother’s house and Dez, Phoebe, that Alydia girl, and Ryan waved. Once we were all there and in pajamas, we chose our beds. Phoebe and Dez shared a loft bed (of course), Alydia and Ryan shared the other loft bed (also, of course), and Cora and I each got a couch bed. Yippee (sarcasm). Of course, once we had set down our things in our sleeping areas, Courie McGlory had to step in.

“So, peeps, who’s ready for me to make this a partay?!”

Alydia smiled. Dez and Ryan laughed. Phoebe giggled. I rolled my eyes. Is SHE really going to make this a party? Like, what the heck are you talking about, Core-Ugh?! But, I’m not RUDE so I didn’t say any of that. Later, we were watching movies when Alydia’s phone rang. She went into the bathroom to take it and when she came back, she looked like a GHOST.

“What’s wrong?” Dez asked and she paused the movie we were watching.

“So… um…” Alydia began. “Uh, Tatiana somehow found out about the sleepover and just asked if she could come over too…”

“Oh-M-Goodness!” Dez said.

“What the flip?” Ryan said as she jumped up from the couch.

“WHAT?!?” Cora screamed. “Why the heck did you answer?! O-M-Gosh! How in the name of LIFE could you be this stupid?!?!”

“Shut it!” I snapped. I was already in a bad mood with Core-Ugh and her screaming at people was the last straw. I don’t want anyone fighting. Alydia started crying.

“Guys,” Dez said. “It’s okay. Lidi, just tell Tater Tot that we said she’s not allowed to come and that you couldn’t change our minds. Also, Cora, chill.”

“She said she’s already on her way! She’ll kill me if I tell her she can’t come!” Alydia cried.

“Alydia? Do you want to go outside for a minute?” Phoebe asked. Thank the lord for Phoebe. She knows JUST how to calm people down.

“Oh-oh-kay-uh,” Alydia stuttered.

Phoebe took Alydia outside for a minute and then brought her back. Alyda wasn’t crying anymore which was a relief. Then, Tatiana arrived. When she came into the room, Tatiana held this huge, pink, SPARKLY present. We were all bringing gifts to thank Dez for the huge sleepover party but I didn’t think TATIANA would bring a gift! She flipped out over everyone else’s gifts but just set mine aside. I LOVE making art and spent an hour on the picture I made for Dez. Ryan is also good at art but I’ve never seen hers. Dez’s grandmother came over to me and patted me on the shoulder.

“That has so much potential,” she said, pointing at my drawing. “Come with me,”

I followed Grandma Yaswasi as she led me down the hall and into a small room. In the room, there was a large canvas, paints, a big white table, pencils, and olored pencils. It seemed to be Grandma Yaswasi’s art studio! I walked over to the table and pulled out a piece of white paper. I drew Dez, Phoebe, Ryan, Cora, and I outside of my house. I turned to see Grandma Yaswasi’s beautiful drawing. On the canvas, there was the beginning of a sunset. She signed her name at the bottom of the canvas and handed me the painting.

“Wow! Thank you!” I said.

“Oh, no problem, sweetheart,” she said. “Now, go back to your friends and have some fun.”

I walked back and everyone had finished presents. Tatiana was rolling her eyes. “Your eyes are gonna get STUCK like that, girl,” I interjected.

Later, we went to bed but Rya woke back up and got sick (she puked) at about 1:00. I felt SO bad for her because she must have been SO embarrassed! After Ryan went home, we all just went downstairs and played Nintendo until morning. Even though Rya got sick, I still had fun.

## Phoebe Annie Delgado

“Mom! It’s time to go!” I called.

“Okay,” Mom replied. Mom walked me over to Dez’s since Dez’s mom would be driving me to the sleepover at her grandmother’s house.

“Bye, Mom!” I said as I walked into Dez’s home.

“Bye, sweetie!”

“Hey, Pheeb!” Dez smiled. “Lidi’s already here! Now, Mom can drive us to Gram’s house!”

“Okay!” I grinned. Then, I waved shyly to Alydia.

“Hello!” she smiled.

In a frenzy, Dez, Alydia, and I grabbed our stuff and drove to the house. After everyone was here, we went upstairs into the room with all of the beds for sleepovers and set up our stuff. I was going to share one of the loft beds with Dez. Then, we went on our devices and watched movies. Honestly, I was getting super bored but I just pretended I was having fun because I didn’t want to ruin the party and be rude.

During the second movie, Alydia’s phone started making this raining noise, like she was getting a phone call. I was sitting next to Alydia on the couch so I saw the caller ID. It said ‘Tati’. I KNEW this couldn’t be good. Dez showed her the bathroom so that he would have privacy. All was going okay until Alydia came back and looked scared.

“What’s wrong?” Dez asked and she paused the movie.

“So… um…” Alydia said. “Uh, Tatiana somehow found out about the sleepover and just asked if she could come over too…”

“Oh-M-Goodness!” Dez said.

“What the flip?” Ryan squealed.

“WHAT?!?” Cora screamed loudly. “Why the heck did you answer?! O-M-Gosh! How in the name of LIFE could you be this stupid?!?!”

“Shut it!” Skyler snapped. I didn’t like this. ANY of this fighting. Not at ALL. Then, Alydia started crying.

“Guys,” Dez said in a calm voice. “It’s okay. Lidi, just tell Tater Tot that we said she’s not allowed to come and that you couldn’t change our minds. Also, Cora, chill.”

“She said she’s already on her way! She’ll kill me if I tell her she can’t come!” Alydia sobbed. Dez looked at me.

“Alydia? Do you want to go outside for a minute?” I asked. I mean, if people were screaming at ME, that’s what I would do.

“Oh-oh-kay-uh,” Alydia whispered.

I took Alydia outside and the two of us watched the clouds and stars until a white car started coming down the street. In the car, I saw Tatiana and a tall girl in the front seats. Tatiana had a pink box and the older girl had long hair and blue nails. Alydia and I rushed inside and went back upstairs.

Once Tatiana was upstairs, she all shared our presents. My present was a big back full of Dez’s favorite candies. Sour Patch Kids, Kit-Kats, Gummies, Bubblegum, even Skittles. Tatiana, of course, went all out and gave Dez a PUPPY. Then, she started getting ALL sassy so Ryan made some joke about Tatiana being a Tater Tot Tooter. We all went to bed because Tatiana started acting suspicious. Later, Dez woke Alydia and I up because Rya was sick. We went and woke up her grandma and Rya’s mom came and picked her up. Then, I fell asleep while we were playing Nintendo but I had fun.

## Courtney Meriea Byrne

I went to my house and showed my mom the invite because she was home. I was ready. My mom took me to the store and we bought her a Harry Potter volleyball. I knew she had a volleyball but this one never becomes flat. PERFECT! I have one just like this. Then came 6:00. Time to leave. When I got here Dez, Alydia, Rya, Phoebe, and Skyler were waiting for me.

“HEY!!!!!!” everyone said except Alydia.

I think she still hates me for ya know, shoving, screaming, and tackling her. Frankly, I’m surprised she could tackle me.

“Let's get this party going!” yelled Dez.

I could tell she was excited. We went upstairs and played on our devices. I brought out my brand new iPod. Everyone brought out their devices too. I got to see a little more about Alydia’s personality that Ryan and Dezerae always rave about. She was nice, I have to give it to her. And she is very smart. She kinda reminds me of that very peaceful, smart, capable person everyone wants to be deep down. I don’t even know why I dislike her, I guess I am just an in-the-moment type gal, less thinking, more action. I think I can kinda get behind the hype of this girl.

A little later when we were watching a movie, Alydia came back from the bathroom with a worried look on her face. I immediately saw that she was twiddling her thumbs, a sign of nervousness. Her eyes were also going back and forth and kept opening her mouth without saying anything. What was going ON?

“What’s wrong?” Dez asked as she paused the movie.

“So....um…” Alydia began. “Tatiana found out about the sleepover and asked if she could come.

WHAT! And she said yes?

“Oh, my, GOODNESS!” Dez said, shocked.

“What the FLIP!” Ryan said, abruptly jumping off the couch to go over to Alydia. I’ve had enough with Tater-Tot. The last straw had been snapped into 12,000 pieces.

“What? Why the heck did you answer? How could you be so stupid?” I yelled.

Looking back, I was a bit extreme. But seriously, why Tater-Tot? I bet Tatiana has found a way to track us wherever we go so she can pop up and go, “I’m here! I’m here!”

“Shut it!” Skyler snapped at me.

What was her problem? She was like that at the beginning when I said, “Are we ready to start the party?” She ROLLED her eyes for no reason. Seriously, what was HER DEAL as of late?

“Guys,” Dez said in a calm voice. “It’s okay. Lidi, just tell Tater Tot that we said she’s not allowed to come and that you couldn’t change our minds. Also, Cora, chill.”

I could see Sky GLARING at me behind her.

“She said she’s already on her way! She’ll kill me if I tell her she can’t come!” Alydia sobbed.

Girl, I know it’s an exaggeration because Tatiana can’t even pick up a book, let alone kill someone. Dez looked at everyone, probably assuming we’d rush over to Alydia and hug her so tight she’d have to go to the hospital.

“Alydia, why don’t you step outside for a minute?” Phoebe said, politely motioning to the door. I wish I was like Phoebe and could just solve everything and PEACEFULLY.

“Uh-okay.” Alydia stuttered.

She and Phoebe walked out the door and outside. This just left us girls in awkward silence. I looked through the curtains to see Phoebe and Alydia pointing out stars. Suddenly, a white van came into the driveway. Phoebe and Alydia stood up quickly and ran back into the house.

“You guys are gonna wanna see this,” I said and motioned them towards the window. Then, Phoebe and Alydia were back. I watched Tatiana walk up the steps with a huge pink box.

“Hey, guys!” Tatiana said as she walked through the door with a huge present.

“Let’s open presents!” Alydia said, probably to avoid any possible conflict between Sky and Tati.

“Rya, can I open yours?” Dez asked.

“Yassss girl!” she squealed and she handed over her silver gift bag with glittery teal tissue paper. She began to pull the tissue paper which was shaped like flowers.

“Oooh! No way! Fifty dollars to your website? Eeeh!” Dez squealed. Ryan gave a little smile mixed with a smirk as Dez pulled out the other thing.

“AND thirty-five dollars to Kohls? Thank you!!” Dez finished and she squeezed Rya. “Cora? Can I do yours next?” Dez asked as I leaned against the one couch bed.

“Sure,” I said with a little smirk as I got up and gave Dez her gift.

“Oooh! Yesss! A volleyball with Harry Potter characters!” Dex squealed. “Thanks!!!”

She tried to hug me, but I’m not a very huggy person. I scooted away and Rya laughed, giving me a playful shove.

“Sky? Can I do yours?” Dez asked next.

“Yes, Yes, YES!! Please DO!” said Sky.

I watched Rya roll her eyes and I resisted the urge to do the same. Rya and I have talked before about how Skyler TRIES to be dramatic, but all she does is be annoying. Dez and Rya are the most dramatic, always saying things like, “Yassss” or “gurrrrrl”. Sky tries and ends up and sounds like a dying CHICKEN. Anyway, Dez opened the pale blue bag.

“Okay… huh. Ahh! This drawing is so good! And twenty-bucks for the Disney Store? Thank you!” Then Dez turned to Pheebs. “Can I open yours, Phoebe?”

“Sure!” smiled Phoebe.

“Awesome! Thank you so much!” Dez said. Ryan peeked over her shoulder as Dez pulled out a giant bag of candy.

“Lucky!” Rya laughed, high-fiving Pheebs.

“Lidi? How about you next?”

Alydia nodded and handed Dez a box with pink and blue wrapping paper. Dez opened it and Ryan peeked over her shoulder for the second time. Dez pulled out a dress and slippers. I looked at it a bit strangely. Rya looked excited for some reason.

“Uh… thanks?” Dez said questioningly.

“They’re a type of clothing from Africa. If anyone saw you wearing them In my country, you would show you a LOT of respect.” Alydia explained.

“Okay,” Rya said in a silly announcer voice. “Well, it looks like we have a tie for the best present of the night. It’s coming down to Alydia Igwe and Phoebe Delgado!”

I laughed. Tatiana fake yawned and jumped in front of her squealing, “Tati Time!!!”

She handed Dez the big, sparkly, pink box and Dez took it carefully. “Uh… I will open this SLOWLY.” She opened the box and a Shih Tzu popped out of it. “Is this trained?” Dez asked.

The puppy walked over to the trash can and peed. That seemed to answer Dez’s question.  “Good thing it didn’t pee on you!” Lidi said.

“Uh, like, yeah, sure.” Tatiana rolled her eyes.

“Your eyes are gonna get stuck like that,” Sky said.

“Yeah, RIGHT!” snapped Tatiana.

“You’re such a Tater Tot Tooter,” Ryan said, and we all laughed. Well, except for Tatiana.

“Sheesh… Let’s just like, go to bed. It’s like, ten o’clock.” Tatiana snarled.

“What are you up to, girl?” Sky asked.

“That’s a good idea! Let’s go to bed!” Dez said, glancing at all of us.

We went upstairs, brushed our teeth, and went to bed. I fell asleep. And I’m a deep sleeper. Eventually, commotion woke me up, but I stayed put, not wanting to get up.

Near me, I heard Phoebe ask, “Do you think Rya’s going to be okay?”

Then, I heard retching. It looked like Ryan was SICK. At one point, Tatiana also started screaming at Rya.

Later on, Dez said to me, “Cora! Cora, wake up!!”

“Muh-muh-ggn-nooooo, no, no, noooo,” I moaned.

“Cora!” Dez snapped and she flicked my ear.

“Fine! I know she’s puking! Now leave me alone,” I sighed. I got up and went downstairs, playing Nintendo for the rest of the night.

## Alydia Onyeka Igwe

Today, I went to a sleepover at Dez’s house! Rya, Phoebe, Skyler, and Courtney also came! We watched movies and played on our phones. During the second movie, my phone started ringing.

“Head into the bathroom so you can have privacy if you want,” Dez said to me.

I nodded. I walked into the bathroom and closed the door. I locked it too. Then, I hit the green button that answered the call.

“Hello?” I asked.

“Hi, Lizzy!!! It’s Tati!!” Tatiana squealed.

Lots of people say that Tatiana is mean but I don’t see it. She’s a nice girl with nice friends. She can be a bit sassy or overzealous but I think that’s because she wants attention from her three older siblings.

“Hey, Tats!!” I squealed quietly. I wondered what exactly this was about.

“So-oooo, I heard Dezerae is having a sleepover party. Are YOU there?” Tati asked. She sounded half-suspicious, half-excited, and half-hurt.

“Umm… yeah…” I answered.

“Wellll, since you’re there, I’m gonna come!!” Tatiana said. I could almost HEAR her smiling.

“Wait- what?” I asked.

“Yassss! I’ll make sure to bring a gift and I’ll be NICE don’t WORRY!” Tatiana said

“Tatzi I-” I began but the phone beeped.

I pulled the phone away from my ear and looked down. Tati had hung up. I paled. WHAT was Dez going to think when I told her this? I took a deep breath and walked out of the bathroom.

“What’s wrong?” Dez asked.

“So… um…” I said, trying to push out the words. “Uh, Tatiana somehow found out about the sleepover and just asked if she could come over too…”

“Oh-M-Goodness!” Dez exclaimed.

“What the flip?” Ryan said.

“WHAT?!?” Courtney screamed at me. “Why the heck did you answer?! O-M-Gosh! How in the name of LIFE could you be this stupid?!?!”

“Shut it!” Skyler snapped as I started crying. Like, the SOBBING level of crying.

“Guys,” Dez said in a calming voice. “It’s okay. Lidi, just tell Tater Tot that we said she’s not allowed to come and that you couldn’t change our minds. Also, Cora, chill.”

“She said she’s already on her way! She’ll kill me if I tell her she can’t come!” I stuttered.

“Alydia? Do you want to go outside for a minute?” Phoebe asked.

“Oh-oh-kay-uh,” I said as I took deep breaths.

Then, we went outside for a few minutes before going back in. Next, Tati arrived. We all shared our thank you gifts. Mine was some special clothing from Africa. Then, we went to bed only to be woken up by Dez. She told Phoebe and I that Rya was sick. Eventually, Rya went home and the rest of us played Nintendo. This sleepover wasn’t perfect but it was great to make new friends.

## Tatiana Amara Derby

Like, today, The Horrible Five were apparently having a slumber party with MY bestie! NOT OKAY!!! Lizzy is MY BFFA! I dialed Lizzy’s number the second I found out.

“Hello?” Lizzy asked.

“Hiii, Lizzy!!! It’s Tati!!” I squealed.

“Hey, Tats!!” Lizzy replied.

“So-oooo,” I said. “I heard Dezerae is having a sleepover party. Are YOU there?”

“Umm… yeah…” Lizzy said.

“Wellll, since you’re there, I’m gonna come!!” I squealed.

“Wait- what?”

“Yassss! I’ll make sure to bring a gift and I’ll be NICE don’t WORRY!” I said into the phone.

“Tatzi I-” Lizzy began but I hung up in excitement.

I ran downstairs and called, “Momma!”

“Tatzi, Momma isn’t here right now. It’s Momma and Daddy’s anniversary.” Amber said from the couch.

“Oh, right.” I sighed.

“What do you need?” she asked.

“Can you drive me to a sleepover party?” I asked. “Please, Ambi?”

“Fiiiine.” Amber sighed.

“Yassssss!” I squealed. Amber drove me over to Dezerae’s grandma’s house.

“Why the flip is that box SO big?” Amber asked.

“BECAUSE, Ambi. It has a literal PUPPY in it.” I smirked.

“You bought a literal PUPPY as a thank you gift?!?” Amber shrieked.

“Chill, Ambi. I used my allowance.” I said.

“Whatever. I’ll pick you up tomorrow at nine o’clock.” Amber said.

“Kk, byyyyeeee!” I squealed. I left the car and went into the house.

We started by opening the thank you gifts. All of the gifts were lame. Well, besides Lizzy’s. She bought Dezerae this fancy African dress. I was getting bored of waiting to show off my AMAZING gift.

“Tati Time!!!” I squealed. I handed the sparkly pink box to Dezerae who took it carefully like she expected some RABID BEAST to pop out of it.

“Ummm… I’ll open this SLOWLY,” Dezerae said. She opened the box and I watched as the adorbs little Shih Tzu poked out of the box. “Is it TRAINED?” Dezerae asked.

I smirked. Of COURSE, it wasn’t. I watched with the others as it went over to the trash can and peed.

“Good thing it didn’t pee on YOU!” Lizzy said.

I rolled my eyes. My little Lizzy can be just TOO nice. “Yeah, sureeee,” I said.

“Your eyes are gonna get STUCK like that.” Skyler ranted.

“Yeah, riggghhttttt!” I snapped. Some shy girl does NOT get to tell me what to do!

“You’re SUCH a Tater Tot Tooter,” Ryan said. Everyone cracked up. Besides Lizzy and I, of course. I instead glared right at Ryan.

“Ugh. Sheesh. Let’s just like, go to bed. It’s like, ten o’clock.” I said, annoyed.

“What ARE you up to, GURL?” Skyler asked.

“Good idea. Let’s just go to bed!” Dezerae said.

I rolled my eyes. Again. We all brushed our teeth and went to bed. I got a stupid COUCH BED. Like, where are the feather pillows and memory foam bedding? Ugh! I went to sleep on the stupid couch bed but OF COURSE, Ryan had to wake up at one a.m. and start PUKING!

I went into the bathroom, plugged my nose, and snapped, “Ryan! You jerk! You RUINED my sleepover! Omg! Dezerae, how could you be friends with HER?!”

This sleepover was a DISASTER!!!!! UGHHHHH!!!! People keep saying I’m mean, thanks to these five. All I wanted was attention. To get to have friends. Like, Molly and Bella are fine, but I want REAL friends! And that’s when I started getting an idea.

# Chapter Four: Dezerae v.s. Ryan

## Dezerae Rose Edgar

This morning was CRAZY! There was DRAMA, so I HAVE to tell you this story! “Dez?” Rya asked by our lockers in the morning.

I was a little surprised to see Ryan after she was sick two days ago. It must have been one of those 24-hour bugs.

“Why did Ruby tell Jaz that Jazzy has problems since she has allergies?” Ryan asked.

“She did?” I asked. Ryan looked like she was going to respond when I added, “Well, Ruby told me that Jazmine said Ruby shouldn’t have been in that most recent play at the Beck Center since she’s TERRIBLE at acting!”

“Oh, well I’m SOOOO sorry that you don’t stop breathing every time you eat something you’re allergic to!” Ryn said sarcastically.

“Can we just shut up about this?” I hissed under my breath. I did NOT want there to be a fight in the middle of the HALLWAY!

Ryan took a step back. “Fine. I will shut up.”

“Oh, I’m sorry!” I said. “I-I didn't mean it like that. I just don’t like you accusing my sister of things.”

Ryan walked off and into the classroom. She was obviously hurt. I went into the room. In front of me, Ryan was reading quietly like usual as the other kids messed around. She was in her happy zone. I wrote an apology email and sent it to Ryan.

*Dear Rya,*

*I’m super sorry about what I said to you and for whatever Ruby did to Jazmine. I will make sure to talk to Ruby. I hope that you will talk to Jazmine. I hope you can forgive me.*

*Sincerely, Dez.*

I watched Ryan receive the email and read it. I heard the tiny sound of her keys clicking as she responded. I got the response and read it.

*Dear Dezerae,*

*I wanna point out a few things through this email. First, we literally fought just FIVE MINUTES ago and you think that I’m ready to forgive and forget ALREADY??! Well, I am NOT Missy! Second of all, if you are going to apologize to someone, don’t do the two things that make it not an actual apology! A. Don’t make it an unfinished apology. B. Don’t apologize and then IMMEDIATELY ask the person with hurt feelings to do something for YOU.*

*When you’re apologizing, you NEVER try to flip things into a request email. That just makes you a FAKE! You are just acting like some simpering little girl who is used to getting WHATEVER she wants! So, Miss Thang, don’t expect an apology from me about something YOUR SISTER said!*

* *Ryan Myla Sienna Yuuko - Peace OUT!*

I guess I should have expected that. Ryan is hot-headed and needs to talk things out, whereas it’s easier for me. I looked away and bit my lip. Mrs. Franconos came over to me and I showed her the email. She took me out to the hall and called for Ryan. It took Ryan a minute to realize someone had called her name since she had been reading.

“Ryan Yuuko, how do you want to explain this?” Mrs. Franconos asked, gesturing towards my iPad which was still open to Ryan’s email.

“This is her SISTER’S doing,” Ryan snapped, pointing at me. “And this WHOLE argument is her fault. All I did was confront her about her sister being mean to Jazmine.”

“Excuse ME! I read what she wrote! She was apologizing! You were offending the crap out of her!”

“Excuse ME! YOU were not there during our argument!” Ryan retorted. Mrs. Franconos gaped and I stared. Ryan turned to me.

“Dez, I’m sorry about our argument. The thing is, we’ve been arguing a LOT lately. You KNOW I’m insecure with my allergies and Jaz has even MORE than I do. I know for a fact that Ruby did great. Jaz just said that out of anger because she was upset. I think that Lindsey is the cause of this.” Ryan said, referring to Ruby’s other BFF named Lindsey.

“I’m pretty sure that Jaz said something rude to Lindsey because Lindsey is always mean to her. Ruby must not have liked that since Lindey and Ruby are besties. I think THAT’S why Ruby and Jaz were fighting. Now, I can’t control how Jaz reacts to things and I’m not going to apologize for either of them. That’s their problem and I’m not going to kiss their butts anymore.”

“I agree. And I’m sorry too.” I replied. “Why ARE we fighting over our SIBLINGS drama, anyway? This argument was stupid!”

We hugged, and Rya said, “Sorry for the issues, Mrs. Franconos!”

“Ugh, girls, we are STILL in school! We do not say stupid!” Mrs. Franconos said. “Down to the office, you two!”

We went down to the office and explained everything to Principal Evans.

“I don’t care, sweethearts. You both made up and I have bigger issues to work on fixing. Now, why don’t you two go play Jenga and head back up in time for gym class. At least then Mrs. Franconos will believe I punished you.” Mrs. Evans laughed.

Ryan went to the bathroom and I went into the counselor's office to talk more about Ryan’s since I was still kind of upset.

When she came back, I said, “Ry, I’m SO sorry. Can you um, come with me?”

Rya nodded. “Sure?”

I led her to Mrs. Emmerson’s room and she said, “Okay, ladies. Let’s talk.” Mrs. Emmerson said. “You and Dezerae were in an argument but you made up, correct? But, Dezerae is still feeling a bit hurt; for a good reason. You swore at her in that email you sent her.”

Ryan’s eyes narrowed. “I did NOT swear.” She hissed before turning to me. “I may have called her some rude names but I was angry at her AND her sister!”

“It’s okay, I was mad too,” I said.

“I have allergies and so does Jaz! I don’t like it when people bully me about it!” Ryan said, tears rolling down her cheeks. “Dez, did you say that thing about-?” Rya started.

“Say what?” I asked, cutting her off.

“Girls!” Mrs. Emmerson said over both of us. “Your mothers are on PTA, you can't keep doing things like this! You need to let your sisters fight their own battles. You don’t want them to ruin your friendship!”

“Okay,” Ryan muttered.

We left Mrs. Emmerson’s room and as we walked up the stairs, I said, “Sorry for getting Mrs. Emmerson. All good now?”

Ryan stared at her feet and shrugged. I looked back at her and she put on a fake smile. “Yeah, of course!” she said.

Well, something was obviously wrong, and I was going to get to the bottom of it.

## Ryan Myla Sienna Yuuko

Today, Jazmine told me something outrageous. OUT-RAGE-OUS. Completely and UTTERLY OUTRAGEOUS. My sweet, innocent little sister told me THIS: “Ruby said that I have problems because I have allergies!” Yeah. I know. OUTRAGEOUS. Now, I think we ALL know who this ‘mysterious’ Ruby kid is. Yeah, you heard me. RUBY. As in Ruby EDGAR. Also as in, Dez’s little sister. Now, I didn’t know WHAT caused Ruby to say that but it is out of the QUESTION to bully my sister. You hearing me Ruby?? OUT. OF. THE. QUESTION! Of course, Dez is Ruby’s older sister so if anything, I was gonna talk to Dez about what Ruby had said.

“Dez?” I asked by our lockers in the morning. Dez looked a little surprised to see me. I guess that’s understandable because two days ago, I was puking my flipping guts out.

“Why did Ruby tell Jaz that Jazzy has problems since she has allergies?”

“She did?” Dez asked. I was about to reply with a “Yeah” when Dez retorted, “Well, Ruby told me that Jazmine said Ruby shouldn’t have been in that most recent play at the Beck Center since she’s TERRIBLE at acting!”

Now, I could’ve been the bigger person right then and there and said something along the line of, “Oh, I’m sorry. D’you want to talk to them later?” Instead, I got my usual hot-headed, opinionated side bursting out.

“Oh, well I’m SOOOO sorry that you don’t stop breathing every time you eat something you’re allergic to!” I said sarcastically.

“Can we just shut up about this?” Dez hissed under her breath like she didn’t want people to see us fighting.

I took a step back. “Fine. I will shut up.”

“Oh, I’m sorry!” Dez said. She glanced around. “I-I didn't mean it like that. I just don’t like you accusing my sister of things.”

I walked away. This is what happened when Dez and I started an argument. To be honest, Dez and I are usually the ones who start the fights. And they’re for the stupidest reasons. Dez and I are the most dramatic of the group and it shows when we argue. We’ll get into an argument, fight about, make up, and completely forget why we were even fighting. The thing is, Dez wants to make up right away once she’s said her opinion. Me on the other hand, I hold a grudge for a bit longer. I asked mom once why it’s so much easier for Dez to forgive people. “Rye Bread, honey,” Mom said. “Dez probably just got into a lot of arguments when she was younger so it’s easier for her.”

Back in class, everyone was doing any homework or they were drawing. I go onto my school iPad to read. Reading makes everything better. I’m a quick reader and enjoy it. I guess that’s also why I love writing so much. Dez was behind me, typing furiously. I was guessing she was writing. Dez and I love writing so much that we started writing a book together last year. As I searched for an online book to read, a notification for a new email popped up. It was addressed by Dezerae Edgar. I sighed. I clicked on the email and read it. It said:

*Dear Rya,*

*I’m super sorry about what I said to you and for whatever Ruby did to Jazmine. I will make sure to talk to Ruby. I hope that you will talk to Jazmine. I hope you can forgive me.*

*Sincerely, Dez.*

I could not BELIEVE that girl! That was just a quick, unapologetic message that doesn’t even include a full apology! That’s why Dez got THIS in return:

*Dear Dezerae,*

*I wanna point out a few things through this email. First, we literally fought just FIVE MINUTES ago and you think that I’m ready to forgive and forget ALREADY??! Well, I am NOT Missy! Second of all, if you are going to apologize to someone, don’t do the two things that make it not an actual apology! A. Don’t make it an unfinished apology. B. Don’t apologize and then IMMEDIATELY ask the person with hurt feelings to do something for YOU.*

*When you’re apologizing, you NEVER try to flip things into a request email. That just makes you a FAKE! You are just acting like some simpering little girl who is used to getting WHATEVER she wants! So, Miss Thang, don’t expect an apology from me about something YOUR SISTER said!*

* *Ryan Myla Sienna Yuuko - Peace OUT!*

This time, I had REALLY gone out on a limb in speaking my mind. I went back to reading, ignoring all of my surroundings and letting the world of books eat me up.

Eventually, I heard Mrs. Franconos call from the doorway, “RYAN YUUKO! Please come out to the hallway!”

It took me a second to register that Mrs. Franconos was talking to me. Then, I closed my iPad and went out to the hallway.

“Ryan Yuuko, how do you want to explain this?” Mrs. Franconos asked, gesturing towards Dez’s iPad which was open to my email.

“This is her SISTER’S doing,” I snapped, pointing at Dez. “And this WHOLE argument is her fault. All I did was confront her about her sister being mean to Jazmine.”

“Excuse ME! I read what she wrote! She was apologizing! You were offending the crap out of her!”

“Excuse ME! YOU were not there during our argument!” I retorted. Mrs. Franconos gaped. Dez watched me. I turned to Dez.

“Dez, I’m sorry about our argument. The thing is, we’ve been arguing a LOT lately. You KNOW I’m insecure with my allergies and Jaz has even MORE than I do. I know for a fact that Ruby did great. Jaz just said that out of anger because she was upset. I think that Lindsey is the cause of this.” I said, referring to Ruby’s other BFF named Lindsey.

“I’m pretty sure that Jaz said something rude to Lindsey because Lindsey is always mean to her. Ruby must not have liked that since Lindey and Ruby are besties. I think THAT’S why Ruby and Jaz were fighting. Now, I can’t control how Jaz reacts to things and I’m not going to apologize for either of them. That’s their problem and I’m not going to kiss their butts anymore.”

“I agree. And I’m sorry too.” Dez replied. “Why ARE we fighting over our SIBLINGS drama, anyway? This argument was stupid!”

Dez hugged me and I said, “Sorry for the issues, Mrs. Franconos!”

“Ugh, girls, we are STILL in school! We do not say stupid!” Mrs. Franconos said. “Down to the office, you two!” Then, she walked away, muttering about needing more coffee.

We went down to the office and explained everything to Principal Evans.

“I don’t care, sweethearts. You both made up and I have bigger issues to work on fixing. Now, why don’t you two go play Jenga and head back up in time for gym class. At least then Mrs. Franconos will believe I punished you.” Mrs. Evans laughed.

I felt bad causing all of this drama. Some things were still swirling in my mind though. After our first game of Jenga, I went to the bathroom. When I came back, I was bewildered.

Dez was standing there looking apologetic. “Ry, I’m SO sorry. Can you um, come with me?” she asked.

I nodded. “Sure?”

Dez led me to a door. The counselor’s door. REALLY Dez? Dez and I walk into the counseling room and sit down. “Okay, ladies. Let’s talk.” Mrs. Emmerson said. “You and Dezerae were in an argument but you made up, correct?”

I nodded.

“But, Dezerae is still feeling a bit hurt; for a good reason. You swore at her in that email you sent her.”

Heat boiled in my chest. “I did NOT swear.” I snapped before glaring at Dez. THIS is what she made us come up for! Then I looked back at Mrs. Emmerson. “I may have called her some rude names but I was angry at her AND her sister!”

“It’s okay, I was mad too,” Dez said.

Good. Dez is finally understanding that she did NOT need to involve Mrs. Emmerson.

“I have allergies and so does Jaz! I don’t like it when people bully me about it!” I said. Now I was crying. Just GREAT. “Dez, did you say that thing about-?” I started.

“Say what?” Dez cut me off.

“Girls!” Mrs. Emmerson said over both of us. “Your mothers are on PTA, you can't keep doing things like this! You need to let your sisters fight their own battles. You don’t want them to ruin your friendship!”

“Okay,” I muttered.

We left Mrs. Emmerson’s room and as we walked up the stairs, Dez said, “Sorry for getting Mrs. Emmerson. All good now?”

I looked at my feet and shrugged. Dez looked at me concernedly so I plastered on an overzealous smile and said fakley, “Yeah, of course!”

Then, we hugged. A true best friend hug.

## Skyler Brianna Simon

Today, Dez and Ryan got into a fight. It was something about Dez’s sister Ruby and Ryan's sister. Her name was uhh… umm… Jazmine? Yeah! Anyway, I don’t really pay attention to drama and other people’s fights as much as the others. The story was that Ruby and Jazmine got into a fight. Then, Ryan confronted Dez about Ruby being mean to Jazmine which made Dez and Ryan get into a fight. Confusing, I know. Eventually, they both stopped fighting (in the middle of the HALLWAY!), and went to class.

During morning work time, Dez sent an email to Ryan. Well, I saw Dez’s email and thought it was nice that she was apologizing. But then, Ryan sent her an email back, ranting about how Dez wasn’t acting sorry and being super dramatic. Dez read the email and started CRYING until Mrs. Franconos pulled them both out to the hallway. From what I heard, they got sent to the principal, then Dez got the counselor involved, and then they were best friends again. If you were to make a list of what we’re all like, it would looks something like THIS:

Cora: The ‘Mom’ Of the Group.

Pheebs: The One Who Always Wants Peace

Me: The Quiet One

Dez/Ryan: The Dramatic Ones

Yeah, I know. INSANE.

## Phoebe Annie Delgado

I HATE drama. I DON’T ever want my friends to fight. When we are all getting along (which is most of the time), my friends are the funniest, cleverest, most laughable people ever. I don’t want or mean to be rude to ANYONE- even if they’re rude to me- and I know that that’s hard for a lot of people. ESPECIALLY as people start getting phones and becoming more social. I try to be nice to everyone. I try my VERY best! It’s hard sometimes though. One night, I told my mom all of this.

“If everyone were as caring as you and everyone at least tried not to get angry with others, the world would be a better place. Now, Phee, don’t let that control your happiness. You can go help others but remember to help yourself, too!”

“I know, Mom.” I laughed. My mom was great with encouragement.

“I love you, Phee-Zee.” Mom said.

That’s mom's secret name for me- Phee-Zee- and I’ve never told a soul. Not even Dez! I love helping people in my life. Especially my friends. Right now, my goal is to help Skyler. It’s also Rya’s goal too. Sky has never really “seen something in herself” so our goal is to help Sky find that SPARK inside of her.

## Courtney Meriea Byrne

Today, Ryan told me that Jazmine came up to her and said, “Ruby said that I have problems because I have allergies!” Then they got into an argument, in front of EVERYONE at the lockers. (You have already seen this argument play out, so I’ll save you time)

“Y’all need to let Jazmine and Ruby figure this out!” I muttered to myself. This is GREAT. MORE national friend group beef! GREAT! JUST GREAT!!!!

This WHOLE argument was stupid. I saw both emails and if I were to choose sides, I’d be in the middle. No matter WHAT happened with two-second graders, you don’t need drama. Dez was rude but tried to make up, and Rya was rude but stated fair facts. Rya’s hot-headed when she gets into fights- like me. The difference between us is, Ryan holds a grudge and tries to state facts to get people to understand. I on the other hand just say my piece, walk away, cool off, and then apologize.

Personally, I don’t even CARE about this fight. I don’t understand why but Ruby AND Jazmine went running to their older sisters. Like, figure it out on your OWN! It’s not that hard to find each other during recess, talk it out like mature people, and then go play like nothing even happened. The whole backstory was this: Ruby is best friends with some girl named Lindsey. APPARENTLY, Lindsey started being mean to Jazmine so Jazmine said something mean about Lindsey.

Ruby got mad at Jazmine and gave Jazmine some low comment. Jazmine retaliated by doing the EXACT SAME THING! Then, they both ran, tattled to their sisters, and Dez and Ryan got involved. Of course, both of them are SUPER overprotective and got into a giant BEEF FEST about it!!! This would not have EVER happened if Jazmine had just not responded to the haters. Instead, she should have felt BAD for the haters. Most of the time, the haters have a problem in their life, and that’s why they’re mean. So, instead of responding, just ignore them!

Other times, they just wanted to create beef. In this instance, the beef was created. Then, beef expanded. Someone created MORE BEEF. THEN, of COURSE, someone ELSE created MORE BEEF! EVERYONE, GIVE A ROUND OF SARCASTIC APPLAUSE FOR ALLLL OF THIS BEEF!!!!! I try to stay away from all of the drama. I did a good job keeping away from it in first and second grade. Third grade was okay; still SOME beef but not an immense amount.

Fourth grade though? That deserves its own literal CATEGORY of beef! I did a BAD JOB keeping away from the drama. At this point, drama is flipping NORMAL!!! I get carried away when it happens because Dez and Ryan are basically the ‘Beefmasters’ who love drama. But SERIOUSLY. If you want to CAUSE drama, don’t cause it through a SECOND GRADE argument. But really, don’t even START drama!!!! Of course, after the email, Dez showed Mrs. Franconos the email and she called Ryan into the hall. Then they went to the principal, the counselor, and then came back to class laughing and giggling. See what happens on an every-two-month basis? NATIONAL. BEEEEF!!!! That’s WHAT!!!!

## Alydia Onyeka Igwe

Today, Dez and Ryan got into a fight. I didn’t think that would EVER happen because they’re so tight but I may have just been naive. Anyway, they got into an argument because their younger sisters were being mean to each other. I wasn’t even in the same class as them but I saw the fight play out from the lockers. I was glad they were standing up for their little sisters but I didn’t want THEM to fight. Phoebe eventually filled me in on everything and basically, they went to the principal, then the counselor, and then they made up.

I had a much less dramatic day with Tati, Bella, and Molly. We went to class- all four of us. Molly and Bella are also very nice to me. Molly has long blonde hair, white skin, and blue eyes- she’s very pretty. Bella is also pretty; she has long brown hair, light tan skin, and green eyes. Of course, Tati is the prettiest of us all. She has pretty white skin, long, straight brown hair, and big hazel eyes. All three of them wear Gucci clothes and accessories which I had never even heard of before. Again though, they’re all super nice! We went to class and did the usual math and science until lunchtime. Then, I sat with Molly, Bella, and Tatiana.

“So-ooo,” said Tati. “Are you guys, like, excited for Golden Singers tomorrow?”

“Yasssss!” squealed Molly and Bella at the same time.

“Totally!!!” I smiled. Lunch ended up great and we all talked about siblings, Golden Singers, and other stuff.

## Tatiana Amara Derby

Today, rumor had it that like, Dezerae and Ryan got into a fight. Anyway, I plan to be NICER. Alydia’s gonna like, teach me to BE nicer so that I’ll have FRIENDS! And tomorrow, it’s GOLDEN SINGERRRSSS!!! YASSSSSSSS!!!! After school, Lizzy came over to my house to help me out.

“So, when someone’s done singing, clap even if you don't like the song, and be nice.”

“When you see one of the girls alone or together, give them a compliment.”

It’d be hard. I was used to the attention and being overzealous. This would be different… but maybe in a good way…