Cassie Chan sat in the cafeteria with her friends; Ashley Hammond, Justin Stewart, Carlos Vallertez, and TJ Johnson. The only two missing from the group that day were Andros and Zhane, who had decided to play hooky under Zhane's urging influence. Cassie stared at her lunch tray. "It looks kinda like regurgitated dog food mixed with green corn."

"Uh! Thanks, Cassie. Now I can eat my lunch and enjoy it once again," Carlos said sarcastically. Cassie laughed. "I don't find this amusing," Carlos said.

Cassie shook her head. "Simmer down. Eat something else, anything's probably better than this."

"That's not my point! I'm just saying that everyone else should be able to eat what they want without any comments from you, and if we want to eat the turkey surprise from the cafeteria-"

"Cut it out, guys," TJ said.

"He started it," Cassie whined.

"He started it," Carlos mimicked.

"Jeez, sometimes you guys act like such babies!" Ashley exclaimed. Carlos and Cassie laughed. They slapped high- fives across the table.

"Yes, it's true," Justin said. "You managed to get on everyone's nerves today, congratulations." He smiled to let his friends know he was kidding.

Ashley turned to Cassie. "Hey Cass, you wanna go to the mall today after school?"

Cassie frowned. "I can't, I'm baby- sitting for Lily and Joe again today. Besides, I have way too much homework."

"Hey, give this to Lily," TJ said. He pulled a red stuffed lobster out of his bag and threw it to Cassie. Cassie caught it. "Beanie Babies, of course. What's the big deal about these things anyway?"

"Oh, they're cute!" Ashley said.

"Aw," Carlos put his head on her shoulder. "Knock it off," Ashley said. She pushed him away.

Cassie rolled her eyes. She turned to TJ. "Thanks," she said sweetly. "Lily will love this."

Suddenly, Ashley nudged Cassie with her elbow. "What?"

"I think Brett Thompson's staring at you."

"Brett Thompson? Why would the most popular guy in school be lookin' at her?" Carlos teased.

Cassie flung some of her turkey surprise at him.

"Hey, he's definately checking you out," TJ said.

"Maybe you should go out with him," Ashley added.

"Brett?" Cassie raised an eyebrow. "He's going out with that girl Elisabeth."

"I don't think he likes her all that much," Ashley said seriously.

"Yeah, I know. He's a player."

"You don't know that," Ashley reasoned.

"Yes, I do. I know his type. Trust me, he's a player. I'm really not interested in someone like that."

"Well, he is kinda cute," Ashley said.

Cassie smiled. "Yeah, he is. But that doesn't mean I'll go out with him," she said quickly.

TJ nodded. "Sure. We know that."

* * *

The final bell rang. Cassie grabbed her bag and slammed her locker door shut, running out the doors to freedom. She rushed to her house and quickly brushed her hair before running next door to watch the kids.

When she got there, Lily and Joe were playing in their backyard, on the slide and swings and in the fake tree house their parents had installed a few months earlier. Soon, the neighborhood kids joined them in the tree house. Cassie smiled. She didn't mind so many kids, as long as they didn't get to be too much.

She turned to her homework. She realized she didn't have her biology books and panicked.

Cassie was a straight A student and one missed assignment could ruin her perfect record. She went inside, watching the kids from the kitchen window, and picked up the phone. She quickly dialed Ashley's number.

"Hey, Ash. I need a favor. Could you come over and watch the kids? I left my bio books in my locker and I gotta go get them before the school closes."

"Sure, I'll be right over."

"Oh, thank you so much. I'll pay you for your time, but I shouldn't be that long."

Ashley laughed. "It's no problem, really."

When Ashley arrived, Cassie quickly explained about the children in the treehouse and ran back to Angel Grove High. Luckily, the doors were still open. A few kids were still lingering around, some talking, some making out while there were no teachers around, most on their way out. Cassie took the books out of her locker and stuffed them in her school bag.

Cassie once again slammed her locker closed. Just as she did so, someone came up behind her. "Cassie! What are you still doing here?"

Cassie turned around. "Brett, hi." She regarded him with a sweet smile. "Um, I was just leaving."

"What's the rush? Let's talk. You still going out with that guy Lenny?"

"Uh, no, not exactly. Lenny and I are just good friends."

"That's interesting. Well, come on. Let's talk."

The two talked for awhile. Mostly he was letting her know what a pain Elisabeth was, cheating on him and all, how he hated cheaters, and how he had broken up with her. Cassie tried to keep an interested look on her face. Jeez, if this guy's trying to drop subtle hints, he's doing a terrible job, she thought.

"It's a shame you just broke up with your girlfriend," Cassie said politely.

"Ah, she was a drag. Unlike you." He playfully tugged on a strand of her hair. "So, tell me. What's a beautiful girl like you doing without a boyfriend?"

"Um," Cassie said. She looked around for an escape. With horror, she realized that no one was around and all the lights were turned off. "Oh, my gosh! They closed the school!" she exclaimed.

Cassie and Brett ran to all the nearest doors and tried them, only to find they were all locked. "How could they not see us?" Cassie was angry now.

"Calm down," Brett said. He grinned mischievously. "Think of all the fun we can have at school with no one else around." He flicked on the lights and ran down the hall. "Come on," he called, signaling her to follow.

Cassie hesitated for only a second before she followed him to the gym. She found him dribbling a basketball down the court, stopping here and there to take random shots at the basket. Cassie smiled.

"Hey, pass it to me," she called. Brett passed her the ball and challenged her to a one-on-one game. Cassie accepted. After two hours, the two were exhausted. They stopped playing, ending the game in a tie.

"You're pretty good," Brett said.

"Eh, you're not so bad yourself," Cassie replied.

Brett thought for a moment. "Boy that game was really intense. I worked up a sweat. How about you, are you thirsty?"

Cassie looked at him questioningly. Brett took her hand and led her to the cafeteria. He pulled out a couple of dimes and quarters and put them into a vending machine, buying two orange sodas. He handed one to Cassie.

"Thanks," Cassie said gratefully. Brett decided he wanted cookies, and he bought a brownie for Cassie. Cassie looked at him carefully. She started to think that maybe he wasn't so bad after all.

Brett met her gaze. "How'd you get to be so cute?"

Cassie blushed. She rose from her seat. "It's been really fun, but I have to start my homework."

"No problem." They walked out into the hall, searching for a good sized classroom so Cassie could start on her assignments. They stopped in the middle of the hall, where an old teacher's desk was only because it hadn't been put out for garbage yet.

Cassie sat down and pulled her books out of her bag, ready to start.

Brett looked at Cassie as she concentrated hard on her homework. She really was sexy. He wanted her badly. He walked up behind her. "Hey, why are you so tense?" he asked.

Cassie dropped her pencil. "Me?"

"Yeah you. Who else?"

Cassie shook her head absentmindedly, remembering that they were the only ones in the closed school.

Brett began to massage her shoulders. Cassie suddenly felt uncomfortable. He sensed her discomfort. "Relax," he murmured into her ear.

He lowered his lips to her neck. Cassie closed her eyes. This is not happening, she thought. She quickly got up from her seat.

Brett automatically sat in her abandoned chair. He pulled her down, forcing her to lie across his lap. "This is not very attractive," Cassie said.

"No, but you are. Don't fight this, babe."

Cassie glared at him. "I'm no one's babe."

"You talk too much, sweetie." He lowered his mouth to hers. Cassie thought she was going to throw up. She struggled to get free. Brett shoved her head back and kissed along her throat.

"No! Get off!" Cassie yelled.

His hands found their way to the hem of her babydoll shirt and crept under. They were cold. Cassie began to kick her feet wildly, trying desperately to get away. His hand, which had been resting on her stomach, started to creep upwards.

"NO!" Cassie cried. "Stop it! Ow!" She struggled harder, kicking her feet faster and faster and screaming all the while. "I don't want this! I don't want you!"

"Stop being such a baby. You like this, you do. Jeez, Cassie. I thought you could handle being a woman for one day." He held her tightly with one hand, while the other found its way to her breast. Cassie began sobbing. Her face turned red from all the screaming, but she kept it up. Soon she felt him tugging at her bra.

"No! Get off! Get off of me! STOP!"

Suddenly, the lights flickered on. Ashley, Justin, TJ, Carlos, Zhane, Andros, Mr. Kaplan; the principal, and Mrs. Applebee; a teacher, all stood in the hallway with Mr. and Mrs. Chan, the dean of students, and Lt. Jerome Stone.

Brett's face went white. Everyone glared at him. He slowly backed away from Cassie.

Zhane rushed forward, a rabid expression on his face. Mrs. Applebee put a gentle hand on his shoulder, signaling him to cool it. Justin sat on the floor, hunched away from all the excitement, a frightened expression on his face. Carlos sat down beside the younger boy and put a comforting arm around him, never taking his eyes off the boy who'd hurt his friend.

"You're coming with us," Mr. Kaplan said as the dean ushered Brett down a corridor.

"There's no excuse for such behavior, especially from a student," Mrs. Applebee said.

Mrs. Chan cried at the look on her sixteen year old daughter's face. Mr. Chan put his arm around his wife. "I'll see you and your parents in court, young man, and you'd better have a good lawyer because I'm gonna have your ass put in jail!"

"You should know better than to harass a fellow student. What were you thinking, Brett?" Mr. Kaplan demanded. "This behavior is not tolerated on these school grounds. You're hereby expelled."

Brett's jaw dropped open. "But, Mr. Kaplan, it was all her fault. You should've seen the way she was trying to seduce me. She should spend the rest of her life in detention."

"I saw what happened, Brett, and lying about it will only get you in more trouble than you already are." He and the dean, along with Mrs. Applebee and Cassie's parents, pulled a red faced Brett Thompson into an office for more shouting.

Cassie's friends ran to her. She was sobbing uncontrollably. TJ wrapped protective arms around her as she collapsed against him.

"Oh, Cassie, I'm so glad you're okay," Ashley said.

"You must be wondering why all these people showed up," Zhane pointed out.

Cassie nodded, still crying and huddling into Andros and TJ. Andros stroked her hair soothingly.

"Your parents came home at 6:00 and were wondering where you were. And so did Lily and Joe's parents. I remembered that you went back to school and we all knew that the school closes at five. So we organized a search party, " Ashley explained.

"We were worried about you," Justin added.

"Yeah, so we all went with your parents. We were driving by the school when we noticed a light on in the cafeteria," Carlos said.

"Your parents called Lt. Stone at home, he notified the people invloved with the school, and here we are," Zhane finished.

Cassie sniffled. "I was so stupid to trust him," she cried.

TJ drew her closer. He tightened his arms around her trembling body. "It's okay," he whispered. "Sshh, it's all going to be okay."