This proved to be a pivotal day in everyone's lives. Jeff spent a better part of the morning and afternoon with his new friends, practicing his BMX skills. On Saturdays, the Schoolyard at Scarborough was teeming with cyclers, skateboarders and rollerbladers of every conceivable age, color, shape and size. Slowly but surely, he was beginning to fall less and less, and acquiring more flatland skills, as well as navigating the ramps with alot more panache. At last, he had discovered an athletic skill that he was reasonably good at, and actually had the potential to excel at. Here, he was treated as an equal. Either people didn't know him, or they only knew him as "Jeff." Whenever he fell, there was always an arm reaching out to help him up, and if someone else fell close to him, he did the same. His only complaint about the place was that the guys did outnumber the girls by about five to one, and the few girls who were there all appeared to have boyfriends.
   Andy wasn't in attendance this particular day, but Greil and Gretchen were. At around 2:30, Jeff and the two of them cycled down to the mall, where he treated them to a slice of pizza like he had offered a couple of days earlier. It was the least he could do for all their help.
   "So which one of you told your principal about me?" asked Jeff.
   "Actually, he was looking out at the yard from his office window, and noticed an unfamiliar face," explained Greil. "When we all went in, he asked if you were related to any of us. I believe it was Andy who told him that you were just some kid from Faircrest, who prefers Biking to whatever it is they do over there for p.e."
   "Is there any chance I can meet him sometime? I'd like to thank him for not chasing me out of there."
   "Yeah, he's a pretty cool dude," said Gretchen. "So did you get in alot of trouble when he called up your principal?"
   "Strangely enough, no I didn't." Jeff looked down. "The fact is, the faculty at my school just considered this to be another logical corollary of the mess that is me."
   "Are you telling us you have a reputation for being a trouble-maker over there?" Gretchen asked, skeptically.
   "'Troublemaker' isn't quite the right word. I think 'screw-up' might be more accurate."
   Greil and Gretchen both took another bite of their pizza slices. They were at a loss. How could anybody have so much ill will towards such an unassuming guy?
   "Can you give us a specific example?" asked Greil.
   Jeff swallowed a bite of pizza. "Remember the way I was attempting to do some moves on my bike, before you invited me on to the yard?"
   "Yeah."
   "Well, that was pretty much an accurate representation of my skills at history and math, as well."

   Meanwhile, the ambiance at Stacy's house was a little different. Dana, Cindy and Rhonda had all come to visit, and the girls basically all did what they normally did when they didn't have any homework projects to work on. They watched a little TV, and played a couple of computer games. Stacy had to get used to using the joystick at arm's length, which was akward, but workable. Eventually, she got used to the idea of relying on the other girls to feed her potato chips. Drinking was a bit easier, via the use of a straw.
   The dark cloud that was lingering over the day was the fact that the fair opened tomorrow, and Stacy wouldn't be going, for numerous reasons. For one thing, she would not be able to fit into the small portable toilets if she needed to. Secondly, she remembered from last year, that just about every ride had a "please keep your hands inside and remain seated" policy. Pretty much impossible in her current state. Mainly, she just would feel too vulnerable with her arms outstretched like that. This was principally going to be a week of catching up on reading, movies, and keeping her blog up to date. Typing with one hand was of course, proving to be a bit of a chore, but one she would have to temporarily live with.
   Because her dad was out of town on business, there was no way of getting around the fact that her mother was needed at the family restaurant on Sunday. That was the one day that most of the other workers there had off, and it was much too short notice to hire any experienced kitchen help. Rather than hire some stranger to look after Stacy, her mother had reached a deal with the three girls. She offered them each a salary to take turns staying at the house in two hour shifts tomorrow. Rhonda would be there from 11:00 to 1:00, Cindy would be there from 1:00 to 3:00 and Dana would be there from 3:00 to 5:00. So the three of them wouldn't be at the fair together during the day. At least after 5:00 they could all regroup there, if they wanted. The fireworks display didn't start until 6:00.
   Little did Stacy know that the next day would turn out to be even more lifechanging than the previous one had been.