A week went by. The kids at school were still treating Leland like dirt. It had been okay in the classroom. The kids didn't stare at Leland much anymore. They were a little used to him, although it still felt a little strange to both Lilly and Sharon, who were used to going to their regular desks.

On Tuesday, Mrs. Lee was giving a lecture about Ferdinand Magellan in history class. Rocco grew bored with it, and started to doze off. Mrs. Lee heard him snoring, and walked over to him.

"Rocco, wake up," she said, shaking his shoulder.

"I'm awake! I'm awake!" he shouted. "The answer is eleventy six!"

A lot of the kids started giggling. Mrs. Lee groaned, and went back to the front of the classroom to continue her lecture. Rocco looked around, and noticed that he wasn't the only one who had fallen asleep during Mrs. Lee's lecture.

"Mrs. Lee!" he called out. "Leland's sleeping!"

"Thank you, Rocco," Mrs. Lee said. She walked over to Leland, and shook his shoulder. "Leland, wake up."

Leland yawned, and leaned up. He groaned, and nearly fell to the desk again, but Mrs. Lee held him steady.

"Whoa, easy there," she said. "What's the matter, Leland? Tired today?"

"Yeah," Leland said with a nod.

"Why don't you go back to the beanbag chair and take a nap, okay?"

"Okay."

Mrs. Lee guided Leland to the back of the room, and settled him in the beanbag chair. Almost instantly, Leland fell asleep. Rocco was dumbfounded. Every time he fell asleep in class, Mrs. Lee would lecture him. This was new.

"Hey, Mrs. Lee!" he shouted. "How come he gets to go to sleep in class and I don't?"

"Because he's sick, Rocco," Mrs. Lee explained, as calmly as she possibly could.

"I'm sick, too!" Rocco protested. "I'm narcoleptic, remember?"

"Rocco, I've talked to your mother. Believe me, you are not narcoleptic."

"Yeah, you're just lazy, that's all!" Catchum shouted.

"Oh you're a fine one to talk, Catchum!" Rocco yelled. "You're lazier than I am!"

"Oh yeah?!"

"Yeah!"

"All right, you two, that's enough," Mrs. Lee said, trying to restore order. "You know I don't tolerate fighting in the classroom."

Catchum and Rocco gave each other Looks, and then focused on what Mrs. Lee had to say about Magellan.

At lunch, all Rocco could talk about was how Mrs. Lee reacted when Leland fell asleep in history class.

"Boy, is he lucky he gets to sleep in school!" he shouted. "If having cancer means that, then I'd like to get it myself!"

"Trust me, Rocco, you don't want it," Montgomery said.

"Oh come on, Montgomery," Rocco said. "It can't be all bad! Attention, presents, getting to skip classes, and getting to sleep in class . . . ."

"And being tired all the time, injected with needles, having to stay at the hospital for a really long time, losing weight, and having the other kids treat you like dirt."

Rocco immediately took a huge bite of his sandwich so he wouldn't have to answer Montgomery. He had a point, but Rocco still thought it was a great perk to be allowed to sleep in class.

For the next few weeks, Leland was constantly going to the back of the room to the beanbag chair Mrs. Lee had set up to sleep during class. Rocco really hated it. He was about ready to protest against it.

"Mrs. Lee, it's not fair that Leland gets to sleep in class and the rest of us don't!" he shouted.

"Rocco, I've told you before," Mrs. Lee said, getting pretty impatient with Rocco's daily complaints about Leland sleeping in class. "Leland is sick, and Mr. Forrester and I have talked to his parents about this, and therefore, he has permission to sleep in class if he needs to."

"But it isn't fair!" Rocco shouted.

"Rocco, just suck it up and move on!" Gosalyn shouted.

"Thank you, Gosalyn," Mrs. Lee said, giving her a Look. "But I think I can handle this."

Gosalyn smiled sheepishly, and sank down in her seat.

Things were looking up by the beginning of October. All the kids switched from talking about how weird Leland looked because of the leukemia treatments to the school Halloween party.

"I can't wait until the Halloween party!" Julie shouted. "I'm going as Super Sparkle! She's the best TV heroine ever!"

"I thought you said Princess Rainbow Crystal was the best TV heroine ever," Leland said.

"That was last year," Julie replied.

Leland nodded. He had seen bits of "Super Sparkle" on channel 8 at the hospital. It didn't do much for him. It was a show about a super heroine (like Super Girl), and she was decked out in pink from head to toe.

"So what are you going to the party as, Leland?" Montgomery asked.

"I might not go," Leland said, shrugging.

"Why not?" Catchum asked.

"I just don't know if I feel up to it or not," Leland said. "That, and my mom might not let me. She might not even let me go trick-or-treating this year. Greg put up a fight over that."

Julie and Montgomery nodded, but there wasn't much that could be done.

The rest of the week passed uneventfully. Leland wasn't falling asleep as much, but it still bugged Rocco that he was getting special treatment at school. On Friday, Leland was sitting at his desk, doing some last minute studying for the math test Mrs. Lee was giving that day when Rocco came up to him and leaned on the desk.

"I don't know why you're bothering to study," he said. "Mrs. Lee will probably let you skip it and give you an A anyway."

"No she won't," Leland said. "I still have to take the tests if I'm feeling up to it."

"Yeah right," Rocco said. "I know you'll get an A on this test. Mrs. Lee will give it to you because she feels bad that you're sick. That's why she lets you sleep in class, and stuff. You're the teacher's pet!"

Leland ignored Rocco, and went back to studying. He knew he wouldn't get an A on the test. The highest he ever scored on a math test was a C minus.

Math class rolled around and Mrs. Lee passed out the test papers. Everyone got started. As usual, Braker was the first one finished. Shortly after that, Montgomery got up to hand his paper in. One by one, the rest of the class finished up. All except Leland. Even though he had studied practically right before the test, his mind went blank. He kept glancing at the rest of the kids, and began to feel a little nervous. He was barely halfway through. When the bell rang, Leland practically jumped a mile. Several of the kids giggled, and began to get up to go to music class. Leland groaned.

"Ooh man, is he gonna get it," Rocco whispered to Braker as they left the classroom. "Hold on a sec, Braker, I want to catch this!"

"You want to see Leland get in trouble?" Braker asked.

"That's not very nice, Rocco," Julie said.

Rocco ignored the two of them. Julie shook her head in disgust, and went down the hall to the music room. Braker followed. Rocco stood by the door, and listened in.

"I'm sorry I didn't finish the test, Mrs. Lee," Leland said. "I tried to finish it on time, I really did, but . . . ."

"Leland, calm down," Mrs. Lee said, calmly. "It's okay. How about you stay here and finish up while the rest of the class is at music?"

Leland nodded, and went back to the test. Rocco shouldn't have been surprised, but he was. Mrs. Lee often did this if a student didn't finish a test on time. She would either have them take it during recess, or one of the other classes like art, music, and PE (depending on the day), or after school.

"Rocco, come on," Montgomery said. "Let's go to music."

"Unbelievable," Rocco said. "Just unbelievable."

"What's so unbelievable about Mrs. Lee letting Leland finish the test during music class? She does it all the time."

"Montgomery?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

Montgomery shrugged, and he and Rocco went to music class.

The kids came back from music class about forty minutes later. They were all talking about the Halloween party and who was wearing what at the time. When Rocco walked into the classroom, he noticed Leland wasn't at his desk. Mrs. Lee was writing something on the board.

"Hey, Mrs. Lee, where's Leland?" he asked.

"In the back of the room sleeping," Mrs. Lee replied. "And I don't want to hear any complaints, Rocco."

Some of the girls giggled as Rocco's face turned pink, and he walked over to his desk.

Things didn't get much better as the weeks went by. Rocco was starting to call Leland "Teacher's Pet," which got on Leland's nerves, but he didn't say much. He usually stopped after awhile. On another Friday, Leland was cramming for a science test. Rocco walked by his desk, and knocked the book to the floor.

"What did you do that for?" Leland asked.

"Teacher's pet," was all Rocco had to say.

"Come on, Rocco, cut it out," Leland said. "I don't do this stuff on purpose."

"Mrs. Lee lets you sleep and she doesn't let the rest of us!" Rocco shouted. "It's . . . . it's undemocratic!"

"I can't help it."

"Yeah, right. I bet you're just faking it to get attention."

"You can't fake cancer, Rocco."

Rocco just glared at Leland, and went to his desk. Leland just reached down and picked up his book to get a little more study time in. It wasn't easy. He was feeling a little lost. On most days, he had treatments at the hospital during science class. Mrs. Lee had asked him privately if he wanted to skip the test, since he had missed a lot of the material, but Leland had declined. He wanted to take the test with the rest of the class. He wanted to avoid Rocco calling him "Teacher's Pet" all year.

Mrs. Lee passed the tests out. Leland looked at it, and gulped. He could tell this wasn't going to be an easy test. He glanced around as much as he could, without looking as if he were cheating. The others were working on their tests, and it looked like it was a complete cakewalk to them, especially Braker. Leland decided he wouldn't pay any attention, and just stared at his test, thinking about it.

Leland began banging his pencil on his desk. He couldn't figure out one answer. He began wondering if he should have accepted Mrs. Lee's offer for him to skip the test. But then Rocco would have kept calling him "Teacher's Pet." And when Leland got to thinking about that, it was all that was in his head. Rocco's complaints, and the whole "Teacher's Pet" thing, as well as the other kids on the playground. Leland couldn't stand it any longer. He picked up his test paper, tore it in half, snapped his pencil in half, and threw the pieces against the wall, letting out a scream. Then he rested his head on the desk, and began banging on it with his fist. The other kids immediately stopped what they were doing, and looked up. Since the room had been quiet, Leland's scream broke them out of concentration. Mrs. Lee stood up, and walked over.

"I knew you shouldn't have tried to take this test," she said. "Come on. You and I are going to call your mother."

Leland nodded, got up, and followed Mrs. Lee out of the classroom to the nurse's office. As a result from that meltdown, Leland staid home for the rest of the week. He was not feeling up to going to school after that, and facing the Wrath of Rocco, as he was referring to it.

The day before Halloween, Mike dropped by the school to see what was going on. Softball season was over, and he sort of missed the kids. He walked along the playground during recess, and saw Leland sitting at the front steps, as usual.

"Hey, Lee, what's happenin'?" he asked, coming over.

"What are you doing here, Mike?" Leland asked.

"Well, believe it or not, I sorta missed you kids," Mike replied, sitting down. "So what are you doin' all the way over here?"

"The other kids don't want me around."

"Oh come on. I've seen you hangin' around with Montgomery and Julie."

"Yeah, but not all the time. Julie and Tina are always together, and Montgomery's always hanging out with Zipper and Bingo."

"Well, what happened to Catchum? You used to hang around him a lot."

"He sorta stopped after I got sick."

"Fair weather friends, huh?"

"Yeah. They all treat me like dirt."

"I know how you feel. When I was your age, kids treated me like dirt, too."

"Did you get really sick when you were a kid?"

"Well, no, but for some reason, the kids just didn't like me. They thought I was weird and goofy lookin'. I was just too skinny, and too tall for my age. I tell ya, Lee, bein' a kid isn't easy."

Leland nodded. He and Mike talked until the bell rang. Then the kids filed into their classrooms. Mike sat on the steps a little while longer, and then walked into the main office. He talked to Mr. Forrester, and arranged for the Discophonics to perform at the school's Halloween party. Reggie and Jerry were a little surprised.

"How could you do that without telling us?" Jerry asked.

"Well, it's not like you guys had plans," Mike pointed out. "I know we always go to Sarah's summer place for her all-night Halloween bash, and they'll be plenty of time for that! This is just an after school party, and I'm dyin' to see what those kids are doin' to Leland."

"From what I heard from Gosalyn, they treat him like dirt," Jerry said. "It burns me up the way kids treat each other these days."

"It's starting earlier and earlier these days," Reggie said, with a nod. "Okay, we'll do it. I just refuse to wear the same costumes as you two."

"Same here," Jerry replied.

"Fair enough," Mike said. "It's at three at Carson Elementary's gym. Be there."

Mike walked off to get some dance work done. He was completely uncoordinated in that field, and the Discophonics was Screen Gems resident dance group. Reggie looked thoughtful for a moment, and then turned to Jerry.

"Didn't he once say he didn't like kids?" he asked.

"Yeah," Jerry said with a nod. "But once you get to know Gosalyn, that sort of goes away. And then when you get to know, Julie . . . . well, with her, she can make a child lover out of any child hater in time."

Reggie nodded, and he and Jerry walked off, talking about Sarah's annual Halloween party, and the Carson Elementary School party.

Finally, the big day came. All of the kids were dressed up in costumes for the entire day. Julie sported a glittery pink dress, pink calf-length boots, and a sparkly pink headband. She wore white gloves and carried a pink sparkly wand. She even had pink glitter on her cheeks.

"Julie, you look like something a cotton candy machine spat out," Gosalyn said when she saw her. She was dressed up as a warrior from some Saturday morning space show or another.

"I'm supposed to be Super Sparkle," Julie said.

"Wait until you guys see Bernice," Woolma said, as she walked in. She was dressed as a princess.

"Yeah, her costume is really great," Dotty, who was dressed as a fairy, said, with a laugh.

Just then Bernice walked into the room. She was dressed as a spider. She wore a padded black suit that made her look round, and had four legs coming out of it, so it looked like she had eight appendages. She even wore a hood with eyes and fangs on it.

"Whoa," Gosalyn said. "That's neat, Bernice."

"I made it myself," Bernice said. "Well, my mom helped a little."

Everyone else laughed. The other kids came into the room as well, all sporting costumes. Leslie was dressed as Princess Rainbow Crystal (which Julie had been the year before). Gretchen came as a black cat, Angela and Lolly were both witches. They stood in the corner of the room, pretending to cast spells. Tina came dressed as a farmer, Billy as a scuba diver, Bobby as a football player, Colin as Batman, and Ronnie as a clown, complete with floppy shoes, big red nose, and rainbow colored wig.

"Big surprise, Ronnie," Gosalyn said, sarcastically. "We all thought you'd come in as the Grim Reaper."

Ronnie just shrugged, and honked a horn he was carrying. Nobody was surprised at his costume.

Sharon walked in as a 50's girl (poodle skirt and all). Flora was a gypsy fortune teller, Lilly was a butterfly, Braker was a mad scientist (he was even wearing a wig teased up like a stereotypical mad scientist's hair), Bingo was a pirate, Rocco was Frankenstein, and Catchum was also a space warrior, but his costume was from a different show than Gosalyn's was.

"Julie, that's your costume?" Catchum asked.

"Yeah," Julie said, nodding.

"You look like something a cotton candy machine spat out," Catchum replied. In retaliation, Julie bopped him with her wand.

Zipper came into the room next, but he didn't walk in. He practically flew in, with one leg extended in the air.

"Hiya!" he shouted. He was wearing a ninja costume. He did some more karate moves until he accidentally hit Sharon's desk, and it fell, causing everything in it to come flying out.

"Oops," he said. "Sorry, Sharon."

"Nice try, ninjerk," Catchum commented. Zipper stifled the urge to karate chop him.

Rudyard came in shortly afterwards, wearing a suit, tie, boots, a black wig in a bowl cut, and granny glasses.

"What are you supposed to be?" Catchum asked, giving him a weird look.

"John Lennon," Rudyard replied.

The others weren't too surprised. After all, Rudyard was from England, and he had a thing for the old British bands of the 1960's, especially the Beatles. Although he was from London, not Liverpool.

Montgomery came in next. He was wearing a toga, and half a laurel wreath, hanging lopsidedly on his antlers.

"Hail Caesar!" Dotty shouted.

"Hail yes!" Ronnie chimed in.

"Montgomery, your wreath is lopsided," Colin pointed out.

"I know," Montgomery said, taking it off for a moment. "My mom tried to put it on over my antlers. These things are a pain in the neck."

"The wreath or your antlers?" Gosalyn asked.

"My antlers," Montgomery replied.

"I can see why they'd give you a headache," Ronnie commented.

Everyone groaned. Julie gave Ronnie a smack with her wand. The bell rang just then, and all the kids went to their desks. Mrs. Lee walked in, dressed as a black cat. Leland ran in shortly afterward. He was dressed as a cowboy. It was a last minute idea.

"I thought you weren't coming in today," Sharon asked as Leland sat at his desk.

"I changed my mind," Leland replied. "I felt a little up to it."

Sharon nodded, and focused her attention on Mrs. Lee and the lesson for the day. Of course, it wasn't really a normal day. It was more of a party day, although Leland didn't do much partying with the rest of the class. He was feeling a little up to it, but not completely up to it, so he just sat at his desk, and doodled in his notebook.

Three o' clock came, and all the kids in the school went down to the gym for the school Halloween party. Leland was a little apprehensive about it. He stood in the doorway, and looked around. All the other kids were talking with each other, and pointing out each other's costumes. As he was just standing there, Leland felt a nudge and he moved forward. He looked around and saw Mike standing there, wearing his gaudy sequined western outfit.

"What are you doin' just standin' there?" he asked. "All the action's inside."

"I don't know if I can go in there," Leland said.

"Still worried about what the kids are gonna say?"

"Kinda."

"Don't worry, I'll handle anybody with my finger here."

Leland took a deep breath and walked into the gym. Mike, Reggie, and Jerry went in behind him. Reggie was dressed as a member of the Heck's Angels, wearing a leather vest, dirty  T-shirt, jeans, black boots, and sunglasses. He had a red bandana tied around his head, and a temporary tattoo on his arm. Jerry was dressed up as a space alien. He had borrowed a set of doctor's scrubs from Dr. Brackett at Rampart, and he was wearing a headband with deely bobs dangling from them (you get the idea. Your author has no idea what that's called).

"You owe us big time, Mike," Jerry said.

"Oh come on, a gig's a gig," Mike said, shrugging. "Besides, this is gonna be a blast!"

Mike walked into the gym. Reggie and Jerry followed. For some reason, they weren't looking forward to this. Reggie wasn't too keen on kids, which was one of the reasons he never really committed to marriage with Sarah. And Jerry just wasn't too thrilled with playing at a grade school Halloween party to begin with. In fact, to him, it sounded like one of those small potato gigs Bob always sent the Discophonics on.

In any case, Leland walked over to where Montgomery, Zipper, Julie, and Tina were standing. Tina was playing "Turkey in the Straw" with a comb and a piece of wax paper. The others were cracking up.

"I'm not much of a musician," Tina said. "But this is easy to play."

"Sounded okay to me," Zipper said.

The others nodded, and got to talking. Leland didn't say much. He just hung around. At one point, he began bouncing from one group of kids from his class to the next. Mike watched him. He noticed he stuck with the kids from his own class, whereas most of the other kids interacted with the other classes. Bingo and Brian Nicholls from Mrs. Fields' fifth grade class were having a pretend sword fight, since they were both dressed as pirates. Others were just commenting on each others' costumes.

"Can you believe the snobs over there?" Catchum asked Ronnie, indicating Maureen Sullivan and her friends.

"Yeah, decked out as Disney Princesses," Ronnie said with a groan. "I'm not surprised, though. They all think they're princesses."

Maureen was dressed as Snow White, Muffy van Barron was Cinderella, Brittany Kline was Sleeping Beauty, Carlene Winters was Belle from "Beauty and the Beast," and Corrie Harrison was Princess Jasmine from "Aladdin." They were all gathered in a corner, whispering and giggling, like they always did to everybody. Mike noticed they were standing right next to the refreshment table, so he walked over, nonchalantly, whistling a tune, and proceeded to grab some munchies. He snapped his fingers slightly, and listened to the girls' conversation.

"Look at all these losers," Maureen said. "Can you believe Julie Olsen is dressed up as Super Sparkle? Please!"

"Yeah, Super Sparkle isn't so great," Brittany said. "How about Flora Fox in that dumb gypsy outfit?"

"I know," Corrie replied. "And of course, Gosalyn Mallard. Is she a boy or a girl?"

The girls cracked up over that one. Mike resisted the urge to pour his punch on their heads. He knew from Julie and Gosalyn that these girls were very cutthroat, but he hadn't realized how bad they were. To him, they sounded like a bunch of high school girls! He didn't walk away just yet. He wanted to hear more of the girls' comments.

"Hey, did you guys see Penelope and Paulette Pig?" Carlene asked. "They're dressed as grand duchesses. Look at them, they're right over there!"

The girls turned to look, as did Mike, but only shortly after the girls. He didn't want to make anyone think he was eavesdropping. But it was true, the Pig Sisters were dressed as grand duchesses, wearing large hoop skirts, and white wigs. They looked pretty good, considering, but Maureen and her clique laughed hysterically.

"And the coup de gras," Muffy said (and she nailed the pronunciation, too). "Ladies, may I direct your attention to Leukemia Lizard."

The girls cracked up. Mike glared at them. He knew they meant Leland. Who else could they have meant?

"Where'd he dig up that dumb costume?" Corrie asked.

"Dressing up as a cowboy?" Maureen asked. "Puh-leeze! That went out in kindergarten! Cowboys are for babies."

"He must've gotten fashion tips from that stupid looking skinny guy at the punch bowl over there," Carlene giggled, pointing to Mike. "He looks like a giant disco ball!"

Mike's face turned scarlet, in anger. Phyllis had told him time and time again that his gaudy western suit was too much. In fact, everybody told him it was terrible looking, but he never listened to them. Now here he was, taking seriously a bunch of ten-year-old fashion critics. In any case, he mentally counted to ten to curb his temper.

"You think Leukemia Lizard would make a good cowboy?" Corrie asked.

"Oh please," Maureen groaned. "He'd fall off a horse the minute he got on! He doesn't have the brain power to stay on one."

"I bet he can't even ride a merry go round horse," Brittany said. "Come on, girls, let's have some fun."

Mike followed them, but kept a short distance away. He wanted to know what they were up to. They walked over to Leland, who was just sort of leaning against the wall.

"Look who it is," Maureen said. "Leukemia . . . . I mean Leland Lizard."

The other girls giggled. Mike could feel his face turn red again. This was too much.

"So, Leland," Muffy said, flicking the brim of the cowboy hat Leland was wearing. "Cute costume. Who's your fashion consultant? Roy Rogers?"

The girls giggled even harder. Mike was seeing red. He couldn't believe kids could be this mean. He had been teased a lot when he was that age, but it was never this bad.

"You planning on blazing the trail after the party?" Corrie asked. "You and that walking disco ball make a good pair."

"Leave Mike out of this," Leland said.

"He's right, we should leave him out of this, girls," Maureen said. "After all, Leukemia Lizard is much more fun to make fun of!"

The girls cracked up and walked away, muttering "Leukemia Lizard" under their breaths. Mike was furious by this point. He walked over to Leland, and kneeled down to his level.

"I heard the whole thing," he said. "They're tearin' everybody apart."

"It doesn't bother me," Leland said, shrugging.

"You're lyin'. I know you're lyin'. If you ask me, what they just called you . . . . ohhh, I just wanna . . . ."

Mike was about ready to blow a gasket, but he cooled it just in time. He looked right at the girls, and then noticed they were gossiping right underneath a sprinkler. He got a sneaky look on his face. He held his hand up, in a light fist, and flicked his fingers outward, sending a little bit of magic at the sprinkler. Only that one was activated, and water sprayed all over Maureen and her clique. They screamed, squealed, and ran to the nearest girl's bathroom to dry off. Everyone in the gym laughed. Once they were gone, Mike snapped his fingers to stop the water flow.

"Mike," Reggie said, in a warning tone.

"What?" Mike asked, innocently. Reggie just shook his head, and started to test out the microphones.

"No more magic, okay?" Jerry asked.

"Well, they deserved it," Mike protested. "Besides, it wouldn't be Halloween if I didn't use my magic, now, would it?"

Jerry groaned. This was going to be a long night. And he was right. He and Reggie had to stop Mike from using his magic constantly. It was driving them crazy, but the kids were driving Mike crazy with their constant picking on Leland. A group of Brian's friends had walked over and blocked off the refreshment table.

"Hold it," Jimmy said. "Do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars."

"Yeah, the food is a cancer free zone," Charlie replied.

"Come on, you guys," Brian said. "Lighten up, will you?"

"Yeah, you're being mean!" Lilly's little sister, Katie, shouted.

"So who cares, squirt?" Jimmy said. "Come on, you guys. Let's get out of here so we don't catch any of Leukemia Lizard's germs!"

The boys walked away from the refreshment table. Obviously, Maureen and her friends had been around the gym telling the kids their brand new name for Leland. Mike was ready to kill them. He raised his hand, but Jerry grabbed his wrist before he could do anything.

"No magic," he said, giving Mike a Look.

"But they . . . ." Mike started.

"No magic!" Reggie and Jerry shouted in unison.

"Come on, it's almost showtime," Reggie said.

Mike grumbled, and walked towards the speakers to turn them on. Then he went to the microphone, and took it off the stand.

"Testing, one, two, three, four," he said. "Okay, listen up, everybody!"

Nobody paid any attention to him. They were all too busy talking to each other. Mike decided to try something that he knew would probably end up blowing up in his face (and his ears), but it had to be done. He stuck two fingers in his mouth and whistled as shrilly as he possibly could, right into the mic. Not only did he blow his ears, he blew everyone else's! And Jerry was standing right next to him.

"Thanks, Mike," he said, sarcastically while cleaning out his ear. Mike shrugged.

"Okay, you guys," he said to the kids. "Time for a little mood music."

The Discophonics began to perform "Monster Mash," and the kids began dancing to it. Except Leland. He sort of just stood in the back. Mike noticed this. After a couple more songs, he put a tape into the stereo, and walked to the back of the room.

"I noticed you're not really joinin' in," he said.

"I'm not much of a dancer," Leland said, shrugging.

"Yeah, neither am I. Come on, Lee, have some fun!"

"But the other kids . . . ."

"Look, cancer is not contagious. They're just bein' pains. Come on, it'll be fine. I'll finger anyone who tries anythin'."

Leland wasn't so sure about this, but he followed Mike anyway. Mike was very persuasive. The two of them walked over to where the kids were playing some typical party games. Before they could get anywhere, Mrs. Lee stopped them.

"Hold it," she said. "I'm sorry Leland, but your mother called earlier and she doesn't want you to over excite yourself."

"How are a few games gonna tire the kid out?" Mike asked.

"We've had things like this before," Leland said. "Everybody gets really excited. Really excited."

"I see," Mike said.

"Besides," Penelope Pig, who had heard the conversation. "We don't want him to play anyway. He'll just get his germs all over everything."

"Okay, that does it," Mike said, rolling up his sleeves. "I've had it with you kids. Cancer is not contagious, and you can't get it like you get a cold! I know it's a little weird, but for Pete's sake, people! Heavens to Betsy, you kids are bein' ridiculous! Get it through your heads! Leland is just the same as he was before he got cancer, just a little skinnier, and a little more tired than usual. But he'll be fine after awhile. I'm sure of it! And you all aren't helpin' by treatin' him like pond scum!"

"Pond scum?" Jerry asked.

"He's caught up in the moment again," Reggie said, rolling his eyes.

Mike often got caught up in rantings. It usually drove everybody at Screen Gems crazy. But sometimes, his rantings got the job done. The kids were all silent. Leland was a little embarrassed by this. He grabbed Mike's sleeve and pulled it for a minute.

"Mike?" he said.

"Yeah, Lee?" Mike asked.

"Uhh, you do know that I got picked on a lot before I got leukemia, right?"

"Uh huh."

"Well, uhh, this might make it worse."

"Chill out, Lee, I'm on a roll. Nothin' I say is gonna make things worse."

And with that, Mike walked off. Rocco walked up to Leland once he left.

"Can't you even fight your own battles?" he asked.

"Uhh . . . . ." Leland stammered.

"I didn't think so," Rocco said. "You're a wimp."

Leland sort of groaned. He couldn't wait for the party to be over. After Mike's outburst, he stuck by Leland for the rest of the afternoon. Jerry and Reggie thought that was a little weird, considering Mike wasn't too keen on kids. As far as he was concerned, he usually put kids low on a list of things he disliked. He liked them better than weirdos escaping from the Other Realm,  but he once said he'd rather have his teeth drilled with a power drill and no novacaine than baby-sit Gosalyn and her friends.

After a few hours, the kids left the gym. They had to get home and get ready for Trick-Or-Treating, and Reggie, Jerry, and Mike had to get ready for Sarah's annual Halloween bash.

"So you think you've taken care of the kids, huh?" Reggie asked.

"Pretty much," Mike said. "Nobody messes with me when I get mad. Things should get a little better around here."

"I don't know, Mike," Jerry said, shrugging. "I may not have a sixth sense like you, but I have the feeling things are going to get a lot worse."

Mike glared at Jerry. He wasn't sure what he meant, but he was certain things couldn't get any worse than they already were.

The next day, the kids at school acted like nothing happened the night before. Leland was hoping for that. He thought Mike was really cool, but that outburst he had at the Halloween party was a little embarrassing. He thought nobody would pay any attention to him until he was about ready to walk through the door. As he was about ready to open it, it swung open suddenly, and banged right into his face.

"Yeow!" he shouted, and he stumbled backwards down the steps and practically landed flat on his back. His books flew into the air, and came crashing down on him. Several kids saw it and started laughing. Leland gathered his books and looked up to see what hit him. It was Rocco.

"So, Leukemia Lizard, where's your bodyguard?" he asked.

"Very funny," Leland said. He stood up, and walked through the door of the school. Rocco laughed, and turned around to head for the classroom when he saw Braker standing there, arms folded across his chest and glaring.

"What's the matter with you?" Rocco asked.

"You did that on purpose," Braker said. "What's the matter with you, Rocco?"

"Hey, if he gets to sleep through class, and the rest of us don't . . . . ."

"Rocco, you're starting to sound like a broken record. Knock it off, okay?"

Rocco shrugged, and that was all. Braker did not think he was going to knock it off, but there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.

Things pretty much staid the same for awhile. Rocco was the only kid who was doing a lot of picking on Leland. The other kids pretty much kept quiet after Mike's outburst. Rocco was just being a pain in the neck. All the other kids knew it. Leland did his best to ignore him, but sometimes, that just wasn't possible.

Things at home weren't all that great, either. Greg was still resentful about all the attention Leland was getting. One Saturday, he was using a piece of masking tape to divide the room in half. Leland was laying on his bed, watching him.

"Greg, don't you think you're being a little immature?" he asked.

"I just don't want your cancer germs on my stuff," Greg said.

"Yeah, but dividing up the room? I really don't think you'll benefit from that."

"Why not? You keep your stuff on your side of the room, and I'll keep my stuff on my side of the room, and you and your stuff stay on your side, and me and my stuff stay on my side!"

"Okay, but you do realize that the door is on my side, don't you?"

"It is?"

"Yeah. How are you gonna get out?"

And with that, Leland got up, and left the room. He didn't normally like laughing at his brother's expense, but there were times when he made exceptions. This was one of those times. He wanted to make sure Greg was in earshot. He stopped in the hallway for a minute and began laughing. Greg pulled down the masking tape, and ran out of the room. Leland heard him coming and took off down the hall.

"Come back here!" Greg yelled.

Leland ran into the kitchen with Greg hot on his heels. He latched onto Link's leg, and tried to hide behind him.

"Leland, what are you doing?" Link asked.

"Okay, where is he?!" Greg shouted. "Come on out so I can throttle ya!"

"Greg!" Marcia shouted. "Honestly, you two read too many comic books!"

"All I said was that the door was on my side of the room," Leland said. "It's not my fault he was being immature about it!"

"Oh brother," Link mumbled. "All right you guys, cool it."

"Dad, why can't we have our own rooms?" Greg asked, as he climbed into his stool at the kitchen counter.

"I thought you liked sharing a room with your brother," Marcia said.

"Not since I got sick," Leland mumbled, as he climbed into his stool.

In response, Greg stuck his tongue out at Leland. Leland stuck his right back at Greg. Link and Marcia shook their heads.

"Did you ever have problems like this with your brothers?" Link asked.

"All the time," Marcia, who grew up with four older brothers, said as she rolled her eyes.

About a week went by. Things were pretty much the same as they had been since Leland came home from the hospital. However, things were about to change, and in a big way.

It was another Saturday. Leland and Greg were in the den, watching Saturday morning cartoons. Greg was laying on his stomach, shoveling Trix into his mouth, and Leland was sprawled out on the couch, listlessly. He had been holding the remote control a moment ago, but ended up dropping it on the floor, and he didn't have the energy to pick it up again. Link and Marcia walked into the room just then.

"Hey, guys we need to talk," Link said. He picked up the remote control and turned off the TV.

"What's going on?" Leland asked.

"Well, we both got calls from our offices," Marcia said, sitting down on the couch. "There have been some changes in both places."

"You guys weren't fired, were you?" Leland asked, sitting up. One of his worst nightmares was that one or both parents would end up losing their jobs.

"No," Link said. "Well, sort of."

"What happened?" Greg asked.

"Channel Eight has decided to use a new evening anchorman," Link said. "But there's good news."

"You saved a bunch of money on your car insurance by switching to Geico?" Greg asked.

"Oh brother," Leland groaned.

"No," Link said. "I've been moved to Channel Thirteen. I'm co-hosting a new morning talk show weekdays at ten o' clock."

"And I've been asked to switch from working part time to full time," Marcia said. "I've been promoted to sales manager at the store, but the stipulation is that I work there full time. That means your father and I will both be getting home around five o' clock in the evening."

"Okay," Leland said, slowly.

"Does that mean we have to take care of ourselves when we get home from school?" Greg asked, excitedly. "Yahoo!"

"Whoopee!" Leland shouted, nearly jumping off the couch.

"Uhh, not quite," Link said.

"But Montgomery Moose stays home alone with his little sister all the time," Leland said. "And he's the same age I am, and his sister's younger than Greg! And Julie Olsen's mom lets Julie and Tommy stay by themselves, and they've got a baby sister! Actually, most of the kids in my class don't need baby-sitters!"

"We know," Marcia said. "But there is that little incident last summer involving a pretend game of pirates, a match, and a hole in my carpet."

"But that was just an accident," Greg protested.

"Yeah, we needed to make the treasure map look old," Leland said.

"There's also the fact that Leland is not well enough to take care of both himself and you, Greg, by himself," Link said.

"But Dad . . . ." Leland started.

"No buts," Marcia said. "We've hired Cassie Hendrix to watch you boys from three to five every afternoon after school."

"Cassie Hendrix?!" Leland asked, but it came out more like a squeak. "Oh no, not her, Mom! Please not her!"

"Yeah, she's the worst baby-sitter we've ever had!" Greg shouted. "All she ever does is talk on the phone and watches TV!"

"Besides, I'm too old to have a baby-sitter!" Leland whined.

It was no use arguing. Starting Monday, Leland and Greg would be stuck with Cassie Hendrix, the fifteen-year-old girl down the block as their baby-sitter. And neither one was looking forward to it at all.

Monday rolled around. Leland was really dreading the end of the day. He did not want to go home to find Cassie Hendrix there. As a matter of fact, it was all he could think about. He sat on the steps at recess, just thinking it over. He barely noticed when the bell rang.

That afternoon, Leland and Greg got off the bus, and walked home as slowly as possible. Neither of them was in any big hurry. They finally made it to the front door, and went inside. Just as they had suspected, there was Cassie lounging on the couch, talking on the phone.

"So then, he said, like, he'll only go out with her if she wears a black leather mini-skirt," she said. "And you should have seen her face! Oh my gawd, she was, like, all, no way can you think that I'm gonna put on a mini-skirt for any guy! I mean, you know? If you ask me, she should have done it. Her wardrobe is a disaster, you know? I mean, like, she'll never get a date that way."

Leland and Greg glanced at each other, and then headed for the kitchen. Cassie watched them go, and turned back to the phone.

"Hey, listen, hold on just a sec," she said. "The little monsters just walked in. I gotta give one of 'em this medicine. How should I know which one? I'll figure it out though."

Leland rolled his eyes, walked into the kitchen, and climbed up into his stool. He opened his backpack and began working on his homework. Greg went into the den to watch TV. Cassie walked into the kitchen, and opened a medicine bottle.

"Do I give this to you or the other one?" she asked.

"Me," Leland said, not looking up from his homework.

Cassie took a pill out, and put it on top of Leland's books. Then, without so much as another word, she walked back into the living room to continue her gab fest.

"And Dad wonders why the phone bill has skyrocketed," Leland sighed. He hopped off the stool, filled a glass with water at the sink, and swallowed his pill. Then he went back to his homework as Cassie continued to talk on the phone.

For about a week and a half, Leland and Greg put up with Cassie, but always put up a fight over her with their parents every chance they could. Especially since Cassie did nothing but talk on the phone, invite her friends over, raid the refrigerator, watch TV, and sometimes, they would bring adult movies over, and half the time, they didn't even notice when Leland and Greg wandered into either the den or the basement (whichever room they happened to be watching them in), to try to get Cassie's attention. A lot of times, Leland and Greg saw the things Cassie and her friends were watching that weren't even seen in sex ed classes! Of course, the boys told Link and Marcia over and over again about it, but Cassie somehow made it look like the boys were overusing their imaginations.

One Saturday, however, nothing Cassie could have said would excuse her of what happened. Link and Marcia had to go out for the day to run some errands.

"We'll be gone most of the day," Marcia told Cassie as she and Link were getting ready to leave.

"Don't worry about a thing, Mrs. Lizard," Cassie said, in an overly cheerful voice. "Everything's going to be fine here!"

"Just make sure Leland takes it easy," Link said. "He and Greg have been telling us some wild stories whenever you're here."

"Boys will be boys, Mr. Lizard," Cassie said. Leland rolled his eyes.

Link and Marcia nodded, and then left. The minute their car pulled out of the driveway, Cassie raced to the phone and dialed it.

"It's obvious we're not going to do anything with her today," Leland said.

"Yep," Greg agreed with a nod.

"So . . . . . you wanna go do something?"

"Not with you."

And with that, Greg started towards the basement. Leland sighed, and went into the den to watch TV. About an hour later, Cassie walked into the den for a minute. She found Leland sprawled on the couch, flipping through the channels.

"Just making sure you're alive," she said. "Where's your brother?"

"Downstairs," Leland said.

Cassie nodded. She was about to go downstairs when the doorbell rang suddenly. Cassie ran for it. Greg came upstairs to check things out.

"Was that the doorbell?" he asked.

"Yep," Leland said. "Come on."

Leland and Greg went to the front door, and found Cassie talking to her friends, Betsy Taylor, Maura Langston, and Brandy Smith.

"No way, like no way!" Cassie shouted, holding a piece of paper in her hand. "How did you guys get tickets to the Out of Sync concert? It's been sold out for like weeks!"

"Oh it was easy!" Betsy shouted. "My dad knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who works at a radio station, and they got the tickets for us!"

Leland shook his head for a moment. That whole "guy who knows a guy" bit had made him dizzy!

"We'd better hit the mall," Maura said. "We've got to get the coolest outfits to wear for tonight's concert!"

"My dad's waiting in the car," Brandy said. "He'll drive us."

"I'm right behind you!" Cassie shouted. She grabbed her purse and was about to race out the door when Leland ran over and grabbed her hand.

"Hey, wait a minute," he said. "You can't leave. You're supposed to be baby-sitting."

"Well . . . ." Cassie said. "You're ten years old. You can take care of your brother by yourself! Gotta go!"

And with that, Cassie and her friends ran out of the house, squealing about the concert. Leland and Greg glanced at each other.

"What do we do now?" Greg asked.

"I guess we call another baby-sitter," Leland said. He went to the phone and began dialing. But as he finished tapping out the number, and the phone rang a couple of times, he suddenly put it back on the hook.

"What did you do that for?" Greg asked.

"We don't need a baby-sitter," Leland said. "All my classmates stay by themselves with their younger brothers and sisters all the time. If they can do it, so can we."

"Yeah, we don't need a baby-sitter!" Greg shouted, jumping up and down. "Just so long as we don't play pirates again."

Leland nodded. He also figured against trying to cook anything using the stove or the oven. For about an hour, Leland and Greg raided the refrigerator and cabinets and parked themselves in the den watching videos and stuffing their faces with potato chips, cookies, and ice cream.

"Isn't time you took your medicine?" Greg asked, as Leland stopped the tape they were watching.

"Yeah," Leland said. He walked into the kitchen, and Greg followed.

"How do those things work?" Greg asked, climbing on his stool while watching Leland opening his medicine bottle.

"I guess they're like Aspirin," Leland said, shrugging.

"Are they supposed to make your better?"

"I guess."

"Well, they're not working. Maybe you're not taking enough."

"Dr. Brackett told me to only take what he told me to take. He said that these pills are stronger than Aspirin."

"Yeah, but your assistant coach says that Dr. Brackett doesn't know what he's talking about half the time!"

"Well . . . . yeah . . . . and Mike is right about everything. Maybe Dr. Brackett doesn't know what he's talking about. He's not a pediatrician."

Leland poured some of the pills into his hand. He had about six or seven, and swallowed them in one gulp. He felt a little funny, but he didn't think much of it. He walked over to the refrigerator, took out a can of Ginger Ale, and opened it, thinking that would settle his stomach. Then, he and Greg went back to the den and put on another video. A half hour into it, Leland got up, and went to the kitchen.

"What're you doing?" Greg asked.

"I'm gonna get some Aspirin," Leland said. "I heard Mom tell a friend of hers that you can take like four at a time. But I'm really feeling bad, so maybe I should take eight, so it'll work faster."

"You're the pill expert," Greg said, with a shrug.

So Leland took the eight Aspirins. Then he went back to the den to finish up the video. About twenty minutes later, Leland stopped the tape, stood up, and staggered around the room for a moment or so.

"I don't feel so good," he said.

"You don't look so good," Greg said. "You'd better take a nap."

"Okay."

Leland somewhat staggered out of the den and into the bedroom, practically bumping into the walls on his way. He felt like he was treading Jello. Finally, he made it to the bedroom, and practically collapsed onto his bed. He figured he'd feel better after he woke up. He almost immediately fell asleep the minute he hit the bed.

A little while later, Greg went into check on his big brother. Leland was still sleeping, but Greg was getting a feeling that something was wrong. He walked over to Leland, climbed onto the bed, and stared directly at him. Leland usually knew when Greg was staring at him, waiting for him to wake up, which he absolutely hated. Usually he got up nearly immediately when Greg did this, but this time, he didn't even react.

"Leland, get up!" Greg shouted. That's when he noticed something else, too. Leland's breathing didn't sound right. It sounded shallow to him.

Greg ran out of the bedroom, and down the hall to the phone. He immediately dialed 911.

"Nine-One-One, what is the nature of your emergency?" the operator asked.

"My brother's breathing funny," Greg said. "He went to take a nap a little while ago, and now he won't wake up, and he's breathing really funny!"

"All right, calm down. How old is your brother?"

"Ten. And I'm six. He took his cancer pills, and then some Aspirin like a long time ago, and now he won't get up."

"All right, we'll send an ambulance over right away. Where do you live?"

Greg gave the operator his address, and was told to stay on the line until the ambulance came. It really didn't take too long, but it seemed like an eternity to Greg. The ambulance pulled up to the house, and paramedics Dan Jacobs and T.J. Wilcox came out of it. Greg practically threw the door open. He grabbed Dan by the hand, and practically dragged him inside.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry!" he shouted. "Something's wrong with my brother! He's breathing funny!"

"Okay, just calm down," Dan said. "Everything's going to be all right. Now tell me, where are your parents?"

"They went out," Greg said.

"They went out?" T.J. asked. "How old are you, and how old is your brother?"

"I'm six, and Leland's ten," Greg replied. "Leland has cancer, and he began to feel funny after he took his medicine. Then he took like eight Aspirins after about seven of his cancer pills."

"Can you show me the medicine bottle?" Dan asked. "T.J. will take care of your brother while we look and see what exactly he took. Other than the eight Aspirin."

Greg led T.J. into the kitchen, and gave him the bottle that held Leland's pills. Dan looked at it, and nodded.

"Okay, so your parents are out," Dan said. "And they left you guys alone?"

"No, they called a baby-sitter," Greg said. "But she left a long time ago."

"She left? You mean just like that?"

"Yeah, but Leland thought for sure he could take care of both of us by himself. Julie Olsen and Montgomery Moose stay by themselves all the time!"

Dan didn't say a word. He just raced down the hall into the bedroom. T.J. was checking Leland's vital signs, and he looked up at his partner when he came into the room.

"We're going to have to take him to Rampart," T.J. said.

"Way ahead of you," Dan said. Then he turned to Greg. "You're going to have to come with us, too. We can't leave you here by yourself."

Greg groaned. He didn't want to go to the hospital with Leland. But there was no other choice. There wasn't time to wait for another baby-sitter to arrive at the house. Leland needed medical attention and fast.

The ambulance arrived at Rampart General moments later. Dan and T.J. let Dr. Brackett and Dixie take over.

"We're going to have to pump his stomach," Dr. Brackett said. "What I would like to know is where his parents are."

"His little brother just said they were out," Dan said, shrugging. "They did get a baby-sitter, but apparently, she left."

"She left?!"

"All I know is what the other one told me."

Dr. Brackett groaned. He took a tube, and inserted it into Leland's mouth, and down his throat. Then he proceeded to suction out the contents of Leland's stomach. As he was doing that, Dixie went to talk to Greg about what happened.

"What's going on in there?" Greg asked when Dixie approached him.

"They're pumping your brother's stomach," Dixie explained. "It could take a little while, but Dr. Brackett has to take everything out of his stomach. Now, can you tell me what happened?"

"Well, we didn't think he was taking enough of his cancer medicine, because it didn't look like he was getting any better, so he took about six or seven pills at once. Then he took like eight Aspirin."

"How long ago was this?"

"I don't know. I can't tell time very good yet."

"I see. And your parents are out?"

"Yeah, they went shopping. And we had a baby-sitter, but she left us alone."

"I see."

Dixie then led Greg to the children's wing of the hospital, and told him to wait in the playroom. Then she tried calling the Lizards to see if they were home yet. She got their answering machine. She left a message, and decided to try again later. As she was filling out some paperwork, Mike came by.

"Hey Dix," he said. "Where's Dr. Feelbad?"

"Pumping a stomach," Dixie said.

"Sounds glamorous. Anybody I know?"

"Leland Lizard."

"WHAT?! How?! When?! What happened?!"

"Well, according to his little brother, Leland took one too many pills today. And before you say anything, their parents are out, and their baby-sitter just up and left them alone."

"Oh for cryin' out . . . ."

And with that, Mike started storming out of the hospital. Dixie stared at him.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"I'm gonna track down Lee's parents and fill them in!" Mike called over his shoulder.

Dixie sighed. She wondered about Mike sometimes.

Luckily, Mike didn't have to go too far to track down Link and Marcia. At least Link. They ran into each other at the front door, literally.

CRASH!

"Hey watch where you're . . . ." Mike started, until he realized who it was. "What are you doin' here so soon?"

"We came home and checked the answering machine," Link said. "Where's Leland?"

"I was just comin' to get you about that," Mike said. "After Dix told me what happened, I was gonna use my sixth sense and track ya down. I just got here myself, and as far as I know, he's still havin' his stomach pumped."

"Not anymore," Dr. Brackett said, coming over. "We managed to get all the drugs out of Leland's system. I want to know what possessed him to take more medicine than prescribed."

"Well, don't look at me, I wasn't there," Mike said, shrugging.

"And where, Mr. Lizard, may I ask where you when this happened?" Dr. Brackett asked.

"My wife and I had to take care of a few errands," Link said. "But we called a baby-sitter and . . ."

"And she up and left accordin' to Dixie," Mike said.

"She WHAT?!" Link shouted. "Oh great. That's just great."

"Come on," Dr. Brackett said. "We've admitted Leland to a room. I want to keep him overnight for observation. You can go see him now."

"What about Greg?" Link asked. "Is he here?"

"Yes, he's here," Dr. Brackett said. "The paramedics brought him in, since they couldn't leave him home alone, and there wasn't enough time to get another baby-sitter."

Link felt extremely exasperated. He and Mike followed Dr. Brackett to the children's wing. They retrieved Greg from the playroom and went to see Leland. He was awake, just extremely disoriented.

"Hey Lee," Mike said. "What's shakin'?"

"How'd I get to the hospital?" Leland asked, extremely confused.

"I called nine-one-one 'cause you were breathing funny," Greg said. "I didn't know what else to do."

"Your brother said you took too many pills," Dr. Brackett said. "We had to pump your stomach."

"Ew," Leland grimaced.

"Yeah, Dad, he took seven of his cancer pills and then eight Aspirins!" Greg shouted.

"Good grief, no wonder they had to pump your stomach!" Mike shouted.

"Leland, whatever possessed you to do something that stupid?" Link asked. "Dr. Brackett told you the amount of pills to take, and you have to follow that!"

"Well, we thought the pills weren't doing anything," Leland said. "So I thought if I took more, they would work better. And we didn't think Dr. Brackett knew what he was talking about, because Mike says he doesn't know what he's talking about, and Mike is usually right about everything."

"Oh he is, is he?" Dr. Brackett said, giving Mike a Look.

"Heh, heh," Mike said, turning a very pleasant shade of pink. "Well, I didn't mean that you didn't know what you were talkin' about. I mean . . . ."

Dr. Brackett just shook his head. It was sort of gratifying for him to see Mike squirm, but he couldn't relish in it too much right then and there.

"Just be sure you never take too many pills like that again," Dr. Brackett said to Leland. "I know Mike thinks I don't know what I'm talking about, but there are times when he doesn't know what he's talking about."

Mike cleared his throat, laughed nervously, and started to leave. Link shook his head and sighed.

"Sometimes I wonder about him," he said.

"So where's Mom?" Leland asked.

"She's at home, chewing out Cassie's parents," Link said.

"We tried to warn you, Dad," Greg replied. "She's a bad baby-sitter!"

"We'll talk about this later," Link said. "It's been a long day."

Leland was released the next afternoon. Marcia and Link were calling everybody they knew, trying to line up a weekday afternoon baby-sitter. Nobody was available. At least that's what they said. In actuality, nobody at all wanted to baby-sit the Lizard boys. They were not bad kids, it was just that Greg was energetic, and mischievous. So was Leland to an extent. Before he got leukemia, that is. The Lizards had gotten baby-sitters for them while Leland was on treatments. Most baby-sitters refused to come back after one afternoon with Leland and Greg before Leland had cancer. It was the same here, except Greg used even more energy than he normally would have, since he was resentful about Leland receiving so much attention, and he would let it out whenever and however he could. And then there was Leland, who would usually just lay on the couch, like a lump. He didn't have the energy to do anything. Combine that with an over-energetic six-year-old, especially since the baby-sitter needed to be two places at once, and obviously couldn't, it was enough to drive anyone batty.

"This isn't going to be easy," Link said, as he finished calling the last teenage baby-sitter he knew.

"What about the neighbors?" Marcia asked. "Maybe Diane Olsen would agree to . . . ."

"She has had Greg at her house for months after school, when Leland was in the hospital. Tommy has ten times more energy than Greg, and put those two together . . . . Diane said she could barely handle those two, plus Julie, plus the new baby."

"Well, Liam and Rebecca Moose . . . . ."

"They're not home when Montgomery and his sister get home from school, and neither are the Cats, the Rabbits, or the Powers."

"What about the Olsen's niece?"

"I don't think so. Remember, we tried getting her to sit for us before all this happened? Diane said that she wasn't going to let her niece baby-sit for us again. If I remember correctly, the boys got into one mess after another."

"Not on purpose, Dad!" Leland shouted. He and Greg had heard the conversation. "I still think we can handle being alone."

"No!" both Marcia and Link shouted in unison.

"You proved that you two can't handle yourselves alone," Link said. "What with that little incident with your pills, Leland."

Leland and Greg groaned. Then they watched their parents make some more phone calls. This was definitely not going to be easy. Finally, in a last ditch effort, Marcia called Jerry.

"Leland has told me time and time again about the energy you have," she said. "So we thought maybe you'd be better at keeping up with Greg with this new energy he has."

"You want me to baby-sit every day from three to five," Jerry said, running through his schedule mentally. He had his radio show, his commitments to Screen Gems, his singing career, choreography work to do, and the softball team.

"Well, Mrs. Lizard, as much as I'd like to help out, I can't," he said. "I've got so much on my plate already, and my wife is always worried I'm going to have a nervous breakdown one of these days. But hold on a sec, I still might be able to help you. Hey, Linda!"

"Yeah, Jer?" Linda asked, walking into the room.

"You interested in a baby-sitting job?" Jerry asked, holding his hand over the phone receiver.

"Maybe," Linda said. "What have you got?"

"Every day after school, three to five, for the Lizards."

"Oh no. Laurie Partridge used to baby-sit for those two, and she vowed never to do it again."

"Oh come on, Leland is not all that bad! I wouldn't know about his brother, though."

"Yeah, I know, I know, but still, Laurie warned me never to baby-sit those two if I valued my sanity."

Jerry shrugged, turned back to the phone, and told Marcia that he couldn't talk Linda into the baby-sitting job. Marcia had one other option. She called Mike.

"I've heard the horror stories from Laurie Partridge," Mike said. "I could probably handle Lee and Greg, but the truth is, I have no time to spare. But maybe my cousin can give it a whirl."

"I'll try anything. Tell her I'll pay her a hundred dollars for just one afternoon. Then five dollars an hour, plus extra if we need weekends, or anything later than five on weekdays."

"Gotcha."

Mike hung up, and went upstairs. Sabrina, Hilda, and Zelda were visiting California for a few months, and they were unpacking their things.

"Hey, Sabs," Mike said. "I gotcha a baby-sittin' job."

"Oh no," Zelda groaned. "Mike, baby-sitting is not Sabrina's strongest suit."

"Everytime she baby-sits, something happens," Hilda said. "Like the time she turned a baby into an old man."

"And the time her cousin Amanda turned her into a doll," Zelda said.

"Plus I've heard stories about these kids from Laurie Partridge," Sabrina said.

"Mrs. Lizard's offerin' a hundred bucks for tomorrow afternoon, and then five bucks an hour, plus overtime and weekends if needed."

"Sold!" Sabrina shouted.

"I hope those kids know what they're getting into," Zelda said.

Mike glared at his aunt and turned to Sabrina. He told her that Link and Marcia wanted her to come over that day so she could familiarize herself with the house, and such. They also had some instructions, since neither of them would be able to do it on Monday. In any case, Mike drove her down there.

"So what exactly am I getting into?" Sabrina asked.

"You know Julie Olsen?" Mike asked.

"Yeah?"

"And have you met her brother?"

"Yeah, the hyperactive six-year-old."

"Just divide Tommy's energy by ten, and you've got Leland's little brother. And he may be a little hostile, but that's just 'cause he's jealous. But I'm sure you can handle it with the finger."

Sabrina wasn't so sure she wanted to take this gig after what Mike said, but there was no way out of it. In any case, they arrived, and Mike rang the doorbell. Link answered it.

"Thanks for agreeing to this," he said. "We're really up a creek."

"I heard stories from Laurie Partridge," Sabrina admitted. "Are your kids as bad as she says they are?"

"These days, Greg is," Link said. "I'm not going to lie to you, Sabrina, but Greg has become very hard to handle. We know he's jealous of all the attention Leland's been getting, but really, there isn't much we can do about it."

"So when do I get to meet them?"

"Right now."

Link led Sabrina into the den. Greg was sitting on the floor, racing around his Hot Wheels cars. Leland was, as usual, sprawled out on the couch, watching a video.

"This is what I was afraid of?" Sabrina asked. "Look at them. One of them's just a regular boy, and the other just sits there doing nothing. This is going to be a piece of cake!"

"Don't bet on it," Mike said. "Hey, Lee, I want you and Greg to meet somebody."

"How come you always call him Lee?" Greg asked.

"'Cause Leland is a clunk of a name for a kid," Mike replied. "Anyway, this is my cousin Sabrina from Massachusetts."

"She's going to be your baby-sitter," Link said. "We thought we'd invite her over so you all can get to know each other."

There wasn't much to say after that. Leland and Greg looked at her. She seemed nice enough, but they weren't so sure they were going to trust another baby-sitter after the Cassie Hendrix incident.

"Well, why don't we leave Sabrina and the boys alone for awhile?" Mike asked. "That way, they can get to know each other a little better."

"And the boys won't put on an act," Link said. "Don't be fooled, Sabrina. Greg can be very mischievous if he wants to be. So can Leland to an extent."

"Yeah, but Leland doesn't do anything anymore," Greg replied.

And with that, Mike, Link, and Marcia left to go catch a movie or something like that. Sabrina and the boys hit a small standstill.

"So what do you guys want to do?" she asked.

"Nothin'," Leland shrugged.

"He's always too tired," Greg said. "And just 'cause he doesn't do anything anymore, he gets all the attention and stuff. I don't think it's fair."

"I can't help it!" Leland screamed, for what seemed like the five zillionth time since he was diagnosed.

"Okay, you guys, don't start an argument," Sabrina said. "Let's settle this the easy way. Leland, you don't want to do anything, Greg, you want to do something, right?"

"Right," Leland said.

"Right," Greg nodded.

"I think it'll be easier to keep an eye on you guys if you both are in the same room, so, Leland, you can just stay where you are and watch TV, and Greg, you and I can play a board game or something."

"Works for me," Leland said.

"Yeah, I'll go get a game," Greg said.

Sabrina smiled. One crisis was averted.

"I don't see why Laurie was making such a big deal over this," she said to herself. "This is going to be a piece of cake!"

So for the rest of the afternoon, Sabrina and Greg played an assortment of board games (they played everything from Mousetrap to Monopoly), and Leland just watched TV. He ended up dozing off after fifteen minutes, though. Sabrina only woke him up once to give him his medicine.

"Your parents told me about the hospital incident," she said. "They are now monitoring your pill intake."

"Gee, you make one little mistake, and they hold it over your head," Leland mumbled.

Sabrina ignored him, gave him his pill, and then went back to Monopoly with Greg. The rest of the afternoon went by rather slowly. Mike, Link, and Marcia returned after awhile. They found Greg and Sabrina ending a game of Clue.

"How can you play that with just two players?" Mike asked.

"It ain't easy," Sabrina replied.

"You've been hangin' around me too long," Mike said. "You're startin' to pick up on my bad grammar."

"So how did everything go?" Marcia asked.

"Fine," Sabrina said. "Leland didn't want to do anything, and Greg just wanted some attention, so I just let Leland sit on the couch and watch TV, and Greg and I played some board games."

"So where's Leland now?" Link asked.

"Sleeping," Greg said, shuffling the cards to play again. "He's tired. Again."

"Yeah, he dozed off after awhile," Sabrina said. "So we just let him stay there for awhile, and then I moved him to the bedroom."

Link and Marcia nodded, paid Sabrina the hundred dollars, and sat down for a game of Clue with Greg. Mike and Sabrina left.

"So how was it?" Mike asked.

"Not a problem," Sabrina said. "If Leland never wants to do anything, it'll be easy! Just let him sit around, and then give Greg some attention. Greg's upset that Leland's getting all the attention, so if I give some to Greg, I can avoid a fight."

"But you'd still have to pay attention to Leland."

"Oh, I'll do that if he needs me."

Mike nodded, and he and Sabrina went to the Hound Dog for a milkshake.

On Monday after school, Sabrina was waiting for the boys. Greg raced for the refrigerator, and Leland just climbed into his stool and just sat there.

"So how was school?" Sabrina asked.

"Eh," both Leland and Greg said in unison.

"It would have been better if we didn't get any homework," Greg grumbled.

"Been there," Sabrina replied. "You guys need any help with it?"

"Nah," Greg said. He picked up his stuff, and went to the bedroom to work on it. Leland pulled his books out and started on his.

"How about you?" Sabrina asked.

"I'll let you know," Leland said, shrugging. He still was wary about baby-sitters. He knew this was Mike's cousin, but he still wasn't going to trust another one for as long as he lived.

A couple of days went by. Sabrina spent most of her baby-sitting time with Greg. That suited Leland fine. He could finally get his little brother off his case over getting attention. By Friday, Sabrina had become pretty much a staple part of the Lizards' lives.

"I don't see why Laurie Partridge made such a big deal over this," Sabrina said as she was playing Go Fish with Greg. Leland was just watching TV.

"That's because he doesn't want to be around me anymore," Leland said, eyes glued to the TV screen. "He knows cancer isn't contagious but he still doesn't want to get my germs!"

"Well, you're no fun anymore," Greg said. "All you ever do is sleep, and when you're not sleeping, you're too tired to do anything. You never want to play anymore!"

"You're no fun, either," Leland said. "All you ever do is complain that I get most of the attention, which I can't help! And you're the one who never wants to play!"

"You think you're so special just 'cause you're sick!"

"Oh give it a rest, Greg!"

Greg stuck his tongue out at Leland, and Leland stuck his out right back at him. Sabrina sighed, and began dealing the cards for another game of Go Fish.

"I think I now know why Laurie Partridge made a big deal over baby-sitting you guys," she said.

Another week went by. Sabrina used her linen closet in Massachusetts and Mike's basement to get to California for her baby-sitting job. That was one thing she liked about being a witch. She could go drop in on Mike without spending money on airfare. In any case, the baby-sitting job was starting to turn into a routine. When she got out of school in Westbridge, she'd head for the linen closet, and then get to LA and into Mike's basement. Then she would go to the Lizards house and let herself in (Marcia and Link had a set of keys made for her so she could get into the house before Leland and Greg got home from school). When the boys got home from school, she would help either of them with their homework, if they needed it, and spend a little time with them. Although she was giving more attention to Greg than she was to Leland. Leland was deliberately avoiding her like the plague. Sabrina knew it was because he didn't trust her. She didn't blame him, though, after the Cassie Hendrix incident.

In any case, that Friday was about as normal as the past week had been. Sabrina and Greg were sitting on the floor in the den, playing a video game, and Leland was on the couch watching them. After a few minutes, he got up, and started towards the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" Sabrina asked, looking over for a minute.

"The kitchen," Leland said, shrugging.

"You're not going to take your medicine, are you?"

"No. I'm just thirsty."

"Want some help?"

"No way! I can do it myself! I'm not a baby, and I don't need a baby-sitter!"

And with that, Leland stormed into the kitchen. That was a little surprising to Greg. Leland was usually pretty soft spoken. This was the first time he had ever seen his brother blow up like that. But Sabrina wasn't going to let that slide. She put the game on pause and followed Leland into the kitchen. Leland was opening the cabinet when she walked in.

"Are you sure you don't want any help?" she asked.

"I can handle it," Leland said. "Just because I'm sick, my parents don't think I can do anything anymore."

Sabrina shrugged, and walked back into the den to continue the video game. It was quiet for a few minutes until the sound of breaking glass rang out from the kitchen.

"What was that?" Greg asked.

"Let's go check it out," Sabrina said.

The two of them wandered into the kitchen, and saw Leland sitting on the floor, among shards of broken glass. He was holding his hands over his knee, obviously trying to hide something.

"Whoa!" Sabrina shouted. "What happened in here?"

"Oooh, are you gonna get it, Leland!" Greg shouted.

"Nothing happened," Leland said.

"Doesn't look like nothing to me," Sabrina said. "What were you doing?"

Leland didn't answer. Sabrina sighed, and pointed her index finger. Her magic cleaned up the mess, and restored the broken glass to the way it was, and it turned out to be a couple of broken glasses.

"Let me guess," she said. "You were reaching for a glass and you knocked a couple off."

"Something like that," Leland said. He finally moved his hands from his knee, and stood up. Sabrina looked and saw a huge gash there.

"Leland!" she shouted. "What in the world have you been doing in here, anyway?"

"Okay, okay," Leland said. "I couldn't reach the glasses, so I climbed up onto the counter to get them, but I lost my balance, knocked two of the glasses off the shelf, fell on the floor, and my knee hit the glass."

"I give you points for not screaming," Sabrina said. "That must have hurt though. Come on. We'd better get this cleaned up before your parents get home."

Leland groaned. Sabrina took him by the hand, and walked with him into the bathroom. She was only thankful that the cut on his knee looked worse than it actually was. She washed it off, and then was about to put on the peroxide when Leland nearly raced out of the bathroom. He absolutely hated peroxide. Sabrina pointed her index finger and the door closed, and locked for the time being.

"Oh no you don't," she said. "Come on, the faster we do this, the faster we can do something else."

Leland groaned, and walked back over to Sabrina, and allowed her to administer the peroxide. He winced a bit, but remained silent.

"So what would have Cassie done in this situation?" Sabrina asked, as she placed a band aid over Leland's cut.

"Probably nothing," Leland shrugged. "She's the worst."

"So I've heard."

Leland talked a little more about Cassie. He told Sabrina that she would watch these movies that were really weird (and he went into great detail about them), and how she just up and left that day Leland overdosed on his pills.

"Yeah, she was a bad baby-sitter," Sabrina said. "Come on, let's go do something with your brother."

"Sure I guess," Leland said shrugging.

Sabrina was thankful for this. At least Leland was starting to trust her.

A couple of months went by. January came. Things were a little better with Leland. He was feeling a lot better, and he and Greg were getting along a little better than they had been. Sabrina still baby-sat after school. Leland still wasn't deliriously happy about having a baby-sitter, but there wasn't anything he could do about it.