The end of Winter of 1978, Clive Mauer made us have a meeting, and announced that Piper Warner and California Barnes would be old enough to start acting in the following Fall. Of course, Piper and Cali were excited. They jumped up in the air and yelled, “Yes!!!”

Gabe Diamond and Tommy Paterson tried not to laugh at them, and Cali noticed and quietly said, “Oh, sorry. I got so excited.”

Tommy gave her a big smiled, “We noticed…” Cali’s face turned red, and Tommy continued, “It is okay, though.”

California’s face lit up, and Tommy finished, “We can understand it is exciting stuff for you… You will be moving up one step higher in a few months.”

Piper and Cali gleamed. The rest of us girls couldn’t wait until it was our turns to start acting, and bump up one step higher from our performing experiences. I knew that Karmen, Crystal, and I will have our chances to start acting the year after.

During the last of Spring of 1979, the parents had a meeting with Clive Mauer and Lance Flame about Plus Ten’s education. Piper’s mother wanted her daughter to continue going to a private school. The rest of the parents wanted us to go to public school, so we could build our social skills along with getting an positive education.

Piper was starting the second grade, Cali was starting the first grade, and the rest of us were entering Kindergarten.

A few days before school started, I knew that Stephanie, Karmen, and E.M. would be in my class. I was excited to have some of the girls from Plus Ten be with me. Even though E.M. was not five years old yet, she was allowed to start school.

Karmen and E.M. were the first to arrive in the Kindergarten classroom. Karmen was very nervous about meeting new kids. She also felt she had to be protective of E.M. for being so young. Karmen prowled around the room letting every kid know that they could not disrespect her. E.M. stood by the doorway not knowing where to go or what to say. She was hoping that the teacher would walk up to her and show her the way.

I was next, and I was nervous, but excited about entering a new life. My hair was still short, but the waves in my hair was starting to show. I was hoping that nobody thought I was a boy. I didn’t wear dresses at school, because I hated them, they were too girly-girl for my taste in clothing. As I walked around in the classroom, I noticed a small school desk with my name on it, “Kelly Sands”. I automatically sat down and watched the rest of the kids walking in the classroom.

Stephanie was the last one to arrive and she had a frown on her face. The teacher led her to her desk, which was across from mine. I was happy to see that she got to sit close to me. I happily said, “Hi Stephanie.”

“Leave me alone”, Stephanie grunted as she folded her arms firmly.

At the time, I didn’t know if Stephanie didn’t want to be my friend or if she was just in a bad mood. I didn’t talk to her the rest of the day.

A couple weeks later, Stephanie Jones’s mother had to go to work early in the morning and couldn’t help her get ready for school. The mother worked as a nurse’s aide in the hospital. Stephanie’s father had to fix her long hair. He figured putting her hair into two long tails would be simple and cute. He tied gold cotton ribbons in her hair. The tails were uneven and Stephanie was too embarrassed to go to school. The father struggled getting his daughter to go to school, and tossed her into the car and rushed to school. Stephanie, once again, frowned walking into the classroom. She didn’t talk to any of the kids for a long time.