A/N: Well, this is yet another Cricket story. She's my favorite to write if you haven't figured that out yet. This is her life around when she's in junior high. Deals with what happened around the time her parents separated. Hope you guys enjoy! Please leave me a review and let me know!

HILLSIDE JUNIOR HIGH
MONDAY MORNING

Amanda had found out quickly that Cricket got to spend the rest of the weekend at the ranch with her daddy, and it made her angry. She and cricket got into a fight and Amanda decided that Cricket wasn't allowed to spend time with her anymore because she was always stealing her parents. This really upset Cricket and she tried really hard to hide it in as she walked away to her next class.

About halfway through her class Cricket was struggling to concentrate and she was really tired because she and her dad had gotten back really late the night before. She put her head down on her desk and struggled to stay awake. A few minutes later she didn't realize she'd let out a small whimper because she was upset about what had happened with Amanda. Her teacher came by her desk and gently rubbed her back, "Cricket…"

The preteen jumped at the touch and shot up. A few kids started to laugh and a tear pricked her eye. "sorry…" she sighed, and looked down at her worksheet.

"what's wrong Cricket?" the woman asked, she knew what the young girl had been through and she could see that Cricket was really struggling.

The preteen sniffled and her teacher continued to rub her back. Cricket finally looked up at the woman but the words wouldn't come. Her best friend had basically said they weren't friends anymore and she wasn't sure why. She usually went to Delilah if she was fighting with Amanda but she couldn't do that anymore and she just wanted her mom.

Her teacher could see the sadness and confusion in the young girl's face and sighed, "come outside with me for a minute so we can talk"

Cricket just sighed and followed her teacher out into the hallway. She just wanted a hug from her mom, but she would never get one. She knew she couldn't talk to Elizabeth and Troy either because Amanda was mad at her. She was struggling not to cry because her dad had said it wasn't right to cry in public. "I…I'm fine…."

"you sure?" the blond woman asked, she could tell Cricket was really struggling and needed a friend.

Cricket just couldn't hold in her tears anymore and let out a sob. Her teacher took her hands and squeezed them. "it's okay Cricket, you can talk to me"

She wasn't sure if she could say she wanted her mom. Her dad often got mad when she did, so she just decided not to. "'Manda…. Said…. We're not friends anymore" she whimpered. It was part of why she was upset but she just couldn't tell the whole truth.

Her teacher sighed, that was the last thing Cricket needed, to lose her mom and best friend. "did she tell you why?"

The preteen just shook her head. She didn't really think that she had done anything wrong. So she was really upset. Her teacher was glad she'd remembered that she had Amanda the next class period and she would talk to the girl. "n…no" Cricket whimpered.

"well, I have Amanda in my next class. I'm gonna talk to her and see if she'll tell me why, alright" the blond woman suggested.

Cricket just nodded, and hung her head. She was really tired, upset, and confused. "mmk"

Her teacher knelt down and looked up at her, "what else is wrong kiddo?"

She couldn't help the big yawn that escaped, and she just cried more. Her teacher could tell she was having a really hard time, so she wrapped the dark haired girl in a hug. Cricket just crumbled when her teacher hugged her and she continued to sob.

One of Cricket's other teachers was walking down the hallway and heard the young girl's sobs. She sighed when she saw how upset Cricket was. She walked up to her teacher, "everything okay?"

"I'll explain later. Watch my class for me, I'm gonna take her down to the nurse so she can calm down" Cricket's teacher replied, rubbing the young girl's back. The teacher nodded and went into the classroom.

Cricket whimpered, "don't take me to the nurse"

"you'll feel better, you need some rest" the woman replied.

The young girl just sighed and gave in. She wasn't in the mood to argue and let her teacher guide her to the nurses office. Cricket regretted her decision when she saw Mrs. Reilly sitting at the desk. She forgot Blake's mom worked at the school, and she'd tell her daddy that she was crying at school.

The woman smiled, "hey Cricket, what's goin on?"

The preteen just looked down at her feet and shrugged, but her teacher explained things to the woman and she nodded. Her teacher smiled at her, "we just want you to lay down for a few minutes, alright. it's gonna be okay"

Cricket sat down on one of the beds and started swinging her feet back and forth. All she wanted was her mom but she wasn't going to ever get that. Her teacher mentioned something about bringing her backpack to the office but she didn't really pay attention as the woman was leaving.

Mrs. Reilly sat down by Cricket, "what happened kiddo?"

Cricket just shrugged, "'Manda's mad at me, and I don't really know why….."

"what did she say to you?" the woman asked, handing the young girl a tissue.

"that… I was stealing her momma…. And I couldn't hang out with her anymore…." Cricket didn't quite understand what Amanda meant by that, but Elizabeth was always so nice to her that she wanted to be around the woman when she was having a bad day.

The woman just sighed, "you're not stealing her momma. Blake told me you hang out at Amanda's all the time and I know you talk to her momma at church a lot"

"but now I can't…." Cricket cried. All she wanted was a mom, and she knew her dad wouldn't find someone new.

"yeah, you can. But do you wanna try tellin me what's on your mind now?" the woman asked.

Cricket gulped, she wasn't sure what kind of reaction she'd get when she said she missed her mom, but she was gonna try anyways. "I… miss my momma…."

The nurse sighed, she now knew why Cricket was having such a hard time. She wrapped an arm around the young girl, "have you told anyone else that?"

Cricket shook her head no. Her daddy got so mad when she brought it up, she didn't know why. "daddy Bo gets mad…."

The older woman sighed, she would be calling Clint as soon as she calmed Cricket down. The young girl was grieving and needed to know that her father cared enough. "what does he do when he's mad?" Christine was a little worried, she didn't think Clint would ever lay a hand on his daughter, but since she was a school nurse, she had to be sure.

Cricket just cries, "yells. Tells me it doesn't matter and she's just gone"

Christine decided that Cricket had never been back to the gravesite to see her mom. She thought that it might help the preteen if she did go to see that there was somewhere she could visit her mom. She also had a feeling Clint hadn't explained that concept to the young girl either, and it was a big part of why she was so upset.

She just rubbed the preteen's back, "shhh, that's not true. It's okay to be sad, and to miss her. it's okay to share your feelings, so we can help you"

Cricket clung to the woman, when she was mad at Amanda or upset about something her mom would just hold her and they'd watch a Disney movie. She missed that, and she felt a lot better when Amanda's dad let her watch Cinderella with him. She thought maybe Blake's mom would do the same thing, but she knew there wasn't a TV in the nurse's office, and she needed to go back to class.

The woman knew the young girl was hurting, so she just held her. She started to gently rock the young girl in hopes of calming her down. Cricket missed being held by her mom she decided she wasn't going to fight and let Christine hold her. She was finally able to stop crying but then she realized she was so tired from crying. She rested her head on Christine's shoulder and whimpered.

Christine smiled when she realized Cricket was starting to calm down, but she continued to hold the young girl, just so she wouldn't be upset again. Cricket leaned into the woman and closed her eyes. She didn't want to talk anymore and just wanted to sleep without a bad dream. The woman could tell that Cricket just needed some rest and attention.

She brushed Cricket's hair away from her eyes and started rubbing her back. A few minutes later she looked down at Cricket's face and realized the young girl was asleep. She stayed with her for about ten minutes and then laid her down and covered her up.

She wanted to call Clint, but she wasn't sure if she should with Cricket sleeping so close. She just sighed, and continued to do some paperwork, while she watched the young girl sleep.

A/N: Sorry about the wait, I've been busy with school. But I realized this chapter was nearly done so I decided to go ahead and finish it!