Collin was one of fifty people at Jake's birthday party. That night, Jordan saw Collin leaving with a DSi stiking out of his back pocket. That same night, someone stole Jake's DSi out of his bedroom. Jordan began spreading rumors about Collin being the thief.

Jaiden knew it was finally time to talk to his mom about the boys on the bus. Every day was the same: Jaiden would get on the bus and sit down. At the next bus stop when the boys got on, they would walk up to him, grab his backpack and shout, "Hey! This seat is reserved, kid!" It didn't matter where he sat, it was the same thing happening day after day.

Lucy looked up at her big sister. "Barney, please!" she said sweetly. Sophia looked down and tried to ignore her. Austin and Alley was still on for another twenty minutes and it was her favorite show. She really, really did not want to turn it off in exchange for Barney. Lucy crawled into Sophia's lap, gave her a hug, and said, "Love you!"

The baby looked down at her plate of food. She was starving, but the small fly nibbling on her macaroni and cheese made her shriek. "Fly! Fly! Fly!" she shouted. Her mom shooed the bug away, but it just kept coming back. Soon, the baby was in a fit of tears, sad that her macaroni was being tainted by this little bug.

Arianna made it a goal for herself to stop waiting until the last minute to do things. Each time she procrastinated, she felt bad, so she was committed to changing. The problem was that the television, the video games and playing with friends outside all sounded better than doing her math project. She debated with herself about whether or not she should start it since it was due in only a week, but as she looked out at the blazing sun, she knew what the answer would be.

Eugin and his father had been playing chess since he was young enough to understand the game. He wanted nothing more than to form a chess club at his middle school. When he went to the principal, though, he said that the school didn't have enough money to sponsor a club, and there wasn't a teacher who could help them run the club. Eugin and his family sat down to begin brainstorming how they could pull it off.

Jackie had always been a little bit different than her friends. Instead of playing with dolls as a little girl, she had preferred cars and trucks. Rather than wearing a dress for picture day, she always wore a sports t-shirt and jeans. Some of the girls in her class made fun of her when she chose to play hockey instead of ballet or softball, but Jackie didn't care. She knew what she loved, and it didn't matter what anyone else thought.

Even when dad tried to lock the lid of the trash can, wild animals still got into it and left a mess strewn about. They even had a separate trash can for food they shut tightly and stacked high, but it didn't matter. Living near a forest was wonderful, except for the smell of trash that lingered from the animal's midnight feasts!

Medley's parents had always told her that she shouldn't smack when she was chewing her food. She said she couldn't help it, but her dad said she was lazy. It didn't really bother her until the other kids started moving away from her at the lunch table.

Carter always turned in fantastic work. His handwriting was perfect, his answers were always right, and it was always turned in on time. Even though his teacher was constantly telling him what an incredible student he was, he still felt like he wasn't good enough.

Lucas sat in the back seat of the car watching his mom and dad argue about which way they should turn. Mom was convinced that the movie theater was two blocks to the right, but dad was sure that it was three blocks to the left. They bickered and argued until dad firmly said, "Listen. I'm driving! We will go my way!"

Mom told Ashley that she wasn't going to help her keep her room clean anymore, since she always messed it up again anyways. Instead of putting her clothes away for her, Mom piled them up outside the door. Instead of organizing her art supplies, she dumped them into a bucket and left it in the middle of her room. Ashley was annoyed that her mom wasn't helping her anymore, and she decided to not clean her room until it drove her mom SO crazy that she would come clean it herself.

When Mira found out that they would be moving to Hawaii, she was thrilled! She couldn't wait to live on the beach and always have the sun shining on her back. It wasn't until she told her best friend about the move that she realized that it might not be so exciting. Mira couldn't decide if the beach and the sun were worth leaving her friends and the mountains of Colorado.

The sixth graders from Northside Middle School were headed to a field trip in the mountains. A torrential downpour and flash flood warnings put a damper on their plans. Instead of a field trip to the mountains, it was like they would be going on a field trip to a river. Just before the bus left the school parking lot, the trip was cancelled.

The character struggles against an outside force

A struggle within the character's own mind