8If it had not been for Suellen, 12 year-old Loretta may never have gotten the role of Toto the dog in the school's spring play--not that getting that role, or any role, was of paramount importance to her. But Suellen's friendship was. Loretta's earlier attempt at acting had ended in a catastrophe that not only shook her confidence in performing, but in herself as well. It also made her the butt of jokes and taunts from the other students. She responded by going on the offensive, by becoming the misfit, the goof-off that she was accused of being. But she wasn't just any class clown; she was the most outrageous one anybody could imagine! And she began to revel in her new-found notoriety. Loretta's principal and teachers in the New Orleans middle school barely tolerated her antics though many students thought them hilarious. But Suellen's patience soon ran out and their friendship began to slip away. In desperation, Suellen issued a final challenge to her, a challenge that would define her and their friendship for the future.