For some strange reason, Lucy and Tom suddenly disappeared. It seemed like they must have dropped out of school. But Melody knew the truth.

Her cousins, with no guardian left (their father flatly refused to take them in), had been left in foster care. Although Melody's cousins hadn't treated her well, she pitied them.

After a number of weeks, Marjorie stopped her emo act. Her hair went back to it's natural light brown colour and she started wearing her school uniform again. She even told Melody why she chose to act that way.

"I have always been pressured by my parents to act perfect. It was suffocating, and they basically disowned me after that party scandal. Luckily my grandmother took me in. Good thing that this year's school fees have already been paid, otherwise I would have to leave. I tried expressing my anger through being rebellious, but that only made me feel even more unhappy. I wasn't truly being myself. I'm not a perfect princess, but I'm not an emo either."

"What are you then?" asked Melody.

"I'm smart. And I like swimming. I wouldn't mind being a swimming instructor one day. Or a teacher."

"I think that it's a noble goal," said Melody.

Melody couldn't help thinking about her cousins. She didn't want them to be mistreated like she had been. What if one of them died next? She couldn't let that happen.

One day, Melody got her answer, though not in a way she would expect. Her class went on a field trip to some upper-class home. But she was asthonished to find out that all the servants were children.

Lord Dupont was a very stingy businessman who had many foster children. But it seemed like they weren't enjoying their lives at all. They were treated poorly and had to be his servants instead of enjoying their childhood. Some of them even wished that they lived in an orphanage.

Stephanie shook her head. "This isn't right. He's horrible. I don't know how..."

Melody peeked into the kitchen. She gasped to see three girls cooking there. Among them was Lucy.

Melody gasped, her rosebud mouth open wide. She couldn't believe that Lucy was wearing a ragged dress and was forced to cook for a foster parent. The girls looked at her fearfully.

"Lucy, what is this?" asked Melody. "Are you a... A slave?"

Lucy bowed towards Melody. "Forgive me, Madam. I will bring you some food right away."

"Lucy, it's me, Melody. Why are you a cook?"

"I... Can't," whispered Lucy.

Melody was stunned to see Lucy acting meek and timid. She was terrified of Lord Dupont. "I won't allow this. Where's Tom and Anya?"

She soon learned that Tom was tending to the garden while Anya was a scullery maid. She secretly slipped away and called CPS on a pay phone.

It wasn't long before Lord Dupont was arrested for child labour and the kids were set free.

As Melody was preparing to go back with her classmates, she saw her cousins looking at her.

"Melody, we are so sorry for everything we did to you," said Tom. "You saved us twice."

"No one should be treated as slaves," said Melody. "Not even a very bad person. And I never thought that you were bad. My aunt was controlling you. In a way, I think that you were just as abused as I was."

"I'm... Sorry about Honey," said Lucy.

Anya looked confused. She had been a toddler when Honey died, so she didn't know who she was.

"It's not your fault. I don't really think that my aunt meant to kill her. But... Why were you so mean? Anya wasn't so bad, but..."

"We were jealous of your optimism," said Tom. "You always seemed so cheerful, singing and playing your guitar. You lost your parents, but you always had a positive outlook. And we actually envy your singing voice. We only said that you were horrible to make you feel bad."

"I wasn't really happy," confessed Melody. "I wasn't sure if I would ever escape my situation. But I knew that I could possibly get out of there when I turned eighteen. I loved music because it reminded me of my parents. No matter how bad your life can be, it always has a chance of getting better."

Melody's cousins looked at each other. "Well, Lucy is going to get Mother's money when she's eighteen, but we don't know what to do. Maybe that was why we resented you. Especially when you came to school looking like a princess from a storybook."

Melody shrugged. "Well, I am still getting used to looking pretty. I wish you guys luck."

Author's Note: The prompt used for this chapter is Staying Alive by BeeGees. I used the meaning of the song.