"Four-thirty?" said Stacey. "Aren't you nervous? Do you know what you're going to perform?"

"I'm never nervous," answered Rosie. "First I'm going to do my new tap number, then play the piano and the violin, then do a scene from a soap opera. See, we're not sure which of my talents Uncle Dandy will want to use on the show."

"So you'll do a little of everything," said Stacey.

"Right."

Sure enough, when Stacey reached Rosie's house, she found a note from Mrs. Wilder on the kitchen table. It told about Uncle Dandy's visit, and politely suggested that Stacey do her homework in the den during the audition. (In other words, make herself scarce.)

Rosie didn't agree. "You can watch if you want," she said. "I don't mind."

Stacey  compromised.  She  set  up  her

schoolwork in the Wilders' dining room. From there she could see part of the living room, where Rosie was going to do the music and acting parts of her audition. The dance part was going to take place in the basement.

Rosie went downstairs to practice her tap number. Stacey began studying. Then, at four twenty-five, Stacey's stomach went into knots. She didn't know why. Can you imagine? Sophisticated Stacey, who used to see famous people on the sidewalks of New York every day, nervous about meeting Uncle Dandy!

Actually I think she was nervous for Rosie. Stacey felt a lot more sympathetic to her than I did. She says conceited people are actually insecure.

I didn't believe it. Insecure was about the last word I'd use to describe Rosie.

Well, it wasn't until a quarter to five that the doorbell rang. "Can you get that?" Rosie called from the basement. "I'm practicing my pullbacks."

(Huh?)

"Sure," answered Stacey.

She went to the door, opened it, and saw a glamorous-looking Asian-American woman wearing a silk scarf and a long, flowing dress. Next to her was a heavyset (all right, fat} man with a bright smile and thick blond hair. Stacey