"Hi," I said nervously, giving a little wave.

"Hi, Mallory," Dawn replied warmly. (I know Dawn pretty well since she lives right near me.)

"Hi," said Kristy, Claudia, and Mary Anne.

They sounded friendly. Even so, I felt completely out of place.

"Have a seat," said Kristy.

I looked around to see where the other girls were sitting. Kristy, who was wearing this visor and had stuck a pencil over one ear, was perched on a director's chair. Dawn and Mary Anne were lounging on Claudia's bed, and Claudia was kneeling on the floor, frowning,

pawing through a pillowcase. Suddenly her frown turned to a smile and she yanked a handful of Tootsie Pops out of the pillowcase, then shoved it under her bed.

"Here they are!" she exclaimed.

She handed one to me as I sat gingerly on the floor. It was hard to find a comfortable position in my short jumper.

"Thanks," I said.

Claudia passed around the candy. Everyone took a lollipop except for Dawn, who tries to stick to health food.

"This is the first thing you should know about the club," Kristy said to me with a grin. "Our vice-president is a junk-food addict. She has stuff hidden all over her room. Lucky for us, she never minds sharing."

All I could do was smile. I couldn't think of a thing to say.

Kristy's grin faded. She rubbed her hands together in a businesslike way. "Well," she said, and I noticed that the others sat up a little straighter and paid attention. "We wanted you to come to the meeting today, Mallory, for two reasons. First, so you can see what our club is like and how it runs, and second, so we can decide, if, um, if . . ."

I knew she meant if I was good enough to be a part of the club, but I couldn't say so, and

I guess she couldn't, either. Not tactfully, anyway.

"What she means," Dawn spoke up, "is so we can get an idea of how much, um, how much . . ."