Dawn.

Don't worry. I didn't make up that description. I got it from the tag on my bridesmaid's dress. I thought it sounded funny.

I wasn't the only one who thought so. Sunny Winslow howled when she read the tag in the store.

"Radiant and Luminous?" she blurted out. "That sounds like Wilbur the pig, fromCharlotte's Web!"

"Huh?" said Maggie Blume.

Jill Henderson tapped her chin. "Radiant. That was one of the wordsCharlottemade in her web — to describe Wilbur."

"Huh?" Maggie repeated.

"You didn't read it?" Sunny asked with a look of utter disbelief.

Maggie shrugged. "I saw the video."

"Uh, guys?" I interrupted. "What do you think of the dress?"

Rule Number One of Dawn's Theory of Shopping: Never shop with best friends if you have something truly important to buy.

Rule Number Two: If you have to buy it during the holiday season, multiply Rule Number One by ten.

I discovered this at the Vista Hills mall on that Saturday morning. We arrived at9:00. Mission: to find me a bridesmaid's dress.

"Dawn

At9:02Sunny decided we needed extra energy for our quest. So we had granola and yogurt at a health-food snack bar called Health's Angels.

We left at9:45and ran into Chip Ransom, this ninth-grader who began flirting with Maggie while the rest of us stood around trying not to look too dorky.

At9:50Jill spotted the perfect tie for her father in a men's store window. Of course, we all went in to consult.

At10:09in front of Sports West, Maggie remembered her uncle Lew's great love for golfing tees.

You get the picture.

When did we start looking for my dress?Noon. By that time, my friends were loaded down with Hanukkah and Christmas presents. Getting them to move was like pulling elephants across a swamp.