Stacey is Claudia's best friend, and they definitely share a certain sophistication that the rest of us lack. Since Stacey grew up in New York City, she's very cosmopolitan. She's al-

ways doing the latest thing to her blonde hair, whether it’s a perm or a body wave or rolling it up on little rubber things. She wears makeup and nail polish (often with sparkles in it) and she dresses like she just stepped out of a magazine.

There's one thing about Stacey that you'd never guess by looking at her: She's a diabetic. In case you don't know anyone with diabetes, let me explain. It's a disease in which your body doesn't produce this stuff called insulin, which helps digest sugars. So, to deal with her diabetes, Stacey has to A: watch her diet very, very carefully and hardly ever eat sweets, and B: give herself shots of insulin every day. Stacey doesn't seem to mind any of this too much. I guess she's used to it. I have to say that A would be nearly impossible for me, even though, as a ballet dancer, I should eat that way, and as for B — well, I can't even imagine B.

I bet you're wondering what my BSC job is. Well, both Mallory and I are junior officers, which simply means we take on many of the afternoon sitting jobs, since neither of us is allowed to sit alone at night (except for our families). Anyway, this frees up the older BSC members for night jobs.

I've told you a little about Mallory, but let me fill you in on the rest. She has red hair

and freckles, braces and glasses. I happen to think she's very cute, but she won't listen to me. She'd like to wear contacts, get her braces off, and become glamorous. And I bet she will, someday. It's tough being eleven and having to be patient about these things. We both have a lot of trouble with it.