Dawn Schafer, who is Mary Anne's other best friend, is originally fromCalifornia . She and her mom and younger brother Jeff moved here when us club members were halfway through seventh grade. They moved because her folks got divorced, and Mrs. Schafer had grown up here in Stoneybrook. A sad thing is that Jeff was so unhappy that not long ago he moved back toCalifornia to live with his father. Now Dawn's family is divided in half - and

separated by a continent. In a way, this is like my own family, since my dad took off forCalifornia years ago and 1 never see him, but 1 feel luckier than Dawn. 1 have a new family now.

Dawn is really great, even though sometimes I'm a little jealous of her since she's so close to Mary Anne. But Dawn is independent. She "does her own thing" and couldn't care less what anyone else thinks. She's super-organized, a health-food nut, and has her own style of dress. I think of it as "Californiacasual." Also, Dawn has the palest blue eyes and the longest, blondest hair I've ever seen.

Now - about our two younger members, Mallory Pike and Jessi Ramsey. They joined the club awhile ago after one of our original members, Stacey McGill, had to move away. (I'll tell you more about Stacey later, I promise.) Mal joined first. She's the oldest of the eight Pike kids. Our club sits for the Pikes a lot. Mallory had always been a big help to us sitters, so now that she's eleven, she's allowed to sit in the afternoons and on weekends. She's great with kids! She's patient and practical. She thinks her parents treat her like a baby, though. She desperately wants contacts instead of glasses, but she's getting braces instead. She wishes her hair were straighter. She wishes a

lot of things. Mal loves reading, writing (poetry and stories), drawing, and horses.

Jessi (Jessica) Ramsey is Mal's friend. Her family moved to Stoneybrook pretty recently, and both Jessi and Mal were in the market for a best friend. When they found each other - POW! They have so much in common.