"You're going to the arcade?" I blurted out. "Tonight?"

"It will certainly bring back memories," she

said with a sigh. I knew exactly what she meant. The last time she went to the arcade, she and Toby had had what you would call a very romantic evening. He won a stuffed teddy bear for her, which she immediately named "Toby-Bear." But the really big news was that they went through the Tunnel of Luv, where Toby gave Stacey her first kiss.

"I remember the last time we went to the arcade," she began. "It was such an incredible evening — "

I could tell Stacey was revving up for a lot of mushy memories, but I had something more important on my mind. If Stacey was going out with Toby that night, I had to say something — fast!

"Urn, Stacey," I said, "I'm afraid there's a problem."

"A problem?" She blinked and put the iron on its end. At last I had her full attention.

"I'm going out tonight. With Alex."

"What?!" She managed to put a lot of emotion into that one word, and it wasn't surprise. It was outrage.

"That's right. Alex. Tonight. At eight." I didn't want to mention that we were planning on going to the arcade. There was no point in making her feel worse than she already did.

I thought she'd head straight for the phone to cancel with Toby, but she surprised me. She went right back to ironing!

"Stacey, did you hear me?"

"Of course/' she said smoothly. "You'll just have to cancel with Alex. What a shame." She was very matter-of-fact about it.

Now it was my turn to be outraged. "Why should I cancel?" I demanded. "You had no right to make a date without asking me."

Stacey's eyes widened. "I don't need your permission to go out with Toby."