StatSy McGill and I were going to spend two fantastic^ weeks at a real beach town, and jlUeouldn't wait to get started? It wasn't exactly a vacation (we were going to be mother's helpers for a family — the Pikes — just like we had done the last time they went to the beach), but it would be wonderful. I was sure of i*]J_tided to restfaTrt myself, though, because I remembered that Kristy's family hadn't made any vacation plans. Kristy would be in Stoneybrook for the next couple of weeks. Of course some people

would say that Kristy is always on vacation, because she lives in a house that is straight out of the movies. Kristy used to live next door to me, but when her mother (who was divorced) married a millionaire named Watson Brewer, the whole family moved across town to his mansion. Kristy's family immediately increased in size. Watson has two cute kids who spend every other weekend with him, and recently Kristy's mom and Watson adopted an adorable little Vietnamese girl. She is two years old and her name is Emily.

Kristy nudged me impatiently. "How does the record book look, Mary Anne?" Kristy likes to plan everything days in advance and doesn't like surprises.

""You're going to be busy," I told her, flipping through the calendar pages. "Of course, you'll haveje.ssi to help you." (Jessi didn't have any vacation plans, either.)

Jessi is a really neat black girl who moved to Stoneybrgijk^^o^^Oa^kJey,New Jersey . She's in the sixth grade (like Ivfallory), and is a very talented ballet dancer. She has an eight-year-old sister named Becca, and a baby brother nicknamed Squirt. Jessi can handle almost any situation, and proved it once by pet-sitting for a houseful of animals for a week.

"It looks like you both have interesting jobs lined up," I went on.

Jessi beamed. "I'm sitting for Charlotte Jo-hanssen one afternoon."Charlotte is one of our favorite kids.