I was thinking this over, and checking that day's outfit (lace leggings, purple tie-dyed T-shirt dress, and purple high-tops) in the mirror, when I was snapped back to reality by Charlotte who was tugging on my sleeve.

"Becca and I want to make 'welcome back' cards for Derek. Can you help us?"

"Sure," I said. "That sounds like fun." I love working on art projects with kids. "Let's put down some newspaper, and then we can take out the poster paints and get crazy!"

Pretty soon we were sprawled out on the floor, making a big mess. (I had decided to make a card too, just for fun.) Charlotte covered her paintbrush with drippy red paint. "Derek's going to love this card," she said. "I'm making a picture of him as Waldo. You know, with those funny glasses and that spiky hair?"

Derek-in-person looks so different from Derek-as-Waldo. The first time I met him I could hardly believe Derek really was the same

person I'd seen on TV. In real life he's totally normal-looking, but on the show he gets laughs just by walking into the room.

"I like Waldo," mused Becca. "He's funny. But Lament! Lament is really special. He is so cute. Did you ever notice how big his eyes are?" I think one of the reasons Becca picked Lament to have a crush on is because he's African-American. Becca is, too. And she doesn't have too many black friends in Stoneybrook, because not that many black people live here. She used to live in New Jersey, in a more integrated town. Anyway, she probably likes Lamont because she relates to him and wishes she knew more boys like him.