Mary Anne's mom died a long, long time ago, and Mary Anne grew up with just her father. I know life wasn't always easy for Mary Anneor her father. But now Mary Anne has a new stepmom,and a new stepsister and -brother. More about that later.

Our club's treasurer is Stacey McGill, who happens to be my best friend. Stacey is cool. Very cool. She grew up in New York City, and I think she's more sophisticated than anyone else in Stoneybrook. Her outfits are always awesome, and she perms her blonde hair and wears makeup that brings out her big blue eyes.

Stacey's parents got divorced not too long ago, and her dad lives in New York. Stacey visits him as often as she can, but I think she's

glad she decided to live in Stoneybrook with her mom. (Boy, would I hate to have had to make that kind of decision!) I think Stacey has a really good relationship with her mother. Mrs. McGill used to baby Stacey, because Stacey has diabetes. But by now Stacey has proved that she is mature enough to take care of herself.

Diabetes is no joke. It's a serious disease, and Stacey will always have it. It has to do with blood sugar; I've never entirely understood the scientific explanation, but I know that Stacey has to be very careful about what she eats. No sweets. (That would be a total nightmare for me.) Also, she has to give herself a shot every single day. That's because her body doesn't produce the right amount of this stuff which I forget the name of. Anyway, Stacey's very accepting about having diabetes, even though it sometimes makes her really, really sick.

As treasurer of our club, Stacey's main job is to collect dues every Monday. She sometimes has to pry the money out of us, since we allhate to part with our hard-earned cash. She also keeps track of how much money is in the treasury. This is a snap for Stacey. She loves math. (Gag me!)