Mary Anne and Stacey, by the way, are our secretary and treasurer. (In case you're wondering, I'm the official alternate officer. I take over the duties of anyone who has to miss a meeting.)

Mary Anne and Stacey looked at each other. They exchanged a grin.

"You start," they said at the same time. Then they laughed.

I couldn't help feeling just a teensy bit jealous. Mary Anne is my best friend in Sto-neybrook. She was the one who introduced me to Kristy and the others and got me into the club. Of course, Mary Anne already hadra best friend (Kristy), but she's kind of shy, and she's always been envious of Stacey, who's sophisticated and grown-up. Now it looked as if Mary Anne and Stacey shared something — something the rest of us weren't a part of.

"I'll start," Stacey said after a moment of

giggling. "First of all," she began, crossing her long legs, "we had a great time. I like the Pikes — all of them — a lot." (There are eight kids in the Pike family.) "We did the usual beach stuff — swimming, sunning, miniature golf. Claire is still going through that silly stage. She calls everybody a silly-billy-goo-goo. Vanessa has decided she wants to be a poet, so she speaks in rhyme."

"Really?" I said. I couldn't help laughing.

"Yup. It's true. And Byron can swim, but he's afraid of the water. It turns out he has a lot of fears."

"The most important thing about the Pike kids," added Mary Anne, "is something thaf s going on between Nicky and the triplets." (Nicky is eight. The triplets — Byron, Adam, and Jordan — are ten.) "Nicky wants to play with his brothers, but they don't like to have him around. They say he's babyish. But if they won't play with him, that only leaves the girls, and Nicky says he doesn't like girls. So . . ."

"Trouble," I said, nodding. This was important, since I sit for the Pikes a lot.