Susan and 1 answered the door for the second time. But we didn't find Zach on the stoop. Instead we found a girl. I knew she lived in the neighborhood somewhere, but I couldn't remember her name.

"Hi," she said cheerfully. "I'm Kathie. Can I come in and see Susan?" "Well. . . sure," I replied, thinking, I should be so popular. I turned to Susan. "You've got another visitor," I told her.

Kathie smiled at Susan.

Susan looked like she was heading for the piano, so I sat the three of us on the floor again. Guess what. Kathie gave Susan a bunch of dates, just like Zach had done. Then she left. She said she thought she heard her mother calling.

Why wasn't I surprised when the bell rang for a third time? I didn't even bother leading Susan to the door and talking to her about answering it or anything. I just left her in the living room and ran to the door myself. Before I'd opened it all the way, Susan was at the piano. She began playing a song from The Music Man. (I knew the whole score by then.) This time another girl was on the stoop. She was holding a record album, and she introduced herself as Gina and said she'd come to see Susan. How interesting that three kids came by all in one day. Maybe this would change the Felders' minds about school.

Before I could say a word to Gina, she walked right inside and said, "She can play the piano! She really can!" "Susan is playing a song from The Music Man," I told her.

"Oh," Gina replied. "Well, I was wondering if - I mean, Mel said Susan can memorize a new song if she hears it just once. Is that true?" "Usually." "Okay. I've got a song here - on a real old record of my grandparents - that I bet Susan doesn't know. Can she do her memorizing trick for me?" "I guess so. Let's make sure she doesn't already know the music, though. What is it?" " 'Sheik of Araby.' It's a Roaring Twenties song." Whatever the Roaring Twenties are.