Most people think we look alike. I'm al- most as short as Kristy is, and we both have brown eyes and longish brown hair. The difference is, you would never mistake me for an athlete. And although I wear pretty casual clothes, I dress up a teeny bit more than she does. (For instance, that day I was wearing teal-colored stirrup pants and a bulky ski sweater with a colorful snowflake print, over a pink turtleneck.) Kristy moved away from Bradford Court for the same reason I did - to join a stepfamily. Her natural father walked out on her family when she was six. He just left without an explanation, not long after Kristy's brother David Michael was born. For years, Mrs. Thomas somehow raised four kids (Kristy has two older brothers, Charlie and Sam) and held a full-time job. Then she fell in love with this nice, quiet guy named Watson Brewer, who happened to be very wealthy. Before we knew it, they had married and Kristy was moving into a mansion! Since then, the Thomas/Brewer family has grown. Now it includes an adopted Vietnamese girl named Emily Michelle (she's two and a half); Kristy's grandmother, who moved in to help take care of Emily; and a dog, a cat, and two goldfish.

    "Hi, guys!" said Stacey McGill, as she raced into the room with Mallory Pike.

    Before anyone could answer, Kristy boomed out, "This meeting will come to order!" Claud's digital clock had just clicked to five-thirty. Stacey and Mal quickly found places to sit, then peeled off their down coats.

    "Any new business?" Kristy asked.

    I told the story about Carolyn's time machine, which made everybody laugh. Stacey talked a little about the January Jamboree, an SMS dance that was coming up.