Then, when we hit a lull, Claudia got off the bed and reached behind her night table. "Hey, dudes, who wants Duds?" she said, pulling out some boxes of Milk Duds.

    I should explain that Claud is a Junk Food Squirrel,. She's always hiding candy bars, cookies, chips, and pretzels. Sometimes she even forgets where they are. She'll be feeling around in the back of her closet for a paintbrush or a Nancy Drew book, and - crrunch! - there are last April's tortilla chips! Nancy Drews, by the way, are the other things she has to hide. She's addicted to them, but her parents disapprove. They think Claud should only read classics. It's been hard for them to realize Claudia doesn't have an I.Q. of 196 like Janine. But lately they've been coming around. Claudia is an amazing artist. She paints, sculpts, draws, and makes jewelry. And her parents have finally started realizing how special that is.

    Claud is the BSC vice-president. She doesn't have many official duties, but since we use her room and her private phone line, she ends up answering calls from parents who telephone at odd times. She's also very generous with her junk food.

    You know how some people can eat anything and still stay thin? That's Claudia. Her figure is like a model's. She also has silky jet-black hair and perfect skin and dark almond-shaped eyes. (Did I mention she's Japanese-American?) As if that weren't enough, she has a fantastic sense of fashion. She can put together the oddest collection of clothes - a slouch hat, a sequined vest, an oversized button-down shirt, stirrup pants, and lace-up boots - and she looks stunning. If I dressed like that, people would laugh. I want to know how Claudia does it. Is she just beautiful, or can a person learn to look sensational?

    "Let's see, I know there are some oat-bran pretzels around here somewhere ..." Claudia was saying. Half her body was under the bed now. Her magazines were in a stack next to me and the top one was open to a page that said, "Cool and sassy for spring!" I saw pictures of models with short haircuts and gorgeous, loose-fitting clothes. I decided to take a look.