"Wow," I said, leafing through one of the magazines. Some of the outfits were really cool. One was this long, flowing, pastel paisley print shift with a scoop neck, cinched at the waist. "This is beautiful..." I said with a sigh.

    Around me, jaws were working hard on Milk Duds. "Mmph," was Kristy's reaction.

    "She looks so unhappy," Jessi commented, glancing at one of the models.

    Dawn giggled. "I'd love to see you in that, Mary Anne. Your face would match the color of the dress." "You couldn't wear sneakers with it," Kristy said with a mischievous grin, after swallowing her Milk Duds.

    Oh, well, so much for that idea.

    "Here they are!" Claudia shouted, pulling out two bags of sesame-seed-covered, low-sodium, oat-bran pretzels. "One for Dawn, one for Stacey." Yes, it's true. My stepsister, Dawn Schafer, likes health food. Tofu, alfalfa sprouts, carrot-parsley cocktails, millet croquettes. She actually looks forward to these things. She won't touch red meat and hardly ever eats dessert. It's weird, I know, but I love her anyway.

    What does Dawn look like? Like a "California girl"! Wait, Dawn hates when people say that. I should say she looks like the stereotype of a California girl. She has long blonde hair, blue eyes, clear skin, and a trim figure.

    Dawn is a real individualist. (You'd have to be, to eat teriyaki tofu loaf on a whole-wheat bun while everyone around you was eating cheeseburgers!) She does what she wants to do without worrying what others think.

    Dawn doesn't have many official duties during our meetings. She's our alternate officer, which means she has to take over the job of anybody who's absent. I think she's done each job at least once.