Shira turned around and, walking backward, asked me about eighth grade. "So how much homework is there regularly?" Shira's hair practically glittered in the bright sunlight. Tall and skinny, she towers over the rest of us. She worries a lot more than the rest of us too.

    "It's not that bad," I assured her. "You won't have a bit of trouble." Shira executed a little skip-turn, satisfied with my answers. Jeannie and Joanna won't have any trouble either. They're both smart and do well in school. They have trouble believing that I have to work as hard as I do in eighth grade, since I used to help them when we studied together for our seventh-grade classes. It's a little easier the second time around.

    On our way downtown, we had to stop at Shira's house, so she could get some money. Then we stopped at Joanna's house, so she could set her VCR for a show she needed to tape. By the time we were ready to shop, it was nearly four o'clock.

    "Where do you want to go first?" Jeannie asked as we finally approached downtown Stoneybrook.

    I knew she wanted to go to the Merry-Go-Round and shop for earrings. I wanted to stop by the thrift shop to see what they'd added recently. That's one of the differences between Jeannie and me, although we both like clothes. I like to put together different outfits from what I have, what I can make, and what I buy here and there. Consignment stores are places for me to treasure hunt. Some of the best outfits I've ever put together come from things I've picked up secondhand. I have a policy-of never wearing the same outfit twice - even if that means changing only a scarf or the earrings I'd worn before. Jeannie, who is also Asian-American, likes to wear the kinds of outfits you'd see on a mannequin or in Twist magazine.