A few hours later everybody was gathered in my room for our BSC meeting. Kristy had called the meeting to order at precisely five-thirty. Then, after conducting club business, she’d turned to me. “So, what happened?” she asked. “I’m dying to know. Did you run into Alan? Did he read the note? What did he say?”

I hesitated. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to tell everyone the story yet. Fortunately, Mary Anne jumped in. “I heard all about it at lunch, Claudia,” she said sympathetically. “I can’t believe your note fell into Alan’s hands! But don’t worry. I bet it will all work out okay.”

Kristy snorted. “Sure,” she said. “If your idea of ‘okay’ includes being humiliated in front of the whole school.”

“Kristy!” Mary Anne said.

“Sorry,” said Kristy, shooting me a little grin. “I’m just kidding. But you never know what Alan will do.”

That was for sure. I looked around at my friends, wondering what everyone would think when I told them that Alan and I were going to the Cupid’s Arrow Dance together.

Mary Anne would be accepting. She always is.

Stacey might be understanding. She knows how complicated “boy stuff” can be.

Kristy, I knew, would go ballistic. To her, Alan Gray is nothing but a pest. I’m not sure she even considers him human. She’s known him, as I have, since kindergarten. And not once have I ever heard her say anything nice about him.

“You’re right, Kristy,” Stacey said now. “Alan is capable of anything. Remember when he picked up that zit cream that dropped out of Shawna Riverson’s pack?”

Kristy nodded, groaning. “He auctioned it off in the cafeteria at lunchtime.”

“That was in sixth grade,” I protested. “I think Alan’s changed a little since then.”

Kristy looked at me. “Alan Gray? The guy who wore his underwear on his head for the talent show in fourth grade? The guy who sticks straws up his nose? The guy who once licked the gym floor on a bet —”

“Stop!” I said, holding up a hand. “I know he used to do all that stuff. I’m saying that I think he’s matured a little bit recently.”

Kristy peered at me suspiciously. “Claudia, why are you defending Alan?”

“Raisinets, anyone?” I asked brightly, holding up a box of candy.

“Yum! I’ll take some,” said Mary Anne.

I handed them over. “And I have some popcorn for you, Stacey,” I added, reaching under my bed to find my secret stash.

“Claudia?” Kristy asked.

“What?” I replied innocently.

“I asked why you’re defending Alan Gray.” She was staring at me intently as she tapped a pencil on my desk.

“I —” Just then, the phone rang. “I’ll get it!” I cried with relief. I reached for the phone. “Hello, Baby-sitters Club.”

“Acme Diaper Service here,” said a male voice.

It was Alan.

And he was up to his old tricks.

I didn’t say a word.

“Claudia?” he asked after a second.

“I’m hanging up,” I said.

“No, wait!” he cried. “Wait. I’m sorry. It’s just a bad habit. I didn’t mean it.”

“Okay,” I said warily. “What’s up?”

“I wanted to thank you again for that note,” he said, sounding sincere. “And I wanted to know what color dress you’ll be wearing to the dance, so I can buy you a corsage.”

I couldn’t help feeling touched.

“Who is it?” asked Kristy impatiently. “Is it a wrong number?”

I waved my hand at her. “You’re welcome,” I said into the phone. “And as for color, I don’t know. Red, maybe. I’ll let you know.”

“Cool,” said Alan.

“I have to go now,” I told him.

“ ’Bye, Claudia,” Alan said softly.

I hung up.

“Red what?” Kristy asked. “Claudia, who was that?”

“Nobody,” I mumbled.

“Claudia,” Kristy said warningly.

“ItwasAlan,” I said quickly.

Kristy looked puzzled.

“Alan,” I said, giving up. “It was Alan Gray, okay?”

Kristy held up her hands. “Fine, fine,” she said. “You don’t have to get all huffy.” She shook her head. “Doesn’t he ever get tired of making prank phone calls while we’re having meetings?”

“It wasn’t exactly a prank,” I said. I took a deep breath. It was time to spill the beans. “Actually, he wanted to know what color dress I was planning to wear to the dance.”

“Why would he want to know that?” asked Mary Anne, bewildered.

“Because he wants to buy me a corsage,” I said bravely. “He’s going to be my date. I’m going to the Cupid’s Arrow Dance with Alan Gray.”

For a few moments, the room was silent.

Then Kristy exploded. “You what?” she exclaimed. “Are you out of your mind?” She stared at me for a second. Then she laughed. “Oh, I get it,” she said. “This is a joke, isn’t it?”

I shook my head. “Nope,” I said. “We’re just going to the dance together, that’s all.”

“So you’re going to sit here and tell me that Alan Gray is your new boyfriend,” Kristy said, folding her arms across her chest.

“Not my boyfriend,” I answered. “I never said that. I just said we’re going to the dance together. As a matter of fact, we’re going as friends.”

“Friends don’t buy each other corsages,” Kristy pointed out. “And anyway, you and Alan Gray aren’t exactly friends.”

“Well, maybe we will be after this.” I folded my arms too.

Mary Anne and Stacey had been sitting there silently. Finally, Mary Anne spoke up.

“I think it’s nice,” she said. “Sometimes people aren’t what they seem. We have to be open-minded about Alan.”

I shot her an appreciative glance. Yay, Mary Anne! She understood.

“I just don’t believe this,” Kristy said, waving her arms around. “This is Alan Gray we’re talking about. Alan Gray!”

Stacey giggled. “He is kind of cute, if you think about it.”

You know how in cartoons smoke sometimes comes out of people’s ears when they’re really mad? I thought that was going to happen with Kristy. She glared at Stacey.

“Cute?” she asked. “Cute?” She shook her head. “That’s it. I give up on you guys.” She put her head down on my desk.

We all cracked up.

“So, how did it happen?” Mary Anne asked, leaning forward.

“Did he, like, confess to a secret crush on you?” asked Stacey.

“Not exactly.” I explained how he’d thought the note was for him. (I didn’t say who the note was originally for — but Stacey could probably guess.) “He was so pleased that I was being nice to him that I couldn’t exactly tell him it was for somebody else,” I said. Then I told them what he’d said about wanting to be a better person.

Kristy, whose head was still buried in her arms, groaned when she heard that. “And you believe him?” she asked.

“Don’t listen to her,” Mary Anne told me. “I think that’s very sweet.” Her eyes looked moist.

“That’s what Erica thought,” I said. “I told her about it when we walked home from school.”

Kristy groaned again. “I can’t believe you guys are acting like he’s just a normal guy,” she said. “Don’t you see? This is probably a setup for some huge prank.”

For a second, I wondered if she could be right. Then I remembered that soft look in Alan’s eyes. “You’re wrong, Kristy,” I said. “But it doesn’t matter what you think. I’m the one who’s going to the dance with him.”

“I give up,” said Kristy. She glanced at the clock. “Anyway, it’s six. This meeting is adjourned.”

Soon afterward, Kristy and Mary Anne left. Stacey stayed behind, rearranging some things in her backpack.

“So, Claudia,” she said, not looking at me. “What about Jeremy?”

Just hearing his name made my stomach flip over. Jeremy. What about him? I didn’t know what to think anymore. In a way, it was easier just to concentrate on Alan. Things with Jeremy were too confusing, too weird. Why had he been avoiding me? Why had I been avoiding him? Were we ever going to end up together? What if he asked me to the dance now?

I would have loved to talk everything over with Stacey — the old Stacey. But even though we were speaking to each other again, things weren’t the same. I wasn’t ready to open up to her. Especially on the topic of Jeremy.

“I don’t know, Stace,” I said slowly. How could I put it? “I guess I really don’t want to talk about Jeremy with you.”

I was trying to be nice but firm. I didn’t want to have another fight with Stacey, but I wasn’t ready to be best buds with her again either.

Stacey stopped fooling with her backpack and glanced up at me. For a second, she looked hurt. Then she nodded. “Fair enough,” she said.

She picked up her stuff and walked out the door.