AUGUST 26

Dear Dad,

I spent the morning in my room, watching a Shakespeare DVD I rented from Movie Mania. I thought Shakespeare was all about women in long dresses and men in tights, but in this movie they wore bathing suits most of the time. The description on the package said, “A fast and flashy modern-day retelling of an old classic. Set under the sizzling sun on Miami Beach, and with moonlit, mood-lit nights, you’ll never forget this Romeo and Juliet!”

After the movie, I was hungry, so I went to Stout’s for a bowl of soup.

“Is that all?” Libby asked. “How about a club sandwich and a slice of French silk pie?”

“I wish. No, just soup, please. And a glass of water.”

After lunch, as I paid my bill, I handed Libby an extra five dollars. In exchange, she counted out twenty quarters. I went down the block and was about to put money in the parking meters, but I stopped myself. Instead, I turned around to tell Libby that she could have the quarters back if she needed them.

But when I approached Stout’s, I spied Alice at the counter having a cup of coffee. Officer Ramsey was sitting next to her. They were laughing. Libby was laughing along with them, but Officer Ramsey kept looking at Alice. I thought you ought to know.

Even though I was early, Wendy was waiting for me on her front porch. She was wearing makeup and a new sundress. “Hurry,” she said, rushing me toward Julie’s house. “We can’t be late.”

“Nice dress,” Julie said when she saw me. “Is it from Tavares Teens?”

“Nope, Jodi Jodi.”

Julie nodded. “Even better.”

As the Triple A’s charted my progress, I recited what I had eaten the day before.

“You ate a cookie???!!!” Julie cried. “How could you?”

“I just bit into it,” I said. “Then I chewed.”

She shook her head, and so did Ariel and Alyssa. Or Ariana and Ariel, or Alyssa and Ariana.

“Emily, how are you going to lose that weight if you don’t stick to your diet?”

“Well, maybe the diet isn’t such a good idea,” I said.

Wendy looked alarmed.

“The diet is a great idea,” Julie informed me as she handed me a pair of tweezers. “Pluck.”

“I’m not so sure….”

“Sure it will hurt, but your eyebrows are still slightly uneven. It’s not as hard as you think it will be. Just follow your natural arch.”

“No, I mean the diet, and well, yes, the eyebrows and everything.”

“Listen to me,” Julie said. “If you look this good at the beginning of your diet, just imagine what you’ll be like when you can fit into a size two! Think of all the new fashions you’ll be able to wear.”

The Triple A’s murmured in agreement.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t flattered. But a size two? Does that mean that the smaller I get, the more popular I will be? I’ve only been on this diet for a little while and I feel dizzy all the time. A two? I’m down to a nine/ten right now. I haven’t been a two in ages. I’m getting headaches. A two?

“When Emily loses her weight, she’s going to look so hot in those new Parisi jeans,” Julie said. “We won’t even recognize her!”

I gave them a weak smile and didn’t talk much the rest of the afternoon. If anyone noticed, they didn’t say anything.

The more I think about it, the more mad I get at Julie for putting me up to buying those purses. But I am even madder at myself for letting it happen. Then I think about Wendy, and how much it means to her to be in Julie’s group. And, well, I think about how starting at a new school as a popular girl is not a bad thing.

Wendy’s nice. But it’s just not the same as with Millie. Wendy doesn’t read comics, and once when I hit her over the head with a pillow, she yelped, “Ouch! What did you do that for?”

Also, Wendy thinks the Rialto is hokey. “They only show old movies there,” she said. “Most of them aren’t even in color.”

“Yes, but with the classics, once you get into them it doesn’t matter what color they are,” I explained.

Wendy does not have the appreciation for chocolate that Millicent and I share. And she doesn’t have the same sense of humor, and sometimes our timing is just off, with these big gaps of awkward silence. I don’t think Millie and I were ever silent. If anything, we both always tried to talk at the same time, we had so much to say to each other.

Still, I’m glad to have Wendy as a friend. She’s not the kind of person who would ever take advantage of someone.

Emily