“Good-bye girls!” Fran waves and blows a kiss as we leave the studio.

Mary Ann and I wave and blow kisses back.

My mom and Colleen smile at each other. They’re happy now, but they weren’t so happy right after the show.

When they came backstage, they were very upset that we switched places.

When we asked them how they knew, they just said mothers know everything.

I don’t know if that is true, but I do know that Mary Ann and I had to have a very long talk with them about “deception.” And that was even after Fran told them that she wasn’t too upset with us, as the show went just fine. She says in show business, the only thing that matters is what the audience sees.

The good news is that we finished that talk. And we still have a few hours left in New York before we go back home.

Mary Ann and I walk behind our moms as we leave the studio.

“I still can’t believe you figured out a way to get us both on Fashion Fran!” Mary Ann says to me.

She smiles and puts her arm around my shoulder. “Thanks again for what you did for me.” Then she gets a serious look on her face. “I’m sorry we got in trouble with our moms, but it was like a dream coming true.”

“No big deal,” I say. “You would have done the same thing for me.”

Mary Ann grins. “If we ever enter another contest, I will do exactly the same thing for you.” She holds up her pinky. “Pinky swear.”

But I shake my head. “No more pinky swears for a while,” I say.

Mary Ann laughs and nods like she agrees.

Our moms stop walking and turn around. “We still have one more thing on the agenda before we head home,” says my mom.

“The Empire State Building!” Mary Ann and I say at the same time.

I don’t know how we could have forgotten! I point up in the sky. It’s easy to see the Empire State Building from where we a re. “ Ca n we walk?”

Mom takes the city map out of her purse and studies it for a moment. “It’s not too far. I don’t see why not,” she says.

As we walk, Mary Ann and I talk and point to things in store windows. Computers. Shoes. Clothes. Suitcases. Even air conditioners. No wish ponds, but anything else you might ever want is in New York.

There are so many things to see. “I don’t think I could ever get bored of window shopping here,” I say to Mary Ann.

“You might get bored of waiting in line,” she says.

She points to a long line of people waiting outside the Empire State Building. “Do you think they’re all waiting to go to the top?” asks Mary Ann.

“I’m afraid so,” says Mary Ann’s mom. She opens her New York City guidebook and starts reading. “Between ten and twenty thousand people visit the Empire State Building every day.”

We get in line behind a family with six kids who all have on matching red T-shirts and baseball caps. There are all kinds of families and groups of schoolkids. There are two old people holding hands. I wonder if they have been waiting their whole lives to visit this place. I look at the crowd. There are so many different kinds of people waiting to see the Empire State Building.

My teacher, Mr. Knight, taught us that the United States is often referred to as the Great Melting Pot because so many people from different places came to live in this country, and when they did, their cultures all blended together a little. He said another term for having lots of different kinds of people is cultural diversity. I think I’ve seen more cultural diversity in New York than anywhere else I’ve ever been.

“I don’t think we’ll get too bored in line,” I say to Mary Ann. “Looking at all the people in New York is even more interesting than looking in the store windows.”

Mary Ann nods like she agrees.

As we get closer to the front of the line, Mary Ann starts hopping up and down. “It’s almost our turn,” she squeals.

I’m just as excited as she is. We go through the security line and wait until, finally, it’s our turn to get into the elevator. I can feel my ears pop as the elevator moves upward. It takes us to the eightieth floor.

When we get out, there’s an exhibit on the history of the Empire State Building.

“It’s like a museum in here,” says Mary Ann.

It really is. There are Empire State Building facts and photos everywhere. Best of all, there’s a gift shop. Mary Ann and I buy small models of the Empire State Building to take home to Max and Joey and Winnie.

“Ready to go to the observation deck?” Mom asks when we’re done shopping.

“We’re ready!” Mary Ann and I say at the same time.

We follow our moms on to another elevator that takes us to the eighty-sixth floor. When we get out, we are looking over what seems like the entire world.

“Wow! Wow! Wow!” screams Mary Ann. “This is cool!”

It really is. I don’t even know where to look first. There’s a tall glass wall that wraps around the whole deck. You can walk along each side of the deck and see New York from all four directions. There are people everywhere, but I don’t care and neither does Mary Ann.

“You can walk around all four sides of the deck,” says Mom.

We start walking and looking. We squeeze ourselves in between groups of people to get a look at all the different views of the city.

You can see everything from up here. Buildings, bridges, parks, rivers, cars, and people. Even other states! There are big binoculars so that you can look more closely at things that are far away.

“I can’t believe what I’m seeing!” I say to Mary Ann.

“I know,” says Mary Ann. “It’s so different from Fern Falls.”

I laugh. “I think the highest building in Fern Falls is five floors. I can’t believe we’re eighty-six stories up in the air.”

Mary Ann wraps her arms around her chest. “It’s windy up here.”

“Very windy!” I say as I try to tuck a piece of hair behind my ear. It keeps blowing in my face.

“We should take pictures,” says Mary Ann.

She gets out her camera and gives it to her mom. We pose in different spots as Colleen snaps photos of us on top of the Empire State Building.

When we’re done taking pictures, Mary Ann stretches out her arms. “I feel like I’m on top of the world,” she smiles into the wind.

I know exactly how she feels. Last year, Mrs. Daily taught us the expression on top of the world. She said it means a feeling of complete happiness. Right now, I feel like I’m on top of the world in more ways than one.

I met my favorite TV star. Mary Ann and I both got to be on her show. We’re in New York City. And now, I’m standing on top of the Empire State Building.

I really do feel like I’m on top of the world.

I close my eyes and try to take a mental picture of all this that I can keep in my brain forever.

A few minutes later, Mom taps me on the shoulder. “Time to go,” she says.

I think she can tell I’m disappointed that we are leaving today. She wraps an arm around my shoulder. “One more stop before we go to the airport,” she says.

“Where are we going?” I ask. But Mom won’t say.

“One last little treat for you and Mary Ann,” Colleen says as our taxi stops in front of Johnny’s Famous Pizza.

“No one was in the mood for pizza the last time we came here.” She winks at us. “Hopefully, this time it will be better.”

Mary Ann and I race into Johnny’s. We order a pizza.

“Pepperoni,” I say.

“Mushroom,” says Mary Ann.

“Pepperoni AND mushroom,” we both say together and laugh.

When our pizza comes, we both take a bite. It is crispy, hot, and delicious.

“This is the best pizza I’ve ever had,” says Mary Ann with her mouth stuffed full.

I agree completely. Mary Ann and I both eat a second slice.

“Why do you think pizza in New York is so good?” asks Mary Ann.

I look out the window at the cars and the people and the bikers and all the activity on the busy street. Some people say the pizza in New York is so good because of the water they use to make the dough. Personally, I think pizza tastes so good in New York because you are eating it in New York.

And the truth is … everything is fun in New York. Even eating pizza.

I stand up and put my paper plate in the trash.

It’s time to say good-bye to the city that never sleeps.