It’s PARTY TIME:

The things we girls have to go through in order to look good,
Boys just don’t understand, or appreciate.
How does one introduce a Princess?
What does it mean to be a friend?

I would like to thank my dear friends,
Angel O’Hare, Karen Page and Joni W.
For their kindness, help, support and input.

Raised In SLC
Chapter 8

By Penny Reed Cardon

I do apologize for the length of this chapter, I thought of splitting it into two but it just didn’t feel right to me.
So here it is, the long awaited Birthday Party.

Today's the big day, Mary Beth's Birthday Party. The sun rose majestically from behind the Rocky Mountains bringing with it the beginning of a beautiful, new day. However, for someone that fell asleep on a wet pillow, and spent most of the night tossing and turning, a beautiful sunrise just isn't very majestic. I was desperately trying to get in a little more sleep but I could no longer ignore the need to spend a little time communing with Mother Nature. Reluctantly I crawled out of bed, removed and put away my satin nightie. Putting on some flannel pajamas, I headed for the bathroom. Then I went into the kitchen where I found Mom working on a nice Saturday morning breakfast.

"Morning Mom," I said sadly, as I sat at the table, crossing my arms on the table and resting my head on them.

"Just Morning Mom, I don't even rate a Good Morning Mom?" she asked.

"Sorry," I said, without lifting my head.

"Matt, are you feeling all right this morning," Mom asked, as she stopped what she was doing and came over to where I was sitting.

"I just didn't sleep very well last night," I said.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not here," I said softly.

"I understand dear," Mom said. She then poured me a glass of orange juice. "Drink this dear, then go back to your room and lay down. I'll come and see you as soon as I can, then we can talk."

"Thanks Mom," I said as I accepted the OJ. "I'll see you in a bit."

When I got back to my room, yeah my room, there I go thinking again. You know what; thinking is a terrible thing to do when you're already sad. How many times in the last two weeks have I thought about my room, I guess I'm going to have to change how I think about things! This would be Matt's room, a boy’s room. I'm Matilda, and my room, a girl's room, is in a wonderful place full of love and compassion called Immigration Manor. That's the only place where I've had the freedom to be who, I know in my heart I truly am. I lay down on Matt's bed and started crying again. I don't know how long I was there before there was a knock at the door.

When I didn't answer, the door slowly opened and Mom entered, coming to sit on the bed next to me.

"Matilda what's the matter dear?" Mom asked as she gently placed her hand on my shoulder.

"Oh Mom, I'm just so confused."

"What are you confused about dear?"

"Mostly, I’m confused about, me. I mean yesterday was just so wonderful, I never expected that everyone at the Manor would be so nice. Then there was that graduation ceremony — oh wow, I never expected anything like that - followed by the ball. Oh Mom, I felt like a fairly tale princess, but now the magic is over, now when will I get to be the person that, I know in my heart, I'm supposed to be?"

"Well, how about today. After all, today is Mary Beth's party," Mom said.

"Oh Mom, I know that, I know that today is supposed to be a special day, after all it's not just Mary Beth's birthday party, but also MY coming out party. I'm sad because, I don't know when, after today; I'll once again, be able to be myself. I'm also nervous because this is the first time that I will be out in public, socializing with people who don’t know me. Just how are they going to react to me? How will they treat me?

"Well dear, I'll be surprised if they treat you any different than they do each other."

"Are you sure that nobody will recognize me?"

"Matilda, I'm sure, with your wig styled by Amanda and with the right makeup, there won't be any sign of a timid little boy," Mom assured me. "What else is troubling you Matilda?"

"The other problem is, that we've been so busy, we never had time to get me a dress to wear to the party," I moaned.

"I know that things have been a little crazy, and we haven't had the time to go shopping as I would have liked. Matilda, I know how important today is to you, but you've only been a girl for two weeks. I’m not sure that I’m ready to hear you start complaining 'Mom I just don't have anything to wear.' I'm not sure I'm ready to hear that from someone that's only two weeks old." Mom couldn’t keep from laughing as she said that.

I sat up and looked at Mom. I just had to laugh along with her.

"You're right Mom, that is a strange thing for someone that's only two weeks old to say. Thanks for helping me see the brighter side of life, again," I said as I hugged my Mother. "That still leaves one question, but I can't ask it," I said with a grin while giggling.

"What are you going to wear to Mary Beth's birthday party?" Mom asked. We were both started laughing again.

"You said it Mom, I didn't."

After we’d stopped laughing, Mom continued.

"Well, if your not to proud to wear something that someone else has worn before, I just happen to have a dress, hanging in my closest, that I think you might like," mom said.

"I may have a few problems Mom, but pride isn't one of them. Whatever dress you have, I'm sure it will be fine; beside I don't seem to have many options right now. So what's this dress look like? Some of the styles from a hundred years ago were cute, something left over from when you were a young girl?" I asked, while teasing Mom, and giggling.

"Oh, I think you'll like the dress, although it's not a hundred years old. It was recently worn by a young princess, about your size, to a dance and a graduation. It’s made of light blue satin; it has split tulip sleeves. Circling its waist is a sash with rows of rainbow-colored flower petals,” Mom said, giggling and with a smile that went from ear to ear.

"Mom, are you telling me that they let us borrow the dress that I wore yesterday," I asked excitedly, almost afraid of the answer to my question.

"Of course not, you know how security is at the Manor; nothing from there can leave the grounds. I just convinced them to let you to wear the dress that I’d bought for you, as a party dress, for your graduation dress, as well."

I threw my arms around Mom, hugging her tightly as I screeched with joy. "Oh Mom, thank you, thank you, it is the most beautiful dress I have ever seen. I was speechless when Lizy brought it out of the closest. When did you have the time to go shopping?"

"I didn't have time to go shopping. I used the school’s computers and let my fingers do the shopping. The schools computer system is really excellent," Mom said with a smile.

"That's what everyone kept telling me, but I couldn't get anywhere near one of their computers," I grumbled.

"I know dear. Ellen had given strict orders that you were not to touch any computers. Before we even contacted Ellen, she’d completed her research on you, and the family. She knew that if you were left alone with one of their computers, there was a sixty percent chance that you'd breach the primary security system in twenty minutes or less. Before Mr. Peterson granted permission for you to be there, Ellen had to assure him that you'd never have that opportunity."

"Wait a second Mom. You said Ellen had done research on me and the family before you called her?"

"Yes dear, she has a file on you that's almost two inches thick. Ellen knows everything about you, your school performance, as well as all the notes, from all your teachers."

"But how could she, I mean why would she?" I asked. "Mom why would Ellen go to that much work to research, ME? How would Ellen have even known about me before . . . It was Jill! Wasn't it? Jill told Ellen about me, sometime during the summer. That's the only way that Ellen would have known that a, too smart for his own good little boy, named Matt, even existed. Let alone a too smart little boy, who recently figured out that he really should have been a girl."

"Sherlock Holmes strikes again," Mom chuckled.

"That explains who, but not why. That also explains why Beca never left me alone to change my clothes. It wasn't to make sure I was tucked properly, it was so I wouldn't be left alone with the computer in Matilda's room."

"What do you mean Matilda's room?" asked Mom. She seamed a little puzzled by the third person reference I’d used.

"Well, think about it for a second Mom. Take a good look around this room, whose room is it, whose posters are on the walls? Whose stuff is on the desk? Whose clothes are in the closest? This is definitely Matt's room, Mom! Matilda's room, the only place that Matilda has ever been able to call home, is about forty minutes away, in a secluded mountain valley, surrounded by some of the tightest security I've ever seen or heard of."

"I see your point dear, and this time it's not on top of your little pointed head," Mom chuckled while patting my head. "We'll have to see what we can do about making this room Matilda's, at least until we can arrange for you to go to school at the Manor."

"Thanks Mom, I just hope it's soon. I don't know how long I can wear these yucky boys’ clothes, before I start to feel yucky again."

"Well we wouldn't want that to happen, now would we?" Mom giggled. "In the mean time let’s get you ready for a party. I tell you what dear, your dad's already left for work and Chuck headed out shortly thereafter. He was complaining about being in a house full of girls again. Anyway, why don't you get your best underwear and go into my bathroom, have yourself a nice bubble bath and relax. When you're done, slip on your gown, I'll help you with your wig and makeup. We'll see if between the two of us we can't do as well as Amanda, and make you look like the princess that you are."

"Thanks Mom, but wouldn't it be better if I used the kid’s bathroom?"

"Well its closer, but you might be a little embarrassed undressing in there; I know that Rachael will probably scream if you invade her bath."

"You have a good point, Mom. I think I'll use your bathroom."

"Good choice sweetheart. I'll leave your gown on my bed while you're in the tub. You just call out when you're ready for some help with your makeup."

"Thanks Mom, you're the greatest," I said while giving her another hug.

You know, I could get used to soaking in a tubful of sweet smelling bubble, this is almost better than sleeping in a satin nightie. There's only two drawbacks, one: the water doesn't stay hot long enough and two: when my body relaxes, my mind goes into overdrive.

Now why would Jill tell Ellen about me, months before I'd been invited to Mary Beth's party? Long before I'd even made the decision to begin my transition into Matilda. Why would Ellen be so interested in someone like me, do that much research, on me? Is there something about me that I haven't realized yet? Ellen said 'they've been doing this for a long time'. Who are they, and what exactly have they been doing for a long time? It's going to take a lot more time and information than I have now, to figure out who 'They' are.

I guess I should start by trying to figure out ‘why they would be doing this’? Let’s see, now why would someone go to the time and expenses of setting up a school just to help children with Gender Dysphoria? Is there something special about kids like me? I know that I'm good with mysteries and computers, I wonder if everyone, like me, has some special, or unique skills, or talents. Maybe part of it is their ability to look like someone other than themselves. After all, when I first saw Joseph I had no clue that he was really Beca. The only way I found out was by what she said. The same with Jonathan and Nicky, it was only because of what they said that I figured out who they were. Maybe that's what Mr. Peterson meant when he said, they learned as much from me as I did from them; I was able to pickup on their mistakes, thereby helping them. I'm sure that appearing as someone, other than who you really are, could come in handy from time to time; I’m just not sure, when that would be. It still puzzles me that there could be an unheard of school that takes field trips, always to other countries, as well as having a world-renowned choir that nobody in the US has ever heard of.

What kind of a security breach could have forced the relocation of the school from somewhere in Ohio to here? Now there's a question worth spending extra time on. Beca said that there was a breach of security; it must have been something extremely big, something that would have exposed not only the school itself but also the students to possible harm. The next question would be who would want to expose the school, not one of the staff; they all really care about the students, could it have been one of the students? I don’t know there are just too many questions and not enough information.

There was something else though, something that Kate said, what was it? Oh yes something about the field trips and study partners appearing to be the same gender. Now why would that be important enough for Beca to cut her off like she . . . ah ha, the hotels. Hotels wouldn't let schoolchildren of difficult genders stay in the same room; that has to be it. If you were traveling as a family, they wouldn't care, because the parents would be there, but for a school they would separate them by gender. Therefore, if study partners appear to be the same gender, they could stay in the same room. I’m not sure why that would be so important, unless . . . they’ve become more that just study partners. Hmm I wonder.

Darn I'm freezing, when did this water get so cold? Oh well, a quick shower to rinse off and warm up, then I’d better get dressed.

Mom was as good as her word, the dress and pantyhose were on her bed. I tucked, put on my blue underwear that's covered with lace, the pantyhose and then sat there admiring that beautiful dress. I gentle caressed the fabric, taking in every detail, every stitch. Finally, I slipped the dress over my head. I let it gently float down until I was completely incased in this simple, yet elegant, gracefully flowing gown and petticoats, all satin and lace. As I was admiring the beautiful gown, and how I looked in it, the bedroom door opened just a crack.

"Matilda dear, are you decent?" Mom asked.

"Yes Mom, you can come in. I was just looking at myself in your full length mirror," I said shyly.

"Don't tell me we've created a prima donna," Mom teased.

"A what?" I asked.

"A prima donna, roughly translated it means someone that's in love with themselves, and thinks that everyone else is there just to serve them," Mom giggled.

"Oh Mom, you're teasing me again," I pouted.

"Yes dear, I am. Come on; let's get your makeup done. Rachael's ready to go, except for the makeup I promised she could wear. Matilda, I was just thinking, how would you like to do your sisters makeup?"

"Mom; do you really think I'm good enough to do Rachael's makeup?" I asked nervously.

"Easy dear, I'll be here to help. I just thought you'd enjoy the experience of helping your sister. You've been doing very well with your makeup these last few days."

“Thanks Mom, you have been so helpful and understanding. I don’t know what I would have done without you,” I said. “I would be honored to help Rachael with her makeup.”

By about 9:15 we were all ready to go. The party didn't start until 10:00, but for some reason Mom seemed to be in a hurry.

“Come on girls, let’s get going. Out to the car with you,” Mom said as she shooed us out the door.

“Mom, why are we taking the car? They’re just down the street and around the corner,” protested Rachael.

“I know dear, but we’re running a little late. Jean wanted us there early, remember I’m there to help keep you girl’s in-line,” Mom said with a giggle.

I guess she didn’t want too many of the neighbors asking questions later, like ‘Edith, who was that princess we saw you with the other day?’ I had to giggle at that thought.

Well, we zipped around the corner to Mary Beth’s house. It’s a nice two-story house with a full basement. It's bigger than ours is and with more bedrooms, but then it needs to be, because they have eight children, compared to just the four in my family. As we walked up to the front porch, the door opened before we had a chance to knock. We entered and the door closed. I turned, and knew the reason why. There was Mary Beth, and she was beautiful. She’d obviously taken my advice and had gotten a new gown for the party. She looked like a Southern Bell. She was wearing a beautiful cream-colored gown, with three tiers of ruffles cascading from her waist to her ankles. It had, short sleeves, but was off the shoulder there was a satin bow on neckline, just below her chin, as well as a large bow in the middle of her back. It was positively elegant, I was almost jealous, but only almost.

“Oh Mary Beth, you look beautiful,” I said.

“Oh Matilda my dear, do you really think so?” she replied while staring off into space.

“Boy, do I feel under dressed,” complained Rachael. She was wearing her pink party dress, the same dress that Mom caught me wearing six months ago. Gee whiz! Has it really only been six months? It seems as if it’s been a lot longer.

Mary Beth finally looked down from the heavens at Rachael and me.

“Well Matilda I may look beautiful, but I think I just lost the competition. You are certainly going to be the most beautiful girl at this party," Mary Beth said after she looked at me.

"Oh Mary Beth don't be silly, this isn't a competition. We're just friends having a good time," I said.

"Well after our talk a week ago and how Rachael went on and on," Mary Beth explained. "I thought it would be fun to have a dress-up party, so I called all the other girls and told them that this was to be a fancy dress party. Most of them were excited, there are a few who are quickly turning into tomboys and don’t care about dresses. They did say they would wear a dress, but only for me.”

"That sounds great Mary Beth, who's going to judge?" Rachael asked.

"I vote for the munchkin." A well-known voice from behind us said.

"BECA!” I screamed as I spun around.

"Munchkin?" Both Rachael and Mary Beth questioned.

I didn't hear them as I rushed to hug Beca.

"Take it easy Munchkin, you saw me yesterday," Beca said, trying to fend off my attack.

"But I never expected to see you again. What are you doing here?" I squealed.

"What about me? You're not excited to see me as well? I don't get a hug?" said Lizy, as she came around the corner.

"Lizy; you're here too?" I said as I hugged her. "What are you two doing here?"

"Well your Mom told Ellen that there was this fabulous party going on . . ." started Beca.

"Yes, she said that a princess was going to be there that would need some special attention," Lizy added with a giggle.

"Just to make sure she remembers to keep her mouth shut," Beca whispered in my ear.

Beca laughed when she saw me pouting, because of what she'd said.

"Easy there munchkin, I'm only teasing," Beca said while laughing.

“All right Matilda, who are these girl's and what's with this Munchkin thing?" Mary Beth demanded.

"I'm sorry Mary Beth; these are some friends of mine. I'd like you to meet Beca and Lizy, actually that’s Rebecca and Elizabeth, girls this is my best friend, Mary Beth," I said as I put my arm around Mary Beth's waist, being that I'm too short to put my arm around her shoulders. "Well, now we all know who everyone is, it still doesn't answer the question. Why are you two here?" I asked.

"Like I said, your Mom said there was a party going on and she talked Ellen into letting us come and help out," Beca explained.

"Okay so you're here to help out with my party, but where did Munchkin come from?" Mary Beth demanded.

"Oh, I guess I'm responsible for christening her Munchkin," Beca started to explain. "Yesterday as Matilda was saying goodbye she was trying to . . . what was that line you used? Oh yes I remember, 'Hug the Stuffing out of me.' Anyway, I said something like 'Settle down munchkin.' I hadn't thought about it in advance, it just popped into my head. We both ended up laughing and decided that was a great nickname for her."

"Well I like it; it works for her," said Mary Beth, "Munchkin it is."

"All right, all right," I consented, knowing that there would be no use in protesting. "You can call me Munchkin, but if anyone calls me Munchkin in public I'll sick the 'Wicked Witch of the West' on you," I said with a grin.

Beca looked at Lizy and winked, Lizy nodded back.

"Okay, okay. Let's go find your mother's and see what they want us to do," Beca said. She then smiled and said, "All right girls everyone hold hands."

We all looked at each other wondering what was going on.

"Come on girls, hold hands," Lizy said.

Not knowing what these two were up to, but knowing that they liked to tease and have fun, I figured we should play along. I took Mary Beth's left hand with my right, then Beca's right hand with my left. Then Mary Beth took Rachael's hand and Rachael took Lizy's.

Beca and Lizy smiled and said together, "All together now. Ohhhh weeerrrre off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of oz . . ."

By that point Mary Beth, Rachael and I had joined in, giggling but singing along. We found Mom and Mrs. Phelps in the kitchen; they didn't know what to make of the five of us. Of course, they wanted to know what prompted such a lively display of merriment and song. It took just as long to tell the story the second time, but by the time we were finished all present agreed that Munchkin was the perfect nickname for me. After all the munchkins weren’t just small, they were intelligent as well as mature.

"Rebecca, Elizabeth," Mrs. Phelps said, "I want to thank the two of you, for volunteering to come and help us today. With everything that's planned, things would probably have been a bit crazy around here without you two helping out."

"You are very welcome, Mrs. Phelps," said Lizy.

"Please, call us Beca and Liz or Lizy," Beca added. "We're just not that formal when we're among friends."

"So Jean, what do you have planned and how can we help?" Mom asked.

"Well this should be a full day for us all. There will be ten girls’ running around, and from what Mary Beth tells me, they should all be dressed in their finest. As far as activities goes, I've planned two different activities that will be running at the same time. First will be a ping-pong tournament, we have a table set up in the basement. Two girls at a time are involved with that, while that's going, the other girls will be involved in a treasure hunt. Everything will run in five minute intervals."

The doorbell rang, indicating that more guests had arrived.

"Mary Beth, would you get that please?” Mrs. Phelps asked. Mary Beth and Rachael ran off to see who had arrived. "I guess we'll go over the details after all the girls are here, but let's decide now who will be running the ping-pong tournament and who will be running the treasure hunt. Anyone volunteer for running the ping-pong tournament?"

"I'll run the ping-pong tournament," volunteered Lizy, "It sounds like fun."

"Great, I've printed a chart that will help keep things organized," said Mrs. Phelps. "Beca would you like to run the treasure hunt?"

"Sure thing Mrs. Phelps that sounds like lots of fun as well," replied Beca.

"Terrific," Mrs. Phelps said, “I've already hidden the items around the house and backyard. Here a stack of envelopes, each envelope is labeled 'Team 1 - 1, Team 1 - 2' and so on, that's team one - round one; team one — round two and so on. Each envelope has a slip of paper with the item to search for during that round. Well, from the chatter coming from the living room, it sounds like most of the other girls are here. Shall we go in and introduced everyone around."

Everyone headed to the living room, except me. I hung back, being just a little afraid of how I might be treated. Beca noticed and came to where I was standing.

"What's the matter Munchkin?"

"Hey, not in public, remember?" I said nervously.

"What public, there's no one here except you and I. Now what's the matter, why aren't you in with the other girls?"

"Well, that's just it, other girls. How are they going to treat me?"

"Matilda did you or did you not graduate yesterday?"

"Well yes, but that was just something for the Manor," I whispered.

"Matilda, that graduation wasn't for the Manor; that graduation was to graduate you, into a better life. That ceremony is something we do for everyone that makes a transition. It means that you pass, you're passable in every respect, and nobody will be able to tell that you're not a girl. The problem you're having now, is that you still lack a little confidence around others, right?"

I nodded.

"Now you know why Lizy and I are here. A new girl's first time in public is always a little scary. We're here for moral support and so you will have someone to go to if things get to be more than you can handle. So come on little sister, put a smile on your face and let’s go introduce everyone, to a princess."

"But how will I be introduced?" I asked. "Everyone knows Rachael, and they know that she only has one sister, I'm certainly not Karen."

"Leave that to me Munchkin," Beca said as she stood up, smiled and offered me her hand.

I couldn't help myself; Beca's loving smile was contagious. I took Beca's hand and we went in with the others.

There was a hush as Beca and I entered the living room; I even heard several girls’ gasp.

"Well there you are," said Mrs. Phelps. "I thought you two had gotten lost. We were just going over the rules for our ping-pong tournament. Girls, I'd like to introduce everyone to our other helper for today. This is Beca; she'll be running the treasure hunt for us."

"Hello girls it's a pleasure to be here today, I'm sure I'll get to know each of you during the day. However, at this time I have the honor to introduce you to someone that is very special, my little sister," Beca said with a smile while looking down at me, giving my hand a little squeeze. Then using Joseph's French accent, Beca said, "I present to you, Mademoiselle Matilda. She 'as recently joined us 'ere, ‘owever she is a little shy. I ‘ope you will all ‘elp ‘er to feel like she is welcome ‘ere, and 'elp her to feel that she is, among friends."

When Mom heard the accent she finally put two and two together, the expression on her face made me giggle. She looked at me and mouthed 'Joseph?' I giggled as I nodded slightly.

Everyone said Hello, Hi, or some other greeting. Mary Beth got up and came over to me, giving me a wonderful hello hug.

"I was wondering how I was going to introduce you to everyone," she whispered. "They really are very good friends."

As I hugged her back and whispered, "You have no idea."

I looked up at Beca and said, “Thank you sis.”

"Go have fun Matilda," Beca said.

"Come, sit by me," Mary Beth said as she took my hand and led me across the room to sit on a large couch.

After Mary Beth and I were seated, Mrs. Phelps continued.

"As I was saying, with there being ten girls we will have five teams. For the first round of our ping-pong tournament, the members of the five teams will play each other. Let's start by dividing into teams. I'll call a name and that girl will pick her teammate. Well start with Mary Beth, after all this is her party."

"Gee whiz Mom that's not fair, we’re all friends," Mary Beth said.

"Well if you'd rather, we could put all of your names in a bowel and pick teams that way. I just thought this would be faster and maybe more fun," Mrs. Phelps said.

"Oh, go on Mary Beth," several of the girls said. "Pick one."

"But you're all my friends. Umm, I know, to help her feel welcome here," said Mary Beth, with a smile, while looking at me. "I'll pick Matilda as my team mate."

The girls applauded, showing their approval of her choice.

I smiled, looked at Mary Beth and said, "Thank you Mary Beth, I accept."

"Very good," Mrs. Phelps said as she wrote the names down. "Team one is Mary Beth and Matilda."

"Hey it’s M and M’s," someone shouted. Everyone giggled at that.

"Okay now, team two. Kimmie, you go next please," Mrs. Phelps asked.

Kimmie looked around for a few seconds, and then said, "Rachael."

"Very good, Kimmie and Rachael," Mrs. Phelps said. "Next, team three, Molly, would you select a team mate."

"Umm, Julie," Molly announced.

"Okay, team three is Molly and Julie. Now for team four, Sara, you go next please; there are three to pick from."

"I think, oh, Penny," Sara said.

"Very well team four will be Sara and Penny. That means that team five will be Jennifer and Paula. Now is everyone happy with their teammates?” Mrs. Phelps asked.

Everyone nodded or commented in the affirmative.

"Great," Mrs. Phelps continued. "Next let's discuss the treasure hunt. This will take place at the same time as the ping-pong, that is while team one is playing ping-pong the other four teams will have five minutes to find their items. As each team finds the item they're looking for they need to bring it to the dinning room and put it in their basket."

"What basket Mom?" asked Mary Beth.

"Oh, didn't we pick baskets? I'm sorry. On the dinning room table are five baskets, each one has a colored ribbon and bow to identity it, of course one for each team. The colors are red, blue, green, yellow and pink. I'll start with team five this time, Jennifer, Paula, which color would you girls like?"

They talked together for a few seconds, and then said together, "Yellow."

"Okay, team five, the yellow basket," Mrs. Phelps said aloud as she wrote it down.

The selection of the baskets went about the same for the other teams. Team four picked the red basket. Team three the blue basket. Team two picked the pink basket. That left the green basket for Mary Beth and me.

“All right," Mrs. Phelps continued, "Now where were we? Oh, yes, after you find the item you're looking for bring to the dinning room and put it in your basket. The fun thing that I came up with is that no two teams will be looking for the same item. Now then, does any one have any questions?"

We all looked at each other, then at Mrs. Phelps, wondering what she meant. I guess the looks on our faces told her that we were confused.

"All right, I'll make it easy," said Mrs. Phelps with a smile. "Team one will go downstairs with Lizy. Beca please give out the first envelopes to teams two - five, girls please don't open them yet. We will play some music over the intercom, when you hear music that will be everyone’s signal to start. Five minutes later, you'll hear music again, that's the signal to stop. Then everyone will meet back here and I tell you all what to do next."

Mary Beth, Lizy and I headed downstairs.

"So Matilda," said Lizy. "This is the famous Mary Beth that you've been telling everyone about."

"What do you mean famous?" asked Mary Beth.

"Just what do you mean, telling everyone?" I asked.

Lizy started laughing at both of us. "Isn't this the Mary Beth whose shoulder you cried on, a week ago? She has the green eyes you described, as well as the strong arms, to hold you tight and comfort you."

"Matilda," Mary Beth questioned. "Just who have you been talking to about me, and about last Saturday? I thought last Saturday was a secret and we weren't supposed to talk about it."

"The only people that I talked to, about last Saturday were Ellen and my big sister," I answered. Several of the things that I'd been thinking about this morning suddenly came together. "Lizy, you and Beca are study partners, aren't you?" I suddenly said.

"Always the detective, aren't you Matilda?" Lizy said while giggling.

"Lizy," I whispered, "Is there more to your relationship with Beca than just being study partners?"

"Matilda, just what are you asking?" inquired Lizy.

"Well I'm not sure how to put it, but it seems to me that they match students together for more than just, umm, academic reasons," I added.

"Are you asking if we're emotionally or romantically involved?" Lizy whispered.

"Well, being that you're fifteen and I'm only ten, I guess we're not really having this conversation, but yes, that's what I’m asking."

"I can't answer that question Matilda. However, judging from your question, you've been adding a lot of pieces to your puzzle. So Matilda, have you figured out the answer to your big question yet?"

"Not yet, I just don't have enough of the pieces. Lizy, were you at the Ohio, facility?"

"Yes, why?"

"Beca wasn't, she joined after the move, right?"

"Yes, that's right, why do you ask?"

"Just adding some more pieces to my puzzle. I guess it's time to stop playing with puzzles and start playing some ping-pong," I said reluctantly.

"You're right; we better get some ping-pong in before the time is up."

Mary Beth was looking at us during our exchange, the look on her face left no doubt as to her confusion.

"Mary Beth, the Beca that's upstairs helping with the treasure hunt, she is the Beca I told you about last Saturday, the one that taught me to walk like a girl with a book on my head. She and Lizy are, umm, very good friends. More than that, I’m afraid I can't tell you."

"Some day girl, you're going to tell me everything that's been going on," said a pouting Mary Beth.

I quickly hugged my friend. "Some day Mary Beth, some day, but today I need you, to teach me, to play ping-pong."

"You've never played ping-pong?" asked Mary Beth.

"Nope, never," I replied.

"Matilda, why don't we just say that I won," Mary Beth giggled.

"What, give up without a fight? You must be joking!" I said, obviously a bit upset that Mary Beth had even suggested such a thing. "Look at me Mary Beth; go on take a good look. Trust me Mary Beth; you have no idea what I been through just so I could be here today. If you think that I would even consider giving up without a fight, then you just don't know Matilda very well. Let's play!"

"I'm sorry Matilda, all right a crash course in ping-pong," Mary Beth said with a smile and a little hug.

Mary Beth gave me a quick lesson in ping-pong them we played for about two - three minutes before the music came on over the intercom. Mary Beth did beat me, but it wasn’t because I didn’t try my best and she did have to work at it.

Lizy put an arm around me as we went back upstairs, she hugged me and whispered in my ear, "Way to go sis. You handled yourself very well, I'm proud of you, and I know that Beca will be when I tell her about it."

"Thanks Lizy," I whispered back. "Are you going to tell her about our conversation as well?"

"Of course, there are no secrets between study partners."

"Well, I guess I'll be in trouble again."

"What for?” Lizy asked.

"Mostly for not keeping my mouth shut," I said, which caused both Lizy and I giggle.

Lizy just gave me a gentle swat on my bottom to push me forwards, also letting me know that I probably wasn’t going to be in trouble.

We all met in the living room as planned. Team two went down for there turn at ping-pong, and Beca gave us an envelope with 'Team 1 - 1' on it. As soon as the music started, Mary Beth tore the envelope open. Inside was a slip of paper with Ceramic Chicken printed on it!

"So that's what those were," said Mary Beth.

"That's what, what were?" I questioned.

"Several days ago Mom brought home a box of small ceramic knickknacks. When I asked what they were for, she just said never mind."

“Well come on Mary Beth, less talk and more action, after all the clocks ticking. Where did your Mom hide them?” I asked.

"Just hold on a second," said Mary Beth, "Let me think. She brought them home, and then she wondered all over the house and throughout the backyard. Now where would you look for a chicken?"

"In the backyard," I answered.

"Right!" she said, as she grabbed my hand and started upstairs.

"So why are we going upstairs if you would find a chicken in the backyard?" I asked, as Mary Beth dragged me along.

"Exactly, the backyard is where you would expect to find a chicken, that's why it won't be there. We should look in Martha's room."

"Why in Martha's room?" I ask.

"Because, Martha hates chicken."

We stopped in front of a door that I assured to be Martha's bedroom, one of Mary Beth's older sisters, and Mary Beth knocked.

"I thought your Mom said we had the house to ourselves and that no one else was home?" I asked.

"Just checking," Mary Beth said as she opened the door. As we went into Martha’s room, she cautioned me, "Don't touch anything in here. Martha is very fussy about her room. If the chickens are here they'll be easy to find."

Sure enough, we found two ceramic chickens, about three inches tall, sitting on Martha's makeup table. We took one and headed for the dinning room to put our first prize in our basket. Then we went into the kitchen. Both our Mother's were there. Mom was stirring some punch, and Mrs. Phelps was adding some decorative icing to what had to be the birthday cake.

"That's pretty sneaky Mom," Mary Beth said.

"What are you talking about dear?” Mrs. Phelps asked.

"Putting the ceramic chickens, in Martha's room, that’s pretty sneaky if you ask me. I doubt anyone else will think of looking there," Mary Beth told her Mother, while sampling the icing in the bowl.

"Well after all dear, it is a treasure HUNT," replied Mrs. Phelps, slapping at Mary Beth's hand. "Don't tell anyone where you found the chicken. That would remove the challenge."

"No problem Mom, I’m getting good at keeping secrets," Mary Beth said, while poking me in the side.

Just then Beca came in, "Times up," she said. She then turned a knob on what I assumed to be the intercom, master control panel. Music could then be heard throughout the house.

"What are you two doing in here?" asked Beca, addressing Mary Beth and I. "Shouldn't you be hunting for a treasure?"

"We found what we needed for this round," explained Mary Beth.

"So we're just waiting for the next round to start," I added.

"Well, let's get moving," said Beca, with a grin, while shooing us along. Mrs. Phelps chuckled as she followed behind.

"Well now, this is round three," said Mrs. Phelps, after everyone was back together and quiet. "We need team three down at the ping-pong table, teams one and two need their number two envelope, teams four and five will be on their number three envelope."

Beca quickly handed out the envelopes as team three went downstairs. As soon as the music started, four envelopes were torn open. It took a few seconds before the teams scattered to hunt for their next item.

Mary Beth and I just looked at each other. "Mary Beth, where are we going to find that?" I asked.

"I'm not sure on this one," replied Mary Beth, with an expression that said - help, I'm lost.

"I think we can assume that it's like the chicken, a small knickknack," I said.

"I certainly hope so. I don't think Mom could have hidden something that size anywhere around the house, or in the backyard," agreed Mary Beth.

"Maybe we should split up for this one Mary Beth. You search in the house and I’ll have a go at the backyard," I suggested.

"Okay, that sounds better than any of the ideas I'm coming up with. If you find it head straight for the basket, we'd better hurry," agreed Mary Beth.

We split up; I headed through the kitchen and out the back door. I took a quick look across the grass, not seeing anything out of the ordinary; I decided to concentrate on the various bushes and plants that adorned the perimeter fence line. Several of the other girls were also chasing back and forth, around the yard. In the far back corner of the yard, in the middle of Mrs. Phelps’s Rose garden, I found the object of my quest. A small herd had gathered under one large rose bush. I carefully approached my prey, not wanting to scare them off or snag my dress on the other roses. After I'd managed to capture an average specimen, I carefully worked my way out of the dangerous roses. Once I was clear of the roses, I hurried back to the house; you know it's hard to run across the grass when you're wearing three-inch heels. As I entered the back door, I heard the music that indicated the end of that round. I stopped in the dinning room and placed my prize in our basket. I was confident that my prize wouldn't be able to escape. Smiling I went to join with others.

Mary Beth saw my smile and asked, "Matilda, did you find it?"

"Indeed I did Mary Beth, indeed I did. It was a challenging safari; I had to brave steaming deserts, the sandbox around the swing set; maneuver around cascading waterfalls; the lawn sprinkler, slowly foraging my way through uncharted wastelands, the tall uncut grass; but after a relentless journey I managed to capture our quarry without loss of life, or damage to my gown," I replied. Both Mary Beth and I were laughing at the exaggerated tale, as I explained how I'd captured, a Ceramic Elephant.

Team four went downstairs as the rest of us were handed our next envelope.

As Mary Beth opened the envelope, she smiled. "I know where to find one of those," she said, grabbing my hand and heading downstairs.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"My Dad's office, he has a fish tank in there that should have what we need. It may not be what Mom intended, but it should be okay."

"Is that it?" I asked, as we were standing in front of a large aquarium.

"That's it, a Chinese Dragon," answered Mary Beth.

"Just how are we going to get it out of the tank?"

"Have you ever gone fishing?" asked Mary Beth.

"What do you mean?"

"Are you afraid of getting your arm wet?"

"You want me to reach into the tank and pull it out?"

"Well, the sleeves on your dress are shorter than mine."

"Well, as Matt, I'd have no problem reaching in after it. However, as Matilda, that water is gross and yucky and it will ruin my dress as it drips off my arm."

"Oh come on Matilda, it's just a little water."

"It’s still going to ruin my dress."

"I guess there are two options. One: you could take off your dress so it . . ."

"Hold it right there Mary Beth. There's only one person that I'll willingly undress in front of, and you're not either one of them. What's the second option?"

"Well, I could get a towel, to dry your arm as you pull it out of the tank, and then the dragon once it's out. Wait a second Matilda, what did you mean just now, when you said, there's only one person that you'll undress in front of and I'm not either of them? How can one person be referred to as them?"

"Never mind Mary Beth."

"But Matilda . . ."

"Go get the towel Mary Beth."

"Oh, all right." Mary Beth grumbled as she left.

While she was gone, I moved a footstool over next to the tank. When Mary Beth returned, we both got on the footstool. I reached in after the dragon while Mary Beth wrapped the towel around my arm. As I pulled my arm out, Mary Beth kept it dry with the towel. We heard the music that indicated the end of that round, and quickly went upstairs with our prize, ready for the next round.

The next round started and I opened the envelope to discover what our next challenge would be.

"We've been doing pretty well so far Mary Beth, where do you think we should look for this?"

"Well now, let me think for a second."

"I've got it; we go to the storage room in the basement," and off we went, back downstairs.

"Why in the storage room?"

"Because that's where the Christmas chests are."

"Why do we want the Christmas chests?" I asked, as Mary Beth opened the door into what I assumed to be the storage room.

"Because that's where the Christmas decorations and the Nativity Scene figures are kept."

"Mary Beth, just how many of these chests do we have to look through to find the Nativity Scene?" I asked, as I stared at over a dozen chest's and trunks.

"We only need to look in the six chests that are just to the left of the door."

"Mary Beth, you're telling me we have to look through six chests in less than four minutes."

"No, we only have to open at the most six chests. The one we want has the Christmas stockings on top. The Nativity Scene figures are wrapped in tissue paper just underneath the stockings," Mary Beth said, as she opened the first chest, which was on top of the stack.

"You're sure about that?" I asked.

"Very sure, I packed that chest last January. Not this one, Matilda, help me lift it down so we can get to the next one."

The third chest we opened had the decorative Christmas stockings on top, just as Mary Beth had described them. We each un-wrapped about eight of the Nativity figures before I found what appeared to be what we were looking for.

"Is this it Mary Beth?"

"That's it, let's go. I’ll put all the rest of this away later."

We rushed back upstairs. Gently Mary Beth placed the donkey in the basket with our other treasures. We were four for four; I guess you could say that Mary Beth and I had a home court advantage. I felt really, good about how well Mary Beth and I had been doing. I then looked at the other baskets; some had two items some had three. I noticed that Kimmie and Rachael weren't doing so well, as they only had one item in their basket, suddenly' I didn't feel so good. I whispered in Mary Beth's ear, she nodded in agreement. Just then, we heard the music indicating the end of that round.

Once everyone had returned to the Living room, Mrs. Phelps asked how everyone was doing and if all the girls were having fun. There was a variety of responses.

"Girls, we thought everyone would be having fun with these activities?” Mrs. Phelps said, questioningly.

"I think we're all having fun, it's just that the treasure hunt is a little harder that we expected." said Kimmie. Most of the other girl's nodded in agreement.

"I'm sorry girls; I guess I got a little carried away when I was hiding them. I tell you what, for the rest of the hunt we'll go to ten minute rounds and if you’re having trouble come to me and I'll give you clues as to where to look."

"How did you all feel about the ping-pong?” asked Mrs. Phelps.

Everyone agreed that the ping-pong was fun.

"That’s great! I’m glad to know that something we planned, is working out as we’d hoped. For the semifinals of the ping-pong tournament, the winners from each team will play each other for points. Each girl will play two games with a different opponent for each game. Then after five games, the two girls with the most points will play each other for the finals. So let's have teams one and two downstairs, teams three, four and five will continue with the treasure hunt."

The five of us went downstairs, Mary Beth and me, Kimmie and Rachael, along with Lizy.

"Welcome back girls," Lizy said cheerfully. "Let's see now, who do we have playing. The winner from team one was Mary Beth, and from team two the winner was Kimmie. Ladies if you'll please take your places.

As Mary Beth and Kimmie played, I had a chance to talk with Rachael.

"Hey Matilda, how are you feeling?" Rachael asked, while we watched Mary Beth and Kimmie playing ping-pong. "Mom told me you were kind of sad this morning."

"Well I was upset, thinking about yesterday and that I wouldn't see my friends again. Right now, everything is perfect. I mean everyone here has accepted me as Matilda. No one even questioned weather I'm a girl or not."

"Of course not silly, why would they? Everything about you says girl, well princess actually. Matilda, have you thought about what you'll talk about after the games are finished?" asked Rachael.

"What do you mean?"

"Well I've heard several of the girl's talking; they want to know more about you. Where you're from? Why did Beca refer to you as Mademoiselle Matilda? Where are you staying, going to school, and many other questions? You know that when we all get together while Mary Beth opens her presents, and while we're eating cake and ice cream, everyone has fun talking."

"I hadn't realized that, after all I've never been to a birthday party before. Well I'll talk to Beca and see if she has thought of something? She has probably already thought of a background story for me, she's usually on top of those sorts of things. In the meantime, I see that you and Kimmie aren't doing so well, with the treasure hunt I mean."

"I guess we just aren't fast enough. Plus we think Mrs. Phelps hid them too good."

"What can't you find?"

"Oh they're just silly things: a ceramic chicken, a ceramic elephant, and a ceramic turtle. Like I said, just silly things but we're having a hard time finding them."

"I guess I've got it easy as far as the treasure hunt goes. Being teamed up with Mary Beth, we have a little bit of a home court advantage."

"Some girl's have all the luck," teased Rachael.

"Speaking of luck, who do you think is going to win the ping-pong tournament?" I asked changing the subject.

"Oh yes, we're supposed to be cheering for our teammates, aren't we?" asked Rachael.

"Well I guess they would like it if we did."

We both turned our attention back to the game. I had the information I needed to help my friend and sister. The game between Mary Beth and Kimmie was close; they were both good at ping-pong, but as we heard the music, ending the round, Mary Beth was ahead, seventeen to fifteen. The four of us quickly went upstairs. Once everyone had gathered in the living room, teams three and four were directed downstairs as the other three teams were given envelopes with our next treasure hunt item.

"I was right Mary Beth;" I told her when we were alone, "The items that Kimmie and Rachael couldn't find are the one's that your Mother creatively hid."

"What are you suggesting Matilda?"

"First; we get the turtle that we need for this round, where there's one turtle, there should be two. Second; you run up to Martha's room after another chicken while I brave the roses to get another elephant."

"Sounds like a good plan to me Matilda. Are we trying to help them win the treasure hunt?"

"Who said anything about helping them win? I was thinking more along the line of a tie." I answered with a giggle.

"That's a terrific plan; I don't think Mom had a tie in mind when she planed the treasure hunt. So where do we find some turtle's? Miss Holmes." Mary Beth asked with a giggle.

"Well, answer this for me Mary Beth. What is that big potted plant that's in the corner of your living room, the one by the window?"

"That's a Rubber Tree."

"That’s what I thought it was. Now, is it my imagination or are the turtle's in its pot new?"

Mary Beth rushed to the living room to check out the Rubber Tree. "Matilda, I'd never even noticed those little turtle's there. When did you see them?"

"This morning, after Beca introduced me as her little sister; you came up to hug me, and then you led me to the couch to sit by you. That’s when I noticed the turtle's in the pot with the rubber tree. I thought they made a cute addition. I know they weren't there when I was here three weeks ago."

"Well, come on Miss Holmes, let’s get moving, were almost out of time on this round."

"I thought my nickname was Munchkin?"

"Of course your nickname is Munchkin, we all agreed to it, but you still need a last name don't you?"

"Oh Mary Beth, what am I going to do with you?"

"Just give me a hug and say thanks dear friend."

I smiled and shook my head before giving Mary Beth a hug. Yes the long hair still tickles my ears, gee I like being a girl.

"Mary Beth, where can we hide the items for Rachael and Kimmie until were ready for them. We don't want to put them in their basket until the last moment."

"We can hide them in a draw in the china cabinet, I'll show you where. You’re right about not putting them in their basket until the time is right, but when will that be?”

“I think the right time would be just after everyone goes downstairs for the ping-pong finals. We can slip them out of the drawer and into their basket without anyone knowing. The next time anyone should be looking would be when the winner is announced."

"That sounds like a great plan Matilda. Lets get moving."

We put one turtle in our basket and one in the drawer in the china cabinet. Then Mary Beth went up after the chicken as I went out to capture another elephant. We got them both hidden without anyone else noticing.

During the next round, Mary Beth played ping-pong with Jennifer as her opponent. Paula and I spent most of the time cheering, we did talk a little mostly about the party and how each team was doing with the treasure hunt. Mary Beth added nineteen points to her credit, giving her a total of, thirty-six points. She wasn't very happy with her performance and didn't think she had a chance of being in the finals.

The next round it was my turn to open the envelope. After all the cute ceramic objects we've search for, we suddenly got something that I wouldn't know what to do with, if I had one in my hand, a baseball.

"Well Mary Beth, I guess one of your brothers might have one," I suggested.

"Why would we need my brothers’ baseball? We'll just get my ball."

"Mary Beth, you have your own baseball?"

"Ball, glove, bat the works. You don't play baseball, Matilda?"

"No, not really, being that I’m so small for my age, I've just never taken to sports much. I'm surprised that you do. I mean, to me, you’re the perfect model of what a girl is suppose to be. You're kind and loving, you'll go out of your way to help someone in need, and you’re always dressed so properly for a girl. I don't think I've ever seen you in a pair of pants or those disgusting jeans that everyone wears."

"Well my dear friend Matilda, I guess you don't know me as well as you thought you did. I like baseball, volleyball, tennis and soccer. I also like to sing, cook and sew, but you're right about denim jeans being disgusting."

"Well, all right then, you go and get your baseball. I need to have a talk with Beca," I said. We split up; Mary Beth went upstairs as I went in search of Beca.

I found Beca in the kitchen, with Mom and Mrs. Phelps, helping with last minute preparations.

"Beca, could we talk for a minute?" I asked.

"Sure thing Munchkin, what's on your mind," Beca replied cheerfully.

"Umm, could we talk privately?"

"Serious huh? Sure, come with me," Beca replied as she led the way out of the kitchen and into the dining room.

"So what's on your mind Matilda?" Beca asked, as we sat side by side at the table.

"I'm wondering if you have thought of a background story for me. After all while Mary Beth is opening her gifts and while we're all eating cake and ice cream, the other girl's are going to want to know more about me."

"Well, we could just tell everyone that you're only twelve day's old, and therefore have no background," Beca said with an evil grin.

"Beca," I said, with a moan, "You can't tell them that."

"How about this, we tell them that you're really a scared little boy who thinks that life would be better if you were a girl."

"Beca!" I almost screamed. My eyes must have been as big as silver dollars. "What are you trying to do to me?"

"Relax Matilda, I'm just teasing you," Beca said, as she put an arm around me, reassuring me. "I introduced you this morning as my little sister, didn’t I? We'll continue along that story line. I'm from Phoenix, Arizona, so it's doubtful that anyone here would know us. Anyway, as I said, you're my little sister. I'm attending a private school just north of here. You've come up to visit for several weeks. The Covington's are friends of the family, and you've been staying with them at night, while being with me during the day. That should cover just about any question that might come up, even if anyone has seen you and your Mother coming or going each day."

"For a minute you had me worried Beca. I've been to Phoenix, so I can describe the area if I need to." I added.

"Well, there you have it, a complete background story. All you need is a Mother, Margaret, and a father, James, and of course a last name, Stanford," Beca added, to complete the story.

"That's great, thanks Beca. You're the greatest," I said, giving Beca a hug.

Beca then went to play the music over the intercom, indicating the end of the round, as I continued to sit in the dinning room thinking. I went over the details in my mind over, and over, so they would come naturally when they started asking me questions. I think that I'm ready for the gauntlet that would surely come. Filled with confidence and a new background I was ready to rejoin the others.

I caught up with Mary Beth, who had just opened our last envelope.

"Okay Miss Holmes," said Mary Beth, with that teasing grin. "Giving your skills of observation and your apparently keen memory, just where do you think we'll find this item?"

"Well now my dear Miss Watson, it is as they say, elementary. As you know, these are nocturnal creatures." Mary Beth was looking at me funny, she obviously had no idea what I was talking about, and I couldn't help myself as I giggled. "This means that they sleep during the day and venture forth at night, to forage for food. As the sun is still high in the sky, we should assume that our quarry should be sleeping. Their normal sanctuaries for their daytime slumber are the tops of trees, or tall structures that would provide a resting place where they would be safe from other predators."

Mary Beth couldn't take it any more; she almost burst as she asked, "Matilda, what on earth are you talking about?"

I laughed again as I explained, "Look high Mary Beth. Look in high places where it's normally dark during the day."

Mary Beth’s confusion was obvious. I took her by the hand and led her into the dinning room. I told her to look up and to turn slowly. She circled twice before she noticed the object of our quest. Sitting on top of the china cabinet, in an area that would usually be in shadow, is where Mary Beth finally spotted a small flock, napping quietly in the shadows.

"Matilda, how did you know they were there? When did you notice them?"

"Mary Beth, just push a chair over next to the china cabinet and climb up and retrieve one of them. You are, after all, taller than I am. I may have been the one to go fishing, but you’re elected to do the rock climbing," it was my turn to tease.

Mary Beth started laughing as well. She moved a chair and retrieved a ceramic owl from the top of the china cabinet.

Our quest complete, Mary Beth and I returned to the living room, giggling and teasing each other while we waited for the end of the round.

We heard the music indicating that this round had ended. As the other girl's made their way back into the living room, I noticed that most of the girls were happy and giggling. There were a few, of the girls, that seamed a little depressed, Rachael and Kimmie to be exact.

"Well girls, how'd the second half of the treasure hunt go?” asked Mrs. Phelps, once everyone had gathered once again in the living room.

The consensus was that ten-minute rounds were better, as almost everyone had been able to find their objects.

"That's great, I'm really glad that the second half of the treasure hunt was more enjoyable for everyone," replied Mrs. Phelps. "I guess the problems with the first half of the treasure hunt were my fault. I thought you'd have been able to find everything in five minutes. I guess I hid the objects better than I'd intended. I'm sorry. Well, now it's time for the finals of the ping-pong tournament. Lizy, which two girls scored the most points during the semi-finals?"

"After adding the numbers twice, to make sure I didn't make a mistake, the two girls with the most points are, with thirty-six points each, Mary Beth," everyone applauded, interrupting Lizy, "and Penny." Lizy shouted over the roar of the crowd.

"Well done girls, congratulations to both of you," Mrs. Phelps said. "All right now, let’s have everyone downstairs for the conclusion of our ping-pong tournament. With this many girls, I expect to hear lots of cheering and excitement during the final game."

Everyone started downstairs, except for me. I had a secret mission to complete before I could join the others.

As I hung back Beca noticed, "Is everything all right Matilda?" she asked.

"Oh yes, everything is just great. I just have something I need to do before I come down. It will just take me a couple of minutes," I replied.

"You're sure everything's okay?" asked Beca.

"Yes Beca, I'm really having a wonderful time."

"Okay Munchkin, don't take too long or you'll miss the game. By the way, it's down the hall, the second door on your left."

"Thanks Beca," I said. I knew that she was giving me directions to the bathroom. What Beca didn't know was that I needed to be alone in the dinning room for about two minutes. I started into the hall, but once Beca was out of sight, down the stairs, I tiptoed into the dinning room. I looked around to make sure I was alone before opening the drawer in the china cabinet. I quickly removed the three items and placed them in Kimmie and Rachael's basket. I then looked at each of the baskets. What I discovered was that each of the other team had found six out of seven items. Mary Beth and I were the only ones to find all seven. Not being able to talk about it with Mary Beth right now, but from our conversation earlier I'm sure that she would agree. I took the Owl from our basket and put it in the drawer in the china cabinet. Smiling to myself, I went downstairs to join the others.

Beca saw me as I exited the stairwell. I guess she was wondering what had taking me so long because she came over to talk with me.

"Is everything all right Matilda?" Beca wanted to know. The sincerity in her voice told me how much she truly cared about me.

"Yes Beca, everything is just fine. I just hope Mrs. Phelps has a good sense of humor," I said with a mischievous smile.

"All right Munchkin, just what did you do?" Beca demanded.

"Who me, would I have done anything I shouldn't?" I asked, trying to not, look guilty.

Beca took my arm and led me into Mr. Phelps office.

"Now we can talk privately Matilda, now tell me, just what did you do?” Beca asked, with her hands on her hips, looking down at me.

"Beca, I'm just here to enjoy myself and have fun," I'd started to say.

"MATILDA!" Beca demanded.

I started laughing as I said, "My dear Rebecca, I've never seen you try to act so mean and serious. You really don't do it very well." I was laughing hard now almost out of control. "If you want I could arrange for you to take lessons from my Dad."

Beca started laughing as well, and then we both sat on the couch. I then told her the whole story, my talk with Rachael about the trouble they had with the first half of the treasure hunt. Then I related my conversation with Mary Beth. How we’d agreed that we would try to help Kimmie and Rachael. I explained why I'd stayed upstairs when everyone else came down and finally about the arrangement of the five-way tie, by removing and hiding the Owl that Mary Beth and I had found.

Beca agreed that I'd done nothing wrong. As for Mrs. Phelps and her sense of humor, well, that remained to be seen.

"Matilda, I want to know something. How and where did you find the Owl? You and Mary Beth were the only ones to find it."

"There on top of the china cabinet in the dinning room. I noticed them there when you and I were talking earlier."

"I didn't see them there. How is it that you saw them there and nobody else did?"

"Beca, being overly smart in the public schools system has certain negative drawbacks. Being overly smart and very small creates for a hazardous combination. You learn quickly to be observant, or you learn to enjoy pain. Out of necessity, you learn to notice everything about your surroundings, the people around you, both near and at a distance, and you're always looking for possible hiding places. For me, when I'm at school, these are everyday lifesaving skills."

"Oh Matilda, I had no idea that life was so bad for you," Beca said as she put her arm's around me.

Just then, we heard a lot of cheering coming from the other room.

"Well it looks like we missed the ping-pong," I said, as Beca released me. Too bad, I would have enjoyed sitting with her just a little longer.

"I guess we better go congratulated the winner," Beca said, as she rose from the couch and was offering me a hand.

As we left Mr. Phelps office, we saw Mary Beth and Penny hugging each other, as Mary Beth congratulated Penny for a wonderfully played game. I later heard that at the end of their ten minute game there was a tie. Therefore, they had played not one but two overtime rounds of three minutes each, each one ending in a tie. They finally had to play a sudden death round, as Mrs. Phelps put it, where the next point scored by either one would win.

After the congratulations had just about died down, Mrs. Phelps addressed everyone, "Girls, may I have your attention please." After it was quiet, she continued. "I'm pleased to see that everyone is having a good time. We have one more game to play; actually, this game is for Mary Beth to play and the rest of you to cheer. The game is of my own invention, I call it Gift Guess." All of us girls were confused, as evident by our expressions.

Mrs. Phelps laughed before she continued; "This is very simple and should be fun for everyone. Each of the gifts that were brought had a card attached, which I've removed. The way this game is played, Mary Beth will sit in the middle of the large couch; the rest of you girls may sit any place you wish. Mary Beth will be handed and open gifts at random. Here's where the fun begins, Mary Beth has to guess who brought that gift. Just to make things a little more interesting I've added a few extra gifts to the mix. Doesn't this sound like fun?"

Everyone, except Mary Beth, thought the idea sounded like lots of fun.

"If everyone would please return to the living room we'll begin," announced Mrs. Phelps.

Everyone headed for the stairs with a couple of exceptions. Rachael and I went to talk with Mom.

When we were almost alone in the basement I whispered, "Mom, we didn't have time to get and wrap gifts."

"Relax girls, I dropped off gifts in your names a couple of days ago," Mom said reassuringly.

"Well don't you think we should know what we're giving Mary Beth? Being that Mrs. Phelps has invented this game."

"That might be a good idea," Mom agreed. "When we were at the Crossroads Plaza, I noticed how the two of you were ogling the display in the window at Victoria Secrets. I just assumed that all girls your age want those styles. When I was a girl we didn't think about Victoria Secrets until after we were married."

"Mom! What are you saying?" I asked, afraid of what the answer might be.

"I sent Mary Beth, in your name Matilda, a pink baby doll nightie, see through of course. Rachael sent her a red lace garter belt with several sets of stockings," Mom answered.

Both Rachael and I were shocked. Rachael's mouth had dropped open and I just stared at Mom in disbelief, an expression of horror on my face.

"Mom, you didn't?" I finally managed to say, after an hour went by, actually about twenty seconds.

Mom just stood there, as serious as I've ever seen her. After another hour or so, she broke a smile, and started giggling.

"Of course I didn't, but how often do I get to tease both of you at the same time? I just couldn't resist," she finally said. "What I did do was ordered a couple of those dolls that you've been wishing for, you know, the ones from americangirl.com. Matilda, you're giving Mary Beth Samantha. Rachael, you're giving her Nellie."

“But Mom, how come you gave Mary Beth the dolls that you won’t even get for us?” asked Rachael.

“Anything you want to add Matilda?” asked Mom.

“Rachael, it’s because Mary Beth is my best friend, and Mom knows how special Mary Beth is to me, and what I would do for her. At American Girl that pair is referred to as "Best Friends." True friendship doesn't know limitations, only love and sacrifice.”

Rachael only nodded, I’m not sure if she really understands or not, but right now it doesn’t matter.

Mom hugged us both as she put one arm around each of us and moved us toward the stairs. "We better hurry or we're going to miss all the fun."

"Well, there are our missing guests," said Mrs. Phelps, as we emerged from the stairs. "We were just trying to decide who should pick which gift should be opened?"

"I know I'm just a guest here and most of you don't know me," I said, "But I think Lizy or Beca should pick the order that Mary Beth opens the gifts. They’re probably the only ones who didn't bring a gift, and therefore don't know who brought what."

"That sounds like an excellent idea Matilda," said Mrs. Phelps. "All those in favor of following Matilda's suggestion, raise your hand."

Everyone raised a hand, with the exception of Beca and Lizy. Now why wouldn't they think it was a good idea? From the look on Beca's face, maybe volunteering them might not have been a good idea. I just keep getting in deeper and deeper.

A second later, they both smiled. "That should be fun," said Lizy.

"Is everyone ready?" asked Beca.

There they go, teasing me again. I'm going to have to work on that, I'm just too easy to tease.

All the girls cheered as Beca picked up the first gift and presented it to Mary Beth, as if she were royalty.

Mary Beth thanked Beca graciously and then proceeded to shred the wrapping paper. Everyone looked on in awe as the gift was revealed, a plain brown cardboard box, how exciting. Someone suggested that opening the box could be fun as well, several of the girls giggled. After the ripping of tape and the throwing of Styrofoam peanuts, a large brown plastic fishing tackle box was revealed.

"Gee whiz, who would have giving me a fishing tackle box," said Mary Beth. "Anyone that knows me at all knows that I simply despise fish." After Mary Beth opened the tackle box, she became more excited. "It's full of ribbons, bows and lots of pretty things to go in my hair. This gift had to come from you Mom."

"Why would you think that dear?" asked Mrs. Phelps.

"It's simple, the best way to stop me from snitching hair pretties from Martha and Carolyn, which makes them yell, is for me to have my own. Thanks Mom, I was wondering when I saw the tackle box, that was clever but sneaky."

"You're welcome Mary Beth," said Mrs. Phelps.

Lizy handed Mary Beth the next gift. As she eagerly started again, shredding the wrapping paper to reveal another brown box.

“Hey Mom,” Mary Beth called out, “We should keep some of these boxes for Jeffery.”

“Why do you say that dear?” inquired Mrs. Phelps.

“You know that kids under the age of five have more fun with the box the toy came in, than the toy. Just look at all these boxes, Jeffery will have a blast with them,” said Mary Beth with a giggle. Several of the other girls agreed that their younger siblings did the same.

Inside the box was a large decorative binder, an assortment of paper, scissors that wouldn’t cut straight lines, glue and some of those funny corner things. Mary Beth looked puzzled by the contents as she removed them from the box and laid them out on the coffee table.

“Well they are all very nice, but I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do with them,” commented Mary Beth.

Several of the girls giggled, but stopped as Mary Beth looked up causing her to frown a little. As I had arrived late I was sitting across the room, but that didn’t stop Mary Beth from singling me out.

“All right Mademoiselle Matilda, you’re the detective here. What would this collection of items be used for?” inquired Mary Beth.

I gracefully rose and went to examine the objects, first hand. Thank you Miss Adams for your excellent teaching I thought to myself. After examining the bottle of glue and the labeling on the plastic wrap on some of the paper I returned to my seat and, after carefully smoothing out my dress, sat down, spreading my skirt out.

Smiling, I asked Mary Beth, “Do you have pictures of special events that you wish to remember?”

“Yes I do, there in a shoe box in my closet. What does that have to do with all of this?” There were again a few giggles from the other girls.

“If you were to organize those pictures into a book,” I asked Mary Beth, “Along with some of your poetry and some of the special things you’ve done at school, what would you call that book?”

I overheard several more soft giggles as Mary Beth was thinking about the question.

“A Scrap Book,” someone whispered a little loudly.

“A Scrap Book?” asked Mary Beth.

“A Scrap Book, Mary Beth,” I said confidently. “What you have there is a nice collection of scrapbook supplies, complete with acid free paper and acid free glue. The question before you now is which of your friends enjoys scrap booking enough to have given you such a large collection of supplies, as a gift. From the number of giggles I’d say there are several candidates.” I as well as several others giggled then.

As Mary Beth was pondering that question Molly, who was sitting next to me, leaned over and asked me a question.

“Matilda, why did Beca, this morning, and now Mary Beth address you as Mademoiselle Matilda?”

“Well Mary Beth I’m sure, just picked it up from Beca, she is probably just trying to tease me a little,” I said. “Beca had some classes in French last year and has been referring to me as mademoiselle ever since. As I understand it, it refers to a female who has never been married.”

“Well for someone who’s only eight or nine, I hope you’ve never been married,” Molly added with a giggle.

“Most definitely not,” I replied with a giggle. I ignored the reference to my age, rather than embarrassing her, or me, I decided not to try to correct her.

It took Mary Beth a couple of minutes and three tries to determine that Paula had given her the collection of scrapbook supplies.

Beca brought forth the next gift and the paper was quickly removed. Inside were a small digital camera and a carrying case. Almost all the girls were excited and impressed with this present. I noticed that two of the girls were not as excited as the others, one of which was smiling. Molly was my guess for the bearer of such a nice gift.

“Wow! This is great,” Mary Beth exclaimed, as she examined the camera. “Now who would have brought this?” It took three heads shaking no before Mary Beth found a yes. I was right it was indeed Molly. “I should have known it would be you Molly. You and your family are always taking loads of pictures.”

Lizy handed Mary Beth the next package. It was about twenty inches long and about ten inches square. As Mary Beth unwrapped the box, it was apparent to everyone in attendance what the box contained. Through the cellophane panel everyone could see, and knew who it was. From her short blonde hair, blue eyes, the blue dress, as well as the white stockings and black shoes. In Mary Beth’s lap was Nellie, a recent addition to the American Girl doll collection.

“Mom, did you and Dad get Nellie for me?” asked Mary Beth softly.

“Umm, no dear,” Mrs. Phelps said softly, “That isn’t one of the gifts that I added to the collection. She has obviously come from one of your friends.”

With a tear forming in the corner of one eye, Mary Beth gently removed Nellie from her box. It was several minutes before Mary Beth could continue. She just sat on the couch, surrounded by her friends, holding Nellie and occasionally wiping a tear from one eye or the other.

Finally Beca broke in, “Hey I thought this was a party, you’re supposed to be happy and smiling, not crying.” Beca then held out the next gift to Mary Beth, who gently laid Nellie on the coffee table with the other gifts.

“Hey wait a minute,” called out Jennifer. “You haven’t guessed who gave you Nellie.”

“I’ll think about that later,” said Mary Beth. “Let’s move on, there’s cake waiting and I for one am getting hungry.” Mary Beth tore open the next gift; the box was white like dress would be in. As Mary Beth opened the box and moved the tissue paper there was a single giggle come from one corner of the room. What was in the box was pink, and it did have ruffles, but Mary Beth didn’t take it out of the box.

“Okay Kimmie,” Mary Beth said with a smile. “Is this what I think it is?”

“I knew you would like it. The way you kept talking about mine the last time we had a sleepover. So I thought it would be a good, but silly gift,” answered Kimmie.

“Well, what is it?” asked Mrs. Phelps.

Mary Beth took it out of the box for all to see. It’s a pink baby doll nightie, very, short and with frilly lace around the collar, sleeves, bottom hem, as well as around the waist and leg openings of the matching panties. It’s a lovely shade of pink, and with the way Mary Beth was blushing as she held them up, the color was almost a match.

“Put it on, Mary Beth,” someone called out.

“Yes, model them Mary Beth,” called another.

“No, no, I don’t think that would be a good idea,” replied Mary Beth.

“Oh, go on Mary Beth,” said Kimmie. “We’re all girls here, its okay.”

“No, I don’t want to model them,” Mary Beth said, while looking into my eyes.

About half of the girls started to chant, model, model, model . . .

“GIRLS,” I said loud enough to be heard, “While it’s true that we’re all girls here, Mary Beth has said no. We, being her friends, don't have the right to try and talk her into doing something that she doesn’t want to do. I suggest we move on to the next gift, I’m sure Mary Beth will enjoy her new nightie when the time is right.”

Mary Beth smiled as I finished and mouthed ‘Thank You.’ I looked at Beca, who was also smiling, and nodded her approval of my comments.

Lizy handed over the next package to be unwrapped. Mary Beth had only opened one end when she suddenly stopped.

“Mother, how could you?” Mary Beth called out.

“What’s the problem dear,” asked Mrs. Phelps.

“I really didn’t need to open these in public,” exclaimed Mary Beth.

“You do need some new ones,” said Mrs. Phelps.

“Okay fine, this package is from my Mom,” said Mary Beth as she added the package, almost completely wrapped, to the growing pile on the coffee table.

“Mary Beth, what is it?” asked Lizy.

“Oh all right, just so everyone knows its underwear all right, just underwear,” answered Mary Beth, in a huff.

“So what’s the problem? Mary Beth,” asked Julie. “Every one wears underwear.”

“Mary Beth is just a little embarrassed to have it be known that she still likes lace on her underwear,” Mrs. Phelps said. “It’s really nothing to be embarrassed about, Mary Beth. Girls, I'd like a show of hands, now be honest, who here likes to wear underwear with lace?”

Mary Beth put her head down and covered her face with both hands. Penny, who was sitting next to her, put one arm around her as she slowly raised the other. Then Lizy raised her hand, of course I had to raise mine, as did Rachael. In all seven out of twelve girls (counting Beca and Lizy) raised their hands.

“Mary Beth, would you look up please?” asked Mrs. Phelps.

Slowly Mary Beth lifted her head; she was surprised to see so many hands raised. Well, she just had to add hers, making it eight out of twelve. Mary Beth was smiling again, finished unwrapping the lacy underwear, and laid them out, inside the open box with the nightie.

“I guess that asking you to model them is out of the question,” said Kimmie, with a giggle.

“Completely out of the question,” said Mary Beth, with an evil smile that said I’m going to get you for that one Kimmie.

The next package Mary Beth opened contained two DVD’s, “Princess Diaries” and “Princess Diaries II.” By the process of elimination, she determined that Penny had given them to her. The next package opened contained several small bottles of perfume, which turned out to have come from Jennifer. The largest package was finally placed in Mary Beth’s lap. This turned out to be from Sara, the stuffed animal queen of the group. Sara had bestowed upon Mary Beth something that would take up half of her bed, a large Teddy Bear with a Hello Kitty t-shirt. There was a matching t-shirt for Mary Beth; it was so long that its intention might be a nightgown.

It only seemed appropriate that the largest gift should be followed by the smallest gift. As Mary Beth opened it, she was almost shocked. Inside were two pairs of earrings, for pierced ears. I sure the reason for her surprise is that Mary Beth doesn’t have pierced ears.

“Mom, may I ask you a question?” said Mary Beth.

“You just did Mary Beth, would you like to ask me another one?” replied Mrs. Phelps.

“Yes, Mom, may I get my ears pierced?” asked Mary Beth. Looking towards several of the girls she said, “Any time I’ve ask that question before, all she ever says is when I’m older.”

Mrs. Phelps walks over to Mary Beth and handed her a piece of paper.

“What’s this?”

“It’s a gift certificate, for ear piercing. It came from the store where I bought the earrings,” said Mrs. Phelps with a smile.

“Oh Mom, thank you, thank you,” screeched Mary Beth, as she jumped up and hugged her Mother.

Well, there are two gifts remaining to be opened. The first looked like a small suitcase, until it was opened. Inside was a large collection of colored pencils, colored markers, crayons, several tubes of paints and several artists’ brushes. It didn't take Mary Beth long to figure out that Julie had given her the crafts set.

Each time Mary Beth placed a gift on the table or had nothing else in her hand, she'd gently caress Nellie's hair or dress. After she'd determined that the craft set had come from Julie, she realized that there was only one gift left and two girls who hadn't bin associated with a gift.

Mary Beth looked up then asked the question, "Rachael, did you give me Nellie?"

Rachael didn't move for several seconds, and then she slowly nodded yes.

"Oh Rachael, Thank you," was all Mary Beth could say.

The last gift was placed in Mary Beth's hands. Oddly enough it seemed to be about the same size as the package that, when opened, had revealed Nellie. Mary Beth seemed a little nervous as she started to open it. She, along with the rest of the girls realized that, I was the only one not associated with a previously opened gift. Therefore, the gift on her lap, slowly being opened, had come from me.

Mary Beth started crying as she pulled off enough wrapping paper to reveal the hidden contents, which she immediately hugged preventing anyone else from seeing it. Penny put an arm around Mary Beth, asking her what was wrong. Mary Beth turned the package so Penny could see what Mary Beth had seen.

"Oh my," gasped Penny. "Matilda, this is from you?"

I calmly sat with my hands folded in my lap, the perfect image of a proper young lady as I'd been taught. Inwardly I wanted to jump up and down screaming YES, YES, YES. Shyly I nodded yes. I needed a tissue.

Slowly, with Penny helping Mary Beth, they finished unwrapping my gift. Once most of the paper had been removed, everyone knew what my gift to Mary Beth was. From her long brown hair, dark eyes, the gold locket around her neck, the red and white checker dress, to her black stockings and shoes. Mary Beth held in her lap, Samantha, the pride of the American Girl doll collection. All the girls were instantly envious, including me actually. I was trying hard not to cry along with Mary Beth. I knew, from my conversations with my friends, as Matt, that almost all of them wanted to have an American Girl doll, not everyone wanted Samantha, but one of the American Girl dolls. Now Mary Beth had not one but two, the pair known as “Best Friends.”

By this time, her Mother was by Mary Beth's side, armed with more tissues.

“Mom, why would a friend give a gift like this?” asked Mary Beth softly, with a tears running down her cheeks, as she gently removed Samantha from her box.

“Mary Beth,” Mrs. Phelps said, as she handed her daughter a tissue, “It’s a sign of true friendship, to give to your friend something that you want for yourself, but cannot have.” Mary Beth sat on the couch, as her friends looked on. She was rocking Samantha and wiping tears from her eyes.

"Well now girls, it's time for cake and ice cream," said Mrs. Phelps, trying to restore some cheer and merriment. "We also need to determine the winning team for our treasure hunt. Everyone into the dinning room please."

Everyone, except Mary Beth, got up and started to leave the living room. As I was moving along with the rest of the girls, Beca stopped me. Without a word spoken, she turned me around, pointing to Mary Beth who was still sitting on the couch, hugging Samantha, and gently rocking back and forth. Mary Beth didn’t notice as I approached.

“Mary Beth,” I said, “I didn’t mean for you to be sad.”

“Oh, Matilda,” she said, looking up at me, smiling through her tears, “I’ve never been happier in my life.”

Mary Beth set Samantha aside and reached out to me, pulling me onto her lap as she’d done so many times before. It was several minutes before either of us moved.

Finally, I kissed Mary Beth’s forehead and said, “Come on best friend, the others are waiting for the birthday girl to cut the cake.”

I tried to rise gracefully from Mary Beth’s lap, getting off someone’s lap wasn’t something Miss Adams had covered. I then offered Mary Beth a hand, to help her stand. Together we went into the dinning room, with Mary Beth carrying Samantha in one arm and Nellie in the other. As we entered, there was a round of applause. Mary Beth took her seat at the head of the table, after placing the new friends in the high chair that was in the corner; strangely enough, the seat to her right had been reserved for me. I’m not sure, but I think Beca had something to do with it, judging from her smile. As soon as we were seated, the lights were turned off, and as the curtains had already been closed it was quite dark. Just then, the door to the kitchen opened and Mrs. Phelps came in carrying a large birthday cake with ten burning candles. Everyone broke into song, singing Happy Birthday. Just as the cake was place in front of Mary Beth the song ended, timing of course is everything.

Everyone shouted, “Make a wish Mary Beth, make a wish and blow out the candles.”

Mary Beth looked at me in a strange way that I’d never seen before, took a deep breath and blew out all ten candles. Everyone cheered, as the candles were removed. Mary Beth then carefully cut the cake into even slices, which her Mom then served, with my Mom adding a large scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream.

As we were enjoying the treat, Mrs. Phelps announced that there was a slight problem.

“I don’t know how this could have happened girls, but somehow our treasure hunt has ended in a five way tie.” Mary Beth looked at me as if wanting to ask a question, I gave her my innocent ‘who me’ look. “Each team it seems collected six out of seven items, so I guess we don’t have a winner. You are of course all winners, for anyone that can be called a friend, by someone else, is truly a special person.”

After everyone had their fill of cake and ice cream - judging from the way they ate several of the girls needed to go through “Girl 101” - and pleasant conversation was enjoyed by all, it was time for Mary Beth to bid farewell to her guests.

After the other girls were gone, Rachael and I helped clean up the dinning room as Lizy and Beca cleaned up all the shredded gift-wrapping. Mary Beth took all her new treasures up to her room, than came back down to say goodbye to the four of us. I never saw Mary Beth without Samantha the rest of time that we were there. It was finally time to say goodbye as Mom, Rachael and I, as well as, Lizy and Beca got into our car. That’s why we needed the car to go one and a half blocks; Mom’s taking Beca and Lizy back to the Manor. Mom dropped Rachael and me off at our house so we could change before Dad got home. Karen was there when we arrived.

“Rachael, who is your friend,” asked Karen.

Both Rachael and I chuckled at that.

“Karen, I’d like to introduce you to Mademoiselle Matilda,” said Rachael, trying to imitate Beca’s French accent.

“That’s Matilda?” asked Karen, dumbfounded. “I guess you can do a lot with hair, makeup and the right kind of polishing. I never would have guessed that this, this, beautiful girl used to be my scrawny little brother,” said Karen, as she circled me while shaking her head. “Well if you two are going to keep this a secret from Dad you better hurry and change. Dad should be home in about twenty minutes.”

Before Dad got home, both Rachael and I were back to normal, makeup removed, faces washed, my wig had been brushed out and no longer looked like it belonged to a princess. Our dresses were carefully put away in Rachael’s closet of course. The three of us were in the family room as Dad came home, Karen was watching those silly monster trucks again, and I was helping Rachael with yet another puzzle. We were just three happy kids and their father, spending a quite Saturday evening together. Dad of course had no clue as to what had transpired that day.

What a perfect day, this is what life is all about. Helping other people and making others happy. The memory of this day will live with me for the rest of my life.

* * * To Be Continued * * *

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