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He looked frustrated with his attempt to express

himself.

"'Granny's always telling me I'm pretty,' I said. "'She's right of course, but I mean more. There

are lots of good-looking girls at our school, I guess,

but they're just beautiful on the outside. Your beauty

goes deep. Yours is where it really counts,' he said. "I thanked him again. He felt awkward so we

talked about dinner and set the table. Together with

the salad and some fresh bread he had bought, our pot

pies tasted pretty good. Afterward, we had the apple

pie and he had some ice cream to put on it. We both

had seconds.

"'I bet you think I'm a pig,' I said. 'I don't

usually eat like this.'

"'I think when you feel happy, you have a

bigger appetite,' he said. I agreed and I told him how I

thought sadness was like a sickness. I couldn't believe

how easy it was to talk with him now and how much I

wanted to tell him. The more we talked, the closer I

felt to him.

"'When we got up to put the dishes in the sink,

we stood really close to each other and we kissed. It

was just a short kiss. I call it a test kiss. You throw

your lips out there and see what happens."

"What happened?" Misty asked.

"We kissed again, longer, and then . . "You forgot about the dishes," Jade said with a

slow, know-it-all nod. Her eyes were bright and sharp

and full of her own experiences.

"Exactly," I said.

Misty's smile widened into a small laugh. Cat

looked like she was turning white from holding her