She called h.e.l.lo, and also made the "h.e.l.lo" sign to Matt. Matt's deaf, so we've all learned at least a little bit of sign language. Haley makes a great interpreter (she's fluent in sign) but it's nice to be able to "speak" to Matt directly, too.

Matt signed back. Then he and Buddy signed quickly to each other.

"What are they saying?" Mallory asked Haley.

"Matt asked if Buddy wanted to play ball, and Buddy said yes," she answered. "Hey, can me and Suzi play, too?" she asked the boys, signing as she spoke.

The game was organized within minutes, and Mal and Marnie settled in to watch.

"And it's a high pop fly to center field!" yelled Buddy, after he'd hit a blooper over Matt's (the pitcher's) head. "A triple!" He ran around the yard, pretending to tag the bases.

Then it was Haley's turn to bat. "Watch out," she said, swinging the bat. "I'm going to hit it out of the park!" She put down the bat to sign the same thing to Matt. He signed something back, laughing.

"What do you mean, girls can't hit?" yelled Haley. She gave a mighty swing and missed completely. "Darn," she said. She shook back her hair and dug her feet into the gra.s.s. "Pitch me another one," she said, signing along. This time, she connected. Buddy (still standing on "third base") and Matt watched the ball fly over their heads. Haley forgot to run - she just stood there and watched the ball disappear.

And disappear it did - right onto the porch roof. "Great hit, Haley!" said Mallory.

"Yeah, just great!" said Buddy. "Now we've lost the ball. Why couldn't you have just hit it into the backyard?" he asked Haley. "Then Pow would have found it, no matter where it went." "Oh, Pow Pow Pow," said Haley. "That's all I ever hear about these days is what a great dog Pow is and how he's going to win the pet show." She frowned at Buddy. "I don't think Pow is that great a dog," she added.

"Well, he's a lot better than no dog at all," said Buddy.

Haley bit her lip. Just then, Matt came over and looked at her questioningly. She signed to him, letting him know what Buddy had said. Matt gave Buddy a dirty look. Then he signed back to Haley.

"He says, 'So what if we don't have a pet?' " Haley explained. "We're still invited to the pet . show, you know." "But you can't win a prize," said Suzi.

"Well, what makes you so sure you'll win any prizes with that fat old mutt?" asked Haley.

Suzi burst into tears. "Pow is not a mutt," she wailed. "He's a purebred ba.s.set hound." Mallory decided it was time to step in. "Okay, you guys. Let's not fight about it - " she began. But Buddy was shouting at Suzi, drowning Mallory out.

"You're right, he's a ba.s.set hound. But you're not going to win any ribbons with him, anyway. I am!" Oh, no, thought Mallory. Not that fight again. She stepped toward Buddy, ready to separate him from the others before he got any angrier.

Just then, Haley shrieked. "You don't have to pinch me!" she said angrily to Suzi. Then she took Matt's hand and started to drag him out of the yard. "C'mon," she said, forgetting to sign as she spoke. "Let's get out of here." Matt seemed to know what she'd said even without the signs. He gave one last angry glance back at Buddy and Suzi, and stalked out of the yard at his sister's side.

"Oh, great," said Mallory. "Look, it's time to quit this fighting." She sat Buddy and Suzi down on the porch steps. Mamie, still in her stroller, had fallen asleep - and the fight hadn't even woken her up.

"Look, you guys. There's no rule that says that only one person can enter each pet in the pet show," said Mallory. She'd been thinking the problem over, and had come to realize that this was the only solution. "Why don't you enter Pow - together!" Buddy and Suzi looked at each other hopefully. Mal could see that they both thought it was a good idea, but neither one wanted to be the first to give in.

"You could be in charge of his looks, Suzi," said Mal, trying to push the idea. "And Buddy, you could teach him some new tricks. How about it?" Buddy and Suzi smiled at each other. "Yeah!" said Buddy. "Maybe I can teach him how to roll over, just like Aunt Jo's dog does!" "And I can give him a bath, and paint his toenails pink, and put ribbons on him," said Suzi. "He'll look so, so beautiful!" They ran off to find Pow, leaving Mal alone on the porch. She shook her head and spoke to the still-sleeping Mamie. "Sweetie, that was a close one," she said. "I thought they were going to do each other in this time." Mamie shifted in the stroller and smiled in her sleep.

Later that afternoon, her job over, Mal walked back to her house. She was hoping desperately that her brothers and sisters would have settled the Frodo issue while she was away. She couldn't take any more fighting that day.

Luckily for her, they had. For some reason - n.o.body knew why - the triplets had suddenly given up their claim to Frodo. They'd said that Nicky could enter him in the show, and Nicky had generously agreed to share him with Vanessa, Claire, and Margo.

Mallory was too grateful for the peaceful atmosphere at home - and too tired - to wonder about the triplets' motives for very long. She knew they must be up to something. But she'd wait for the pet show to find out what they had up their sleeves.

Chapter 10.

"Claudia, do you mind?" "What, Stacey?" "Your elbow. It's in my ear!" "I can't help it, Stace! There's nowhere else to put it." "Can't you move over a little?" "Not with Mallory in my lap, I can't. Anyway, I don't think I'll ever be able to move my legs again - there's no feeling left in them." Mallory squealed. "Stop it, Claudia! I'm not really that heavy, am I?" she asked, trying to shift her weight.

Six. of us were packed into Charlie's car, the Junk Bucket (Mary Anne couldn't come; she had a sitting job), and believe me, it was a tight squeeze. It was a rainy Sat.u.r.day afternoon. We were on our way to Stamford. I had a rehearsal, and everybody else was coming to watch it.

Kristy and I were in the front seat with Charlie; I got to ride up front so that I could give him directions to the civic center. Dawn, Stacey, Claudia, and Mallory were all jammed into the backseat, and they'd been complaining about how squished they were ever since we'd pulled out of Claudia's driveway. (We'd all met there to wait for Charlie and Kristy.) "Hey, who pinched me?" asked Dawn. Then there was a whole lot of squealing and giggling from the backseat, while everybody pinched everybody else.

"Hey, chill out back there," said Charlie, looking in the rearview mirror. "How am I supposed to drive with all that racket?" They were, quiet for a moment. Then, as Charlie stopped for a red light, Dawn saw a cute guy walking across the street, holding a newspaper over his head to keep off the rain. "Woooo!" she said loudly. "Follow that guy!" "Dawn!" said Kristy, blushing. "Stop it! What if he hears you?" "He can't hear her," said Claudia. "The windows are rolled up. Watch - I'll prove it. Hey, gorgeous!" The guy turned around and stared at the Junk Bucket. All of us ducked down in our seats, giggling. "Can you believe it?" asked Claud. "Do you think he heard me? Oh, I'm going to die!" "Well, please don't die in my car," said Charlie. "What would I tell your parents? Now, come on, quiet down." "Okay, Charlie," said Claud. "I'm sorry." For a few minutes, there was silence from the backseat. Then the giggling started up again, as Stacey and Claudia discussed Jennifer Cooke's latest outfit.

1 was hoping that Charlie wouldn't get too mad and put us all out on the street to walk the rest of the way. I was nervous enough about this rehearsal, and I at least wanted to be on time for it. But Charlie kept his cool. And actually, I was glad for the distraction that the rest of my friends were providing. It kept me from thinking too much about the rehearsal.

Why was I nervous? Well, for one thing, I was worried about my dancing lately. All the little "accidents" during cla.s.s and the notes were really throwing me off, and I knew I wasn't dancing as well as I usually do. I was worried that Mme Noelle would lose patience with me if I didn't shape up soon.

Also, I knew that I really shouldn't be letting my friends come to this rehearsal. I hadn't asked Madame's permission - mainly because I'd been pretty sure she'd say no - and I was worried that they'd be caught. Then we'd all be in trouble.

1 was also a little nervous about having to dance in front of an audience - even if they were my friends - so early into a production. Usually there was absolutely no audience until the dress rehearsal. Would having them there affect my performance? What would they think of my dancing?

I tried to shove all my worries to the back of my mind. "Hey, Mal," I said, "let's get our hair done there, sometime!" I pointed out the window to this funny little beauty shop I've always noticed on my way into Stamford. Carmelita's Casa de Beauty, it was called. There were pictures in the window of ladies with towering hairdos, their hair teased and curled into fluffy mounds.

"Great," said Mallory. "We'll look like poodles." She giggled. "Maybe we'd win first prize at the pet show!" "The pet show," groaned Kristy. "Please, let's forget about the pet show for one day. I've heard enough about it to last a lifetime!" Just then, Charlie pulled into the civic center's parking lot. "Okay, everybody out!" he said. "Jessi, how are they supposed to get inside?" he asked me.

"They can use that side door," I said, pointing. "Can you help everyone sneak in? It's going to be dark in the back of the theater." By then, the BSC members had piled out of the backseat. "Good luck, Jessi," said Mallory. "We'll be watching!" "And taking notes," said Dawn. She held up a little notebook and a tiny flashlight shaped like a pen.

"Wow," I said. "You guys are serious about this detective stuff. Please be careful - and don't get caught." "We won't," said Claudia. "Don't worry - just forget we're even here. Have a good rehearsal, Jessi!" I waved at them as they headed for the side entrance, led by Charlie. I knew he'd help get them settled before he took off to do the errands he'd been planning to do for his mother and Watson.

Then I turned and went into the backstage entrance. I shivered a little as I opened the door, remembering the excitement of the other performances I'd danced in. I only hoped that The Sleeping Beauty would come off as well as they had.

I changed quickly in the crowded dressing room, and then headed for the stage. Mme Noelle was waiting. I peered past her, into the darkened theater. Where were my friends? I couldn't see - or hear them - anywhere. Good. If I couldn't see them, n.o.body else could, either.

"Are we ready to donce today?" asked Mme Noelle, looking at me curiously. She must have been wondering what I was looking for.

"Ready, Madame," I answered. And I was. So far, the rehearsal looked like it was going to go smoothly. None of my clothes had disappeared, no notes had been shoved into my bag. Today I was going to concentrate on my dancing.

At first, it was hard to forget that my friends were sitting out there in the dark, watching my every move. But before long, I did forget. I "got caught up in the beautiful - and difficult - movements of the ballet, and I forgot everything. My ankle was completely healed. It felt as strong as ever.

It was a great rehearsal. I danced well, and so did everyone else. We went through pretty much the whole ballet, with plenty of stops and starts and corrections from Mme Noelle.

"Watch zee shoulder, Mademoiselle Romsey," she called as I danced. "It is still dropping during your glissade." I concentrated even harder, paying attention to nothing but my muscles and my form. I didn't come close to stumbling or falling, and neither did anyone else.

"Very good!" said Mme Noelle when we were finished. "All of you are doncing wiz incredible grace today. Zee performance will be a success!" She clapped her hands and sent us to the dressing room. While I was changing into my street clothes I thought about the rehearsal. I hoped it hadn't been a total waste for my friends. After all, nothing had happened. I have to admit that I had secretly been hoping that something would happen - just so they could see it firsthand.

But that day's rehearsal had been completely normal. And there was nothing suspicious in the dressing room, either. No notes, no stolen belongings. Dawn sneaked into the dressing room after a bunch of people had gone. She wanted to "investigate" - but there was nothing new for me to show her. Had the mystery been in my mind all along? Maybe I was just imagining things. Maybe I was going crazy.

"No way!" said Claudia, when I said this in the car on the way home. "I'm sure there's foul play going on. And I can guess who might be responsible, too!" "You can?" I asked. "How?" "Just by watching everybody closely," she said. "And by trying to figure out what Nancy Drew would think if she were in this situation." "She's right," said Dawn. "I know I saw a few things going on. For example, why did Katie Beth make a face when Mme Noelle told you that your bore-ay - whatever that is - was 'close to perfect'?" Luckily, my friends had been to enough of my performances so that they could identify most of the dancers in my cla.s.s.

"I guess she might have been a little jealous," I said thoughtfully. "After all, she got to dance my role while my ankle was healing, and Mme Noelle never said anything like that about her bounce." "So . . . would she get your role if you couldn't dance it?" asked Stacey. "I mean, that would explain everything, wouldn't it? She's trying to get rid of you so she can have the lead role." I shifted in my seat until I was looking at Stacey. "I don't know ..." I said slowly. "I don't think that's necessarily the answer. Because if I couldn't dance, Mme Noelle would probably reaudition the whole cla.s.s for the part. She's always fair that way. I don't think Katie Beth would automatically get the part - and Katie Beth must know that, too." "What about Hilary?" asked Claudia.

"What about her?" I asked.

"Why does she look so worried all the time?" asked Claudia. "It's like she's terrified that she might do something wrong." I explained about Hilary's mother - how pushy she is, and how she always expects Hilary to be perfect. "I know she's under a lot of pressure," I said. "1 kind of feel sorry for her." "Well, don't lose sleep over it," said Claudia. "She's not too crazy about you." "What do you mean?" I asked.

"Oh, just a feeling I got from watching her," said Claudia. "You know how they say 'If looks could kill'? Well - she was giving you some looks that could stop an elephant in its tracks, if you know what I mean." I thought that over for a minute. "So who else do you guys suspect?" I asked.

"What about Lisa Jones?" asked Mallory. "She just seems so sweet and good all the time. n.o.body's that nice." "You know something?" I said. "She really is that nice. She was worried about me when I hurt my ankle. She was the only one who called me at home that night to see how I was." "Maybe she just wanted to find out early if you were going to be dropping out," said Kristy.

"No," I said. "I'm positive she isn't a suspect. We'll have to rule her out. I like Lisa too much to be suspicious of her." "Okay, forget Lisa," said Claudia. "What about that old Carrie Steinfeld? What's her story?" "Well," I said, giggling, "you hit the nail on the head by calling her 'old.' Carrie's the oldest one in our cla.s.s, and this is the last performance she'll be in." I told them a little about why she needed good roles on her resume. "I know that getting the lead would have meant a lot to her," I went on. "But she did get a pretty big role. I think the Lilac Fairy will help her out. Anyway, she's a good dancer. I'm sure she won't have trouble getting into another school." "You might be sure, but maybe she's not," said Claud. "Personally, I think she's a suspect." "I agree," said Mallory. "And I think Hilary Morgan is one, too - just based on those dirty looks she was giving you." "Hmmm ..." I said. "Just the two of them?" "No," said Kristy. "I've got to vote for Katie Beth, too. Remember, you guys were enemies way back when - " "But we made up!" I said, interrupting.

"I know," said Kristy. "But I think she's still got it in for you. And she wants that role so badly she can almost taste it." "I don't agree," said Dawn. "I mean, if she was going to get it automatically, fine. But she'll have to audition just like everybody else, and even I can tell that there are plenty of better dancers in the cla.s.s." We argued back and forth for awhile, but by the time we had reached Stoneybrook we'd narrowed it down to three suspects: Katie Beth, Carrie, and Hilary. Now all I had to do was to keep a close eye on all of them. My friends were sure it'd be a snap to catch the guilty party.

Charlie dropped me off at my house, and as I waved good-bye, I felt grateful to my friends. I also felt relieved. I wasn't positive that we were any nearer to identifying the 'phantom of the dance school/ as Claudia had begun to call her. But I felt a little more in control of the situation. At least we'd begun to work on the mystery. And I knew that with everyone's help, I could solve it eventually.

Ill

Chapter 11.

I watched the three suspects as closely as I could during the next few rehearsals, but things went pretty smoothly. Our practice was starting to pay off. The performance was coming together, and I was feeling more and more confident as I danced the part of Princess Aurora.

I began to think that maybe the phantom really had been just in my mind. Then, mysterious things began to happen again.

First, I reached into my dance bag after one rehearsal, and I found my old leotard - the one that had been stolen. But there was no way I could wear it again. It had been cut to shreds. Somebody had gone after that leotard with a sharp pair of scissors. That was creepy.

Then, during another rehearsal, I got shoved - by .someone I didn't see - into some scenery that was being painted. My leotard was covered with red paint, and Mme Noelle wasn't pleased. Neither was I. I had spent all my savings to replace my dance outfit when it was stolen, so I had to borrow money from my parents to replace it again.

This role was getting expensive.

Sometimes I wondered if it was worthwhile - if I should just give up playing Princess Aurora. But then I would spend two hours working with Mme Noelle on a segment of the ballet, and I would realize that there was no way I could give up that kind of experience.

My favorite part of the ballet was the dance I had to do when I first came on stage - the Rose Adagio. Some dancers have said that it's this dance that makes the role of Princess Aurora such a challenge, because you have to do it "cold" - without warming up on some easier dancing first.

But I loved that dance. It was full of slow, graceful movements. According to the fairy tale, this dance shows the princess being presented to the court on her sixteenth birthday. She is meeting four princes. They all want to marry her, even though she's so young.

Each prince gives her a beautiful rose, and she dances with them. But after dancing, she gives the flowers to her mother. She's having too much fun to think about serious things like marriage.

The dance that she does (or rather, that I did) with the princes is very difficult. Mme Noelle worked with us for a long time before we could do it well. The way it went was this: As I finished dancing with each prince, he helped me to balance on the point of one toe - and then he took away his hand and left me balancing there until the next prince came to dance with me.

"Do not wobble, Mademoiselle Romsey!" cried Mme Noelle as I did my best to balance on one toe. "Smile!" I tried to smile.

"Remember, you are a joyous young princess. You must show us zee excitement and hoppiness of youth!" I tried to act "hoppy." It wasn't easy, especially with Hilary Morgan glaring at me from the sidelines. Sometimes I felt bad about how much time Mme Noelle was spending with me, but the fact was that my role was very demanding. Still, I could tell that the other girls were jealous, and I really couldn't blame them. I would have been jealous, too.

But my phantom took jealousy a little too far. When I went into the dressing room on the day I'd been working on the Rose Adagio, I saw it right away. A note - in that same red ink - with a red rose attached. WATCH OUT FOR THE THORNS, it said.

I stood looking at it for a moment. It gave me a creepy feeling in the pit of my stomach. Then I folded the note and tucked it into my bag. I looked at the rose, thinking that I'd take it home to my mom - at least it was pretty, and it probably smelled good. But when I picked it up, a thorn p.r.i.c.ked my finger. "Ouch!" I said out loud. I squeezed my finger and a drop of blood oozed out.

I looked around the dressing room to see who was there. Sure enough, all three suspects were among the dancers who were busy changing. Hilary was at the mirror, checking her hair. Katie Beth was by her locker - she was packing her dance clothes into her bag. And Carrie was just about to leave, but when she heard my little cry of pain, she turned around.

"Are you okay, Jessi?" she asked, coming over to me. Then she saw the rose. "Hey, that's pretty. Who's sending you flowers?" I shrugged.

"A secret admirer, huh? Hey, everybody, Jessi's got a boyfriend!" she yelled.

I was totally embarra.s.sed. I tossed the rose into the garbage and got out of the dressing room as soon as I could, trying not to listen to the teasing that was going on. Dancing the Rose Adagio was never quite as much fun after that day. I was always thinking of that thorn p.r.i.c.king my finger, like a bee sting - and of that drop of red blood appearing afterward.

But unlike Princess Aurora, I didn't fall asleep for a hundred years after I p.r.i.c.ked my finger. Instead, I became more alert. I was dying to catch the phantom in the act.

I thought of hiding in the dressing room so that I could be there when she stuck a note into my bag. But that wouldn't work. Mme Noelle would notice my absence from rehearsal right away, since I was in almost every act. All I could do was wait - and watch, I watched very closely. I tried to pay attention to where each of the three suspects was at all times. But it wasn't easy. Mme Noelle kept me busy throughout almost every rehearsal.

One day, Carrie b.u.mped into me about three times during rehearsal. That day, I was sure that she was the phantom.

At another rehearsal, I overheard Hilary whispering mean things about me to Lisa Jones. I was convinced that Hilary was the one who was out to get me.

Then Katie Beth started to give me funny looks. I'd catch her watching me as I put on my toe shoes, or staring at me during exercises at the barre. I certainly couldn't rule her out, either.

I was getting more and more confused, and to make it worse, the notes kept coming.

GIVE UP THE ROLE BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE, said one. I shook my head and tucked it into my bag with the rest.

After the next rehearsal, there was another. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED, it said.

But you know what? Instead of scaring me, those notes started to make me angrier and angrier. I became more determined to solve this mystery and find out who the phantom was. Then I'd tell everything to Mme Noelle, and the performance - with me as Princess Aurora - would go off without a hitch.

One day, Carrie was absent from rehearsal. She was home with the flu, according to Madame. That day we worked extra hard on one of the most difficult parts of the dance.

When we're learning a dance, Mme Noelle makes us do the movements over and over again, until it finally looks right. Even once we've learned the basic steps, we keep repeating them. If we do even one little thing wrong, she makes us do it over again. If we do it right, we still have to do it again - "for luck." Rehearsals can be so exhausting.

That day, I was ready to drop as I headed into the dressing room. The last thing I needed was to find another note. But there it was, in that creepy red ink. TAKE A REST, SLEEPING BEAUTY! I rolled my eyes as I put the note away. When was this going to end?

Then I realized something. Carrie was absent And I'd still received a note. Finally, I was getting somewhere with this mystery. I could rule out Carrie, which would leave me with only two suspects.

Unless . . . had Carrie only been pretending to be sick - and gotten someone to leave the note for her? I shook my head. That was pretty unlikely. She wouldn't miss a rehearsal unless she really had to.

So it was down to Katie Beth and Hilary. How was I going to figure out which one of them it was? I decided just to wait and see what would happen. If I could rule one of them out, I'd have my phantom.

Carrie was still sick at the next rehearsal. I felt bad for her, missing all that practice time. Now that I knew she wasn't the phantom, I kind of missed having her around.

But it was a relief to have to watch only two suspects instead of three. I found that I could concentrate better - and it showed in my dancing. Mme Noelle told me that I was magnifique that day. That's "magnificent" in French.

It always feels great to have Mme Noelle compliment you. She doesn't say nice things unless she really means them. So that after- noon I was feeling terrific. I danced the Rose Adagio without missing a step. My pas de deux with the Bluebird of Happiness was nearly perfect. And I got through the scene where the prince kisses me without giggling once. It was a great rehearsal.

It was great, that is, until I almost got beaned by some scenery.

In that theater, most of the scenery is painted on huge flats that can be raised and lowered on ropes. When they're in the raised position, the ropes are securely tied so they can't fall. And when it's time for the scene to change, the flat is slowly let down to the floor. Each flat must weigh about a ton - they're so big! There were a lot of different flats for the Sleeping Beauty scenery. There was the grand ballroom, the magic forest, and the sleeping castle, where Princess Aurora lies awaiting her prince. I'd gotten used to the flats moving up and down during rehearsals, while the stage managers practiced their cues just like we practiced ours.

Anyway, that day I had just finished my final dance with the prince, and I was walking to the rear of the stage so that I could collapse quietly while Mme Noelle went over her notes on who - and what - needed improvement.

I didn't even see the flat falling. Before I knew what was happening, someone had pushed me out of the way. The flat hit the stage with a loud crash, right where I had been standing only seconds before.