“Cait-lin!” Caitlin's big sister, Anna, called. “Paige is on the phone!”

Paige was Caitlin's best friend, but Caitlin did not want to talk. She did not want to hear one more thing about Paige's new neighbor.

“Hello,” Caitlin said.

“Guess what!” Paige said. “Maizy and I made cookies. I read the recipe, and she measured the flour. She even cracked the eggs! Isn't that amazing?”

“Mm,” Caitlin said.

“We didn't even set a timer,” Paige continued. “Maizy just sniffed and knew when the cookies were done. They were perfect! You should have seen them.”

When Caitlin hung up, she had an idea. “Anna, can we make cookies?” she asked.

Caitlin measured the flour, cracked the eggs and turned on the mixer. The sisters both sniffed to guess when the cookies were done, but Anna set the timer, too. The cookies were perfect, but nobody called Caitlin amazing.

Caitlin ate only one cookie. It didn't taste as good as she thought it would.

The next afternoon Paige called again. “Guess where we went this morning,” she said. “Ice skating at the arena! We held hands and went fast. You should have seen us! Maizy can even skate backwards. She's amazing.”

“Mm,” Caitlin grunted.

Caitlin went upstairs to play with her Mini-Molly dolls. She had every Molly except Surfer Molly. But it wasn't much fun playing alone. Caitlin wished Paige lived next door to her. She wished Maizy didn't live anywhere.

Caitlin poked her head into Anna's room. “Let's go skating at the pond,” she suggested.

Caitlyn and Anna held hands and went fast. They skated backwards and in circles. Still, no one called Caitlin amazing.

“Look, it's snowing!” Anna cried. The sisters caught flakes on their tongues and laughed.

Mom stomped the snow from her shoes after work. “It's turning into a blizzard,” she said. By bedtime, the wind was howling. Caitlin got scared when the lights went out.

She crept into Anna's room. “Move over,” Caitlin whispered. “Let's have a pajama party.”

They told funny stories and giggled until Mom finally called, “All right, you two! Time for sleep.”

Saturday morning, the sun sparkled on the deep, new snow. This time, Caitlin called Paige. “Guess what we did last night! We had a pajama party! We told funny stories.”

“We had a pajama party, too!” Paige said. “I stayed at Maizy's house. We listened to a really scary story Maizy has on tape. She could work the recorder all by herself! She's amazing.”

When Caitlin hung up she had an idea.

“Anna, may I use your tape recorder?” Caitlin asked. Anna showed her how to record. She gave Caitlin two empty cassettes.

Caitlin got out The Mystery of Wolf Mountain. It wasn't just a story. It was a whole book, a very scary book.

She pressed record and began to read. She used her most scary sounding voice. Caitlin read all afternoon until her voice was tired.

By Sunday night, she was finished. Wait until Paige hears this! she thought. Caitlin put the tapes in her school pack.

Monday morning, school started again. Christmas break was over.

Paige called early. “I can't wait for you to meet Maizy.”

“I know—” Caitlin sighed. “She's amazing.”

“She really is!” Paige said. “You'll see!”

When the busses unloaded, Caitlin was waiting. Her stomach was a little jumpy. Paige waved from the bus door and grabbed the hand of the girl behind her. She pulled her through the crowd of kids.

“Caitlin, this is Maizy,” Paige said. “Maizy, this is Caitlin!”

“Hi!” Maizy said brightly.

“Hi,” Caitlin answered. She looked into Maizy's eyes. They were blue, but they weren't looking back.

Maizy stuck out her hand and they shook. “So you're the famous Caitlin!”

“Famous?” Caitlin was confused.

“You must be famous,” Maizy said, “because you're all Paige talks about. Here, I have something for you.”

Maizy felt for the zipper of her backpack. She unzipped it and dug around for a small object wrapped in tissue.

Caitlin opened it. “Surfer Molly!”

“Paige said she was the only one you didn't have,” Maizy said. “Now you have all of them!”

“Wow,” Caitlin said. “Thanks.”

“I have some others,” Maizy grinned. “But they all look alike to me!” She laughed.

Paige laughed, too.

Now Caitlin was really confused. She looked from Maizy to Paige and back at Maizy. Paige's eyes twinkled, but Maizy wasn't looking anywhere.

“Oh,” Caitlin said, swallowing. She didn't know what to say.

“Don't feel bad,” Maizy said. “We played on the jungle gym a half hour before Paige figured out I was blind.”

“That's amazing,” Caitlin said.

The bell rang. Maizy hooked her hand in Paige's elbow. Paige said quietly, “Straight ahead, then up three steps.”

Caitlin opened her pack as they climbed the steps. “I hear you like scary stories, Maizy.”

“Yes, I do!”

Caitlin placed the tapes in Maizy's hand. “Then I hope you'll like this one!”