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practice, ” I said as we went back into the house. Mark, who was still watching TV, looked up as we entered the den.
    “ Finished talking to the basketball? ” he asked.
    “ Uh-huh, ” I answered.
    “ Did it talk back? ”
    “ Yep, ” Gary replied. “ It said your room is a health hazard, and it wants to come live with me. ”
    “ I’m sorry I asked! ” Mark stood up, took the ball from Gary, an d dribbled it across the floor.
    “ Mark, you know Mom doesn’t like you dribbling in the house, ” I reminded him.
    “ Mom's not here, and you can’t tell her, because y ou still owe me twenty-five dol lars, ” Mark answered. Tucking the ball under his arm, he sauntered out of the room.
    “ See what I have to put up with? ” I said to Gary with a sigh. I sat down on the couch and gestured for him to have a seat. “ I just had an idea, ” I told him. “ Why don't you eat lunch with me and my friends tomorrow? It’ll give you a great opportunity to practice talking to girls. ”
    “ I don’t know …” Gary removed his glasses and began to polish them absently on the tail of his T-shirt.
    “ Why not? ” I asked, wa rm ing to the idea. “ They won’t bite, I promise. Beth loves every body, and Jan—”
    I broke off abruptly as Gary looked up from cleaning his glasses, and for the first time I really saw his eyes. They were the same chestnut brown as his hair, with long, thick lashes most girls would kill for.
    I must have looked astonished, because he asked. “ Molly? What's wrong? ”
    “ Nothing. It’s j ust—your eyes. ” I couldn’t seem to tear my own eyes away from his.
    “ What about them? ” Gary asked nervously.
    “ They’re beautiful! Why do you keep them hidden? ”
    “ What do you mean? ” He put his glasses back on, and the spell was broken.
    “ That's what I mean, ” I i nformed him. “ They’re hidden behind those hideous glasses! ”
    Gary laughed. “ You don’t like my glasses, huh? I'll ad mit, they were made for durabil ity, no t style. They're sports frames— unbreakable. ”
    “ Have you ever thought about getting dif ferent frames for every day? ” I asked. “ Maybe something a little less—er—bulky? ”
    Gary shook his head. “ It wouldn’t work. The lenses are so thick, it takes really sturdy frames to support them. ”
    “ What about contact lenses? ”
    “ To tell you the truth, I have a pair at home, ” he confessed.
    “ Then why don't you wear them? ”
    “ I used to, except when I played basket ball. But then, after the season started, I spent so much time taking them out and putting them back in, it was easier just to wear the glasses and leave the contacts at home. ”
    “ But basketball season is almost over now, isn’t it? ” I persisted.
    “ Yeah. I guess I j ust got out of the habit. ”
    “ Well, if you want your dream girl to notice you, get back into the habit, ” I ordered him. “ Immediately! I want to see you wearing those contacts tomorrow at lunch! ”
    “ Yes, sir ! ” Gary barked, snapping his right hand up in a salute.
    That made me feel guilty. “ Am I awfully bossy? ” I asked.
    “ Yeah, ” he said with a grin. “ But I don't mind. I’ll do anything you say if it’ll get me that prom date with Colette. ”
     
     
    CHAPTER FOUR
     
    “ Now, remember, ” I told Jan and Beth In the cafeteria the next day, “ Gary Hadley is going to eat lunch with us, and I want both of you to be nice to him. You know, I think there may be hope for him after all. Just wait till you see him! You're in for the surprise of your life! ”
    I was so eager for my friends to see Gary without his glasses that I could hardly eat. Instead, I pushed lukewarm macaroni and cheese around on my plate, looking up every time the cafeteria door opened.
    I'd been doing that for about ten minutes when the door opened o nce more and several kids came i n.
    “ There he is now, ” Beth said.
    I spotted Gary at the same time. But something was