Instead, she laughed and said, "But you know, we can still have "Sisters, Blisters, and Tongue Twisters" for our motto, because Alex said a tongue twister is another name for a kiss."

"Speaking of Sisters Club," I said, "I have an idea. For what we can do for our meeting. Starting right now."

"Do we have to burn stuff again?" Joey asked.

"No. Listen. Hear me out. I say we play Truth or Dare and Alex has to go first because she always picks truth."

"I pick dare sometimes," Alex argued.

"When?" Joey and I said at the same time.

"Okay, but you guys both have to play too."

"No way," said Joey. "Smart people don"t take dares."

"C"mon, Duck," I pleaded. "Don"t be a Mary Sue. It"s not scary dares. Just funny ones. Alex goes first. Truth or dare?"

She pretended to think it over.

"Truth," she said. "But you can"t ask me anything about Scott Howell. A.k.a. Romeo." She held her hands to her chest.

I asked her anyway. "What was it like? Your first kiss. With Scott Towel."

"Gross," said Joey. "This is boring."

"Don"t worry, Joey. I"m not telling anyway. It"s personal."

"C"mon, Alex. You know you want to. You"re just going to tell Sock Monkey anyway, and we"re going to listen."

"Not me," said Joey.

"Ask me something else," said Alex.

"What did you really wish the day we threw stuff into the fire?" I asked.

"Why do you have that shirt with a swear in your drawer?" Joey said.

"What! I don"t have - what shirt?"

"You know, the shirt you wear that makes you itch," Joey said.

"Or act like a snitch," I added, picking up on Joey"s lead.

"Or want to get rich," Joey said with a snort. "Or look like an ostrich." She was rolling on the floor with laughter.

"Or feel like a witch," I said.

"What is this, National Poetry Week? Wait a second. I get it. How do you guys know about that?"

"Stevie was snooping," Joey accused me, pointing.

"Nah-uh! Her frog got lost and -" Joey shot me a look. "Never mind."

"No fair, anyway. That"s two questions," said Alex.

"If you answer both questions," I offered, "you get to call the truths or dares for Joey and me."

"Deal," said Alex.

"The truth!" I reminded her.

"First, Joey"s question. I went to this sleepover, right? We played this weird game where you had to take off one thing you"re wearing and pa.s.s it to the person on your right. I gave up my favorite braided bracelet, the one with the little heart charm? And I got stuck with that shirt. I don"t even know the girl. So, I didn"t know if it was a joke or what."

"But you kept it!" said Joey. "If Mom finds out, she"ll freak!"

"I didn"t want everyone to think I was a baby, so I tried to act like it was cool. As soon as I got home, I stuffed it in the bottom of my drawer."

"What are you going to do with it?"

"I don"t know. I can"t exactly wear it to school. But maybe I could wear it sometime to a basketball game or a party or something."

"Yeah, wear it to a weird party where you play that weird game again and give it to somebody else."

Alex looked Joey in the eye. "So, Joey. You can"t tell, okay? This is a sisters thing. Promise?" Joey nodded.

"And Stevie? You"re right. I didn"t wish I"d get the part of Juliet the night of the storm. I wished I"d get my first kiss from Scott. And it came true! Like magic!"

"My wish came true for somebody else," said Joey.

"What was your wish?" I asked.

"I wished I could see a blue frog. Then some people near here in Oregon found a rare blue frog in their backyard. I saw it on the news."

"So you did see a blue frog . . . on TV," said Alex. "That still counts."

"But guess what? That"s not all. They"re going to be bringing it around to schools around here to show kids, so my wish is going to come true!"

I thought back to the night of the storm, and how making a wish in the fire seemed like a long time ago. I"d wished for something new and exciting and different to happen. Daring, even. Making friends with a boy was new and different. And growing up sure was turning out to be more exciting than I thought. Daring? Just daring to be myself was enough. For now.

"Stevie"s turn!" said Joey. "I know! Make her go outside in her pajamas and act like a gorilla for one minute. Or sing and act out "I"m a Little Teapot.""

"Look who"s all over this game now," I remarked. "Little Miss I"m Too Smart for Dares." Joey stuck out her tongue at me like a frog.

"Go outside in your pajamas and do the Hokey Pokey," said Joey.

"That"s a good one," said Alex. "But I get to call it."

"You didn"t even say "truth or dare" yet!"

"Truth or dare?" Joey yelled.

"Truth," I answered.

"Truth, huh?" said Alex, rubbing her hands together.

"So, my question is . . . what I want to ask is . . . Did you ever let that Wire Rims guy kiss you? You know, after that day you fell in the pool?"

"His name"s Owen," I said.

"Well, did you? You have to answer the question."

"No!" I said. Truthfully.

We had been hanging out a bunch these past couple of weeks - in the name of Science, of course. We were still trying to make a cloud form and get a picture of it. So far, we could have filled a sc.r.a.pbook with failed attempts.

"This is so not about Science," Olivia kept teasing me whenever she got the chance.

Deep down, I guess Olivia was right. There was a small part of me that liked that Owen liked me. But I knew I was a little afraid of it, too. Being Science buddies, and friends, felt right. For now.

Time to change the subject. "Joey. Truth or dare?" I asked.

"Dare," Joey said bravely.

Alex glanced around, searching for an idea. "Your dare, Joey Reel, should you choose to accept it, but you have to, is . . . you have to kiss Sir Croaks-a-Lot!"

"What"s so bad about that? I"ll kiss a frog."

"Really?" asked Alex.

"Really?" I asked.

"Watch me!" Joey went over to the tank on her desk and scooped up her frog. She held him in her hand, with just his head peeking out of her fist. Then, she planted a kiss right on his head, warts and all.

"See?" she said proudly.

"Wow. You didn"t turn into a toad or anything," I said. "But, ooh, you do have a wart growing right here." I pointed to my cheek.

"And here," said Alex, indicating her forehead.

Joey ran to the mirror. "You guys!" she screeched. Alex and I rolled on the floor with laughter.

"Sleep here tonight?" Joey asked Alex. "In our room?" But she didn"t need to ask. Alex was already stretched out on the floor between us, bundled like a newborn in her favorite blanket, half-asleep.

I clicked off the light, but before crawling under the covers, I pressed my face to the window, peering out past the old tulip tree.

Outside, the dark had deepened, but there was a moon and clouds, and no wind was howling. No thunder, no lightning. Just three sisters, warm and cozy, wrapped in fuzzy blankets like we could weather any storm.

Storms would come and storms would go. Boys would come and boys would go.

But sisters are forever.

MEGAN McDONALD is the author of the best-selling Judy Moody series and its companion series starring Judy"s younger brother, Stink. As the youngest of five sisters, she knows all about the real-life ups and downs of sisterhood. Megan McDonald lives in Sebastopol, California.

end.