Fifteen-year-old Trixie Belden and her best friend Honey Wheeler were giggling behind the door of Honey's Manor House bedroom. The two were getting ready together for that evening's graduation party for Brian, Trixie's studious older brother, and Jim, Honey's beloved brother since her family adopted him two years ago.

Trixie flopped down on the pristine white ruffled bedspread, smiling. "Can you believe it, Honey? No more school for three glorious months! And next year we will be sophomores!"

Honey smiled back at her friend and stretched out luxuriously beside her. "I hardly can believe it. There were certainly times I wondered how either of us was going to make it this far in school. And yet, with a little change in our study habits…"

"And a decent amount of tutoring from our older brothers," Trixie grinned.

"Who knew we would finish up this year with top marks?" Honey sighed, a proud smile on her face.

"Definitely not my parents," Trixie laughed. "Dad was so surprised when he heard I made honor roll that he almost swallowed his toothpick."

"Well, I always said you were smart, Trixie," Honey said loyally. "I guess we just did have to figure out how to apply ourselves like Brian is always saying, whatever that means."

"It was pretty simple, in my case," Trixie admitted. "First of all, Moms got serious about me having to give up planning Bob White activities if my grades didn't improve."

"Oh Trixie, I would have just died if she had done that! The Bob Whites would never get anything fun done if it wasn't for you. You and Jim are always the one coming up with new ideas," Honey proclaimed.

"I don't know if she actually would have done it, but she was sure that threat would get my attention, and she was right," Trixie replied wryly. "Then when Jim suggested that I think about solving math problems like little mysteries…it sounds silly, Honey, I know, but suddenly geometry just clicked for me."

"Maybe you'll decide to become a mathematician instead of a detective," Honey gently teased.

Trixie made a face. "I doubt it, but you know, there is an awful lot of math in some detective work. Science, too - all that forensics stuff, I mean."

"Why Trixie," Honey said admiringly, "I'm impressed. You sound so professional."

"I don't know about that," Trixie giggled. "But I would like to learn more about it."

"Maybe it's something you can look into this summer. But for now, what you need to look into is the closet. It's lucky that you brought your dress over last week. Celia pressed it for you when she did mine this morning."

"That's swell! Oh, how I hate to iron," Trixie pretended to moan. "Remind me to thank her before we leave. How is she feeling now, anyway?"

Celia, the Wheeler's longtime maid, was expecting a new arrival sometime in the fall. She and the Wheeler's chauffer, Tom, were married and lived in a cute little house on the Wheeler property.

"Not bad, I think. She said that the morning sickness only lasted a few weeks." Honey smiled then. "If you ask me, she looks simply adorable. Her belly is just starting to show and she and Tom seem so happy."

"Can you even imagine? It seems like just a few weeks ago that you were interviewing Tom for the chauffer job – you know, to replace good ol' Dick the Dip," Trixie grinned.

Honey groaned in return. "Ugh, don't even say that horrible man's name! Although, if you think about it, Trixie, that was the very first mystery that we solved all together, as the Bob-Whites of the Glen, I mean."

"That was even before Diana and Dan joined us, and just think of all the amazing experiences we've had together since then." Trixie smiled, thinking of past adventures, but then her face fell. Honey was surprised to see her friend suddenly looking uncharacteristically nervous. "Do you think, Honey – I mean, of course we will, but, I mean with Brian and Jim…"

"I can't even think about that right now, Trixie," Honey said immediately, cutting her off. "Every time I remember that they're about to go off to Hudson College I start to get teary. And I can't be teary tonight. This party is for them, after all."

"You're right, Honey. Of course, you nearly always are," Trixie said, sniffing. Honey was touched to see the gleam of tears in Trixie's blue eyes.

"Come on, now," Honey coaxed. "Go pop into your dress. It's almost time to go. Oh, and do try the new little lipstick on my bathroom counter. I know you're not much for lipstick but this is a special occasion, and it's the prettiest shade of pink."

Trixie obligingly fetched her pale blue dress from the closet and slipped into Honey's large adjoining bathroom to change and freshen up. Her dress was simple sleeveless number with a v-neck and wide white belt that accentuated her waist. Diana had helped her choose it on the girls' last shopping trip to White Plains, and Trixie privately marveled at the inches the defined waist and slightly above-the-knee hemline seemed to add to her legs.

Honey was already wearing her cheerful yellow high-necked halter dress. At her vanity table, she added simple golden earrings that brought out the shimmering highlights in her own honey-colored hair and a touch of coral blush on her cheeks.

"Just about ready, Trixie?" Honey called. "Jim should be here any minute."

In the beautiful white bathroom, Trixie hesitated, smoothing her hands over her skirt nervously. Her lips were an unfamiliar glossy shade of pink, but Honey was right – the effect was flattering. She slowly opened the little white handbag she'd brought with her from home and gently picked up the simple silver bracelet that was nestled inside.

Trixie ran her fingers over the engraved letters for the thousandth time. Jim.

"Trixie?" Honey called. "You okay?"

"Just a second," Trixie called back. She quickly fastened the clasp of the bracelet around her wrist, fluffed her curls a few times, and ran out to meet her friend.