Finally, Dawn had made it home from school. On Thursdays, she was generally caught up with the Environmental Club, of which she was the founder and president. Her whopping six members helped put together a "Save the Whales" fundraiser that would undoubtedly tank (especially after her "Save the Clouded Leopard" fundraiser had raised $64.83, mostly in change from the teacher's lounge), and she knew there was no way that she was going to get any sort of fundraising. She was in a foul mood.

On top of her failing club and the now-defunct BSC, she couldn't get Ducky's note out of her mind. She knew that he was in New York somewhere, but he couldn't say exactly where yet. This secretiveness wasn't like Ducky – generally, he wanted his friends to know where he was at all times. But Dawn didn't know how much longer she could stand the cryptic notes and postcards that Ducky was sending. They never had the same postmark, which either meant that he was traveling more than she anticipated or was going out of his way to throw her off. Desperate times call for desperate measures, she thought to herself, and reached for the phone to call Sunny.

Sunny was another obstacle in Dawn's life. Since her mother died back in eighth grade, Dawn never knew completely where she stood with Sunny. Of course, she would always call Sunshine Winslow her best friend, but what did that mean, really? Sure, they had been friends since they grew up together, but Dawn didn't know if that qualified them to be life-long BFFs. Still, she tried to make an effort to call Sunny and check in on how she was doing a few times a week.

"Hey Sunny," Dawn said as her friend picked up. She could almost hear Sunny smile over the phone.

"Dawn, how are you? You won't believe what just happened!"

"What's up?"

"Okay, you know how I've been asking Maggie for years if she could get me in a Hayden Blume production? Well, it's finally happened! I got a walk-on part in Final Destruction VI! Isn't that cool?"

"That's awesome, Sun. What's the role?"

"Well…" Sunny paused dramatically. "Right now my character's name is "Bikini Babe 2", but I'm going to try to work on getting a name, at least. I mean, I'd like some credibility for my first role."

Dawn rolled her eyes, glad that Sunny couldn't see her. As usual, her friend was taking life to the extreme. Still, Sunny's enthusiasm was catchy, and Dawn immediately felt her mood lift. "Well, let me know how it goes."

"Of course. We start filming on Sunday, so I'll call you after I'm done. Hey, what have you been up to? I feel like we haven't talked in ages!"

"Oh, well, I've been busy with school, the usual. The BSC broke up."

"What? Well, I guess it was bound to happen. I mean, look at the We Love Kids Club."

The We Love Kids Club was the California version of the BSC, though it was always considered to be much more lax with the rules. When the group disbanded, much to Kristy's excitement, the We Love Kids Club started going their separate ways and making their own groups of friends.

"That's true. I mean, it couldn't have gone on for every. I mean, can you see us all in college, throwing Baby Parades and sleepovers?"

Sunny laughed, and then suddenly sounded serious. "Hey D, have you heard anything from Ducky? I've been trying to call his cell, but the number's disconnected. I guess he didn't pay his bill or something?"

Ducky was a slightly sore subject of conversation between the two of them. Originally, Ducky had been Sunny's friend. But as things often go in high school, the two of them began moving in separate directions. Dawn was never entirely sure what had happened between the two of them, but she always felt some serious sexual tension. Funny how that had worked out.

"That's what I was calling to ask you, actually. I've been getting these postcards and letters from him all the time, and – "

"Oh, nice of him to try and contact me at all," Sunny huffed. She sat silently for a long while, and finally asked, "How is he? Where is he?"

"That's the problem. I don't know where he is. Somewhere in New York, but the postmark always changes. And he won't say what's he's been up to or where he's living. He usually just talks about how much fun he's having and how glad he is that he left Palo Alto."

"Great. Just great. This is just what I need to hear."

Dawn was surprised at Sunny's sudden concern for Ducky's disappearance. After all, this was a girl who tried to run away with a guy she met at the beach when she was thirteen. Sunny's disappearing acts were legendary, mainly because they always fell through at the last moment. Dawn couldn't help but wonder if Sunny was harboring some jealousy towards Ducky, based on the fact that he was able to vanish so easily.

"Well, I guess I'll let you go. I'll call you if I hear anything else."

"Thanks, bye Dawn."

"Oh, and Sunny? Good luck on the movie. Let me know how it goes."

Dawn put down the receiver, disappointed yet not surprised by how their conversation had turned out.

Downstairs in the Spier-Schafer residence, Mary Anne was yet again trying to pry Logan's wandering hands off of her chest. After all, study date to her meant actual studying, especially since they had a math test the next morning. "Logan, come on."

"Aw, Mary Anne," he grinned. "Can't you give me a break once in a while? We've been dating for years now, and you barely let me get to second base."

"Well, I can tell you, it's not going to happen today."

Logan tried to pull a bit of guy logic on her. "But baby, you don't understand what it's like for a guy. I mean, you're so hot, and . . ." As Logan continued speaking, Mary Anne tuned him out. She'd heard this same speech year after year and was frankly bored with his candor. She had told him countless times that she wanted to stay a virgin until marriage, but Logan never believed her. Sure, she wasn't holding signs at abstinence rallies, but she wanted to wait until the right moment. Typical guy, she thought to herself. Though she had always believed that Logan was the perfect boyfriend for her, she was beginning to dislike the new sides of him that she had noticed after the honeymoon period of their relationship died down.

As Logan continued speaking, Mary Anne flipped through her notebook and began working and reworking math formulas. She felt pretty prepared for the test, even though math wasn't really her best subject. Logan looked like he was about to get gropy again, so Mary Anne was relieved when Dawn entered the room and plopped down on the couch. "Hey guys."

"Hey Dawn," they both said simultaneously. Mary Anne wanted to groan out loud. She knew that she and Logan were spending way too much time together when they were speaking at the same time.

Logan stood up carefully. "I'm going to go. I'm not really accomplishing anything here."

Dawn winked. "I'll bet!"

Logan quickly let himself out. "Some study date!" Dawn said to Mary Anne. "You guys have been down here for hours."

Mary Anne reddened. "It's really not what you think. Honestly, I really was studying."

Dawn rolled her eyes. "God, I wish I was doing that kind of studying. But I haven't had a boyfriend in who knows how long. Plus, there's my unfortunate attraction to gay males."

Mary Anne laughed at her sister's candor. Dawn hadn't been herself lately and had been speaking more and more about going back to California. But Dawn never paid attention to how her moves affected anyone other than herself, especially her family. Every time Dawn moved away, Sharon took it personally. This made living in the Spier-Schafer house hard for Mary Anne, especially because of the intense pressure placed on her.

Essentially, Sharon expected Mary Anne to fill in the role of two daughters while Dawn was away. If Mary Anne did poorly on a test, it was as if both girls had done poorly. If Mary Anne was late for dinner, well, the punishment seemed doubled. Sharon had also taken to talking about Dawn in a spooky voice and saying things like "When Dawn was here…" – the kind of things that were usually reserved for someone who had passed away. It freaked Mary Anne out. Plus, the pressure was grueling. Mary Anne felt like she was doing double duty all the time, but didn't want to say anything in fear of upsetting Sharon too much. Once, when she had mentioned to Sharon how much she missed Dawn, Sharon burst into tears and cried for three hours about how she was an awful mother and how her kids must hate her because they always left. She followed this with locking herself in the bathroom for the rest of the night and wouldn't come out until Richard left stuffed grape leaves and herbal tea in front of the door. Mary Anne couldn't remember being that scared or worried in a long time.

Needless to say, Mary Anne was ecstatic that Dawn was back, mainly because it helped lift Sharon from the inevitable depression that struck her every time Dawn left. She would do anything in her power to keep Dawn from leaving again, save for short vacations.

"Girls, come help me with dinner!" Sharon called as she opened the door. She plopped a bag of groceries on the table and opened the fridge. Mary Anne counted the seconds before Sharon placed her keys in the butter compartment. Twenty five, twenty six – ah, there it was. Dawn noticed and grabbed them out, placing them back in Sharon's purse. "Mom, you have to be more careful with these things. It would save you so much time and energy that you waste trying to find all your stuff in the morning."

Sharon beamed at her daughter and planted a kiss on her cheek. "I'm so happy to have you back. In fact, I'm so happy to have both of my girls here. Come here, Mary Anne." She gave Mary Anne a big kiss, and Mary Anne tried to back off without causing a scene. Ever since Sharon's breakdown, she still didn't know how to react around her stepmother.

But one thing was for sure. Until they left for college, Mary Anne was not letting Dawn go ANYWHERE.