Cassie leaned forward so she could see into the living room. “We came to help you decorate for the party, but I guess you’ve got it under control. Cool piñata,” she added, pointing at the piñata Digger had hung that morning. Shaped like a dinosaur, it was the only one he could find in Saint John. But Ali had sworn they needed a piñata, and he wouldn’t disappoint her.

“You came to help me decorate?” Ali was afraid she might cry.

“I promised I would,” said Cassie, who blushed.

“We owe you an apology,” broke in Murray.

“What for?”

Murray smiled. “We talked after you left Thursday. It must be hard to find out you have special powers. We realized we’ve been treating you like a science experiment, not a friend.”

“You still want to be my friend? Even after all the stupid stuff I’ve done?”

Cassie swallowed hard. “Murray reminded me last night that sometimes I can be a bit much. Ever since Emily—”

Murray jumped in. “What she’s trying to say is: we want to be friends with you, Ali.”

“I’d like that.”

“Phew,” said Cassie. “Glad that’s out of the way. Want to know how today went?”

Ali had forgotten all about the Toastmasters event.

“She wants to tell you because she was great,” said Murray, pretending to look disgusted.

“Really?”

Cassie turned her usual pink. “Even better than Ashok.”

“How did Alfie do?”

“He couldn’t come. Something came up.”

“Murray and I were teammates.” Cassie paused. “It’s too bad. Alfie is really good.”

Murray nodded. “And people can have more than one friend, can’t they?”

Cassie’s mouth twisted into an embarrassed smile. “Yes, Murray, people can have more than one friend. Would you consider coming back to debate team, Ali?”

Ali visualized the Post-it notes. If she was going to be real friends with Cassie and Murray, it was time they knew the real her. “Nope. I joined because of Alfie. I hate public speaking. Even if I practice and get better at it, I’m never going to love it.”

Murray grinned. “You are not a good debater.”

“Murray!” Cassie sounded scandalized.

Ali laughed. “No, he’s right. I’m not. But I love to swim, so I’ve decided to try out for the swim team.”

“You should do what makes you happy, but I’m glad you joined the debate team, even if it was only for a while and because of Alfie,” said Cassie with a shy smile. “We might not be friends otherwise. Besides Murray, you’re my first real friend since—”

“Emily.” Ali didn’t know what had happened between Emily and Cassie, but they’d talked about each other enough that she knew they regretted not being friends. “You know, I think Emily really misses you. I bet if you talked to her, you guys would be friends again.”