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little.
    â€œWho wants to order something from Pizza Hut?” Josh asked. “They got a pepperoni special this week.”
    â€œOrder from LaRosa’s instead,” November suggested. “For every pizza you buy this month, they’re donating five dollars to the Free Store.”
    â€œHow do you know all this stuff?” Josh asked.
    â€œI make it my business to be well informed about all sorts of serious stuff—from shoe sales to canned-goods drives to pizza specials. And you should too,” she added.
    â€œI got you to do that for me, my little pepperoni!” Josh said as he hugged her.
    â€œSome stuff you gotta do for yourself, Josh,” November told him seriously.
    â€œI’m a vegetarian,” Dana explained, as she nibbled on a corn chip. “Make mine just cheese.” Josh nodded as he called in the pizza order.
    â€œI thought you eat raw meat for breakfast!” Kofi teased.
    â€œWhy you say that?” she asked.
    â€œâ€™Cause you so bad, girl. I heard you wanted to be a Boy Scout instead of a Girl Scout when you were little. Is that true?”
    Dana laughed. “Sort of. I hated those ugly green Girl Scout uniforms—the boys’ uniforms looked so much better, and they didn’t have to sell those stupid cookies!”
    â€œSpeak for yourself, girl,” Jericho joked. “Those cookies are sacred to me—they’re a whole new food group!”
    â€œThat’s what I like about you, Dana,” Kofi continued. “You think for yourself—you’re a trendsetter. Have you noticed the little ninth-grade ’Dana clones’ who try to dress like you?”
    Dana shrugged. “I can’t help it if people copy me. I just do my own thing.”
    â€œHow’s your dad?” Arielle asked her.
    Dana sighed. “He’s still in the Middle East someplace—he’s not allowed to tell us where—but it’s always dangerous over there. We don’t know when he’ll be home again.” Her father, an Air Force lieutenant, was a career military man. “He’s, like, my hero, you know. He’s always told me to be whatever I wanted to be, and encouraged me to try new things, not to let boundaries stand in my way. He taught me to fly a plane when I was just ten.”
    â€œYou can fly a plane?” Kofi asked in amazement.
    â€œI’ve soloed in a single engine, and I could probably handle a bigger plane in an emergency if I had to,” she replied, her eyes shining. Josh looked at her with awe.
    Jericho didn’t care. He was just glad that Arielle was sitting with them, looking relaxed and comfortable. He wished he felt the same.
    The evening moved softly and easily, Jericho thought. Josh and November danced, caught up in their own little world, Kofi played video games, and Jericho marveled at every moment with Arielle. She laughed at Josh’s antics as he demonstrated, in hilarious detail, exactly what his parents looked like when they danced, but more importantly, she paid attention to Jericho, seemingly interested in his every word as he talked about school and made jokes about teachers. He was amazed. The pizza arrived, and Jericho, conscious of his weight and nervous around Arielle, found he had very little appetite. He ate only one small piece.
    â€œSo what’s the big deal about the Warriors of Distinction?” Dana asked suddenly, jarring the easy conversationthat had surrounded the music and food. “Why isn’t there a group called the Distinguished Women?”
    â€œMaybe there aren’t any distinguished women!” Kofi laughed at his own joke.
    â€œI’m serious,” Dana continued. “Why aren’t there girls in the group?”
    â€œAw, Dana, quit trying to put salt in the milkshake! It’s the way the club has been for fifty years,” Josh complained.
    â€œSo, in fifty years, nobody ever asked the question? I think it’s