I nervously dialed her number, my hands trembling. After three rings, the phone picked up. “Hello?” “Hi, Jan. It’s Essie.” “Oh, hey Essie. What’s up?” “Um, nothing much. Just hanging out, that’s all. But there’s something I need to tell you. And promise you won’t tell anyone else, not for a while? It’s kind of a secret,” I said, trying to keep my tone as casual as possible.”Okay, what is it?” she asked, the concern evident in her voice.”Recently, this weird English guy came to my house and he and my father told me that I was going away to London for the summer to go to some camp for girls. I’m going to stay in the house of my dad’s friend while I’m there, and I’ve never even met him before.It’s so crazy,all of it! I don’t even understand why I’m going. I mean, there are plenty of wonderful camps here in Pleasantville.Sometimes, I don’t know what my father thinks. Nothing makes sense anymore.I just don’t know. But if there’s one thing that makes me lucky, it’s the fact that I have a great friend like you.”