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guess the noble thing to do was to clean up the mess for Heather, but this was really beyond the call of duty. Anyway, I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, and I've realized that I need to let this summer romance cool off a little. Plus, Heather's going off to college next year, and those long-distance relationships never really seem to work out. August Tuesday We ran into the Jefferson's at the supermarket

today. Me and Rowley haven't spoken to each other in over a month, so it was kind of awkward. Mrs. Jefferson said they were buying groceries for their trip to the beach next week. That kind of irritated me because that's where my family was supposed to go this summer. But then Mrs. Jefferson said something that really threw me for a loop. HOW WOULD GREGORY LIKE TO JOIN US?

Mr. Jefferson didn't look too thrilled with that idea, but before he could speak up Mom chimed in. WHY, GREGORY WOULD LOVE TO! Something about the whole incident seemed a little fishy to me. I'm kind of wondering if it was a setup, with Mom and Mrs. Jefferson conspiring to get me and Rowley back together. Believe me, Rowley's the last person I want to spend a week with. But then I realized if I went to the beach with the Jefferson's, I'd get to ride the Cranium Shaker. So maybe my summer won't be such a bust after all. Monday I knew I made a mistake coming on this beach trip

when I saw where we were staying. QUIET COVE My family always rents a condo in the high-rises right near the boardwalk, but the place where the Jefferson's are staying is a log cabin about five miles from the beach. nkledc. We went inside the cabin, and there was no TV or computer or anything with a screen on it.

I asked what we were supposed to do for entertainment, and Mrs. Jefferson said- YOU COULD READ A BOOK! I thought that was a good one, and I was about to tell Rowley his mom was pretty funny. But she came back a second later with a bunch of reading material.

So that just confirmed Mom was in on this plan from the beginning. All three Jefferson's read their books right up until it was time to eat. Dinner was ok, but dessert was awful. Mrs. Jefferson is one of those moms who sneaks healthy food into your snacks, and her brownies were full of spinach. I don't think it's a good idea to grind up vegetables and put them in kids' desserts, because then they don't know what the real thing is supposed to taste like. The first time Rowley had a regular brownie was at my house, and believe me, it wasn't pretty.