Enter Melanie—and Marshall
- The day April moves in, a girl in the same building named Melanie Ross heads on over to Caroline's apartment to meet the new kid. She's hoping that April will become a new friend.
- At first it looks like her hopes might be dashed against the rocks. April is dressed in a fur stole and has on fake eyelashes. It's not what most kids around here do for fun.
- Plus, April assures Melanie that she won't be staying with her grandmother for long: her mother will come home from tour eventually (she's a singer), and will bring April back to Hollywood. Um, good for April.
- Even though April is being kind of bratty and dressed like she's three times her age, Melanie invites April back to her apartment.
- There, April meets Melanie's mother and her little brother, Marshall. Marshall doesn't talk much and he always carries around his stuffed octopus, Security.
- Isn't Security a weird name for an octopus? Anyone?
- As they eat lunch, April talks on and on about her mother and all the famous people they've seen in Hollywood. Melanie knows that she's just showing off, but she doesn't say anything because she knows that April must be pretty homesick.
- (Melanie sees through April pretty easily. That's because she's looking at her through normal eyelashes. It's hard to see through pretty much anything if you're wearing false ones.)
- Then Melanie invites April to look at her books. That's when April loosens up and starts acting more like a normal kid. It's clear that she likes to read, just like Melanie. (Sigh of relief.)
- They even end up playing with Melanie's paper dolls and making up stories for them, even though April seems to think this is too babyish at first.
- When April leaves to go back to her grandma's apartment, the girls agree to meet up and play some more the following day.