Blind Girl's Bluff

Aubrey Shepard feels isolated at the Timothy Center. Connie and Tom Riley are kind to her, but she has not made a single friend her own age. Seeking other people, she visits the mall, where Liz and Sarah loudly mock her clothes. A blind girl named Lisa Mulligan defends Aubrey and cleverly identifies Sarah's strawberry-banana smoothie by its smell and the sound of liquid through a straw. Once Lisa explains the trick, Aubrey is fascinated by the ways she has learned to use her other senses.

The girls talk until Lisa's mother arrives, and their instant friendship quickly grows. A week later, they visit Bart Rathbone's Electric Palace and find a tiny two-way radio that Jared had ordered before moving away. Each girl can wear a nearly invisible microphone and earpiece, allowing one to speak privately to the other from as far as fifty yards. Aubrey buys it after forming a plan to get even with Liz and Sarah.

At Whit's End, Lisa approaches the two girls while Aubrey watches from a distance and feeds descriptions through the radio. Lisa reluctantly claims that she has mental telepathy, then correctly names their clothes and colors. Liz and Sarah are astonished that a blind person seems able to see with her mind. Lisa enjoys fooling them more than she expected, and Aubrey persuades her to turn the trick into a public act.

Madam Lisa and her hidden assistant soon become popular. Onstage, Lisa identifies playing cards, describes audience members' clothing, and counts fingers while Aubrey secretly tells her what to say. Their act draws crowds and makes both girls feel like a successful team. What began as revenge becomes a way for Aubrey to enjoy the attention and friendship she has been missing.

Liz and Sarah become suspicious when Lisa refuses to demonstrate her supposed power without Aubrey nearby. They conclude that the performances depend on planted helpers or a secret code and decide to watch until they can expose the fraud. Aubrey expects their investigation, but popularity matters too much for her to care.

Lisa finally visits the Timothy Center and announces that she will no longer perform. The act is deceiving people, and her Christian faith will not allow her to continue lying. Aubrey dismisses the fraud as a harmless joke and accuses Lisa of sounding like her parents. Lisa insists that honesty matters more than popularity, takes the radio equipment, and plans to return it to the Electric Palace. Their first serious disagreement leaves the friendship badly strained.

The following day, Lisa brings the equipment to school in her backpack. After class, Liz creates a commotion, opens the bag while pretending to help, and draws the teacher's attention to the transmitter, microphone, and earpiece. She exposes the mental-telepathy trick and accuses Lisa of using the device to cheat on the test they have just taken. Lisa denies cheating, but the suspicious equipment gives the teacher reason to take her to the principal.

Lisa has to reveal the entire deception. School officials confiscate the equipment and make her take the test again to prove that she did not cheat. Her parents are furious and forbid her to spend time with Aubrey. Lisa also blames Aubrey for drawing her into the scheme and ends an angry telephone call by hanging up. Aubrey has lost the only close friend she has found at the Timothy Center.

Tom talks with Aubrey after learning what happened. She admits that she first wanted revenge because Liz and Sarah's insults hurt her, though she later continued because the performances helped her hold on to Lisa and their shared popularity. Tom reminds her that God tells people to leave revenge to Him because their own attempts only create more harm.

Tom believes that Lisa may forgive Aubrey after both girls have had time to cool down, but their reconciliation has not happened yet. Aubrey can only hope he is right. She now understands that a real friendship should stand on its own; it should not require a gimmick, a dishonest performance, or an enemy to keep two people together.