Ann Martin: Stacey And The Mystery At The Mall

Kristy's bus pulled up then, and she had to run for it — but a few hours later we were together again for a BSC meeting in Claud's room, and our discussion continued.

We talked some more about how to run the dub during the six weeks of Project Work. We decided to meet once a week, on Fridays. Shannon said she could answer the phone on Mondays and Wednesdays, and take a lot of the early afternoon jobs on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. It looked as if we were all set.

As soon as school ended that Wednesday, I headed for the bus that would take my friends and me to the mall. Kristy had already claimed the two back rows, and I grabbed the seat next to her. "I had to fight Alan Gray for these seats," she said, "but I won."

Alan, who is just about the most obnoxious boy in our class, turned around and crossed his eyes at us. "You'll be sorry," he said. "I'm going to be working at Just Desserts, and I'll put ants on top of your ice cream instead of chocolate sprinkles."

"Yum," said Kristy, giggling. "I love ants."

The ride to the mall was fun, and I realized that spending time on the bus with my friends was going to be great. It was a half hour long each way, plenty of time to catch up with each other and talk about all the stuff we try to gab about during BSC meetings.

When we reached the mall, we scattered. Jessi headed for the elevator, which would take her to Cinema World. Mary Anne stepped onto the escalator and waved to us as she rode up to Critters. Kristy headed for the security offices, walking along with Mal, who was on her way to the BookCenter. Logan loped off toward the food court. Then, Claud walked me to Toy Town, since The Artist's Exchange is right around the corner from it. "Have fun," she said. "If you get done a little early, come get me. Maybe we'll have time to go upstairs and check out Zingy's."

I walked into Toy Town, feeling a little nervous all of a sudden. I was about to meet my new boss! I glanced around at the colorful store, and then I looked down at the card I was carrying, to check my boss's name one last time.

"Well, hello!" I heard a woman say. "You must be Stacey." I looked up to see a tall woman with long, curly red hair, an armful of silver bracelets, and a big smile. She was wearing a white blouse and a swirling purple

skirt that looked as if it were made out of silk. And on her hip she held a little boy with red hair like hers.

"Ms. Frenning?" I asked.

"Please, call me April," she said. "And this is Sandy, my son. Say hi, Sandy." Sandy frowned at me and turned his face away. "He's a little shy sometimes," said April apologetically. "Anyway, welcome to Toy Town. Is this your first time in the store?"

"Oh, no," I said. "I've been here before. I love this store."

'Terrific," said April. "You know what? I can already tell we're going to get along just fine."

April was right. By the end of the afternoon, I felt as if I'd known her forever. She gave me a tour of the store, pointing out the newest and most interesting merchandise. She explained pricing and showed me how to run the cash register. And we even took time out to play with a new item she'd just gotten in — a realistic-looking rubber spider that jumped when you pressed a bulb that was attached to it by a tube. We made it leap all over the store, and soon we were laughing so hard we were practically crying.

Sandy, on the other hand, actually was crying, at least some of the time. April explained that he was bored, since she had been

having trouble finding child care for him lately and he'd had to spend a lot of time with her at the store. But even though he was a little cranky, I could tell Sandy was a great kid.

"I'm looking forward to having you here on Monday," April said, when it was time for me to head for the bus. "I think we're going to have fun."

I was sure she was right. I could hardly wait to start my new job.

Chapter 4.

Slinkys. Dinosaur puzzles, farm puzzles, zoo puzzles, puzzles of every description. Cowboy hats and ballerina tiaras. Stuffed bears, stuffed rabbits, and stuffed whales. Train sets, doctor kits, puppets . . . there was so much to look at in Toy Town! When I arrived there on Monday for my first real day of work, April told me to take some time to explore the store and get familiar with the merchandise. I walked up and down the aisles, amazed at how much could be packed into one small store. The week before, when April had showed me around, I had been too excited and nervous to take everything in. But now, I was paying more attention.

The place was like heaven for little kids. I pictured myself at eight or nine years old. At that age, I could have happily spent all my time in a place like Toy Town. And it wasn't just the toys. April had made the store into a

very welcoming place. There were display tables, for example, where toys were set out for kids to look at and play with. One of them held a train set, with trees and buildings and even a lake made out of a mirror. On the other was a farm scene, with horses and cows and pigs and sheep all spilling out of a big red barn. I picked up a horse to look it over more closely.

"Mine!" said Sandy from behind me. He was frowning, and he held out his hand for the horse.

"Unfortunately, Sandy thinks everything in the store belongs to him," said April, scooping him up. She hugged Sandy and kissed the top of his head. "Makes it difficult to sell things sometimes."

"Two-year-olds can be that way," I said. " 'Mine' is their favorite word, isn't it? I babysit a lot, so I'm used to it." I told April a little about the BSC.

"What a great idea," said April. "I could sure use a BSC in my neighborhood!"

"So," I said, eager to start working, "what would you like me to do today?"

"Let’s see," said April. "I've been thinking about changing the display tables. Why don't you put away the farm and set up this doll-house in its place?" She showed me a carton containing a snap-together dollhouse, and a

few other boxes that held furniture and brightly colored plastic people. "The farm stuff goes in these," she said, handing me some empty boxes. "After you've done that, you can take your break, and then maybe I can give you another lesson on the cash register. Does that sound okay?"

'It sounds great," I said. I got down on my knees and started to take the barn apart. I didn't really feel I would need a break that afternoon, but all the Project Work jobs followed the same schedule. Mr. Withum had told us about it that day in class. "You'll work for two hours every afternoon," he had said, "with a fifteen-minute break at some point. Please be sure you're on time, and don't abuse your break privileges." My friends and I had already planned to visit each other on our breaks.

I was busy separating the animals into various piles when April returned. "By the way," she said. "I forgot to mention one important thing. While you're in the store, I'd like you to keep an eye out for shoplifters. Merchandise walks out of this store all the time, especially the little things up front near the cash register."

"That’s awful," I said.

April shrugged. "It’s a fact of life," she said. "All stores have to deal with it. Lately, though,

it seems as if it’s happening more than ever." She looked over at Sandy, who was tearing into a pile of puzzles. "Oh, no, Sandy!" she said, running to stop him.

"He can help me," I said, "if you want to keep him busy, that is."

"That would be great," said April. "Sandy, want to help Stacey with the farm?" she asked.

"Hoss!" said Sandy, pointing at the horse I held in my right hand.

"Good!" I said. "Can you find the right pile for the horsie?" I handed it to him. Sandy and I spent a peaceful half hour packing up the farm animals. Then, just as I was pulling the dollhouse pieces out of their boxes, Claudia turned up.