Ann Martin - Mystery At Claudia's House

"I deserved it," she replied. "I lied to them."

"But why?" I asked. "They don't care if you go out for pizza. They just said so."

"I don't want to talk about it, Claudia," said Janine stiffly. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have some homework to do."

That was it. I went back to my room in a huff, and right then and there I made a decision. I had not yet unraveled the entire mystery, and I was going to find out what Janine was up to. Then, maybe, if she was nicer to me, I could help her keep out of trouble. If

not, at least I could satisfy my own curiosity.

I decided that the best way to find out what was going on would be to put a tail on Janine. A tail like in the detective stories. Someone who would follow her and observe her behavior. And who better to do that than the members of the BSC? Our club already has a great record in solving mysteries.

I reached for the phone and dialed Stacey's number. "Hi, Stace," I began. "You'll never believe what happened!"

Chapter 9.

Stacey and I spent quite a while on the phone that night, plotting and planning. I also talked to Kristy, Dawn, and Mallory. When I woke up on Sunday morning, I knew that by then every member of the BSC must know about what had happened to Janine. And we were gearing up to find out what was behind her strange behavior.

I put on my robe and slippers and headed down the hall to Janine's room. "Hi," I said, rubbing my eyes and yawning. "Aren't you coming downstairs for breakfast?"

Janine was already up and dressed and hard at work on her computer. "I already had some yogurt and fruit," she said. "I decided that if I'm going to be stuck in my room, I might as well make the best use of the time."

Janine is unbelievable. Most normal average teenagers — like me — would never even think of “making the best use of the time" while they were grounded. I'll bet if you polled grounded kids about their main activities, "sulking" and "painting my toenails" would probably be high on the list. But Janine has never been normal or average. I don't know why I even expected her to act any differently than she always does. And trust me, it's not that unusual to find Janine doing homework at nine-thirty on a Sunday morning.

Sometimes it's so hard to believe she is actually my sister.

As I went downstairs, I felt my stomach begin to rumble. I could smell bacon frying and waffles cooking, and suddenly I was starving. "Morning!" I said to my parents as I entered the kitchen.

"Morning, sweetie," said my mom.

"Ready for waffles?" asked my dad, flipping a couple of them onto a plate.

"Definitely," I said. And then, for the next few minutes, I didn't say anything except maybe "yum" and "pass the butter, please." I was too busy stuffing my face with those delicious waffles. After the second one, I started to slow down. I was getting full. "I have to sit at the Masterses' later," I said to my mother, "but if you need more help in the garden this morning, I'm available."

My mother raised her eyebrows. "Thank you, honey. It's nice of you to offer," she said,

sounding a little surprised. "But it looks like rain. I think I'll clean out the basement, instead."

"I could help with that," I told her. "After I clean up the kitchen, of course."

My .mother looked kind of stunned. I don't usually offer to work around the house. I mean, I do the chores I've been assigned, but that's about it. And even then, to be honest, I often have to be reminded. No wonder my mom was surprised. But I guess she didn't want to look at a gift horse's teeth, or however that expression goes.

"Well, I'd be glad for your help," she said. "There's a lot to do."

I spent that morning being helpful and charming and polite, the "good sister." I only had two days to bask in the glow of my new status, so I wanted to make the most of it.

I could tell that my parents appreciated the new me, but I could also sense that they were a little bewildered about my sudden personality change.

The fact is, I'm the only one who worries about "good sister/bad sister." I know that, in reality, my parents love me and Janine equally. I know that they don't value her good grades over my artistic talent; both are given equal weight. And it's not that I'm a terrible person, or that I'm usually rude and lazy. My parents

would probably think I was nuts if I explained what I was up to when I took on all those extra little jobs that Sunday morning. So I , didn't explain. I just worked. And it felt good. But to be honest, I also knew I would be relieved when Janine's punishment was over arid she could take back the "good sister" role. That's just the way my mind works.

Anyway, by that afternoon, I was already tired of being good. I don't know how Janine stands it! I was glad I had a sitting job, so I could get out of the house. In fact, I decided to walk over to the Masterses' instead of asking for a ride. That way I'd have to leave even earlier.

The sky was awfully gray when I stepped outside, but I didn't feel like going back in for an umbrella or a raincoat. I decided to chance it, even though it's a bit of a walk to the Masterses' '. I walked quickly, thinking about what I might do that afternoon with Todd and Derek. I'd heard what our Kissing Expert had been up to lately, and I wanted to avoid any similar activities. I tried to think what else would interest the boys.

Suddenly, I realized something that made me smile. Derek might not really be a kissing expert, but he was an expert in something else: detective work! After his guest appearances on Kid Detectives, he probably knew all kinds of

stuff about tailing people and cracking mysteries. He'd be perfect for helping me figure out the mystery at my house. I ran the rest of the way to the Masterses', partly because I was excited and partly, because it had started to rain. I was out of breath by the time I got there, but I managed to act professional with Mr. and Mrs. Masters. Then, as soon as they left, I pulled Derek and Todd into the living room. I knew Todd would probably be less interested in the Janine mystery than Derek would be, but I also knew Todd thinks anything his big brother does is fascinating.

"Listen, you guys," I said. "I want you to be my deputies."

"Do we get to wear stars?" asked Todd. I guess he's seen a cowboy movie or two on TV, so he knew just what a deputy is.

"Sure, I'll get you some stars," I said. "Now, Derek, I need your expert advice. You know a lot about how to be a detective, right?"

"Sure," said Derek. I had the feeling he was glad this conversation wasn't going to be about kissing.

"Okay, here's the situation," I said. I talked for a long time. I told the boys about Janine, and what she's like: How she never used to care about clothes or makeup. How she has no social life because her schoolwork comes

first. How she's always been a model child — until now. And how she's changed.

Derek listened closely. "Wow," he said, when I'd finished. "Something big is going on."

"I know," I replied. "Do you think you can help me find out what it is?"

“Definitely. It'll be a piece of cake."

"Cake!" said Todd. "I want some!"

Uh-oh. "Gee, I don't know if there is any," I said. "But come on, let's see what we can find." Derek was already thinking hard about The Case of The Weird Sister, so I figured I better keep Todd occupied.