Ann Martin: Mystery At Claudia's House

"Kristy," said Mary Anne. "You're getting carried away. He's only a kid, remember? I'm sure he hasn't changed at all. He was really friendly to Jessi, that time she visited him when we were all out in California. Anyway, you can handle him, whatever he's like. You're a great baby-sitter."

Good old Mary Anne. She always knows just what to say. There I was, ready to laugh at Kristy's fears, but Mary Anne kept a straight

face and calmed Kristy right down. I'll never be as sensitive as Mary Anne.

"Mary Anne's right',” I said. "Just treat him like a regular kid, and you'll be fine." Then I remembered something and started to laugh. "Did you see the show last night? The one where Waldo gets new glasses and starts to think he has X-ray vision? It was so funny."

Mary Anne giggled. "Dawn and I were watching,” she said. "We were both practicallydyingfrom laughing so hard."

Kristy just looked at us. "See what I mean?" she said. "He's a big star. Everybody talks about that showall dayafter it's on." She shook her head and took another bite of her peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich. Kristy hadn't said one word about what my friends and I were eating, which was very unusual. Normally she would have spent the whole lunch period teasing about how gross the chicken chow mein looked. Instead, she just talked about how worried she was. It was unlike Kristy to be so nervous about a sitting job, but I guess anybody can get starstruck.

Kristy spent that whole day worrying about her job at the Masterses'. I noticed during our meeting that afternoon that she seemed distracted, and later I found out why.

"I was trying to figure out what I should wear," said Kristy. "It seemed like I should

dress up a little, since Derek is so famous." I was shocked. Kristyneverdresses up. But that night she changed out of her .jeans and into freshly ironed dress pants, just for Derek.

By the time Kristy knocked on the Masterses' door, she had butterflies in her stomach. Mrs. Masters answered the door. She was flustered because she and Mr. Masters had a big meeting planned with Derek's agent. They ran out with hardly a word to Kristy. But just as the door slammed behind them, Derek appeared in the hall and a funny thing happened. The second Kristy saw him, her nervousness melted away. For one thing, she'd forgotten that Derek looks nothing like the character he plays on TV. He doesn't wear glasses, or have a spiky haircut. He's just a normal, friendly looking kid. And for another thing, he looked awfully glad to see Kristy. "Derek!" she said. "Howareyou?"

"I'm great," he said, smiling. "I'm so happy to be back in Stoneybrook. I getboredin Hollywood."

Kristy stifled a giggle. "I thought your life out there was glamorous and exciting," she said.

"Not really," he answered. "I work hard, you know. And then, I get tutored on the set with the other kids from the show. Sometimes I just really miss being with regular kids at a normal school!"

"I'll bet," said Kristy. "Well, I'm sure your old Stoneybrook friends are happy to see you." Kristy was glad she could say that — andmeanit. She knew it was true. But Derek hadn't always been so popular in Stoneybrook. When he first became famous, he'd had a hard time in school for quite a while. Jessi had been his main baby-sitter at the time, and she was amazed at how mean to him the other kids were. According to Derek, they teased him and picked fights with him all the time. The meanest kid was one named John. After hearing all the stories about what John did, Jessi nicknamed him "Superbrat." But you know what? John didn't really exist. And all those mean things he had supposedly done were actually done by — get this —Derek!He was just having a hard time adjusting to being a star. He wasn't sure anymore how a "normal" kid was supposed to act. But Derek got through that phase with a little help from Jessi. And Kristy knew that, this time around, the kids at Stoneybrook Elementary were thrilled to have him back at school.

Derek started to tell Kristy about the teepee his class was building, but just then Todd, who's four, came running into the room.

"Hi!" he said, stopping short when he saw Kristy. "Who are you?"

Kristy laughed. "I'm Kristy," she said. "I

used to baby-sit for you, but I guess you don't remember. Anyway, I'm here to watch you and Derek."

"Oh, okay," said Todd. He gave Kristy a big smile. "Want to come see what I made with my Legos?"

"Sure," said Kristy. She and Derek followed Todd into the living room. "Hey, that's great," she said, when she saw what Todd had made. It was a big castle, with towers and everything.

"My dad helped," admitted Todd. "So did Derek." He squatted down and started to take apart the drawbridge.

Kristy and Derek sat on the couch to watch him. "Your show was great last night," said Kristy shyly. "You were really funny."

"Thanks," said Derek. "I have fun doing that show, but sometimes I get a little tired of playing Waldo. He's such a geek!"

Kristy laughed.

"Did you see me onKid Detectiveslast month?" asked Derek. "That show is awesome. It was so great to work on something different."

"You were onKid Detectives!"asked Kristy. "Ilovethat show. But I didn't see it when you were on."Kid Detectivesis this show on which a real-life mystery is acted out, and then solved by, like, the victim's little brother or his best friend. It's not usually about murders or scary

stuff like that; it's more likely to be about a stolen skateboard or something. We all love the show.

"I was on a couple of times," said Derek. "I learned a lot about crime-solving, too. I'm an expert now."

"Cool," said Kristy. "Boy, it sounds like you've been busy. Going to school and doing homework every night is going to seem like a vacation, right?"

"Well, I wouldn't go that far," said Derek, laughing. "You should see the book I have to read by next week!"

"Do you have a lot of catching up to do?" asked Kristy.

"Yeah, but Nicky Pike is going to help me," said Derek. "So are some of the other kids."

"Great," said Kristy. "So, no problems with any kids at school this time?"

"Nope," said Derek. "Well, except for one thing."

"What?" asked Kristy.

"They all keep bugging me to tell them what's going to happen next season on P.S. 262."

Kristy laughed. "I can understand why they're curious. I'm dying to know, myself. I mean, I heard a rumor that Lamont is going to quit the show. Is that true? That would be a shame."

"No, no," said Derek. "He's staying."

"Oh," said Kristy. "So what are the kids at school asking about?"

"Nothing," said Derek, turning away. "Just forget it."

Kristy raised her eyebrows. Derek was acting awfully sensitive all of a sudden. Then she heard a funny noise. She looked over at Todd, who was still working on his castle. Todd was making kissing noises, and grinning at Derek. Kristy looked back at Derek. He had turned bright red.

"Cut .that out!" he yelled at Todd.

"Oh, my darling," said Todd, in a high voice. "Kiss me again!" He puckered up his lips.

"Todd!" said Derek. He looked angry.

Kristy was bewildered. "What's going on?" she asked.

"Ask Derek," said Todd, knowingly. "Or ... his girlfriend."