Ann Martin - Mary Anne And Too Many Babies

and she's addicted to junk food and Nancy Drew mysteries. Candy, chips, and books are hidden all over her room. (They're hidden because her parents disapprove of both addictions. They wish she would eat healthy foods and read the classics.)

Claud is also very fashion conscious, unlike Kristy and me. To begin with, she's exotic-looking. No brown hair and brown eyes for her. Claud is Japanese-American. Her hair is jet black, long, and silky. Her dark eyes are almond-shaped. Her skin is crearny and clear (despite the junk food she consumes). She loves to experiment with her hair, braiding it, twisting it up, wearing ribbons and barrettes and ornaments in it. And her clothes are outrageous. Her parents let her dress in whatever style she likes. A typical Claudia outfit might include a sequined shirt, stirrup pants (maybe black), low black boots, dangly turquoise earrings, and ribbons woven through tiny braids in her hair. And she wouldn't forget sparkly nail polish.

Another thing about Claud. She's a terrible student. She could be a good one if she tried, but school doesn't interest her. Sometimes her awful spelling drives me crazy — but I love her anyway.

"Hi, everyone!"

"Hey, Stace!" we replied.

Stacey McGill had dashed into club headquarters, followed closely by Mallory Pike. They had arrived just in time. As soon as they sat down (Mal on the floor with Jessi; Stacey backward in the desk chair), Kristy announced, "This meeting of the Baby-sitters Club will now come to order. Any important business?"

"Dues day!" cried Stacey. She's the treasurer, and one of her jobs is to collect dues from the seven main club members every Monday. (Two more people belong to the club, but they do not attend meetings and don't have to pay dues. They're associate members, kids we can call on to baby-sit if a BSC call comes in and none of us can take the job. Guess what. One of the associate members is . . . Logan!) Anyway, Stace is great at math, so she's the perfect choice for keeping track of the money in our treasury, which is a manila envelope. We use the money to cover our expenses: to help Claudia pay her phone bill, to buy new items to replace used-up ones in the Kid-Kits, and so forth.

Like Claud, Stacey is a real fashion plate. She dresses wildly, wears lots of jewelry (her ears are pierced; so are Claudia's), and her mom lets her get her blonde hair permed. Stacey grew up in New York City. In fact, like

Dawn, she didn't move to Stoneybrook until seventh grade. Recently, her parents got divorced, which has been tough on Stace. Now she lives with her mom, while her dad is back in NYC. Stacey has no brothers or sisters. Also no pets. She's funny, outgoing, caring, wonderful with children, and a teensy bit boy crazy. I really admire Stacey. She's been through a lot, and her troubles seem to make her a stronger person. Apart from the divorce, Stacey has to cope with a medical problem. She has a disease called diabetes. Her body can't break down sugar the way most people's bodies can, so she has to monitor her diet extra carefully (no sweets or desserts), test her blood several times each day, and (this is the gross part) give herself injections of insulin. Even so, Stacey winds up in the hospital from time to time, but she always bounces back and is usually pretty cheerful.

What happens if Stacey or one of the other club officers has to miss a meeting? No problem. Dawn takes over for that person. As alternative officer, that's her job. She has to know everything about running the club, but that's easy for Dawn Schafer, since she's almost as organized and neat as my father is.

Dawn is also very much an individual,

which is one of the reasons she became the second of my two best friends. I like her independence, even though I eventually learned that individuality plus independence does not necessarily equal self-confidence. Dawn has some chinks in her armor just like everyone else. In general, though, she's easygoing and not likely to be swayed by what other people are doing or thinking.

Dawn has the most amazing hair I have ever seen. It's at least as long as Claud's, just as silky, but as light as Claud's is dark. It's nearly white, sort of the color of sweet corn. Dawn's eyes are blue and sparkly, she's tall and thin, and her clothes are as individual as her personality is. She wears what she feels like wearing and manages to look trendy and casual at the same time. Her mom is not at all strict about what Dawn wears — which may explain why Dawn's ears are double-pierced, so she can wear two pairs of earrings at the same time, although she often wears four non-matching earrings!

Dawn, Kristy, Claudia, Stacey, and I are eighth-graders at SMS. The other two main members are eleven-year-old sixth-graders at SMS. They are Jessi Ramsey and Mallory Pike, our junior officers. "Junior" just means that their parents will allow them to baby-sit only after school or on weekend days; not at night

unless they're sitting for their own brothers and sisters. Mal and Jessi are another pair of best friends, and I can see why they are drawn together. Each is the oldest kid in her family: Jessi has a younger sister and a baby brother, and Mal has seven younger sisters and brothers. Each loves kids and is a terrific baby-sitter. And each feels that her parents treat her like an infant. They were finally allowed to have their ears pierced (only one hole per ear, of course), but Mal, who wears glasses, is not permitted to get contacts, and both have to dress kind of like . . . oh, like me, for instance. On the tame side.

Mal and Jessi adore reading, especially horse stories, but other than that, their interests are pretty different.

Jessi is a ballet dancer, a good one. She takes lessons at a special dance school in Stamford (the city nearest to Stoneybrook, In the mornings, she wakes up early to practice at the barre in her basement, and she has performed in lots of big productions. I think she will be a star one day.

Mal, on the other hand, likes to write and draw. She makes up stories and illustrates them. Also, she keeps journals. I bet she will become a children's book author.

In terms of looks, Jessi and Mal are pretty different, too. Jessi's skin is a deep brown,

her hair is black, and she has the long legs a dancer needs. Mal is white, her curly hair is red, and she'd give just about anything to get rid of her glasses. Also her braces, even though they're the clear kind and don't show up too much.

Ring, ring!

"I'll get it!" cried Claudia.

Stacey had finished collecting the dues, and now the phone was ringing with what was probably our first job call of the day.

Claud grabbed the receiver. "Hello, Babysitters Club." She listened for a moment. "Yes? . . . Oh, hi, Mrs. Salem," she said. (We met Mrs. Salem when we were taking an infant-care class. She and her husband have twin babies, a boy and a girl.) "Sure, sure," Claud was saying. "Okay, I'll call you back in a few minutes. 'Bye." Claudia hung up the phone and turned to me. "That was Mrs. Salem. She needs a sitter for Ricky and Rose next Tuesday afternoon. Who's free?"

I think I forgot to mention that I am the secretary of the BSC. I'm in charge of the club record book. (Guess who thought of keeping a record book.) I write down any important BSC information and I schedule all of our jobs.

I looked at the page for the following Tues-

day. "Hey, guess what. I'm the only one free," I said. "And I'd love to sit for the twins. Babies. I can't wait!"

Claud phoned Mrs. Salem to give her the good news.

Chapter 3.

"Do you, Mary Anne Spier, take this man to be your husband?"

"I do."

"And do you, Logan Bruno, take this woman to be your wife?"

"I do."

"I now pronounce you husband and wife, for as long as you are members of my Modern Living class."