Ann Martin - Mallory On Strike

Mrs. Schafer moved Dawn and her brother, Jeff, to Connecticut about a year ago, after Dawn's parents got divorced. (Mrs. Schafer had grown up in Stoneybrook. Soon after they got here, Dawn and Jeff were both homesick for California and really missed their father. Also, Jeff was having a tough time in school, so he moved back with his father, which split the Schafer family in two.)

Then this really weird (I mean, extremely weird) thing happened. First, Dawn and Mary Anne became best friends. Then they found out that Mary Anne's dad and Dawn's mom used to date when they were in high school. So Dawn and Mary Anne arranged for them to re-meet and guess what. They instantly fell in love again. After what seemed like an endless amount of time, they finally got married, and the Spiers and Mary Anne's kitten, Tigger, moved into the Shafers' big, old farmhouse. I know that sometimes Dawn really misses her dad and brother and California (let's face it, she's been through a lot of changes), but she

see'ms to cope really well. Besides, now that she's got a stepfather as well as a stepsister who, like I said, just happens to be her best friend, I think she's much happier.

My best friend, Jessi, whom I already told you about, and I are the junior officers of the BSC. That's because we're the youngest mem-bers'and can only baby-sit after school and on weekends.

I was so busy thinking about the club and my unfinished homework and Young Authors Day that I didn't even notice the red-and-white-striped ball that rolled across the street in front of me.

"Look out!" a small boy in a cowboy shirt and hat shouted. I swerved to miss the ball, and my front tire bumped against the curb directly in front of Claudia's house. Luckily, I didn't fall, but I was embarrassed that that little kid had seen me almost crash like that. I steadied myself, then wheeled my bike up the Kishis' driveway.

Chapter 3.

I opened the Kishis' front door and raced upstairs to Claudia's room. The rest of the club members were already there, waiting in their usual spots. Kristy was sitting in the director's chair, wearing her visor and a pencil tucked over one ear. The club notebook was lying open on her lap. Claudia, Mary Anne, and Dawn were lined up on Claud's bed, their backs leaning against the wall. Stacey was straddling Claud's desk chair, her arms draped over the top rung of the back. I took my place on the floor next to Jessi just as Claudia's digital alarm clock changed from 5:29 to 5:30.

All club meetings start on time and last exactly thirty minutes. We meet three times a week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons. Parents know that and call us during meetings to line up sitters. But I'm getting

ahead of myself. First, let me tell you how this fantastic idea got started.

It all began when Kristy, Claudia, Stacey, and Mary Anne were in the seventh grade at Stoneybrook Middle School. I was a lowly fifth-grader at Stoneybrook Elementary, and Jessi and Dawn hadn't even moved here yet.

Back then, Kristy, Claud, and Mary Anne liked to baby-sit, but they always set up jobs on their own. Then one day Mrs. Thomas needed someone to watch Kristy's six-year-old brother, David Michael. Kristy and her brothers Sam and Charlie were busy, so Mrs. Thomas spent practically forever on the telephone trying to line up a sitter. It was while Kristy was watching her mother make all those phone calls that the brilliant idea hit her. Wouldn't it be wonderful, she thought, if parents could make one phone call and reach a lot of sitters?

Kristy immediately invited Mary Anne and Claudia to form a baby-sitters club with her. Then the girls decided they needed four members, so Claudia suggested they invite Stacey to join. And that was the start of the BSC.

Claudia's room was the logical headquarters for the club, mainly because she has her own private telephone line. (I told you she was cool.) And the girls figured that, since they would be spending a lot of time in Claud's

room, she should be made vice-president. So she was.

Then the club members advertised their business by placing an announcement in the Stoneybrook News and passing out fliers, and they got calls at their very first meeting. (One person needed a dog-sitter, but that's another story.) Anyway, soon business was booming. So when Dawn Schafer moved to town and became friends with Mary Anne, the girls asked her to join the club, and she became the alternate officer. Then Stacey moved back to New York City, and the club members asked Jessi and me to join as junior officers. Of course, when Stacey returned to Stoneybrook, we let her right back in the club. And since she really likes numbers, and Dawn isn't that crazy about them, Stacey became the official treasurer once again. (Dawn had taken over for her while she was gone).

There are now seven members of the club. I have to tell you that during BSC meetings, Claud's bedroom feels pretty crowded. And when we're all talking or giggling (which we do quite a bit of), it sounds like a major party is going on.

Of course, Kristy tries to keep things from getting too out of hand. In fact, she is very businesslike at our meetings. She makes sure they start promptly at 5:30, and she's not very

happy about anyone being late. Kristy also maj

What's the club notebook? It's like a diary. We're supposed to write up every job in the notebook. That way the other members can find out if one kid is afraid of the dark and needs a night-light left on, or if another kid is having trouble with school and needs help. It can be really useful in solving problems. It also helps us know which kids are going to be pains. (Like the Arnold twins, who actually turned out to be nice. The notebook sure helped me with them.) I don't mind writing in the notebook, and neither does Kristy, but no one else is too keen on it, especially Claudia (maybe because she's such a poor speller). Also, we're supposed to read the notebook once a week, to keep up with things.

The Kid-Kits were another great Kristy idea. She suggested that we each get a cardboard carton, decorate it, then fill it with toys and fun things for kids to play with. Mine is packed with books (of course), games and other old toys of mine, crayons, coloring books, stickers, scissors, and glue. I often take my Kid-Kit with me when I baby-sit. Children love it. Kid-kits are also good for business, because when kids are happy, their parents

are happy, and then they call the BSC and give us more jobs!

Mary Anne has the hardest job. As the BSC secretary, she's in charge of the club record book (another one of Kristy's great ideas). She writes down the addresses of all our clients, their phone numbers, and the rates they pay. More importantly, Mary Anne assigns every single job. That means she has to know all of our schedules. Like, when Jessi takes her ballet lessons, or Stacey has a doctor's appointment, or when I have to go to the (Ew!) orthodontist, or when Kristy's Krushers have a practice. Even so, I don't think Mary Anne has ever made a mistake.

As club treasurer, Stacey collects dues from us every Monday. We grumble about paying them, but that's just because it's hard to part with money. Stacey keeps a record of the money in the treasury, then doles it out to pay for Claudia's phone bill and Kristy's ride to the meetings (we pay her brother Charlie to drive her across town in his car). Our dues also go for replacing items (like crayons and coloring books) in our Kid-Kits, and planning and buying snacks for fun BSC activities like pizza parties or slumber parties. Stacey sure loves collecting our money, too. She gets this wicked gleam in her eye whenever she pats

the manila envelope holding our dues.

So that's how the club works. Three times a week we gather at Claudia's and wait for the phone to ring. Which today it did immediately. Stacey, who was closest, called out, "I'll get it!" She reached for the phone. "Hello, Baby-sitters Club," she said. "Oh, hi, Mrs. Prezzioso."