Ann Martin - Kristy's Great Idea

Mrs. Newton paid me and I ran to my house, leaving David Michael with Sam, and then ran across the street to Claudia Kishi's.

Recently, I haven't felt quite as comfortable visiting Claudia as I used to. This year she had to go and start growing up faster than us. She's wearing a bra, and the way she talks, you'd think boys had just been invented.

She acts like all the guys in the seventh grade aren't the same goony boys they were last year. Last year, the boys were saying, "Want some ABC gum?" and then handing us the gum out of their mouths, saying, "It's Already-Been-Chewed, get it?" and laughing

hysterically. Last year, the boys were giving us noogies on our arms and throwing spitballs at us. Last year, the boys were pulling our chairs out from under us when we stood up to answer questions. This year (if you listen to Claudia), the boys are heroes. Personally, I don't see any change.

I rang the Kishis' bell. Claudia came to the door. She was wearing short, very baggy lavender plaid overalls, a white lacy blouse, a black fedora, and red high-top sneakers without socks. Her long black hair was carefully arranged in four braids. I felt extremely blah compared to her.

I was so used to seeing Claudia in outfits like that that I didn't bat an eye. What I did notice was that she was wearing makeup. There was blue stuff on her eyelids, gold stuff above her eyes, and magenta stuff on her cheeks.

"Claudia!" I gasped. "Your face! You look like" — I couldn't stop myself in time — "you got made up for the circus. ... I mean . . . it's so colorful. . . ,"

"Thanks a lot."

"No, honestly, Claud. You don't need makeup. You've got such a beautiful face. . . ."

"Oh, you just think it's exotic," said Claudia.

Well, maybe I do. Claudia's parents are

originally fromJapan . They came to theUnited States when they were very young. Claudia has silky, jet-black hair, dark eyes, and creamy skin without so much as a trace of a pimple. She's absolutely gorgeous. But she has this wild streak in her that makes her buy belts made of feathers and wear knee socks with palm trees on them. Makeup was something new, though.

"Are you going to wear that" — I pointed to her face — "to school tomorrow?"

"If I can get away with it."

I nodded. Claudia's parents are very conservative. They don't understand her taste in clothes at all. They're pretty nice about the fedoras and stuff, although they won't buy any of those things for her. (That's why she has to baby-sit — to earn money for all that stuff.) But I didn't know how the Kishis would react to Claudia's day-glo face. I didn't know how our teachers would react, either.

1 said hello to Mimi, Claudia's grandmother, who was busy making dinner, and followed Claudia upstairs to her room. "Where's ]a-nine?" I asked.

Claudia rolled her eyes. "At the university, where else?"

Janine is Claudia's fifteen-year-old sister. She's only a sophomore in high school, but

she's taking classes atStoneybrookUniversity . This is because Janine is a real live genius. An average person has an IQ of 100. An above average person has an IQ of 120 to 140. A person with an IQ of 150 is considered a genius.

Janine's IQ is 196.

Sometimes she makes me want to barf. She almost always makes Claudia want to barf. She thinks she knows everything. (Actually, she does.) She's forever correcting us. If I say, "David Michael, you can't play outside today because it's raining," Janine will say, "Kristy, you should say, 'David Michael, you may not play outside today.' If you say he can't, it means he's physically unable to, and that's not true. What you mean is that he does not have permission to play out of doors."

Janine sounds like a textbook. Her best friend is this fourteen-year-old math nerd who's going to graduate from high school in the spring. Her second best friend is her computer.

I'm sure it's because of Janine that Claudia concentrates on art and is a terrible student.

I was relieved to hear that Janine wasn't home.

Claudia and I plopped down on her bed. "Mary Anne'11 be here in a few minutes," I said. "I have this really great idea that I want to tell both of you about."

Claudia's eyes lit up. "What is it?"

"A baby-sitters club," I announced.

"A baby-sitters club?" she squealed.

"Yeah, I'll explain it all when — " Just then, the doorbell rang.

Claudia thundered down the stairs, yelling, "I'll get it!" She flung open the front door and hauled Mary Anne up to her room. "1 like clubs!" she exclaimed. "Tell us your idea!"

"Well, it all started last night," I began. I told them how Mom had had to call nearly everyone in Stoneybrook, looking for a babysitter, and how long it had taken, and how bad David Michael had felt. "So I thought we could sort of join together. We all baby-sit anyway. We could advertise ourselves and get more customers. We should meet a few times each week and tell our customers what those times are. Then they can make one call and reach a whole bunch of us at once. And if, like, Mrs. Pike wants too sitters, she'll only have to make one call." I explained everything else I had thought of, and wound up with, "Okay, here are two things to think about: One, where should we hold our meetings; and two, who else could we ask to join the club?"

"I can answer both questions," said Claudia. "We should hold the meetings here, because I have a phone in my room."

"Oh, terrific!" I exclaimed. (I'd been hoping Claudia would suggest that.)

"And I know someone who might want to join the club."

"Who?" Mary Anne and I asked.

"She's new. She just moved to Stoneybrook. She lives right over onFawcett Avenue , and she's in my class. Her name is Stacey McGill."

"Well, okay ..." I said slowly. "Of course, we'll have to meet her."

"Oh, sure. You'll really like her. She's fromNew York City ," Claudia added.

I was impressed. I could tell Mary Anne was, too. She opened her eyes wide. "I wonder why her family wanted to leave there to come here," she said.

Claudia shrugged. "Don't know. But I'm glad they did. Stacey's really cool."

Mary Anne and I glanced at each other, not sure that this was a good sign.

"What's everyone doing tomorrow afternoon?" asked Claudia. "Can we meet then?"

"If it's at five-thirty again," said Mary Anne. "I have to baby-sit before then."

We agreed to meet late the next afternoon. And that was how the Baby-sitters Club officially began.

CHAPTER THREE

Promptly at5:30 the next afternoon, I crossed the street to Claudia's house and rang the bell. Claudia answered it again, this time wearing a baggy yellow- and black-checked shirt, black pants, red jazz shoes, and a bracelet that looked like it was made from a telephone cord. Her earrings were dangling jointed skeletons that jumped around when she moved. I noticed she wasn't wearing any makeup.

"Mom and Dad wouldn't let me," she said.

"Well, you got away with the skeletons."

Claudia grinned. "1 didn't put those on until I got to school," she whispered. "Mimi's the only grown-up home now and she doesn't mind if I wear skeletons."

"Oh, very sneaky!" Claudia knows every trick.

As we went up the stairs, Claudia said,

"Stacey's already here. I really hope you like her." She lowered her voice. "And Janine's home."

I groaned.

"Sorry. Her door's open, too."

At that moment, Janine stuck her head out into the hall. "Oh, hi, Kristy," she said. "I thought I heard voices. Claudia told me about the Baby-sitters Club. That sounds like an outstanding idea."

"Well, hopefully it will — " I began.

Janine's face took on her know-it-all look. "Kristy, hopefully is one of the most commonly misused words in the English language. The word means 'in a hopeful manner.' It is not acceptable to use it to mean 'it is to be hoped.' If I were — "