Ann Martin - Kristy's Big Day

"Martians!"Karen screamed.

"Aughh!" shrieked David Michael and Berk.

"I want my mommy!" cried Tina.

"Martians?" asked several children.

"Coming to get us!"Karen told them. "They're going to attack! They're here already! We have to hide!"

Every single child at the art table scrambled out of his or her seat and rushed for cover.

Fran turned to Dawn, looking slightly cross.

"I'm sorry," Dawn said quickly. "I don't know what got into her. I'll take her home as soon as I help you find the kids."

"That's all right," said Fran. "Anothercounselor will be here in about ten minutes. He can help me. Please take her home now, okay?"

"Okay." Dawn paused,then added, "I really am sorry."

Fran nodded.

"Karen Brewer!" Dawn called."Berk! David Michael. I want you three to come out right this minute. Do you hear me?"

Nothing.

"There are no Martians," Dawn added."Just me. And I'm getting mad."

The blue group crawled sheepishly out of a storage shed.

"Come on," said Dawn. "We have to leave." She wondered if she should tell Karen to apologize to Fran, but Fran looked busy and annoyed. Dawn hustled the three kids away.

As they walked home, she gave them a talk about telling stories and scaring children, and Karen became grave and concerned. She promised not to mention the Martians again. David Michael and Berk promised, too.

The bluebirds were the first group to return to my house that day, even beating Mary Anne and the babies. They were on their bestbehavior all afternoon, and Tuesday passed quickly.

Late that night, after my lights were out and I was in bed, something occurred to me. Wedding presents were starting to arrive at our house. The wedding was then just about three days away. I would have to get a present for Mom and Watson, but what? What do you get for your mother and a millionaire? They already had everything they needed and could buy anything they wanted.

I lay awake thinking. My present had to be just right.

Chapter 9.

Stacey didn't mention it in her notebook entry, but one o'clock on Wednesday marked the halfway point of the Baby-sitters Club's adventure taking care of fourteen children. Two and a half days were behind us. Two and a half days were ahead of us.

Of course, we'd had our share of problems.

There was Dawn's experience at the playground, for instance. "I keep thinking of all those scared children," she said."Especially the ones who ran home. I hope they found mommies or daddies or big brothers or sisters who told them not to worry. And Karen can't ever show up at that playground again, at least not as long as Fran is thecounselor ."

Then there was the problem with bathrooms. We have three: one downstairs and two upstairs. One of the upstairs ones is Mom's and off limits, which left two bathrooms for nineteen people, two of whom were in diapers and needed to be changed a lot, and one of whom (Maura) had only recently been potty-trained.

It seemed as if somebody always had to use the bathroom. Since the little kids were more urgent about it ("Kristy, Kristy! I have to go now!"), we decided that the yellow group, green group, and pink group would use the downstairs bathroom, which was nearer; and

thefive baby-sitters, the red group, and the blue group would use the upstairs bathroom. We stuck a yellow sun, a green dinosaur, and a pink heart on the door of the first-floor bathroom, and a red star and a bluebird on the door of the second-floor bathroom as reminders. But there were always mix-ups.

"Kristy, which bathroom do I use?" David Michael asked me as I was rummaging through the refrigerator, getting the lunches out on Wednesday.

"What group are you in?"

"I don't know."

"Well, look at your nametag," I told him.

"I lost it."

"You're a bluebird. Go upstairs."

"I was just up there.Somebody's in it."

"Then wait."

"I can't."

"Then go downstairs."

"Someone's in there, too."

"David Michael, you're going to have to wait, or else go across the street and ask Mimi to let you use theKishis ' bathroom."

"No way!"

At that moment, Luke and Andrew walked out of the house and into the backyard.

"I think the bathrooms are free," I said.

"Which one do I use?"

I groaned. "It doesn't matter. Just go." The kids had almost as much trouble keeping their groups straight. The baby-sitters knew who their charges were, but even with the nametags, the kids were never sure. If Stacey, for instance, called for the red group, eight children would run to her.

But none of that mattered much. As long as we could be outside, we were fine. The kids were having fun.

Wednesday afternoon was the special showing of MaryPoppins . Stacey had known about it for several days, and on Tuesday she asked my aunts and uncles for permission to take the red group to the Embassy and for money to buy tickets.

The Embassy was all the way downtown, butNannie was going to take me shoe shopping that afternoon (while Mary Anne watched thenappers again), so she planned to drop Stacey and the red group at thetheater on our way to the mall, and pick them up on our way back.

The Pink Clinker was loaded down asNannie pulled out of the driveway. "I'll drive very slowly," she told Ashley, who was sitting next to her in the front seat. "I don't want to jar your leg."

"I hope she doesn't drive too slowly," Stacey whispered to me. "I don't want to miss the beginning."

Nanniedid creep along, but we reached thetheater in plenty of time for the show.

Luke and Emma hopped out of the car, while Stacey helped Ashley out.

"Good-bye!"Nannie called as the Pink Clinker roared to life. "Have fun! I'll be back in two hours."

Stacey led the three kids to the ticket window. "Now, do you all have your money?" she asked.

"Yup," said Luke.

"Yup," said Ashley.

"Nope," said Emma.

"Nope?"Stacey repeated. "Emma, where is it? I told you three kids to make sure you brought your money."

"I did bring it," Emma whined.

"Mine's in my pocket," said Luke.

"Mine's in my knapsack," said Ashley.

Emma looked blank. "I don't know where mine is."

"I'd pay for you," Stacey told her, "but I've only got about a dollar extra. Emma, think. What did you do with your money?"

"I don'tkno-ow ." (She was a good whiner.Very good.)

"Do want me to call Kristy's house and see if you left it there by mistake? Maybe Claudia's grandmother could drive it over here," she said uncertainly.

"All right," agreed Emma, scuffing the toe of her sneaker along the sidewalk.

"Stacey, I'm going to sit down on that bench," said Ashley.

"Okay. This'll only take a sec. I hope." Stacey fished a quarter out of the pocket of her overalls and called my house.

Mary Anne answered the phone.

Stacey could hear crying in the background. "What's going on?" she asked.

"The phone woke the babies."

"Oops."

"What's up? I thought you were at the movies."

"We're almost there. Emma can't find her money. She thinks she might have left it at Kristy's. . . . Would you mind looking?"

"Well, no. Let me just quiet Tony and Beth down. Then I'll look around. Hold on."

Mary Anne looked so long that Stacey's quarter ran out and the pay phone clicked off.

"Darn!" exclaimed Stacey. She didn't have much change left. She put a dime and three nickels in the slot and called back.

The line was busy. It was still off the hook.

Stacey was growing impatient. The movie would start in five minutes. She tried again.

"Stacey?" said Mary Anne. "Where were you?"

"We got cut off. Did you find the money?"

"No, and I looked everywhere. Dawn and Claudia looked, too."

"Oh, brother.This is great, just great."

Emma was tugging on Stacey's sleeve. "Stacey?" she asked.