Ann Martin - Kristy's Big Day

"Just a minute," Stacey told her.

"Stacey, it's important."

"Not now, Emma."

"But Stacey, I found my money."

Stacey looked at Emma, who was holding her money out triumphantly. "Mary Anne?" she said."Never mind. We found it."

Stacey thanked Mary Anne and hung up. "Where was it?" she asked Emma.

"In my shoe."

Stacey shook her head. "Well, hurry up, you guys. Themovie's starting."

She helped Ashley over to the ticket window. Then, to save time, she collected the money from her group, gave it all to the man in the booth, and said, "One adult and three children, please."

The man handed four tickets to Stacey, who in turn handed them to a young woman at the

entranceto the lobby, while Emma, Luke, and Ashley filed in ahead of her.

"Go right into thetheater . Hurry, you guys," said Stacey. "The lights are about to. . . ."

But the kids weren't listening to her. They were standing at the candy counter, looking like they hadn't eaten in weeks.

"I want Junior Mints," said Emma.

"I want M&M's," said Luke.

"I want popcorn," said Ashley.

"We don't have enough time - or money," Stacey said. She glanced into thetheater . The lights were dimming. "Besides, you just ate lunch."

"But we have room for a snack," said Emma, who was on the verge of whining again. "And our moms gave us extra money for a movie treat."

It took five minutes to buy the candy and popcorn. When the children were ready, they tiptoed into the darktheater .

"We need four seats together, with one on the aisle for Ashley," Stacey whispered loudly to them.

"Shh!" said a woman nearby.

They walked up and down the aisles. Finally an usher with a flashlight found seats for them in the balcony.

Toward the end of the movie, Emma spilled

thelast of her sticky Junior Mints over the railing. Below her, someone shrieked. Emma began to giggle and couldn't stop. Ashley began to giggle, too, and after a while even Luke joined in.

The usher ushered them outside.

Stacey stood on the sidewalk, her cheeks flaming, and was neverso relieved as when she saw the Pink Clinker cruising down the street.

She climbed into the car, her eyes blazing.

"What happened?" I asked, not sure I really wanted to know.

"Ask her," Stacey said, glaring at Emma.

Emma tried to tell me, but she began giggling again. Before I knew it, Ashley and Luke were giggling, too.

Their laughter was contagious.Nannie and I caught it. When I dared to look at Stacey, I found that even she was laughing.

"Oh, well," she said asNannie pulled into our driveway, "I can always see MaryPoppins on TV."

That was Wednesday. I now had my wedding shoes - low with a little heel - but no idea about a gift for Mom and Watson.

Chapter 10.

Well, Mary Anne may not have been prepared for the trip to the barbershop, but I've gone there with David Michael many times, so I had a dim idea of what could happen. You just take David Michael's tears and whining and complaining and multiply them by six. That's what I thought. But there must have been something wrong with my calculations, because the boys definitely caused more than six times the trouble my brother causes byhimself .

After the adults left that morning, the members of the Baby-sitters Club turned the children loose in the backyard and held a quick meeting on the porch while we kept an eye on things.

"Six boys will be going to Mr. Gates'," I said, "and the seven girls plus Tony will stay behind. How should we divide ourselves up? Should three of us go to the barber?"

"That sounds like too many," said Dawn. "Doesn't Mr. Gates have an assistant? Two boys can get their hair cut at once. Then there'll only be four to watch."

"That's true," I said. "Okay, two of us will go and three will stay here. I better be one of the ones to go, since I'm related to most of those boys."

Mary Anne giggled.

"Who else wants to go?" I could tell that the other baby-sitters wanted the easy job of staying at my house with the girls and Tony.

At last Mary Anne spoke up. "I'll go with you, Kristy," she said. "I've been stuck here with Beth and Tony all week."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" I asked her.

"Positive," she replied, sounding entirely unsure of herself.

"All right," I said just as uncertainly.

You've probably never taken a ten-year-old, a seven-year-old, a six-year-old, a four-year-old, and two three-year-olds to the barber. I certainly never had. Mary Anne and I waited until the kids had eaten lunch before we rounded the boys up. After lunch, the kids were full and the younger ones tended to be sleepy.

When the trash had been cleared away and the picnic tables wiped off, I stood bravely in the backyard and announced, "Okay, barber-time."

"No-no-no-no-no!" shrieked Andrew.

Peter and Patrick joined in. "No-no-no-no-no!"

Luke, David Michael, and Berk were too old for no-no's. They climbed a tree instead.

"We're not coming down!" David Michael shouted.

"Fine," I said. "Mary Anne, will you getNannie on the phone, please, and tell her to bring the Pink Clinker over here? Tell her the boys are- "

"Wait! Wait! Here we come!" cried Berk. The boys jumped out of the tree.

Nannieis a terrific grandmother, but she expects kids to do what they're told, and when it's time for discipline, she is very firm about things.

"Thanks," I said to the older boys.

They didn't answer. David Michael scowled at me. At last he said, "You want me to look like an owl, don't you? That's what I looked like after I went to Mr. Gates the last time.An owl.A horned owl. My hair just got normal, and now you and Mom are going to make me look like an owl again."

"David Michael, for heaven's sake, calm down. After all, it's Mom's wedding. She wants you to look good. If she thought Mr. Gates was going to make you look like a horned owl, I'm sure she wouldn't send you to him."

"No barber," Peter spoke up piteously.

"Sorry, guys," I said."Haircuts all around. Let's get going."

"I'll go find a wagon," Mary Anne offered. "Peter and Patrick and Andrew can ride in it."

As the boys filed out of the yard, the girls watched them.

Nobody said a word for the longest time. Finally, Emma couldn't stand it any longer.

"Ha, ha.Ha, ha. You guys- "

Ashley hobbled forward and clapped her hand over Emma's mouth.

Emma tried to bite her.

"OwlQuit it!"

"Well, leave me alone!" exclaimed Emma.

Mary Anne whispered to me, "The girls may be harder to handle than the boys!"

We loaded the little guys into the wagon, and in no time were ushering the boys into Mr. Gates' place.

Now, if I'd been Mr. Gates and had seen six unhappy boys come in for haircuts, I might have had a nervous breakdown.But not Mr. Gates. He simply finished up the customer he was working on,then turned to Mary Anne and me. "Well, what have we here?" he asked pleasantly.

"Isn't it obvious?" murmured Luke.

Mary Anne shot Luke a hideous look and he quieted down.

I stepped forward. "Hi, Mr. Gates," I said. "My mom's getting married on Saturday- "

"Well, congratulations!"

"Thanks. And my brother's going to be in the wedding, and the rest of these guys are going to be at the wedding, and they all need their hair cut."

"But not too short," said David Michael.

"Not over my ears," said Luke.

"Not too long at the sides," said Berk.

"Leave my part alone," said Andrew.

"I don't want a part," said Peter.

"Do you have lollipops?" asked Patrick.

"One at a time, one at a time," said Mr. Gates calmly. "Do you know Mr. Pratt? He's the other barber here."

A skinny, jumpy-looking man stepped in from the back room, and right away I sensed trouble. He must have been new. I didn't remember seeing him before. He laughed nervously.