Ann Martin - Kristy And The Haunted Mansion

will be in right field, and Nicky will be pitching." (Nicky Pike's a Krusher, and his older sister Mallory is in the BSC.)

I went on to tell the Bashers where they'd be playing. I don't know the kids from Bart's team the way I know the Krushers. I baby-sit all the time for most of the kids on my team, so I know them pretty well. But the Bashers seem like good kids. "Jerry," I said, "you'll be at third. Patty's in center field. Joey's at first, and Chris is in left field." I smiled at everyone. "Got that?" I asked.

They nodded, and just then Charlie called out, "Here we are!" He swung the van into a parking space, and soon we were busy unloading equipment. I led the way to the field, carrying one of our big duffel bags full of bats, balls, and bases.

"Hi, Kristy!" I heard someone calling to me from the sidelines. It was Mary Anne Spier, my best friend and the secretary of the BSC. She was sitting with the other club members, who had come to see the game. I'm lucky to have loyal friends. I waved and smiled, but I was too busy to talk to them just then.

"Kristy, I'm here if you need me!" someone else called. I looked around and saw Jake Kuhn, who had promised to be on hand if we needed a substitute. He was dressed in his Krushers T-shirt, and he looked ready to play.

So did Linny and Hannie Papadakis. I also saw a few Bashers in the stands: Dave and Robbie, I think their names were. It was good to know that we'd be covered in case one of our players needed a break.

Our cheerleaders were on hand, too. Or at least two out of three of them were. Vanessa Pike, Nicky and Mallory's sister, was there. So was Charlotte Johanssen, someone we baby-sit for often. But Haley Braddock, Mart's sister, was missing, since she was away with the rest of her family.

I spotted Mr. and Mrs. Pike in the stands, and also Karen and Andrew's mother and stepfather. Andrew was sitting on his mom's lap, and he looked ready to cheer for his big sister.

Soon the game began. I won't bore you with the details, but it turned into a very close and exciting game. The Raiders were a tough team, and they were ahead for the first five innings. I have to say that it didn't look good for the Krashers. I kept glancing at the sky, almost wishing it would rain so that we could avoid losing. A rain-out is better than losing. But even though the skies were as heavy as lead and the humidity level was about 99.9 percent, the rain held off. And it was just as well, since we ended up coming from behind to win the game. (I think it's good to be the underdog

sometimes. Winning feels even better when you really have to fight for it.)

After the game, our fans ran onto the field to congratulate us. A few drops of rain had begun to fall, but I didn't mind the sprinkles since I was so hot. "Nice job, Kristy," said Mary Anne, trotting over to me. She was surrounded by the other BSC members: Mallory Pike, Jessi Ramsey, Claudia Kishi, Stacey McGill, and Dawn Schafer.

"Thanks!" I said. "I'm glad you guys were here. Your support really helped." I smiled at my friends. "So, what's everybody doing tonight?"

It turned out that almost everyone had a sitting job. Mary Anne and Mal would be sitting for Mal's sisters and brothers. Claudia was sitting for Jamie and Lucy Newton. And Dawn was sitting for Suzi, Buddy, and Marnie Barrett. Only Stacey and Jessi had the night off. And me? Well, Bart had asked if I'd like to "grab a burger" with him. I don't know if you could call that a date, exactly, but I was looking forward to it. Especially now that we could celebrate another Krashers' victory!

Chapter 2.

Before I go on, maybe I better tell you more about the BSC and its members. First of all, the BSC is more than a club; it’s a business, really. A very successful business. The original idea for it was mine, which is why I'm president. I came up with the idea one evening when my mom was trying to find a sitter for David Michael. This was quite awhile ago, before she married Watson. She made, like, a million calls, but nobody was free (including me). Suddenly I thought, why not have one number parents could call and get in touch with a whole group of sitters?

Simple idea, right? Well, as Watson says, simple ideas are often the best ones. And the club was a big success from the start. At first we advertised with fliers and the occasional ad in the paper, but now we have plenty of clients. We meet in our vice-president Claudia's room three afternoons a week —

Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays — from five-thirty to six. During those times, parents can call to set up sitting appointments. Our secretary, Mary Anne, keeps a record book so that we know right away which of us is free. The record book was my idea, too.

So was the club notebook, in which each of us writes up every job we go on. Then we read it every week, and that way we keep up with what's going on with our clients. The notebook is not one of my more popular ideas, since hardly anybody likes to spend her time writing up jobs, but everyone admits that it's very helpful. I, personally, think it's one of the things that contributes to the club's success. Parents know we care when we show up on a job already informed about their children.

What else? Well, we have a treasury which we pay dues into. Dues day is Monday, and Stacey, the treasurer, is the one who collects the money. We use the money to pay Charlie to drive me to meetings (now that I live all the way across town), for special projects, and for our Kid-Kits. What are Kid-Kits? Well, they're these boxes we sometimes bring on jobs. We decorated them, and they're full of toys and games that kids love to play with. The things aren't all new, but they're new to the kids we sit for, so Kid-Kits are always

a hit. I hate to tell you who had the idea for them, since you might think I'm starting to sound conceited, but I'll admit that her initials are K.T.

Now that you know a little bit about how the club works, let me tell you more about the members.

Mary Anne Spier, who is, as I mentioned, the club's secretary, is also my best friend in the whole world. She and I have been friends as long as I can remember, and somehow I know that we always will be friends. I can just picture us at eighty-five, sitting in rockers on a porch somewhere and exchanging memories of the good old days. At eighty-five, I'll still be a loudmouth, and Mary Anne will probably still be her shy, sensitive self. Friendships are funny, aren't they? You'd never guess that Mary Anne and I would be friends, because we're so different on the surface. Mary Anne doesn't offer her opinion until it’s asked for; I never wait to be asked. Mary Anne will break into tears if she hears about a lost puppy; I can hardly remember the last time I cried. And Mary Anne always knows the right thing to say to someone who's feeling down, while I might not even notice that she's sad in the first place.

However, we are similar in looks. Mary Anne has brown hair and brown eyes, just

like me. Plus, she's on the short side. She cares a little more about clothes and stuff, though, so she dresses differently than I do.

Mary Anne is an only child. She was brought up by her father, since her mother died when Mary Anne was just a baby. I guess there weren't as many single parents around back then, and Mr. Spier had to learn for himself how to raise a child on his own. For a long time, I think he tried too hard. He was very strict with Mary Anne. He controlled how she wore her hair (in braids) and how she dressed (in young-looking outfits) and basically, how she lived her life. But finally, just in the last year or so, he's begun to let her take responsibility for herself. Now Mary Anne chooses her own clothes, and fixes her hair the way she likes to. In fact, she recently had it cut short. Plus, she got a kitten named Tigger, and a boyfriend named Logan Bruno.