Ann Martin - Jessi's Gold Medal

"Fast, too," I said.

"I wish we could go to the Olympics! That would be fun."

After the race, the announcer started blabbing some boring statistics, so I said, "Guess what, Becca?"

"What?"

"I'm going to be in the SMS Sports Festival!"

Becca's eyes lit up. "Really?"

I told her about the class and Elise and Ms.

Cox. She listened with a big smile and said, "I'm going to sit in front during the show and say, 'Yea, Jessi!' "

"You better!"

"And then," Becca went on breathlessly, "when I'm in sixth grade, you have to come and cheer for me, because I'm going to be in the festival, too!" She paused. Then added, "Maybe." (Becca is sort of shy.)

"All riiightl" I said. We gave each other high-fives, low-fives, and as many different kinds of fives as we could think of.

Another race was starting, so we sat back and watched. Becca was staring so hard her mouth was hanging open. I almost laughed.

We watched and watched until another commercial came on. Then Becca sat up straight and said, "Jessi? They have the Olympics in a different place each time, right?"

"Uh-huh."

"Are they ever going to have them in Stoneybrook?"

"I doubt it."

"Not even if, like, the mayor calls up way, way in advance, and says they can use the new high school track?"

I smiled. "No, Becca. They always have the Olympics in bigger places then Stoneybrook."

Becca slumped back in the couch. She looked crushed, as if I'd just told her there

was no Santa Claus. "That stinks. I wish they would have them right here."

"Yeah, I know what you mean/' I said sympathetically.

I began walking toward the kitchen. But I kept thinking of what Becca had said.

The Olympics. In Stoneybrook.

Maybe it wasn't such a far-fetched idea.

Maybe there was something I could do about it.

Chapter 5.

The idea rolled around in my head all night. Actually it was more than just an idea. It was a project, the kind of thing Kristy would think up. I wasn't sure it would work, but I was dying to bring it up at a BSC meeting.

Luckily I didn't have long to die, because the next day was Friday. I arrived at the meeting early, figuring I'd talk it over with Kristy the Idea Genius first.

But I couldn't. Not while she was belly-down on Claudia's carpet.

That's right. Belly-down, fanning her arms and legs inward and outward — and Stacey was doing the same right next to her.

"Let your hands meet in front of your face," Kristy was saying, "then push against the water. See? Push . . . Push ..."

I nearly cracked up. The two of them were doing the breast stroke on the floor. Claudia was sitting on her bed, eating an Oreo cookie.

When she saw me, she smiled and shrugged. "Welcome to BSC swimming camp/' she said.

Stacey sat up. "Oh, hi, Jessi!" she exclaimed, her face turning bright red.

Kristy glanced over her shoulder. She looked sort of like a turtle.

Claudia burst into giggles, smacking her hand over her mouth to stop the Oreo crumbs from spraying out.

Stacey started giggling, too. Finally I gave in.

Kristy sat up and brushed herself off. "Well . . . hrrmph," she said, clearing her throat (I could tell she was fighting back a smile). "I guess it's almost time to start."

"What were you doing?" I asked.

"Stacey wants to do the breast stroke in the Sports Festival, so I was coaching her," Kristy said.

"Kristy's much faster than I am," Stacey added. "We practiced a little in gym class."

"But Stacey has great form," Kristy said.

That sounded familiar.

"Hey, I was enjoying the show," Claudia chimed in. "Keep going."

"Oh?" Kristy said with a mock-angry voice. "And what event are you going to enter? Speed eating?"

Claudia pulled another Oreo out of the bag

and examined it. "Oh, something track-orientated, I think."

"Track-orientated?" Kristy repeated.

We howled with laughter.

That was when Mary Anne and Dawn entered the room. "What's so funny?" Mary Anne asked.

"Kristy and Stacey were swimming on the rug," Claudia said.

"Claudia was being strange," Kristy said.

Mary Anne and Dawn gave each other a they've-just-gone-nuts look.

Then Kristy looked at the clock, which said 5:29. Quickly she put on her visor and sat on her chair. I could hear footsteps running down the hall. Mallory appeared in the doorway, looking guilty. "Am I — ?" she began.

"Order!" Kristy barked.

Mal slipped in, relieved she wasn't late.

"Any new business?" asked Kristy.

Shrugs and head shakes around the room.

I was getting ready to tell everyone about my new idea, when Mal asked, "How did your synchronized swimming class go?"

"Fine," I said. "We're going to be in the SMS Sports Festival."

"Really? You must catch on fast, Jessi."

"I don't know about that," I replied. "I have a long way to go."

"That's okay," Stacey said. "You saw how bad my breast stroke was, right? That's going to be my event. I don't care if I come in last. I just want to have a good time."

"Me, too," said Dawn. "That's why I'm going to enter the javelin throw."

"Javelin throw?" Claudia remarked, as she pulled a bag of potato chips from a drawer in her night table. "Are you serious?"

"Do you really know how to do that?" Mary Anne asked.

"I'm learning," Dawn said. "I think it's perfect. No one else knows how to do it, so how bad could I be?"

"Hmm . . . makes sense," Stacey said, chomping on a potato chip. "Maybe you could try something like that, Mary Anne."

"Yeah, like the shot put," Dawn suggested. "No one's entered that yet."

"Yeah, right," Mary Anne said with a laugh. "You have to be a moose just to lift one of those things."

"You could work out," Claudia said mischievously.

"Forget it," Mary Anne replied. "You guys can tell me all about it the next day."

"What about you, Kristy?" Claudia asked. "You haven't told us what you're going to do."

A big smile spread across Kristy's face. "I

thought you'd never ask. I think I'll tackle the obstacle course — "

"Ugh," Claudia said. "That sounds hard."

"It is hard," Kristy said, "but I think it'll be even harder for Alan Gray."

"Ooh, Kristy, you didn'tl" Stacey said.

"Well, not yet," Kristy replied. "I'm going to bet him a week of 'personal service' that my time is faster than his, which means whoever loses has to do what the winner wants for a whole week."

"Whoa, great!" Stacey said, clapping her hands.

"What if he says no?" Claudia asked.

"I have to challenge him the right way," Kristy said. "In public, like in the cafeteria, where a lot of people can hear. Then he'll be too embarrassed to refuse."

"Oooh, I want to be there!" Stacey said.

"Me, too!" cried Dawn.

"He asked for it," Claudia added.

Rrrrrring!

We stopped chattering. Claudia picked up the phone and said, "Hello, Baby-sitters Club . . ." She paused for a moment. "What? ... A million dollars? . . . Me? . . . Are you sure? ..."

We all sat forward.

"But I don't have a checking account. . . . What? You'll deliver it in cash? To my house?

Urn, no thanks, I wouldn't know where to put it. 'Bye!"

As she started to put the receiver down, Stacey screamed. "Are you crazy? Don't hang - "

Click went the receiver.

You could practically feel everyone's jaw drop to the floor.

Claudia calmly reached under her mattress and felt around for some other junk food. "Money isn't everything, you know," she said casually.

"Claudia . . ." Kristy said, "Was that . . . did you . . . who . . ."

Suddenly Claudia cracked up. "It was a recording!" she said. "Some voice trying to sell carpet cleaning, that's all. Fooled you!"

We heaved a sigh. But before anyone could say a word, the phone rang again.