Ann Martin - Jessi Ramsey, Petsitter

Kristy turned to us and smiled. "There!" she announced proudly, as if she had just achieved world peace.

"There what?" said Claudia darkly.

"There's the checklist. I made it last night. It took forev — "

"And you put it up over my pictures?!" exclaimed Claudia. "Not on your life. Those are pictures of Stacey and me before she moved away." Claudia marched to the bulletin board and took the checklist down. She gave it back to Kristy. "Find another place for this, Ms. Bossy."

"Sheesh, I'm sorry, Claud," said Kristy. "I didn't know those picture were so important to you."

"Well, they are."

Personally, I thought Claud was overreacting a little. I guess Kristy thought so, too. The next thing I knew, she was tacking the checklist up over the photos again.

Claudia yanked it off.

Kristy put it back up.

Claudia yanked it off again. This time, the

checklist ripped. From one side hung a wrinkled strip.

Mallory and Mary Anne arrived just in time to hear Kristy let out a shriek and Claudia yell, "Leave this thing off! I don't want it on my bulletin board. I don't care how long it took you to make it!"

"Girls?" The gentle voice of Mimi, Claudia's grandmother, floated up the stairs. "Everything is okay?" (Mimi had a stroke last summer and it affected her speech. Sometimes her words get mixed up or come out funny.)

"YES!" Claudia shouted back, and I knew she didn't mean to sound cross. She lowered her voice. "Everything's fine, Mimi. Sorry about the yelling."

"That okay. No problem."

Claudia and Kristy were standing nose-to-nose by Claud's desk. They were both holding onto the checklist, and I could tell that neither planned to give it up. Not easily, anyway.

The rest of us were just gaping at them — Mallory and Mary Anne from the doorway, Dawn from the bed, and I from the floor.

"You," said Claudia to Kristy in a low voice, "are not the boss of this club."

Kristy looked surprised. Even I felt a little surprised. I don't think Kristy had meant to

be bossy. She was just overexcited about her checklist.

But Kristy retorted, "I am the president of this club."

"Then," said Claudia, "it's time for new elections."

"New elections?" Kristy and Mallory and I squeaked.

"Yes," said a voice from the doorway. "New elections." It was Mary Anne.

Claudia and Kristy were so taken aback that they both let go of the checklist. It fell to the floor, forgotten.

Everyone turned to look at Mary Anne.

And then Mallory spoke up. Even though she's only a junior officer of the club, she's known for having a cool head in tough situations. So she took charge. "Everybody sit down," she said quietly. "In your regular seats. We have some things to straighten out. And we better calm down in case the phone rings."

As if Mal were psychic, the phone did ring then. We managed to schedule a job for the Barrett kids. By the time that was done, we had settled into our places. Kristy, in the director's chair, had even put her visor on.

"Okay," she began, "a motion has been made for . . . for . . ."

"New elections," supplied Claudia.

"All right. I'll consider the idea/' said Kristy.

"No way," said Dawn, who, since the checklist war, had barely said a word. "You can't just consider the idea. Elections are our right. I demand new elections."

"Me too," said Mary Anne.

"Me too," said Claudia.

Mallory and I exchanged a worried glance. We were certain to be asked our opinion soon. And we were still trying to remain neutral.

Sure enough, Kristy looked down at Mal and me. I cringed. I knew she wanted us on her side. If we were, then the club would be divided three against three.

"Mallory, Jessi, what do you two think about the elections?" Kristy asked.

It would have been awfully nice to side with Kristy. Siding with the president is always nice. But I just couldn't. I didn't want to get involved in a club fight. I knew Mal didn't, either.

Since Mal wasn't speaking, I finally said, "What do we think about the elections?"

"Yes," said Kristy sharply.

"I ... Well, I ..." I shrugged. Then I looked helplessly at Mal.

"I — That's how ... um ..." was all Mallory managed to say.

"Do you want them?" Mary Anne asked us.

"Not that your positions would change, but you'd be voting."

Mallory and I did some more stammering. I think both of us felt that elections were a good idea, but neither of us wanted to admit it. Furthermore, a new worry was already creeping into my worry-laden mind. How would Mal and I vote in an election? If we voted to keep Kristy president, all the other club members would hate us. If we voted Kristy out, Kristy would hate us, and whether she was the president or the secretary, the club was still hers because she had dreamed it up and started it.

"Jessi? Mallory?" said Kristy again. We didn't even bother to answer, and suddenly Kristy threw down the pencil she'd been holding and exclaimed, "Okay, okay, okay. We'll have an election." I guess she could tell that no one was on her side. Jessi and I might not have been on the other side, but we weren't on hers, either.

"Good," said Claudia. "Well, we're ready."

"Not now!" cried Kristy as the phone rang.

We scheduled three jobs, and then Kristy went on, "I don't want to waste one of our regular meetings on elections. Besides, people call all the time during meetings."

"They call plenty of other times, too/' Claud couldn't resist saying.

"Whatever," said Kristy. "Anyway, I'm calling a special meeting for the elections. Saturday afternoon at four o'clock. This meeting is adjourned."

"Whew," I said to Mallory when we were safely outside. "I don't like the sound of this."

"Me neither," agreed Mallory. "Not at all."

Chapter 8.

On Thursday, I had help at the Mancusis'. Mallory came over so we could discuss the election problem, and Becca came over so she could play with the animals. The night before, she'd been so excited about the trip to the Mancusis' that she practically couldn't sleep. Nevertheless, she was a big help that afternoon, and so was Mallory.

Becca and I reached the Mancusis' about fifteen minutes before Mal did. I wanted to walk the dogs before I began feeding the animals, so we would have to wait for Mal to arrive. I used the time to introduce Becca to the animals.

"Come on," I said to her. "Come see the birds. You'll love them."

"Just a sec," replied Becca. She was lying on the floor, playing with Ling-Ling and Crosby, who were enjoying every second of her attention.

When Becca finally got to her feet, I led her back to Frank. I was just about to say, "This is Frank. Listen to what he can do," when Frank said, "The quicker picker-upper! The quicker picker-upper!"

Becca began to giggle. "That's great! How'd he learn to do that?"

"Watched too much TV, I guess. Like some people I know," I teased my sister.

"Oh, Jessi," replied Becca, but she was smiling.

"Try saying, 'Where's the beef?' " I suggested.

"Me?"

I nodded.

"Okay." Becca stood directly in front of Frank and said clearly, "Where's the beef? Where's the beef?"

"Long distance," replied Frank.

Becca and I laughed so hard that we didn't hear Mallory ring the doorbell until she was leaning on it for the third time.

"Oh! That's Mal!" I cried. "I'll be right back, Becca."

I dashed to the door and let Mal in.

"What took you so long?" she asked cheerfully. (Mal is usually cheerful.) "I rang three times."

I explained about Frank, and then, of course,

I had to show him to her. I led her back to Becca and the birds, and Becca promptly said, "Hi, Mallory. Listen to this. Hey, Frank, where's the beef? Where's the beef?"

"The quicker picker-upper!" Frank answered.

When we had stopped laughing, I said, "Come on, you guys. We've got to walk the dogs. Cheryl looks sort of desperate."