Ann Martin - Jessi And The Jewel Thieves

Keisha, was my best friend. She lived right across the street. I never felt lonely. I also never felt different, which is something I feel quite often here in Stoneybrook. Why? Because my family is African-American. Back in Oakley, there were plenty of other black families. But there aren't too many here. In fact, when we first moved to Stoneybrook, certain individuals weren't too happy about our living here. Some people say that racism comes from ignorance, or from fear, and I think that’s true. Several Stoneybrook residents had never really met a black person before! Now that people have gotten to know us, they're generally a lot nicer. Still, I do feel different sometimes.

"Jessi!" Becca was trying to get my attention.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I think I know a secret," she said. Becca is crazy about secrets.

"Oh?" I asked. "Are you going to tell me what it is?"

She nodded. "Mom and Dad are only pretending I'm not coming to the wedding," she said. "At the last minute, they're going to take me with them."

"Uh, Becca — " I was about to tell her that her "secret" sounded more like a wish, but then I saw how hopeful she looked and I couldn't stand to say it. "Maybe," I replied

carefully. "But I don't think so. They'd like to take you, but I don't think they can." Her face fell. I felt awful. "But you're going to have a terrific time at the Pikes'," I said. "You always have fun over there, remember?" I hoped I didn't sound as desperate as I felt. Becca looked crestfallen. "Come on and smile for me," I said. I reached out and hugged her again.

"Jessi!" I heard my aunt call from downstairs. "It's already quarter to five, and you promised to go to the store for me before your club meeting. You better get a move on!"

I jumped up. I'd almost forgotten that it was Wednesday, and I had to be at my BSC meeting by five-thirty. "Okay, Aunt Cecelia," I called back. "Be right down!" When Aunt Cecelia speaks, I listen. She doesn't like for people to ignore her orders — I mean, her requests. In fact, Becca and I used to have a mean name for her: Aunt Dictator. Actually, she's not so bad anymore. But when she first came to live with us this year (when my mother went back to work and needed help with Squirt), it took her awhile to understand how responsible and mature I can be. She treated me like a baby! And she wasn't too nice to Becca, either.

"Yes, sir — ma'am — Aunt Dictator!" I

said, under my breath. I grinned at Becca, hoping she would smile back.

And she did. At least, she gave me something resembling a smile. "That's better," I said. I gave her a squeeze and ran downstairs, humming "New York, New York" as I went.

Chapter 2.

Stacey and I arrived at the BSC meeting at exactly the same moment. We walked into Claudia Kishi's room — the official headquarters of the BSC — and saw that everyone else was already there.

"Hey," said Claudia. "It's the jet-setters. Off to fabulous New York for the weekend. Right, dahlings?"

"But of course," replied Stacey, grinning and striking a pose. "And then next week we're off to Paris for the start of the fashion season." She looked over at me. "Fabulous, isn't it?"

"Divine," I said. We cracked up. It was funny, but I did feel like a real sophisticate, knowing that I would soon be walking down Fifth Avenue. "I can't wait," I told Stacey. "By this time on Friday we'll be on our way!" We were going to miss a BSC meeting that day — something I hate to do — but the train we

were taking left at four-thirty, so there was no way around it.

Just then, Kristy checked the digital dock, which had just flipped to five-thirty, tapped her pencil on the arm of her chair, and called, "Order! And that means everybody, jet-setters and us hicks!" It was time for the meeting to start.

Here's how the club works: we meet in Claudia's room every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, from five-thirty until six." During those times, parents can call us to set up jobs, and believe me, they do call. We always have plenty of business. At first the club advertised with fliers and the occasional ad in the paper, but now that’s hardly ever necessary. We have lots of regular clients, and we're always getting new ones who have heard about us from our satisfied customers.

The idea for the club was Kristy's, which is why she's the president. Actually, she's also the president because she's just naturally a good leader. She knows how to organize people and how to inspire them, and she's always coming up with awesome ideas for projects. Kristy can be a little bossy at times, but I guess that goes along with the other parts of her personality.

Kristy is short for her age (she's thirteen and in the eighth grade, like everyone else in the club except for Mal and me), and she has

brown hair and eyes. She does not take advantage of the fact that she is thirteen, however. If I were thirteen, I'd be wearing all kinds of cool outfits and fixing my hair a different way every day. But not Kristy. She wears practically the same outfit all the time: jeans, turtleneck shirt or T-shirt (depending on the weather), and running shoes. And she never does anything interesting with her hair. I bet she hardly bothers to look in the mirror in the morning. Which is not to say that she's not pretty: she is. She just doesn't put any work into it.

Anyway, enough about Kristy's looks. Let me tell you about her family. it’s an interesting one. First of all, Kristy's dad took off when Kristy was very young, leaving Mrs. Thomas to raise Kristy and her three brothers (two older, one younger) on her own. Those times weren't easy. But eventually Mrs. Thomas met and married this great guy, Watson Brewer. He's a millionaire, and I'm not joking. The Thomases moved across town and into Watson's mansion. it’s lucky that Watson owned a mansion since a lot of people are now living in that place. See, besides Kristy and her three brothers (David Michael, Charlie, and Sam), there are Watson's two children from his first marriage, Andrew and Karen. They don't live at the mansion full time, but they're there a

lot. Then there's Emily Michelle, who's two and a half years old and cuter than anything. She's Vietnamese. Kristy's mom and Watson adopted her soon after they got married. And after Emily Michelle arrived, Nannie (Kristy's grandmother) came to live at the mansion, too, just to help out.

As you can imagine, it's a pretty busy household. And I haven't even told you about their pets yet! (They have an old cat, a puppy, and two goldfish.)

So Kristy's pretty busy, with that big family and being president of the BSC. Plus she coaches a softball team called the Krushers. But Kristy's not Supergirl. She has her limits. Not long ago, she ran for president of the eighth grade, but she found that she had to quit partway through her campaign because she was just overloaded with activities. Still, Kristy is the best idea-person in the BSC. Here are a few of her other ideas: First, the club notebook. That's where we keep a record of every sitting job we go on. (We each write up our own jobs.) Then we read it every week, to keep informed about our clients and any special problems that the kids we sit for might be having. Second, the club record book. That's where we keep all the club information and scheduling information, so we can tell at a glance who's free for a particular job. And

finally, our Kid-Kits, which are boxes (we've decorated them so they look way cool) filled with toys and games that we — or our brothers and sisters — have outgrown. We also add new stickers and markers and things. So even though all the toys aren't new, they're new to the kids we sit for, and they're always a big hit.

Sometimes I wonder what the BSC would be like without Kristy. I don't think it could exist!

But she's not the only important member of the club.