Ann Martin - Dawn's Big Move

"Not to mention Laine," Claudia said.

"Right!" Stacey replied. "You can't even count on your old friends."

Laine had been Stacey's best friend in New York. But after Stacey moved to Stoneybrook, Laine changed. She became really snobby and cold.

Listening to Jessi and Stacey made my heart sink. What was going to happen to me? What about my friends and my neighborhood? At least Jessi and Stacey only went on short visits, so they could leave when the going got rough.

I had made a stupid mistake, I just knew it. I was going to be like ET, the extraterrestrial, when I returned to California. No one would

know what to make of me. No one would want to be friends with a girl who planned to leave in six months!

Before long, I was the one looking gloomily out the window. Kristy had launched into this huge description of her Saturday at the Pa-padakises', and everybody else was laughing. In my mind 1 saw a split-screen image. On the left side, the BSC members (minus me) were building a snowman on a crisp wintry day, throwing snowballs and sipping thermoses of hot chocolate. On the right, 1 was sitting in traffic on the Santa Ana Freeway in California, listening to holiday music on the car radio and looking through smog at the red-and-green cellophane wreaths hanging on the street lights.

Whoa, Dawn, ease up! 1 told myself.

1 tried to pay attention to the meeting. Kristy was now talking about Run for Your Money, which was only five days away.

"We're actually going to form two teams," she was saying. "Watson, me, Karen, Charlie, and Emily Michelle — and Mom, David Michael, Sam, Andrew, and Nannie. Unless Emily Michelle freaks out and has to be on Nannie's team."

"We're forming two teams, too!" Mal said, "but the triplets want to participate in, like, every single event."

"I'm trying to get my family interested in the pie-eating contest," Claudia said. "But Ja-nine found out there's going to be a team trivia quiz event, so I will probably smile stupidly while Janine and my parents answer all the questions."

"We're going to enter Squirt in the baby race," Jessi piped up. "I want the rest of us to do the triathlon, which is a short race, a couple of low hurdles, and a long jump."

An idea hit me. I couldn't believe no one had thought of it yet. "Hey, what about us?" I said.

"Huh?" Claudia replied.

"A Baby-sitters Club team," I explained. "A person can be on more than one team, right? So each of us can be on a family team and a BSC team! We don't have to be in a lot of events, just one or two."

"Pretty good idea," Kristy admitted.

"Yeah!" a couple of the others said.

"Hey, there's a revised list of events in the Stoneybrook News today." Claudia grabbed a newspaper from the mess beside her bed. "Let's figure out what to enter."

We pored over the listing. People had been calling in with suggestions, so all kinds of new contests had been added. (One was "water balloon hot potato," thanks to the triplets, I'll bet.)

"Limbo dancing?" Claudia said.

"Uh, next suggestion," Stacey replied.

"Nerf home run derby?" Kristy read.

"You do that one alone," said Mary Anne.

"Pet races!" Mallory exclaimed.

"I don't think we qualify," Jessi said.

We finally narrowed it down to dance relay race (you pass a baton like in a relay race, but instead of running you dance), and and event called Mondo Ball (each team has to try to maneuver this gigantic ball from one side of the field to the other).

By the end of the meeting, I was feeling much better. I was even looking forward to my trip again.

I decided to call my dad that evening. He was just as happy and friendly as ever — and incredibly excited about my visit. Jeff was practically bursting with plans for us.

You know what? I didn't care about what might have changed in California. My real reason for going out there was to see Dad and Jeff.

And they hadn't changed a bit.

Chapter 10.

Now, do you believe a word of that?

Mary Anne is very smart, but she does not know how to lie. At least she could have written something a little more creative.

The truth was, she and Mal did a lot with the kids. But she didn't want to mention what, because it was a secret.

Mom drove her to the Pikes', which seemed a little weird to me, since they live just down the street. Mom insisted she had to go to the supermarket, and she was dropping Mary Anne off on the way.

Uh-huh.

Well, she went to the supermarket, all right — but with Mary Anne. To buy ingredients for my surprise farewell party, which was to be held on Sunday, the day after Run for Your Money!

(Luckily, 1 didn't find out about this until the party. 1 love surprises'.)

The Pike kids spilled out of the house when Mary Anne and Mom arrived.

"I'll take in the bag with the chocolate chips!" Nicky yelled.

"What makes you think we bought chocolate chips?" Mary Anne asked.

"You didn't?" Adam said, wide-eyed.

"Dawn eats only health food," Mary Anne said. "So we're making a broccoli souffle and

preparing raw vegetables with dip."

The kids stared at her in shock. Mary Anne grinned and said, "Gotcha."

"Let me see!" Byron cried. He grabbed a grocery bag right out of her hand.

"Careful — " Mary Anne warned.

Rrrrrip! Out came chocolate chips, devils' food cake mix, potato chips, pretzels, and a frozen tofu-rhubarb pie.

Can you guess which one of those items was left on the sidewalk by the kids?

Anyway, Mary Anne and Mom brought the rest of the stuff in. Mrs. Pike ran downstairs, gave the sitters some last-minute instructions, and left with Mom.

The kitchen was instant chaos. Claire had pulled up a chair so she could help at the counter. Nicky was trying to pull it out from underneath her. Adam was bopping Vanessa on the head with a wire whisk. Margo had managed to open the flour sack and was making herself a white beard and mustache.

Phweeeeeeet!

Mary Anne jumped. The kids shut up.

Mallory was standing by the sink, a huge silver whistle in her mouth. Her face lit up. "Hey, this thing really works!"

"Where did you get that?" Adam asked.

"Dad bought it," Mal replied. "He thought we might need it for Run for Your Money."

"Let me try!" Jordan cried. Mal should have tied the whistle around her neck. Before she could pull it away, Jordan grabbed it and started blowing. "Me too!" six other voices called. Mary Anne said she almost lost her hearing. Finally Mallory managed to grab the whistle

away from Mar go.

"Hey, what about me?" Claire complained. "This was a mistake," Mal said. "VJaaaaaaahh!" Claire replied, falling to the

floor.

"Baby!" Nicky taunted. "I'm not a bdbyyyyyyy!" Claire cried. "All right!" Mal held out the whistle. "One blow — and in the living room!" Claire ran off and actually obeyed. When she returned, preparations for a cake had already begun. (Actually, the tofu-rhubarb pie was for me. Most of the rest of the baking was for the invited guests — which included everyone in the BSC, their siblings, and a bunch of other sitting charges.)

"Can 1 crack the eggs? Can 1?" Margo asked,

grabbing an egg. Splat.

It did crack. On the floor. "Oops," Margo said sheepishly. "That's okay," Mal said."You know how to

clean it up."

SHHlosh! "Whoa!" Byron went sliding across the floor on the egg.

"Byronnn!" Mal moaned.

"Gross!" Adam yeUed. "Let me try!"

"No!" said Mary Anne and Mal together.

As the first major cleanup of the day began, Vanessa danced around the room, composing a farewell poem aloud: "Dawn, Dawn, please don't go; we all love you so. . . ." When the floor was eggless, Mary Anne patiently helped Claire measure out sugar from a canister — while Adam kept licking his fingers and sticking them inside. Jordan and Byron played catch with the bag of chocolate chips, keeping it from Nicky.