Ann Martin: Claudia And The Mystery At The Museum

pleas to stay together and "proceed in an organized fashion." The triplets and Nicky headed straight for the video arcade, and Mal and her dad had to run after them and drag them to the shoe store. Claire and Margo let their noses lead them to the store that sells giant chocolate chip cookies, and they stood there with their faces pressed against the window until Mrs. Pike convinced them to follow her to the department store where they were going to look for clothes. Vanessa wandered dreamily around the fountain that splashes in the middle of the mall, watching the poetic way the water rose and fell. Mary Anne had to listen to Vanessa's "Fountain" haiku before she could convince her to join the other girls in looking over new sweaters and blouses. Seeing the fountain reminded Mary Anne of the fountain we were going to check at the museum, but she had no time to stop and think about the mystery.

After the "first round," as Mrs. Pike called the first hour or so of shopping, everyone gathered for lunch at the pizza parlor. Mrs. Pike pulled a long list from her shoulder bag and began to check off items that had already been bought. "Nicky — sneakers," she said, making a check mark. "Vanessa — white blouse. Claire — sweater and skirt. Adam, Jordan, and Byron — good shoes." She

sighed. "We still have a long way to go," she reported. "The girls all need shoes, and the boys have to have some new jeans. Shirts, too."

"I saw a pair of boots I liked when I was with Dad and the boys at the shoe store," said Mal. "I'll go back there with you and the girls."

"And I still want to check out that sweater I saw," said Mary Anne. "I'll go back to the department store and help the boys find what they need."

"You two are great," said Mr. Pike to Mal and Mary Anne. "There's no way we could do this without you." He took a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his forehead. He looked very tired. Helping four boys try on shoes had not been easy.

Claire shrieked. "Nicky, stop it!" she cried. "Mommy, Nicky chewed his pizza and then opened his mouth and showed it to me."

"Ew," said Mary Anne. She felt a little sick just thinking about how chewed pizza would look.

"Did not!" said Nicky, swallowing quickly.

"Did too!" said Claire.

"That's enough," said Mrs. Pike. "Nicky, if you want to play 'see-food/ play it with your brothers. The rest of us aren't interested." Mary Anne admired Mrs. Pike's matter-of-fact

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tone, and realized she must have been through this argument a thousand times before. You can always learn something new about dealing with kids from watching Mr. and Mrs. Pike deal with theirs.

"Ready?" asked Mr. Pike.

"Just about," said Mrs. Pike, taking a last sip of water.

"Mom, can I have another piece of pizza?" asked Adam. "I dropped mine on the floor."

"Did you?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. "I could have sworn I saw you eat it. And there aren't any slices on the floor."

"Well," said Adam. "A dog came and ate it?"

"Let’s go," said Mr. Pike, ignoring the situation. "I want to get home sometime before midnight."

The Pikes and Mary Anne headed out of the pizza place and down a corridor they hadn't yet explored. Claire ran ahead to check out a display in the center of the hall. Then she ran back. Her cheeks were pink, and her eyes were gleaming. "Mommy!" she said. "Daddy! There's something I have to show you." She grabbed their hands and pulled them toward the display. "Look," she said. "I can make a really professional movie here! If s just what I always wanted to do. Can I? Please? Pretty please?"

Mr. and Mrs. Pike looked the booth over. So did Mary Anne, Mal, and the rest of the kids. They saw that customers could be videotaped as if they were playing a part in a movie. They could dress in a costume, stand in front of a backdrop, and sing along to a pre-recorded tape.

Mary Anne saw an orphanage set for Annie, along with a curly haired wig and a red dress. She saw a set of the Ghostbusters' office, and official-looking Ghostbuster outfits. And she saw —

"The yellow brick road!" cried Claire. "I can wear that blue dress and look just like Dorothy!" She turned to her parents again. "Oh, Mommy, please? I promise I'll be good for the rest of my life."

Mrs. Pike turned to Mr. Pike and raised her eyebrows. He shook his head slightly, pointing to the price on the sign. She looked at it and winced. "Are you sure you want to do this, Claire?" she asked. "It’s very expensive,"

"I want to do it more than anything in the whole wide world," said Claire passionately.

Finally, Mr. and Mrs. Pike relented. "All right, honey," said Mrs. Pike. "I guess we can count this as an early Christmas present. Now, where do we go?" She glanced behind the booth and gasped. "My goodness, there's a long line," she said.

"No way I'm waiting in line," said Nicky. "I have important stuff to do."

"We all do," said Mr. Pike. "Claire, we can come back another day," he began, but Claire started to wail.

"Why don't I wait with her?" asked Mary Anne. "I don't mind, really." She was just as glad to avoid jeans-shopping with the boys. And that's how Mary Anne ended up watching Claire make her film debut.

"She was really very good," Mary Anne told me later. Claire spent her time waiting in line figuring out what to sing, and finally decided on "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," even though, as she pointed out, Dorothy really sings that song in Kansas and not when she's on the Yellow Brick Road in Oz. When she reached the head of the line, she put on the blue gingham dress, slipped the prop picnic basket over her arm, stepped onto the set, and sang her heart out. "The other people on line actually applauded," said Mary Anne, when she finished telling me the story.

And Claire hugged her "professional video" to her chest all the way home from the mall, looking happier and prouder than an actor with an Oscar.

Chapter 6.

"Awesome!" said Kristy, looking around the Discovery Room. "Karen and Andrew and David Michael are going to love this."

"So will Becca," said Jessi. "We'll have to bring all the kids we sit for. This'll be great for rainy days."

"Wait till Charlotte gets a look at that robot," said Stacey. She was talking about Charlotte Johanssen, who is one of her favorite kids to sit for.

Shannon was looking at the exhibit about physical disabilities. "It really makes you understand how hard this could be," she said. She sat in a wheelchair and wheeled herself around for a minute. "Whew!" she said. "That takes a lot of muscle power."

My friends and I were back at the museum (in case you haven't guessed), and they seemed just as excited about it as I had been. They wanted to see everything. I led them

through the mole tunnel and into the Science Room, where Kristy insisted on shaking hands with the skeleton and Shannon tried out the Van de Graaff generator. We all cracked up when her long, thick hair stood on end.

"I think you should wear your hair that way the next time you go to a dance," I said. "It looks super-chilly." (That's what my friends and I say when we mean "cool.")

We toured the Music Room next. Each of us picked up an instrument and started playing it, and soon the room was full of sound. I wouldn't exactly call it music. It sounded like some kind of insane orchestra — without a conductor. The noise made us laugh so hard we could hardly stop.

"Okay," said Kristy, when we had caught our breath. 'Time to get down to work." She turned to me. "First of all, where's the room the coins were stolen from? Let’s take a look at that."

I led my friends downstairs, hardly glancing at the displays of coins from other countries or the diorama showing how coins are made. I led them straight to the case that had been broken into. The glass had been fixed, but the case was empty. A sign on the case said, "This display is temporarily closed. We apologize for the inconvenience." My friends and I examined the case from all angles.