Ann Martin - Baby-Sitters Club 123

"You're both to stay right here until your mother and father come home tomorrow," Peaches went on.

'Are we grounded?" I asked.

Peaches hesitated. "Yes." "We have to get Lynn to bed," Russ said.

"Could I give her a kiss good-bye?" I asked.

Peaches nodded.

"I'm very sorry," I heard Janine say to our aunt and uncle as I cuddled Lynn for a few moments.

"We'll talk to you tomorrow," Russ said as they pulled the front door closed.

Janine and I sat in total silence for a few moments.

"I'll start cleaning in the living room," I said as soon as I heard the car pull away.

"Fine," Janine said, her voice as cold as Peaches's had been. "I'll be in the kitchen. The first order of business is to rid the premises of that disgusting pizza." I walked around, looking for pieces of furniture that belonged in the living room. I was pushing the ottoman in from the den when Janine called to me.

"Where is the pizza?" "The last thing I heard, Josh had tried it. He looked as if he might throw up," I said.

"Surely those children didn't eat it all!" The clatter of pots and pans drowned out anything else Janine might have said.

Children? We weren't children. We were teenagers, not that much younger than Janine.

Janine was up to her elbows in dishwater when I marched into the kitchen. "We aren't children, you know," I began.

"You aren't? That's what you acted like here tonight - immature children. I should have known that I couldn't trust a group of children to behave. Your friends have no sense of D-E-C-O-R-U-M." "Don't spell at me! Does your sense of decorum include trying so hard to make my friends like you that you can't act like the 'official chaperone' you said you were going to be?" "Not one guest showed an ounce of responsibility. Would they act the way they acted here in their own homes?" Janine demanded.

"You did. Were you responsible? Peaches doesn't think so," I said hotly.

'And I guess you were!" Janine pulled the plug in the sink and there was a huge sucking noise as the dishwater flowed into the drain.

I turned and left the kitchen, crunching my way through the dining room.

"What are you going to tell Mom and Dad about the vase?" Janine was right behind me.

"That it's broken," I said, tired of arguing with her.

"Broken because you invited so many of your friends." "You only wish you had friends to invite to a party," I said.

Janine's mouth snapped shut and she backed away from me, then turned and stalked out of the room.

I knew that was a mean thing to say. I wished I could take it back. "Janine!" I called. She acted as if she hadn't heard me. I called again. Then the vacuum cleaner roared to life, drowning out my voice.

I sighed, grabbed a trash bag, and started stuffing it full of paper plates and napkins.

So much for this party solving all my problems.

Chapter 13.

Finally, some good news from the Korman battleground. At the Monday BSC meeting Mary Anne filled us in on how her sitting job had gone.

"Bill is still grounded," Mrs. Korman said as soon as Mary Anne arrived on Sunday.

Mary Anne was holding Skylar as Mr. and Mrs. Korman prepared to leave for an afternoon movie. "It's such a nice day. Is it okay if Bill plays outside?" she asked.

"Certainly," Mr. Korman answered. "Just keep an eye on him and Melody." Mary Anne nodded, remembering everything that Kristy and Abby had told her.

"We'll be home by dinnertime," said Mrs. Korman. And then they were gone.

Still carrying Skylar, Mary Anne went upstairs to say hi to Melody and Bill. She knocked on Melody's door first.

"Hi, Melody. It's Mary Anne. Everything okay in there?" Melody opened her door a crack and peeked through. "Is Bill out there?" she whispered.

"He's in his room," Mary Anne said, realizing things were worse than she'd expected. "Why?" The door opened a little wider. "Bill is an old meanie," Melody said, her eyes filling with tears. 'At lunch he said that I was dumb and stupid and wouldn't ever learn multiplication. We haven't even had multiplication in school yet. Could you help me learn?" "We can work on that later. It's warm outside today and I thought we'd take Skylar for a walk. Does that sound like fun?" Mary Anne asked.

Melody nodded slowly. "What about Bill? Is he going too? He's grounded." "Your mom and dad said he could play outside if he wanted to," Mary Anne said.

"If he's going ..." Melody hesitated.

"Let's give it a try. Maybe a walk is just what we all need." Melody still looked uncertain.

"Bill might not even want to go. Let me talk to him. You find a jacket and meet us downstairs. In fact, could you find a jacket for Skylar too?" "Sure," Melody replied. "May I push the stroller?" Mary Anne smiled and nodded. She shifted Skylar to a more comfortable position and moved down the hall to Bill's room.

"Hey, Bill! It's Mary Anne," she called as she rapped on his door.

The door flew open. "I knew you were here. I heard Mom and Dad telling you I was still grounded," Bill said, scowling.

"But you can go for a walk with us if you want. Your parents said that would be okay." Bill looked over his shoulder. Mary Anne could see tiny action figures spread all over the floor. "I'm sort of in the middle of something." "The plan is for all of us to go," Mary Anne said firmly.

Bill started to close the door, but Mary Anne grabbed it. "You can walk on one side of me and Melody can walk on the other. You don't have to talk to each other at all. You can talk to me instead. Have you ever heard anyone say that if you can't say something nice, you shouldn't say anything at all? We can use that as a rule for conversation between you and Melody today." "Then I won't have anything at all to say to her," Bill said.

"Okay, sounds like a plan," Mary Anne replied. "Find a jacket and meet us outside." Mary Anne scribbled a note saying they were going for a walk around the block, in case Mr. and Mrs. Korman returned early. Then she stuck a key in her jeans pocket, and zipped up her jacket. Melody joined her, carrying Skylar's jacket, and handed Skylar a set of plastic keys. A play steering wheel was attached to the stroller, and Skylar pretended to put the keys into the ignition. Then she dropped them into the stroller seat and grabbed the steering wheel, making motor noises.

Bill finally arrived and stood a few feet away from the girls.

"Ready?" Mary Anne asked. He nodded.

Mary Anne checked to make sure the lock on the doorknob was turned, then pulled the door tightly shut. "Let's walk around the block," she suggested.

Melody grabbed the stroller handle and took off. Mary Anne stayed behind with Bill. People were out in their yards, raking leaves. Pickup ballgames were going on. Bill walked a little slower each time they passed one.

"Hey, Bill! We could use a third baseman," David Michael yelled when they walked by the Thomas/Brewer house.

Bill looked up at Mary Anne and she shook her head.

"Can't right now," he yelled back, then stuck his hands in his pockets. Mary Anne watched the muscles in his jaw tighten as he stared at Melody walking ahead of them. But he didn't say anything.

When they turned the corner to head back to the Kormans', Skylar started fussing.

"I think it's time for her juice," said Melody, "then her nap." "We'll be home in a minute," Mary Anne said. "Thanks, Bill, for not arguing about staying to play with David Michael," she said in a low voice.

"I wanted to," Bill said with a shadow of a smile.

Melody pulled the stroller close to the back door and started to unfasten the straps around Skylar.

Mary Anne stuck her hand into her coat pocket. "Hold on," she said. "Where's the key? I put it right here in my pocket." She tried the back door, but it wouldn't open. Then she pulled her pocket inside out. "Oh, no! There's a huge hole in it! The key must have fallen out." Melody scrambled to her feet, leaving Skylar sitting in the middle of the patio, her cries growing louder by the minute. "Bill, go see if the front door is locked too." Bill ran around the side of the house while Melody tried the garage door. She entered through the side but came out again, shaking her head. "The door to the house is locked," she said.