Ann Martin - Baby-Sitters Club 123

Mary Anne picked up Skylar and settled in a patio chair, rocking her until she quieted.

When Bill returned, he was shaking his head too. "Locked up tight," he announced. "I knew it would be." He looked at Melody.

"What are we going to do?" Melody asked.

"I've managed to quiet Skylar, so I hate to move. What about checking the windows?" Mary Anne suggested.

Bill and Melody talked quietly, then Bill headed to the front of the house, while Melody took off around the other side.

Skylar felt heavy, and when Mary Anne looked down, she realized that she had fallen asleep.

After awhile, Bill and Melody returned together, their heads close. Mary Anne put her finger against her lips as they approached, then pointed to Skylar.

"Maybe we should get the ladder and see if any of the windows upstairs are open," Bill whispered.

"That's a good idea, but maybe you should try to find the key first. It must have dropped out someplace along the way. You could walk together along the route we took," Mary Anne said.

"I'll look on one side of the sidewalk and you can look on the other," Bill said to Melody.

"We'll find it, Mary Anne," Melody said as they left together. "Don't worry." Mary Anne smiled. She wasn't a bit worried.

As soon as Bill and Melody were far enough away, Mary Anne held Skylar in one arm, then eased her free hand into her jeans pocket, and dug out the key. She tossed it gently into Skylar's stroller, then settled back to wait for the kids to return.

After a few minutes, Bill and Melody reappeared. As they walked around the side of the house, they examined the ground carefully. When they reached Mary Anne, they sat in lawn chairs nearby. "We didn't find it," Bill said.

"But we have another plan," Melody added, looking at her brother.

"We know that it's not the best idea, but we don't think Mom and Dad will mind that much." Bill leaned forward. "We'll break the glass in the back door, reach inside, and unlock it. That way you can put Skylar to bed." 'And we can go to the bathroom," said Melody, wriggling in the chair.

Mary Anne pretended to consider the plan. She chewed on her lip for awhile, then nodded. "I guess that's what we'll have to do. Why don't the two of you take Skylar's stroller to the garage and put it away, then try to find something we can use to break the glass in the window." "I saw this on TV once," said Bill. "The guy took his shoe and wrapped it in a towel." "What about a hammer?" suggested Melody. "We don't have to be quiet or anything." "The main thing is that we don't want anyone to end up hurt by the broken glass," Mary Anne put in.

"Right. I'll do it with a hammer," Bill said to Melody.

They rose together and Melody grabbed the handle of the stroller. As she whirled it around, the key fell off the seat and clattered onto the cement patio.

"Oh, man!" Bill smacked himself across the forehead with his hand. "We should have looked in the stroller." "Skylar loves keys," said Melody, leaning down to pick it up.

'At least we found it before we broke the window," Bill said to his sister. She nodded.

Mary Anne told me later that she wanted to say something about how well they'd worked together, but she hesitated to break the spell that had settled over them. They were even laughing about how hard it was to see things right in front of them.

Melody unlocked the door and held it open for Mary Anne, Bill, and Skylar.

After Skylar was settled in her crib, still asleep, Mary Anne hurried downstairs to find Bill and Melody in the kitchen spreading peanut butter on crackers and pouring juice for the three of them.

They were finishing their snack when Mr. and Mrs. Korman arrived.

"It's very quiet in here," Mrs. Korman said, her eyes fixed on Bill and Melody sitting side by side at the kitchen counter.

"Skylar is napping," Mary Anne said, "and we're finishing up our snack. We've been on a walk - together." "Together?" Mr. Korman asked.

Bill looked at his empty plate, then at his sister. "You had some good ideas when we were locked out of the house," he mumbled. "I guess you're not so dumb after all." He paused, then continued, "I'm sorry I've been so mean, Melody. I'll try to be nicer." He looked sideways at his parents.

Mr. and Mrs. Korman beamed.

"Thank you, Bill. I accept your apology," Melody said in a very grown-up voice.

"Let's go play rescue nine-one-one upstairs in my room. You can be the dispatcher and I'll be the firefighter trying to help the mom escape from the locked house," Bill said to Melody. "Is that okay?" he asked his parents.

"Fine. Or you could play outside for a little longer if you want. I thought I saw David Michael and Karen in their yard when we drove by. Maybe they'd like to join you," said Mr. Korman.

"You mean I'm not grounded anymore?" A big smile appeared on Bill's face.

"As long as you are considerate of your sister ..." "Come on, Melody, let's tell David Michael how we rescued Mary Anne." The Kormans turned to Mary Anne and she began to explain.

Chapter 14.

"Claudia, wake up! We still have cleaning to do before Mom and Dad come home." Janine was leaning over my bed, shaking my shoulder.

"What time is it?" I mumbled, pulling the blankets over my head.

"Time to rise and shine. Right now. I'm not going to pick up your mess all by myself," Janine said.

I threw back the covers. "But I'm sure you have some good ideas about how I should do it." I climbed out of bed, stretched, and looked around for something to put on.

"This is what you need to do: Clean up the dining room, making sure that you remove every cookie crumb, then vacuum the front hallway, and clean all the debris from the den." 'And what will you be doing?" I asked, yawning.

"I'm going to fix a special dinner for Mom and Dad." She turned and began to leave my room.

The dinner sounded like a good idea, but I wasn't going to tell her that. I looked at the clock. It was early. I wondered if Josh was up yet. I felt awful about yelling at him. I reached for the phone.

"Claudia," Janine said sharply.

I froze.

"No speaking on the telephone. Stick to the task at hand." "Yes, ma'am," I said. She left before I could salute.

As soon as I dressed, I went downstairs. Janine was in the kitchen hunched over a cookbook.

The dining room was the most visibly wrecked. Every step I took crunched. Crumbs followed me into the kitchen as I grabbed the broom and dustpan out of the closet - neither looking at nor speaking to my sister.

After I swept, I returned to the kitchen to empty the dustpan. Janine passed by me as if I weren't there.

In the den, I found the garbage bag I'd left there the night before and started gathering the remaining trash. The living room needed vacuuming. I turned on the stereo in the den loudly enough so that I could hear it in the next room. I was dancing around, picking up trash to the sounds of Blade, when I ran into Janine standing in the middle of the room, her hands on her hips.

She turned and walked out of the room. The music ended abruptly.

I rushed to the den. "Why did you do that?" I asked.

"You're to concentrate on work," Janine informed me.

I wanted to say "You're not the boss of me," but Janine didn't give me a chance. She was gone before I could open my mouth.

I threw trash into the bag until it wouldn't hold any more, then twisted it tightly closed, thinking of Janine's neck as I did.

The doorbell rang. I wondered if answering the door was off-limits for me too? When Janine didn't answer it, I did. I looked out the peephole and saw Stacey on the porch holding a bag. She waved at me.

"Hi! I didn't expect to see you today," I greeted her, standing back so she could come inside.

"We have something for you." Stacey held out the bag.