Ann Martin - Baby-Sitters Club 094

"You know Kristy," I said. "She does everything by the book." Thanks to Kristy, the romantic mood between Robert and me was broken. We opened our math books and started going over our homework. We had moved on to computer science homework by the time I heard Mom come through the front door. "Hi, you guys," she said cheerfully, rubbing her hands to warm up as she entered the kitchen.

"Hi, Mrs. McGill," Robert said.

"Hi, Mom. How was work?" I asked.

Mom started taking food for dinner out of the cupboards. "Zooey. Can you believe we're already ordering summer clothing from the factories?" "That's encouraging," I said. "It means spring will come someday." "I know what you mean," Mom said. "It sure seems far away right now." Robert and I worked for another half hour until he had to go home for dinner. "So long, Mrs. McGill. 'Bye, Stacey." " 'Bye." I walked him to the door, then returned to the kitchen.

Mom handed me a head of lettuce and I began breaking it up into the large wooden salad bowl. I love this time of day when Mom and I prepare supper together. We talk about the day's events and how we feel about things that have happened. I'm lucky to have such an understanding mom. I can discuss anything with her. She's a parent but she's also a friend. We do a lot of things together and usually have a great time. Since the divorce I think Mom has been kind of lonely, so she looks forward to the time we spend together, too.

"Mom, can you believe Robert has never been to a Broadway play?" I asked thoughtfully.

Mom smiled. "A lot of people have never been to Broadway." "I bet he would love it," I said. "Especially a musical." Suddenly I had a brilliant idea. Robert's birthday was next month. I'd been racking my brain trying to think of the perfect gift for him. So far, I'd come up blank. But now I had it! "I'm going to take Robert to a Broadway musical for his birthday!" I told Mom excitedly.

"Nice idea, Stacey, but have you checked out the price of a ticket lately?" Mom asked. "They're awfully expensive. Two decent seats will probably cost you over a hundred dollars." I swallowed hard. I hadn't realized it was that expensive. But I really wanted to take him. I knew he'd have a great time, and it might even change his opinion of the city.

"I'll talk to Mary Anne," I told Mom. "I'll tell her I want as many baby-sitting jobs as possible." Mary Anne is in charge of assigning the jobs.

I was determined to show Robert the time of his life in New York City. I'd need the money fast, though, so I could be sure to get good tickets.

I couldn't wait until the next club meeting. I was ready, willing, and able to earn as much money as I could in the shortest amount of time possible.

Chapter 2.

As I walked to our Wednesday afternoon BSC meeting, I was psyched to earn money. I crossed my fingers that the phone would ring and ring and ring for the entire half hour with customers calling in need of a sitter.

Of course, I couldn't just gobble up all the jobs. That wouldn't be fair. But I hoped everyone would be super busy with other activities so no one would mind if I took most of the baby-sitting assignments.

Maybe I should back up a bit so you have some clue as to what I'm talking about. The Baby-sitters Club is a group of friends who meet for half an hour three times a week. During those meetings we take calls from parents who need baby-sitters. That way, instead of making seven different phone calls in search of a sitter, they can make one phone call and get in touch with seven qualified sitters at one time.

Neat idea, huh?

It's more like a business than a club, really. But we call it a club because we're all friends as well as coworkers.

The BSC was Kristy Thomas's idea. She thought it up one day while watching her mother go crazy trying to find a sitter for her younger brother. She told her great idea - of having one number where people could reach several sitters - to her best friend Mary Anne Spier. They told their other friend Claudia Kishi and she suggested I join them, too. Claudia has her own phone and her own phone number, so that was perfect for us. We put up fliers advertising our business all over Stoneybrook.

The club was an instant success! It was such a success that we needed more help. That's when we invited Dawn Schafer, who'd just moved here from California, to join.

Things went great for a while, then my dad's company transferred him back to New York City. I felt all mixed up when that happened. I love Manhattan (as you already know). But I'd also made close friends here in Stoneybrook. I hated leaving them. There was nothing I could do about it, though. Off we went, back to Manhattan.

While I was gone, BSC business continued to boom. They needed more help and fast. That was when Kristy recruited Mallory Pike and Jessi Ramsey.

They're eleven, which is why they're junior officers. (The rest of us are thirteen.) As junior officers they baby-sit during the afternoons, and at night only for their own siblings. That leaves the other members free to take the evening jobs, so it works out well.

Anyway, getting back to the club history - things were not going so great for me in Manhattan. Mom and Dad started fighting all the time. Before too long I got the bad news: divorce.

Mom decided to move back to Stoneybrook. And I had to decide which parent to live with. Was that ever a tough one! But after many sleepless nights, I picked Stoneybrook.

Luckily the BSC needed me back. The club was growing like crazy.

Then something unexpected happened. Dawn decided she wanted to visit her father and brother in California. (Her parents are divorced, too.) Her visit went great - too great. When she came home she really missed being in California.

Around then I started seeing a lot of Robert. It was a confusing time for me because Robert hangs with a whole different crowd of kids. In the beginning, I thought they were much cooler than my BSC friends. I dropped out of the club for a while to become part of their group.

That left the club shorthanded. They called Shannon Kilbourne, who sometimes filled in as an associate member, and asked her to be a full-time member. That didn't work out too well because Shannon is so involved in after-school activities that she just didn't have the time for many baby-sitting jobs.

In the meantime I discovered that my new friends might be cool, but they weren't real friends. I asked to join the club again and everyone made me feel welcome (eventually). It was lucky I came back, because not long after that, Dawn decided to return to California - for good.

That left the club one member short once again. Fortunately, around that time Abby and Anna Stevenson moved into Kristy's neighborhood. Kristy invited both twins - who are also thirteen - to join. Anna said no, but Abby said yes. Now, with Abby here, things are running smoothly again.

So, that's a brief history of the BSC.

I arrived at Claudia's house and pulled open the front door. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays - which are club meeting days - Claudia's mom leaves the door open so we can go right up to Claud's room. We always hold meetings here, which is why she's the vice-president.

"Hi," I said as I entered Claudia's bedroom. Kristy and Claud were already there. Naturally, Claudia was there because she lives there. Kristy is often early because she's the president of the club and she takes it super seriously.

"We bought the glue," Kristy reported from her usual seat, Claudia's director's chair.

"Good," I replied. I was about to bounce onto Claudia's bed (my usual spot) when I stopped short. "Ahh!" I cried, waving my arms in the air to regain my balance. "What's all this?" Claudia's bed was strewn with pieces of red construction paper, doilies, colored foil, and markers. "It's stuff for making valentines," Claudia explained as she wiggled her fingers into a bag of peanut M&Ms. "I'm putting together valentine craft kits." I should have known making valentines was a project Claudia would dive right into. Anything artistic attracts her like a magnet. She paints, sculpts, sketches, makes prints, tie-dyes, makes jewelry, and even designs her own clothing sometimes.