Ann Martin - Baby-Sitters Club 094

We went downstairs to the living room. I sat on the couch and read The Haunting of Grade One with Adam, while Dana stretched out on the floor and did multiplication problems in her softcover math workbook.

At almost the stroke of five-thirty, Mrs. Cheplin walked into the house. She came into the living room just as I was checking Dana's final math problem. Adam was busily drawing a picture about the chapter we'd read together, which was his homework assignment.

The children jumped up to hug their mother. As she hugged them back she asked me how everything had gone.

"Fine," I said. "Dana wasn't feeling well so I tested her glucose level but it was normal. She feels okay now." "That was very smart of you to check," Mrs. Cheplin said. She put her hand on Dana's forehead, checking for fever. "You look fine to me, kiddo," she said to her daughter.

"I feel fine," Dana told her.

"Diabetes can be tricky," I said.

"Were you able to get to the dishwasher and laundry?" she asked.

"Done," I reported.

"What about Adam's room?" "It's much better than it was," I said.

"It looks excellent," Dana told her mother.

Mrs. Cheplin smiled. "I'm so pleased, Stacey. This is terrific." "It wasn't really hard," I said. Except for the little scare with Dana, it hadn't been a problem.

Mrs. Cheplin paid me and I quickly said good-bye. I wanted to get to my BSC meeting by quarter to six if that was at all possible.

Outside, I grabbed my bike and started pedaling hard.

As I zoomed down the hill, my hair flying behind me, I felt pretty proud of myself. Stacey McGill, Super Sitter! That was me.

Chapter 6.

"What do you mean by an unlikely couple?" Mary Anne asked Jessi after reading Jessi's entry in the notebook. It was toward the end of our Wednesday meeting. (I'd just rushed in from the Cheplins' house.) "Oh, just a couple," Jessi replied evasively. "You know, the kind of couple you wouldn't normally expect to find together." Mary Anne scowled with confusion.

The rest of us looked at the floor or at the ceiling, trying not to laugh.

"What do you mean?" Mary Anne pressed. "Like he was tall and she was short, something like that?" "Not exactly short and tall, but sort of like that," Jessi told her.

I, of course, knew what couple she was talking about. We all did, except Mary Anne. Jessi had told the rest of us who it was.

You see, when Jessi baby-sat for eight-year-old Charlotte Johanssen Tuesday afternoon, she brought her sister Becca with her. She also brought with her one of the valentine card craft kits Claudia had assembled.

"Cool! Wow! Cool!" Charlotte had gushed as Jessi spread the red paper, doilies, and foil out on the Johanssens' kitchen table.

But Becca frowned at the materials. "What's wrong?" Jessi asked.

"There's not enough stuff here to make really awesome valentines," she said.

"There's not?" Jessi asked.

"No," said Becca. "We need little flowers and stickers and stamps and maybe some glittery colored star stickers." "You're right," Char agreed, propping her chin on her hands. "I want to make a super cool valentine for my parents." Becca's eyes lit up with an idea. "Hey, could we go downtown to buy more supplies for our valentines? I have all my allowance money with me." "I have money, too," said Char. "Please, let's go. Please! Please!" It was cold out, but Jessi didn't really mind taking a walk downtown. "All right, I suppose so," she agreed. "Put your jackets on." The girls pulled on their jackets, gloves, and hats in seconds. Soon they were all being blown down the street by a cold wind.

When they got downtown, they went straight to the stationery store. Char and Becca picked out glittery heart and star stickers, and split the cost of a cupid stamp and red inkpad. Jessi treated them to a roll of red satin ribbon from the gift wrap section.

They were on their way home when Becca suddenly stopped short in front of an accessories store called the Merry-Go-Round.

"What, Becca? What is it?" Jessi asked.

"Look inside there," Becca said, pointing through the glass door of the Merry-Go-Round. "It's Logan and he's with Kristy." Char and Becca ran to the door. They put their hands on either side of their faces to help them see inside better.

Jessi looked over their heads into the store. Kristy and Logan stood at a jewelry counter. Jessi remembered my telling her that Kristy was helping Logan pick out a ring for Mary Anne, so she wasn't surprised when Logan turned and slipped a ring onto Kristy's finger.

"True love," Becca said in a silly voice.

Jessi playfully pushed Becca's woolen hat forward. "Come on, you two, let's get going." She rapped lightly on the door to get Logan's and Kristy's attention. When they looked up, she waved to them, then she steered Charlotte and Becca away from the door.

On the way home, the biting wind stung their faces. Jessi ducked her head to avoid it. As she walked she thought about Quint, a boy she knows who lives in New York City. He's also a ballet dancer so they have a lot in common. He studies at a very well-respected school called the Juilliard School, which is close to Lincoln Center, where many famous and wonderful ballets are performed.

Jessi couldn't decide whether to send Quint a valentine. They write to one another sometimes, but a valentine is something different. They'd decided to just be friends, not boyfriend and girlfriend. Jessi didn't want to confuse things, yet she thought sending a valentine might be a nice, friendly thing to do.

Jessi thought about Quint and the possible valentine for an entire block. From there she started wondering what kind of valentine she should send if she decided to send one at all.

She was lost in these thoughts, and didn't notice Char and Becca giggling their heads off until they had nearly reached the Johanssens' house. "What's going on?" Jessi asked.

Char and Becca bit down on their giggles, but their eyes were still alive with mischievous fun. "What?" Jessi pressed. "What is it?" "Oh, nothing," Char said in a singsong voice.

Jessi narrowed her eyes at them suspiciously.

Becca giggled. "Nothing at all," she echoed Char.

With that, the girls bolted into the house. Shaking her head, Jessi ran after them. They were already on the phone when she reached the kitchen, both of them giggling and whispering into the receiver.

"Who's on the phone?" Jessi demanded.

"Nobody," said Charlotte.

"Nobody?" Jessi asked incredulously.

"Not really." Charlotte giggled.

Becca cupped the mouthpiece of the phone. "Got to go," she whispered to the "nobody" at the other end. Quickly, she hung up.

Jessi's hands went to her hips. "Would you please tell me what is going on?" she asked with laughter in her voice. The girls were acting so silly it was hard not to laugh, but she was also becoming very curious about what they were up to.

Char shrugged with wide, outstretched arms. "Uh . . . you know . . . stuff." "What kind of stuff?" Jessi asked.

"Valentines kind of stuff," Becca said.

"Speaking of that, want to start the valentines?" Jessi suggested as she pulled off her jacket and draped it over a kitchen chair.

"Okay," the girls agreed.

"Take off your jackets and let's start," said Jessi as she sat down at the table and began taking their new supplies out of the bag.

The girls pulled off their jackets and headed for the hallway to hang them up. While she waited, Jessi took the cellophane wrappers off the stickers and stamps and spread everything out on the table. She folded a piece of red paper and pondered what kind of valentine she should send to Quint, since by then she'd decided she would send him one. She decided a funny valentine would be best, but couldn't think of anything funny to say.

After a while Jessi realized that Becca and Charlotte hadn't returned from hanging up their coats. She went into the living room, but they weren't there, either.