Ann Martin - Baby-Sitters Club 090

"That's it! That is it\" said Mom's voice from the hallway. She didn't sound angry. Just very, very firm.

"What's it?" said Anna's voice.

I jumped up and ran into the hall. Mom was standing at the top of the stairs, holding one foot in the air, massaging it through her slipper sock. Anna stood beside her.

"These cartons are not part of the interior design," Mom said. "I've unpacked my cartons, but you girls have not unpacked yours. I'd like it done as soon as possible, please." Anna and I looked at each other. Unpacking cartons. Yuck.

"Okay, Mom," we consented.

We both knew we would put it off as long as possible.

"Why don't I believe you?" said Mom. She walked toward her bedroom with an exaggerated limp.

Anna and I burst out laughing.

Chapter 5.

"We'll call you right back," Claudia assured the person on the other end of the phone line.

A meeting of the BSC had come to order. In between calls, gossip, and munching down junk food, we were talking about the carnival.

"My family is psyched," reported Jessi. "My aunt said her friend Mr. Major is a member of a group that dresses up like clowns and visits kids in hospitals. He knows all kinds of cool magic tricks and balloon tricks. Aunt Ce-celia thinks we should have a booth with a clown theme." "Everybody loves a clown," said Mal. She grinned. "The triplets want to run a dunking booth. You know, the kind where you pay money to throw balls at a target and if you hit it, the person sitting above the tub of water gets dunked in. I told them to go ahead. I'd be first in line to buy tickets and I had a lot of friends with very good throwing arms and excellent aim." "Kristy's Krushers to the rescue," said Kristy, referring to her softball team. "But listen to this, guys! Watson's volunteered to rent carnival rides and hire the people who operate them!" "Your stepfather is a cool guy," said Stacey. "That's great, Kristy." , "Now it's going to be a real carnival." Clau-dia held a Ding-Dong aloft. "Cotton candy. Candy apples. ..." "Well, I don't know about that." Kristy laughed. "But there will be a Ferris wheel, bumper cars, a whip, a tame haunted house, a fire engine ride. And Charlie and Sam and I are going to help out by selling tickets for the rides." "Don't forget fortune-telling. The Kormans are putting up a fortune-telling booth," said Logan. He doesn't usually come to meetings, but he and Mary Anne had been studying together and he'd joined her for the meeting. He added, "I wonder if there'll be a kissing booth?" He looked at Mary Anne.

Mary Anne blushed and looked quickly down at the record book.

Everybody was so enthusiastic. I was glad nobody seemed to have noticed that I hadn't chimed in.

Then Kristy slapped her forehead, knocking her visor perilously askew. "I've got it!" she cried. "I've got it." "Got what?" I said. I was kind of startled.

"You'll see," said Claudia with a grin. I found out later that Kristy's behavior was a not unusual prelude to her coming out with one of her Great Ideas.

"The carnival/' said Kristy. "Don't you see? The BSC could have a booth, too!" "Excellent!" cried Claudia.

"Decent," said Jessi.

"We can take turns running it," suggested Mal. "That way we can help our families with their booths as well." "And have time to shop. I mean, enjoy the carnival," Stacey put in.

The phone rang and Claudia picked up the receiver. She took down the information and said, "Another rush job - the Arnolds for Friday night." Flipping through her book, Mary Anne studied the schedule for Friday night. "Me. Or you, Abby. Why don't you take it?" Kristy said, "I think you should take it, Mary Anne." "Why?" Mary Anne looked surprised. So did everybody else.

Except me. I haven't been around this world twelve-plus years for nothing.

"The twins know you better," said Kristy. "And Abby probably isn't feeling well after what happened." "Hey, I feel fine," I said. "That's the beauty of having asthma. If it doesn't kill you, you recover immediately." Bad timing for that joke. Kristy frowned and said, "But I don't want the BSC to be responsible for putting too much stress and pressure on you right away. After all, you said it was the stress of the situation that caused your attack." "Among other things," I said, fuming inside.

Mary Anne said quickly, "I'll take the job. If it's all right with Abby." "I'm sure it is," said Kristy. Before I could say anything else, she'd picked up the phone to call the Arnolds back.

I was not a happy baby-sitter.

But I didn't want to wade in and start a war. At least, not yet. I'd give Kristy time to sort things out. If she didn't . . .

Then I'd let her have it.

The BSC meeting turned into a brainstorm-ing session for the carnival. In between taking calls and setting up appointments we came up with a million ideas for booths, some of them completely whacked out (decorative trees made of junk food - that was Claudia's), some of them more reasonable.

By the time I left, I was psyched. I knew I was going to love working on the carnival and especially on the booth with the other babysitters. But I was also worried. My family was the only one not committed to the carnival.

I decided to tackle them again that night. Mom returned home late from work. Anna and I ate dessert (ice cream for Anna, ice cream made from tofu for me, since I'm allergic to milk) while Mom finished off a frozen dinner.

"Not bad," she said, rinsing the container and sticking it in the recycling bin (we only buy frozen dinners in recyclable containers). "With a little salt, a little seasoning, practically gourmet fare." "So about the booth at the carnival - " "Booth?" said Mom, as if she'd never heard of the idea.

"Mooom," I groaned.

"Oh, right," said Mom, leaning over to snatch a spoonful of ice cream out of Anna's dish.

"So what do you want to do? I'm open to suggestions. The sky's the limit!" "No flying lessons, Abby," said Mom.

"Feeble," I said, making a face at her joke.

Anna asked, "Do we really have to do this?" "We do," I said firmly. "Unless you think the school music program is not all that important." "I see your point Anna/' Mom said. "Okay, the Stevenson family is in." "Great," I said, with enough enthusiasm to make up for the dire lack on the part of Mom and Anna. "You're gonna love this." Mom patted my shoulder and then swiped a bite of tofu ice cream. "1 have a feeling we'd better," she said with a smile.

Chapter 6.

Kristy arrived at the Kormans early to find them already moving at top speed. She said good-bye to Mr. and Mrs. Korman, who were on their way to a tennis date, and sidled around the huge, fish-shaped fountain in the entrance hall. The Kormans live across the street from me, in the Delaneys' old house, and I can see why everyone used to think it was pretty, well, ostentatious. (Check that out in your Funk & Wagnalls.) So the fountain's still there, but it's never turned on now because Skylar (not quite two and the youngest Korman) is afraid of it. The rest of the house is a lot more comfortable and lived-in-looking, too.

I wish I'd seen it in the old days.

Kristy knew from Mr. Korman that Skylar, her older brother, Bill, who is nine, and her older sister, Melody, who is seven, were working in the huge family room in the back. When Kristy walked in, the room was full of empty soda bottles. Bill wasn't there, but he came into the room behind her.

"Here're some more," he said, and dumped an armload of soda bottles next to the wall by the sofa. "I reloaded the dishwasher with more bottles." Melody nodded. Skylar, who was in her huge playpen in one corner of the room, screamed happily when she saw Kristy. She was clutching a graham cracker in one fist.

"Hey, Skylark/' said Kristy, bending over and scooping Skylar into her arms. "What's happening, guys?" "We're getting ready for the carnival," Melody replied. "We're going to have a fortune-telling booth." "Great idea," said Kristy. "I wish I'd thought of it." Melody said, "Yes," as if this were a matter of course. She didn't realize that she was talking to the Idea Ruler of the World.