Ann Martin - Baby-Sitters Club 060

"Hi!" Haley and Stacey shouted.

"Hi!" Marilyn replied. "Come in!" Matt beamed and made a motion with his hand. A small, low noise came from his mouth. (Matt has been deaf since birth. He goes to a special school in Stamford, and speaks with sign language. I haven't caught on how to do that, but Jessi's really good at it.) They hung their coats in the closet and came into the kitchen.

"Don't let them downstairs!" Carolyn's voice floated upward.

"What?" Marilyn said in an exaggerated loud voice. "Let them come downstairs? Okay! Let's go, guys!" "No!" Carolyn shrieked. "Don't! I said don't!" Marilyn giggled. "Come on," she said to her friends. "Let's play." The three of them ran into the rec room.

Stacey and Claudia went into the living room, flopped onto the sofa, and gabbed for awhile. (Claudia didn't mention what they were gabbing about, and I didn't ask, but I have a pretty good idea. . . .) Well, the topic must have been very interesting (harrumph), because they lost track of the kids.

"Claudia?" Stacey said. "Do you hear anything?" Claud sat up. "No." "That's what I was afraid of. What are they doing?" Stacey stood up and headed out of the living room.

She stopped when she heard scurrying footsteps outside. "Why are they - " There was a burst of giggling from the side of the house. Stacey and Claudia looked out the window to see Marilyn, Matt, and Haley, with their coats on, running down the driveway.

"Come on," Claudia said. She dashed to the closet, grabbed their coats, and called down to let Carolyn know they were going outside. Then she and Stacey bundled up and left through the back door.

The rain had stopped, but it was still freezing. Claud and Stace walked around the side of the house, looking for the kids.

They found them on their knees, peering through a small basement window. Haley signed something to Matt, and he laughed.

I should explain, Matt's laugh is ... well, unusual. It's sort of a cross between a loud squeak and a goose's honk. (He can't help it, he's never heard what it sounds like!) Anyway, it made Marilyn crack up. Haley thought it was pretty funny, too. As for Matt, I think he likes the way his laugh affects people. Their reaction makes him laugh even more.

But Carolyn had heard it, too, and she had a different opinion. "Knock it off!" she called from the basement. "Get away from there!" The three spies raced away. They saw Claudia and Stacey, but they ignored them. They headed for the green slanted door that led into the basement from outside.

"Ssssshhh!" Marilyn warned. She gently pulled the door open.

Eeeeeeeeee.

The kids cracked up again at the squeaky hinge.

"Hey!" came Carolyn's voice.

Marilyn let the door fall open. She and the others stepped back and stared as Carolyn angrily stomped up the stairs. She poked her head out and reached for the door handle.

On her face was a snorkel mask, complete with pipe. A pair of fluffy earmuffs was on her head, and a big wool scarf around her neck. Between the mask and the muffs, her hair was sticking out every which way.

Claudia had to admit, she looked ridiculous.

The kids thought so, too. They screamed with laughter.

"Go away!" Carolyn yelled. "You're ruining my concentration! Claudia, get them out of here!" She disappeared back into the basement, slamming the door behind her.

"Come on, guys," Claud said. "Let's go inside." The kids ran in the back door ahead of Claudia and Stacey. "And stay away from the basement steps!" Stacey warned them.

The kids settled down. They spent the rest of the time in the rec room. Claud and Stace set up a game of Mousetrap, which held their attention just fine.

Every once in awhile they could hear a bang or a bonk or a being from downstairs. But they had lost interest in the time machine by then.

Until Carolyn herself suddenly barged into the rec room. Her eyes were practically on fire. She was wearing the same crazy outfit, without the mask. A ratty old wool hat was now perched above the earmuffs. Claudia said she looked positively demented.

"Eureka!" she shouted.

"Eureka?" repeated Claudia.

Haley looked puzzled. "You need a vacuum cleaner?" "No," Carolyn said. "I've solved the final mystery. The last obstacle to time travel!" "Uh-huh," Marilyn replied. "What happened? You rearranged the milk crates?" Carolyn ignored that remark. "Soon," she said, grinning wildly, "I will be ready for my first flight!" There was something arresting about the look in her eyes. No one was sassing her now. Claudia said a shiver ran down her spine.

She almost believed Carolyn.

Chapter 9.

I had learned a new word. Pariah.

It sounds like an exotic name, but it's not. It means "outcast." I had come across it in a newspaper, then looked it up. Funny how it seemed to fit me these days.

I found one good thing about being a pariah. I got to eat lunch with Logan, alone.

That's right. My friends, the supposedly truest friends of my whole life, the girls I'd shared everything with, were eating at another table.

And probably talking about me.

To be completely honest, it was I who decided not to eat with them. You see, they hadn't said a single nice thing to me since I had gotten the makeover, and it was already Thursday. Monday's club meeting had been torture. If Logan hadn't been there, I think I would have jumped out the window. Of course, I made Logan come to Wednesday's, too. But that one was even worse. I had decided to wear the casual outfit I'd bought at Steven E, and the snide comments were flying.

To add insult to injury, now the members of the BSC were spreading crazy rumors about me around the school. Rumors that some high school guy liked me. Can you believe it?

Well, I had had enough. Their attitude was stupid and mean. And that's exactly what I was explaining to Logan at lunch.

"What rumors?" Logan asked.

"You don't want to hear," I said.

"Who's spreading them?" "Logan, I'm not going to talk about it. It's not worth it." "But it's upsetting you. So why don't you tell me? You'll probably feel better." I took a tasteless bite of Salisbury steak and thought about how to word my reply. "Well, it's just that. . . supposedly there's this friend of Kristy's brother Sam, named Chris Something, who . . . well, who said I was cute, and wanted to know my name." There. I had said it.

Logan looked at me blankly. "So what?" He shrugged. "What's the big deal? I don't understand." "That doesn't bother you?" "No. I mean, I'm not surprised." Logan's eyes crinkled as he flashed that famous smile. "If I were him, I'd ask the same thing." "It's just that they're talking about me behind my back, that's all," I said. "And they're talking about me to other people." "Mary Anne, maybe you're taking this a little too seriously." "Logan, it's true. Sometimes I catch people looking at me, and when I look back they glance away. And I can hear all these muttered comments when I walk down the hall. It's so immature. I can't stand it!" "Maybe you should sit down and have a talk with your friends," Logan suggested.

"I thought about that, but you know what? I feel disgusted, Logan. I'm supposed to go shopping with Kristy this afternoon to buy art supplies for our Kid-Kits, and I don't even want to go." "But Kristy would listen to you. She's your best friend." "She was. Who do you think started spreading the rumors?" Logan nodded. "Yeah . . . well, it's sad. Maybe you do need to cool off." "What are you doing after school?" "Um, I'm supposed to go to Austin's around five-thirty, but nothing before then. Want to come over?" "Okay!" Spending the afternoon at the Brunos' would be a much better idea than shopping with Kristy the Gossip.

I saw Kristy in the hallway before last period. I really had to force myself to look her in the eye. "I'm not going to be able to go with you this afternoon," I said.