Ann Martin - Baby-Sitters Club 057

Then there's Kristy. When it comes to fashion she couldn't care less. First of all, Kristy is a full-fledged tomboy. She likes sports and even coaches a softball team called Kristy's Krushers. She has dark brown chin-length hair that she sometimes tucks under a baseball cap. And most days, like today, she wears her standard uniform - a turtleneck, jeans, and sneakers.

I waved to Kristy and Claud and then hurried across the crowded lunch room to join them.

"Guess what?" I announced as I placed my lunch next to Claudia's. "I'm going to save the planet." Claudia just blinked her dark eyes at me and said, "It's about time." Kristy took a big bite of her (ick) hamburger and cracked, "I was going to save it but I have a big softball game this afternoon." "You two think you're so funny." I swatted at Kristy, who was grinning at me from across the table. "But I mean it. This grade period we're studying ecology in Mrs. Gonzalez's science class. She's asked us to come up with an independent project - " "To save the earth," a voice finished from behind me. It was Stacey McGill, balancing a carton of yogurt and a small salad on her tray. She slipped into the seat beside Kristy. "I've got to do the same project. We only have a week to think of something, and so far my mind is a total blank." Stacey is absolutely gorgeous, with fluffy blonde hair and these huge blue eyes with dark eyelashes. She's also very thin, which is partly caused by the strict diet she is on. You see, Stacey is diabetic, which means her body can't process sugar. She has to give herself insulin shots (ew) every day! I could never do that in a million years. Besides being a real knock-out, Stacey is very smart and ultra sophisticated. She used to live in New York City, but she and her mom moved to Stoneybrook when her parents got divorced. She still visits the city a lot to see her dad. In fact, sometimes she's on the train so much she says she feels like a commuter daughter.

Of all of us, I'd say Stacey is the coolest dresser. Today she was wearing floral leggings, a pink shirt with big sleeves, and a long vest covered in antique pins. A black fedora with a red doth rose was perched on top of her shoulder length hair.

"Don't worry, Stacey," Claud said. "You'll1 think of something. You're a whiz at math so science should be just as easy." "Not true," Stacey said, taking a bite of a carrot stick. "They are two totally different subjects." "Not to me," Claud added. "They both make me crazy. They both involve numbers and words you can't pronounce and things you have to memorize." "Don't even mention memorizing," Mary Anne complained as she and her boyfriend, Logan, joined us at the table. "I think I just bombed a spelling test in English." "Bombed," Logan repeated in his soft southern accent. (He's from Kentucky.) "Yeah, right. Mary Anne considers missing one question bombing a test." Mary Anne poked Logan in the ribs with her elbow and he clutched his side and howled, "Ow! She got me!" My friends spent the rest of the lunch hour talking about tests and classes, how disgusting the hot lunch was (Claudia called it "The Green Slime"), and what movie everyone wanted to see on the weekend. But I couldn't take my mind off the science project.

I thought about it for the rest of the school day and for my entire walk home. Usually Mary Anne walks with me, but she was scheduled to baby-sit for the Perkins girls.

When I reached my house I headed straight for my room, deciding to make a list of ideas for Mrs. Gonzalez's class. List-making always helps me decide about important issues. I've used it to decide who I'm going to invite to a dance or what outfit I'm going to wear for the first day of school or which homework assignment I'm going to do first.

I got out a pad and grabbed a black magic marker from my desk. Then I wrote in big bold letters this question: HOW CAN I SAVE THE PLANET?

Chapter 2.

Our kitchen clock read 5:20. I had only ten minutes to get to Claudia Kishi's house. I could just make it if I pedaled my bike really fast.

BSC meetings start promptly at 5:30. Kristy, who's club president, is really strict about that. She hates for anyone to be even one minute late. Kristy is president partly because the club was her idea and partly because she's a natural leader.

Kristy is also great with little kids. That's probably because she's had to be very responsible from an early age. Her dad just walked out one day when she was little and left Mrs. Thomas to raise four kids. Kristy has two older brothers and a younger brother. It was pretty hard on Mrs. Thomas until she met Watson Brewer, who is - are you ready for this? - a millionaire! Kristy's mom married Watson right after Kristy finished seventh grade. Now they live in this absolutely gorgeous mansion across town.

It's a good thing Kristy likes kids, because Watson has two little ones, a boy and a girl, from a previous marriage (they live with their father every other weekend, on some holidays, and for two weeks in the summer). Then Watson and Kristy's mom decided to adopt a little girl from Vietnam. Emily Michelle is two-and-a-half and a total doll. Luckily, Nannie, Kristy's grandmother, moved in to help with all those kids. On some weekends ten people live at her house. Can you imagine? I guess it's a good thing they live in that mansion.

Claudia Kishi is vice-president of the BSC. We hold our meetings at her house since she has her own phone 'and her own phone number. That's very important because from 5:30 to 6:00 every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday we need to have that line open to take calls from our clients.

I already told you that Claud is a really cool dresser. I'm sure it's because she's such a great artist. Besides being able to draw, she makes her own earrings, tie-dyes her own clothes, and designs these really neat belts and hair ornaments.

Claud is smart, too, but she's a terrible student. And the worst speller on the planet. Which is strange since her sister, Janine, is a full-fledged genius. Her parents are always pushing Claud to study harder and read good books (Claud has to hide her Nancy Drews along with her junk food) but I think they're proud of her artwork.

Mary Anne is our secretary. She keeps the club record book where we list clients' addresses, their phone numbers, and pertinent facts about their kids (like if one of them is allergic to milk, or has to be taken to piano lessons on Thursdays, or whatever). Mary Anne also uses the record book to assign each of us our jobs. Things can get pretty crazy trying to arrange baby-sitting jobs around our schedules. Jessi has dance lessons, Mal has orthodontist appointments, Kristy has softball practice, and Mary Anne has to remember all that. But she has never made a mistake.

Our treasurer is Stacey because she's an absolute math whiz. For awhile, when Stacey was gone, I handled the job. You see, I'm the alternate officer in the club. That means if anyone gets sick or moves, I take over her job. Boy, was I glad to see Stacey return to Stoneybrook because, let's face it, math is not one of my strengths.

The BSC also has two junior members. We call them "junior" because Mallory Pike and Jessica Ramsey are eleven (the rest of us are thirteen). They're not allowed to baby-sit at night, unless it's for their own families, so they take a lot of the afternoon and weekend jobs.

Mal and Jessi are best friends and alike in many ways. First of all, they are complete nuts when it comes to horses. Also, they both love to read and are the oldest kids in their families.

But they are also very different. Mal has seven brothers and sisters. When Mr. and Mrs. Pike go out, they hire two sitters.

Jessi, on the other hand, only has one sister, Becca and one brother, Squirt. (His real name is John Philip Ramsey, Jr., but that's a big name for such a little guy so the nurses at the hospital where he was born nicknamed him Squirt.) Mal wants to be a writer and illustrator of children's books when she grows up. Jessi would like to be a ballerina. She's a wonderful dancer and has already performed in several professional productions. And Jessi is black and Mal is white, but that doesn't matter to them or anyone in the BSC.