Ann Martin - Baby-Sitters Club 056

Soon Celeste grew bored, so Mary Anne found crayons and paper. Celeste announced that she was going to draw a picture of Tigger.

"Great," replied Mary Anne. "I'll watch." It was while Celeste was adding huge purple eyes to Tigger's wobbly, wavy head that Mary Anne heard giggling from Caitlin and Mackie.

"Did you find Leave It to Beaver!" she asked. She glanced at the TV, but saw only an Asian girl and boy riding their bicycles along a neighborhood street.

The show was in color, so Mary Anne knew it wasn't Leave It to Beaver. Also, she guessed she had missed the funny part. Then she heard Mackie cry, "Look at their eyes!" and giggle harder.

Mary Anne glanced at the TV again. The scene hadn't changed. She shrugged, not seeing the humor. Oh, well.

"Hello!" called a voice as the back door opened and closed.

"Mommy!" shrieked Celeste, and abandoned her drawing. She raced to her mother and wrapped her arms around Mrs. Lowell's knees.

Five minutes later, Mary Anne was dashing across the Lowells' yard on her way to my house for Friday's meeting of the BSC. She arrived breathless. And early.

So did Kristy. The three of us piled onto my bed for a chat, just like we used to do years ago when we were little.

"Hey, guess what," I exclaimed. "I had a great idea!" "That's my job," teased Kristy.

"No, really. I was thinking about Jackie and his brothers and a musical performance or something, and well, how about helping the kids form a band? The kids who take music lessons can play their own instruments and the other kids can make instruments, like you suggested Mary Anne." "Way cool!" said Kristy. And she wasn't the only one who felt that way. After the meeting started, Kristy asked me to tell the others about the band. Everyone liked the idea.

"Excellent," said Kristy. "There's nothing like a new project." Chapter 4.

"Round and round and round she goes," I said, circling my finger in the air, "where she'll stop, nobody . . . knows!" When I said knows I touched the nose of Lucy Newton, who squealed with laughter.

Lucy is just a baby, and she loves that game. But Jamie, her brother, is four and wants to do more grown-up things.

"Let's play Popeye!" he cried, jumping up and down. "Let's play Teeny Mutant Stinky Turtles!" (He never gets that right.) "Let's go outside! Let's play on the swings!" "Whew, hold it, Jamie," I said. "You're wearing me out, and I'm still sitting down. How about inviting a friend over?" "I have a friend," said Jamie. "His name is Boris and he lives under the stairs. Want to meet him?" "I meant a real friend." "Boris is real!" "Okay, a friend you can see, not an invisible one." "We-ell . . ." "Dawn is baby-sitting for the Perkins girls. Do you want to invite Myriah over? And maybe Gabbie?" "Okay," replied Jamie, "but not Laura. She's another baby." Laura did come over, though. That was because Dawn came over, so of course she brought all the girls with her. The Perkins family had moved into Kristy's old house, across the street from me. There are three Perkins girls. Myriah is five and a half, Gabbie is two and a half, and Laura is the baby. Jamie has become good friends with Myriah and Gabbie, and I can see why. They're lots of fun. They love to sing and dance and put on shows. And Myriah takes all kinds of lessons and classes - tap dancing, acting, singing. She and Gabbie know the words to lots of long songs. When Laura is older, she'll probably join her sisters in their acts. Right now she just watches them, cooing and smiling. (Sometimes I look at Lucy and Laura, who are practically the same age, and wonder if they'll grow up together and become best friends, like Mary Anne and Kristy did.) When the Newtons' doorbell rang, Jamie greeted our visitors with his call of, "Hi-hi! Hi-hi!" "Hi-hi!" replied Dawn, Myriah, and Gabbie obediently.

"Hi-hi," I said to Dawn, and giggled.

We were about to take the five children into the Newtons' backyard when the phone rang. I dashed for it. "Hello, Newtons' residence," I said.

"Hi, Claud, it's me." "Hi, Stace! What's going on?" "The weather's so beautiful that even Charlotte wants to be out in it." "No kidding." Stacey was baby-sitting at another house in the neighborhood, for eight-year-old Charlotte Johanssen. Charlotte is a wonderful kid - we all love her. She's quiet and sensitive (a little like Mary Anne), and extremely bright. She's already skipped a grade in school. Charlotte's main interests are reading and studying. (She has friends, though. Her very best friend is Becca Ramsey, Jessi's younger sister.) Anyway, Charlotte's request to play outside was a little unusual. "Come on over here," I said. "Dawn just came by with Myriah and Gabbie and Laura. Maybe Charlotte would like to play with the kids." "Okay. Thanks. We'll walk Carrot over." Carrot is the Johanssens' schnauzer. He's get- ting a little fat. I mean, for a schnauzer.

No sooner had I hung up the phone than it rang again. "Sheesh," I mumbled. I picked up the receiver. "Hello, Newtons' residence." "Hi, Claud." "Mary Anne?" "Yeah. I'm at the Hobarts'. I'm sitting for Mathew and Johnny." The Hobarts have four boys. And they live in Mary Anne's old house! Mary Anne was watching the two younger Hobarts. (Mathew is six and Johnny is four. The oldest Hobart, Ben, is Mallory's very first boyfriend.) "So what are you doing?" Mary Anne asked.

"Dawn's here with the Perkins girls, and Stacey's on her way over with Charlotte. And Carrot." "Oh. Darn. Johnny wanted Jamie to come over here." "Why don't you bring the boys here! We'll have a play group." "Awesome! We'll be right over." Before I knew it, the Newtons' backyard was crawling with kids. (And one dog.) Jamie, Lucy, Myriah, Gabbie, Laura, Charlotte, Mathew, and Johnny. (And Carrot.) My friends and I watched them for a few moments.

"Hey, you know what?" I cried suddenly. "You know what we have here?" "A zoo?" suggested Stacey.

"No, a band. Or the beginnings of one. Lucy and Laura are too little, of course, and I don't know if Charlotte would want to be part of something like that, but here are five other kids." "Yeah!" said Dawn. "Well, let's see what they think. Hey, you guys!" she called to the children swarming over Jamie's swingset.

"What?" Jamie called back.

"Come here!" "Me?" "All of you. We have an idea." When the kids had gathered around us, my friends looked expectantly at me. "Urn." I cleared my throat. "Would you guys like to be in a band?" "Whose band?" asked Myriah.

"Yours. I mean, ours. We'll start our own band." "What's a band?" Gabbie wanted to know.

Hmm. Good question. "Well, it's a group of people playing songs together on musical instruments," I replied.

"Are you going to teach us to play the instruments?" asked Jamie.

"Some of you," answered Stacey. "Some of you already play instruments." "I play the violin," spoke up Mathew, proudly.

"I play the guitar," added Charlotte, sounding shy.

"You do? I didn't know that," said Stacey.

"I just started taking lessons. I was going to wait until I got good before I told anybody about it." "You mean you'd want to be in the band?" said Mary Anne incredulously.

"I think so." Char's voice was a whisper, but she was smiling.

"Maybe the band should have some singers," suggested Myriah. "Gabbie and I are very good singers." "I want to play the drums," said Johnny Hobart, "only I don't have any. We rented a violin for Mathew, but I don't have drums." "Then we'll make some," said Mary Anne. "It's easy." The kids were becoming excited.

"What could I play?" asked Jamie.

"We'll need more instruments," said Charlotte.

"How about some other band members?" I asked.

"Becca!" exclaimed Charlotte. "If I'm in the band, she's in the band." "Maybe the Pike kids," suggested Stacey.

"Cool. We'll invite them over." "Right now?" asked Mary Anne.