Ann Martin - Baby-Sitters Club 042

Kristy's best friend (I think they've been best friends all their lives) is Mary Anne Spier. She and Kristy look alike, with their brown hair and brown eyes (although Mary Anne cares a little more about clothes), but other than that they are very different. You've heard the saying "opposites attract"? That describes Mary Anne and Kristy. While Kristy is assertive and loudmouthed, Mary Anne is very quiet and shy, and incredibly sensitive.

I'm not sure why she is that way, but sometimes I think it may have to do with the way she grew up. Mary Anne's mother died when Mary Anne was tiny, and so her dad was the one who brought her up. I've heard that he used to be very strict with her - but he seems to be pretty loose now. He even dealt well with the fact that Mary Anne had a steady boyfriend for awhile (she's the only one of us club members who did). I guess it helped that he likes Logan. (That's Logan Bruno, Mary Anne's ex-boyfriend. He's in the club, too, actually - but I'll tell you about that later.) Maybe part of what loosened up Mr. Spier was falling in love and getting married again. Now, that's a romantic story. He met up with an old girlfriend from high school, started to date her again, and then he married her. And the best part of the story is that the old girlfriend happens to be Dawn Schafer's mother! Who is Dawn Schafer?

Dawn is another member of the club, and she's not only Mary Anne's stepsister; she's her best friend, too. (That's right, Mary Anne has two best friends.) Dawn's mom grew up in Stoneybrook but then moved to California, got married, and had two kids - Dawn and her younger brother, Jeff. But then she got divorced and moved back to Stoneybrook - a fact for which we are all thankful, since that move brought us Dawn. The only bad part about the move was that Jeff missed California and his dad so much that he ended up moving back there to live. So her family's split up, but Dawn handles it well.

Dawn is truly gorgeous. She's got incredibly long, white-blonde hair and she dresses in a style all her own. She wears all these great, casual clothes in bright colors. Nobody else in Stoneybrook dresses like that - you could pick Dawn out as a California girl in a minute. She's different in other ways, too: She loves the sun and the sea, and she adores health food. Bean sprouts are to Dawn what Ho-Ho's are to Claudia.

Claudia - that's Claudia Kishi, the vice-president of the BSC - is the Junk Food Queen. I've never seen anyone eat the way she does and still have such a great figure and perfect skin. I don't know how she does it, but Claudia always looks great. She has an incredible sense of style. She's also a great artist, which might have something to do with it.

Claudia is Japanese-American and very exotic-looking. She's got this long, silky black hair that she wears in a million different ways, and gorgeous almond-shaped eyes. Her family is pretty small - there's just her and her sister, Janine (who is a real - I swear it - genius), and their parents. Claudia's grandmother Mimi used to live with them, but she died not long ago. I get the feeling that Claud still misses Mimi all the time; they were very, very close.

Unlike her genius sister, Claudia is not a great student. It's not that she's dumb, but there are other things she'd rather do with her time than study - like sculpt or paint or make collages. She'd also like to spend her time munching on junk food while reading Nancy Drew books, but there's a limit to how much of that she can do, especially since her parents disapprove of both activities. Which is why you never know when you're in Claudia's room where you might find a Devil Dog or a Twinkie or a Three Musketeers. She hides them. Everywhere. Just like she hides her Nancy Drew books.

But even though Claudia's parents are strict about some things, they're pretty easy about others. Like clothes. Mallory and I are always fighting with our parents for the right to wear certain things - like miniskirts or big T-shirts over leggings. But Claudia's parents seem to let her wear whatever she wants. I think they see her outfits as part of her artistic expression. (I'm so jealous!) Stacey McGill is a really cool dresser, too. In fact, I think that's why she and Claudia became best friends at first. And one of the reasons Stacey's a sophisticated dresser is that she grew up in New York City. That's right, New York City - home of some of the best ballet companies in the world, not to mention the greatest restaurants, dance clubs, department stores . . .

But Stacey likes Stoneybrook. She first came here when her dad was transferred to Stamford, but then she actually moved back to New York when he was transferred again. The rest of the club members thought they'd lost Stacey forever. But then they heard bad news and good news. The bad news was that Stacey's parents were getting a divorce. The good news was that she and her mom were moving to Stoneybrook again! Unfortunately, they couldn't move into their old house. Why? Because my family had moved into it in the meantime! They did find another nice house, though, and of course Stacey was back in the club right away.

Stacey's very cool, as you might expect her to be. She gets her blonde hair permed every now and then, and as I said before, she rivals Claudia for "Trendiest Dresser in Stoneybrook." There's one other thing about Stacey - she's a diabetic. That means she has to take really good care of herself, watch her diet like a hawk, and (I could never do this!) give herself daily injections of insulin. Stacey doesn't seem to let it get to her, though - she's usually in a great mood.

Speaking of great moods, that night I was in about the best mood possible. The time right after you learn that you've won a great part is always the best - before the hard work of rehearsal begins. As I passed the hall mirror on my way to call Mallory, I gave myself a big smile. "Hey, Aurora!" I said. "What's new?" Chapter 3.

"Love your leg warmers, Lisa," said Carrie. "Are they new?" We were all in the dressing room, getting ready for our first day of rehearsals for The Sleeping Beauty. I was still pretty excited about being chosen to play Princess Aurora, but I knew enough to keep my mouth shut. Most of my classmates were probably happy for me, but nobody likes a gloating prima ballerina.

"They really are great, Lisa," I said. "Where'd you get them?" "My mom got them in the city," she answered. "At Capezio's. She gave them to me last night. They're lilac, because I'm playing the Lilac Fairy." Lisa seemed happy with her role, and I was glad. I have this weird thing sometimes, where even though I'm thrilled to get the lead, I kind of feel bad about it, too. Because if I got it, that means that somebody else didn't. Does that make any sense?

I threw my dance bag down next to my locker and started to change. It seems like I'm always in a hurry in the dressing room, but so is everybody else. There's this feeling that Mme Noelle is waiting for us in the studio, getting more_ and more impatient by the minute. And having Mme Noelle in a bad mood is bad news.

I threw off my school clothes (jeans, a new red sweater, and my red high-tops) and stuffed them into my locker. It's never a good idea to put things on the benches in the dressing room, even for a minute. They'd get all mixed up with everybody else's stuff and there would be mass confusion.

Then I groped around in my dance bag and pulled out my leotard and tights. I shimmied into them in about three seconds (after years of practice) and then reached for my toe shoes. I could put them on in the studio while I was listening to Mme Noelle give us the rehearsal schedule.

My toe shoes weren't in the bag.

I checked again. No toe shoes. My red high-tops were in there, but no toe shoes. Now, you have to understand that I have been dancing for seven years. For at least the last four I have packed my own dance bag. And I have never, ever once forgotten anything. Other girls would have to dance with bare legs when they forgot their tights, or in old bathing suits when they'd left their leotards at home. Not me. Never. I was always prepared. It's just the way I am.