Ann Martin - Baby-Sitters Club 037

I could feel a little ripple of excitement go through the group, even though most of us were busily staring at our toes and wishing we were on another planet. There was this incredibly long silence while everyone waited for someone else to think of something to say, and Travis and I just stood and stared at each other.

Without thinking, I blurted out the first words that came into my head. "Is that granola you're eating?" Not the brightest remark in the world, but you have to realize that this was a crisis situation. Think how you would feel if you happened to be wearing a tattered old nightgown and a three-sizes-too-big terry robe at a time like this. It was enough to make anyone tongue-tied.

"That's right," Travis said easily. "It's practically the state food in California." He was from California! "Why don't you join us?" He gestured to an empty seat beside him, and it was all I could do not to throw myself into it. Then I remembered my shiny face (and morning breath) and decided against it. ' "Oh, we'll get something to eat later," I said, trying to sound totally cool and in command of the situation. (I wasn't in control at all, and my heart was beating like a rabbit's.) "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day," he said teasingly.

"I know that," I replied, nodding. If he wanted to talk nutrition, that was fine with me. Mom and I are fanatics about eating healthy food, and we even make our own breakfast cereal.

Kristy, as usual, took charge. "I really think we should be heading back upstairs," she said firmly.

"Yeah, that's right." Claudia was stepping sideways toward the door.

"Without having breakfast?" Sam said, looking amused, as if he knew exactly what we were up to.

Claudia shrugged and pushed her long black hair out of her face. "Well, actually, we . . . uh, left our electric curlers switched on in the bathroom." "Oh, that's right," Mary Anne piped up. (I should tell you that Mary Anne is a terrible liar.) "Gee," she added, "if we don't get back upstairs right away, the curlers might overheat and burn the house down." Charlie snickered and even Travis looked a little amused.

Without another word, all seven of us stampeded toward the door. I had time for one last look at Travis, and when his blue eyes zeroed in on mine, I felt a funny little flutter in my chest.

Upstairs, I took a quick shower and spent the next hour fiddling with my hair and makeup. I decided that I wanted to look casual (but gorgeous!) and finally settled on a pale blue ten-button top with my favorite jeans. (Not that I had much choice, since I'd only packed for an overnight.) When we went back downstairs it was almost twelve o'clock, and guess what. The boys were still there! I couldn't believe my luck. I made sure that Travis noticed me and slid onto the bench next to him.

"You must be starving," he said, pushing a bowl of fruit toward me.

"Ravenous," I replied, taking a tiny bite of an apple. Who could think about food at a time like this?

"Hey, Travis," Charlie spoke up, "did I mention that you and Dawn have something in common? She's from California, too." "Really? That's fantastic." Travis looked like he had been waiting all his life for this bit of information. "Do you miss the ocean? We lived right on the ocean, and I used to go for long walks on the beach every night after dinner." "You did? We didn't live on the ocean, but I used to take long walks, too." I was so excited I nearly dropped my apple. Have you ever met someone and felt like you've always known that person? That was the way I felt about Travis.

"There's a place just above Malibu," Travis began, "and when the sun sets, it looks like it's dropping right into the ocean." "I know. I went there once." I felt almost giddy. Travis and I talked nonstop for the next half hour and I have never met anyone whose feelings were so close to my own. We could have been twins.

"You know, you should always wear blue," Travis said, gently touching my sleeve. "It brings out the color of your eyes. Just like the ocean. . . ." What an unbelievable morning! I couldn't get Travis off my mind for the rest of the day, and I practically drove Mary Anne crazy talking about him.

"Mary Anne, do you believe in love at first sight?" I asked her the minute we were back home.

"I think so," she said slowly. "Look at your father and my mother. I think they fell in love at first sight in high school. It's just that it took them all this time to get together." Remember that romantic story I promised to tell you about our parents? This is it. My mom dated Mary Anne's father in high school (we didn't know this when I first moved to Stoneybrook) and they went steady. They were madly in love with each other - but now comes the sad part. My grandparents (my mom's mother and father) disapproved of Mary Anne's father and didn't want my mom to keep dating him. Why? Because he didn't have a lot of money. My mom comes from a wealthy family, and I guess they always thought she would marry someone rich. I'm glad to say that the story has a happy ending. My mom and Richard did find each other again (with a little help from Mary Anne and me), and now they are happily married and we all live in my house.

I had to ask another question. "Mary Anne," I said, "what did you think of Travis? Don't you think he's the most gorgeous boy you've ever seen?" "Travis?" She looked at me suspiciously. "Dawn, you're not going to get some kind of hopeless crush on him, are you?" A hopeless crush! I was insulted. "Of course not," I said stiffly. "I just think he's very . . . attractive." "Oh, well, sure," Mary Anne said. "I do, too. Of course, I think Logan is gorgeous." She paused. Mary Anne and I know each other so well that she could guess what I was thinking. "Dawn," she said, "I just want to remind you that he's in high school. . . ." "I know that." "And that even if you like him, it doesn't mean he's going to ask you out or anything." "Right." I changed the subject then, but my mind kept racing along the same channels. I had found the one boy in the world for me, and his name was Travis.

Chapter 3.

A lot of kids hate Monday, but I don't mind it. Why? Because Monday is the first meeting day of the week for the Baby-sitters Club. I know you're probably wondering about the club and how it works, so I'm going to fill you in on our last meeting. It took place the Monday after the sleepover, and if you're guessing that I was still thinking about Travis, you're absolutely right.

I should begin by telling you that we meet on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and that we start promptly at five-thirty. And that means on the dot! Kristy Thomas, our president, is a stickler for being on time (and for a lot of other rules as well). We meet for half an hour, until six o'clock.

I scooted into Claudia's bedroom about two minutes late (due to a sitting job), and got an icy glare from Kristy. She was sitting in her director's chair, as usual, and made a big production out of looking at Claud's digital clock, the official BSC timepiece. She didn't say anything, but she gave her head a little shake, and I knew she was annoyed.

"Sorry," I said, stepping between Mallory and Jessi, and settling myself on Claud's bed between Claud and Mary Anne. Mal and Jessi were smiling at each other, and I knew that they were trying not to giggle at some private joke. Since they're a couple of years younger than the rest of us, you would think that Kristy would bend the rules a little for them. No way! Whoever said rules are made to be broken never met Kristy Thomas.

You're probably curious about why we meet in Claudia's bedroom. That's easy - Claudia is the only one of us with her own phone and personal phone number. And a phone is very important when you're running an organization like the BSC. Why did I call it an organization? Because it's partly a club and partly a business.