Ann Martin - Baby-Sitters Club 037

"Then what's wrong with him?" "For one thing, he's too old for you," Richard said bluntly. "He's sixteen and you're only thirteen. What could you possibly have in common?" "Well, we're both from California. We're interested in the same things." I glanced at Mom, wondering if she would agree with me. She should be able to understand how I felt. Even though I love my friends in Connecticut, I miss my friends in California. So does she.

"And another thing," Mom went on, "we've never even met this boy. Did you know he was going to pick you up at school today?" I shrugged. "Nope. That's just the way Travis is. He likes to do things on the spur of the moment. He's impulsive." And fun and exciting, I wanted to add.

"If he really liked you," Richard said, "he would make plans to see you. He'd visit you here at the house and meet the rest of your family." I sighed. Richard is very serious about being a good stepfather, but sometimes he just worries too much. I wish he would lighten up a little and be more like Mom.

"Travis likes me," I said. "You wouldn't believe all the presents he's given me. First a necklace and hair combs, and today he bought me some earrings at the Merry-Go-Round." "I'm not so sure I like that idea," Mom said slowly. "You hardly know him, and he's showering you with presents. Something just isn't right." 1 glanced at Mary Anne, who had finished feeding Tigger and was slipping out of the kitchen. I couldn't wait to talk to her alone! None of this would have happened if she had kept her mouth shut.

"It's no mystery," I said, scraping my chair back and standing up. "Travis gave me some presents because he likes me. I don't know why you can't understand that." I looked at Mom. "And I really want to see him again." "1 know you do, honey," she said, softening a little. "And I'm sure that once we meet him, we'll feel different." "You mean you're going to let her continue to see him?" Richard exploded. "I can't believe you're serious." "Well, maybe we came down a little hard on him," Mom said hesitantly. She cupped her chin in her hands and looked thoughtful. "You know, he really does sound nice - " "This is ridiculous!" Richard broke in. "We don't know this boy at all." "Now, Richard," Mom said soothingly. "Maybe we're making too big a deal out of this. As long as Dawn understands that she can't see him without our permission, I don't think there's any problem." "Of course there's a problem. She shouldn't be seeing him at all. He's too old for her." They were still arguing when I quietly slipped out of the kitchen. It was obvious that the argument was going to go on for a long time, and there was someone I wanted to talk to: Mary Anne. I found her upstairs, sprawled on her bed, doing her homework.

"Thanks a lot," I told her. "You really got me in trouble with Mom and Richard." "Oh, Dawn, you know I didn't want to do that," she said, sitting up. "I feel awful that they're mad at you, but I didn't know what else to say." "Why did you have to tell them anything?" I asked, slamming my books on her desk. "You could have kept your mouth shut." "But how could I have?" Mary Anne said in a quavery voice. "They asked me if I knew where you were. So I had to tell them the truth. I said you had gone shopping. With Travis." I sighed. I knew Mary Anne couldn't have made up a good lie. Besides, I didn't want her lying for me.

"Anyway, you never said it was a secret." Mary Anne's voice shook a little, and her eyes had grown very bright. "Sharon and Dad would have been really worried about you if I told them I didn't know where you were." "I know," I said wearily. I had a feeling Mary Anne was about to start crying.

"You know I wouldn't do anything to hurt you," she said, sniffing. Mary Anne cries very easily. I didn't say anything for a moment, and then I realized that Mary Anne was right. It wasn't her fault that I was in such a mess.

"Look," I said, putting my arm around her shoulders, "why don't we just forget about it? There's really nothing else you could have done." She looked up, her eyes teary. "Do you mean that?" I nodded and sat down on her bed. "How was your day? I've hardly seen you." "Logan came over after school," she said, brightening a little. "He gave me that toy for Jigger, just like he promised." Logan is one of the most dependable people I know. He and Mary Anne are a lot alike. You can always count on them, and you always know where you stand with them.

"You really like him, don't you?" I said, even though I knew what her answer would be.

"Of course I do." Mary Anne blushed a little. "I guess that seems silly to you. He's not exciting, like Travis." "I don't think it's silly. I like Logan." "He's not full of surprises," Mary Anne said slowly. "But that's okay with me." I thought about all the problems Travis had caused me today. "Maybe surprises aren't such a great idea after all," I said.

Mom called us for dinner just then, and we didn't have a chance to talk about Logan and Travis anymore. I slid into my place at the dining room table and had no idea what to expect. Would Mom and Richard argue all during dinner? Would I get a lecture? Would they criticize Travis?

Luckily, none of these things happened, and dinner went fairly smoothly, considering the circumstances. But Mom and Richard didn't say much during the meal. Mom just stared at a spot over my head, and Richard pretended to be absorbed in his Greek salad. Mary Anne and I exchanged a look now and then, but neither one of us felt much like talking. However, I had the feeling that this wasn't the last I would hear about Travis.

Chapter 8.

Kristy always likes to give a lot of details about her baby-sitting jobs because she expects the club members to read the notebook very carefully. It's a great way to learn what other baby-sitters are doing with their kids, and you can get a lot of good ideas. None of us really likes to write in the notebook, but Kristy takes her job as president very seriously, and she tries to set an example for us.

"Going Camping" was the perfect way to entertain her four younger brothers and sisters. Karen has a great imagination and loves any kind of game that involves "let's pretend." David Michael is an easygoing kid who will go along with just about any game you suggest. And Andrew and Emily love to play, period! This is the way Kristy and Karen set up the game. They found an old bedspread upstairs in the linen closet. It had belonged to Andrew and was bright yellow with racing cars all over it.

"It doesn't look like a real tent," David Michael said doubtfully when Kristy and Karen brought it downstairs. "It should be dark green, or maybe brown." "No, this is fine," Kristy said hastily. She knew the kids were getting restless, and she wanted to start things moving as quickly as possible.

"I'll help!" Karen yelled when Kristy started to drape the bedspread over some lawn chairs.

"Make it a big tent," David Michael suggested. "Then we can move all our supplies inside." He picked up a brown canvas canteen and a cast-iron frying pan.

"Big ant?" Emily said, puzzled. Emily is learning English sort of slowly. The pediatrician says she's language-delayed.

Andrew laughed. "No, big tent," he said, pointing to the bedspread. "C'mon inside." "Wait! Don't go in yet!" Karen said urgently.

Kristy looked startled. "Why not?" Karen lowered her voice to a whisper. "Because you can't just walk into a tent without looking. You have to check it first for bears. There could be one sleeping inside." "Bears?" Emily started to look a little worried.

"It's just pretend," Kristy said, taking her hand. Karen is very imaginative, and when you set up a pretend situation, she jumps right in. "What should we do?" Kristy asked very seriously. She was still holding onto Emily's hand. She didn't want to squelch Karen's imagination, but she didn't want Emily to be frightened, either.