Ann Martin - Baby-Sitters Club 033

Anyway, Dad nudged me and said, "Pay attention, honey." I faced forward and tried to concentrate.

The vice-principal was handing out the awards. First she presented one for excellence in English, then one for excellence in math, three for excellence in foreign languages, and one for outstanding leadership qualities.

Finally she said, "And now I am proud - no, I am honored - to present the final award. It's a very special award, and has been granted only once before. That was ten years ago, to a senior. This time it will be presented to a junior, as the most accomplished science student at the community college, where this student has been taking classes for two years, in addition to her classes here at the high school. Janine Kishi, will you please come forward and accept your award?" My sister, looking nervous, stood up from her place in the first row and made her way to the stage. She didn't trip going up the steps or anything, and she accepted her plaque and a check for $250 very graciously. Before she left the stage she turned, smiled at Mom and Dad and Peaches and Russ and me, and then went back to her seat.

The ceremony was over.

But the nightmare had begun.

Can you believe it? All these people - kids, teachers, my family - ran up to Janine and started congratulating her. She was absolutely surrounded, all pressed in, but she looked as if she were loving every second of it.

Guess what. A photographer and a reporter from the Stoneybrook News were there. The photographer took some pictures of Janine holding up her plaque and the check. Then the reporter turned to my family and began asking us questions.

"Your sister is awfully smart," he said to me. (Duh.) "Are you a genius, too?" Me? A genius? "Uh, well, I'm - " Before I could tell him about my art, he turned to my mother and asked if she were proud of Janine.

Gee, what probing questions.

While that was happening, Janine's bio- chemistry teacher at the high school was talking to Dad. Then she said to me, "You're Janine's sister?" I nodded.

"Well, I'll certainly be looking forward to having you in my class one day - if you're anything like your sister. I must say, though, that it's hard to believe you are sisters." Well, thanks a lot. I've heard that plenty of times, but it never gets any easier. Most people say it when they find out what a dud I am in school. (I can barely spell.) I think this teacher meant, though, that Janine and I don't look alike. We certainly don't dress alike. For instance, that day, Janine was wearing one of her usual plain outfits - a long pleated plaid skirt, a white shirt with a round collar, stockings, and blue heels. Her hair is short and cut in a pageboy, so she can't do much with it. I, on the other hand, was dressed in one of my usual wild outfits - a very short black skirt, an oversized white shirt with bright pink and turquoise poodles printed on it, flat turquoise shoes with ankle straps, and a ton of jewelry, including dangly poodle earrings. My long hair was swept to one side in a high ponytail held in place with a huge pink barrette.

People kept looking at Janine and then looking at me. I could just tell they were all thinking, I can't believe you're sisters. Then they would ignore me and congratulate Janine.

I could not wait to leave that auditorium.

Chapter 2.

I have never been so relieved as I was when Dad put his hand on my shoulder and said, "Well, Claudia, shall we leave?" Shall we leave? It was all I'd been thinking about for the last hour. Now the final bell at SHS had rung and most people were filing out of the auditorium. The only ones left were a few of the kids who'd received awards, a few parents, a few friends, and Mom and Dad and me. Even Peaches and Russ were gone.

I wanted to say to Dad, "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you. I can't wait to get out of here." Instead I said (and believe me, this took plenty of control), "Sure. I guess I'm ready." "Okay. Janine's going to come home later. She's going out with her friends to celebrate first." Celebrate where? At the library?

I looked at Janine's friends. (There weren't too many of them.) The boys were carrying slide rules and protractors in their shirt pockets. The girls were, too, I realized. And not one of them looked like they'd seen the inside of a clothing store in years. The boys' pants were too short, and both the girls and boys were wearing stuff that didn't match, like checks with plaids. How did they dress in the morning? By closing their eyes, reaching into their closets, and wearing whatever they happened to pull out?

I knew my thoughts were very mean. I was just mad because of all the attention Janine was getting.

Anyway, Mom and Dad and I said goodbye to my sister, and then we walked outside.

"See you later, sweetie," Mom called to me as she slid into the front seat of her car. "I should be home right after your club meeting." "Okay, Mom. 'Bye!" Dad and I got into his car. I tried not to show how bad I was feeling. I didn't want Dad to think I was jealous. But I was.

Plus, it was Monday.

The only good thing about any Monday is that my friends and I hold a Baby-sitters Club meeting after school. We hold meetings on Wednesday and Friday afternoons, too. The club, which is really a business, was started by my friend Kristy Thomas to baby-sit for kids in our neighborhoods. I like the club for two reasons. One, I love to baby-sit. Two, I love having a group of close friends. In fact, I should probably introduce you to my friends.

The club members are Kristy Thomas, Stacey McGill (she's my best friend), Mary Anne Spier, Dawn Schafer, Mallory Pike, Jessi Ramsey, and me (of course). Oh, there are also two associate members who don't come to meetings - their names are Shannon Kilbourne and Logan Bruno (a boy!) - but I'll explain about them later.

Let me introduce you first to Kristy, since she's the president and founder of the Babysitters Club (or BSC). Kristy has some family! Mine seems so normal compared to hers. Kristy used to live right across the street from me. In fact, she and I and Mary Anne Spier (who also used to live across from me, next door to Kristy) pretty much grew up together. Kristy has three brothers - two older ones, Sam and Charlie, who go to SHS with Janine - and a little one, David Michael, who's seven. Right after David Michael was born, Mr. Thomas walked out on his family, leaving Mrs. Thomas to raise four kids by herself. (Mr. Thomas lives in California or someplace now.) Anyway, Mrs. Thomas kept her family together just fine. She found a really good job, and Kristy's life fell into a comfortable routine without her father, even though she missed him, of course. Then Mrs. Thomas met Watson Brewer, this divorced millionaire with two small children - and Kristy's entire life changed. Her mother married Watson, and the Thomas family moved into the Brewer mansion across town. Kristy had suddenly acquired a stepfather, a stepbrother (Andrew, who's four), and a stepsister (Karen, who just turned seven). Even though Andrew and Karen live with their mother most of the time and only stay with Watson every other weekend, the Thomas/Brewer household is sort of zooey. First of all, the Brewers adopted a two-year-old Vietnamese girl - Emily Michelle Thomas Brewer - not long ago, and when that happened, Nannie, Kristy's grandmother, moved in to watch Emily while Mr. and Mrs. Brewer are at work. Second, there are two other (nonhuman) members of the household. They are Shannon, David Michael's puppy, and Boo-Boo, Watson's fat old cat.

What kind of person is Kristy? Well, she's strong. She'd have to be to have survived all the changes she's been through. She's also responsible, outgoing, and outspoken. I guess outspoken is a polite way to describe her. Actually, she has a big mouth and she tends to speak without thinking first, although she never means to be rude. She just says what's on her mind. Kristy is also a tomboy and coaches a softball team for little kids here in Stoneybrook. Her team is called Kristy's Krushers. I guess one of the most important things about Kristy is that she's an ideas person. She is always getting big ideas - and carrying them out. That's one reason she's the president of our club.