Ann Martin - Baby-Sitters Club 021

"What's that?" asked one of the twins, pointing to the box.

I glanced at her bracelet. "It's a Kid-Kit, Carolyn," I replied.

Carolyn's face lit up. Why? Oh, she must have known about Kid-Kits from when other v members of the Baby-sitters Club had sat at the Arnolds'.

"Do you like Kid-Kits?" I asked her. "This one has some good things in it. New coloring books and new sticker books." "Oh, boy!" The twins jumped up and down excitedly.

"Mallory? Is that you?" called a voice from upstairs.

"Yes. Mrs. Arnold?" "I'll be right there." In a moment a fussy-looking woman came down the stairs. Do you know what I mean by fussy? I mean, everything about her was too much and too cute. She was wearing two necklaces, a pin, bracelets on each wrist, rings, earrings, and even an ankle bracelet. Her stockings were lacey, and she was, well, as Claud might have said, overly accessorized. Practically everything she wore had a bow attached. There were bows on her shoes, a bow on her belt, a bow in her hair, and a bow at the neck of her blouse. Her sweater was beaded, and she hadn't forgotten to pin a fake rose to it. Whew! As for cute, her earrings were in the shape of ladybugs, one of her necklaces spelled her name - Linda - in gold script, her pin was in the shape of a mouse, and the bow in her hair was a ribbon with a print of tiny ducks all over it.

"Hi, Mallory, I'm Mrs. Arnold," said the twins' mother as she reached the bottom of the stairs. She held out her hand, and we shook in a businesslike way. "I'm sure you and the girls will get along fine. They'll show you where their toys are - " "Mallory brought toys for us!" exclaimed one twin.

"Why, that's lovely. Well, good. I can see that the three of you are off to a happy start." (Blechh.) Mrs. Arnold showed me where the emergency phone numbers were posted, made sure I knew how to reach her at Stoneybrook Elementary, gave me a few quick instructions, reminded Marilyn to practice the piano for half an hour, and then kissed each of the twins. "Good-bye, loves," she said. "I'll see you in two and a half hours - at six-o'clock." " 'Bye, Mommy!" chorused the girls.

Mrs. Arnold left in a fog of perfume. (That was another thing. She was wearing perfume, makeup, and nail polish. She'd probably painted her toenails, too.) "Can we see what's in the Kid-Kit?" asked one of the twins as Mrs. Arnold started her car in the garage.

(A quick glance at the bracelet.) "Sure, Marilyn," I replied, and Marilyn beamed. The twins must really love Kid-Kits. I'd have to remember to bring mine with me each time I sat.

"Let's go to our room!" exclaimed . . . Carolyn. (Bracelet check.) Well, I'd been prepared for identical twins and identical clothes, but not for two identical halves of a bedroom. That was how the girls' room looked, though. Again, it was as if someone had placed a huge mirror in the center of the room, and it was reflecting one side. On each side were beds covered with pink flowered spreads over white pleated dust ruffles. There were matching pillows. There were twin dressers, desks, and bookshelves. There were even two white rockers. Everything was arranged symmetrically. But what was most surprising were the toys - two of everything. Two identical stuffed bears, two Cabbage Patch dolls, two, two, two.

This was almost like a science fiction movie - but I didn't say anything. Instead, I plopped myself down on the rug and opened the Kid-Kit.

"Okay, here you go," I said. "What do you guys like? I've got books to read and puzzles and jacks and those new coloring and sticker books." "I like to read," said one twin. (Oh, it was Marilyn.) "I like puzzles," said Carolyn.

I handed Carolyn a small jigsaw puzzle, and she immediately dumped it on the floor. Then I pulled out a handful of books.

"Let's see, Marilyn. Here's Baby Island. And here's Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. Oh, here are three of the Paddington books." "Paddington!" exclaimed both twins.

"We love him!" said Carolyn. She abandoned her puzzle and leaned over to look at Paddington Abroad, Paddington Helps Out, and Paddington Marches On.

In a flash, Carolyn had chosen Paddington Marches On, Marilyn had chosen Paddington Abroad, and each twin was lying on her bed with her legs crossed, reading happily.

"You guys are so cute!" I couldn't help exclaiming. "Look at you. I wish I had my camera. You look like bookends." The twins exchanged a troubled glance.

"Boggle," Marilyn whispered across the room to Carolyn. (Or did Carolyn whisper to Marilyn? I couldn't read their bracelets.) Carolyn nodded. Then the twins went back to their books.

But not for long.

"Oom-bah," said Carolyn a few minutes later, and the girls tossed the books aside and got to their feet.

With another sidelong glance at each other, they did the last thing I'd expected them to do. Very slowly, they removed their bracelets. They tossed them onto their beds. Then they ran around the room, jumping back and forth, darting from side to side.

"Hey, you guys!" I cried. "What are you doing?" "Chad. Pom dover glop," said one.

"Huh?" "Now tell us apart," said Marilyn-or-Carolyn.

"I can't," I replied helplessly. "You don't have your bracelets on." "Do you like to baby-sit?" "Sure." "Well, you won't like to sit for us." (What had gone wrong?) The girls were still moving around. Since even their voices sounded alike, I couldn't tell who was talking. For all I knew, it was just one of them, and the other was keeping quiet.

Suddenly they ran downstairs.

I chased after them. When I reached the living room, I found only one twin.

"Okay, which one are you?" I asked.

Marilyn-or-Carolyn shrugged.

"You're not going to talk?" Another shrug. Then, without warning, she stood up and darted out of the room. I ran after her, but not quite as fast (the twins are quick!) and found one of them at the kitchen table.

"Which one are you?" I asked.

"The same as before," was the cross reply.

I felt like saying, "Well, excuse me!" But instead I said, "Where's your sister?" Shrug.

And then an idea came to me. I don't know where it came from, but it seemed like a good one. I took Marilyn-or-Carolyn by the hand, hauled her into the living room, sat her at the piano, and said, "Practice time." Marilyn-or-Carolyn looked at me helplessly.

"Go ahead. Play," I urged her. "You can play, can't you?" The twin scowled. "No," she said sullenly.

"Okay, Carolyn. Thank you very much. Now please go find you sister and tell her it's time to practice." So Carolyn did just that, and Marilyn began her playing. For exactly half an hour, I knew which twin was which. But when Marilyn stopped practicing, I was in trouble again.

I couldn't wait for Mrs. Arnold to come home.

Chapter 4.

Well, it sure was an easy sitting job. It was Sunday afternoon, and my parents had been invited to a reception. The reception was to be held indoors, which was lucky since it was pouring rain. And I mean, cats and dogs, streaming down the windows, rattling the gutters. That kind of rain. As Jessi pointed out in the club notebook, rainy days like this one can be a baby-sitting disaster if the only thing the kids want to do is go outside.

But - for once - every one of my brothers and sisters was busy and happy. The triplets were down in the rec room watching a movie that we'd rented for the weekend. Our entire family had watched it the night before, and now the triplets were watching it again. Personally, I don't see how they can do that. I can read a book over and over again, but there aren't too many movies I could watch twice in one weekend.

Nicky was upstairs in the room he shares with the triplets, working on a science-fair project. He was creating a solar system, and it wasn't easy. He had to find balls of various sizes to represent the planets, and then he had to figure out how to get them to revolve around the sun (a yellow tennis ball). It would keep him busy for hours.