Claudia and Mean Janine by Ann M. Martin

flamingo earrings and a pink bracelet that said CLAUDIA in heart-shaped beads. Finally, I braided my hair into four long braids, tied a ribbon around the top of each, and fastened the ends with butterfly clips.
    I was all ready. I wasn’t wearing a very churchy outfit, but after all, it was Saturday and we weren’t going to an actual church service—just to a ceremony in a church.
    A little while later I found myself in the Newtons’ backyard, surrounded by balloons, lanterns, and miles of crepe paper. I hung everything as artfully as I could. Then I asked Mr. Newton if there happened to be a couple of strings of Christmas lights handy. Surprisingly, there were. I arranged the strings on some bushes by the back porch and plugged them in. The twinkling gold lights made the yard look festive.
    I called the Newtons outside.
    â€œIt’s lovely!” exclaimed Mrs. Newton.
    â€œYou did a fine job, Claudia,” added Mr. Newton.
    â€œIs this all for Lucy?” asked Jamie, who had miraculously recovered from his head cold.
    â€œWell, it’s all for Lucy’s party,” his father told him.
    â€œI thought so,” said Jamie. He disappeared indoors.
    â€œOh, dear,” said Mrs. Newton, “I think we’ve got a problem. The children are well, but Jamie’s suffering from jealousy.”
    â€œI’ll start getting him dressed,” I said. “It’s almost one o’clock. Kristy and the others will be here in half an hour.”
    I found Jamie in his room, sitting sulkily on his bed.
    â€œTime to get dressed,” I said cheerfully.
    â€œFor the party?” asked Jamie.
    â€œYup.”
    â€œNope.”
    â€œWhat do you mean, nope?”
    â€œI’m not getting dressed.”
    â€œYes, you are. Look.” I held out the new clothes Mrs. Newton had bought him—a very preppy little outfit: khaki slacks, a white button-down shirt, a navy blazer, and Top-Siders. “See how grown-up you’ll be? Just like Daddy.”
    Jamie hesitated. “All right,” he said grumpily after a few moments.
    He let me help him with the buttons and laces. When we were finished, I gasped. Jamie didn’t look like the little Jamie Newton I knew. He looked like a real boy. Shocked, I led him to the kitchen where Mr. and Mrs. Newton were doing last-minute food things. They must have been more used to him than I was, because all they said was how nice he looked and how well his blazer fit.
    â€œShall I dress Lucy now?” I asked.
    â€œI’ll do it, thanks,” replied Mrs. Newton, “but come give me a hand. I can’t wait for you to see her dress.”
    When Lucy was dressed she didn’t look anyolder or younger than usual, but she did look like an angel. Her christening outfit was a long white gown with lots of lace and ribbons, tiny pearl buttons on the back, and a matching cap. We finished dressing her just as Kristy, Mary Anne, Stacey, and Dawn showed up.
    There was plenty of oohing and aahing, and I think every one of them said at least once, “Isn’t she
cute?”
    Lucy smiled at us from under her cap, and Jamie glared at us darkly.
    Trouble was brewing.
    The christening ceremony at the church went by quickly. The guests and we baby-sitters sat in the first few rows of pews, while the Newtons stood at the front of the church with the minister and the man and woman who were going to be Lucy’s godparents.
    Lucy let out a little cry when the minister touched her forehead with the water, and Jamie kept leaning over to examine his new shoes, but otherwise things went well. Unless you count the very end of the ceremony, when the Newtons were walking down the aisle toward the back of the church, and Jamie turned around and called over his shoulder to the minister, “Hey, God bless you!”
    Everyone laughed, but it didn’t matter, because the christening was over and it was time to go to the Newtons’ for the