Jessi's Secret Language by Ann M. Martin

kids all knew where I’d come from, and they made fun of me…. Of course, I didn’t help things by calling them snobs. But what I’m saying is that everyone is the odd one out sometimes. You’re the only one in jeans at a fancy party, or the only Japanese kid in school, or the only diabetic in your class. See?”
    â€œYeah. Being called names still hurts, though.”
    â€œOh, tell me about it. But doesn’t it help to know that you’re not the only one who doesn’t fit in sometimes?”
    â€œA scootch. It helps a scootch.”
    â€œI guess a scootch is better than nothing,” said Kristy, and she and Becca grinned at each other.
    â€œKristy, can I invite Charlotte over?” asked Becca.
    â€œCharlotte Johanssen? Sure.”
    â€œOh, goody,” said Becca, and she made a dash for the phone.
    Charlotte is a kid the club sits for a lot. She’s exactly Becca’s age, but she’s a year ahead of her in school since she’s really smart and skipped third grade last year. Charlotte’s favorite sitter used to be Stacey McGill, and she was crushed when Stacey moved away. In fact, it even used to be hard for her to come play with Becca, knowing she was in Stacey’s old house. Luckily, she got over that, because Becca needs friends desperately. Charlotte was the first kid who didn’t automatically avoid her or tease her just because she’s black. She didn’t seem to notice or care.
    Becca and Charlotte were slowly getting to be good friends when something happened that totally cemented their relationship — the Little Miss Stoneybrook pageant, which was a sort of beauty show for little girls. Becca refused to be in it because she has terrible stage fright, and ordinarily Charlotte (who’s on the shy side) wouldn’t even have considered something like that. But she let herself get talked into being a contestant — and then blew it once the pageant started. Sheactually ran off the stage in tears and asked to be taken home.
    Well, that did it. Becca sympathized completely. The two of them have been like Siamese twins ever since.
    Kristy said that Chadotte reached our house less than five minutes after Becca called her.
    â€œHi, Kristy!” Charlotte said. (She isn’t shy around the members of the Baby-sitters Club anymore.)
    â€œHi, Char. I’m glad you came over. What are you guys going to do?”
    Becca and Charlotte looked at each other and raised their eyebrows.
    â€œWe’re going to pretend we’re ballerinas,” said Becca. “Just like Jessi.”
    â€œYeah,” said Charlotte. “We’re going to be the famous dancing team, the Polanski Sisters.”
    â€œWe’re going to dance in Jessi’s practice area in the basement,” Becca added.
    â€œIs that okay with Jessi?” asked Kristy. “Are you sure you’re allowed to do that?”
    â€œPositive. She lets us all the time.” (It’s true. I do.) “Anyway, we have to rehearse for the big performance.”
    â€œWhat big performance?”
    â€œThe opening of Copernicus ,” replied Becca.
    â€œCoppélia?” asked Kristy.
    â€œYeah, that.”
    â€œOkay. Just be careful with Jessi’s things. Squirt and I will be playing upstairs.”
    â€œOkay!” Becca and Charlotte ran down to the basement.
    Kristy looked at Squirt, who was an enormous mess. He had a milk mustache, and soggy cracker was everywhere — all over his face, in his hair, on his hands, covering the tray of his high chair.
    It took Kristy quite awhile to clean him up, and after she’d finished, she realized his diaper was wet again.
    How do parents do it? Kristy wondered. How do they run a house, take care of their kids, and go to work, too? It seemed impossible. She decided not to worry about it. At least not for several more years. Maybe by the time she was a parent there would be automatic