Dawn arrived, but I did notice when the clock turned to five-thirty.
"Order!" I said loudly. "This meeting of the BSC will now come to order." (My friends quieted down.) "Any club business?" I asked.
No one said anything, although Mallory looked like she was going to burst from her piece de resistance.
"Well, Mal and I have some news about our clients that I feel we should share with you. I'll go first and be quick. Then Mal can tell you her news. My news is that the Felders are going to have another baby." I ran through the details again for Jessi, Dawn, and Mary Anne, who had missed out on the earlier announcement.
Then Mal told her news about Johnny, Mathew, and James Hobart. And then she said, "Now for the piece de resistance - " The phone rang.
"Darn, darn, darn!" cried Mallory, jumping to her feet. "I don't believe it! This can't be happening!" Stacey hid her smile as she answered the phone. We arranged for a sitter for Jenny Prezzioso.
"It would be Jenny who would spoil my story," muttered Mal. "All right. The big news is Ben's news, too. . . . He asked me to go to the movies with him!" Well, of course the members of the BSC began screaming, and congratulating Mallory. Most of us did, anyway. Jessi hung back, and I knew just what she was thinking. What would happen to her friendship with Mal if Mal had a boyfriend? I knew she was wondering that because I wondered the same thing when Mary Anne first started going out with Logan. I also knew that - soon - Jessi would see that she and Mal were still best friends, and that a best friend is very different from a boyfriend. The two don't usually cancel each other out.
I sat back and watched my friends congratulate Mal, and talk about the Hobarts. I let my mind wander, which rarely happens during a meeting, since I try to remain official. But it did wander - to Susan. And then to the kids in the handicapped class at SMS. Right then and there I decided something important. I decided that when I grew up, maybe I would be a teacher and work with kids like Susan.
Hey, Susan, I thought, I hope you like your school. I hope someday you'll come home and be able to tell James and me, and your mom and dad, and Hopie all about it.
About the Author ANN M. MARTIN did a lot of baby-sitting when she was growing up in Princeton, New Jersey. Now her favorite baby-sitting charge is her cat, Mouse, who lives with her in her Manhattan apartment.
Ann Martin's Apple Paperbacks are Bummer Summer, Inside Out, Stage Fright, Me and Katie (the Pest), and all the other books in the Babysitters Club series.
She is a former editor of books for children, and was graduated from Smith College. She likes ice cream, the beach, and I Love Lucy; and she hates to cook.
"Order!" I said loudly. "This meeting of the BSC will now come to order." (My friends quieted down.) "Any club business?" I asked.
No one said anything, although Mallory looked like she was going to burst from her piece de resistance.
"Well, Mal and I have some news about our clients that I feel we should share with you. I'll go first and be quick. Then Mal can tell you her news. My news is that the Felders are going to have another baby." I ran through the details again for Jessi, Dawn, and Mary Anne, who had missed out on the earlier announcement.
Then Mal told her news about Johnny, Mathew, and James Hobart. And then she said, "Now for the piece de resistance - " The phone rang.
"Darn, darn, darn!" cried Mallory, jumping to her feet. "I don't believe it! This can't be happening!" Stacey hid her smile as she answered the phone. We arranged for a sitter for Jenny Prezzioso.
"It would be Jenny who would spoil my story," muttered Mal. "All right. The big news is Ben's news, too. . . . He asked me to go to the movies with him!" Well, of course the members of the BSC began screaming, and congratulating Mallory. Most of us did, anyway. Jessi hung back, and I knew just what she was thinking. What would happen to her friendship with Mal if Mal had a boyfriend? I knew she was wondering that because I wondered the same thing when Mary Anne first started going out with Logan. I also knew that - soon - Jessi would see that she and Mal were still best friends, and that a best friend is very different from a boyfriend. The two don't usually cancel each other out.
I sat back and watched my friends congratulate Mal, and talk about the Hobarts. I let my mind wander, which rarely happens during a meeting, since I try to remain official. But it did wander - to Susan. And then to the kids in the handicapped class at SMS. Right then and there I decided something important. I decided that when I grew up, maybe I would be a teacher and work with kids like Susan.
Hey, Susan, I thought, I hope you like your school. I hope someday you'll come home and be able to tell James and me, and your mom and dad, and Hopie all about it.
About the Author ANN M. MARTIN did a lot of baby-sitting when she was growing up in Princeton, New Jersey. Now her favorite baby-sitting charge is her cat, Mouse, who lives with her in her Manhattan apartment.
Ann Martin's Apple Paperbacks are Bummer Summer, Inside Out, Stage Fright, Me and Katie (the Pest), and all the other books in the Babysitters Club series.
She is a former editor of books for children, and was graduated from Smith College. She likes ice cream, the beach, and I Love Lucy; and she hates to cook.
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