The Baby-Sitters Club Friends Forever #3: Mary Anne’s Big Break-up by Whitney Shimmell Page A

I said incredulously. “She could have called our
    parents, you know. Instead of talking to us, she could have sat there and dialled
    our parents while we watched.”
    “I know. But scaring us with all that stuff about drinking and smoking and
    walking around at night. I feel so stupid.”
    “I think that was the point,” said Ducky.
    Wednesday afternoon 10/8
    The assembly wasn’t what I had expected. Since al the teachers
    knew that the mean upperclassmen had tricked us poor eighth-graders, I
    had come to believe that the principal or someone would haul the kids who
    had dreamed up the party onto the stage and lecture them publicly, then ask
    them to apologize to us and especial y to the kids who were picked up by the
    police. That wasn’t exactly what happened.
    This is what happened:
    Sunny and Ducky and I found Maggie and Amalia at the entrance to
    the auditorium. They were waiting for us while kids had streamed by and
    scrambled for seats inside. I noticed that Jill was hanging around, several
    feet away from Maggie and Amalia, maybe hoping to sit with Maggie. But
    when she saw Sunny and Ducky, she backed off, and when she saw me,
    she reddened, then hurried into the auditorium alone. Good, I thought.
    “What happened? What happened?” Maggie asked as soon as she
    saw us. She was bouncing up and down.
    “It wasn’t so bad,” I said. Then Ducky and Sunny and I told her and
    Amalia about our visit with Ms. Krueger.
    Afterward, we found seats in the auditorium. We couldn’t get five
    together, but we found two together in one row, with three together behind
    them. Then I sat back and waited for the upperclassmen – the ones who had
    dreamed up the party – to get into trouble.
    What happened instead was that Mr. Dean, flanked by the new
    headmistress of Vista and one of the guidance counsel ors, gave everyone a
    big talk about responsibility, respect, and trust. The kids who’d been picked
    up at the party by the police, we found out, had been let off with warnings.
    The kids who had given the party had also received warnings, apparently,
    but not from the police, just from Mr. Dean. The assembly was like a mass
    version of what Sunny and Ducky and I had just been through with Ms.
    Krueger. Except for Mr. Dean’s last words.
    “You are all – every last one of you – as of right now, considered on
    probation. Upperclassmen if I hear about any more hazing of the eighth-
    graders, those of you responsible for the hazing will be suspended
    immediately.”
    Yes! I thought.
    “And al of you – this includes the eighth-graders – if I hear of any of
    you drinking, lying to your parents, sneaking out, defacing property,
    trespassing…” (as Mr. Dean’s list went on, I sank a bit in my seat), “then you
    will be suspended immediately. I am deeply disappointed in those of you
    involved with Saturday night’s party. Beyond that, I’m ashamed of you. As a
    final note, I will tell you that the damage to Ms. Krueger’s personal property
    totalled approximately two thousand dol ars. Ms. Krueger is going to be
    recompensed for it – with your class funds. That comes to just under four
    hundred dollars per class. By the way, that leaves the ninth-graders and the
    eleventh-graders with nothing. In fact, each of these classes will still owe Ms.
    Krueger about seventy-five dollars. You can pay her back what you owe her
    as soon as you’ve earned the money with your next class fund-raiser.
    Neither of these classes, however, will have enough money at the end of the
    year for their usual trip. All right. This assembly is hereby dismissed.”
    My mouth hung open. So did just about everyone else’s. Around me
    kids were complaining, groaning, exclaiming.
    You know what? I didn’t expect it. But I know we deserved it.
    At first no one moved. Then slowly, kids began to stand up (looking
    stunned) and make their way to the auditorium doors. Maggie, Sunny,
    Ducky, Amalia, and I joined them.
    “Oh, man,” said Sunny,