Mal shook her head.
“We’ll just have to do for Claire what we did for you,” Mr. Pike continued.
Claire looked terrified. “Am I going to have a shot?”
“Nope,” her father replied. “A trip to the doctor, and then a stop at the ice-cream store. Who wants to come?”
“MEEEEEEEEE!” shouted every last Pike.
I held myself back. I waved good-bye as they left. I fetched my bike from the backyard and rode home (with my helmet on).
I was very, very lucky to find a full pint of Häagen-Dazs chocolate chocolate chip in my fridge.
As I devoured it, I noticed this funny feeling in my gut.
No, it wasn’t the ice cream. I was thinking about my job with the Pikes and my visit with Jackie at the hospital.
Mallory was so wrong to take the blame for Claire’s finger. Jackie was so wrong to take the blame for the BSC breakup.
And for the first time, I began realizing I’d been wrong, too. Way wrong.
Jackie’s fall from the tree had been haunting me. Making me feel like a rotten, irresponsible sitter.
I had warned him. I had forbidden him to climb. What else could I have done? Put him on a leash? Coated the tree with Vaseline so he couldn’t climb?
I had done the best I could. That was all a baby-sitter could do.
Everything you did was careful. Stuff like this just happens. Those were the words I’d said to Mallory. I might as well have been talking to myself.
I looked at my reflection in the stainless steel serving bowl on the kitchen table. Pushing my baseball hat low over my eyes, I said, “You’re good, kid,” out of the side of my mouth, like an old-movie gangster.
I cracked up. I felt so goony.
But it was true. I was a good sitter.
A good sitter who enjoyed her work. Who loved kids.
Memories of the Baby-sitters Club began to flood in. Of crazy weekend events. Of laughing so hard at meetings that I thought I’d gag.
We were all good sitters. Each of us.
Together, we were great. Too bad the club hadn’t worked out.
As I shoved a spoonful of ice cream into my mouth, my eyes kind of welled up.
It was my fault, really. I could have figured out a way to avoid the breakup. I’d been so upset over Jackie, I couldn’t think straight. When the BSC faced a major problem, what did I do?
I gave up. Suggested we disband.
That was my idea. Me, Kristy the Problem Tamer.
What had happened since then? Was life so much better now? Was the freedom really worth it?
I wasn’t seeing my best friends nearly as much as I used to. Claudia and Mary Anne were still locked in a feud, which might be over if we were a group that talked things out. Stoneybrook parents were in the same situation they’d been in before the BSC — only worse, because they weren’t used to it.
Maybe forming the Baby-sitters Club hadn’t been my worst idea ever.
Maybe breaking it up was.
My swirling, jumbled mind was settling down. I was seeing things clearly now. I knew exactly what had to be done.
I wanted us to try it again. The right way. Listening. Talking. Doing whatever would be necessary to make the group successful.
No. Successful and happy.
The BSC deserved another chance.
I took a deep breath. Way back when I’d first thought up the BSC, I knew I had to do one important thing right away.
I felt the same way now.
I picked up the phone. Taking a deep breath, I tapped out Mary Anne’s number.
“Order!” I announced.
It was 5:30. Claud’s room was full. One hundred percent attendance, even Shannon and Logan. I’d called them all, and they’d come. That was a good sign. At least they were interested.
“Hrrrmph.” I was determined not to say anything stupid, so I’d prepared a statement. Unfolding it, I carefully read: “ ‘I have called this meeting to discuss the progress of the absence of the Baby-sitters Club and its effect on the future of the members in general and the greater baby-sitting community at large including clients past and possibly future, pending the outcome of this meeting.’ ”
They all stared at me.
“Is this multiple choice or essay?” Logan asked.
I threw a candy wrapper at him. “Very funny.”
“Could you try it again,” Abby said, “only slower, as if we’re learning English for the first time?”
I dropped my sheet. “Okay. I don’t know about you guys, but I really miss baby-sitting.”
Claudia exhaled loudly. “Uh-oh.”
“We still baby-sit, Kristy,” Stacey remarked.
“I know we do, but things are so different.”
“Waaaiiit a minute,” Logan said. “Am I hearing right? Are you saying we should get back together? You, Kristy Thomas of ‘Kristy’s Sitting Service’? As in, ‘That’s what we’re becoming, anyway’?”
“Logannnn,” Mary Anne chided him.
“That’s what she said,” Logan reminded her.
“I agree with Kristy,” Mallory said. “The last few weeks have been no fun.”
“I … I second!” Jessi blurted out, all excited. “Oh, I can’t believe this. Mme Noelle — the Friday schedule isn’t — I mean, the families go away —”
“Uh, Jessi?” Abby said. “Words in put sentences right way the together please?”
Jessi gulped, then spoke slowly: “A lot of the kids in ballet class are having trouble with the Friday schedule, because their parents like to go away early on weekend family trips. Mme Noelle figured it would only become worse during snow season, so she wants to reschedule lessons to Tuesday!”
“Yyyyes!” I exclaimed.
“And my creative writing group is ending in three weeks,” Mallory added.
“Excellent,” I said. “We can be a little flexible about that. I mean, you’re already in it.”
“I am not hearing this,” Claudia muttered.
“Look, guys, let’s think before we jump into anything,” Stacey said. “We can’t just form the club again, wave a magic wand, and expect everything to be perfect. How do you know we won’t come up against the same problems again?”
“Like what, needing more free time?” Abby asked. “Ha! I sure have enjoyed that. I spent all Saturday watching the chrome rust on my mom’s car. Which was almost as much fun as waiting for the bananas to turn brown in the kitchen. At least you all have had a few jobs. I’m not sitting at all. No one calls me.”
“Yeah? Then I should get call forwarding,” Claudia remarked. “I could send clients to you. They think they can call me twenty-four hours a day. The last time Mr. Hobart called, I made him help me with my math homework.”
“It hasn’t been so great for the rest of us, Abby,” Mary Anne said. “The clients are calling other sitters, too. I think we should listen to Kristy.”
“But what happens if, say, the library has another creative writing group?” Stacey pressed on. “Or Jessi’s spring ballet class falls on a Wednesday?”
“What if neither of those things happen?” I countered. “Okay, sure, we’ll have to deal with problems. We always have. If one of us wants to join another group, fine. If the times conflict, we’ll mention our BSC commitment to the head of the group. They can be flexible, too.”
No one spoke. Stacey looked deep in thought.
“Look,” I went on, “I’m not expecting us to magically change. But if we do decide to re-form, we have to … reform! We each have to ask ourselves: Do we want this more than anything else? Are we ready to make the BSC our number one commitment again?”
“I am,” Mallory and Jessi said at the same time.
Abby looked at Stacey. “Why are you being so negative? You told me you haven’t been making enough money since the breakup.”
“Well, that’s true,” Stacey admitted with a sigh, “I had to return most of the stuff I bought at the Steven E sale.”
“You can?
??t wear what you wore last fall?” Logan asked.
“You wouldn’t understand.” Stacey looked at him as if he’d suggested wearing iron chain mail. “I guess what I’m saying is, I feel torn. It would be great to have the BSC again, just the way it used to be. But we have to be like doctors. Treat the illness, not the symptoms. Don’t forget how unhappy we were. Can we figure out the reasons? That’s the only way to cure ourselves, if you know what I mean.”
Claudia nodded. “No offense, Kristy, but it just wasn’t fun anymore.”
“I know that,” I said. “I was the one who suggested we break up, remember? But we’ve been apart a long time. Sometimes that’s the best thing for an illness, right? Rest and relaxation?”
“And lots of fluids,” Abby added.
“I don’t know about you guys,” I went on, “but I feel much different now than I did a few weeks ago. The experience has affected me. Made me appreciate things I had been taking for granted. Like, what great sitters we are, and how well we work together.”
“Friday night meetings, when we know there’s no school the next day,” Mary Anne volunteered.
“The looks on the kids’ faces when we do stuff with them on weekends,” Shannon spoke up.
“Claudia’s excellent catering,” Logan added.
Stacey sighed. “The money.”
“Face it,” I said, “we’re not happy about the breakup. Not to mention our clients aren’t happy.”
“I’m surprised they haven’t run us out of town,” Stacey remarked.
“Maybe we can do this,” I continued. “Together. With everyone’s input. Maybe we should go around the room and discuss what direction the club needs to go in —”
“Baby-sitting by fax,” Logan suggested.
Shannon cracked up. “Use the Net.”
“Virtual baby-sitting,” Abby remarked.
“Be serious!” I thundered. “Uh … I mean, you know, when it’s necessary.”
Logan laughed. “Step right up to BSC, the Sequel — with Kristy Two, the new, improved, sensitive president.”
Claudia was slowly sinking downward, anxiously popping Milk Duds into her mouth. “Tell me this is all a joke, please …”
“Claudia, you said that clients are calling all the time now,” I said. “They wouldn’t be, if they knew we were back to a schedule.”
“Great, but I still don’t understand how this is going to help my grades. Besides …” Claudia cast a quick scowl at Mary Anne. “I’m just burned out from sitting.”
“Tell the truth, Claudia,” Mary Anne said in a tiny, trembling voice.
Claudia took a deep breath. “All right. I think some of us are, you know, uncompatible.”
“In-,” Shannon corrected her.
Claudia shrugged. “That, too.”
“You don’t like sitting with me,” Mary Anne said.
“Well?” Claudia snapped. “The feeling goes both ways, doesn’t it?”
Mary Anne nodded. Tears started streaming down her cheeks.
Logan put his arm around her and glared at Claudia.
But Claudia barreled on. “Mary Anne, I just don’t like the way you act when we’re sitting together. You think I don’t know as much as you. You don’t ask me what we should do with the kids. You just assume you have the magic touch.”
“You never told me you felt that way,” Mary Anne said. “All you ever do is barge in and try to do things your way.”
“Well, what else can I do?” Claudia asked.
“You’re the one with the personality, Claudia. You’re the one the kids like more. I feel so overshadowed when I’m with you. I can’t be funny and creative. It’s like, I’m the quiet, dull one. So I figure, okay, I’ll make myself useful — organize the kids, keep them busy.”
Claudia looked astonished. “Kids adore you, Mary Anne. You’re such a good listener. You make them feel so good. I wish I could be like that.”
“Really?”
“Really. And you honestly feel overshadowed by me?”
“Yup.” Mary Anne wiped away a tear. “So I guess, like, we should … you know …”
“Communicate,” said Jessi, Stacey, and I at the same time.
“Claudia, please don’t think I look down on you,” Mary Anne said softly. “I think you’re a great sitter and a great person.”
“You are, too,” Claudia replied.
“I think I’m going to cry,” Logan whimpered.
(Why oh why do we have a boy in this club?)
Mary Anne and Claudia both smiled and fell silent.
Finally Logan said, “Come on, you two, howzabout a big hug, huh?”
Claudia began pelting him with Milk Duds. “I vote we keep this club all girls!”
“Truce!” Logan cried, cowering.
“Food fight!” Abby called out.
“No!” Claudia shouted. “Not in my room!”
The door flew open and Janine poked her head in. She seemed perplexed to see us all. “Uh, excuse me, does this mean I need to buy another pair of earplugs?”
We all shut up and looked at each other.
“Well?” I said. “Does it?”
Claudia shrugged. “I’m still not sure, Kristy. Maybe. I admit, life has been pretty dreary since we broke up.”
I looked around the room. “Okay, then. Here’s what I want to know. Are we dedicated to a fresh start? Are we looking forward to the idea of three meetings a week? To putting our best energy into the work?”
“And into our friendships,” Mary Anne added, sharing a smile with Claudia.
“I’m ready,” Mallory spoke up.
“Me, too,” Jessi agreed.
“Count me in,” Abby said.
Mary Anne nodded, sniffling back a tear.
“Yup,” said Logan.
“Fine with me,” Shannon chimed in.
“No!” Stacey blurted out. “I mean, I just don’t know. I want so badly to say yes. But I’m still thinking about what happened. I’m worried we’ll slip back. Then what?”
I thought about that a moment. “Okay. Then how about a trial period? A probation time — say, we meet for one month and then decide if we’ll continue for the rest of the year?”
“Good idea,” Mary Anne said.
Around the room, heads were nodding.
“Okay,” Stacey said. “If we do that, I think it’s worth a try.”
Claudia was still silent.
“Claud?” I said.
She shook her head. “If I flunk —”
“We’ll help you,” Stacey volunteered. “You’ll have your BSC membership and quality tutoring, all in one.”
“I’ll be here for you,” Janine said softly, still leaning against the door.
“Well …” Claudia murmured, a small smile inching across her face. “I guess …”
Time to strike. I took a deep breath. “I move, as former and possibly soon-to-be, or whatever, president of the Baby-sitters Club, that we reinstitutionalize … uh, reconstitute … no —”
“All in flavor say, ‘Chips!’” Abby interrupted.
“CHIIIIIIPS!” yelled Claudia, Stacey, Mary Anne, Jessi, Mallory, Abby, Logan, Shannon, and I.
It was unanimous.
Claudia went to her closet to dig out a bag of tortilla chips.
Janine slunk out of the room.
Jessi and Mallory exchanged high-fives.
Mary Anne started bawling.
Abby put a tape in Claudia’s boom box and began to dance.
Me? I felt pretty good.
We were together again. For at least another month.
Oh, well, I could take that. It was better than nothing.
Much better.
* * *
Dear Reader,
It’s hard to believe, but Kristy’s Worst Idea is the 100th book in the Baby-sitters Club series! When I first began writing the series, nobody, including me, had any idea that eventually over 100 books would be in the series. Incredibly, the month that this book was publis
hed marks the tenth anniversary of the publication of the first Baby-sitters Club book, Kristy’s Great Idea, back in August 1986. So much has happened since then. The Baby-sitters Club has launched three other series, Baby-sitters Little Sister, the Baby-sitters Club Mysteries, and, most recently, The Kids in Ms. Colman’s Class. The books have been translated into nineteen languages, including Chinese and Hebrew. There have been games, dolls, jewelry, clothing, a CD, and audiotapes. A true fan can also join the BSC fan club, watch the TV series, or rent the Baby-sitters Club movie. These have been ten great years and a hundred fun books.
Happy reading,
* * *
The author gratefully acknowledges
Peter Lerangis
for his help in
preparing this manuscript.
About the Author
ANN MATTHEWS MARTIN was born on August 12, 1955. She grew up in Princeton, New Jersey, with her parents and her younger sister, Jane.
There are currently over 176 million copies of The Baby-sitters Club in print. (If you stacked all of these books up, the pile would be 21,245 miles high.) In addition to The Baby-sitters Club, Ann is the author of two other series, Main Street and Family Tree. Her novels include Belle Teal, A Corner of the Universe (a Newbery Honor book), Here Today, A Dog’s Life, On Christmas Eve, Everything for a Dog, Ten Rules for Living with My Sister, and Ten Good and Bad Things About My Life (So Far). She is also the coauthor, with Laura Godwin, of the Doll People series.
Ann lives in upstate New York with her dog and her cats.
Copyright © 1996 by Ann M. Martin
Cover art by Hodges Soileau
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