"Babysitters Club 030 Mary Anne And The Great Romance" - читать интересную книгу автора (Babysitters Club)

"Oh, goody! The phone!" exclaimed Dawn. Dawn just loves getting phone calls. She made a dash for the upstairs extension. I followed her.
"Hello?" she said. Then, "Jeff! Hi! How are you? . . . Yeah! Really? That's great." (Dawn put her hand over the receiver and said to me, "Jeff joined a basketball team. He's practically the star player.") She returned to her conversation. "What? . . . Oh, Mary Anne's here. . . . Yeah, Mom and her dad are out again. . . . What? . . . Oh, to dinner and a play in Stamford. . . . Yeah."
Dawn talked for awhile longer, and my mind began to wander. I thought of how my life had changed in the last year. The business of Dad dating Mrs. Schafer was major, of course. Then there was the business of Dad letting up on me and becoming less strict. Finally there was another kind of business - the Baby-sitters Club. Maybe that was the most important business of all.
The club consists of seven members - Dawn, me, Stacey McGill, Claudia Kishi, Mallory Pike, Jessi Ramsey, and Kristy Thomas. Kristy is the president of the club and my other best friend.
And wouldn't you know it - just as Dawn was hanging up with Jeff, and I was thinking of Kristy, the phone rang again. Guess who it was?
Kristy!
She was calling to see if Dawn and I were together and what we were up to. She was baby-sitting that night, the kids were already in bed, and she sounded sort of lonely.
I began to think back to when Kristy and I used to be each other's only best friends. . . .
Chapter 2.
Up until last summer, for as long as I could remember, Kristy and I had lived next door to each other on Bradford Court. (Claudia Kishi lives across the street.) Kristy and I were nearly inseparable, even though we are opposites in terms of personality. But we were the best of friends anyway. We still are - except that a few things have changed. One, Dawn moved here and she became my other best friend, especially after our parents began going out. Two, Kristy's mother remarried and the Thomases moved across town.
This is beginning to sound a little complicated, so let me back up and tell you about the members of the Baby-sitters Club. As I said, the president of the BSC is Kristy. Like Dawn and me, she's thirteen and in eighth grade. Unlike Dawn and me, she has a very unusual family. Kristy has three brothers -
Sam and Charlie, who are in high school, and David Michael, who's only seven. When David Michael was quite little, Mr. Thomas walked out on the family and never came back. So Mrs. Thomas just took things in hand and raised her four kids alone, getting a really good job at a big company in Stamford, Connecticut. Then, when Kristy was in seventh grade, Mrs. Thomas started going out with this man named Watson Brewer, who is an actual millionaire. They finally got married, even though Kristy didn't want them to. She hated the idea of a new father, especially one who was going bald. But Watson has two adorable children - Karen, who's six, and Andrew, who's four - and slowly she reconciled herself to the idea of the wedding and of moving into Watson's mansion. Now I, personally, would have died to live in a mansion, but believe me, I could also understand about not wanting to leave the house you've grown up in. Anyway, it's a good thing Kristy did move to a mansion because her family is so big now. Living there are her brothers; her stepfather, Watson; her mom; and every other weekend, Andrew and Karen. Plus, her family recently adopted Emily, a little girl from Vietnam, and when that happened, Nannie, her grandmother, moved
in to help care for Emily, since both Watson and Kristy's mom work.
Here are the important things to know about Kristy: She's a tomboy and coaches a softball , team, Kristy's Krushers, for little kids. She's the shortest girl in our class, she's got brown hair and brown eyes, and she's on the immature side. She doesn't care much about the way she looks. She always wears the same kind of outfit: blue jeans, a turtleneck shirt, a sweater (well, not in the summer, of course), and running shoes. Sometimes she wears a baseball cap with a picture of a collie on it. That's because her family used to own this wonderful old collie, Louie, but he got sick and had to be put to sleep. Now they have a Bernese mountain dog named Shannon, plus Watson has this old, fat cat named Boo-Boo.
A few others things about Kristy - she has a BIG mouth (she just can't help saying what she's thinking), she gets lots of good ideas (the idea for the Baby-sitters Club was hers), and most important, she's terrific with kids.
Claudia Kishi is the vice-president of the BSC. I always think it's so weird that Claudia, Kristy, and I could have grown up together (right from the time we were born) and have wound up as such different people. Claudia
is one of the coolest people .1 know. She has an artistic flair that extends to her clothing and hair and just generally the way she looks. What I mean is that Claud is a terrific artist - she can paint, draw, sculpt, make collages, you name it - and those talents show up in her appearance. She always wears the trendiest outfits. For instance, at our last meeting she was wearing layers - a shocking-pink tunic over a white shirt with pink and yellow umbrellas printed on it. Over the tunic was a wide, low-slung yellow belt with a pink plastic buckle. The shirt, but not the tunic, was tucked into a pair of black knickers, and below the knickers were yellow stockings.
Then there's her hair. Claud's hair is something else. Her family is Japanese-American, and Claud has this shiny, black hair. But her hair isn't just shiny and dark, it's long. And Claud can find a million ways to wear it. At that last meeting, she had divided it into five braids and had woven pink and yellow ribbons into the braids. Claud also has dark, almond-shaped eyes and a super-creamy complexion.
She is so cool.
Claud lives with her parents and her older sister, Janine, who is a true genius. Janine is so smart that even though she's only in high
school she takes classes at the local community college. Claudia's grandmother, Mimi, who was a very special person, used to live with her family, but Mimi died not long ago. That was really sad.
Here's what Claud likes: art, junk food, and Nancy Drew mysteries. Her room is a real mess because she's got art supplies scattered everywhere. And since her parents don't approve of either Claud's junk-food habit or Nancy Drew, she has to stash those books and the food where they won't be found. She's got mysteries under her mattress and candy in her desk drawers. Here's what Claud doesn't like: school. She's very smart, but her teachers are always saying that she doesn't apply herself. Mr. and Mrs. Kishi finally had to tell Claud that the only way she could stay in the BSC was if she kept her grades up to at least a C average. So far, she has.
I'm the secretary of the club, and I guess you already know pretty much about me. I'm on the shy side, my dad dates Dawn's mom, I live with my father and Tigger, and Dawn and Kristy are my best friends. I lost my mother when I -was very little, and I've grown up in the house I was born in.
Here are some things you don't know about
me yet: I actually look a little like Kristy. I've got brown hair and brown eyes, too, and I used to be on the short side, but now I'm growing. I'm a couple of inches taller than Kristy. Also, until recently I didn't care much about the way I looked. Well, that's not true. The fact of the matter is that Dad used to pick out my clothes for me and I always ended up looking like a baby in these dumb jumpers or plaid kilts. But when he loosened up, he let me pick out my own clothes. I'm nowhere near as cool as Claudia, but I did buy some neat stuff. If Claud's fashion sense could be rated a ten, and Kristy's a two, I guess I must be about a six. Maybe a seven.
Another thing about me: I am very sensitive. This is good and bad. It's good because I think it makes me more understanding of other people. My friends in the BSC often come to me when they have problems because they know I'll listen and be sympathetic and sometimes offer advice, but I try not to judge them - just to understand them. Being sensitive is bad because I cry at the least little thing. I'm incredibly sentimental. Maybe being sentimental is why I'm the only one in the club to have ... a boyfriend! Can you believe it? I barely can. His name is Logan Bruno and he comes
from the South - Louisville, Kentucky. He's actually part of our club, but I'll have to explain that later.
Enough about me.
On to Stacey McGill, the treasurer of the club. Stacey is originally from New York City, and is about as cool and sophisticated as Claudia. Maybe that's why Stacey and Claud are best friends. (Guess what Stacey's real name is. Anastasia Elizabeth!) If Claudia's fashion rating is a ten, then Stacey's must be a nine and a half. Her clothes are amazing, too, but she doesn't have that artistic flair that Claud does. (Did I mention that Claudia often makes her own jewelry? She makes ceramic beads or earrings, or beaded bracelets, things like that.) Stacey has no interest in art, but she does have a body wave in her short blonde hair, and pierced ears. (In case you're wondering, Claudia has one hole in one ear and two in the other; Stacey, Mallory, and Jessi have regular pierced ears; Dawn has two holes in each ear, and Kristy and I plan never, ever to let someone punch holes through our earlobes. The very idea makes me shiver.)
Anyway, Stacey has had an interesting, but sort of tough life. For starters, she has diabetes, which is. a disease in which her body
doesn't make the right amount of insulin to control the level of sugar in her blood. That might not sound serious but it can be very serious. Stacey has to give herself injections of insulin every day and stick to a controlled diet. I mean, she can only eat certain foods (NO sweets) at certain times, and she has to take in a certain number of calories every day no matter what. She also has to go to the doctor pretty often and check her urine every day. That's gross, but it has to be done. If Stacey doesn't do all these things, she could wind up in a coma.
Plus, Stacey was born in New York. She lived there until the beginning of seventh grade. Then the company her father works for transferred him to their Connecticut branch, so the McGills moved to Stoneybrook. That was when we all got to know Stacey. But the McGills had only been here about a year when the company transferred Mr. McGill back to New York. What a drag. We missed Stacey a lot, especially Claudia. However, the McGills had been in the city again for only a little while when Stacey's parents decided to get a divorce. Then the worst possible thing (for Stacey) happened. Her father stayed in New York (because of his job), but her mother bought a
house back here in Stoneybrook. So Stacey had to choose where to live. Her parents said the decision was hers. Boy, was that a tough one. Stacey didn't want to hurt either her mother or her father, plus she likes both New York City and Stoneybrook. In the end, she moved back to Connecticut with her mom - but she visits her dad a lot.
Stacey doesn't have any brothers or sisters or pets. She is very close to her mother, however.
Okay, now it's Dawn's turn. She's the alternate officer of our club. (More about that later.) Again, you already know a few things about Dawn. Her parents are divorced, too, her dad and brother live in California, her mother's parents live here in Stoneybrook, Mrs. Schafer (or maybe I should say the scatterbrained Mrs. Schafer) is dating my dad, Dawn is one of my best friends, and she lives in an old farmhouse with a secret passage.
Here's what Dawn looks like: she has the longest, palest hair you can imagine. It's smooth as silk and almost the color of milk. Her eyes are a bright blue, and she's of average height and on the thin side. One thing I like a lot about Dawn is that she's a real individual. She dresses however she/pleases (my friends
and I think of her style as California casual), she eats health food and no meat while the rest of us (well, except for Stacey) are cramming ourselves with junk food, and she stands up for what she believes in. She hardly ever lets other people get her down. Dawn visits her dad and Jeff when she can, but I know she misses them. Personally, I think she could do with a pet.
The last two members of the BSC, the junior officers, are Jessica Ramsey (Jessi for short) and Mallory Pike (Mal for short). While Dawn, Kristy, Stacey, Claud, and I are eighth-graders, Mal and Jessi are sixth-graders. They're eleven years old. They're also best friends. And like most best friends, they're alike in many ways, and different in many ways. They're alike in that neither of them has divorced parents and they're both the oldest in their families. It's tough being the oldest, I think, and Mal and Jessi want to grow up a lot faster than their parents want them to - although they were allowed to have their ears pierced recently, so that was a good sign. They both love to read, too, especially horse stories. I think their favorite author is Marguerite Henry, who wrote Misty of Chincoteague and Stormy, Misty's Foal, but they like Barbara Morgenroth (she wrote Impossible Charlie) and another author named Lynn Hall, too.
Each of their families has a pet hamster.
The differences between Mal and Jessi are, first of all, that Mal is white and Jessi is black. Second, Mal had to get braces. Then there are their families. Mallory's is huge. She has seven younger brothers and sisters, including a set of identical triplets - boys. Jessi's family is average sized. She has an eight-year-old sister named Rebecca (Becca for short), and a baby brother with a funny nickname. His real name is John Philip Ramsey, Jr., but when he was born, he was the tiniest baby in the hospital, so the nurses called him Squirt. Even though he's caught up to other babies his age by now (he's sort of walking), the Ramsey s still call him Squirt.
Also, while both Jessi and Mal like to read (and, I might add, make endless gum chains), Jessi wants to be a professional ballet dancer one day, and Mal wants to be a writer and illustrator of children's books. They're both very talented. You should read some of Mal's stories. And you should see Jessi dance. She takes lessons at a special school and has performed on stage in front of hundreds of people.
One final difference between the girls: Mal grew up in Stoneybrook, and Jessi's family moved here from New Jersey not long ago. There are very few blacks in Stoneybrook, which has been hard on Jessi, but she's adjusting. And so are some of the people who originally gave the Ramseys a hard time.
So there you have it. Those are the members of the BSC. Now you know all about Kristy and Dawn and me and the rest of us.
I stopped daydreaming. Dawn handed me the phone and I talked to Kristy for fifteen minutes. By the time we hung up, I could tell she felt better.
Good. I'm one of her best friends, and what are best friends for?
Chapter 3.
"Okay! I'm here! The meeting can start now!"
Kristy Thomas never just arrives - she makes an entrance.
It was a Baby-sitters Club meeting day and Kristy was the last to arrive. You'd think she'd always be the first, and I'm sure she'd like to be, but since she moved across town, she depends on Charlie, her oldest brother, to drop her off at our meetings and pick her up later. (We pay him for this service.)
Our meetings are held in Claudia's bedroom because she's the only one of us with her own phone and personal phone number. This is important to us, because otherwise, we'd have to rely on some grown-up's phone, and I know we'd always worry about tying it up, or else we'd have to wait while the grown-up was on