"Martin, Ann M - Baby-sitters Club - Super Special 01 - Baby-sitters on Board!" - читать интересную книгу автора (Martin Ann M)

V"
promise. He took Karen, Andrew, David Michael, and three of the Pike kids (including Margo, who had recovered) up to the cockpit to look around.
While they were gone, I got an idea. I called to Mary Anne and Stacey. "Hey, can you guys come here? Just for a few minutes?"
Stacey looked around. Mallory and Vanessa were reading and the triplets were leaning over their seats, talking to their parents. "I guess so," she replied. "Everything seems to be under control."
Stacey and Mary Anne unbuckled their seat belts and walked unsteadily across the aisle.
"Whaf s up?" Mary Anne asked me.
"I was just thinking. Since all five of us are on this trip, we should hold club meetings every day. Just short ones. You know, so we can keep track of what the kids are up to."
"Sure," agreed Claudia. "Thaf s a good idea."
"One more thing," I went on. "It was awfully nice of Watson and Mom and the Pikes to take us on this trip Ч I mean, even if two of us are along as baby-sitters and sort of have to work for it."
"I'll say it was nice," said Dawn.
"So maybe we should think of something
nice to do for them. Some special kind of thank-you. Maybe from all the kids on the trip."
"Yes," said Mary Anne. "Definitely."
"It has to be a really good idea," I said firmly.
"We'll think of something," Stacey assured me. "We've got a week to do it. Don't worry."
At that moment, Karen, Andrew, David Michael, and the Pikes returned. They walked proudly down the aisle with little gold pins in the shape of wings attached to their shirts.
"I think this means we're junior pilots now, Daddy," said Karen as she climbed back into her seat.
"That's very impressive," Watson replied seriously.
Mary Anne and Stacey went back to the Pike kids.
The flight continued. David Michael accidentally pressed his flight attendant call button three times. (The stewardess smiled the first two times, but by the third time she looked cross.) I took Karen to one of the tiny bathrooms at the back of the plane, which was an adventure for both of us. There was barely room for two people in it, and for the longest time we couldn't figure out how to lock the door. When we were ready to leave, we couldn't
figure out how to unlock it. I nearly had a heart attack. I was never so relieved as when we got back to our seats.
At last the pilot announced that we would be landing in five minutes. I checked my seat belt six times. Karen squealed with excitement. Nicky Pike, who was sitting by a window, exclaimed, "Awesome!"
Margo Pike threw up.
When the plane landed, I turned to my friends. "We are here! We're in Florida! Oh, I am so, so excited!" I cried.
c H A P T 'E| R
/ / A / 777
_____ X / 2
I
'11 tell you something. I have done a lot of traveling. When I was little, I lived on the West Coast and all my grandparents lived on the East Coast. Now my parents are divorced and I live in Connecticut with my mom and brother, but my dad still lives in California. All in all, I've flown back and forth across the country eleven times.
But I had never been on a cruise ship. In fact, I'd never even seen one, unless you counted the Love Boat, or the ship the Ricardos and Mertzes went to Europe on in an I Love Lucy show I once saw.
The Ocean Princess was bigger than anything I'd expected. Sure, the Love Boat looked big when it was photographed from the air, but I really was not prepared for the gigantic ship
I stood before with my friends and Kristy's family and the Pikes.
"Amazing," I murmured. I brushed my long hair back from my face so I could see better.
The Ocean Princess just seemed to go on and on and on. And up and up and up. I couldn't wait to get off the dock and on the ship. But crowds of people were trying to board it, and everyone had to wait their turn.
"It says here," said Mary Anne, who was standing next to me holding a pamphlet about the ship, "that there are swimming pools on board Ч "
"Pools?" I interrupted. "More than one?"
"Yup," replied Mary Anne. She was squinting in the bright sunlight. "Boy, I hope I don't get sunburned. Anyway, there are pools, a beauty parlor, a barbershop, a cafe, a disco, stores, and restaurants. Hey, there's even a health spa!"
"I don't believe it," I exclaimed. I was so impressed that I pulled my camera out of my purse and snapped two pictures of the docked ship.
The crowd inched forward. When we were halfway up the gangplank I turned around and
looked behind me. A stream of excited passengers was waiting to board the ship. "I hope all these people are nice," I whispered to Kristy with a giggle, "because they're going on to Disney World with us. We have to live with them for a week!"
"More important," said Kristy, "you and Claudia and I are going to be sharing a room for a week."
"We'll be bunkies, like at camp," I said.
"I hope you don't mind a mess," said Kristy. "I'm not the neatest person in the world."
"No kidding," I replied. Kristy's locker at school was famous. It was one of the ones in which you might find a four-month-old lunch. Her room was always a wreck. And she never wore a dress if she could help it. Just jeans and sneakers and stuff.
"Really," said Kristy. "I hope it won't bother you, since you're kind of, um, neat."
"Spotless," I said quickly.
"Well, it's only for a week," said Kristy. "How bad can it be?"
"Right," I said. "We'll both have to do a little compromising, that's all."
A little compromising might have worked just fine ... if our cabin hadn't been so tiny.
"If s Ч it's just like a hotel, isn't it?" I said brightly.