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

"A sort of a minuscule hotel," added Kristy.
"Yeah, I hope there's room for all my stuff," said Claudia. Claudia had brought along more suitcases than anyone else on the trip. She dumped them on a bed, opened them, and began hanging things up in the closet.
"Leave some room for us!" I exclaimed. I glanced at Kristy, but Kristy wasn't paying attention.
"This room is little, but it's cute," she said.
"Two bunk beds, two dressers, a desk, four little chairs. Hey! Everything's bolted to the floor!"
"Oh, wow!" I cried. "I guess thafs in case the ship starts rolling around. Gosh, look at all this great free stuff. They even left mints on our pillows!" I opened the door to the bathroom. "And in here is soap. Oh, and little bottles of shampoo."
"Look at this!" called Kristy. "Four new decks of playing cards Ч with the Ocean Princess on the backs."
Kristy removed the cellophane from around the cards and dropped it on the floor. I picked it up and threw it in a wastebasket.
Kristy changed her shirt and slung the dirty one over a chair. I folded it and placed it on Kristy's suitcase.
Kristy folded her arms across her chest. "Are you going to do this all week?" she asked me.
"Maybe," I replied.
Kristy crossed her eyes at me, and we both started laughing.
A low, booming sound filled the air.
"Hey, that's the ship's whistle!" I cried. "We're leaving! Lef s go watch!"
"But I'm not unpacked yet," said Claudia.
"Forget it," I told her. "You don't want to miss this. Believe me."
We dashed out of our cabin and found Mary Anne, Stacey, Karen Brewer, and five of the Pikes in the narrow hallway. We all ran outside to the nearest deck railing.
A crowd stood on the dock below, waving to the people on the ship. "Good-bye! Goodbye!" we called, even though we didn't know anyone.
The people on the dock were waving and calling out things like "Bon voyage!" and "Have a great trip!" and "See you in a week!" One woman shouted, "Jimmy, don't you dare forget to change your underwear!" And another woman was silently waving a handkerchief. Tears glistened in her eyes.
Then someone behind me tossed out a streamer, which unrolled as it went over the side of the ship. Someone else threw a handful of confetti. Then more and more until it was snowing little colored pieces of paper. It was noisy and confusing and exciting.
Slowly the boat pulled away from the dock. When the faces in the crowd grew so distant that they melted together, my friends and I returned to our cabins. But before Kristy and
Claudia entered ours, I said, "Let's find out where everyone else's cabins are. I know we're all here in this hallway."
We began peeking in doorways. We found Kristy's brothers in the cabin on our right, and Watson, Karen, Andrew, and Kristy's mom in the cabin on our left. The Pikes, Mary Anne, and Stacey took up the four cabins next to Kristy's brothers.
"We've got almost the whole corridor to ourselves!" exclaimed Claudia. "Pretty cool."
"Well, let's go tidy up our cabin," I suggested brightly.
"Now?" replied Kristy. "What's wrong with it?"
"Girls, girls," Claudia jumped in. "Lighten up. This is our vacation, Dawn. We're not supposed to spend it cleaning. It's also only the first day of our vacation. I hope you two aren't going to argue for the rest of the week. It'll drive me crazy."
"You're right," said Kristy. "I'm sorry. But I don't like it when people pick up after me."
"I didn't mean to," I said. "I mean, I didn't mean to bug you. Listen, if you two don't mind, I'm going to go exploring." I turned around to check the number on our cabin door.
Then I walked off. I hoped I'd be able to find my way back later without too much trouble. It would be awfully embarrassing to get lost and need someone to show me to Cabin P7.
I left the corridor, turned a couple of corners, and climbed a short flight of stairs. Then I pushed through a doorway, tripped, pitched forward, and ran directly into the most absolutely gorgeous, handsome, perfect, wonderful boy I have ever laid eyes on.
"Oh, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry," I exclaimed as we sorted ourselves out. "I wasn't look Ч I mean, I wasn't pay Ч "
"That's okay," said the boy, grinning.
His grin was as gorgeous and handsome and perfect and wonderful as the rest of him. Why aren't there guys like him at Stoneybrook Middle School? I wondered. The boy's eyes were a deep brown and they searched mine intently, as though, maybe, he could read my thoughts if he concentrated hard enough. His teeth, which I'd noticed when he smiled, were even except for a space between the top two middle ones. The space was cute. And his hair, which was the last thing I noticed (mostly because I felt as if my blue eyes were locked to his brown ones) was light brown and very
straight Ч until the ends, where it curled into little tendrils.
"Some ship, huh?" said the boy.
"I'll say," I agreed. We'd reached one of the outside decks, and we leaned against the railing, gazing at the sparkling ocean.
"I can't believe all the great stuff that's on board."
"Me neither," I replied. The boy and I smiled at each other. "I'm traveling with my friends," I said. "A whole big group of us. Who are you traveling with?"
The boy didn't answer. He looked at his watch. "Oh, wow, I've really got to get going. I... I promised I'd come right back. See you." And he turned and strode away, leaving me alone at the railing.
What did I do wrong? I wondered. Was my question totally boring? . . . And then I thought, I don't care if it was. That was the most gorgeous guy I've ever seen, and I'm not going to let him get away. At least, not this easily. This is a dream vacation, and I've just found my dream boy!
Mary Anne.
"Um, Vanessa, could you please hurry up? Just a little?" I asked patiently. Vanessa Pike is the slowest person I've ever met. Mrs. Pike once told me that she sometimes has to wake Vanessa twenty minutes before the rest of the Pike kids in order for her to get ready for school on time, and even so, she's usually the last kid out the door.
"I'm hurrying. Really I am," said Vanessa. "I just have to lace my sneakers up."
At least she's not talking in rhymes, I thought, which was what she did during the entire two weeks we spent in Sea City. (Vanessa wants to be a poet when she grows up.)
Vanessa slowly pulled the lace of one shoe through an eyelet. She stopped to untwist it, then pulled it through the next eyelet.
I glanced at Mallory, who was sharing a
cabin with Vanessa and me. Without a word, we lunged for Vanessa. We each grabbed a foot and laced her sneakers for her. I didn't know what my friends or the rest of the Pikes were up to, but I wasn't about to spend half the day waiting for Vanessa to lace her shoes.
"Let's go see what everyone wants to do," I suggested. "Come on, you guys."
Vanessa and Mallory and I left our cabin. Next door was the cabin Stacey was sharing with Claire and Margo. Next door to them was the boys' cabin. The triplets and Nicky had been given a room to themselves. I had a feeling this wasn't a very safe arrangement, but it was the best one the Pikes could work out. Besides, the boys' room adjoined their parents', so how much trouble could they get into?