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

Timothy opened his mouth, but before any words escaped, Alexandra said, "There's probably a lot you don't know about Timothy."
I couldn't help it: I took the bait. "Like what?" I asked.
"Like who our parents are," said the girl.
"Oh, yeah. Well, I guess they'd be Viv and
Vernon Carmody," I said slowly. (Mary Anne had told me everything about Alex. But neither of us had realized that Alex's brother was Timothy.)
The girl raised her eyebrows. "So you've talked to her already, Timothy. Good for you. And see? She still likes you." Alexandra looked at me. "I told Tim he'd have to confess about the Secret Admirer stuff before the trip ended. It was only fair," she added.
"You're Timothy's sister?" exclaimed another voice.
Mary Anne was at my elbow. My head was spinning. The parade was marching by and we were all missing it.
"Well, I tried to tell you that," Alexandra said indignantly to Mary Anne. "But you wouldn't let me."
I looked from Mary Anne to Alexandra to Timothy with my mouth open. (Timothy just kept staring at the ground.)
"You mean you were going to tell me the truth?" Mary Anne said to Alexandra.
"Yes."
Mary Anne paused. Then, "Why do you lie so much?" she asked.
'To get attention," Alexandra replied matter-of-factly. "And to make life a little more interesting. For the same reasons Timothy spies on people and hides in coiled-up rope and stuff. Makes things interesting. When you're the children of Viv and Vernon Carmody, you tend to get lost in the shuffle. You have to find ways to ... to ..."
Mary Anne was frowning. "But how come you didn't just tell the truth?" she interrupted. "It's certainly as interesting as your lies."
Alexandra looked puzzled. "I don't know," she said at last.
"Well, tell me the truth about one more thing," Mary Anne went on. "No, two more things."
"Okay."
"Do you know Spider?"
"Yes. I was telling the truth the first time."
"And he's not on this trip?"
"No way."
"Ooh," said Mary Anne. "Wait'11 I get my hands on Mallory. I thought it was weird that no one ever saw Spider after she did." Then she looked at Alexandra, and Alexandra looked at Mary Anne, and they burst out laughing.
It looked like Mary Anne was going to forgive her after all.
I turned my attention away from the hyenas. During their entire conversation I'd kept hearing Alexandra's words: "I told Tim he'd have to confess about the Secret Admirer stuff. ..."
I put my hand on Timothy's arm. "What Secret Admirer stuff?" I asked gently.
Timothy shook his head. "I was going to tell you/' he said. "I really was. Honest. After the parade or something. ..." His voice trailed off.
"You're my Secret Admirer?"
Timothy nodded.
"So why did you let me think you weren't?"
"Because ... I don't know. In case you thought the Secret Admirer thing was dumb, I guess."
I wasn't sure what to say.
"I mean," Timothy rushed on, "I found out pretty quickly that you really liked the idea of the Secret Admirer. But by then it was too late. I'd already made up that story about seeing a redheaded guy run by." He paused. "Are you mad?"
"No," I answered quickly. "I'm . . ." What
was I? I had to admit that I was a little disappointed. My Secret Admirer wasn't Spider, (although I hadn't really thought he might be). He wasn't a mysterious foreigner or a lonely prince. He wasn't even secret anymore. Furthermore, Timothy had lied to me. His lying was different from his sister's, since he'd done it with good intentions, and probably because he was shy. Still, he had lied.
I felt fooled.
"I feel fooled," I told him.
Timothy put his arm around me. "I'm really sorry," he said. "Remember that first day we met, when you were trying to figure out why your admirer wanted to be secret, and I suggested it was because he was afraid you wouldn't like him?"
"Yes."
"Well, I was talking about me, of course."
"How could you think anyone wouldn't like you?" I asked.
Timothy smiled. "Thafs exactly what I needed to hear," he said. "So you're not mad?"
"To quote you," I replied, "naw. . . . Hey, whaf s all this about spying on people and hiding in coiled-up rope?"
Timothy grinned. "Have you ever tried it?
Spying, I mean? If s great. You'd be amazed what you can find out. You just have to be agile Ч and ready to run if you think you're going to get caught."
I burst out laughing. "So you've been hiding in places and running away? The Pike kids thought there was a stowaway on the Ocean Princess. They must have seen you!" Timothy laughed. "I don't believe it!" "Oh, no," I said. "Guess what. We just missed the whole parade." The last float was disappearing down the street. The people
around us were wandering away.
"But we didn't miss the fireworks/' Timothy replied.^ We walked around the park for awhile. At 10:00 the sky suddenly exploded into showers of pink and yellow and blue and green sparks.
Timothy and I watched in silence. When the last boom had sounded, Timothy cupped my face in his hands and gently kissed my lips.
Kristy called a late meeting of the Babysitters Club that night. "Just a short one," she said on the way back to the hotel. "We're all tired. But we need to have one more meeting before the trip is over."