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

I knocked on the door to Stacey's cabin and then on the boys' door. The kids met in the hall.
"So what does everyone want to do?" I asked.
"Go exploring," said Nicky.
"Go swimming," said Claire.
"Go eat," said Byron, who's always hungry.
"Play video games," said Adam.
"Look at the ocean," said Mallory dreamily.
"Find a candy machine," said Margo.
"Read," said Vanessa.
"Look for people wearing goofy bathing caps and laugh at them," said Jordan.
"Well, I've got news," Stacey spoke up. "Your mom and dad said that you older ones Ч Mal-lory, Byron, Adam, and Jordan Ч don't have to stick with an adult. You can go off on your own as long as you behave yourselves."
"Awesome!" exclaimed the triplets, and they started to run off.
"Behaving yourselves," I called after them, "means no running and no laughing at people. Got it?"
The boys slowed down. "Got it," said Adam solemnly. Then he grinned devilishly at his brothers. They headed down the corridor.
Oh, brother, I thought. Please just let them stay out of major trouble.
Mallory asked to go off by herself, so Stacey and I decided to divide up the four remaining Pikes. Since the idea of exploring seemed kind of interesting, I chose Nicky. Then, "Vanessa?" I said. "You don't really want to read right now, do you? Come on and take a look at the ship."
"All right," she agreed.
&&& d/rw,
Nicky, Vanessa, and I headed off in one direction, and Stacey, Margo, and Claire in another Ч in search of a candy machine and a swimming pool.
"Let's start on the very bottom deck and work our way up," I suggested. "We'll see what's on every deck."
"Great," said Vanessa and Nicky. And we did just that.
The bottom deck, which was called the Island Deck, turned out to be rather dull. "Just cabins," commented Nicky, sounding disappointed.
The next level, the Dolphin Deck, wasn't much better. Our cabins and the purser's office were there. That was all.
"What's a purser?" asked Nicky as we climbed the stairs to the third level.
"He's the officer in charge of money," I told him.
"Could I ask him for a loan? Just a couple of bucks?"
"I doubt it," I said, smiling.
The third level, the Providence Deck, was a bit better. We found more cabins, but we also found the ship's doctor, the infirmary, and a large restaurant called The Pirates' Den.
"Whoa," said Nicky, gazing around at the pirates' hats and swords and eyepatches that decorated the walls of the restaurant. "I hope we get to eat in here."
"But," said Vanessa warily as we passed the infirmary, "I hope we don't have to go in there."
The Coastal Deck was where we found the Flamingo Cay Restaurant, the barbershop, and the Seven Seas Beauty Salon, as well as more cabins.
"Ooh, Mary Anne," said Vanessa, as we stepped inside the beauty salon. "Look, you can get your nails painted Ч even your toe-nails!"
"Yeah," I replied vaguely. I was looking at a girl who was standing at the appointment desk, apparently waiting for someone to help her. She had masses of dark, wavy hair that cascaded over her shoulders and partway down her back, and she was wearing one of the skimpiest bikinis I'd ever seen. Even though she looked just a little older than me, she had a figure that filled out the top of the bikini nicely.
"Wow," I said softly. I was highly impressed.
The girl turned around then, and I blushed.
d/rmt.
I hoped she hadn't overheard me. That would have been too, too embarrassing.
But when she saw me, all she did was smile and say, "Honestly, traveling alone is such a bore. I have to do everything for myself Ч make hair appointments, talk to the purser. Have you ever traveled alone?"
I shook my head.
"Well, I don't recommend it," said the girl. "It's bad enough that my parents got ki Ч "
"Alexandra Carmody?" interrupted a young woman who had stepped up to the desk. "Lynnette is ready for you now."
"Oh, thank you," said Alexandra. She turned to me. "Excuse me. I've got to go. I have to get ready for my date tonight." Alexandra followed one of the hairdressers to a row of sinks.
I stared after her, openmouthed. What had she been about to say to me? That her parents had been killed? How horrible! Maybe that wasn't it at all, though. Maybe she was going to say ... I couldn't think of another word that began with "ki" that made sense, though. Kicked? Kissed? Nah.
Imagine that. An orphan. Plus, she was so sophisticated. I could never, I decided, never
in a million, billion years, be as sophisticated as Alexandra Carmody. Alexandra was even more sophisticated than Stacey or Claudia.
"Mary Anne?" Nicky was tugging at my hand. "Come on," he said. "This is boring. Let's go."
We continued our explorations. On the Tropical Deck we found a stage and theater for live productions, a casino with slot machines ("For adults only," I noted sadly), a room full of video games ("Awesome!" exclaimed both Vanessa and Nicky), a lounge, a pub, and a little restaurant called the Moonlight Cafe.
"This is my favorite deck so far," announced Vanessa, and I had to agree.
"I'm not going to say which is my favorite until we've seen them all," said Nicky wisely.
And after we'd toured the sixth level, the Moondance Deck, he said, "Well, this sure isn't my favorite." The Moondance Deck contained only luxury cabins, the children's recreation room, and a children's pool. "Baby stuff," Nicky scoffed as we passed the kids' areas.