"Martin, Ann M - Baby-sitters Club 004 - Mary Anne Saves the Day" - читать интересную книгу автора (Martin Ann M)

I wondered whether it was safe to approach Claudia. After all, she had wanted to make up with Kristy. But just then, the bell rang.
Claudia disappeared into her homeroom; I disappeared into mine.
The morning passed slowly. I couldn't concentrate. In my head, I wrote notes of apology to my friends. I realized that I must still be mad at them, though, because some of the notes weren't very nice:
Dear Stacey,
I'm really, really sorry you called me a shy, little baby. I hope you're sorry, too. . . .
Dear Kristy,
I'm sorry you're the biggest, bossiest know-it-all in the world, but what can I do about it? Have you considered seeking professional help?
Dear Claudia,
I'm sorry I called you a stuck-up job-hog. You don't deserve that, and I didn't really mean it. I hope you can forgive me.
Love, Mary Anne
Now that was a note I could send.
In English class, I finished my work early. I carefully removed a fresh piece of looseleaf paper from the middle of my notebook, and took my special cartridge pen from my purse. The cartridge was filled with peacock-blue ink, and the nib on the pen made my handwriting look like scrolly, swirly calligraphy.
Slowly, making sure each word looked perfect and was spelled correctly, I printed the note to Claudia. Then I waved it back and forth to dry the ink, folded it twice (making the creases straight and even), and tucked it in my purse. I would give it to her at lunchtime.
My knees felt weak as I made my way to the cafeteria a few minutes later. I'd know right away whether Stacey and Claudia had made up, or if they were still mad, too. They always sat with the same kids Ч a sophisticated group that included boys.
The first thing I did when I entered the cafeteria was look around to see what was what with my friends. I found Claudia and Stacey's table. There was the usual bunch, or almost the usual bunch: Pete, Howie, Rick, Dori, Emily, and Stacey. But no Claudia.
So. Claudia and Stacey hadn't made up, either.
I scanned the lunchroom and finally found Claudia. She was sitting with Trevor Sand-bourne. Just the two of them. Trevor is this boy she likes and goes out with sometimes. Claudia was leaning on her elbows, her hair falling over her shoulders, whispering to Trevor. He was listening with a smile on his face. They looked very private and very cozy.
I edged around a crowded table toward the one where Kristy and I always sit with the Shillaber twins, Mariah and Miranda. It was a round table with four chairs, perfect for our little group. But halfway there, I stopped. Kristy and the twins were already at the table. They had spread their lunches everywhere so that there wasn't an inch of available space. Furthermore, they'd removed the fourth chair, or lent it to a crowded table, or something. It didn't matter what. The point was that they hadn't saved a place for me.
I watched my friends for a moment. Kristy was facing me. She was talking away a mile a minute and Mariah and Miranda were giggling.
Kristy glanced up and saw me. She began talking even more earnestly. Then she gestured for the twins to lean toward her, and she made a great show of whispering in their ears and laughing loudly.
I turned around.
Suddenly I felt like a new kid at school. I didn't know who else to sit with. Ever since middle school began, I'd been eating with Kristy, Mariah, and Miranda.
I knew that if Kristy were in my shoes, she'd just join some other group of kids, even if she didn't know them very well. But I'd die of
embarrassment first. I could never do that.
I walked around the cafeteria until I found an empty table. I plopped down in a chair and opened my lunchbag. Since I pack my own lunch, I never have to eat things I don't like, such as liverwurst sandwiches. On the other hand, there are never any surprises. Treats, yes; surprises, no.
I spread a paper napkin on the table and arranged my lunch on it: peanut butter sandwich, apple juice in a box, potato chips, banana. I looked it over and realized I wasn't hungry.
I was still staring at it when a voice next to me said, "Excuse me, could I sit here?"
I glanced up. Standing uncertainly by my side was a tall girl with the blondest hair I had ever seen. It was so pale it was almost white, and it hung, straight and silky, to her rear end.
"Sure," I said, waving my hand at all the empty chairs.
She sat down with a sigh, placing a tray in front of her. I looked at her lunch and decided I was glad I had brought mine. I knew Stacey and Claudia think Kristy and I are babies because we still bring our lunches to school, but the macaroni casserole on the girl's tray looked really disgusting. And it was sur-
rounded by mushy, bright orange carrots, a limp salad, and a roll that you'd need a chain saw to slice.
The girl smiled shyly at me. "You must be new, too," she said.
"New?" I blushed. Why else would I be sitting alone? "Oh," I stammered, "um, no. It's just Ч my friends are all... absent today."
"Oh." The girl sounded disappointed.
"Are Ч are you new?" I asked after a moment.
She nodded. "This is my second day here. Nobody ever wants the new kid to sit at their table. And I feel embarrassed sitting alone. I thought I'd found the perfect solution Ч'another new kid."
I smiled. "Well, I don't mind if you sit with me. Even if I'm not new."
The girl smiled back. She wasn't exactly pretty, I decided, but she was pleasant, which was more important. Especially considering three unpleasant people I could think of.
"My name's Dawn," she said. "Dawn Schafer."
"Dawn," I repeated. "That's such a pretty name. I'm Mary Anne Spier."
"Hi, Mary Anne Spier." Dawn's blue eyes, which were almost as pale as her hair, sparkled happily.
"Did you just move here?" I asked. "Or did you switch schools or something?"
"Just moved here," she replied. "Last week." She began to eat slowly and methodically, taking first a bite of macaroni stuff, then a bite of carrots, then a bite of salad. She worked her way around the plate in a circle. "Our house is still a mess," she went on. "Packing cartons everywhere. Yesterday it took me twenty minutes to find my brother for dinner."
I giggled. At that moment, I happened to look up and see Kristy across the cafeteria. She was watching me. As soon as I caught her eye, she began talking to Mariah and Miranda again, making it look as if they were having the time of their lives without me.
Well, two can play that game, I thought. Even though I have never been much good at talking to people I don't know well, I leaned across the table and put my head next to Dawn's conspiratorially.
"You want to know who the weirdest kid in school is?"
She nodded eagerly.
He happened to be sitting at the table next to Kristy's. I took advantage of that to point in her direction. "It's Alexander Kurtzman. The one wearing the three-piece suit. See him?" I whispered.
Dawn nodded.
"Don't ever try to butt in front of him on the lunch line. Don't even try to get in back of him, unless he's at the end of the line. His hobby is obeying rules."