"Martin, Ann M - Baby-sitters Club 009 - The Ghost at Dawn's House" - читать интересную книгу автора (Martin Ann M)

"I want to sleep with you tonight!" wailed Andrew.
"Me, too!" cried Karen.
"Me, too!" cried David Michael.
Kristy admitted (but only to herself and later to the rest of us baby-sitters) that she was glad they wanted to sleep with her. And since she has this mammoth new bed in her room at Watson's, she figured they'd all fit. She hadn't counted on Boo-Boo and Louie joining them, but they did.
Kristy woke up the next morning when she heard whispering and snickering at her door. She blinked her eyes and struggled to sit up. Outside, the sun was shining. Next to her, Karen was sprawled on her back, her mouth open, and one arm slung across Andrew, who was sucking his thumb. On her other side, David Michael was snoring lightly. Louie and Boo-Boo were scrunched up at the end of the bed.
"Look at that!" whispered a voice.
Sam and Charlie were peering into Kristy's room, trying to control their laughter.
.^Kristy.whatwe^gu night?" exclaimed Sam. iou w SLce afraid o, : лhe storm, were youj
Хfci
fiercely.
"We were just . . ."
"Tust what?" asked Charlie.
," said Kristy. "It's a long story.
Chapter 8.
Okay, so Kristy had a bad night. Maybe it was because of my ghost stories, maybe not. But she wasn't the only one having trouble during the storm. Jeff and I had a little trouble of our own ... an adventure. And we weren't any braver about it than Kristy was with her adventure.
I did a strange thing after I found the secret passage. I didn't tell anyone about it. I'd been so excited Ч thinking I was like Nancy Drew and all Ч and then I was so scared when I realized the passageway had a ghost, that by the time I had climbed back into the barn and closed the trapdoor, I was totally confused. So I didn't call any of my friends to tell them the news, and I didn't show the passage to Jeff or my mom. I kept the secret to myself.
But on the night of the second big storm Ч
the night Kristy was baby-sitting for Andrew, Karen, and David Michael Ч I was sitting for Jeff, and the haunted passage was weighing on my mind.
My mother left at seven o'clock that evening to go out on a date with this man named Mr. Gwynne, which put me in a bad mood. I don't mind if Mom dates, as long as she dates Mary Anne's father. Mary Anne and I want to be stepsisters. But Mom had been going out with several different men. One of them was the son of friends of my grandparents, two were from her office, and a couple more were men she'd met at some party. I didn't like any of them, and I didn't want any of them for a stepfather. (I only wanted Mr. Spier, because of Mary Anne.) Jeff didn't like any of the new men, either.
Tonight, Mom was going out with the son of my grandparents' friends. They were going to have dinner in a restaurant, then go to Granny and Pop-Pop's for dessert. I didn't like the sound of that Ч much too serious.
So I wasn't in a very good mood as my mom was rushing out the door. Usually I check her over to make sure nothing is mismatched or out of place. But that evening, I sulked in the living room and didn't look at her. If I'd looked at her and seen something wrong, I'd have to
have told her. I couldn't let her go out wearing one hoop earring and one pearl earring, or just one false eyelash or something. But I figured that what I didn't know wouldn't hurt me Ч or her (much).
"I'm leaving, kids!" Mom called from the front door.
'"Bye," I said. I was sitting in an armchair, facing away from her. I didn't turn around.
"If it rains, close the windows."
'"Kay."
"Dawn? Everything all right, honey?"
"Yup."
Mom hesitated. I couldn't see her, but I could feel that she was hesitating.
Jeff came crashing down the stairs, taking about three steps at a time.
"'Bye, Mom," he said.
"'Bye, honey. I just told Dawn Ч close the windows if it rains. Oh, and there's a casserole in the fridge. Remember, Dawn's in charge."
"Good-bye, Mom," I said pointedly.
Mom took the hint and left, and then I felt really bad.
Jeff didn't notice. "Let's eat," he said.
"All right." Maybe it would take my mind off Mom and the ghost.
Jeff and I heated up the casserole and made
a salad. We ate our supper in front of the TV, watching a rerun of All in the Family.
"I hate this show," I commented.
"Me, too," Jeff replied.
"Why are we watching it?"
"I don't know. Because it's Ч "
CRASH/
Thunder. Then rain poured down without warning.
"Windows!" I cried. We abandoned our meal and ran around, closing windows.
Then we tried to eat again, but we had no sooner settled down in front of the TV than the electricity went off. Since it was almost dark outside, it was pitch black inside.
"Yipes!" cried Jeff.
"I wonder if it's off everywhere or just in our neighborhood," 1 said. Or maybe, I thought, it's just us. I shivered.
We stood at the front door and looked up and down our street. No lights anywhere, so the power was off in the neighborhood, at least.
Maybe my mother would have to come home. Maybe the rest of her date would be off, along with the electricity. The thought cheered me.