"Martin, Ann M - Baby-sitters Club Mystery 016 - Claudia and the Clue in the Photograph" - читать интересную книгу автора (Martin Ann M)
Janine pulled the door open and poked her
head inside. Light from the hallway flooded into the darkroom. "What did you say?"
" Ч or you'll ruin my film," I finished, slapping the lid onto the tank as quickly as I could.
Janine put her hand over her mouth. "Oh, no!" she said. "I'm so sorry, Claud! I didn't realize Ч "
"It's okay," I said, even though I was pretty upset. It was easy to see that Janine felt terrible. "I might be able to salvage the negatives."
Janine apologized about three hundred times more and then, .finally, she left. I shut the door behind her, promising myself to make a Darkroom in Use sign for it, and looked at the tank. If I was lucky, there might be a few frames on the roll that hadn't been destroyed. Stacey would be coming over that afternoon for our BSC meeting, and if I hurried, I might be able to show her some negatives from our "fashion shoot." I turned up the radio and settled down to work.
Chapter 2.
By five-twenty that afternoon, I had not only finished developing the film, but I had also done my math homework. (Yea, Claud!) The negatives were pretty much ruined. There was a gray fog covering almost every shot. With careful work, I might be able to print parts of each picture, but the fact was, it would be easier just to shoot the whole roll over again. I knew Stacey wouldn't mind posing for me one more time. She had loved playing model.
I was sitting at my desk, looking over the negatives with a loupe (thatТs a special kind of magnifying glass) when I glanced at my dock and realized my friends would start arriving any minute for our BSC meeting. I put the negatives away and picked up my camera. While I was working in the darkroom, I'd been thinking over what Mr. Geist had said about creating portraits, and I'd come up with
a great idea. See, Mr. Geist had talked about "capturing the essence" of a person on film. A good picture of somebody shouldn't just show what they look like, he said, it should show what they are like. So my idea was to take a picture of each of my friends as they entered my room, as an exercise in making portraits.
I would use black-and-white film, so I could develop it myself. Black-and-white is best for portraits, anyway. All the best photographers use it. I couldn't wait to see whether my quick shots would capture my friends' personalities.
Just as I was taking the lens cap off my camera, I heard the front door slam. Then I heard footsteps thumping up the stairs, and I knew by their sound that Kristy Thomas was about to arrive. Quickly, I aimed the camera at the door to my room, focused, and set the correct exposure for the amount of light. As I peered through the viewfinder, Kristy appeared, framed by the doorway. "Say cheese!" I called out quickly.
Kristy stopped in her tracks, gave me a huge grin, and shot me the peace sign with both hands. Snap!
Perfect. The picture would show what Kristy looks like: short, with dark hair and eyes Ч they're brown, really Ч dressed in running shoes, jeans, and a T-shirt (Kristy's uniform!).
But it also definitely captured Kristy's essence. Confident, outgoing, and full of energy; thatТs Kristy. She's president of the BSC, and with good reason. For one thing, she came up with the idea for the dub. And for another, she keeps adding plenty of other great ideas to make the BSC even better. The BSC started taking shape one day when mom was trying to find a sitter for younger brother, David Michael. (Kristy also has two older brothers, Charlie and Sam.) At the time, Mrs. Thomas was going it alone as a single mom, since Kristy's dad had walked out on the family years earlier. Anyway, Kristy watched her mom make call after call without success, and thatТs when she came up with the idea for the BSC. She figured parents would love it if they could make one phone call and be guaranteed a responsible sitter. And she was right. Boy, was she right. Our dub now meets three times a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, from five-thirty until six. During those times, parents can call to set up sitting jobs. Using our dub record book, we can figure out who's free and schedule the jobs. ItТs as simple as that. The club's been a success right from the start, but Kristy couldn't leave well enough alone. She had to add more ideas, like the dub notebook, in which we each write up every job we
go on. This is my favorite thing about the BSC Ч not! Actually, it drives me crazy, because I'm not the world's best speller, and I'm sometimes embarrassed by my entries. Still, I have to admit that knowing the details of whatТs going on in our clients' lives makes us all better sitters.
Another patented Kristy Thomas idea? Kid-Kits. Those are boxes full of toys, stickers, and games we bring along on jobs. I just redecorated mine to look like a pirate ship. Kids love Kid-Kits.
Kristy knows what kids love, since kids are a big part of her life. Her mom remarried not that long ago, and when she did, Kristy's family doubled in size. Her stepfather, Watson Brewer, happens to be a millionaire Ч really! And Kristy moved across town to live in his mansion. He has two kids, Karen and Andrew, from his first marriage. They live at Kristy's house every other month. Also, Kristy has a new adopted sister, Emily Michelle, who's Vietnamese. So that mansion is pretty full, especially when you add in Kristy's grandmother Nannie, who came to live mere and help out after Emily Michelle arrived, and all the pets (a puppy, a cat, two goldfish, and two part-time pets, a rat and a hermit crab).
"How's Ms. Vice-President today?" asked
Kristy, after she'd taken her usual seat in the director's chair near my desk.
I'm vice-president of the BSC. I was unanimously elected to that position because of one important thing: I'm the only member who has her own phone, with a private line. Besides answering the phone and arranging jobs during non-meeting times, my only other duty seems to be providing snacks for meetings. (That day I had dug out a box of jawbreakers, a package of Fig Newtons, and some pretzels.)
"I'm fine," I said, answering Kristy's question. Then I held up a finger. "The door just slammed again. I bet thatТs Stacey. I hear her clogs." Stacey just got this really cool pair of blue suede dogs. We had featured them in the fashion shoot. I raised the camera to my eye and waited.
Sure enough, Stacey walked in a minute .later. "Do the Vogue'!" I cried. Without hesitating, Stacey struck a pose, tilting her face to the camera and letting her blonde, curly hair tumble down her back. Snap!
Right away, I was sure that anybody looking at the picture I'd just taken would know Stacey McGill. There she was, looking gorgeous and sophisticated, dressed in a totally up-to-the-minute outfit. ThatТs Stacey. She grew up in Manhattan, and she still has that urban chic.
Stacey is the BSCs treasurer, and she's the perfect person for the job. Get this Ч she actually likes math class! She has a ball collecting our dues, adding up all the bucks, and then portioning them out for things like my phone bill and transportation costs (her brother Charlie drives her to meetings). I wouldn't take that job if you paid me a million dollars, but Stacey does it just for the fun of it. I guess it takes all kinds.
If you looked very carefully at the picture of Stacey, you might be able to see a certain glow. ThatТs because she has a boyfriend these days, named Robert. I'm happy for her, I really am. But I have to admit I'm also a little bit jealous. First, because I'd like a boyfriend, too. I've even gone so far as to advertise for one, in this personals column I run for our school paper! But also because Stacey has been spending a lot of time with Robert. We had a big fight about that recently, but of course we made up. We always do. ThatТs how best friends operate.
One thing you "wouldn't be able to tell about Stacey, just by looking at the picture, is that
she has diabetes. Diabetes is a lifetime thing, but it doesn't show. I would never have known if Stacey hadn't told us all. Diabetes is a complicated disease to explain, and since I'm not exactly Doctor Science, I'll just say that Stacey's body doesn't handle sugar well, so she has to be very careful about what she eats. Plus, she has to give herself shots (ouch!) of this stuff called insulin, just to keep things working right. Diabetes is a very serious disease, but Stacey handles it well.
For example, that afternoon, after she had stopped posing and flopped down on my bed, Stacey helped herself to a pretzel, ignoring the Jawbreakers and Fig Newtons. Then she smiled up at me. "Better focus on the door again," she said. "Somebody else is coming."
Sure enough, I heard footsteps on the stairs. Kristy, Stacey, and I listened for a second. The footsteps weren't as "thumpy" as KristyТs had been. In fact, they sounded a bit tentative.
"Mary Anne!" we all said at the same time. I picked up the camera again and focused. When Mary Anne walked in and saw me looking at her through the camera, she immediately threw her hands over her face. Snap!
Another perfect shot. The picture would show Mary Anne's short dark hair (she and Kristy, her best friend, have similar coloring,
but Mary Anne has a much cooler haircut) and her carefully chosen outfit (not too trendy, but much more thought-out than KristyТs ). But it would also show something about Mary Anne's personality. If I had to choose one word to describe Mary Anne Spier, it would be this: shy. If I could pick a few more words, I'd add: sensitive, good listener, romantic, and totally sweet.
She's also an excellent dub secretary. Mary Anne is in charge of the BSC record book, and she does a great job, keeping track of all our schedules and jobs.
Mary Anne grew up as the only child of a widower. Her mother died when Mary Anne was very young, and Mr. Spier brought her up all by himself. Now", I've known Mary Anne (and Kristy, too, for that matter) all my life, and I have to say I've seen her go through some big changes. For one thing, her dad was very overprotective for a long time. He treated her like a little girl until she was at least twelve. But Mary Anne isn't a little girl anymore, and I think her dad knows that now. She has a steady boyfriend (a total sweetheart named Logan Bruno), and a mind of her own. Plus, like Kristy, Mary Anne also has a new family. Her dad remarried, and his wife Ч and Mary Anne's stepmother Ч happens to be the mother of another BSC member, Dawn
Schafer, who is Mary Anne's other best friend. If I could snap a picture of Dawn, it would show a pretty, self-assured girl with long, long blonde hair and a sunny smile. She'd probably be wearing something casual but cool.
How Dawn became Mary Anne's stepsister Ч and why I can't snap a picture of her Ч is kind of a complicated story, so stay with me, okay? Here goes. Dawn's mom grew up in Stoneybrook, and dated Mr. Spier when they were both in high school. Then, she moved out to California, got married, and had two kids (Dawn and her younger brother Jeff). Unfortunately, the marriage didn't last, and after the divorce Dawn's mom moved back to Stoneybrook, with Jeff and Dawn in tow.
Dawn and Mary Anne became instant friends, discovered that their parents used to date, and brought them back together. Eventually, Richard (Mary Anne's dad) and Sharon (Dawn's mom) got married, and the two families settled into the old farmhouse where Dawn and her mom had been living. Sounds like a case of happily ever after, right?
Well, not exactly. I mean, they are happy, but there's more to the story. First, even before the wedding, Dawn's brother decided that he'd never adjust to living in Stoneybrook. He ended up going back to California to live with
his dad. Then, not too long ago, Dawn realized that she was really, really missing Jeff and her dad, so she headed out there, too. Not forever, though. Just for a long visit. We all miss her, but I know Mary Anne misses her most of all.
When Dawn is in Stoneybrook, her BSC job is alternate officer. That means she can cover for any other officer who can't make it to a meeting. While Dawn's away, her position has been temporarily taken by Shannon Kilbourne, who is ordinarily one of our associate members. The other is Logan Bruno, Mary AnneТs heartthrob. A photo of him would show a curly-haired, long-legged, very cute guy. It wouldn't show his adorable Kentucky accent, though. Associate members, by the way, don't always come to meetings. ThatТs why I couldn't take a picture of Logan that day. He usually just helps out when we have too many jobs to handle.
Anyway, Shannon walked in right behind Mary Anne that afternoon, and I barely had time to raise my camera again. But fortunately, she stopped in the doorway for a second and glanced around the room. Snap!
I had her. Shannon has Monde hair, a ski-jump nose, and a mischievous twinkle in her eye. But she also has a serious side Ч she's one of the best students at her private school
Ч and it would show in that snapshot. None of us knew Shannon too well until she started to come to meetings more regularly. She lives in Kristy's new neighborhood and, as I mentioned, she doesn't go to SMS. But now that we know her, we all like her a lot. Plus, she has two little sisters, so she's great with kids, an important requirement for a BSC member.
Shannon had barely reached her seat on the floor near the foot of my bed, when I heard more footsteps, plus a gale of giggles, coming from the stairway. I aimed the camera quickly, and shot our junior officers Jessi Ramsey and Mallory Pike as, still giggling, they squeezed through the door together. Snap! Snap!
Those two pictures would tell a lot. For one thing, both girls were in both pictures, and that's typical. Jessi and Mal stick together like glue, since they're best friends. Here's what else the photos would tell: that they're a little younger than the rest of the BSC members (we're thirteen, they're^ eleven), that Mal has curly hair and glasses (you wouldn't see her braces in the picture, since they're the clear kind, and you'd miss the fact that her hair is reddish-brown) and that Jessi is African-American, with the prettiest coal-dark eyes. You'd see the pile of books Mal was carrying and guess that she loves to read. (So does Jessi. Horse stories are their favorites.) The
sketch pad on top of the pile might give you a due that Mal is a talented artist. And you'd know that Jessi has studied ballet for years, by the way she performed a quick but very graceful plie (thatТs French for, um, bend-the-knee) for the camera.
So, once again, I think I did pretty well at capturing those two. Here are some other things that wouldn't show up in the pictures: Jessi has a sweet younger sister named Becca and an adorable baby brother called Squirt (his real name is John Philip Ramsey, Jr.). She also has an Aunt Cecelia, who lives with the family. Mal has seven siblings: Adam, Jordan, Byron, Vanessa, Nicky, Margo, and Claire. Whew! Just saying their names makes me tired.
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