Mallory and the Trouble With Twins

  “Yeah, we are so lucky,” said her sister. “And from now on, when Mommy goes shopping, we’ll go with her. We’ll never have to wear yucky clothes again.”

  Don’t count on it, I thought, knowing how mothers can be. But Mrs. Arnold was going to try to be understanding. I was pretty sure of it.

  I looked at my watch. “Ten minutes until your mother will be back,” I said. “What do you want to do?”

  “Oh, please,” began Carolyn, “could we go to the ladies’ lounge in Bellair’s and put our new clothes on? Please? Then we could surprise Mommy when we meet her.”

  I didn’t see why not, so we returned to Bellair’s and told a sales clerk what we wanted to do. The clerk cut the price tags off of the clothes, and Marilyn and Carolyn did a quick change in the lounge. Then we dashed outside to the mailbox.

  No Mrs. Arnold yet. I took a moment to really look at the twins. With their new hairdos, they appeared more different than ever. And, I thought, they seemed to have changed from the terrible, troublesome twins into two sunny little girls whom I could tell apart even when they “matched.” I thought back to when I began sitting for them and wondered how I could ever not have been able to tell Marilyn from Carolyn. And I remembered what terrors they’d been and how I’d dreaded Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Now I looked forward to them — but my steady job would be over soon. I hoped Mrs. Arnold would need me to sit sometimes in the future. I’d take care of the troublesome twins any day!

  A few minutes later, Mrs. Arnold’s car pulled to a stop by the mailbox, and the twins and I scrambled inside. I wish I’d had a camera to capture the expressions on Mrs. Arnold’s face when she saw Marilyn and Carolyn. First she looked, well, almost horrified … then amazed … and finally pleased. I think she liked her daughters’ new appearances, but they would take some getting used to.

  I knew that the Arnolds, all of them, were going to be just fine.

  “Guess what, guess what, guess what!”

  “What?” I cried. Jessi’s voice was at the other end of our phone, and I had never, and I mean never, heard it so excited.

  “My parents said I can get my ears pierced!”

  “Oh, wow! That is awesome!” I screeched. “Now we can go together!”

  At the next meeting of the Baby-sitters Club, Jessi and I told the other girls our news.

  Claudia started to laugh. “You won’t believe this,” she said. “It must be ear-piercing season in Stoneybrook! I just got permission to have another hole pierced in one of my ears!”

  “You’re kidding!” I cried. “Then we should all have them done at the same time. Where are you going to have your ear done?”

  “I’m not sure…. ”

  “Hey,” said Kristy, “I’ve got an idea.”

  (Naturally.)

  “We haven’t had a club party in awhile. Instead of one, how about if we pay Charlie to drive us out to Washington Mall next Saturday. You three could have your ears pierced at that boutique, and then we could shop and eat lunch and stuff. You want to?”

  Of course we did.

  “Gosh,” said Claud, suddenly looking almost sad, “it’s too bad Stacey’s not here. She would love this. She’d probably have another hole pierced in one of her ears, too.”

  “Why don’t you call her?” suggested Kristy in a gentler-than-usual tone. “At least tell her what we’re going to do. I bet she’d want to know. Oh, but, um, well, why don’t you call her after the meeting so you don’t tie up the line?” (The old Kristy again.)

  “Okay,” agreed Claud glumly. Then she brightened. “Hey, Kristy, Mary Anne, Dawn — are you guys going to ask if you can have your ears pierced, too? You should. It would be fun.”

  “No way!” exclaimed Kristy. And Mary Anne shook her head. (Dawn shook hers, too, but she looked a little uncertain.)

  “My father won’t let me,” explained Mary Anne, “but we’ll definitely come with you,” she assured us.

  “Yeah. We wouldn’t miss it for the world!” said Dawn.

  * * *

  Five days later, Charlie Thomas was dropping us off at an entrance to Washington Mall. It was eleven o’clock in the morning. “See you at three!” he called as he drove off.

  Jessi, Dawn, Mary Anne, Claudia, Kristy, and I practically ran inside. I was so excited that my heart was pounding, and I could hear its beat in my ears.

  “What should we do first?” asked Kristy when we were in the center of the mall, surrounded by the stores and restaurants and exhibits.

  What were we going to do first? Weren’t we heading straight for the ear-piercing boutique? I’d waited more than eleven years for this moment. We weren’t going to postpone it … were we?

  I gave Kristy a tortured glance, and she laughed. “Just kidding. Of course we’re going to do ears first. Come on, everybody.”

  We headed for the boutique. On the way, Jessi grabbed my hand.

  “I’m getting scared,” she said.

  “Don’t be. I mean, try not to be. I think it’s going to be fine. You know, they freeze your ears with this spray before they pierce them, so you don’t feel anything. Well, you feel the punch, but it doesn’t hurt —”

  I stopped. The more I said, the worse Jessi looked.

  Claudia noticed her then and exclaimed, “Cheer up! This is fun. We’re going malling, you guys. We’ve never done this as a club!”

  Malling. It had a nice ring to it.

  Thirty seconds later, the six of us were gathered around the ear-piercing boutique. We were looking at the display of earrings.

  “May I help you?” asked a young woman. She was wearing a name tag that read “Sue,” and I was relieved to see that it wasn’t the same woman Claire had scared to death when she’d screamed, watching the ear-piercing with Margo and me.

  My friends looked at me, so I stepped forward. I was feeling pretty calm. I usually am calm. In fact, the more there is to be nervous about, the calmer I become.

  “I want to get my ears pierced, please,” I told Sue, “and so does she,” (I pointed to Jessi), “and she wants one more hole in one ear,” I added, indicating Claudia.

  “Very good.” Sue smiled. “Choose your earrings first. We suggest the simple gold studs, no large hoops or anything fancy.”

  “Okay,” I said.

  Jessi and I chose tiny gold balls and Claudia produced an earring she already owned, which Sue said she could use after it had been sterilized.

  “All right. Who’s first?” Sue wanted to know.

  My friends were grinning. Somebody nudged me forward. “Go on, Mal,” said Dawn. “Ear-piercing was your idea.”

  I hopped onto the stool. In a few minutes, my ears would be pierced. I would look so, so cool. I didn’t care what the piercing would feel like.

  Sue took a pen and made a tiny mark on each of my earlobes. “Do those look even to you?” she asked. “If they do, that’s where I’ll make the holes.”

  I leaned over and examined the marks in a mirror on the counter.

  “Perfect,” I said.

  Then, spray! Sue blasted my right ear with something cold. And punch. She came at me with that gun, an earring loaded into it like a bullet. Spray again. Punch again. “All done!” said Sue. The gun had pierced my ears and put the earrings in all at once.

  I looked in the mirror. I couldn’t believe it. There were my ears, shining with actual earrings! I had done it! I felt incredibly cool.

  “Who’s next?” asked Sue as I slid off the stool.

  I was sure Claud would hop onto the stool, since Jessi looked like a nervous wreck while Claud seemed to be your basic cool cucumber. But Claud pushed Jessi forward. I guess she thought it would be better for Jessi to get it over with, so she could stop feeling so nervous.

  Reluctantly, Jessi climbed onto the stool and Sue marked her ears. “Hold my hand,” she whispered to me, sounding extremely embarrassed.

  No problem. I gripped her hand. Jessi squeezed her eyes shut.

  Spray, punch! Spray, punch! r />
  Jessi hadn’t moved. Her eyes were still closed.

  “It’s over,” I told her.

  “You’re kidding,” she replied. She opened her eyes. “That was nothing!”

  “Look at yourself in the mirror,” said Sue.

  Jessi looked — and grinned.

  “Pretty sexy,” Mary Anne teased her.

  “Okay, Claud, you’re on,” said Kristy.

  Ever so casually, Claudia climbed onto the stool. Sue marked a second spot on one of her ears.

  “That looks fine,” said Claudia breathily. She folded her hands and sat back. She might have been in a restaurant, waiting for someone to come take her order.

  Spray! Punch!

  “Thanks!” said Claud brightly. She jumped up — then started to slump to the floor.

  Kristy and Dawn caught her arms and eased her back onto the stool.

  “Put your head between your legs,” Sue instructed her briskly.

  Claud did as she was told. After a moment, she raised her head.

  “Feel better?” asked Sue.

  Claudia nodded sheepishly. “I think I can walk now.”

  “Okay, but just a sec,” said Sue. “I have to give all three of you a few instructions on caring for your ears over the next few weeks.”

  She talked to us about cleaning the holes with alcohol, and not changing the earrings, and turning the posts. Then we paid Sue and left.

  “I am so, so embarrassed. I can’t believe I almost passed out,” wailed Claudia. At the same time Dawn cried, “Wait! I changed my mind. I want my ears pierced after all. I’ve got to call my mom!”

  The next few moments were sort of confusing. Mary Anne sat down on a bench with Claud and tried to make her feel better. Kristy dashed off with Dawn to look for a pay phone, and Jessi and I kept trying to find mirrors or windows in which we could admire our ears.

  Five minutes later, Jessi, Dawn, and Kristy gathered at the bench.

  “My mom gave me permission!” cried Dawn. “And guess what. She said I could get two holes in each ear!”

  So we returned to Sue.

  Spray, punch, punch! Spray, punch, punch!

  When we finally left the ear-piercing boutique for good, we went malling. First, we sort of window-shopped to see what was what. Those of us who had just had our ears pierced were pretty low on money, though.

  Then we ate lunch at Burger King. “Lunch is being paid for out of the club treasury,” Kristy announced, “since we’re malling instead of having a party or a sleepover.”

  After lunch, we made the rounds of the stores again. Kristy and Mary Anne kept ducking into little shops and making secret purchases. They wouldn’t tell the rest of us what they were buying.

  We went to the Music Cellar and checked out the new tapes.

  Finally, about half an hour before Charlie was supposed to pick us up, we parked ourselves outside of Donut Delite and spied on the cute boys working inside. I have to admit that this was fascinating to Claudia, Dawn, Mary Anne, and even Kristy, but that Jessi and I couldn’t stop looking at our ears in store windows.

  Today, I decided, I had taken the first big step toward becoming The New Mallory Pike.

  “Order, please!” called Kristy Thomas. It was time for another Monday meeting.

  Three weeks and two days had gone by since the Baby-sitters Club’s ear-piercing adventure. My steady job with the Arnolds had ended — but already I had sat for the twins twice more, and a weekend job was lined up.

  And two days ago, on a red-letter Saturday, a couple of very important things had happened to me, The New Mallory Pike. I had changed my earrings for the first time, and (ta-dah) I had gotten my hair cut!

  I have to admit that I looked pretty good, even with my glasses. And even with the revolting braces the orthodontist had put on my teeth a few days earlier.

  Jessi had gone with me to the hairdresser. When I entered the salon, I still didn’t know exactly what I wanted done. Luckily Amber, the woman who was going to cut my hair, was very understanding.

  “I’ll show you some pictures,” she said. “See what you like. Then I’ll tell you if I can do it to your hair.”

  Jessi and I looked through a book filled with photos of hairstyles. I pointed out four to Amber before she said, “Now that’s one your hair is perfect for. See how wavy that style is? It’s all natural. No perm or anything. When we cut your hair, your curls will relax into those waves.”

  So here I was, sitting in Claudia’s room with my pierced ears (I was wearing the open books I’d bought at the Merry-Go-Round), my fluffy, short hair (which showed off my ears nicely), and, well, my braces. (I tried not to think about the braces too much.)

  Kristy was perched in the director’s chair, wearing her visor. “Order,” she called again.

  The rest of us quieted down.

  “Well, let’s see,” Kristy began.

  Well, let’s see? Our president never opens meetings that way. She always knows just what to say, just what she wants to accomplish. But at the moment, she sounded sort of vague.

  “Um,” Kristy went on. “Oh, yeah. Has everyone read the notebook?”

  “Yes,” answered the rest of us in bored voices.

  “Well, um…. Oh, Dawn, how’s the treasury?”

  “Still a little low since we went malling, but we have enough to pay Charlie to drive you to and from meetings this week, and after I’ve collected today’s dues” (everyone groaned) “and next Monday’s, we’ll be okay again.”

  The six of us fished around for dues money, which we handed to Dawn. She counted it, made a notation on a page in the record book, and placed the money in the treasury envelope.

  “Okay, well, oh, yeah,” said Kristy. “Any business to discuss?” (It was as if she’d just thought of it. You’d never know she asks us that question at the beginning of absolutely every club meeting.)

  I half-raised my hand (how kindergarten of me) and said, “Kristy, is everything all right with you?”

  “Oh, sure. Why?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Well, I’m fine.”

  “Okay.”

  Kristy paused. “Darn it!” she finally exclaimed. “I can’t stand it any longer. Mary Anne, it’s time for —”

  Ring, ring. I couldn’t believe it. The phone! And just when Kristy was about to … to do whatever it was she wanted to do.

  Claudia took the call, while Mary Anne flipped through the pages in the record book to check the appointment calendar. When Claud hung up, she said, “That was Mrs. Arnold. She needs a sitter for the twins next Thursday afternoon.”

  “Let’s see,” said Mary Anne. “Gosh, three of us are free. Kristy, Dawn, and me.”

  “Hey, Mal,” said Dawn, “how are the twins these days? I know you ended up liking them, but … ”

  “Oh, you wouldn’t believe them,” I replied. “They’re completely different. Mrs. Arnold finally let Carolyn get her hair cut. It’s really cute, shorter than mine. And Marilyn is growing hers out. They never dress the same anymore, and everyone can tell them apart, so they’re much happier. Whichever one of you gets the job next Thursday will be really surprised. And pleased,” I added. “They are not troublesome twins anymore.”

  After a lot of discussion, Dawn took the job.

  Then Kristy said, “Okay. Now —”

  Ring, ring!

  “Aughh!” cried Kristy.

  Three more job calls came in, one right after the other.

  We are just too popular.

  “Now,” Kristy tried again, “Mary Anne and I have some surprises.”

  “Surprises?” repeated Jessi and I at the same time. (Then we had to hook pinkies and say “jinx.”)

  “Yup.” Kristy smiled secretively. “Okay, Mary Anne.”

  Mary Anne, who was sitting on the end of Claudia’s bed, reached down to the floor and hauled up a tote bag. Out of it, she pulled four small boxes. She handed one to Dawn, one to Claudia, one to Jessi, and one to me.

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sp; “These are from Kristy and me,” she said. “They’re presents in honor of the fact that you guys can now change your earrings.”

  “Oh, wow!” Jessi and Dawn and I exclaimed. “That was so nice of you! Thanks!”

  But Claudia started to laugh. “What a coincidence! Wait, don’t open them yet.” She slid off the bed, opened a drawer in her desk, and removed three small tissue-wrapped packages, one for Dawn, one for Jessi, and one for me.

  Well, we had all guessed that the presents were earrings, of course, so I said, “Hold it! One more!” and gave Jessi a box containing her pair of book earrings. “I’m sorry I don’t have anything for you two,” I said to Claud and Dawn, “but I got these before I knew you were going to get your ears pierced, too.” I’d brought the earrings along, planning to give them to Jessi after the meeting.

  Claud, Dawn, Jessi, and I began opening our presents. We opened the ones from Kristy and Mary Anne first.

  “These are the things we kept buying at the mall that day,” Kristy informed us. Her eyes were shining.

  Well, you’ve never heard such squealing. The earrings had been chosen very carefully, and we were all thrilled. Dawn had been given two pairs, studs in the shape of California (her home state) and others that were gold loops with oranges hanging from them. California oranges, I guess. Claud’s earrings looked like artists’ palettes, Jessi’s were ballet shoes, and mine were horses, since I like to read about them.

  “Thank you, thank you!” we kept saying.

  Then we opened Claud’s earrings. “I made them myself,” she announced.

  Even if she hadn’t said so, we all would have known. And we began laughing nonstop. Claud had collected little charms and strung together these wild bunches of miniature Coke cans, eyeglasses, forks, animals, you name it, and added feathers and beads.

  We put them on immediately, crowding around Claudia’s mirror for a look.

  “Don’t worry,” said Claud. “I made a pair for myself. Oh, and all the posts are hypoallergenic.”

  “Boy, I sure wish I had pierced ears,” said Mary Anne wistfully.

  “How about the next best thing?” asked Claudia. She produced two more packages — one for Mary Anne, one for Kristy. They were earrings like the others Claud had made, but they were for nonpierced ears. Kristy and Mary Anne beamed.