Baby-Sitters on Board!

  I looked at Dawn.

  She looked at me.

  “Truce?” I asked.

  “Truce,” she replied.

  “Now shake on it,” Claudia instructed.

  Dawn and I glanced at Claudia, then at each other. Finally we shook hands. I know my hand was salty and greasy from the Fritos, but Dawn didn’t say a word about it.

  After we’d shaken, I started flipping TV dials again. The murder mystery was really boring.

  “Kristy?” Dawn ventured. “Have you ever seen an R-rated movie?”

  “Nah,” I replied. “But someday I’m going to. Have you ever seen one?”

  “Nah.”

  “Me neither,” said Claudia, heading into the bathroom.

  “My brother saw one once by accident,” said Dawn. “He said it was no big deal.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah.”

  “What a disappointment.”

  Dawn and I began to laugh. “I bet we’ll finally see one,” said Dawn, “and after it’s over we’ll go, ‘So what?’ ”

  “Hey, you guys!” called Claudia from the bathroom. “Come here! There’s more great free stuff.”

  Dawn jumped up, but I put my arm out to stop her. “I just want you to know,” I said, “that I’m sorry about the way I acted. Sometimes I was being messier than usual. On purpose.”

  “I’m sorry, too,” replied Dawn. “Sometimes I was being neater than usual. On purpose.”

  I gave Dawn a quick hug to show her that I really meant I was sorry, and then we joined Claudia in the bathroom.

  “Look at this!” Claudia cried. “A shower cap, a shoe horn, a shoe buff, and this whole basket full of stuff — soap shaped like shells, shampoo, creme rinse, mouthwash, hand lotion, a sewing kit.”

  We explored the bedroom thoroughly then and found a local newspaper, some postcards and stationery, two ballpoint pens and —

  “Whoa! Look at this!” cried Dawn. “How come we didn’t notice this before? Look what the TV is standing on.”

  The TV was standing on a refrigerator. But we couldn’t open it. It seemed to be locked. Next to it was a cabinet full of —

  “JUNK FOOD!” shrieked Claudia. “Aughh! Candy bars and M&Ms and potato chips and pretzels. How do we get into this thing?”

  We couldn’t figure it out, so we called Watson in from the next room.

  Watson took one look around, found a key which he said opened the refrigerator and the cabinet, and put it in his pocket. “Sorry, girls,” he said. “I know the stuff in there looks tempting,” (we hadn’t even seen what was in the fridge), “but it costs an arm and a leg. I’m not kidding. It’s probably two dollars for a fifty-cent bag of chips. That sort of thing. More than what you’d pay in any store. You’ll do much better getting sodas from the machine down the hall and snacks from the shop in the lobby.”

  “Okay,” we said, feeling let down. The idea of a stocked junk-food cabinet had been very appealing.

  “Watson? Can we explore the hotel?” I asked. It was five o’clock in the afternoon. We wouldn’t be going to Disney World until the next day.

  “Sure,” replied Watson. “I don’t see why not. Just be back in time to get dressed for dinner. We’re going to eat at seven, and we’re going to a pretty fancy dining room here, so you’ll have to change your clothes first.”

  (We were all wearing jeans.)

  “No problem,” I said. “Come on, you guys.”

  Watson cleared his throat. “How would you feel about taking Karen and Andrew with you? They’re dying to go exploring, too. Well, Karen is. Andrew just wants to do whatever she’s doing.”

  I grinned. “No problem.”

  The five of us set off. We went to the lobby first. And what was the first thing we saw? Mr. Staples at the checkout desk.

  “The checkout desk!” I exclaimed. “Just a sec, you guys. I have to see what’s going on.”

  I ran across the lobby. “Mr. Staples! Mr. Staples!” I called. “What are you doing?”

  I reached him just as he was handing in his room key.

  Mr. Staples looked at me in surprise. “What am I doing?” he repeated. “I’m checking out, that’s what. Going home.”

  “Buy why?” I pressed.

  “Whole trip was a darn-fool idea,” he said. “Shouldn’t have come.”

  “But we had fun playing Donkey Kong and shuffleboard, didn’t we? And I have to tell you something very important about that fight I was having with Dawn.” Mr. Staples and I had discussed it several more times on the cruise, and he’d been really helpful, considering he was a slob like me. We’d talked about his wife a lot, too, and I’d thought he’d seemed a little more cheerful. “And,” I went on, “my parents really liked eating dinner with you. Besides, I haven’t given you Nannie’s phone number yet.”

  “Plus,” said Karen, who had joined us, “remember at dinner? You said you’d pull a quarter out of my ear? Well, you didn’t do it yet.”

  “I thought we were going to spend some time together at Disney World,” I added, truly disappointed. “And you wanted to get Mickey Mouse ears for your grandchildren and have their names put on them.”

  “Okay, okay, okay!” Mr. Staples threw up his hands, but he was smiling. “I know when I’m licked.”

  I didn’t leave his side until he had the room key in his pocket again. Then Dawn and Claudia and Karen and Andrew and I did go exploring. We returned to our rooms and finished getting dressed just five minutes before dinner. Andrew put on a suit. Karen put on a party dress. They looked so snazzy that I took their picture.

  After dinner we managed to hold a quick Baby-sitters Club meeting, but everyone was tired, and no one had any ideas about presents for Mom and Watson and the Pikes, not any decent ideas, that is.

  “We’re running out of time,” I told my friends.

  “We know, we know,” they replied. But the added pressure only made us more nervous, not more creative.

  When I went to bed that night, I was exhausted.

  Disney World! Disney World! Disney World! This is my dream! I have always, always wanted to come here. Ever since I first saw a TV commercial about it.

  I went with Daddy, Elizabeth, and Andrew the next day. I wanted Kristy to come with us, but she decided to walk around with Claudia. And David Michael went off with his big brothers.

  It took a long time to get from our hotel to Disney World. First we took a bus to a gigantic parking lot. Then we rode on a monorail to Disney World. The monorail was fun. It was way up high. I felt like we were on a flying train.

  When we got off the monorail — Disney World! We gave a lady our tickets and pushed through a turnstile and suddenly we were on Main Street.

  “Oooh,” I said. “Look. We’re in a little town. Right here in Disney World.”

  An old-fashioned fire truck came down the street. So did a horse-drawn buggy. We were standing at the town square. I could see a popcorn machine and —

  “Look!” shrieked Andrew. “It’s Minnie Mouse! I see Minnie Mouse! She’s right over there. And she’s signing autographs!”

  “Oh, Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, please can we go see Minnie?” I begged. “I swear, she is my best friend in the whole wide world.”

  Daddy raised his eyebrows. “She is?”

  She really wasn’t, and we both knew it. But I just had to get Minnie’s autograph. And maybe have my picture taken with her.

  I grabbed Daddy by the hand, and Andrew grabbed Elizabeth by the hand. We pulled them across the square to Minnie. Some other kids were standing with her, and Minnie was leaning over and patting their heads. The kids were giggling. Their parents snapped pictures. Then Minnie waved good-bye to them.

  And what did she do next? She waved to my brother and me!

  Andrew and I looked at each other.

  “Go on over,” whispered Daddy, giving me a little push forward.

  I took Andrew’s hand and led him to Minnie Mouse. I felt excited and scared. It was just like visiting Santa
Claus at the department store. When we reached Minnie’s side, she shook our hands.

  “Hi, Minnie! Hi, Minnie!” I said.

  “Hi, Minnie,” whispered Andrew.

  Minnie waved again. I guess she doesn’t talk.

  I opened up my pink purse and took out a pad of paper and a pen. I handed them to Minnie. “Please could you give us your autograph?” I asked. “And could you write one for each of us?”

  Minnie wrote this on two pieces of paper: Then she gave the pad back to me. I looked at the papers in awe. Andrew and I had Minnie Mouse’s autograph! We would be famous in Stoneybrook. I sure hoped we would have Show-and-Tell when school started again, because boy, would I have something to show!

  I gave Andrew his autograph and Minnie put her arms around us.

  “Smile!” called Daddy.

  Andrew and I smiled while Minnie hugged us tightly. Then she patted us on our heads and sent us back to Daddy and Elizabeth.

  “Good-bye!” we called.

  “Say thank-you,” whispered Daddy.

  “Thanks!” we cried.

  We walked along Main Street.

  “Look! Look at everything!” I exclaimed. I began reading the names on the stores. “House of Magic. Penny Arcade, The Shadow Box, Main Street Cinema, The Con … Con …”

  “Confectionary,” Elizabeth told me.

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  Elizabeth and Daddy glanced at each other. “It’s a candy store,” said my stepmother.

  “Andrew! Andrew! A candy store!” I screeched. “Daddy, can we go in?”

  “Wait!” said Andrew. “There’s a man selling Mickey Mouse balloons. Can we have one?”

  “Can we get ice-cream cones?” I asked.

  “Can we go to the movie theater?” asked Andrew.

  “Can we buy magic tricks?” I asked as we passed by the House of Magic.

  “Whoa! Whoa!” exclaimed Daddy. “Hold on, kids. We’ll try to do everything. I promise. But we can only do one thing at a time. Since we’re here, let’s go to the magic store.”

  “Goody!” I said. “Come on, Andrew.”

  The magic store was dark, but it was filled with great stuff. There were jokes like rubber spiders, and magic tricks like handkerchiefs that turned into eggs. And there were masks and disguises, too.

  “You may choose one thing each,” said Daddy.

  I chose the handkerchief egg. Andrew chose the spider. It was attached to a rubber ball. When you squeezed the ball, the spider jumped. Andrew took it out of the package and made it jump for Elizabeth. She screamed. We all laughed.

  Then we started walking down Main Street again. Daddy bought us balloons and ice-cream cones. I could hardly eat my cone, though. I was too excited. That was because when we reached the end of Main Street, the Cinderella Castle stood before us. It was huge, and it looked just like a castle in a fairy tale.

  “Oooh,” I breathed. “It’s beautiful.”

  “Does Cinderella really live there?” Andrew wondered.

  I was about to say, “Of course not, silly,” when I realized I wasn’t sure myself. Andrew and I looked at Daddy.

  “Well …” Daddy said slowly. “I’m afraid not. But it’s still a pretty nice castle, isn’t it?”

  “Look at the turrets,” said Elizabeth.

  “The flags,” said Daddy.

  “The crenellation,” added Elizabeth.

  I was too excited to bother to ask about crenellation. Besides, it was time to make a decision. From where we were standing, we could walk right to Tomorrowland, Liberty Square, or Adventureland.

  “Daddy?” I said. “Where’s the Haunted Mansion? Can we go to the Haunted Mansion?” Kristy had been telling me about all the rides at Disney World, and the one I wanted to go on the most was the Haunted Mansion. Space Mountain sounded like a good roller coaster, Peter Pan’s Flight sounded fun, Snow White’s Adventures sounded maybe just a little scary, but the Haunted Mansion sounded like the ride for me.

  I happen to know a lot about spooky stuff. At Daddy’s house in Stoneybrook, there’s a ghost on the third floor — old Ben Brewer. And next door lives a witch named Morbidda Destiny.

  Daddy took a map out of his pocket. “You’re in luck, Karen,” he said. “The Haunted Mansion is nearby. It’s in Liberty Square. Over this way.”

  We began walking. Just when I thought I could see the house on a hill not far away, I heard a horrible, moaning scream. “Oooo-weee-ooooo …”

  “What was that?” I shrieked.

  I heard the scream again.

  Elizabeth laughed. “I think it’s coming from the Haunted Mansion, honey. We’re in for a scary ride.”

  “I hope so,” I said, but I said it in a very small voice. And I reached out and held tightly to Elizabeth’s hand.

  Andrew was so scared that Daddy had to carry him.

  We walked up a path to a spooky old mansion. We began to pass tombstones. A line of people had formed at the front door to the house, so while we waited in line, I looked at the little graveyard.

  “Dear departed Brother Dave,” I read to Elizabeth from one of the tombs.

  “He chased a bear into a cave,” she finished.

  I giggled. Then I read another. “Here lies good old Fred. A great big rock fell on his head. R.I.P.” I knew what R.I.P. meant — rest in peace.

  The line began to move and we walked slowly into a dim room. The whole crowd of people took a ride down in a weird elevator. When we got off we climbed into little black cars. The cars were heading into darkness. I got into a car with Elizabeth. Andrew and Daddy climbed into the car behind us.

  The ride began. It wasn’t a wild ride that jerked you around corners or turned you upside down. Instead, the cars took us on a tour through the most haunted house I could imagine. We saw ghosts dancing in a cobwebby ballroom. We saw a face appear in a crystal ball. We saw wallpaper with bats’ eyes all over it, and a scary, scary graveyard — much scarier than the one outside.

  All the time we were riding, a deep voice was telling us about the spooks in the mansion. Just when I thought the ride was over, the voice said something about hitchhiking ghosts.

  “Hitchhiking ghosts?” I whispered to Elizabeth.

  She shrugged.

  And at that moment we passed a wall of mirrors. I looked for our car. “There we are!” I said. “Look, Elizabeth. There — Hey! Aughh!”

  I couldn’t help screaming. When I looked in the mirror, I could see that Elizabeth and I were not alone. Sitting between us, right in our car, was … a ghost!

  “We’ve got a ghost! A ghost is next to us!” I shrieked.

  We reached the end of the mirrors. The ride was over. But the ghost was still in our car. I was terrified.

  “It was just a trick, sweetie,” Elizabeth said. “That ghost was a hologram. It wasn’t really there.”

  “I don’t care what it’s called,” I said as we left the Haunted Mansion. “It was real. I saw it. And I know it’s still with us. I can feel my ghost. He’s making my skin creep.” I shivered.

  “Let’s go to Fantasyland,” said Daddy. “That won’t be so scary.”

  So we headed for Fantasyland. The first thing that happened there was that Andrew’s shoelace came untied. He stooped down to fix it. When he straightened up, Snow White was standing next to him. She was just walking around Disney World like Minnie Mouse had been. But I guess Andrew wasn’t expecting to see her.

  “Wahh!” he cried, bursting into tears.

  Snow White felt terrible. You could tell.

  It was a long time before Andrew calmed down. Then we went on lots of rides in Fantasyland. But you know what?

  My ghost wouldn’t leave me alone. He came along with me on every one. Nobody could see him except me. I could feel my skin creeping all afternoon.

  Guess what? Last night I ran into Parker in the hotel after dinner, and he asked if I wanted to spend our first day at the Magic Kingdom together. Why did he even bother asking? Of course I did!


  I got permission from Kristy’s mom, and Parker and I met in the lobby at 10:00 the next morning.

  I felt so grown-up I absolutely cannot describe it.

  Claudia had helped me get dressed. She was in a great mood because her Secret Admirer had left her a stuffed animal at the door to our room during the night. Since she had brought along nearly every article of clothing that she owns, and I’d only brought along about one thirty-second of my wardrobe, I borrowed a few of her things. In fact, I borrowed the entire outfit. (We’re just about the same size.) Parker would never know. I mean, he’d never know the outfit was borrowed, not that Claudia and I are the same size.

  This is the outfit Claudia helped me to choose: a white tank top under lavender overalls, lavender push-down socks, lavender high-top sneakers, and a beaded Indian belt, which we looped droopily twice around my middle. In my hair we put lavender-and-white clips that looked like birds. I thought they were just any kind of bird, but Claudia swore up and down that they were birds of paradise. Who knows? (I think she was making that up.)

  Anyway, if I do say so myself (and I do), I looked pretty nice when I met Parker.

  Parker wasn’t looking bad, either. He was wearing this blue-and-white polo shirt, white tennis shorts, and loafers with no socks.

  “I hope your shoes are comfortable,” I said to him. “We’re going to be walking around all day. They won’t wear blisters on your heels or anything, will they?”

  “Nope,” he replied. “Not these old things. They’re ready to fall apart any second.”

  “Well, as long as they can hold together one more day.”

  “No problem. You got your ticket?”

  I held it up. “Yup,” I replied. Everybody on the trip had a three-day pass to Disney World and Epcot Center.

  “Great,” said Parker. “Let’s go.”

  There was free bus service from our hotel to the Magic Kingdom, so we waited in front of the hotel for a bus. The bus took us to the parking lot at Disney World, which was the biggest lot I have ever seen — except for the one at Disneyland in California. I’d already been to Disneyland ten or twelve times because I used to live not far from it. I had a feeling Disney World wasn’t going to be all that different — but going to it with a boy would be.