Claudia and Crazy Peaches

  I’m the BSC vice-president. Not because I have any presidential skills, but because I have my own phone and number. Pretty neat, huh? That’s why we hold the meeting in my room. I do the artwork for our club fliers and share my snacks (which are generally stashed out of sight, under the bed or behind a box of art supplies, since my parents don’t approve of my junk-food habit).

  You already know all about me, so I’ll move on to the treasurer of the BSC, my best friend, Anastasia Elizabeth McGill. If I had to come up with a list of words to describe Stacey, I’d write: smart, gorgeous, ultra-cool, and sophisticated. She looks and acts a lot older than she is, partly because she grew up in New York City and partly (I think) because of her diabetes. I don’t mean that diabetes ages you or anything like that. In case you don’t know (and I didn’t until I met Stacey), diabetes is a disease that keeps your body from processing sugar properly. So Stacey has to stay on a strict diet and never, ever break it. She also has to give herself shots (ew!) of insulin every single day. It’s more responsibility than the average thirteen-year-old has to deal with, and that’s why I think it’s made her more mature. Stacey’s learned to live with being a diabetic, so it’s not a big deal, except for those times when there’s extra pressure in her life and she forgets to take care of herself. Then it can be scary. Stacey has even had to go into the hospital since I’ve known her.

  Of all of us, I’d have to say that Stacey has had the most crushes on guys in her life. There was Toby (he gave Stacey her first kiss, in the Tunnel of Luv at Sea City) and Pete Black, and Pierre, and Terry, and Wes, her math student-teacher. She was even seeing Kristy’s older brother Sam for a while. But ever since she met Robert Brewster she hasn’t given other guys a thought. Robert used to be a big basketball star at SMS, but he quit the team when he thought the school was putting too much emphasis on sports. Isn’t that cool?

  One more thing about Stacey. She’s a real math whiz, which is why she’s the BSC’s treasurer. Stacey keeps track of the club dues, doles out the money we have to spend (to help pay my phone bill, for example), and occasionally lets us know when there’s a little extra money left over, for fun stuff like slumber parties with pizza and ice cream.

  Next comes Mary Anne Spier, the secretary of the BSC. Mary Anne is best friends with Kristy, but they are as different as night and day. While Kristy is really outgoing and forceful, Mary Anne is shy and sweet. She is also emotional. (I think I’d have to underline the word emotional.) Mary Anne cries over cute kittens, sad movies, and I’ve even seen her cry at TV commercials.

  We elected Mary Anne secretary because she has the best handwriting. But, fortunately for the BSC, she’s also very conscientious and organized. She’d have to be to handle everything she does for us.

  You see, here’s how our club works: we meet at my house Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons, from five-thirty to six. Parents can call us at those times to arrange sitters. Currently, there are seven of us (plus one associate — don’t worry, I’ll explain in a minute) so they’re practically guaranteed a sitter. Mary Anne keeps a record book with all of our schedules in it, listing not just our sitting jobs but our after school activities, too, such as Kristy’s Krushers practices and my art classes. When a client calls, Mary Anne checks the book to see who’s available, and then, after we’ve decided who’ll take the job, we call the client back, and Mary Anne writes the new job down. And (are you ready for this?) Mary Anne has never made a mistake.

  Until a year or two ago, Mary Anne led a pretty sheltered life. Her mom died when Mary Anne was just a baby, and her dad raised her all by himself. He was very strict. Mary Anne couldn’t go anywhere after school, she wasn’t allowed to talk on the phone (unless it was about homework), and, worst of all, she had to dress in really babyish clothes. I’m not kidding. Her dad made her wear these old-fashioned dresses with knee socks, and she had to keep her hair in braids. But fortunately, things have changed. Mary Anne has grown up some, and her dad has loosened up some. Now Mary Anne can wear what she wants, and she’s cut her hair. She even has a boyfriend, Logan Bruno.

  Besides being cute (Mary Anne thinks Logan looks just like the star Cam Geary), funny, and charming (he’s got this really great Southern drawl), Logan is also an associate member of the BSC. (Remember, I said I’d explain that.) This means he doesn’t usually come to meetings, but he helps us out if we get really busy and need extra sitters.

  Early on, the BSC decided to have an alternate officer, so that someone would always be able to fill in when a regular officer is sick. Dawn Schafer is usually our alternate officer, but right now she’s in California, spending some time with her dad and brother, Jeff.

  Dawn has long, sun-bleached blonde hair, a great tan, and a real laid back style. She eats what I call rabbit food — lettuce, carrots, bean sprouts, all that healthy stuff. How did a California girl end up in Connecticut? Well, not too long ago, Dawn’s parents divorced, and Dawn and her mom and brother moved to Stoneybrook, where Dawn’s mom had grown up. Dawn met Mary Anne and they instantly became best friends. Shortly after that, the two of them were flipping through Mrs. Schafer’s old high school yearbook and they discovered that Dawn’s mom and Mary Anne’s dad had once been in love. Amazing, huh? So Mary Anne and Dawn brought their parents together to see what would happen. Guess what? It was love at first sight all over again. Before too long Mr. Spier married Mrs. Shafer. Then Mary Anne and her dad moved into Dawn’s house, which is this two hundred-year-old farmhouse with a barn and wonderful trees and, best of all, a secret passage. It leads from the barn right into Dawn’s room. She thinks it might be haunted. (I hope so. Ghost stories are almost as good as mysteries!)

  So there they were — Mary Anne and her dad, Dawn and her mom, and Mary Anne’s kitten, Tigger, all living happily ever after in the farmhouse. Or at least that’s what we all thought was happening. I mean, they were happy, but Dawn started really missing her father and Jeff (who had moved back with his dad a while earlier), and her old home and friends. It was a sad day for the Baby-sitters Club when Dawn broke the news that she was going back to California. Everybody understands, and we know Dawn will be back here before long, but we all really miss her. Mary Anne misses her most of all.

  When Dawn went to California, Shannon Kilbourne, who used to be an associate member (like Logan), moved into the role of alternate officer. Shannon lives in Kristy’s new neighborhood. When they first met, Kristy called Shannon a snob, but she soon found out how open and friendly Shannon really is. Shannon and her two younger sisters, Tiffany and Maria, go to Stoneybrook Day School, a private school across town. Shannon’s an excellent student. She’s also really cute. She has thick, curly blonde hair and these piercing blue eyes.

  And last, but definitely not least, are our two junior officers and the youngest members of the BSC, Mallory Pike and Jessica Ramsey. Mal and Jessi are best friends. They have lots in common: they’re both in the sixth grade, each is the oldest kid in her family, they’re both big readers, and they’re crazy about horses. Those two go berserk over horse movies — I think they’ve watched The Black Stallion about a zillion times — and horse books. Name any horse book and I’ll bet they’ve read it, especially if it’s by Marguerite Henry.

  But Mal and Jessi are hardly Tweedledum and Tweedledee. They’re very different in some ways. Mal has eight, count ’em, eight kids in her family. Jessi has three. Mal wants to be a children’s book writer and illustrator when she grows up, while Jessi is well on her way to becoming a ballerina. She’s already danced the lead in several productions. And even if they dressed alike, they’d never be mistaken for twins — Mallory is white and Jessi is black. Of course, that doesn’t make any difference to them, or to the rest of us, but believe it or not, when the Ramseys first moved to Stoneybrook, a few people were upset. Which is pretty disgusting and sad. But all that seems to be behind them now. These days the Ramseys are settled in and happy.

  So that’s the Baby-sitters Club. A great bunch of friends. And a
great business.

  Anyway, there I was, still holding the vacuum cleaner, when I heard another voice say, “Claudia, who are you trying to kid? I know that’s not a real vacuum cleaner.” It was Shannon. She was standing with Stacey, Kristy, and Mary Anne, peering into my room. Behind her, I could just see Mal and Jessi.

  I flicked on the switch and aimed the hose at Shannon and the group. “One more crack like that and you’re all history!”

  Before anyone could respond, Kristy pointed at my digital clock. It was just turning from five twenty-nine to five-thirty. “Order. Put your weapon away, Claud. The BSC meeting has officially begun.”

  Just at that second the phone rang. Stacey made a dive for it while I switched off the vacuum. “Baby-sitters Club, this is Stacey.”

  We watched Stacey as she murmured, “Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yes, that’s right. How did you hear about us?” Pause. “Well, we’re glad you called. Uh-huh, uh-huh. How old? That’s fine. Let me talk to the others and I’ll call you right back.”

  She put the phone on the hook and smiled. “We have a new client. That was Mrs. Springer. She has a seven-year-old daughter named Natalie.”

  Kristy snapped her fingers. “Wait a minute. I know that name. Natalie is a friend of Karen’s.”

  “Well, Mrs. Springer needs a sitter for Thursday afternoon.”

  Mary Anne checked the book. “Jessi can’t do it. I can’t, Kristy can’t. That leaves Shannon —”

  “Oops, sorry,” Shannon interrupted. “I have a special French club meeting that day. It was just announced this afternoon.”

  Mary Anne carefully penciled in Shannon’s meeting. “That leaves Mal and Claudia.”

  “Claudia, would you mind taking it?” Mallory asked me. “I have to help my sister with her poetry this week.”

  I had just finished coiling up the vacuum cleaner cord and was rewarding myself with a bag of chocolate-covered peanuts. My mouth was full, so all I could do was mumble a reply.

  Jessi, who was sitting on the floor in front of Mary Anne, leaned back and said, “That sounded like ‘Fur, I’ll fake it,’ but I think she meant to say ‘Sure, I’ll take it.’ ”

  I laughed so hard that peanuts exploded out of my mouth.

  “Ew! Total gross-out!” Stacey squealed, which made me laugh even harder.

  I crossed my arms and gave Stacey my sternest face. “Look what you made me do. Now I’ll have to vacuum all over again.”

  Of course this made everyone laugh. When the phone rang next, it was hard finding someone to answer it without breaking down and giggling. Luckily Kristy, our fearless leader, took that call.

  There were five more calls before I was able to break the news about Peaches. I did it by taking the end of the vacuum cleaner tube and blowing into it like a trumpet.

  “Ta-ta-ta-DA! May I have your attention, please. I have a very important announcement to make.”

  It was exactly six o’clock and my friends were in the process of gathering their things to leave. Everyone froze.

  I was smiling so hard my face hurt but I tried to keep my voice calm so I could get out my news. “I just found out less than an hour ago that my favorite aunt and uncle in the whole world are going to have a baby.”

  Stacey, who knows and loves them almost as much as I do, gasped, “Peaches and Russ are having a baby?”

  “Yes!” I shrieked. “At long last, I’m going to have a cousin!”

  Suddenly the room exploded with cheers. It was a complete pile-on as everyone jumped on me. We fell backwards onto my bed in one big happy heap.

  “Why are you mashing your peas?” Mom asked me at dinner a couple of nights later.

  “So they’ll go with my mashed potatoes,” I explained as I smashed my fork down on three big juicy ones. “I thought the dinner should have a theme.”

  “That’s fine,” Dad said, raising an eyebrow at me as I started to work on my meatloaf. “Just so long as you eat it after you smash it.”

  Let’s face it — mashed potatoes, peas, and meatloaf ranks right up in the Top Ten of yucky dinners. Unfortunately, coordinating the meal didn’t help. Now that my food was all on one level, the thought of eating it was even more repulsive. Luckily for me, I was saved by the bell. Or I should say, the ring.

  “Now, who would be calling during dinner?” Mom grumbled as she scooted back her chair and stood up to answer the phone. “I’ll tell whoever it is to call back.”

  But she didn’t. Instead, my normally calm mother squealed (yes, squealed!), “Oh, Peaches, that’s wonderful news!”

  “What?” In a flash I was by Mom’s side. “I want to know.”

  Mom cupped her hand over the mouthpiece. “Russ and Peaches are buying a new house. Their old one will be too small for them, so they’re moving. To Stoneybrook!”

  “Hooray!” Janine and I both shouted. Then I raced to get on the extension.

  “When are you guys coming?” I cried.

  “That’s the hitch,” Russ replied. “You see, we found a buyer for our house but we have to move out in about a week and a half. We can’t move into our new house until a month later. We’re hunting for a place to stay.”

  “Well, of course you’ll stay with us,” Mom said firmly.

  “Are you sure?” Peaches asked. “I mean, six people is a houseful. And a month is an awfully long time.”

  “You’re coming here,” Mom insisted. “And that’s that.”

  “Oh, Ri,” Peaches gushed, “you are so wonderful.”

  “What will you do with your furniture?” I asked, imagining it all stacked up in our living room.

  “We’ll put that in storage,” Russ said. “Don’t worry, we’ll just bring a few clothes and our toothbrushes.”

  Then Mom and Peaches started talking details.

  “We’ll fix up the den and you two can stay there,” Mom rattled off. “You and Russ can take the train to work —”

  “Correction,” Peaches cut in. “Russ will take the train to work while I sit around the house and get fat.”

  “You quit your job?” I gasped. Peaches worked for an advertising firm and was always coming up with wacky ideas for selling toys and weird household products. When they lived in Stoneybrook before, she would try out her latest jingles on us. Janine and I would sing the songs over and over until our parents begged us to be quiet.

  “I’ve always wanted to be a mom,” Peaches explained. “I’m going to stay home and enjoy the whole experience.”

  I could tell by the proud note in her voice that becoming a mother meant an awful lot to her.

  After a few more minutes of discussion with Mom, Russ and Peaches agreed that they’d arrive at our house a week from Saturday.

  “Only ten more days,” I cried as I hung up the extension. “I can’t wait.”

  We tried to return to our dinner but we were too excited. Mom filled Dad in on the details while Janine and I gushed over what it would be like to have a baby in the house.

  “She won’t have the baby while she’s here,” Mom pointed out.

  “I know that,” I giggled. “But it will be under construction. We’ll have so much fun. We can look at those name-the-baby books and baby catalogues, and listen for the heartbeat.”

  “There’s a wonderful video called The Miracle of Life,” Janine said excitedly. “We can watch that and follow the baby’s progress as it develops.”

  It was just like Janine to view Peaches’ visit as some kind of science project. But I didn’t mind. For once, science might be really truly interesting.

  “Before you both get too carried away,” Mom said, pointing at our plates, “let me remind you that your dinners are sitting there growing extremely cold.”

  I looked down at my mashed meatloaf-peas-and-potatoes. The last thing I wanted to do was eat it. Besides, I was dying to spread the great news. “Look, Mom,” I said, picking up my plate, “I’m not really hungry. Is it all right if I put this in the fridge? I can reheat it later.”

  Dad leaned forwa
rd and whispered across the table to Mom. “I think what Claudia is trying to tell us is that she has some important phone calls to make.”

  I grinned at Dad. “You read my mind.”

  He waved his napkin at me. “Go ahead. Just don’t spend the entire evening on the phone. I’m sure you’ve got plenty of homework to do.”

  “I promise I’ll be brief.”

  I think I flew up the stairs. I had a ton of calls to make and not much time. Naturally, the first person I dialed was Stacey.

  “Peaches and Russ are moving to Stoneybrook,” I shouted the second she picked up. “They’re going to be staying with us for a whole month.”

  “Oh, Claud, that’s wonderful!” Stacey gushed. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

  “I’m not sure. Peaches will be around a lot. She’s quit her job, so she can concentrate on being a mom.”

  “Maybe she needs some help gathering baby supplies.”

  “Stacey, you’re a genius! I’ll call Peaches back and find out what she needs. Maybe I can even make something for her.”

  I hung up and dialed my aunt. “Peaches, what do you need for the baby?”

  “The works,” Peaches replied. “A crib, changing table, rocker, night-light, diapers, clothes, towels, washcloths —”

  “How about a blanket?” I asked.

  “Blankets, a stroller, a playpen,” Peaches continued without skipping a beat. “In a word — everything.”

  I called Mary Anne next. First I broke the big news about my aunt and uncle’s move back to Stoneybrook. Then I asked for her help.

  “I want to make something for their baby,” I explained.

  “Gee, Claud, you’re much more creative than I am,” Mary Anne said. “I’m sure they’d love a painting for the baby’s room, or one of those funny mobiles that you make.”