Claudia and the Friendship Feud

  Contents

  Title Page

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Acknowledgment

  About the Author

  Also Available

  Copyright

  “Look at that!” I gasped, nudging my friend Mary Anne hard with my elbow. She almost dropped her popcorn.

  “What?” she whispered back. She was looking at the previews on the movie screen.

  “No, Mary Anne. Look at them.” I pointed to a girl and boy sitting about six rows ahead of us.

  Stacey and Jeremy.

  Mary Anne leaned closer to me. “Oh, wow. Do you think they know we’re here?”

  “Who cares?” The last people in the world I wanted to see were Stacey McGill and Jeremy Rudolph. Together.

  “Are you okay, Claud?” Mary Anne looked a little worried. “Gosh, I hope Logan isn’t here too.” She glanced around the theater.

  The seven o’clock show of Lovelocked was just starting. The movie was supposed to be a tearjerker, a modern-day Romeo and Juliet. Kids had been lined up around the block all day to see it.

  To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t in the mood for a love story, but Mary Anne convinced me to go. She thought a sappy movie would give us the opportunity to have a good cry and not feel too embarrassed about it.

  Mary Anne had just broken up with her boyfriend, Logan Bruno, whom she’d been going out with practically forever. Although she knew she’d made the right decision, she was still upset. It was the end of something major.

  But believe it or not, my breakup was even more major.

  That’s because I broke up with Stacey McGill, my best friend.

  Well, Stacey was my best friend until she stole Jeremy Rudolph away from me.

  Jeremy is so cool. He’s the new guy in school, tall and kind of shy. He and I hit it off right away. We talked about everything. He told me he liked art, so naturally I thought we would make a cute couple. And Stacey agreed. She even planned our first date.

  Boy, did things change fast.

  Stacey became a traitor.

  That was all I could think of as I crammed a fistful of popcorn into my mouth, my eyes fixed on her and Jeremy. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but I wished that I could.

  I remember the exact moment last month when Stacey became my un-best friend.

  Poof! She told me Jeremy didn’t want to go out with me again. He only wanted to be friends. She was the one he wanted to date.

  Poof! I felt my future, the boy of my dreams, vanish as my best friend in the whole wide world stole him. And then she said some awful things about me — the kind you just can’t take back.

  Poof! Good-bye, Jeremy. Good-bye, Stacey.

  It still hurt to think about it.

  “Try to forget about it,” I said to Mary Anne. “I won’t let it ruin this movie, and you shouldn’t either.”

  “Actually, maybe we should let Stacey know we’re here. It seems rude to just sit here and not say hello.”

  I grabbed Mary Anne’s arm. “What? No way. I can’t face her. Not when she’s on a date. Not with Jeremy.”

  “Claudia, isn’t there some way you guys can work this out? You and Stacey give each other the silent treatment during BSC meetings, you avoid each other all day at school, and you barely go out because you’re afraid you’ll run into each other. It’s been a month already. A whole month. When are you two going to talk to each other again?”

  I rolled my eyes but Mary Anne kept talking.

  “You and Stacey are best friends. I don’t care what happened. The two of you couldn’t possibly have meant all the things you said, could you? You can’t let a boy come between you. Isn’t this the time of year when we’re supposed to be thankful for our friends and family? Aren’t we supposed to be celebrating Thanksgiving?”

  I sunk back into my seat. Giving thanks was the last thing I felt like doing. As a matter of fact, this was going to be the worst Thanksgiving ever.

  I choked down another handful of popcorn and tried to remember exactly what I had said to Stacey during our awful fight. I remembered the words “brainless,” “jealous,” and “loser,” among others.

  Mary Anne was right. I knew we hadn’t meant to be so cruel. It had just happened.

  But now I felt guilty.

  If my enemy were Stacey the Traitor, then I was Claudia the Destroyer. After all, I was the one who’d told Jeremy about Stacey’s ex-boyfriend Ethan before she’d had a chance to tell him. That had gotten her into trouble with Jeremy. But it hadn’t broken them up. Even I didn’t have that kind of superpower.

  Obviously. Because here they were, cuddling at the movies.

  What did Jeremy see in Stacey McGill that I, Claudia Kishi, didn’t have?

  Maybe Jeremy likes blondes better. Or maybe he wants someone who’s good at math.

  I watched Jeremy lean into Stacey and whisper into her ear … and wondered what he was saying. That could have been my ear.

  “Earth to Claudia.” Mary Anne elbowed me. “The movie’s starting. Are you okay? How about some candy?”

  She dangled a box of Milk Duds in front of me.

  Now, there’s a best friend: candy! The only thing I liked better than Milk Duds were chocolate chips, but since they were not available, I happily accepted the chocolate-covered caramels instead.

  Junk food always helps me feel better.

  I opened the box. (Even though my parents don’t like me to eat so many sweets, I do. I keep a secret stash of junk food in my bedroom.)

  “We’ll just pretend they’re not here, okay?” Mary Anne said around a mouth full of candy. “We’ll just cry into our Milk Duds.”

  Mary Anne is a good friend. Even with everything that was happening between her and Logan, she still made lots of time for me.

  But how could I pretend that Stacey and Jeremy weren’t right there in front of me?

  Impossible.

  Part of me wanted to run as fast as I could until I got home and collapsed onto my bed. Another part of me wanted to keep an eye on Stacey and Jeremy’s every move. I wanted to know what made these lovebirds tweet. Hey, I didn’t like being a spy, but I had no choice.

  My genius sister, Janine, would have been proud of me. She always says I can’t concentrate or focus on anything. But I was focused today.

  After a few minutes, the movie distracted me from Stacey-and-Jeremy watching. But I got confused. I couldn’t keep the characters’ names or faces straight. And why was this taking place on a desert island? And just what did “lovelocked” mean, anyway?

  Thankfully, Mary Anne and her Milk Duds also distracted me. But those feelings of chocolate-and-caramel bliss didn’t last long. About ten minutes into the movie, the worst possible thing that could ever happen happened.

  I saw Jeremy put his arm around Stacey’s shoulders — and squeeze.

  I elbowed Mary Anne again, harder than before. This time some of her popcorn fell onto the floor. And a brown clump of Milk Duds flew out of the box.

  “What was that?” Mary Anne asked.

  “Nothing. Oh, wow. I’m sorry.”

  I helped her brush off the popcorn kernels that had fallen onto her lap. It was almost impossible to see in the dark.

  Uh-oh. I dropped the Milk Duds box and it slid under the seat in front of me. A man in the row behind me tapped me on the shoulder and shushed me.
I was mortified. If it hadn’t been dark in that theater, Mary Anne would have seen me turn five shades of purple.

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered to the man.

  He grunted back at me, “Kids.”

  “Just forget about all of it — him included,” Mary Anne said, speaking very quietly. “You are going to be able to just watch the movie, aren’t you?”

  Suddenly, I thought of something worse than the man behind us. Stacey and Jeremy.

  “Did they see us?” I whispered. “Did Stacey and Jeremy turn around when I dropped the box?”

  “I don’t think anyone heard it … except Mr. Friendly behind you.”

  “Are you positively, absolutely sure they didn’t see us?”

  “Stop worrying and watch the movie.”

  But I couldn’t. I craned my neck to catch a glimpse of Stacey and Jeremy. Jeremy was whispering in Stacey’s ear again, and this time she was laughing. I didn’t want to keep looking, but I couldn’t help myself. They were being so obvious, sitting so close, touching. Didn’t they realize that people were watching them?

  I closed my eyes. I couldn’t look.

  I opened my eyes. I wouldn’t look.

  “Claudia,” Mary Anne whispered.

  I squirmed to get comfortable and tried harder to pay attention. Mary Anne was right. I needed to stop. Now.

  The next two hours were the longest of my life.

  When Lovelocked finally ended, Mary Anne was sobbing. I couldn’t figure out if it was because the girl in the movie had lost the guy she loved to some other girl or what.

  Maybe Mary Anne was thinking about how much she missed Logan.

  While the credits were still rolling, I grabbed her hand and jumped out of the seat. “Let’s get out of here,” I cried. “I don’t want them to see us.”

  Mary Anne followed me out to the lobby and pulled away. “Claudia, I have to go to the bathroom, okay? Wait for me here. I’ll be right out.”

  As she dashed into the restroom, I ducked behind a pillar.

  I couldn’t be seen.

  There they were.

  Stacey and Jeremy.

  Jeremy and Stacey.

  And they were holding hands. Swinging arms. Laughing.

  Stacey looked pretty; I had to admit it. She was wearing this great blue sweater that we’d bought at Bloomingdale’s over the summer. And she had arranged painted combs in her hair — ones I had given to her on her last birthday.

  I liked her outfit. I would have to remember to tell her that.

  If we ever spoke to each other again.

  “Mal says hello.” Kristy had just called the Monday meeting of the Baby-sitters Club to order. (The Baby-sitters Club — or BSC — is a business we run. Parents call one number and have four sitters ready to go.)

  Kristy was waving a letter in the air. It was from Mallory Pike, former full-time member (and now honorary member) of the club, who was attending boarding school.

  “Mal says she’s coming back to Stoneybrook for Thanksgiving, but not until Wednesday night,” Kristy reported. “And she wants us to know she has a huge crush on some guy in this writing workshop they have with a boys’ school.”

  “Leave it to Mal. A writing workshop crush. That sounds like fun,” Mary Anne said.

  “I can’t wait to see her,” I said.

  “Yeah — we should all do something together this weekend,” Mary Anne suggested. “It would be like old times.”

  Mary Anne glanced at me and then at Stacey. I could see the wheels turning in her head. She wanted us to stop fighting and start talking again.

  Good luck.

  Stacey suddenly said, “It would be nice to spend time with Mal and you guys, but I’m sorry … I can’t.”

  Mary Anne was disappointed. Kristy nodded. I had nothing to say on this subject.

  I knew what was really going on. Stacey had plans, all right. She had plans to blow off Mallory and the rest of the BSC members just to go out with Jeremy again.

  “My dad and I are going to be in New York,” Stacey started to explain.

  “Oh, right. You’ll be with your dad,” I said under my breath. Luckily only Kristy heard me. She shot me a Look.

  Okay, I wanted to take back my words as soon as I had said them. But I couldn’t help what I felt.

  After what had happened at the movies (even though Stacey didn’t know I had seen her there), I was mad and sad and jealous all at the same time. Nothing made any sense.

  I felt that Stacey had taken Jeremy away from me. And I secretly felt that Jeremy had taken Stacey away from me.

  The room was very quiet. Luckily, Kristy broke the ice.

  “Sooooo.” She clapped her hands as Mary Anne pulled out the BSC notebook. “We should figure out who’s going to handle any baby-sitting jobs during Thanksgiving week, right?”

  “Sounds good,” said Mary Anne. “What’s everyone doing for Turkey Day?”

  I didn’t answer … and neither did Stacey.

  “Our whole family is going to be together,” Kristy said. “Actually, Mom put me on kitchen duty. I’m in charge of the stuffing. I’m actually going to cook.”

  Mary Anne laughed. “Now, that’s funny!”

  “Not nearly as funny as the fact that my father and Zoey asked if my brothers and I wanted to come out to California for the holidays.”

  “California?”

  “Yes, but now it’s too late to make those plans. They asked, like, three days ago. I still think it was cool that they asked, though — I’m sure it was Zoey’s idea. My dad has never asked us to spend Thanksgiving with him. Ever. What are you going to be doing, Mary Anne?”

  “Going to Granny and Pop-Pop’s,” Mary Anne answered. “Granny’s making a huge feast. Maybe that’ll get my mind off of Logan.”

  I glanced at Stacey, who was sitting across the room with her arms crossed. She smiled a half smile, a fake smile, at me.

  I wanted the meeting to end.

  I wished everyone would just get out of my room.

  “What about you, Claudia?” Kristy asked.

  “What about me?”

  Kristy made a funny face at me. “Helloooooo? Anyone home?”

  Mary Anne laughed. “For Thanksgiving. What about you, Claudia? Are you going to your aunt’s house?”

  “N-no,” I stammered, “Peaches, Russ, and Lynn are coming to our house … with a friend of Peaches’ from college.”

  I wandered into my closet and pulled a box of Oreos from the shelf. My secret stash. “Anyone want a cookie?” I asked, ripping open the package. “Kristy? Mary Anne?”

  Since Stacey is diabetic (which means her body has problems with sugar), she couldn’t eat these sugary cookies. But I didn’t care. I wouldn’t offer her a sugar-free snack. Not when she was being so mean.

  I stuffed a cookie into my mouth and plopped onto the floor.

  Mary Anne and Kristy looked at each other. The only sound was my chewing the Oreo.

  Until Stacey spoke.

  “What did you say about baby-sitting jobs over the weekend, Kristy? And are we having a Wednesday meeting? Can we talk about that and then go? I have a lot of homework tonight.”

  Homework? I doubted that. Stacey probably wanted to ditch the meeting so she could meet Jeremy.

  The phone rang then.

  Kristy grabbed it. “Baby-sitters Club.”

  Stacey stood up and turned to look out the window. I noticed the photograph in my homemade frame on the wall next to her. The picture had been taken last year. It was of Stacey and me writing sand messages on the beach. Looking happy.

  “Hi, Mrs. Pike. How are you?” Kristy chattered into the phone. “Tomorrow? Let me just look at the calendar. I’ll call you right back.” Kristy turned to the rest of us. “Emergency job at the Pikes’ tomorrow afternoon. Mary Anne, who’s free to sit?”

  Mary Anne checked our club notebook. “Let’s see. Claudia is.”

  I nodded. I wasn’t doing anything the next afternoon. My social calendar wa
s not exactly overflowing with events. I looked expectantly at Mary Anne, knowing we’d need a second sitter for the seven Pike kids.

  “And you too, Stacey. You’re free.”

  My heart stopped.

  Fate was playing a cruel joke. Stacey and me baby-sitting? Together? My stomach was churning.

  “But …” Stacey and I blurted out at the same time.

  “… I can’t.” Stacey continued ahead of me. “I have a conflict, Kristy.”

  “Okay, but I don’t think anyone else can do it. Mary Anne has to go to that thing with Sharon tomorrow, and I have to watch David Michael and Emily Michelle. That leaves you and Claudia.”

  “I’m sorry,” Stacey said again. “Please don’t be mad.”

  “I’m not mad, Stacey. I understand. But who am I going to get to sit? I’d rather not say no to the Pikes.” Kristy took the pencil from behind her ear.

  “Can I do it alone, just this once?” I asked, knowing the answer would be no.

  “All of the Pikes? Alone?”

  I thought about the triplets and the other four kids and sighed. “I know.” If only Mal were coming back a day sooner. Then she could sit with me.

  Kristy waved her arm in the air. “I’ve got it! What about Logan?”

  Mary Anne dropped her head into her hands. “Kristy! I can’t believe you even said that.”

  “Oops. Sorry.”

  Stacey perked up all of a sudden. “Hey, what about Erica Blumberg? She might be free tomorrow.”

  “Hmm,” said Kristy.

  Erica and I hang out sometimes at school. She isn’t a regular dues-paying member of the BSC, but she might sit for us if we needed extra help. Or when we were desperate — like now.

  “You know, that’s a good idea, Stacey. She’s reliable. Let’s give Erica a call.” Kristy flipped through the phone book, found the number, and dialed. “Hello, Mrs. Blumberg, is Erica there?” she said into the receiver. After a minute she continued. “Erica? Hi, it’s Kristy Thomas. How are you?”

  While Kristy explained the situation and made the baby-sitting arrangements, I watched Stacey and Mary Anne wander over to my bookshelves. They were talking about some English quiz, but I couldn’t be bothered listening to them. I’m allergic to tests.

  I folded my legs and arms and pondered Stacey’s excuses. Was her “conflict” invented? Was she making an excuse so she could see Jeremy without having to admit it to us?