Everyone says that I am jealous of Mary Anne and Dawn's friendship. They would be right.
They think this because Dawn took Mary Anne away from me.
Wrong.
Mary Anne and I grew up on Bradford Court together, and as two polar opposites we just had to be friends. I was her protector when she was upset. I played with her while her dad was working all summer. We had our secret flashlight code at night. Mary Anne and I were destined to be best friends. Of course Claudia was there too, but she was just too different to both of us to ever truly make it work.
Then seventh grade started, and along with it, The Baby Sitters Club. One day we all had a big fight during a meeting, and we went our separate ways for a few weeks. I spent more time with the twins, who were really more my friends than Mary Anne' laughed at the other club members for weeks, even when Mary Anne found a new friend. And who did she find?
The coolest girl to hit SMS in a long time and becomes her friend.
It should have been me. I should have found Dawn first.
One day I was hanging out in my room, gazing into Mary Anne's bedroom. She hasn't been home a lot lately, and I wanted to make up with her. Our fight was stupid and I don't even remember what it was really about. Suddenly Mary Anne and Dawn walk in, sat on the bed and were talking so earnestly I wanted to punch something. Hard. So I just glared at Mary Anne, and she, so spitefully, put her arm around Dawn just to prove a point.
It should have been me.
That's when it hit me. I liked Dawn. I liked her almost white blonde hair, her casual approach to fashion, her smile. I liked Dawn way more than I ever liked Mary Anne.
In fact, you could probably say I liked-liked Dawn.
The other sitters will tell you that I don't care too much about what I wear, that I'm short, bossy and overbearing. They will tell you that perhaps I have always been envious of Mary Anne and Dawn's friendship, and now I have to share my best friend with someone else. But the truth is, I'm envious of the time Mary Anne and Dawn get to spend together now, with their parents dating and everything.
I'm envious of Mary Anne for having met Dawn first.
And I hate it.