This is my first day of high school. My first day of trying to find out who I am now.

Last night, Watson took me into his office and gave me this journal as a gift for starting high school because he knew it would be a memorable experience and he wanted me to have something I could record those memories in.

Watson also asked if he could formally adopt me someday, but didn't push and just asked me to let him know if I was ever ready to do that. I said I would consider it, but I don't want to think about anything else but starting high school. I wonder, though, has he asked Sam and David Michael the same thing?

Those are thoughts for LATER…much later; after I get through this first day.

My name is Kristy Thomas, I am 14 years old, and I am going to be in ninth grade at Stoneybrook High School. Charlie left for college at Boiceville State a few days ago and the house already seems a little bit empty. Sam and I will now take the bus to high school every day.

Of course, Sam is all ready for the day and probably waiting for me. He's eager to get to school and meet up with his friends and see Stacey. Stacey McGill has been spending the summer helping her mom get the new store off the ground and also seeing Sam. I'm not sure if I like the thought of Sam and Stacey together.

Don't get me wrong; I like Stacey and she is a very good friend, but she is very wild for her age. Sam is going to be 16 soon, but he's very down to earth and more conservative for a guy his age. I'd like to think that Stacey will bring out the best in him, but I also know she likes to push boundaries.

"KRISTY!"

Sam's voice fills the house, followed by Watson's gentle admonition not to yell inside. I put the journal in my backpack, zip it up, and then hurry downstairs. Sam is standing in the foyer all ready to go while David Michael is sitting on a bench with his backpack. Mom comes into the foyer smiling at us.

"Kristy, Sam, David Michael, please behave yourselves today and have fun," Mom says in an anxious voice as she gives us all hugs. "New grades can be scary, but I want you to enjoy it too…"

David Michael gets up, "Moooom, if we don't hurry, we're going to miss the bus!" he whines.

Mom nods and I follow Charlie and David Michael out to the bus stop. I am excited for what high school may bring, but I am also a little sad that the Baby-Sitters Club seems to be dying. The club is my baby and it feels like it's been around forever. I am not ready to let it go, but everyone else seems to be.

I won't even see all of my friends in school all of the time because we aren't in a lot of classes together and Claudia is even taking a different style of program. Claudia did pass science in summer school, but her parents and the teachers at the high school decided that she would be better off taking modified courses and also focus on a pre-professional art program. She wasn't happy about it, but the program will keep her on track to help her graduate high school with the rest of us and that's what matters. She will also be able to go to dances and stuff, so she's coping.

The bus shows up and I find myself still thinking about my friends as we head off to the first day of a new chapter in our lives. All of the kids we used to baby-sit for are also growing up and moving on, so maybe there will be a new generation of the Baby-Sitters Club within the next year…

Shannon, Logan, Abby, and Jessi have all moved on from the club and I really haven't heard from any of them all summer except for Abby. Mallory was here over the summer and we did hang out when I helped her babysit her brothers and sisters because Jessi was off on her world tour with her dance school. Mallory is back at Riverbend now, but she has promised to write…

I am not ready for things to change. We will still be friends because we are both athletes, but not having the club anymore was something to really bind us together and I'm not sure how I will cope.

Mary Anne phoned last night and she will meet me at school so that I don't have to face this new chapter alone. She is my best friend in the whole wide world and nothing will ever change that.

I had better get my anxiety out of my system by the end of the day because I need to help my family get ready for Karen and Andrew's visit on the weekend. I can't believe David Michael and Karen are already in third grade and Emily Michelle is in preschool. All of these changes are making everyone feel older.

As the bus gets closer to Stoneybrook High, I find myself too anxious to continue writing and I instead focus on looking out the window.

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