The Baby-Sitters Club belongs to Ann M. Martin

I'm Mary Anne Spier and I'm 14. My family has gone crazy these days.

My stepmother, Sharon Schafer, flipped out on Dad for something stupid. Dad hates yelling, so he would just ignore her. This is not a good sign. She's been like that since last night. Here's what happened: first of all, his office lost its power and decided to close 30 minutes early.

Second, when Dad still wasn't home after six, Sharon was getting concerned. And, when he did came home, Sharon was wondering why he was running late. He answered that he was stuck in traffic and she asked him why he didn't call, he told her his cell phone needed to be charging and his office lost his power and nothing was working. That was when the yelling starts up. How can he call if his cell needs charging or if the phone wouldn't be working due to power loss? Good question.

My adopted siblings, Carlos and Meredith, have been getting along until... last week. They have been arguing a lot. Carlos plays basketball and Meredith watches him play or practice. One day, I thought she said something she couldn't go to Carlos' basketball practice because she was with a friend and that's how the argument started. Carlos got mad because he told me that she didn't tell him. He probably didn't remember her telling him that. Of course, that created a big problem between them. As a result, he won't even speak to Meredith. Luckily, Meredith shares my room while Carlos' room, which was an old attic. This NEVER happened to neither of them before.

If that wasn't bad enough, Dawn was acting weird. She requested me to baby-sit the Barretts-Dewitts that requires two people since there are seven kids with her tonight. Dawn was free. The problem was I wasn't free and Stacey was available. That's the truth. She got angry. I'm not sure if she remembered that part.

That's how the schedule works. I had plans with my best friends, Kayla and Kaylee. I can't just change my free day like that at the last minute. I started getting concerned.

My other friends already knew that I wasn't free that night. I like to make time with Kayla and Kaylee, too. They're my neighbors. We like to hang out all the time. They thought it wasn't like Dawn to get mad. That's how crazy my family has been. I'm the only who has been normal. I don't believe in arguing or yelling. That can hurt anyone's feelings and I would hate to do that.

After the meeting, I went out with Kayla and Kaylee. Kayla had cancer when she first moved here and won the battle.

"Were Carlos and Meredith fighting?" asked Kayla.

"We could hear them," said Kaylee.

"Yes," I said telling them about what happen.

"So what? Why can't Meredith hang out with her friend every once in a while?" asked Kaylee.

"And, since when Carlos didn't believe that?" added Kayla.

"I know," I said. "I'm worried about Dawn."

"Me, too," said Kaylee.

After that, at home, I realized that the house got a bit quieter than it was before. Good! I hope it would stay that way. When I headed up, I could hear both Carlos and Meredith arguing again! I'm not getting into that mess again, so I sneaked by them twice-even after I changed into my regular clothes I had on earlier. The other time I sneaked by was when I went back downstairs to go out back. Luckily, Sharon apologized to Dad for yelling.

I went to Dawn.

"I wanted to make sure you're okay," I said.

"Sorry for getting mad at you," said Dawn. "I didn't realized you already had plans until Kristy mentioned."

"I try to make time for Kayla and Kaylee every once in awhile," I said.

"I understand now," said Dawn. "I was jealous."

"It's okay to tell me. Don't forget: you're still my sister and best friend. That won't change," I said.

She smiled and we hugged. It's good to work things out.

At dinner, Meredith and Carlos were the only ones who were still at it. Dawn and I stared at each other. She remembers Meredith telling Carlos the truth about hanging out with Cassie.

After we ate, Dawn and I made a plan to stop them. After dinner was over, Sharon asked us to go help the other crew clean up.

I went out and said, "If I hear any of them arguing, I will not help out."

"Me, either," said Dawn.

I'm glad we said that because we were so sick and tired of it. I had the whistle with me like we planned case I need to stop them to put my foot down. Out there, they were both arguing. That does it.

"Meredith, Carlos, chill," I said after I blew a whistle.

There, that made them both stop.

"Now, if neither of you can get along, Dawn and I will stop helping," I warned them in a gentle, but a stern voice.

Did it help? So far, the answer is yes. I was glad I was finally to step down to make them quit fighting. It's very tiring to hear it. However, they started it AGAIN after we finished cleaning. I'd tell them all to shut up, but I didn't because Dad dislikes that word and I didn't want to get in trouble.

Then, I went to see Logan and we talked. He knew about what happened.

"Meredith and Carlos never had a problem before," I said.

"That's very odd," said Logan.

"I know," I agreed.

I stayed for about 20 to 30 minutes before I went back home. I prayed it would be peaceful this time... Carlos wasn't talking to Meredith. At least they stopped so far.