April 10, 1848

Dear Diary,

Not only does tomorrow mark the beginning of a long physical journey, but a mental one as well. Tomorrow marks the beginning of the all-new Mallory Pike. Oregon, here we come. I've also asked almost everyone I know, mainly the members of the BSC, but a few other strangers as well, to keep a journal while on this trip so we'll have one big memory book when we reach Oregon.

I could hardly contain my excitement. Tomorrow the entire Pike family would be embarking on a six month long journey to Oregon. You see, my father lost his job because his company was having financial problems. We all knew about them and were all hoping for the best, but then one day, the unthinkable happened. The boss gave Dad the pink slip and the Bizzer Sign, and bam, Dad was unemployed. We had a big family meeting to decide what to do. Mom had been hearing so many stories about families who simply packed up their lives in wagons and moved off to Oregon to start a new, prosperous life out in the West. My brothers and sisters were all thrilled by the prospect of this kind of dibble adventure. Dad, on the other hand, wasn't too impressed by the idea and took a little bit more convincing that this move was exactly what we needed, but eventually he came around as well. So the past few weeks have been a madhouse as us Pikes loaded our wagons with the most important possessions of our lives and poured over maps to plan out the quickest route to Oregon. You'd think we would be devastated about leaving behind our friends, right? Wrong.

Here's where the crazy part comes in. My friend Kristy (who is also the president of a highly successful business called the Babysitters Club, or BSC, but I'll tell you about that later) has a stepfather named Watson is a millionaire. Not only does he live in a MANSION, but he is an overall great guy. When Watson found out about my family's decision to journey out West, he not only decided to take his family to Oregon as well, but insisted that the entire BSC come along! (Shortly after this, it was then discovered that the entire faculty and student body of Stoneybrook Middle School would also be making the trip, so the BSC would have gotten to come along anyway. Either way, it's the thought that counts.) Soon enough, it seemed as if Oregon fever was sweeping across Stoneybrook. Kristy called an emergency meeting of the BSC after telegrams began to pour in from clients who were also going to Oregon and would need sitters to take care of their kids along the way. We would definitely have our hands full.

"Where is everyone? They were supposed to be here two minutes ago!" Kristy snapped. I was currently outside the town hall of Stoneybrook, where all the wagons were meeting up before we all set out to Oregon. Of course, Kristy had to call an emergency BSC meeting right before departure. Oh, I suppose I should back up and explain more about the BSC. Well, we are a club of friends, and we babysit. Kristy Thomas got the idea when her mother absolutely could not find a sitter for her little brother, David Michael. Then Kristy thought, "Wouldn't it be great if there was just one number that parents could call to reach an entire network of babysitters?" And thus, the Babysitters Club was born. Kristy is a real take-charge type, but she can also be so bossy. She's also into sports and hates fashion. She used to simply wear jeans and a turtleneck, until Stacey pointed out that turtlenecks were only worn by five year olds and Mary Anne pre-book 4 of the series.

Mary Anne is our club secretary. She's very sweet and sensitive and cries at the drop of the hat. Would you believe that Mary Anne and Kristy are best friends? Probably not, right? Mary Anne likes to spend most of her time reading, playing with her kitten, and hanging out out with Logan Bruno, her steady boyfriend. At least, that's what he used to be called until Stacey pointed out that nobody has used the term "going steady" since the 1950s. "But this is 1848," Mary Anne had protested, but Stacey wouldn't budge. Us sitters have always had issues with time, so we usually just don't pay attention to the years and stuff. So far Mary Anne, Kristy and I were the only BSC members present.

"Hey you guys!" shouted Claudia Kishi, who was walking towards us with four huge duffle bags and her 16 year old sister Janine, who is a certified genius taking classes at a local community college! Claudia isn't so into academic pursuits, though, but she could probably be called an artistic genius. She's way into fashion and considers her body an art canvas. Today she was wearing a bonnet that she had fashioned out of a dishrag and spray painted pink, a baggy men's shirt over a checked pinafore, a cape, riding pants, and dangly homemade wagon-shaped earrings. We stood around admiring her outfit until Stacey showed up and pointed out that real pioneer women didn't have pierced ears and would never wear baggy men's clothing.

"There is no way you'll be able to take all that luggage to Oregon," Mary Anne said. "You know the wagons can only hold several hundred pounds. And most of it will have to be for food and first aid. It's all here in this pamphlet."

Claud rolled her beautiful, almond shaped eyes. "One suitcase is entirely filled with Mars Bars, and that's all I'll need. Besides, you know I don't like to ever wear the same thing twice, and who knows how long we'll all be out there."

"Mary Anne is correct, Claudia," Janine put in. "It is undividedly implausible to transport such an elephantine bulk of apparel over such an extensive transmigration. Very inconsiderate." I could sense a fight brewing, but everyone was soon distracted by the arrival of Stacey McGill with a wagon twice the size of everyone else's.

"Stacey, what the—" Mary Anne began, when she was cut off.

"It's my diabetes wagon," Stacey explained. "My parents insisted that I bring it along. It's chock full of insulin—"

"EWWWWW!" we all shrieked.

"—and other foods that I can eat." Stacey's a diabetic, but she's still really sophisticated and boy-crazy.

Hearing about Stacey's diabetes made me think of her injections, which made me afraid that I might barf, so I decided to tear away from the group and run to meet three of our other members, Jessi Ramsey, Abby Stevenson and Dawn Schafer, who were approaching us from afar. Of course, I heard Abby before I saw her, what with all her wheezing and hacking about. She has some serious allergies and asthma problems. I could only imagine what all the dust out on the trail would do for her sinuses.

Jessi gave me a big hug. "Oooh, I am so excited! This is sooo cool!" she squealed. Jessi is the only other member in the club that is my age, and we're both best friends. (I mean, the entire club is pretty much best friends, but one of Kristy's Rules is that each member must have their token best friend and stick with it. This caused problems when Dawn arrived, of course, since Kristy's best friend was Mary Anne and then Dawn and Mary Anne became especially close since they ended up becoming—get this—stepsisters! Crazy, I know. Anyway, it caused Kristy to ease up a bit on the "best friends" rule.)

Jessi and I have so much in common—we both love to write, we both think our parents treat us like babies, we both are the oldest in our families, we're both in sixth grade at SMS, and we both love horse stories, but we are very different too. For one thing, I 'm ugly and Jessi is black. Actually, I guess that gives us more in common than we would like to think, seeing as how we're both harassed for our outer appearances.

Dawn Schafer rolled her eyes at Jessi's comment. "I don't think it's that big a deal. I mean, I've been on the Oregon Trail tons of times, what with being bicoastal and all."

We stared at Dawn. "You..um...what?" I asked bewilderedly. Given the duration of the time it would take to go to Oregon and back, Dawn's claim seemed nearly impossible. But time isn't my best subject (I feel like I've been eleven forever), so I dropped the subject.

Suddenly a piercing whistle silenced us all. We all turned to look at Watson Brewer, the newly elected leader of our wagon party. Standing next to him was a smug looking Kristy, along with some little girl with huge glasses and buck teeth who I assumed was Kristy's stepsister. "Alright, are we all ready to go?" Kristy's voiced boomed over her megaphone. I guess she was able to be in a position of authority because she's not only Watson's stepdaughter but is a respected member of the community what with being the BSC president and all. "Wagons ho!"

"Ooooh, this is sooo exciting!" Jessi squealed for the second time. It was starting to embarrass me, and I nudged her to cut it out because I look like a big, hairy tomato when I blush.

All the wagons slowly filtered through an open gate. "Goodbye!" we all shouted to nobody in particular, since the entire town of Stoneybrook seemed to be emigrating along with us. "Goodbye!" Jackie Rodowsky, a particularly clumsy sitting charge, fell out of the wagon from excitement. Claudia and Stacey hugged each other. Mary Anne burst into tears. We were on our way to a new life out West!