"5...4...3...2...1...Blast off!"
A chorus of cheers rang through the room.
"The new Babysitters Club is officially launched!" a giddy voice from behind a laptop computer announced. The screen closed to reveal the beaming face of Charlotte Johanssen.
"Awesome!" Becca Ramsey and Kerry Bruno high fived each other.
"Woohoo!" David Michael Thomas and Jackie Rodowsky did a series of fist bumps.
"Order!" Karen Brewer shouted sternly, perched on a high stool. A huge, purple painted K hung on the wall above her. "Celebration can wait. We have business to take care of first."
Becca and Charlotte exchanged covert eyerolls. At thirteen, they were the oldest ones in the room, but twelve year old Karen was no doubt the bossiest. Karen had immediately declared herself President of the club...which was probably fair since the reboot of the BSC had been her idea...and this inaugural meeting was being held in her bedroom.
"Now that the amazing Babysitters Club app has launched and we are officially open for business, I expect everyone to be completely professional at all times. And that includes social media." Karen glared at Jackie Rodowsky.
Jackie hung his head. The jovial redhead, just two months shy of thirteen, had quite a following on youtube, where he posted videos of himself doing (and failing hilariously at) daring stunts and pulling outlandish pranks. However, Karen had declared it "frivolous" and allowed him to join the BSC if and only if he put an end to his "humiliatingly juvenile" video-making. Jackie, who was saving up for the latest gaming console in hopes of transitioning into anonymous gaming tutorial videos, reluctantly agreed.
David Michael gave his friend a supportive pat on the back. He, too, had been asked to make sacrifices to be part of the club. Up until recently...very recently...David Michael still collected and played with GI Joe figures. Not exactly accepted behavior for a typical twelve year old. It was something he should have outgrown years ago like most of his peers, but he hadn't. He enjoyed making up stories and acting out both historically accurate and imaginitively original scenes with the figures. That creativity undoubtedly made him a superb babysitter – and he loved babysitting. But, according to Karen, it made him seem immature – and that wasn't something she would tolerate in "her business".
Karen repeatedly made it a point to let Jackie and David Michael know that they were lucky to be included in the club. Meanwhile, she had gone out of her way to recruit Charlotte and Becca. Charlotte was great with technology – and Karen's master plan included a custom made Babysitters Club app that would allow clients to schedule a sitter with a few simple swipes on their smartphone. She knew Charlotte was the techno prodigy who could make it happen. Her motivation for including Becca was somewhat more pure – Becca was widely known as the best sitter in Stoneybrook. She was responsible, she was great with kids, she was black and she was available virtually 24/7. You see, Becca was homeschooled. After a series of life threatening events in the Ramsey family, including a horrible car accident, Becca being stranded on an island and Jessi being paralyzed in a freak tightrope accident, Becca suffered from mild PTSD. Afraid her daughter would fall behind in school, Mrs. Ramsey decided to homeschool her so that they could move at a slower pace – and heal as a family.
To round out the club, Karen accepted applications from interested neighbors and classmates. She had narrowed it down to Maria Kilbourne, Druscilla Porter and Kerry Bruno. Karen subjected each of them to series of scrutinizing interviews, including a battery of psychological tests she had pulled from the internet. In the end, ESFJ Kerry Bruno emerged victorious, deemed by Karen to be superior to ESFP Maria and ISTJ Druscilla as a babysitting candidate.
"Science doesn't lie," Karen had insisted. The new BSC was not a democracy.
Beyond the core group of six – Karen, David Michael, Jackie, Charlotte, Becca and Kerry – Karen had named eleven year olds Margo Pike and Myriah Perkins as junior members, which meant they could babysit alongside one of the regular members. Kind of like a sitter in training.
Karen sat back smugly. She had improved upon – nay, perfected – the Babysitters Club template created by her step-sister, Kristy Thomas, years ago. Now that Kristy and the rest of the old BSC were away at college or real world jobs, as the case may be, it was up to a new breed of sitters to fill the child care needs of Stoneybrook. And Karen would make sure they not only met but exceeded all expectations set by their predecessors.
Speaking of whom, Karen hadn't bothered to ask their permission to resurrect the group – and use the Babysitters Club name. In her eyes, she was capitalizing on a respected brand. It had never been trademarked or patented or whatever legal officialities might prohibit its use. And besides, the former BSC members had moved on and moved away. The last thing they were worried about was who was babysitting the rugrats of Stoneybrook.
Bzzzz!
Ding!
Beep!
Six cellphones simultaneously pinged with a notificiation from their custom-made BSC app. Karen, David Michael, Charlotte, Kerry, Becca and Jackie exchanged excited looks. This was it! Their first job as the new Babysitters Club!
Logging into the app, Karen was dismayed to see not a request for a sitter, but a direct message:
Dear new BSC,
Disband immediately or you'll pay.
With your life.
Sincerely,
the new B
Meanwhile, in five different locations outside of Stoneybrook, five other cellphones lit up with new text messages:
Dear old BSC,
We have some unfinished business.
Sincerely,
the new B