It was the interlude in our lives of the mis-adventures of Dawn: Dawn was enjoying a vacation with her dad and her brother in sunny California. And we really missed her. We really miss her friendship but we also are missing her services as a valuable employee. Who am I? The president of a company who stresses over being short-staffed? No. I'm not the president. That would be my friend and boss, Kristy Thomas. I'm just another worker, a Junior Officer, to be exact. And guess what? I'm only eleven years old. Before you start trudging off to Child Services or feverishly looking up U.S. Child Labor Laws, you ought to know that Kristy is only thirteen. What kind of a company would be composed of employees our ages? Well, a babysitting business called the Babysitters Club to be exact. It's more of a group of friends than a business . . . or is it the other way around.
"I miss you too," said Dawn, as if from an intercom in my ear. "And no. It's [i]always[/i] more of a group of friends - best friends - than a business."
I threw my head back and laughed.
"What's so funny?"
I spun around with eyes signalling that I've been caught red-handed to face the innocently-inquiring of a curious-looking Jamie Newton. He's one of the Club's favorite charges. He has an adorable baby sister named Lucy who was out on a doctor's appointment with their mom which is why I'm here babysitting him right now.
"Hi, Jamie," I grinned in an overtly friendly fashion. "Did you finish your drawing?"
"Yeah!" He bounced up and down in his chair then smacked the paper down on the table in front of me.
Now it was my turn to be curious.
I screwed up my lips to begin to say "what the . . ." but then I heard Mary Anne's calm voice figuratively put a hand on my shoulder.
"Ask him to tell you about it," she advised.
I smiled and turned to Jamie.
"Can you tell me about it?" I asked.
"Yeah. This is me. That's Nicky. He hit the ball real good. And look! I caught it!" he beamed.
"I bet you're getting a lot better. I'm sure Kristy is real proud of you," I praised.
During lunch a few days after my sitting job with Jamie, I was sitting in the lunchroom with my best friend Mallory Pike.
"Aren't you going to eat that?" I asked concerned.
She's been really lethargic lately. She didn't seem to have energy for anything. At the moment, her tray was pushed away while her chin was nestled on a forearm with her other forearm underneath of which was laying squished by the weight of her heavy head on the table. She held a small frown.
She took a breath with effort. "No. You could have it." Then she resumed drooping down the corners of her mouth.
Hmmm. She knows me better than to say that to me. She knows that I wouldn't ask that question in hopes of getting the food for myself. She knows that the question was bred out of concern for her well-being.
"Do you need to use the bathroom?" I asked with as soothing of a tone as I could convey. She sure looked gassy. Her stomach seemed churning in protest towards or in dissatisfaction at something. But what? I wish I knew.
Then I burped. I felt the follow-up urge to fart so I hurried to the bathroom.
After I let it out in the Lady's Room, I decided to wash my hands and splash some on my face.
"Jess?" I heard a faint voice drift to my ears.
I paused with a dripping face then turned off the faucet to discern the voice better.
"Jessi?"
Mallory? Is that you? Something's wrong with her. Was her recent condition worse than we thought? Did she collapse? Is she too weak to move on her own? Did she barf all over the table and needed her best friend to fend off the onlookers and taunters?
I quickly wiped my face and ran out through the bathroom door. I whisked by a girl who was smiling at me and following my passing trajectory a bit with her eyes. It was Wendy Loesser. I have three classes with her. We sometimes walk to them together. She seemed like she wanted to catch my attention but didn't speak up.
"What's wrong?" I asked a little out of breath when I had reached Mallory.
She laid her head on the side. "Nothing." Then plopped her chin back on her forearm.
"You weren't calling for help?"
"No."
"You didn't get scared for some reason and call my name?"
"No," she said smallishly. "Nothing happened while you were gone. I wasn't calling you. I'm sorry if you were worried, Jess."
"Okay. I'll be right back," I relayed.
I went out of the cafeteria and bumped straight into Wendy.
"Sorry," she said.
"Hi. I'm sorry, too. But um, I'm probably wrong but did you want to ask me something?"
"Yeah," she dawdled a bit before continuing. "Do you want to come over and play Super Mario Brothers?"
"Hmm. I don't really like video games."
She pondered a bit. "Hey. Do you think that babysitting club of yours is taking any new members, yet?"
"Well," I considered. "A member did leave but it is only temporary. So we do kind of have an opening. But. We are kind of selective." I winced at the last sentence.
She looked disappointed and shuffled her foot that was out in front.
Then a queer thought hit me.
"But. Um," I ventured then plowed through. "Were you calling me while I was inside the bathroom?"
"Yes," she replied sheepishly. "I, um, didn't want to go in there."
She scrunched up her nose.
Ew. I didn't blame her. It must've reeked in there since it was fresh. If I wasn't the perpetrator, I would've yelled out "cochina!" I'm fluent in Spanish.
"Yeah, I don't blame you," I laughed. And she laughed, too.
After our mutual giggliness died down, I prodded. "So . . . you were outside the whole time?"
She nodded with one slightly raised eyebrow.
"And the door was closed?" I said biting my upper lip and looking away at a random classroom door to my left.
She nodded slightly.
"Hmm . . . " I uttered.
I scratched my thigh with four fingers then scratched my right temple with one.
"You know what," I told her, "we're having a meeting today at five-thirty. It would be unfair to you to not even give you a try. So can you make it?"
Her eyes widened. "Yes!" she exclaimed quietly.
"Okay everybody. This meeting of the Babysitters Club will now come to order," declared Kristy. "Any new business?"
"Jessi has something to say, everybody," informed Mary Anne.
"Okay guys. This is Wendy Loesser. We're friends. And . . . she would like to join," I said pointedly arching up my eyelids and nodding slightly twice to Kristy.
"Really?" she said slightly skeptical. "Well, what are your experiences?"
"Well. I babysit from time to time for two neighbors where one has a two year-old. And I look after my younger sisters, too," Wendy responded (Jessi and the Bad Babysitter, p. 47).
"Hmm," Kristy took in the information then nodded her head to the side with an accompanying quick darting-then-back of her eyes, with her gaze not leaving Wendy. "What else?"
"You certainly seem qualified on the babysitting part," Mary Anne chimed in.
"Uh, that's all the experience I have," Wendy said unsure, a little crestfallen-sounding.
RIINNNG.
Claudia answered, "Babysitters Club. Hi, Mrs. Barrett." She wrote something on a piece of paper. "Okay, thanks, Mrs. Barrett. We'll call you right back with your sitters."
Kristy grabbed the paper and read aloud, "From three to five on Thursday. That's tomorrow. Wendy, at this point Mary Anne looks to see who is free. Then we call her back with the sitter's name."
"Stacey and I are free," Mary Anne informed after checking the Club notebook.
"Okay. Why don't we have Wendy go with one of you," Kristy said. "Or two, if you guys are willing to split the pay with her."
"I'm willing," nodded Mary Anne.
"Me too," agreed Stacey.
"I'll do that," Wendy told the group.
Claudia called Mrs. Barrett back and told her Stacey and Mary Anne will be there but with a trainee. Mrs. Barrett was fine with it.
"Okay," Kristy pricked up. "Now time to share any updates about any of our clients. And Wendy, we only interrupt it if a client calls in. And since this is your first time, here are the instructions: be quiet and listen."
Wendy looked nervous so I gave her a sympathetic look.
"Don't let Kristy scare you," comforted Mary Anne. "She's a little dramatic sometimes. This is nothing serious."
"Go Claudia," Kristy nudged. "Your sitting job with the Barrett-Dewitts on Tuesday." Then she turned to Wendy. "Dewitt is Mrs. Barrett's husband's name. The Barrett-Dewitts is the family you're going to be sitting for on Thursday, Wendy. They have six kids. For four or more kids we send two or more sitters."
Wendy nodded.
Then we all became quiet. I snuck Wendy another consoling smile as she seemed a bit agitated. I wanted to grab and hold her hand to calm her nerves but didn't since I wasn't sure if she would've wanted that or not so I just looked at Claudia. I hadn't paid attention to Claudia's updates (Updates are just recent sitting jobs that we tell each other about so we can be up-to-date on our clients in case we sit for them in the near future) because I was so concerned with Wendy but I picked up Claudia's communicating in mid-spiel.
Claudia: " - camcorder for Dawn's video. Wendy, you guys should expect visitors. The Arnold twins, Marilyn and Carolyn and the Braddocks, Haley and Matt. Wendy, you'll probably spend most of your time there helping them with costumes and rehearsing. The main problem there is that Marilyn and Carolyn want to take turns playing Snow White but Haley wants the part for herself. But everybody else seem content with their roles."
After Claudia ended her message, Kristy faced Wendy with an ultra-friendly smile.
Wendy looked confused.
"Wendy?" Kristy began. "What's the main problem with the play that the kids are putting on for Dawn's video?"
Wendy looked strangely back at Kristy. "Uh. I don't know."
Everyone besides Wendy looked at each other.
Mary Anne was the first to speak after that. "What do remember hearing about the Barrett-Dewitts? About the play. About the video for Dawn."
"What are the names of the visitors that are going to come by during our sitting job?" Stacey asked smiling but a little anxious.
Wendy made the rounds with her eyes looking at each of us suspiciously before answering. "Are you talking about around school? I didn't hear anything or catch wind of any play that's going to be on a video that's going to be sent to a Dawn." She shrugged a little.
Then Kristy winced at me.
"When we were quiet earlier, what did you hear?" asked Claudia. "Were we quiet then? Was I quiet?"
Wendy eyed everybody with a sweep of her face before responding. "I didn't hear anything. From you (talking to Claudia) or anybody else. Everybody was just quiet the whole time. I tried to listen. I really did. I don't know what I was supposed to hear."
RIINNG.
There was a collective exhale from everybody but Wendy. At least that's it what seemed to me. All of our eyes were avoiding her now.
Claudia picked up the phone. "Hi, Babysitters Club. Oh, hi Mrs. Newton . . . "
Claudia's talking trailed off for me. I took a gander at Wendy.
She signalled with her index finger for me to get closer to her. I edged my way over.
She cupped her hands around my ear and whispered. "I'm really sorry, Jessi but I don't think that this is going to work out. I have to go."
I nodded to let her know that I understood. I kept my eyes on the lamp on Claudia's desk as I heard the subsequent opening and closing of the bedroom door.
After I heard the house's front door open and close downstairs, I began to explain. "I'm sorry everybody, I thought that she was one of us."
"How did you figure?" Kristy asked sounding a little peeved. "We can't exactly let people know about us."
"She said that she talked to me from outside of the bathroom today. But the door was closed. But her voice was clear."
"Ugh," Claudia said screwing up her face. "That doesn't show that she IS one."
"Yeah," Kristy echoed Claudia's sentiments softly.
"I'm really sorry, you guys," I apologized again.
Author's note: The italicized and bolded part is not spoken but communicated to each sitter via the mind.