Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. They are the creation of Ann M. Martin.

Author's Note: In this story, the Friends Forever series does not come into play, and Dawn's and Mary Anne's house on Burnt Hill Road still exists. Abby is the alternate officer.

CHAPTER 1

"Did you remember to bring a snack?"

I sighed. "Yes, Mom. I have some pretzels right here in my bag."

"And your injection kit? You remembered that, right?"

For heaven's sake. Did Mom really think that I would forget to bring my insulin to a sleepover?

Apparently so. "Of course, Mom. I never leave home without it."

Mom must have heard something in my tone of voice because she shot me a quick, apologetic smile as she turned our car into the Kishis' driveway. "Sorry, Stace. Bellair's buyer by day, overly concerned mom by night."

"I know," I said, giving her a smile back. My mom worries a LOT about my health. But I know she does it because she cares. I feel lucky to have two parents who care about me--even if they live in two different cities because they're divorced.

I'm Stacey McGill. It IS hard to be the daughter of divorced parents, but I realize how lucky I am to be able to see them both pretty frequently. My friend, Dawn Schafer, had to move across country to be with her father, and my friend Kristy Thomas NEVER sees hers. My dad is just a train ride away in New York City. I visit him most weekends and even though he's a workaholic, he always makes sure to spend time with me, whether it be taking me shopping at Bloomingdale's, to eat at some of the best restaurants in the city, or visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a place where I always feel like a true New Yorker.

My dad spoils me just a teensy bit.

My parents and I moved to Stoneybrook, Connecticut when the company my dad works for transferred him here when I was in seventh grade. I joined the BSC, and made some fabulous friends. Not long after that, my dad was transferred BACK to New York. But soon Mom and Dad began having problems in their marriage. They got divorced, and Mom moved back to Stoneybrook. It was an incredibly difficult decision to make, but I chose to live with her. I love living here, but there's nothing like life in the Big Apple. I think I might move there for good when I grow up and have a career.

But enough about that. Where, you ask, was I headed to at that very moment? Well, you already know--a sleepover. But at whose house?

Simple answer--my best friend, Claudia Kishi. Who else would be there? The rest of the Baby-sitters Club. You already heard about Kristy and Dawn. The others in the club are Mary Anne Spier, Abby Stevenson, Mallory Pike, and Jessi Ramsey. Mallory and Jessi are eleven years old and in the sixth grade. The rest of us are all thirteen and in the eighth grade at Stoneybrook Middle School. (Since Dawn is living in California now, she is an honorary member of the club--but more about that, and how the club works, later).

"Thanks for the ride, Mom. I'll see you tomorrow morning!" I gave my mother a kiss on the cheek, and hopped out of the car, clutching my overnight bag.

"Have fun, Stace!" she called cheerfully as she drove away.

Ding-dong. Claudia's older sister Janine answered the door. "Hello, Stacey," she said pleasantly. She was cradling a thick textbook in her right arm.

"What's up, Janine?" I asked her as she let me into the front hall.

"I'm very well. I've just finished studying, as a matter of fact."

"On a Saturday night?" I asked incredulously.

She smiled. "How are you? How's your advanced math class?"

"It's great, thanks for asking," I replied. I absolutely adore math. I'm a member of the SMS Mathletes team. And I've been getting straight As in class this year. I'm not bragging, it's just a fact.

"That's wonderful. Everyone is already here. Go on up. I trust you all will have a fine time at your party," she said.

"Cool. See ya!" I gave her a wave and trotted up the stairs. Claudia and Janine aren't very close and have totally different interests (Janine takes college classes even though she's still in high school, and Claudia couldn't care less about schoolwork), and Claudia complains often about having a genius for a sister. But I don't mind Janine.

I heard voices before I even entered Claudia's room. "And then Karen called up the stairs, 'Kristy, it's your BOYFRIEND!', which was totally embarrassing, because there was no way to get out of the phone call then. Can you believe it? Bart and I haven't been...well...THAT part of our relationship is over, for heaven's sake. And I have to deal with my family saying dumb things like that when he calls," Kristy was saying. She was sprawled on the floor. She shook her head and dug into a large bag of Doritos.

"Have you told them that you and Bart are strictly friends now?" Claudia asked from her bed. She was painting her fingernails a very bright red.

"No," Kristy mumbled around a mouthful of chips.

"Well, there's your problem. Tell everyone you and Bart are finito. Kaput," Abby said, her nose in a magazine. She was lying beside Claudia.

"I guess. It's just...it makes me uncomfortable to talk about Bart in THOSE terms, you know?" Kristy sighed heavily.

"I don't see what's difficult about it. It saves you from having to deal with more uncomfortable stuff in the future," Mary Anne offered. She was cutting up pieces of shiny metallic paper with Mal and Jessi on the floor.

"I guess," Kristy grunted.

I was surprised no one had noticed me in the doorway. "Ahem," I cleared my throat.

Six heads swiveled around at the same time. It was a pretty funny sight. "Hi, Stacey!" Claudia cried.

"Hi, Stace!" everyone else chorused.

"Hi, you guys. Claud, I love your shirt!" I exclaimed.

"Thanks! I made it myself," she replied. Her shirt was plain white cotton, and it looked very soft. Five baby ducks following a mama duck were painted across the front. Claudia is a fabulous artist. One day she will be world-famous, I swear.

"Make way for Claudia," Abby joked.

Jessi gave her a puzzled look.

"You know, like the book Make Way for Ducklings?" Abby pressed.

"Ha ha," Kristy said flatly. She reached for a can of Coke.

"Someone's cranky," Abby scoffed. "Have you forgotten this is a slumber party, Miss Thomas? Emphasis on the word party."

"Hmph," Kristy said. But she wasn't sounding so grumpy anymore. "Any more attitude from you, Miss Stevenson, and I'll throw this handful of Doritos at your head."

"Please don't. I would spend days picking those smelly chips out of my hair," Abby replied, tugging at her wild mane of dark curls.

"What are you guys doing?" I asked Mary Anne, Mal, and Jessi as I sat in the desk chair. Claud offered me a Diet Coke, which I accepted.

"Cutting up some of Claud's old wrapping paper to give to Sarah Hill for an art project," Mal said. There were three piles of scrap paper in front of her.

"Claud sat for her a couple of days ago and told her she would give her some old supplies she doesn't use anymore," Mary Anne said, pointing behind me. I glanced towards the desk and saw an assortment of art-related goodies sitting atop it: brushes that looked used but in good condition, pads of sketching paper, clay, and a couple of jars of beads.

"Wow, Claud, that's pretty generous of you," I said.

She shrugged. "It's no big deal. I wanted to cheer her up some. Did you know she's going to be held back in school next year?"

"Really?" I hadn't known. I don't sit for Norman and Sarah very often. I did know, though, that Claudia is a favorite of Sarah's because they both share a love for art. I could tell that this was going to be another thing Claudia would bond with Sarah over; Claud was sent back to seventh grade recently because of her poor school performance. She's back in eighth now, however, much to my delight. I missed eating lunch with her in the same period.

"It's really too bad. She was totally depressed the whole afternoon I sat for her. We drew pictures for her parents, but it didn't seem like her heart was in it," Claudia said. "But she did seem pretty excited when I said I would bring her these things."

"I can venture a guess as to what else is causing Sarah's bad mood," Kristy said.

"What's that?" Claud and I asked at the same time.

"Her brother. I saw Norman shopping with his mom yesterday after our meeting. Charlie dropped me off at the grocery store so I could pick up some juice boxes for Karen and Andrew. Boy, has he lost weight. He looks fantastic!" Norman, Sarah's younger brother, used to be pretty overweight, and his parents were always nagging him to do something about it. The kids at school also gave him a hard time. In short, he was miserable.

"Why would that put Sarah in a bad mood? I'm so happy for Norman. His family should be, too," I said. I really was--I knew Norman had wanted to get healthier.

"You are, and we are, and his parents are, but…come on. Sarah used to bully him a lot. I think seeing Norman happier with himself is something she's not used to, and she might feel a little jealous. Her problems in school are only adding to that," said Kristy. I could tell she was trying to be tactful. I knew she thought Sarah wasn't a very nice sister, or kid.

"Well, I'm sitting for them next Tuesday. I'll bring my Kid-Kit with me. Maybe Sara would like that. And I'm looking forward to congratulating Norman."

"Vanessa told me some girls in Norman's class think he's cute. I think Norman is more confident with himself these days, and the girls are taking notice," Mal told us, grinning.

"Wooo, go Norman!" Abby exclaimed.

"Oh my gosh," Claudia said, laughing. "Norman Hill, ladies man!"

"Girls!" I heard Claudia's mom call up the stairs. "The pizzas are here!"

"Thanks, Mrs. Kishi!" Kristy yelled. She jumped up and brushed Dorito crumbs from her jeans. "I'm starving!"

"What?" Abby asked. "You just scarfed down a bag of chips in two seconds. And before that you had five Oreos."

Kristy rolled her eyes. "Please, Abby. It's pizza. I'm always hungry for pizza."

"Whatever," Abby sniffed. "They brought the salads, didn't they?"

Abby is allergic to positively everything, including cheese.

"Come on, Stace. It's salad. We're always hungry for salad!" I laughed as she looped her arm through mine.

Mary Anne carefully put the piles of paper aside, and Mal helped her. When they were done, we all barreled downstairs.

"Pig-out time!" Claudia shouted.