That night at home, the phone rang as I went to the phone.
"Hello," I said.
"Hi, Mary Anne, guess which twin are you talking to?" asked Kayla.
"Is it Kayla?" I asked.
"You guessed it," said Kayla.
I giggled and said, "What's up?"
"I told my parents that you made the other two stop and they said it was nice of you," said Kayla.
"Don't listen to those girls," I said. "When Jessi moved here, it happened the same way since we didn't have African-Americans until she came here. But now she joined the club, she felt belong here."
"That's good," said Kayla.
"She's the only African-American in the sixth grade." I said.
"Oh," said Kayla.
"Are you and Kaylee the only two in the family?" I asked.
"No. We have six younger siblings," replied Kayla.
"Wow! Just like Mallory. She also has seven younger siblings," I said.
"My other siblings are another set of twins: Daniel Johnson and Mario are ten, then we have the triplets: Robert, Jr., Bert and Berta who are nine, and Mary Jane who is six," said Kayla. "Daniel Johnson's nickname is D.J. and Mary Jane's nickname is M.J. She was named after Kaylee's middle name, Mary."
"Wow. Just think of my first name," I said.
"That's true," said Kayla as we giggled. "In New York City, Stacey helped out whenever Kaylee or I were unable to help out."
"Maybe one of the Baby-Sitters Club members can help out as well. I'll see if Kristy has an extra flyer to give you one. We take calls during meeting times at Claudia's since she has her own phone with a private line," I said.
"Cool!" exclaimed Kayla.
"I'm expecting a call from Kristy after dinner anyway. We're supposed to go to the mall tomorrow after school," I said.
"Is it alright if Kaylee and I come along so you can show us around Stoneybrook?" asked Kayla.
"Of course you can. That's a nice idea," I said.
"Terrific," said Kayla.
"Mary Anne," called Dawn. "It's time for dinner."
"Okay. Tell Dad I'll be there in a sec," I said.
"Alright," said Dawn.
"I have to go now. It's time for dinner we were having pasta," I said.
"Yum. See you at school tomorrow," said Kayla.
"Same here. Bye," I said as we hung up.
When I got to the table, I giggled at Tigger who was chasing his tail.
"Silly Tigger," I said. "That was Kayla."
"Isn't that the one you told me about?" asked Sharon.
"That's the one," I replied. "I stopped Shawna and her friends who were teasing Kayla."
"That's good," said Dad.
"Yep. I asked them if they liked it if they were teased anywhere if they were new and no one knew them, which made them leave," \aid.
"That's right," agreed Sharon.
Tigger was at my feet using them as pillows. He was sound asleep.
"Comfy, Tigger?" I asked. "Like Mallory, there are eight kids in their family. There are another set of twins and one set of triplets."
"Including Kayla and Kaylee?" asked Dawn.
I nodded and added, "The other twins are D.J., whose real name is Daniel Johnson, and Mario who are ten, the triplets are Robert, Jr., Bert, and Berta who are nine, and M.J. whose real name is Mary Jane. She's six."
"What a crowd in a family of ten," said Dawn. "Their parents must be tired."
"I guess so," I said as we giggled.
After dinner, it was my turn to clear the table and Dawn's turn to do the kitchen. After that, the phone rang and I answered.
"Hello," I said.
"Hi, Mary Anne," said Kristy.
"Hi, Kristy, you called just in time. I just had dinner," I said. "What's new?"
"Nothing much," said Kristy. "We're still going to the mall after school, right?"
"Yes. Kayla called me before dinner and checked to see if she and Kaylee could come along so we could show them around Stoneybrook," I said. "I said that was a nice idea."
"I agree," said Kristy.
"She told me that besides Kaylee, they have six other siblings," I said.
"Wow. That's a lot of siblings, just like Mallory," said Kristy.
"That's what I said and she also said if either she or Kaylee are unable to help out each other to watch their siblings, Stacey helps out." I said. "I told her that one of us can take over, too."
"That's a terrific idea!" exclaimed Kristy. "I'll see if we have another flyer at the meeting tomorrow. We can go there to to check after the mall."
"Good idea," I said.
After we talked, I headed up to get comfy. At eight-thirty pm, I was reading one of my best books, Wrinkle in Time in my room. I use my reading glasses when I read. I've been wearing them since I was in fourth grade. I remember my friend, April Levington would let me wear hers to watch them for her (she uses them for distance). Ever since then, I wanted to wear glasses of my own. I only use them for reading like I mentioned.
I was already in my nightgown and I was a bit chilly, so I had my robe on as well.
The next day at school, Kayla and Kaylee sat with me and the other girls during lunch.
After school, we showed the girls around Stoneybrook on the way to the mall. They couldn't believe how big Washington Mall was.
"Our mall in New York City is way bigger than this one," said Kayla.
"I agree since I grew up there," said Stacey as they laughed.
"We can take turns to show them the stores," I said.
"Great idea!" exclaimed Kristy.
That's what we did. I get to show them every clothing store. All of a sudden, Dawn became jealous since I've been with Kayla and Kaylee- they're new for heaven's sake. They don't know the mall just yet. I wasn't like that when she showed the girls the bookstore and the music store.
Here's the worst part: Dawn yelled at me (she does that when she starts an argument) for no reason in front of the whole customers, but I ignored her, which is the smart thing to do. She almost yelled in my ears, but I didn't listen. Kayla and Kaylee did the same thing. I don't blame them.
When we walked out of the clothing store, Kaylee said, "What's wrong with Dawn?"
"She just does that," I replied.
"She almost blew our eardrums out," said Kayla.
"Imagine if anyone does that in front of everyone?" said Kaylee. "That would be embarrassing."
"I know," said Kayla.
"I ignore her when she does that. I think she's just jealous," I said. "She doesn't admit right away."
Dawn was still arguing with me at the other clothing store. I always ignore that. But Kristy didn't like that and went to her.
"Why are you still doing that to Mary Anne in front of everyone? She's not doing anything wrong. She's just showing the girls around the mall. Don't you remember that idea? She wasn't like that when you showed them around the bookstore or the music store, so you better stop," Kristy warned Dawn. "Everyone is giving those girls a tour."
Thank you, Kristy. I'm lucky to have a best friend like Kristy to stop Dawn or anyone else. That's what I like having a best friend. When Dawn started doing that again, I got very mad this time and had enough.
"Will you please stop?" I asked in a quieter voice. "I don't know what's got into you lately. You've been doing that since I showed them the first clothing store. Since when you're like that?"
I paid and left that store.
What was she trying to do, embarrass me in front of everyone? Wait until I see Dad when I get home.
After the mall, I was ignoring Dawn the whole way. I walked faster to catch up to Kristy. When I got home, I went to my room and shut my door.
Dad must have heard me come home because he came up to see me and when he did he noticed I was very upset about something.
"Is everything okay, sweetie?" asked Dad.
I sat up and told him about everything what happened at the mall.
"Kristy told her she wasn't like that when she showed them the bookstore or the music store," I said.
"That's right," agreed Dad.
"It was embarrassing when Dawn made a scene in front of the whole store," I said. "I had enough, so I told her to stop. I don't know what her problem was. It started when I showed Kayla and Kaylee the first clothing store."
"We can talk to Sharon about this when she gets home from work later on," said Dad. "She'll be home in about an hour."
"Okay," I replied as I hugged him.
That's what we did an hour later and Dawn got punished with no music, no phone, no leaving the house (which means no baby-sitting or the meetings or outside) and no TV. She can only do after school activities.