"I hereby call this emergency meeting of the Babysitters Club to order!" Kristy bellowed.
Mary Anne stared at the floor. Dawn nervously twirled her hair. Stacey fiddled with the clasp on her bracelet. And Claudia anxiously chain chewed Double Bubble she'd stashed in a Wonder Woman pencil box.
"We have a serious situation," Kristy said, lowering her voice a few octaves to emphasize just how serious. "It seems we've all received anonymous, threatening text messages."
"It's just a dumb prank, right?" Stacey asked, not sounding very convinced or hopeful at all.
"Someone implicating each of us in a friend's suicide is a terrible prank," Kristy frowned. "But I'm afraid there's more...Dawn can explain."
"When I was sitting for the Pikes yesterday, Nicky disappeared. When I was searching for him, I checked the old secret passage – you know, at my old house. He wasn't there – he was at the park - but the walls of the passage were lined with pictures. Pictures of us."
"Pictures of us?" Stacey gasped.
"What kind of pictures?" Claudia shuddered.
"Mostly pictures from BSC functions. Picnics, summer camp," Dawn paused, "And from that carnival a couple years ago."
"The carnival?" Claudia went pale.
Dawn nodded and continued. "But there were also more recent pictures of each of us alone. Claudia at art class. Mary Anne at the library. Kristy at Krusher's practice. Stacey and Sam making out in Sam's car."
"I've never made out with Sam in his car!" Stacey scoffed in horror.
"Yeah, 'cause that's the real issue here," Kristy bristled.
"I want to see the pictures," Mary Anne spoke up.
"See the pictures?" Dawn asked.
"Yes," Mary Anne replied firmly. "I want to go to the secret passage."
"But, Mary Anne," Kristy argued, "We don't know who we're dealing with here. They could be dangerous."
"It could be Mallory's killer!" Mary Anne countered.
"Her killer?" Claudia interjected. "She was her own killer. She committed suicide."
"I don't think she did." Mary Anne reached into her purse and pulled out a book. "I took Mallory's diary."
"What?" Everyone gasped, eyes wide with shock and confusion.
"I read it...and I don't think she killed herself," Mary Anne explained. "Some of the things she wrote – up to the day she died – it just doesn't seem like the thoughts and feelings of a suicidal person."
"Well, that's subjective," Kristy crossed her arms and frowned skeptically.
"Maybe so," Mary Anne shrugged, "But she talks about a secret friend. A secret friend she calls B."
"B?! The B that texted us?" Stacey shrieked, "No freakin' way!"
"Yep," Mary Anne nodded. "She talks about B like a friend. A confidant."
Everyone looked puzzled, trying to make sense of the situation.
"I know we haven't talked about it...but...does anybody know the, um, details of how Mallory died?" Dawn inquired tentatively. "First we were told it was an accident. Then we heard it was a suicide. What exactly happened?"
Kristy took a deep breath. "Her body was at the bottom of the cliff that's at the end of that dirt road outside of town. You know...the one..."
"The one people park on to make out?" Stacey supplemented.
"Yeah. That one." Kristy blushed.
"That's not far from your house, Mary Anne," Claudia noticed.
"That's not far from Ben Hobart's new house." Dawn realized.
"There was a picture of Ben in Mal's trash!" Mary Anne gasped. She omitted the foggy flashback she'd had of angry Mallory. Her memories from that night were almost non-existent, and she was ashamed of that. Sweet, good, innocent Mary Anne had changed for reasons she couldn't discuss. Was the flashback even real? She couldn't be sure.
"Ben starts with B!" Claudia exclaimed.
Kristy frowned, flipping through Mallory's diary. "She uses Ben's full name when she writes about him. It seems like Ben and B are two different people."
"This is confusing," Claudia whined.
"So...Ben and Mal may have had a fight...and she was found dead near his house," Dawn summarized, "But she had a secret friend named B, who is now stalking the five of us and blaming us for Mal's death."
"This is bizarre," Stacey muttered.
"I have to go babysit the Newtons," Kristy said, checking her watch. "But let's make a pact to notify each other if anything – and I mean ANYTHING – happens."
Everyone solemnly agreed as they filed out of Claudia's room.
"Maybe it's all just a prank," Stacey said again. "Maybe it'll all just go away."
"Yeah," Dawn shrugged glumly as they stepped outside to Claudia's front porch, "But Mallory's still dead. And someone may have killed her."
"And we didn't do anything wrong," Kristy added.
Then, as if on cue, a familiar sound punctuated Kristy's words – the sound of Jessi's wheelchair, wheels squeakily rolling along the uneven sidewalk. She rolled by Claudia's house, looking straight ahead, not even seeming to notice the girls as they wordlessly watched her.
As soon as Jessi was out of site, one by one, cell phones beeped with text notifications.
"Your fault," Kristy read.
"B's watching us!" Claudia gasped.
Everyone whipped their heads around, frantically searching for someone lurking in the bushes or hiding behind a tree. All they saw was Jessi rolling off in the distance.
On the drive home, Mary Anne felt uneasy. She wondered if she held the key to the mystery of Mal's death. She wondered what other horrors her subconscious held. Dawn sat silently in the passenger seat, obviously reeling from the situation as well. For a moment, Mary Anne considered opening up to Dawn and telling her everything. She took a deep breath, preparing herself.
"Hey, is that Logan?" Dawn interrupted.
It was. Logan was at Mary Anne's house. In the driveway, leaning against his truck.
Mary Anne parked her car and sat frozen for a moment.
"I'm going to go for a walk and leave you two alone," Dawn announced. "Call if you need me."
Mary Anne nodded, her eyes staring straight ahead. She didn't want to do this. She didn't want to see Logan. It brought up too many bad feelings. She climbed out of the car slowly and took her time walking over to Logan.
"Hi," he smiled. "How are you doing?"
Mary Anne winced at the question. There was no good answer for it.
"I, uh...I'm here for my jacket," Logan explained. His Stoneybrook High letterman's jacket. All the athletes got one and, traditionally, let their girlfriends wear them.
"For Cokie," Mary Anne said.
"Yeah," Logan looked uncomfortable.
"Sure, I'll go get it."
Logan had moved on. Mary Anne was okay with it. She really was. She and Logan had tried and failed many times to make a relationship work. They weren't meant to be. And there were plenty of metaphorical scars left to prove it.
As Mary Anne made her way to the coat closet, she did her best to push aside the memories. She grabbed the coat and turned to go back outside when a piece of paper fell from the pocket. She picked it up and saw that it was an old note from Logan.
MA, I love you. We will get through this. It will be okay. - B
Her heart stopped. She had completely forgotten about Logan referring to himself as B. The basketball team started calling him "Bruno" and the nickname caught on. He liked it.
"It can't be Logan," Mary Anne whispered to herself. "That's crazy."
She took the jacket out and handed it to Logan without a word, then turned in hurried back inside, locking the door behind her.
Meanwhile...
Dawn walked along the sidewalks of Stoneybrook, admiring the sunset. As much as she loved California, there were great things about Connecticut, too.
But she kept running back and forth.
Dawn walked on, her mind – and body – wandering toward her old barn. Toward B's lair.
"Hey, Dawn!" a voice startled her back to reality. It was Buddy Barrett.
"Hi, Buddy!" she greeted him, "What are you doing all the way over here? You're house is blocks away!"
"I'm just...exploring," Buddy replied tentatively.
"You should get home," Dawn lectured, "It'll be dark soon and your mom will be worried."
"Mom's not home. I have a babysitter."
"A babysitter?" Dawn knew Mrs. Barrett hadn't called the BSC.
"Yeah. She's from the Babysitter's Agency," Buddy told her.
The Babysitter's Agency? Dawn had heard Kristy's stories about them. They had almost put the BSC out of business years ago – and they were terrible sitters. And now, it seemed, they were back. And letting their charges wander all over the city.
"I'd better go," Buddy decided, looking at the darkening sky. "See ya, Dawn!"
"Bye," Dawn waved.
When Buddy turned to go, Dawn noticed that his backside was covered in dirt.
Had he been in B's lair?
Meanwhile...
Claudia pulled a sheet cake from under her bed and settled in for an evening snack.
Knock knock knock
"Uh – come in!" Claud called, shoving the cake back under the bed.
Janine peaked her head in. "Are your friends gone?"
"Yes."
Janine wandered in and sat on the edge of the bed. Claudia raised an eyebrow. This was weird.
"Congratulations on the Babysitter's Club getting back together. It's nice that the five of you are friends again."
"Yeah..." Claudia shifted uncomfortably.
"Such a shame about Mallory. What a terrible accident." Janine paused for several moments. "Do they know what happened?"
"Um...well..." Claudia stammered, unsure of how to respond. "I think the police are saying it's a suicide now."
"Oh? How very tragic." Janine stood abruptly and walked toward the door. "Well...I'm meeting Charlie at the movies. See you later!"
Claudia stared after her, puzzled. What a strange interaction.
Why was Janine coming into her room, congratulating her on the the BSC reuniting and discussing Mal's suicide? Why did Janine care about any of that?
"So weird," Claud muttered. She walked over to the window and watched Janine hop into her car. Instead of driving away, she pulled out her phone and called someone.
She might have been calling Charlie to tell him she was on her way...but something about the way she was talking made it seem otherwise.
Meanwhile...
"Surprise!" Stacey beamed as Sam opened the door.
"Hey!" Sam smiled, "What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to see you, of course!" Stacey threw her arms around Sam's neck and gave him a quick kiss.
"You should've called first," Sam frowned, "Charlie and I are about to go play basketball with the guys."
"Aw," Stacey pouted.
"Sorry!"
"It's okay," Stacey sighed.
"I'll call you tomorrow," Sam promised, kissing her on the nose.
Stacey nodded dejectedly and turned to walk back to her car. To her surprise, there was a yellow post-it note on her door.
Be careful who you trust. - B
Stacey looked around. She saw no one. No one except for Morbidda Destiny peering out the window of her house next door.
Meanwhile...
Kristy ushered Jamie and Lucy Newton into the ice cream shop. It was crowded. So crowded that Kristy almost didn't notice four eyes glaring at her from across the room.
Her ex-boyfriend, Bart, and his new girlfriend...former BSC alternate member and former friend, Shannon Kilbourne.
To say there was bad blood between the three of them was an understatement. For the past year and a half, it had been a torrid love triangle with a script fit for a soap opera...or a seedy reality show. Bart liked Kristy. Bart liked Shannon. Bart broke up with Kristy for Shannon. Bart broke up with Shannon for Kristy. Bart cheated on Kristy with Shannon. Bart cheated on Shannon with Kristy. Kristy finally busted him on his shady ways and dumped him for good. Shannon, on the other hand, chose to blame Kristy for everything and stayed with Bart. Bart had tried to talk to Kristy since, but she wouldn't give him the time of day. Anytime the Krushers played baseball against the Bashers, it was particularly uncomfortable.
Kristy tried to ignore them and focus on Jamie and Lucy. But she could feel their eyes on them. Luckily, Bart and Shannon soon finished their ice cream and left.
"Okay, kids," Kristy smiled, "We have a little time before dark. Shall we stop at the park on the way home?"
"Yeah!" the kids cheered.
When Kristy and the Newtons arrived at the park, the sun was beginning to set. Still, the park was pretty crowded. Kristy watched as Jamie ran for the slide and she took Lucy to the swings. After a few minutes, Jamie darted across the park, toward the sand box. As Kristy watched him go, she noticed something startling on the other side of the park. Bart and Shannon. Looking right at her.
Omg, are they following me? Kristy wondered.
Suddenly, an image popped into Kristy's head. Bart standing on the baseball field, wearing his team jersey...featuring a big, bold letter B.
And then her SmartWatch buzzed with a notification.
1 new text.
The past seems to be following you. - B
Kristy groaned with frustration and texted back: Who is this?
You'll find out when you're either behind bars or buried in the ground for what you've done. Whichever comes first. - B