Claudia
I tore open a bag of peanut M&Ms and picked out a red one,
popping it into my mouth. Kristy Thomas held out her hand, and I poured some
in.
It was Monday, and we were at our regular BSC meeting. It was
five-twenty-eight, and some members had still not arrived. In two minutes time,
Kristy (the president) would call the meeting to order. She always did
everything on the dot.
I munched my M&Ms and thought about tonight. I was going on a
date with Harry, a sixteen-year-old guy who had just joined my art class at the
community center. He said his family had moved here from Arizona. He was
super-cute, with jet-black hair and dark brown eyes. He was Asian like me, but
Chinese instead of Japanese.
"Claudia? Claudia?" a hand covered in silver rings and the nails
painted sparkly pink waved in my face, jolting me out of my thoughts.
"Yes?" I said. Stacey had arrived, and she was collecting dues.
She shook the manila envelope under my nose.
"Oh, sorry." I dug out my current purse, one that I had gotten
from the thrift store at Washington Mall. It was made of tie-dyed silk in red,
yellow and orange, and shaped like an autumn leaf. I unzipped it and fished out
some money.
"Thanks, Claud." Stacey moved on to Mary Anne.
"Any new business?" Kristy asked, frowning at me for spacing out.
I turned away, embarrassed.
"Yeah. Mrs Braddock is seeing someone new. He plays the guitar,
and is a jerk, trust me." Jessi, who had just come from a sitting job, made a
face. Mrs Braddock is the mother of Haley and Matt, two of our sitting charges.
She had just recently gotten divorced. By the way, Matt is deaf but a great
kid.
"Really?" Kristy leaned forward, intrigued.
"Mm-hmmm. He has a beard, and it's extremely dirty. His hair is
black and getting long, and it stinks. Also, he wears clothes like torn jeans
or stained shirts. The children hate him, because he's rude and mean. But Mrs
Braddock seems to love him." Jessi rolled her eyes.
"Great. Write it up in the notebook." Kristy tossed it to her.
Jessi found a pen in her backpack, uncapped it and began to scribble furiously.
"Anyone else?" Kristy looked around the room. She glanced at me
and signaled that she wanted more M&Ms. I handed the whole bag to her and
reached into my underwear drawer for some chips and pretzels. The pretzels were
for Stacey and Dawn, of course.
The phone rang, and Mallory reached for it. "Hello, Babysitters
Club. Oh, hi, Mr Papadakis." After she hung up, we arranged for Abby to sit for
Linny, Hannie and Sari Papadakis on Thursday at five.
The time passed slowly. We chomped on junk food, chatted and
answered phone calls. I noticed that besides me, Mallory and Abby also seemed
to be spacing out. "What's wrong?" Mary Anne asked them, concerned.
Abby shook her head, her chocolate curls swinging from side to
side. "It's just that Dad's fifth death anniversary is coming up. Mom's been
acting like a totally different person. She hasn't gone to work since last
week, and spends all her time at home crying and moping. She only goes out when
we're at school, to buy flowers and presents to bring to the cemetery. I really
don't get it. I hope she'll snap out of it by Saturday, when we go to visit his
grave."
We all fell silent then. Abby's father died in a car accident
when she and her twin sister Anna were nine. None of us know what it's really
like to lose a close relative, except maybe me, when my grandmother Mimi died.
By six o'clock, we had arranged a few more sitting jobs and then
Kristy adjourned the meeting. "Need a ride home, Abby?" she asked. "Charlie's
picking me up, as usual."
"Okay." Abby and Kristy went downstairs, followed by Mary Anne
and Dawn, who had ridden their bikes over. Jessi and Mallory headed down next.
Only Stacey hovered in my room.
"Claud? What's with you?" she wanted to know.
"Me? Oh, nothing." I opened my closet and rummaged through,
trying to find the perfect outfit.
"Are you sure?" Stacey asked suspiciously. She folded her arms
across her lavender T-shirt. "I'm your best friend, you know. I can read your
mind."
I grabbed a bunch of hangers and dumped them all onto my bed.
"Really, it's nothing. I have a date tonight with a real hunk. That's why I
haven't been paying attention during the meeting."
"Really?" Stacey's eyes lit up. "Want me to help you choose your
outfit? Mom won't be back by eight-thirty. She's going out with some
girlfriends."
"Sure!" I shut my wardrobe and began sifting through my dresser
drawers for tops. "I really want to impress this guy. It's our first time out
together."
Half an hour later, Stacey had gone home. We had settled on an
outfit – an ankle-length brightly colored silk skirt that matched my autumn
leaf purse; a navy blue denim spaghetti-strap top under a black leather jacket;
and black Doc Martens with neon yellow laces.
For accessories, we had chosen matching autumn leaf earrings (I
had bought them together with the purse); a necklace I had made myself out of
large wooden beads painted in the same three colors; a bracelet I made out of
yellow and black shoelaces; and a gold ring my ex-boyfriend Alan had given me.
Finally I tied my long black hair into a French braid and
fastened it with a yellow rubber band at the end.
I checked my watch. Harry would be arriving at seven. I decided
to catch up on some homework before he came.
Ding-dong! The doorbell rang when I had nearly finished
all the math problems. I slammed my book shut, grabbed my purse and ran
downstairs, careful not to trip over my long skirt.
Mom and Dad had opened the door to greet Harry. I could tell they
liked him, maybe because he was handsome and polite. He was wearing khakis, a
button-down shirt, sneakers and his hair was slicked back with gel. His jacket
was slung over one arm.
"Hi, Claudia," he called. His perfect features broke into a soft
smile. I linked my arm through his.
"Have fun, dear," Mom said. Harry and I walked out the front
door. "Bye, Mom. Bye, Dad!" I waved as we started down the walk. A black Honda
was parked at the end of the driveway.
Harry opened the door for me and I got in. He got in the other
side and we drove off into the night.
Two hours later, Harry and I were sitting on a bench outside
Washington Mall, licking ice cream cones. We had eaten burritos and enchiladas
at Casa Grande, then had dessert at Donut Express. After a bit of shopping,
Harry bought us cones from a vendor and we sat outside to eat.
Harry put his arm around me and we savored our ice cream. Harry's
was strawberry; mine chocolate. It was late autumn, and the leaves were
falling. The trees rustled in the wind.
"Did you know you're really beautiful, Claud?" he whispered. His
breath tickled my ear. I turned and smiled at him.
We sat like that until we finished our cones, then went inside
the mall again. At the Merry-Go-Round, this cool accessories store, Harry
bought me a bracelet.
"Thanks," I said, slipping it on. "You know, Harry, it's getting
late," I added. "We should get home before my parents worry."
"Don't you want to spend time with me?" he whined, but he was
grinning. "Okay, then. I'll take you home."
Harry pulled up in front of my house fifteen minutes later. He
turned to me and said, "You know, Claud, I had a really fun time tonight." He
took my hand, and I tingled.
"We really should go on another date again," he continued. He
leaned in really close and suddenly, his lips were on mine. We kissed softly.
The porch light went on, and Dad, Mom and Janine appeared in the
shadows. Harry and I broke apart quickly.
"I better go," I muttered, picking up my purse. "See you in art
class tomorrow."
"Okay. Bye!" He watched me get out of the car. I hurried up the
front stoop, then spun around and waved. Harry waved back, and zoomed off.
Mom smiled at me, like she knew something. "Better get ready for
bed. Don't forget you have school tomorrow." Usually she wouldn't let me go on
a date on a school night, but I had done unusually well on a science test last
week, so she agreed.
"Okay!" I replied gaily, going into the house. I was on top of
the world.
