"Carolyn?" I tried again. "What happened?"

"Where's Marilyn?" Kristy wondered aloud. "What's the problem here?"

Carolyn grabbed a Kleenex from the box and blew her nose. Then she regained control of herself and said, "Marilyn's not coming. And she is my problem!" Then she started sobbing again.

The twins were having a fight? This didn't happen very often. But when it did, I knew that those two could fight with the best of them. The only strange thing was that I'd never known Carolyn to cry this much over an ordinary fight with her sister.

"What else is wrong?" I ventured to ask. "Can you tell us the whole story?"

Kristy had fetched a glass of water for Carolyn. Carolyn took a big drink of the water, inhaled and exhaled a few times slowly, and once she was calmed down again, she spoke.

"Marilyn might quit the BSC."

"What?!" That was me, Kristy, and Charlotte, who had just come back into the kitchen and took notice of the situation.

"Why would she do that?" Kristy wanted to know.

"Because," Carolyn began. "Well... okay, you know when we picked which officer we wanted to be at the first meeting. And Marilyn wanted to be the alternate officer because she was going to be so busy with the band. Well, there's a chance that she's going to be even more busy than she already is. She's already going to have a big conflict with the Friday meeting time as it is. The band performs at all of the Friday night games. Sometimes they even leave school early if they have to travel to a school that's really far away."

I exchanged glances with Charlotte, and I knew that we were both groaning inside. Why hadn't we stopped to consider Marilyn's football games being a conflict with the meetings? Charlotte hadn't scheduled anything very far in advance yet, due to lack of time, and the first football game wouldn't be for another two weeks. On the other hand, Marilyn must have realized that it would be a problem for quite sometime. Why had she failed to say anything? That wasn't like her to be so irresponsible.

"She's been kind of stressed lately," Carolyn went on, answering my question before I could ask it. "I can understand why she'd be stressed, being one of the few eighth graders in the high school band. And now she's going to take on something else, which is why she's considering quitting the BSC."

"What's she going to do instead?" Charlotte asked.

Carolyn rolled her eyes. "She's trying out for the high school orchestra in about a month. If she makes it, she'll be the first eighth grader to do so. And she's pretty confident that she will make it."

"But even if that's true, she still hasn't made it yet, and she's still a part of the BSC!" I blurted out. "Why didn't she come tonight?"

"That's why I'm mad at her," Carolyn explained. "She was staying after school today to work with some girl who was first chair violin in the orchestra last year. She wanted to stay up until it was time to come to the meeting. So I told her I would come by the school on my way to Haley's house, and we could walk together to Haley's from there.

Well, when I went to the Band Hall to look for her, I couldn't find her anywhere. One of the guys that was hanging around there told me that Marilyn went with that girl to the Dairy Queen and told him to tell me to meet her there. So I went to the Dairy Queen. No Marilyn there. So I called Mom at home, and she said that Marilyn called to ask if she could go with that girl to the music store. And Mom told her she could go. That made me really mad that she ditched me like that. I ran from the Dairy Queen all the way to Haley's house. And that's why I was late. All because of her."

"Oh," Charlotte said in a small voice.

"I really don't want her to quit," I sighed. "Isn't there something we can do?"

Carolyn shrugged. Charlotte bit her lip and stared blankly at the wall. And I had no clue.

Kristy spoke up. "Even if Marilyn does make the orchestra, she still might not have to quit altogether. She could become an associate member and not attend meetings."

"She could," Carolyn seemed to brighten just a little at that idea.

"Hey, Carolyn," Becca appeared in the doorway. "I'm glad you're here. Where's Marilyn?"

Carolyn opened her mouth to speak, clearly exasperated and probably about to snap at Becca out of frustration. So I jumped in. "It's a long story, Becca. But we don't think she's coming."

Becca frowned, but didn't ask any questions. "Okay, well should we still do the club picture?"

"Let's save it until the end in case she shows up," Charlotte suggested. We all agreed half- heartedly. Everyone in the kitchen looked gloomy, while the party was in full swing in the living room.

"Maybe you should wash your face so nobody will ask you why you've been crying, Carolyn ," I suggested. I didn't want her to have to re-tell her story to everyone. That would just upset her more.

"Okay," she agreed and headed off to the bathroom. When the phone finally rang again, and I left Becca and Charlotte to answer it while I tracked down Haley to fill her in on what had just happened.

I found Haley sitting with Zach, talking to Claudia, Janine, and James. Haley and Zach were squished together, side by side, even though they were the only two people sitting on the loveseat. Zach had his arm around Haley's shoulder, and he was playing with her hair.

I stared at the two of them for a moment, and my mind started working again. My crush on Zach was as strong as ever; I could tell by the awful, jealous feeling deep in the pit of my stomach. But I could tell that Haley was already winning him over. What guy wouldn't like Haley? She was charming, funny, and always the life of the party. As much as I hated to admit, Zach and Haley were a cute couple.

"Vanessa?" Someone tapped me on the shoulder. It was Charlotte.

"Hey-hi-um, yes?" I stammered.

Charlotte laughed a little. "O-kay... That was Mrs. Prezzioso. She needs a sitter for Andrea and Kaylee, but not Jenny on Thursday afternoon. You and I are free. Do you want it?"

"Um, nah," I said, my eyes drifting away from Charlotte and back to Haley and Zach. (I couldn't help it!) "You can take it."

"Thanks," Charlotte replied. "Vanessa, can I ask you something?"

"Like what?" I forced myself to look at Charlotte.

"I've been watching you lately, and you really seem to like Zach. I'm not just talking about what you wrote in the notebook. You looked really hurt just now when I saw you looking at him with Haley. I just want to know if you're okay." Charlotte looked at me, truly concerned.

I decided not to cover up for myself, and just to be real with her. "Yes, I am hurt. But I think I've decided... " My eyes went back to Haley and Zach. The others had disappeared, and the two of them were now talking only to each other quietly, lost in their own world while the party carried on around them. "I think I'm giving up my crush on Zach."

Charlotte nodded slowly, her brown eyes full of sympathy. "What made you decide that?"

I thought for a moment. "Not only do I not have a chance with him... I also think its for the best of the club. With the possibility of us losing Marilyn, we just can't afford for anything else to happen. I'm afraid that if Haley and I get into a big fight over him, he'll want to quit the club. Or she will. And the club will fall apart. The club is more important to me right now than winning a boyfriend."

"That's a very noble thing to do, Vanessa," Charlotte said. "I really admire that about you. You always think about everyone else before yourself. Even if that means you get hurt."

I bit my lip, trying not to cry. "Oh, sorry Vanessa! I didn't mean to---" Charlotte looked like she might cry herself. Since we were surrounded by people, I decided it would be best to carry on this conversation somewhere else. I motioned for Charlotte to follow me, and we ended up alone in their formal dining room where we could talk in private.

"Vanessa, I've got to tell you something," Charlotte looked very serious. "I overheard the argument that you and Haley had when Zach came to the meeting on Monday. I had stayed to ask Matt a question and that's when I heard you guys fighting."

I was quiet. She went on. "I called Haley later and told her I didn't think she was right not to let you tear that entry out of the notebook. I told her that it was awful of her to make you face the humiliation of having Zach read everything that you wrote about him and know your most personal thoughts."

"Wow, I'm glad you did that," I said, truly meaning it. I was beginning to wander if Charlotte was my guardian angel. "Did you get through to her?"

"I must have," Charlotte said. "Because I checked, and your entry is gone."

"Well, that's a relief," I sighed a little. "I had almost forgotten all about that entry. It would be especially bad for Zach to read that now that he and Haley are... practically together."

"Practically," Charlotte said. "I suppose they'll make it official soon. I've about decided that the whole boyfriend thing is completely overrated."

"Really?" I asked. I never expected to hear those words from boy-crazy Charlotte Johanssen.

"I'm serious," she went on. "For instance, it was a bad idea for me to date Jake. We had such a good friendship before we went out, and now that we've broken up, our friendship is ruined. I can't even talk to him anymore. I don't know if things will ever be normal between us."

"Gosh, sorry Char," I said. "I didn't know it was that bad."

She just nodded, her eyes revealing a sadness that I had never noticed in her before. I gave Charlotte a much-needed hug and she gratefully hugged me back.

"You guys?" Haley appeared in the doorway as Charlotte and I finished hugging. "Come on into the kitchen. The meeting is over. It's time to officially induct Zach into the BSC!"

I put a smile on my face and decided it was time to enjoy myself.

"There they are," Zach exclaimed when Haley, Charlotte, and I returned to the kitchen. He grinned that charming grin of his, and oddly enough, my heart didn't melt into a puddle. Instead I smiled back at him, knowing now that I could live with just having Zach as my friend.

Kristy handed me a plate with two slices of pizza and a glass of Coke, and I took my food and raised my Coke above my head.

"As President of the BSC," I said in my most official voice. "I would like to say a toast to our newest club member. Zach--- "

"Wait, wait!" Fifteen people turned to see Marilyn Arnold burst through the door. "Uh, sorry I'm late!" She looked so embarrassed that we all laughed. Yes, even Carolyn.

Kristy handed Marilyn a Coke, and she took it and raised it in the air, still red in the face and said, "Okay, go ahead, Vanessa."

"As I was saying," I went on. "Zach Yamakawa, welcome to the Baby-sitters Club!"

CLANK! Everyone clanked glasses with the people around them. I clanked my glass with Abby and Becca, took a sip, and looked all of my friends that surrounded me. Everyone was happy, but the future was still looking a little uncertain for the club.

We had gained a new member, but were faced with the possibility of losing one of our original members at the same time. I watched Marilyn explaining herself to Carolyn and Charlotte. Neither of them looked upset with her so I was sure then that she must have had a good reason to miss the meeting. Whatever had made her so late wasn't important now.

The most important thing now was the friendships between us club members. I hoped that everyone would support Marilyn no matter what, and that we could all be happy for her if she earned a spot in the orchestra, even if that meant that she had to leave the BSC or become an associate member. I hoped that Haley and I would still remain close even if she decided to go out with Zach. I also hoped that Zach would be careful with her heart so that she wouldn't end up getting hurt like Charlotte did.

"Picture time!" Becca shouted. She handed her camera to Janine. Haley had a camera, too, and she handed hers over to Janine's husband.

"This picture's for our scrapbook," Becca announced to everyone. "The New Club celebrating with the Original Club."

Becca, Charlotte, Zach, Haley, Marilyn, Carolyn and I crouched down in the front, while Kristy, Claudia, Mary Anne, Abby, Mallory, Jessi, and Logan took their places behind us. I knew this was what Becca had been hoping for. The new and the old, captured forever on film.

"Okay, everyone say cheese!" called Janine, as she and James held up their cameras.

"Cheese!" said the BSC.

CLICK!

(The End.)

Coming soon... #2 "Carolyn and the Trouble With Twins"