Chapter One:
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
My hand flew to my alarm clock's OFF button and I groaned. Another new day. I
pulled away my covers and sat up groggily.
My body felt like lead and I could barely move a muscle.
"Must...get...up..." I moaned dramatically. Slowly, inch by inch, I moved my
tired body towards my bathroom.
Why was I like this? Kristy Thomas was most definitely a morning person, so why
was she feeling so darn tired today? Before
going into the bathroom, I steered to the right, left my room and went to my
brother Sam's. An alarm clock was useless for
Sam, he slept like a rock and you would have to yell, pull and slap at him until
he so much as twitched an eye. Guess who gets
the great honor of the Waking of the Shrew? Yours truly, Kristy Thomas.
"Sam!" I shouted, banging on his door, even though I knew he wouldn't hear me.
"SAM?!"
"What?" I was shocked to hear a voice from inside.
"Um... Sam?" I asked.
The door opened and Sam appeared. Well, I THINK it was Sam. His curly brown hair
was more tousled than usual, his eyes
were bloodshot and he was still wearing those ratty old sweats from the night
before.
"What is it Kristy?" he asked me, seeming somewhat annoyed.
"Time to wake up." I said.
"Why?" He asked, looking confused.
"For school, Sam. Remember?" I asked, waving my hand in front of his face.
He stared at me like he didn't know what I was talking about, then he started to
grin. "Well, I'll tell you what. YOU can get
ready for school, and then YOU can go."
"Sam!" I exclaimed. "Don't play these mind games with me right now!"
"I'm not playing a mind game, Kristy." He told me. "I was just implying that if
you really want to go to school today, you'll be the
only one there."
I frowned deeply. "What are you talking about?"
"Honestly Kristy, your circuits are dead..." He said, pushing my forehead away
from him. "It's summer vacation."
Without another word, he shut the door and left me staring at it in shock.
"What?" I asked, still densely not getting what he had said.
"Check your calender!" He yelled through the closed door. "It's the first day of
summer. You've just finished your freshman year
of high school."
Summer. Yesterday was the last day of ninth grade. Now I had three glorious
months of nothing but vegging out in front of the
TV, watching movies with my best friends and of course: baby-sitting!
I let out a loud whoop and bounded back into my room. I jumped up and down in
truimph, giddy with relief. What should I
do first? Call Mary Anne? No, too early, her father would have a fit. Go to the
movies? Still too early, the theater wasn't even
open yet. The only thing on TV this early in the morning were infomercials. My
eyes landed on my bed. Hmm, now it wasn't
too early in the morning for this. I jumped on my bed, wrapped myself in my
blanket and fell asleep. I love summer!
"Let's go to Ralph Lauren!" Stacey McGill exclaimed as we zipped down the
Washington Mall.
I sighed as I plopped down onto a nearby bench. How could shopping not wear them
down? Stacey and Claudia Kishi had
dragged Mary Anne Spier and I all over the mall to celebrate the beginning of
summer. Even though the Baby-sitters Club had
closed down in the beginning of the school year, we still hung out and were very
close. Plus, we still baby-sit often. Things were
working out so well, that it was hard to be too depressed about the club
closing.
"Oh please, you guys." I groaned. "My feet hurt, can't we just rest? We've been
shopping for five hours. I think that's enough."
Stacey and Claudia looked at me as if I had just spoken in French.
"But we're just getting started!" Stacey exclaimed.
Mary Anne sighed. "That's what you said after the third store." She pointed to
about five bags at Stacey's feet.
Stacey pressed her lips together and shrugged. "You should see me in New York."
"We've seen you." I replied. She WAS worse.
As painful as it was, shopping did come to an end and we finally were sitting
outside the mall waiting for Sam to come pick us
up. I leaned against the bench and closed my eyes. Mary Anne looked at all the
people around her. Stacey and Claud were
comparing outfits that they had bought and were already discussing what to wear
first.
"Where is Sam at?" I wondered half an hour later. "He should have been here by
now."
"Don't worry about it Kristy." Claudia admonished me. "He'll be here. He's
probably just enjoying all the new found freedom. You
remember all the homework he had this year."
"Okay." I mumbled. That didn't sound much like Sam, but okay.
Suddenly, Mary Anne sat up, a terrified expression passing over her face. She
turned a sickly pale and started to stammer
incoherently.
"What's wrong, Mary Anne?" I asked.
"Cokie." She spat in a disgusted whisper. "And Logan."
My head snapped around so hard I thought I might snap my neck. Sure enough,
there was Cokie Mason and Logan Bruno (Mary Anne's
ex-boyfriend). They were each carrying a folder and a roll of tape. Logan said
something to Cokie that made her laugh loudly,
her voice carrying over to our area like a crow's cawwing.
"Logan? What is he doing with her?" I asked.
"Isn't it obvious?" Claudia asked in disgust.
"Oh, who cares?" Mary Anne replied, glaring at them. "Logan and I aren't
together anymore, why should it matter?"
We watched rather conspicuously as Cokie held up one of the fliers and Logan
taped it onto the wall. The two stood back and
admired it, as if they had just created a work of art before heading away. They
passed right by us and I know Cokie saw Mary Anne
gaping at them, because she moved closer to Logan, almost placing her head on
his shoulder. He didn't push her away.
Claudia, Stacey and all turned our heads to see Mary Anne's reaction. She was
looking down at her nails, peeling away the
remains of her last polishing. She looked up and shrugged. "What are you all
looking at? Haven't you ever seen two idiots walking
before?"
Now, this wasn't the worst thing in the world to say, but Mary Anne isn't the
type to say mean things about anyone or anything,
no matter what.
"Would you all just please stop staring?" She asked when we continued to gape at
her.
We all stared down at our hands until Sam arrived to take us home.
"Where were you?" I asked him after we dropped Mary Anne and Claudia off. "You
were almost an hour late to pick us up."
"Oh, yeah, sorry about that." Sam replied. "But a friend of mine, Cary Retlin,
just got a Playstation 2, he invited me over to play
a few of his games. We got kind of wrapped up in it. I was winning."
"CARY RETLIN!" I exclaimed. "Since when has Cary Retlin been a friend of yours?"
"Since you had that party at the house last year. You invited all your friends.
He was there too." Sam said. "I thought it was so
cool that his dad used to be a cop. Wish ours was, maybe he would have stuck
around longer. But then he started teaching me
all those Harry Houdini stuff that he always pulls on the lockers. Oh, by the
way," He added mischeivously. "That diary with the
lock that you write in? I wouldn't write in it anymore if I were you."
"Why you!" I wished that there was something I could throw at him.
Cary Retlin? My brother was friends with Cary Retlin. How long has that been
going on? All of freshman year? I never saw
Cary around the house, probably because I was always out with my friends.
"Oh, and Cary's coming over tomorrow to let me borrow the PS2, so don't make a
fuss and embarrass me." Sam said.
I blew a raspberry and slumped down in my chair. Sam was so weird. Cary was so
weird. They made the perfect couple. I
looked up quickly and stared at him suspiciously.
"What diary?" I asked.
A smug smile crossed Sam's face but he said nothing.
"Sam, have you been reading my personal things?" I tried again.
"Relax, it isn't like there's anything worth reading there. It's all boring.
Although..." He paused for dramatic effect. "...I did like
how you always wrote about Bart Taylor in your earlier entries."
My eyes widened in anger and I started to hit Sam's shoulder. "How dare you?!" I
asked.
Sam laughed and held me back with one hand. "Cool it, Kristy."
I sat back again and stewed in silence. After my fuming had lessened, Sam spoke
up softly.
"Charlie's coming back tomorrow. It'll be great to see him."
"Yeah," I said smiling. "Yeah, it will."
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
My hand flew to my alarm clock's OFF button and I groaned. Another new day. I
pulled away my covers and sat up groggily.
My body felt like lead and I could barely move a muscle.
"Must...get...up..." I moaned dramatically. Slowly, inch by inch, I moved my
tired body towards my bathroom.
Why was I like this? Kristy Thomas was most definitely a morning person, so why
was she feeling so darn tired today? Before
going into the bathroom, I steered to the right, left my room and went to my
brother Sam's. An alarm clock was useless for
Sam, he slept like a rock and you would have to yell, pull and slap at him until
he so much as twitched an eye. Guess who gets
the great honor of the Waking of the Shrew? Yours truly, Kristy Thomas.
"Sam!" I shouted, banging on his door, even though I knew he wouldn't hear me.
"SAM?!"
"What?" I was shocked to hear a voice from inside.
"Um... Sam?" I asked.
The door opened and Sam appeared. Well, I THINK it was Sam. His curly brown hair
was more tousled than usual, his eyes
were bloodshot and he was still wearing those ratty old sweats from the night
before.
"What is it Kristy?" he asked me, seeming somewhat annoyed.
"Time to wake up." I said.
"Why?" He asked, looking confused.
"For school, Sam. Remember?" I asked, waving my hand in front of his face.
He stared at me like he didn't know what I was talking about, then he started to
grin. "Well, I'll tell you what. YOU can get
ready for school, and then YOU can go."
"Sam!" I exclaimed. "Don't play these mind games with me right now!"
"I'm not playing a mind game, Kristy." He told me. "I was just implying that if
you really want to go to school today, you'll be the
only one there."
I frowned deeply. "What are you talking about?"
"Honestly Kristy, your circuits are dead..." He said, pushing my forehead away
from him. "It's summer vacation."
Without another word, he shut the door and left me staring at it in shock.
"What?" I asked, still densely not getting what he had said.
"Check your calender!" He yelled through the closed door. "It's the first day of
summer. You've just finished your freshman year
of high school."
Summer. Yesterday was the last day of ninth grade. Now I had three glorious
months of nothing but vegging out in front of the
TV, watching movies with my best friends and of course: baby-sitting!
I let out a loud whoop and bounded back into my room. I jumped up and down in
truimph, giddy with relief. What should I
do first? Call Mary Anne? No, too early, her father would have a fit. Go to the
movies? Still too early, the theater wasn't even
open yet. The only thing on TV this early in the morning were infomercials. My
eyes landed on my bed. Hmm, now it wasn't
too early in the morning for this. I jumped on my bed, wrapped myself in my
blanket and fell asleep. I love summer!
"Let's go to Ralph Lauren!" Stacey McGill exclaimed as we zipped down the
Washington Mall.
I sighed as I plopped down onto a nearby bench. How could shopping not wear them
down? Stacey and Claudia Kishi had
dragged Mary Anne Spier and I all over the mall to celebrate the beginning of
summer. Even though the Baby-sitters Club had
closed down in the beginning of the school year, we still hung out and were very
close. Plus, we still baby-sit often. Things were
working out so well, that it was hard to be too depressed about the club
closing.
"Oh please, you guys." I groaned. "My feet hurt, can't we just rest? We've been
shopping for five hours. I think that's enough."
Stacey and Claudia looked at me as if I had just spoken in French.
"But we're just getting started!" Stacey exclaimed.
Mary Anne sighed. "That's what you said after the third store." She pointed to
about five bags at Stacey's feet.
Stacey pressed her lips together and shrugged. "You should see me in New York."
"We've seen you." I replied. She WAS worse.
As painful as it was, shopping did come to an end and we finally were sitting
outside the mall waiting for Sam to come pick us
up. I leaned against the bench and closed my eyes. Mary Anne looked at all the
people around her. Stacey and Claud were
comparing outfits that they had bought and were already discussing what to wear
first.
"Where is Sam at?" I wondered half an hour later. "He should have been here by
now."
"Don't worry about it Kristy." Claudia admonished me. "He'll be here. He's
probably just enjoying all the new found freedom. You
remember all the homework he had this year."
"Okay." I mumbled. That didn't sound much like Sam, but okay.
Suddenly, Mary Anne sat up, a terrified expression passing over her face. She
turned a sickly pale and started to stammer
incoherently.
"What's wrong, Mary Anne?" I asked.
"Cokie." She spat in a disgusted whisper. "And Logan."
My head snapped around so hard I thought I might snap my neck. Sure enough,
there was Cokie Mason and Logan Bruno (Mary Anne's
ex-boyfriend). They were each carrying a folder and a roll of tape. Logan said
something to Cokie that made her laugh loudly,
her voice carrying over to our area like a crow's cawwing.
"Logan? What is he doing with her?" I asked.
"Isn't it obvious?" Claudia asked in disgust.
"Oh, who cares?" Mary Anne replied, glaring at them. "Logan and I aren't
together anymore, why should it matter?"
We watched rather conspicuously as Cokie held up one of the fliers and Logan
taped it onto the wall. The two stood back and
admired it, as if they had just created a work of art before heading away. They
passed right by us and I know Cokie saw Mary Anne
gaping at them, because she moved closer to Logan, almost placing her head on
his shoulder. He didn't push her away.
Claudia, Stacey and all turned our heads to see Mary Anne's reaction. She was
looking down at her nails, peeling away the
remains of her last polishing. She looked up and shrugged. "What are you all
looking at? Haven't you ever seen two idiots walking
before?"
Now, this wasn't the worst thing in the world to say, but Mary Anne isn't the
type to say mean things about anyone or anything,
no matter what.
"Would you all just please stop staring?" She asked when we continued to gape at
her.
We all stared down at our hands until Sam arrived to take us home.
"Where were you?" I asked him after we dropped Mary Anne and Claudia off. "You
were almost an hour late to pick us up."
"Oh, yeah, sorry about that." Sam replied. "But a friend of mine, Cary Retlin,
just got a Playstation 2, he invited me over to play
a few of his games. We got kind of wrapped up in it. I was winning."
"CARY RETLIN!" I exclaimed. "Since when has Cary Retlin been a friend of yours?"
"Since you had that party at the house last year. You invited all your friends.
He was there too." Sam said. "I thought it was so
cool that his dad used to be a cop. Wish ours was, maybe he would have stuck
around longer. But then he started teaching me
all those Harry Houdini stuff that he always pulls on the lockers. Oh, by the
way," He added mischeivously. "That diary with the
lock that you write in? I wouldn't write in it anymore if I were you."
"Why you!" I wished that there was something I could throw at him.
Cary Retlin? My brother was friends with Cary Retlin. How long has that been
going on? All of freshman year? I never saw
Cary around the house, probably because I was always out with my friends.
"Oh, and Cary's coming over tomorrow to let me borrow the PS2, so don't make a
fuss and embarrass me." Sam said.
I blew a raspberry and slumped down in my chair. Sam was so weird. Cary was so
weird. They made the perfect couple. I
looked up quickly and stared at him suspiciously.
"What diary?" I asked.
A smug smile crossed Sam's face but he said nothing.
"Sam, have you been reading my personal things?" I tried again.
"Relax, it isn't like there's anything worth reading there. It's all boring.
Although..." He paused for dramatic effect. "...I did like
how you always wrote about Bart Taylor in your earlier entries."
My eyes widened in anger and I started to hit Sam's shoulder. "How dare you?!" I
asked.
Sam laughed and held me back with one hand. "Cool it, Kristy."
I sat back again and stewed in silence. After my fuming had lessened, Sam spoke
up softly.
"Charlie's coming back tomorrow. It'll be great to see him."
"Yeah," I said smiling. "Yeah, it will."