Introduction

"I'm Stacey McGill, thirteen years old formerly of New York City."

 A grin spread across my face as I lovingly traced the postcard pasted in my scrapbook. The postcard that was a reminder of a trip to the Jersey shore as a mother's helper about five years ago. That was the trip I fell in luv with a lifeguard named Scott who was much too old for me then. And humiliatingly enough I used those words to introduce myself. I was way too full of myself at that age.

I turned another page and found myself looking at a group picture of me and my Best friends at age thirteen. There smiling up at me was a much younger version of myself surrounded by Claudia Kishi ,Kristy Thomas , Mary Anne Spier , Dawn Schafer ,Mallory Pike and Jessi Ramsey. We were standing in front of one of our bunks from the two weeks we spent at "Camp Mohawk" . I know it seems like that's a lot of "Best" friends but at thirteen you have multiple ones!

 We were a unique group of friends though. That group plus Abby Stevenson, Logan Bruno and Shannon Kilbourne made up a group called "The Baby Sitters Club or BSC. It was a unique business that Kristy Thomas thought up at the beginning of Seventh grade and surprisingly we remained a business and group of "best friends" today. Nearly six years later the concept is the same and although during a tumultuous eight grade year when we went through a ton of changes, we still meet every Monday Wednesday and Friday between 5:30 and 6:00. Minus Shannon and Logan in Claudia Kishi's room.
The next scrapbook page showed a collage of Claudia and me that year. Claudia is whom I consider my Best friend among best friends. We bonded in seventh grade over a love of fashion and boys and now almost half-way through our senior year of high school we still share that bond. You'll find us shopping or gossiping together nearly everyday even though our separate interests have led us to each lead our own lives also. Claud is an amazing artist and takes lessons to make her even more so. She's absolutely beautiful with long thick straight glossy black hair and brown almond shaped eyes (she's Japanese-American).

The page opposite Claudia featured Kristy Thomas sitting in her director chair wearing a visor and a pencil over one ear. She still does that to this day during meetings. At thirteen Kristy was the "Idea machine "and also president of the club. Yes loud and bossy describe her best but she's not as bad as she used to be. Back then she dressed in a "uniform "of turtlenecks and running shoes. Today she hasn't changed a lot. She still coaches the "Krushers" (different kids now of course) and as for boys she can take or leave them...a lot of the time she'd rather be playing ball.
Fittingly enough after Kristy I turned to Mary Anne's page. They were and still are "best of best" friends like Claud and I. Mary Anne has probably changed the most since the club started she gained a mother and a step-sister. Not to mention a baby sister a couple of years ago! She became independent and broke up with Logan Bruno who had been her boyfriend for about a year when she realized how smothering he could be at times. Now they're still good friends there's more about Logan but I'll get to that later. Mary Anne still cries at the drop of a hat and is probably still the most sensitive one of the group.
Next came Dawn Schafer. Mary Anne's stepsister from California. Dawn went back and forth between Stoneybrook and southern California many times that year and now she's returned to spend senior year with Mary Anne and her family and to get to know their baby-sister Sandy better. She's definitely our "California Girl" still.
Jessi Ramsey and Mallory Pike had a spread to themselves on the next page. Best friends for ever. The "best of best" again their friendship has survived Mallory going to boarding school and Jessi becoming more and more serious about her dance career. Mal Still wants to be a writer and she's well on her way to being one.

 The final "friends "page in the books showed Abby Stevenson. She's growing into her own now. Still an awesome soccer player and a lot like Kristy. She also is the only one of us to keep a boyfriend past eighth grade! Seriously she's been with Alan Gray for years now.
I kept flipping through pages I started coming across pictures form the places we went out eight grade year. Hawaii, Europe, Vermont. California a couple times. The cross-country road-trip. Disney world and the Bahamas. No year has ever compared to that one for wild and adventurous trips! I came across pictures of the boys I had fallen in "Luv" with that year. There was Toby, Scott Pierre , Pete Black and others. And there were the three I fell in "Love" with, Sam Thomas, Ethan and Robert Brewster. And that's what led me two open the scrapbook today. The trip down memory lane was caused by the events of last night....and I'm hoping I can figure out what to do now