A/N: Yes, this is the last chapter. In case you're wondering, the incident with the puppet really did happen after a performace of our production of Carnival.

EPILOGUE: Jessi

Saturday night was our final performace, and once again, we had a full house. After I finished putting my make-up on and doing my stretching exercises (see what a dedicated dancer I am?), I pulled Linny aside to have a little talk with him.

"I just wanted to say thank you for not spinning me too hard both yesterday afternoon and last night," I said. "And I think you've been doing a wonderful job, especially in 'Sword, Rose & Cape'. You really cracked me up."

"Thanks, Jessi," he smiled.

"Well, break a leg, kiddo."

"You, too." And the two of us hugged.

A few minutes later, I saw Dawn walking past Sam as he was polishing his shoes. When he finished, he looked up and said, "Good luck, little mouse." (That's what Marco sometimes calls Lili, by the way.) Dawn rolled her eyes and laughed. Leave it to Sam to say something that corny. I also wondered if, and for how long, he'd call her that after the show ended.

A minute or so later, Mr. Cheney came backstage. "Can I have your attention, please?" he called, over the noise. This time, Kristy didn't have to whistle. And a good thing, too, because my ears were still ringing from the night before.

"Okay, kids," Mr. Cheney began. "As all of you know, tonight is our final performace. I just wanted to let you know that you've all done a wonderful job, and I'm proud of each and every one of you. Also, I know this doesn't happen very often, but I would like to have a moment of silence to honor the late Jerry Orbach, who played Paul in the original Broadway production. And yes, this is the same Jerry Orbach from Law & Order, as well as the voice of the candlestick in Beauty and the Beast."

We all bowed our heads and were silent for a minute. I just knew Mr. Orbach was watching over us, and he was proud of the show.

"Okay," Mr. Cheney said. "Go get 'em."

Well, the first few musical numbers went really well, and just as I'd expected, Claudia and Karen were both staring dreamily at Jason while he was singing.

The only near-mishap we had was after "Mira" when the parade returns. What happened was this: David Michael was pulling the empty rickshaw, where Stacey had sat earlier, and he was having trouble maneuvering it and seeing where he was going. I can only imagine how much harder it was to pull when Stacey was in it.

Anyway, that poor kid was so preoccupied with trying to see where he was going that he came within inches of my foot. That would've really sucked, because I wasn't wearing any shoes. Now that I think about it, I'm glad I was the one who almost got run over instead of Kristy, because she really would've given him an earful.

"Sword, Rose & Cape" was next, and tonight, it was the best performace ever. In fact, when Jeff Atkinson did his jazz split (guess who taught him how?), it really brought the house down! If I were in that audience, too, I would've been on my feet, cheering right along with them.

Later, during the reprise of "Always, Always You", when Marco is silhouetted against the tent doing his act, I saw Bebe act as one of his "volunteers". When I saw her give him the card backstage, he bowed and smiled. Bebe looked like she was about to melt. "Did you see that?" she whispered to me.

"I sure did," I said.

"Gee, I can see why Stacey likes him so much," she sighed happily. "If I were in middle school or high school, I'd definitely have my hooks in him."

I smiled. Sam may be a clown, but he's still a nice guy.

The rest of the show continued uneventfully, and before too long, it was time for the curtain call. After I took my bow—which was really pointing my toes and doing a pirouette—I saw Keisha and her family, along with Grandma and Grandpa, sitting in the middle of the second row. "Yeah, Jessi!" Keisha shouted. On the upside, she didn't distract me when I was taking my bow, and also that my scrunchie didn't come undone and send my dreadlocks flying all over the place. Part of me was hoping to see Quint, but as it turned out, the show he was doing was the same weekend as this one. I'm just glad his show runs two weekends, so I'll still get to see it.

Oh, well. At least I got to see my cousin.

As we were taking our make-up off and changing out of our costumes, some of us—namely the Bluebird Girls, Marilyn, Shannon, the twins, Sam, the clowns/vendors, Dawn, Stacey, and I—returned our costumes to Mal and Savannah while some of the other teachers were packing up the rest to go to Stamford. Even though I was sorry to see it all end, part of me was glad to move on to the next show, whenever and wherever that would be.

"Here you go, Mal," I said as I handed her my costume. "And don't worry, I won't send you the cleaning bill."

"Well, I should hope not!" Mal said, feigning shock. "Do you have any idea how much it would cost to have these dry-cleaned?"

"No, not off the top of my head, but I'm sure it'd cost an arm and a leg," I laughed.

Just then, I saw Karen sitting on the couch. I could tell she was sad it was all over, and I started walking to her, but stopped when I heard Kristy say to Jason, "Why don't you talk to her?"

"Sure," Jason agreed as he sat down on the couch beside Karen. I didn't hear the whole conversation, but I did hear him say, "Don't worry, Karen, we'll see each other when you're at your dad's. By the way, I had a lot of fun working with you."

The next thing I saw was Karen climbing up on Jason's lap and resting her head on his shoulder. Jason held her, and they rocked back and forth. "I love you, Jason," she said softly.

"I love you, too, Karen," he said, and the two of them rubbed noses.

I thought it was the sweetest thing I'd ever seen. I glanced over my shoulder at Kristy, and I could tell by the look on her face that she was getting an idea.

"Are you guys thinking what I'm thinking?" she beamed.

"You bet," I said. I knew what her idea was right away, and I suspected the others did, too.

"Great. Let's go ask him," Kristy grinned, and we walked over to Jason. On the way, Mal stopped me.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Well, we've just decided to make Jason an associate member," I said.

"All right!" she grinned, and we went to catch up with the others.

We joined them just in time to hear Kristy say, "You don't have to come to any meetings. Just be on call when we need you."

"Sounds great," Jason said. "All right, I'm in."

We all cheered, high-fived, and hugged him. Well, most of us did. Logan high-fived him, Kristy gave him her signature arm-punch, and Claudia kissed him on the lips. When Abby hugged him, she said, in the best Marlon Brando voice she could muster, "Welcobe to the Baby-sitters Club." (Yes, folks, her allergies were acting up again.)

Naturally, it got mucho laughs. Luckily, we didn't wake Karen, who had fallen asleep on Jason's lap.

We all knew Jason would be a great member.

KRISTY: Well, that wraps up another theatrical adventure at SMS. Mr. Cheney didn't blow a gasket, Sam and Logan didn't screw around and drive us up the wall, Karen didn't embarrass anyone, Jackie didn't break every bone in his body, and best of all, Cokie was nowhere in sight. All in all, a blast with a capital B.

MARY ANNE: I'm so proud of you guys. The play was fantastic, the crowds loved it, and best of all, like Claud said, we got to see a new side of Jason that we'd never seen before. When Karen said he had a wonderful voice, she wasn't kidding!

CLAUDIA: What can I say about Carnivul exsept that you guys kicked ass. Oh, and get this: Jason asked me to go to the Spring Dance with him. Oh, my God, what am I going to ware?

STACEY: Don't worry about it, Claud. I'm sure whatever you wear will look just fine. Quick question, by the way: do you know who invented fishnet pantyhose, because I'd like to see them try to put those suckers on!

ABBY: Great job, you guys. Even though I'm probably the world's worst singer, I'm glad I got to be a part of this show. By the way, do me a favor: next time they have auditions for a musical, talk me out it, especially if the show has a dog in it.

MALLORY: Well, I think it's safe to say that this was one pretty great experience, and you'll be glad to know that I didn't leave the measuring tape around someone's waist this time. Thanks, Kerry! And Jessi, say hi to Quint for us when you see him next weekend.

LOGAN: Well, we did it, baby-sitters. We got through it in one piece. I think it's safe to say that Mr. Cheney can take that well-deserved vacation now. By the way, I hear Martha's Vineyard is lovely this time of year. Oh, no, I'm turning into Mrs. Brewer! (No offense, Kristy.)

DAWN: This play was so awesome. And best of all, not only did we get to see a new side of Jason, but I'm happy to say that the thought of modernizing my character for the show never entered my mind. And just out of curiosity, how does one "modernize" Lili, anyway?

SHANNON: This was my first play at a public school, as opposed to Stoneybrook Day, and I'll tell you something. I had a lot more fun that I expected. Great job, you guys. (By the way, don't tell Kristy I said this, but Bart Taylor asked me out!)

SAM: You rocked, Stacey! And yes, I promise not to call you "Rosalie darling" on our next date, and tell Dawn I promise not to call her "little mouse". As for dropping you a line at your next meeting—well, that's another story.

CHARLIE: Don't even think about it, Sam. Anyway, this show was a lot of fun, despite our problems with Midgie. I'm just glad she behaved herself, or else Mr. Cheney would've cut her part out and decided to never use a real dog again.

KAREN: This play was the most gigundo fun I've ever had in a long time! I really loved working with you, Jason, and I'm so glad Kristy let you be in the Baby-sitters Club. I told Andrew about it when we got home, and he said, "When can Jason baby-sit us?"

JASON: Maybe someday, Karen. Like said, I'll see you when you're at your dad's, and thanks for letting me do your make-up. This was a great experience, and I'm looking forward to the next one. And so far, I have no plans to go to Broadway or Hollywood. But just in case that does happen, I won't ask anyone for $2.

BEBE: You guys did a great job, and I really had a ball working with you. And Claudia, you really outdid yourself making the puppets. Which reminds me—I was sorry to see them go, but at least Jason won't be able to tease me with them anymore. (Oh, and in case you're wondering, I asked Pete Black what kind of car Renardo was chasing, and he said it was a Camaro.)

JESSI: Thanks for all your notes, guys. Be sure to watch out for a BIG write-up in next week's SMS Express. And yes, Mal, I'll tell Quint you said hi.

THE END