Chapter 1
"I can't find my passport!" I exclaimed.
Kristy Thomas, Mary Anne Spier, Claudia Kishi and Stacey McGill turned to look at me, horrified. I grinned. "I'm just kidding", I said. "It's in my pocket."
Mary Anne, Stacey and Claudia started to laugh, but Kristy glared us angrily. "That wasn't funny", she said peevishly. "It would have been a disaster if Dawn had lost her passport." "Oh come on, it was a joke", said Stacey and straightened up her light blue blouse, which had a silver picture of New York City printed on it. With her tight, dark jeans and high-heeled shoes that blouse made her look like a 17-year-old.
"There is no time for jokes", Kristy said. "This morning has been absolutely crazy! One more delay and we'll miss the airplane."
Kristy was right, we sure had had a lot of troubles before getting to the airport. If I were superstitious, I probably wouldn't have the courage to travel by a plane today.
There had been a local power cut in the morning. Because of that my digital alarm clock hadn't worked, and I had woken up when my still half-asleep mom had shaked me and cried: "Hurry up Dawn! It's already nine o'clock!"
I was almost two hours late from my schedule. I had planned to get up early and pack in the morning, so I hadn't even decided which clothes I was going to take with me. Now I had had only thirty minutes time to get dressed, stuff the most necessary things to my suitcase, hug mom for farewell and run to Claudia's house while eating a tofu sandwich which mom had made me.
Claudia's brainy big sister Janine had promised to drive Claudia, Stacey, Mary Anne and me to the airport. Claudia, Stacey and Mary Anne are almost neighbours, but my home is a bit further away. (Kristy used to live near them too, but when her mother married a millionaire called Watson, she moved to a mansion on the other side of Stoneybrooke.) Anyway, I had told them not to pick me up, because that would be a waste of gas, and I'm kind of an environmental friendly person, if you know what I mean. When I appeared (a quarter late) Claudia and Stacey were already sitting in the car. They waved when they saw me. "Mary Anne is late too!" Claudia shouted from the window. "So don't worry!" She was wearing a wide yellow t-shirt, yellow trainers, blue trousers and huge, blue earrings. She has a unique style, and believe me, her outfits are usually a lot wilder.
It was already ten o'clock when Mary Anne finally came dragging her luggage. "I'm sorry about this"; she said when she seated herself in the front next to Janine. "My alarm clock didn't ring cause of the..." "The power cut", I added. "I know. I had the same problem." "Are you ready to go now?" asked Janine and put down the newspaper she had been reading. "Or shall we wait another ten minutes just in case?" "Hee hee", Claudia said sarcastically. "Just start the engine, please."
We were halfway to the airport when Stacey let out a scream. "What? What is it, Stace? What's wrong?" we all asked. "I forgot my insulin pens on the kitchen table" Stacey said. She giggled nervously. "I'm gonna need them. Sorry, guys." Stacey has diapetes, and she must stick insulin many times every day. In addition, she can't eat things like chocolate, sweets or ice cream. If she did, she might die. (Claudia would die, if she couldn't eat candy and cookies. She is crazy about junk food.) We had no choice than to turn back. Mrs McGill was very relieved when she saw our car. She had noticed the pens and was just going to come after us.
Kristy was extremely moody when we met her at our destination. "Sam almost hit Andrew when he drove out of the garage", she explained. "Thank God I realized to pull the emergency brake. Poor Andrew, I bet he's still crying." "Oh that's terrible!" said Mary Anne and hugged Kristy. "But I'm sure he won't remember that long. No later than Karen makes up a new game he'll forget all about it." Mary Anne always knows what to do and what to say when someone is sad or depressed. She's quite silent and emotional herself, but guess what? She's the only one of us who has a boyfriend!
Janine started to move restlessly. "You should get going, and so should I", she said. "My lecture starts soon, and I have to get a cup of coffee before going to the university." Janine is not older than 16, but high school is too easy for her. She studies all the time, and makes Claudia look even lazier than she really is. Claudia hates school, and is only good at arts.
Claudia stared at Janine. "You were supposed to help us with the luggage and wait 'til we've gone through the security check", she said accusingly. "You promised mom and dad." Janine looked annoyed. "I'm sure you'll gonna be alright, you have travelled before", she said and went her way. "And Claudia!" she shouted just before we lost sight of her. "Remember to watch out for polar bears, they can be pretty aggressive!" "Polar bears? Nobody mentioned polar bears when we booked this journey!" Claudia panicked. "I don't like anything bigger than a dog." "She was just tricking you", Mary Anne calmed her. "There are surely no polar bears on those latitudes. But I have read that-" "I'm sorry to interrupt", Kristy said. "But we really have to hurry now. You must share your information later."
We somehow managed to get in the plane on time. I got a seat by the window, and Mary Anne sat between me and Kristy. Claudia and Stacey sat right in front of us. "I wonder if there's any cute boys there", said Stacey dreamily when the plane speeded up on the runway. "I have really missed falling in love, all the boys in our school are so immature. Except for Logan, of course", she added hastily, when Mary Anne glanced at her. "We'll find out soon", said Kristy. "But remember that we're going there to baby-sit, not to meet boys." "Sure, Kristy", Stacey responded, but I could hear a little ridicule in her voice. "Oh no", I couldn't help thinking. I had a feeling that this conversation wasn't over yet.