Looking at her watch, Kristy grabbed her keys, and ran out the door of the house. She was running late, which never happened to her. It's not like she had big plans or anything; she was just going to hang out with Abby, but at the same time tardiness in general bothered her. She had never been the type to be late to anything. You could ask anyone in the Babysitter's Club.
Not bothering with the sidewalk, Kristy cut across into Abby's yard, and opened the door to the Stevenson house without bothering to knock. She didn't knock because she and Abby were that close, but also because the Abby and Anna were so often alone in the big house; really, there wasn't any one to hear the doorbell.
"Abby?" Kristy called, shutting the door.
"I'm upstairs!" Came Abby's voice in the distance.
Kristy charged up the stairs and ran into Abby's room. "Sorry I'm late."
Abby looked at the clock. "Oh. I didn't even notice."
"So what are we doing tonight?" Kristy asked "I need to have some fun!"
Abby shrugged. "I don't know. We could watch a movie on HBO I guess."
Kristy grimaced. "We do that every weekend. We need to do some thing fun and exciting. So I can forget about everything that's going on."
"What's going on?" Abby asked quizzically.
Kristy glared at her. "Talking about it isn't going to exactly help me forget about it, now is it?"
"I guess not." Abby said, sounding hurt.
Kristy felt her face grow hot. She did feel a little bad that she hadn't told Abby about anything that had happened recently, but it wasn't like she had told anyone else either. No one would understand.
"We could go get something to eat," Kristy suggested. "We haven't been to the Rosebud in awhile. Maybe Anna could come too."
Abby wrinkled her nose. "She's busy tonight with Bart. But it would be fun for the two of us to go," she said, brightening up a bit.
"Great. I'll call home and see if my mom or Nannie can drive us."
"My mom is home," Abby said, "she can drive us."
"Your mom is home? I didn't even see her."
"That's because she's locked in her room, with James," Abby muttered.
"Her assistant?" Kristy asked.
"Yeah," Abby said, sighing heavily. "Her assistant." Neither Kristy said anything for a moment. Kristy could tell that Abby expected her to share something now, but she didn't say anything, even though the silence was almost overwhelming.
After a minute, Abby spoke. "I'll go tell mom that we need a ride."
Abby left the room to talk to her mom, and Kristy laid on the bed, flipping through the unfinished scrapbook that she picked up off the floor. Abby was working on the summer section, and almost every picture had Kristy in it. That was just the way their friendship was. That was the way that she had assumed that it would be, at least for awhile. Of course, at this time last year she never would have thought that the Babysitter's Club would have broken up, or that Watson would deem alcohol as more important than his family. So maybe what she thought didn't really count for much.
Abby came back into the room. "James is going to take us. He said to be downstairs in five minutes."
"James is taking us?" Kristy asked.
Abby shrugged. "He is her assistant. And my mom's busy, I guess."
Kristy and Abby talked a little more, and then headed downstairs. James chauffered them to the Rosebud in Mrs. Stevenson's Lexus. He was friendly enough, but Kristy could tell that he didn't exactly feel comfortable escorting them. No one really said anything during the entire ride. Abby basically just stared out the window.
After about ten minutes, James dropped them off in from of the Rosebud Café. As soon as he drove away, Abby let out a sigh.
"That wasn't awkward or anything," she said dryly.
"It wasn't so bad," Kristy said weakly.
Abby didn't say anything and instead headed towards the door. Kristy followed her to a booth in the back. From their viewpoint, they could see Logan Bruno stacking dishes and bringing them into the kitchen.
"I can't believe that he broke up with Mary Anne," said Kristy, shaking her head.
Abby grinned wickedly. "I heard it's because he's gay."
Kristy's mouth dropped open. "Abby! He's one of our friends! How can you say that?"
She shrugged innocently. "It's just what I heard."
"I don't think so," Kristy said, shaking her head. "Besides, I heard that he's going to ask out Miranda Schillabar."
"We'll see what happens five years from now," Abby said wisely.
Kristy and Abby continued chatting while they looked over the menus. Their order was taken, and just as it was being brought out to them Claudia and Stacey walked into the restaurant, and sat down at a booth near them. Kristy and Abby gave them each small waves and tight smiles.
Throughout the meal the girls talked about what they wanted to do that evening, but didn't really settle on anything. They would probably end up going back to one of their houses and watch movies, like usual. Which was fine; Kristy could have fun with Abby doing just about anything. But at the same time, she wanted something more. But it's not like Stoneybrook was a big city just bustling with things to do. Their choices were limited.
Kristy was just finishing the chocolate milkshake that she ordered for dessert when Stacey and Claudia came up to there table. Stacey looked amazing, as usual. Claudia was wearing ripped capris, with hot pink leggings underneath them. Also, she had on a tweed blazer over a rhinestone studded tank top, and completed the outfit with a purple bandana. Kristy wasn't really one to judge fashion-wise, but she in no way thought that Claudia's outfit was fit for public.
Stacey smiled at Abby, and then shifted her gaze towards Kristy. "How's everything going?" she asked. She tried to make the question casual, but one could tell that there was something more to it, if they listened closely enough.
"I'm fine. Everything's fine," Kristy assured "What are you two doing tonight?"
Stacey giggled. "Sam told me about a party at Bart Taylor's house. He's going to be there, and he wants Claudia and I to come."
Abby rolled her eyes. "I guess that answers the question about what Anna is doing tonight."
"That sounds like fun," Kristy said, her eyes suddenly moving towards the entrance. "Look, it's Mal! She's here with the triplets. She must be home for the weekend." Kristy waved her back towards the group.
Mallory walk towards the back of the restaurant, leaving the triplets to their own devices up front. She hadn't changed that much: her hair was still frizzy, braces still on her teeth, and her glasses overtook her face. But despite the awkwardness that basically oozed out of her, deep down Mal was really a sweet girl.
"Hey Mal," Kristy greeted. "How are you?"
"How's Riverbend?" Stacey asked.
"I love it," Mallory said, smiling shyly. "But I miss you guys a lot."
"We miss you too Mal," Claudia said.
Abby nodded in agreement, but was looking past Mallory to some girls from the soccer team who had just walked in. Mallory had gone away to school shortly after Abby had moved to Stoneybrook, so they didn't really know each other that well.
"What are you doing tonight?" Kristy asked "Are you just hanging out with your family?"
Mallory shrugged. "That's pretty much the plan, but being home is kind of driving me crazy. When you are away you forget what it's like to live with your parents and seven siblings."
Stacey's eyes widened. "You should come to this party with us. You all should!"
Claudia looked at Stacey imploringly. "I don't know if that's such a good idea."
Stacey waved her hand, dismissing Claudia. "It's not like it's going to be a wild party or anything. Bart's parents are going out to dinner or something, but they will be back before it gets too late. Sam just said that it was an excuse for people to get to know each other better."
"If Anna has anything to do with it, nothing will get out of hand," Abby offered.
Kristy nodded her head slowly. Maybe this was what she needed. "It does sound like fun."
Mallory bit her bottom lip. "What about my parents? I don't think that they would want me to go to a party with high school students."
"Just tell them that you're hanging out with us," Kristy said. "Or better yet, have the triplets tell them."
Mallory broke into a huge grin. "This is going to be great!"
Kristy smiled back. "It really will be. I miss hanging out with all of you."
Claudia and Stacey nodded in agreement, while Mallory went to the booth the triplets were sitting in to fill them in on what to tell their parents. After a few minutes the girls were outside the restaurant and walking to Bart's house.
"Why do we have to walk to the party?" Abby grumbled. "I'm sure one of our parents could give us a ride."
"You can't get dropped off at a high school party," Stacey explained. "It's practically a rule. Sam explained this all to me last night."
"What are the other rules?" Mallory asked, concerned.
"They were just about what you should wear." Stacey sized up Mallory's outfit, which consisted of ill fitting jeans and a Riverbend Hall t-shirt with her name embroidered on the sleeve. "But I'm sure they're not actually enforced," she said kindly.
Abby, Claudia, Stacey, and Mallory talked and laughed as the group walked through the streets of Stoneybrook. Kristy didn't really say anything. She was content to simply soak up everything that was happening around her; it was almost exactly the opposite of what was going on at home. Looking around her, it was almost as if the Babysitter's Club had never disbanded, and the girls were on their way to hold a summer camp, or solve a mystery. Except that they were on a way to a party, and these five particular girls hadn't spent time together as a unit in months. But it was close enough for Kristy.
After about a half hour of walking, the girls were on Bart's block. They could hear the music blasting out of the open windows and into the street. They all turned to each other and grinned; excitement was in the air.
"Let's party," Kristy said, smiling.