BSC in NYC!

Dear Dad and Sharon,

Hello from New York! I love it here so much, but I'm sure you're not surprised to hear that! Today I spent a beautiful day in Central Park with Kristy and Claudia. Guess what? They're making a movie here and you'll never guess who's starring in it…

Love,

Mary Anne

P.S. Pat Tigger for me! Meow! Meow!

I love New York so much. It's my favorite city in the world. I want to live here when I grow up. My room is decorated with posters of the city's skyline and I pride myself on having the largest collection of New York travel books in all of Stoneybrook.

After breakfast, Dawn, Jessi, Mallory, and Karen went out to explore Fifth Avenue and Kristy and I caught a cab along with Mr. and Mrs. Brewer who would be taking David Michael and Andrew to the zoo at the park.

Kristy and I were going to meet Claudia at the park by the Ramble. It was easy to spot her since she was wearing a rainbow colored blouse with purple suede pants, orange Jelly shoes, a yellow cloth headband, and a neon green plastic necklace. On anyone else, the outfit would have looked absolutely ridiculous, but Claudia made it look super dibble. She is a fashion genius!

We began walking. It was a beautiful day for a stroll in the park.

"Look at all these parents with their kids, "Kristy observed. "We could probably set up a baby-sitting service right here in the park."

"Oh no! Not another Idea!" Claudia groaned.

"I'm serious!" Kristy exclaimed. "We could set up somewhere, maybe near the Alice in Wonderland statue and charge parents ten dollars an hour to watch their kids while they do their own thing, like have a quiet lunch or something."

"Well, count me out," said Claudia. "I love kids and I love baby-sitting, but I'd rather not spend my vacation doing it."

"What about you, Mary Anne?" asked Kristy.

"I have to agree with Claud," I replied. "Besides, I doubt many people would leave their kids with strangers."

"But we're not strangers!" exclaimed Kristy. "We're the Baby-Sitters Club! We have a very successful and popular baby-sitting service. I'm sure half of Manhattan has already heard of us."

"Somehow I doubt that," Claudia replied. "Hey, I was thinking of getting a tattoo. What do you guys think of that?"

Kristy and I glanced at each other.

"Um, Claud, don't you have to be at least eighteen to get one?" asked Kristy.

"I could pass for eighteen!" exclaimed Claudia.

"Why do you want to get a tattoo?" I asked, wrinkling my nose. "Wouldn't that hurt?"

"Well, what about a piercing?"

"Are you thinking of putting another hole in your ear?" Kristy asked. (Claudia has three piercings, two in on one ear and just one in the other).

"No, I want to pierce something different. Perhaps another body part like my nose or my eyebrow."

"Ouch!" I exclaimed as Kristy said, "Why would you want to mutilate yourself like that?"

"It's not mutilating," Claudia replied huffily. "It's self-expression."

"Don't you already have enough self-expression?" Kristy asked making air quotes around the word self-expression.

"I want more."

"You want to stand out even more?" I said in shock. "Claud, I really don't think you need to do that."

"I want to change my look drastically!" Claudia said. "Everywhere I look, I see New Yorkers with shaved heads or lip rings or tattoos all over their arms and I think to myself, "Wow, I want to look like that!"

"I don't think you need to change yourself, Claud," I told her. "I like you just the way you are."

"Yeah, and you stand out in Stoneybrook already since you're one of the few Asian-Americans at SMS," Kristy pointed out.

"Yeah, well, I want something that makes me especially unique." Claud stopped. "Hey, look there's Tavern on the Green. I bet Stacey's in there having lunch with her dad and his new girlfriend. Can you believe that he's dating Carrie Bradshaw?"

Kristy and I looked at each other once again. "Who?" we asked simultaneously.

"She's only one of New York's most famous writers," Claudia replied.

"I didn't know you read books other than Nancy Drew, Claud," Kristy joked.

"Ha ha," Claudia snapped. "She doesn't write books, she writes a column for the paper called Sex and the City."

"Sex and the City?" I said in a whisper. "She writes about….sex?" Again, I whispered the word.

"Well, not just about sex, but about relationships and men. She's absolutely fantastic. And very fashionable."

"Well, no wonder I've never heard of her," Kristy replied. "Now maybe if she were a sports writer…"

We continued walking until we came across a huge crowd of people.

"I wonder what's going on there," I said.

"Let's go check it out," Kristy said.

As we came closer to the crowd, we soon saw that it was a movie set! Two security guards stood in front of a trailer.

"What's all this?" Kristy asked as we came closer to the crowd.

A girl, probably a few years older than us turned around and exclaimed, "They're making a movie here! And Cam Geary is the star!"

"Cam Geary!" I squealed. "He is my favorite movie star in the world!"

"Ohmygod! Mine too!" exclaimed the girl. "He is soooo dreamy!"

"Is he in that trailer right now?" I asked excitedly.

"I think so. We haven't seen him all day, though." The girl looked disappointed. She looked at me. "Say, you don't happen to post at the Cam Geary fan board do you?"

"You mean TeensInLoveWithCam?" I asked and she nodded. "Yes! Yes, I do!"

She gasped! "So do I! What's your screen name? I'm ForeverCamsGirl."

"Oh, yes, I know you!" I laughed. "I post under the name MrsCamGeary. My real name is Mary Anne, though."

"Oh yes, you have the most posts there!" laughed the girl. "It's such an honor to meet you. You really are the biggest Cam Geary fan in the world."

"Oh, well, I wouldn't say that," I replied modestly.

"My name is Jenna," she replied. She shook my hand. "It's so great to meet you!"

"Do you know how long Cam's going to be here to make the movie?" I asked.

Jenna shrugged. "I'm not sure. I think a few more days."

"Well we must make it our mission to meet Cam Geary!"