DISC: I DO NOT own any of the chars from BSC. They belong to Ann M. Martin. I Do however own anyone you don't recognize!
Enjoy!

"Kristy's Big Decision"

CHAPTER 9

Everyone woke up early the next morning.

They were all anxious to welcome Anya and the Papadakis girls home.

Karen and Alex were the first ones downstairs for breakfast.

"Morning, you guys!" I greeted the girls the minute they came into the kitchen.

"Morning!" Karen replied happily.

"Is Mama home yet?" Was Alex's reply.

I frowned.

"Not yet. But you know what?"

Alex shook her head as she took her seat next to Karen.

"Sara called this morning and said they'll be home by lunchtime."

This got Alex to smile.

Karen was excited too.

The boys came down a few minutes later.

While Linny was worried about his sisters, he was also hungry.

I giggled as I watched them pile pancakes, bacon and hash browns onto their plates.

The girls followed suit, although Alex stopped laughing sooner than Karen.

After breakfast was over, the kids helped me clean up the kitchen.

Once that was done, they ran upstairs to get ready.

Alex borrowed one of Karen's outfits since she didn't have any clothes of her own since she had stayed over on such short notice.

After the kids and I were ready, we hung out outside. We wanted to be there when the Papadakis' and Springers' came home.

Keeping the kids busy wasn't an easy task, but I managed it with some help from Claudia, who agreed to come over after breakfast to give me a hand.

Mal had also come over, along with Margo and Claire and Charlotte.

Alex ran to Charlotte and Claire the moment they arrived and the three started playing.

"So when are they supposed to be home?" Mal asked as we sat on the grass and watched the kids play.

"Around lunchtime." I replied.

As the kids started looking bored, I got an idea.

"Who wants to play some ball?" I asked the seven or so kids around me.

Everyone agreed in a hurry.

Before I knew it, another practice game was in full swing.

Claudia helped out while Mal watched Emily Michelle.

Even though Claudia didn't have as much experience with sports as Abby, she was pretty good.

Just as Alex was about to hit a home run, Karen started pointing a little ways down the street and shouting, "They're here! They're here! Anastasia's back!"

In all the excitement, Alex dropped the bat mid swing. This caused a chain reaction that Jackie Rodowsky would have been proud of.

The bat sailed across the yard and ended up hitting Nicky Pike in the shoulder.

Nicky yelped indignantly, but Alex didn't hear him. She was running across the street towards the two people who had just gotten out of the red van.

She only had eyes for one person at that moment. As I watched, it was apparent that the feeling was mutual.

Alex flew into Anya's arms a second before Karen got there.

"Privyet, you two!" She greeted warmly.

Karen frowned when Anya patted her head without hugging her.

Fortunately, Sara asked Karen to help carry some grocery bags in the house. This distracted her for a few minutes.

"Mama!" Alex cried happily the minute Anya picked her up. "Mama, I missed you!"

"I missed you too, sweetheart." Anya replied. She held the seven-year-old close as she turned around to greet the kids who had crowded around her.

Mal and I Got there just in time to stop Claire throwing her arms around Anya and knocking her off balance.

"Claire, wait. " Mal said firmly, but gently.

Claire pouted, but did as she was told.

The second Anya put Alex down, Claire attacked her.

Anya laughed as she hugged her back.

"Hey, little one. I missed you too."

Claire grinned.

"Are you all better now?" Claire asked.

Anya nodded.

"Yes." She replied.

"YAY!" Came the cheer from the kids gathered around Anya.

Karen returned a minute later. She walked right past Anya and stood near Charlotte.

Anya was busy talking to the other kids, so she didn't notice Karen's look.

I did though. I could tell there was going to be trouble down the road.

I knew Anya hadn't meant to ignore Karen, but I also knew my sister. She was feeling left out. And if I knew Karen, something told me this wasn't going to be fixed overnight.

Once most of the kids had gone home, Anya sat down on the front porch with Alex and me.

"Are you really all better, Mama?" Alex asked.

Anya smiled down at her and ruffled her light-brown hair.

"Yes, Alex. I promise. I'm fine now."

"I'm glad." I replied. "Anya, what happened?"

Anya sighed.

"Can I tell everyone at once at Friday's meeting? I'm still a little tired."

"Sure." I replied. I decided to leave so Anya could rest. I knew she also needed to spend some time with Alex.

I said good-bye to the two and left for my own house.

It wasn't long before the Papadakis' returned.

Karen was happy again once she knew Hannie was okay. But I could tell something was still bothering her.

I knew she would come to me when she was ready to talk. But I had a feeling this was something she and Anya had to work out on their own.

Friday's meeting was a mass of excitement and curiosity. Everyone was eager to hear what happened to Anya and the Papadakis girls on Wednesday.

I told Anya she didn't have to come to Friday's meeting if she was still feeling run down, but she insisted she was fine.

She proved it when she showed up five minutes early and started joking around with Claud and me.

When everyone else arrived and we had gotten organized, I called the meeting to order.

I had called an early meeting so we would have enough time to talk about what had happened and take calls.

Once I had called the meeting to order, the questions started coming at Anya in rapid succession.

"What happened?." Claud inquired.

"Why did you have to stay in the hospital over night?" Mary-Anne asked.

"Was the food good?" Claudia asked.

This got everyone laughing.

Anya took a deep breath and launched into her story. She had already written up an entry all about it in the club notebook yesterday, but we wanted to hear it from her.

"So I didn't' know what was going on," she said. "But I knew I had to get the kids out of the house. So I grabbed Hannie and Sari and raced over to my house. That's where I fainted. When I woke up, I was in the hospital and Sara was with me. She told me what the nurse had told her about us having carbon monoxide poisoning. I would have come home on Thursday, but I was really sick."

"Do the Papadakis' have cm detectors in their house now? " Mal asked. She knew about cm poisoning because she read about it. Her family also has detectors in their house.

"I'm not sure." Anya answered truthfully. "While we were at the grocery store today, Sara picked a few up."

"That's good." I said. "While I'm sorry that happened to you and the girls, it was a lesson for everyone. All baby-sitter's should know what to do if that ever happened while on a job. They should also ask about carbon monoxide detectors in the home before they sit."

Anya nodded. She frowned.

"I didn't even know what was going on at the time." She said.

"I know. And that's okay." I assured her. "But now you do and you'll be more prepared next time. But you made sure the kids were okay and that's the most important thing."

Anya beamed with pride.

"Were you scared?" Mary-Anne asked.

"Not at first. " Anya said. "At first, I Thought sari just had the flu. Then when Hannie got sick right after Sari did, something clicked in my brain and I knew I had to get them out of the house."

"Wow!" Mal said. "You're really brave."

Anya blushed, but a small grin was spreading across her face.

Just then, the phone rang.

I looked at Anya and smiled encouragingly.

"Hello?" She said. "Baby-sitter's club. Hi, Mrs. Pike. Yes, I'm feeling better. Thanks. A sitter for the girls on Tuesday from eleven to two? Let me check and we'll get right back to you. Bye." With that, she hung up.

"You're free, Anya and so are you, Claud. " Mary-Anne said. "Everyone else is busy."

"I guess the job is ours then. " Anya said, grinning at Claudia.

Claud grinned back.

"Okay." She agreed.

Anya called Mrs. Pike back while Mary-Anne penned the job in the record book.

The phone rang a few more times. In between the phone calls, we talked about anything and everything and munched on some snacks.

Fifteen minutes before the meeting was over, something strange happened in the way of a phone call.

Anya picked it up when it rang because she was the closest one to it.

Claudia and Mal had taken a few calls throughout the forty-five minutes, so it was okay.

"Hello? Baby-sitter's club. Hi, Mrs. Thomas. A sitter for Karen tomorrow from three-thirty until six? Let me check with the others and I'll call you back. Yes, I'm feeling better. Thanks. I also wanna thank you for letting Alex sleepover on such short notice. Aw, thanks. She's definitely a sweetheart. Okay, we'll call you right back."

I had a feeling Mom had told Anya Alex had been no trouble and she was a joy to have. This was true of course.

"Oh okay. Here she is." With that, Anya handed me the phone. "Karen wants to talk to you."

"Okay. " I said. With that, I took the phone from her and pressed it to my ear. "Hello, Karen? What's up?" I asked.

"Kristy, I don't want Anastasia to baby-sit me." She said. "Can you do it or Claudia?"

"Claud might be able to. " I said. "But Karen, why don't you want….I thought you liked her."

"I do. " Karen assured me. "But she doesn't like me anymore." She sounded so sad, I wanted nothing more than to rush home and hug her. But I knew I couldn't. "Karen, we'll talk when I get home. I need to go now though. I love you."

"Love you too." Karen replied. With that, the phone call ended.

Anya gave me a concerned look when the phone call was done.

I shook my head.

"Claud, can you take the job with Karen tomorrow afternoon?"

"Okay." Claudia replied. "But shouldn't we see whose free first?"

"Trust me. " I said. "You need to take this job."

Anya cut in.

"I don't mind doing it." She said. 'I haven't seen Karen since I came home."

I felt torn.

Then I got an idea. Maybe it would work.

"Anya, can you call my Mom back and tell her you'll take the job tomorrow?"

"Okay." Anya said uncertainly. She could tell I was up to something.

Shaking her own head in confusion, Anya made the phone call.

"Hi, Mrs. Thomas? I'll be there around three-thirty to watch Karen and Emily. Okay. Bye."

"Kristy, what's going on?" Mary-Anne asked. She could tell something was wrong right away.

Rather than answering her, I turned my attention to Anya.

"You wanna hang out after the meeting?"

"I would," Anya said, "but I promised Alex she could help me make dinner."

"Okay." I said. "Well, can I call you later tonight?"

"Sure." Anya replied.

We took a few more calls before the meeting ended.

As I sat in Charlie's car with Anya on the way back from the meeting that afternoon, I hoped the problem between Karen and Anya would be resolved soon. I also hoped my plan would work.