Disclaimer:I do not own the Baby-Sitter's Club or any of its characters.
Chapter Four
Claudia
Hey Stacy,
I really enjoy using the laptop that my parents got me for graduation. Now I can spell check every e-mail before I send it to you. I hope that you are having fun on the bus towards your camp, because at the same time I am stuck in a hotel room with Dawn and Kristy. Turns out, Logan, Alan, and Charlie all joined us for this little road trip and things have begun to get awkward …
Love,
Claudia
0000
"Awkward was probably the nicest way to describe it," I muttered to myself as I looked at my two friends, sitting on opposite ends of the bed we were all going to share. It definitely looked like I was going to be squeezing into the middle.
"I am going to go see what the boys are up to," Dawn finally announced after about fifteen minutes of silence.
"Of course you are," Kristy said nastily, "We have to make them feel welcome."
Dawn just shook her head as she walked out the door, slamming it behind her.
"Kristy …," I started, "We are going to be on this trip for a long time. Maybe you should try and get used to the guys being here."
"Dawn has not even called Mary Anne back yet," Kristy shortly said, "If you cannot return phone calls like that, clearly you are doing something wrong."
"Why don't you just get some sleep because remember, tomorrow we are actually going to be driving all day," I reminded her, not wanting to remember what today had been like.
0000
At around noon, we had pulled into New York City, our first stop. It was clear by the look on Kristy's face that the group needed to divide up.
"I am going to the Museum of Modern Art," I quickly opted for the one place that I would feel most comfortable.
"I will go with you," Alan volunteered, "I find modern art interesting."
I was surprised that Alan would want to go with me to the museum, and apparently I was not the only one as Kristy gave him a suspicious look. Before I could turn him down, Dawn jumped in with her own plans.
"I am going to go to Central Park," Dawn happily said.
"I will go with you," Logan's accent cut through the air, "A walk through the park seems nice."
"We are going to see the Mets stadium and museum," Kristy spoke for both her brother and herself. I saw that both Alan and Logan looked they wanted to change their plans, but one look from Kristy shut both of them up.
"Okay then," I uneasily said, "I guess we should go Alan."
Kristy gave him one more suspicious look before even bothering to say bye to anyone and walking off with her brother. Dawn shrugged her shoulders at me and immediately began walking off with Logan. I turned to Alan with a sigh.
"You do not strike me as the artsy type," I haughtily said.
"Well, how well have you ever really known me?" he haughtily responded. He started to walk away and then turned around, "Are you coming or what?"
0000
Being at the museum was not all that uncomfortable until we hit one exhibit were Alan decided to tell me why he really had wanted to come with me.
"Why does Kristy hate me so much?" he asked, straightforward as can be.
I looked at him, stunned for a moment. I had expected this conversation to come up on the road trip sooner or later, but I was assuming he would ask Dawn or even Charlie before asking me. First, Kristy and I were not that close anymore. Second, Alan hardly knew me at all. We never talked, and I had always thought him too immature to be worth my time.
"Alan …," I started, but he interrupted me.
"I know you don't like me. But, Kristy did at one point in time, and she never explained to me why she quit," Alan bitterly said, "You guys may not be good friends anymore, but you grew up together and for the longest time lived near each other. You should know something."
"Alan, I will be honest with you," I spoke candidly, "I know that when you and Kristy were dating, something else was going on in her life, and she felt that you could not be trusted anymore. Why she felt that way then or now, I am not sure of. That is something you need to ask her for yourself."
"She will not even look at me," Alan sighed, "Let alone talk to me."
"You guys need to figure out something," I warned him, "This road trip will be no fun if you cannot even be civil."
I knew that I also had to relay this message to Dawn and Kristy. They were friends, they needed to set aside their differences and deal with this. I was not known to be the voice of reason, but I had done it before and I would do it again.
000
At dinner, the six of us all sat awkwardly around the table. We had decided to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe. It was fun to go there, but the utter lack of conversation was making everybody feel antsy.
"How was Central Park?" I asked Dawn and Logan. They smiled as they talked about going to the zoo, walking around, and generally having a good time. Kristy frowned even more at them and I realized that the fact that the two of them looked to be getting along was frustrating her.
"Did you find time to call Mary Anne back?" Kristy asked, seemingly innocent. When Dawn shook her head, Kristy gave her a dirty look before getting up from the table, "Suddenly, my appetite is nowhere to be found."
She swiftly headed out the of restaurant. Charlie shrugged, but then followed his sister.
0000
After remembering those events, I decided I could no longer stay in the room. I got up and began to walk towards the door.
"Where are you going?" Kristy asked me.
"Out," I harshly said, "You can live with yourself while I am gone."
She did not confirm or deny my statement, so I made my way down to the lobby because I had noticed some vending machines when we had checked in. My junk food habit was about to kick in full force because of the stress I was feeling from just the first day of our road trip.
"You needed a break too?" a laughing voice spoke up behind me. I saw Charlie standing there, smiling as he ran his hand through his hair.
"Dawn and Kristy are about to have a cat fight. Kristy looked like she was getting ready to gripe all night," I calmly said, "I do not want to claim any part in it."
"Logan and Alan are bemoaning the loss of their loves, and Dawn is just talking to them," Charlie rolled his eyes, "I feel as if I am with five girls on this road trip."
"Hey!" I protested, but not very convincingly. I could see how he would be annoyed being here. First of all, he was with a bunch of people who were four years younger than him, and all of us were caught up in our own emotional stuff, or at least most of us.
"We have to find a way for them to put a stop to this," Charlie required of me, "I do not know if I can stand another day like this one. I may just turn my van around tomorrow and tell Kristy tough luck."
"Maybe if we just tape their mouths shut," I laughed as I grabbed a package of m&ms, a bag of funyuns, a cherry cola, and a snickers bar from the vending machine. Charlie looked at my wide selection and smirked as he shook his head.
"What?" I asked, a defensive tone in my voice.
"I had always heard of your junk food obsession," Charlie laughed a little, "But, I guess, I never considered it to be as bad as mine."
I broke out in a grin at this and watched as he picked out his junk food of choice. Instead of going back upstairs to our rooms, the two of us sat in the hospitality area for about an hour, eating our way through our junk food and exchanging stories about who had eaten the most of what kind of junk foods. I grinned before I went back upstairs, I was in a lot better mood than I had been before.
"Thanks," I said to Charlie as we stepped into the elevator, "You really helped calm my mood down."
"Now we just have to work on the rest of the group," Charlie gave a short laugh. I nodded my head in agreement, only wishing I had an idea how.