Kristy and the Snobs (11 page)

"Nope. She said she wasn't really mad, because she and Tiffany - that's her sister - are the only ones who are interested in sitting, and there are more than enough jobs for them

in this neighborhood. But she's jealous of our club."

"I wonder," said Mary Anne slowly, "if she'd want to be another associate member of the club. Like Logan is. We can always use extra people to call on when we're too busy."

"Yeah," I agreed. "And that way she could be part of the club without actually joining it."

"Why shouldn't we ask her to join?" wondered Stacey. "It wasn't too long ago that we were so busy we wanted new members. Of course, we'd have to meet her first."

I looked at the rest of my friends. Except for Claudia, they were shrugging and nodding, as if to say, "Why not?" Claudia was still blowing her bubble. Very, very slowly, it was becoming an a ward-winning size.

"I'll call Shannon," I said. And did. Shannon's mother informed me that Shannon just happened to be on her way over, bringing Shannon to visit with David Michael.

"That's perfect," I told the club members, after I'd hung up. "Shannon the puppy can play with David Michael. Shannon the babysitter can meet you guys."

This seemed like an ideal plan - except that Shannon the baby-sitter entered my room just as three things happened: Claudia's bubble popped (and, as predicted, covered her face

and gooed up her hair), Stacey spilled a soda, and Charlie cannonballed Andrew onto my bed.

Shannon looked around as if she'd just entered the loony bin.

"Hi!" I called nervously. I passed tissues to Stacey while Charlie and Andrew crashed out of the room. I dosed the door after them.

Claudia sat up, picking pink shreds out of her eyelashes.

"Um, meet the Baby-sitters Club," I said. "The normal ones are Dawn and Mary Anne. The sticky ones are Claudia and Stacey. This is Shannon Kilbourne, everyone."

There was nothing to do but laugh. So we did.

"Are you having a club meeting?" asked Shannon when we'd calmed down.

"Not really," I said. "We hold our meetings during the week. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from five-thirty until six," I added. (I might as well fill her in on the workings of the club.)

"You meet that often?" she replied, sounding impressed. "Gosh. I could never do that."

I exchanged a look with Stacey. "How come?" I asked.

"Oh, tons of reasons. Homework. After-school stuff. I'm usually pretty busy. I could

never be so, you know, committed to something. This club must mean a lot to you."

"Oh, it does," I assured her.

"You're sure you couldn't commit to the club?" Stacey asked.

"Yeah," answered Shannon, puzzled. "How come?"

"Well," I said, "we'd been wondering if you'd like to join. Lots of times we get more jobs than we can handle. And clients like to get baby-sitters who live in their own neighborhood so they don't have to pick them up and take them home. I'm the only club member who lives around here. We thought you'd be a good addition to the Baby-sitters Club."

Shannon looked both pained and thoughtful. "I'd really like to join," she said, "but I just don't see how."

"Well," Mary Anne jumped in, wanting to make her feel better, "listen, don't worry. You could be an associate member of the club. We already have one and we could use another. That would be perfect for you because associate members don't have to attend meetings. We just call them and offer them any jobs we can't take. You earn some extra money, maybe find some new kids to sit for, and we keep our clients satisfied by always being able to provide them with sitters."

We looked expectantly at Shannon. "What do you think?" I asked her.

"I think it sounds fabulous," she replied. "I accept."

"Yea!" I cried. "Shannon is our new associate member of the Baby-sitters Club."

"You asked a dog to join your club?" spoke up an amazed voice.

My friends and I turned to see David Michael standing in the doorway, holding Shannon the puppy awkwardly, her hind legs dangling.

"No, silly!" I exclaimed. "The other Shannon. Shannon the human."

"Oh," he replied, and set Shannon on the floor. The puppy frisked into my room and David Michael followed her, smiling happily.

I knew David Michael would never forget our Louie. None of us would, because Louie had left a sort of legacy. He'd brought Shannon and me together so we could be friends instead of enemies, and that in turn had brought a new puppy for our family, but especially for David Michael. So, I thought. Endings could sometimes be beginnings. They were sad, but sometimes they brought happiness.

That's what Louie had shown us, and that's just one of the things we would remember about him.

About the Author

ANN M. MARTIN did a lot of baby-sitting when she was growing up in Princeton, New Jersey. Now her favorite baby-sitting charge is her cat, Mouse, who lives with her in her Manhattan apartment.

Ann Martin's Apple Paperbacks are Bummer Summer, Inside Out, Stage Fright, Me and Katie (the Pest), and all the other books in the Babysitters Club series.

She is a former editor of books for children, and was graduated from Smith College. She likes ice cream, the beach, and 7 Love Lucy; and she hates to cook.