Read The Truth About Stacey Online
Authors: Ann M. Martin
The Truth About Stacey (12 page)
Ring, ring.
“Hello?”
“Hello ⦠Stacey?”
“Yes ⦠Laine, hi! Oh, I'm so glad you called. Hang on just a sec?” I rested the phone on the kitchen table. “Mom, it's Laine. I'm going to talk to her in your room, okay? Could you hang up the phone when you hear me get on?” I raced upstairs and closed the door to my parents' bedroom. “I'm on, Mom.” I heard a click as she hung up the phone. “All right, now we can talk,” I told Laine. “So what's going on?”
“Well, I wanted to know what happened with your baby-sitting club. Last weekend, you said something was going on with some agency.”
“Oh, you won't believe it! The agency went out of business!”
“You are kidding me!”
“No, honest,” I said. “The parents stopped
calling the agency because they decided they couldn't trust Liz and Michelleâyou know, those two girlsâto find good sitters. But guess what? Okay, so Claudia tells me this on Monday. We go to school on Tuesday and there's Liz, standing on the lawn, carrying a sign that says âMakeovers Inc.,' and next to her is Michelle with a bunch of flyers. She's passing them out, and Kristy, the president of our club, is so curious she goes and takes one even though Michelle is looking at Kristy like she's a snake or a roach or something.”
Laine giggled.
“We read the flyer,” I continued, “and Liz and Michelle
already have a new business
! You call them and pay them five dollars, and they show you how to put on makeup, figure out the best way to fix your hair, that kind of thing. It's perfect for them, since that's all they care about. Then, for another five dollars, they'll take you shopping and help you pick out new clothes and jewelry and stuff. They even have special rates before school dances and holidays. Those girls are smart, Laine. They'll probably earn more money doing that than lining up sitting jobs for their friends.
“Oh, gosh,” I went on. “I have so much to tell you! Yesterday, I got to sit for Lucy Newton, the new baby I told you about.”
“Really?” squealed Laine. “You got to
sit
for her?”
“Well, sort of. Her mother was at home, but I did watch her and her brother for two hours while Mrs. Newton held a meeting. And I got to hold her and give her a bottle. It was great! I can't wait until I can really baby-sit for her. Oh, and you know what else?”
“What?”
“Remember Charlotte Johanssen, the little girl who's having trouble with the kids at school?”
“Yeah?”
“Well, her parents had a conference with her teacher and they've decided to skip her into third grade. The work in second grade is too easy for Charlotte, and her classmates don't like her because she always does her assignments so fast and never makes any mistakes. Her teacher thinks she'll do better starting over in a new class where the kids don't know her and the work will be more challenging. Charlotte seems really excited. She's going to switch to the new class after Christmas.”
“Well, that's good. I really wish I could meet all these people, Stace. I feel like I know them alrâjust a secâ¦. Stacey, my mom says I have to get off in two minutes.”
“Oh, no!” I cried. “Well, wait. I'll talk fast. I went to the Snowflake Dance with Pete and we had a great time. I got a new dress. And for Christmas, Mom and Dad are going to give me a phone for my room, just so I can call you! And I want to know exactly how many times Deirdre and Lowell have gone out, counting everything, even trips to the library. And what did you ask for for Christmas?”
“IâMom says she has to use the phone. I've got to get off.”
“But, Laine, you didn't have time to tell me
any
thing about you.”
“I know.”
“Hey, you'll be the first person I call when I get my phone.”
“Okay! Great!” Laine dropped her voice to a whisper. “Mom doesn't know it, but I'm going to call you on Christmas Day, okay?”
“Terrific!”
“Bye, Stacey.”
“Bye! Thanks for calling.”
“Talk to you soon.”
“I can't wait.”
“Me, neither.”
“Me, neither.”
“How are we going to end this?”
“I don't know.”
“I miss you.”
“I miss you, too.”
“Now I
really
have to get off.”
“Bye, Laine.”
“Bye, Stacey.”
We hung up. A huge grin spread across my face. I had a great idea. If Laine ever came to visit me in Stoneybrook, I would make her an honorary member of the Baby-sitters Club.
Dear Reader,
I hope you enjoyed reading
The Truth About Stacey
. Many kids have asked me why I created a character with diabetes. As you may know, when I started writing the Baby-sitters Club I wanted to create a group of characters who are very different from each other, but who work well together. Each of the members of the BSC faces her own set of difficulties. I thought it would be interesting if one character faced physical or medical problems. I chose diabetes because it affects many kids, and because I have two friends with diabetes. I also wanted to create a character who copes with her disability in a positive way. Stacey doesn't ignore her illness â she deals with it responsibly, but she tries not to let it interfere with her life.
Not long after this first book about Stacey was published, I began to hear from kids who are diabetic themselves. Many of them have written to say that the books about Stacey have helped their friends understand the illness. In fact, recently my cat Mouse was diagnosed with diabetes. So the books have helped me, too!
Happy reading,
Ann M. Martin
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ANN MATTHEWS MARTIN
was born on August 12, 1955. She grew up in Princeton, New Jersey, with her parents and her younger sister, Jane. There are currently over 176 million copies of The Baby-sitters Club in print. (If you stacked all of these books up, the pile would be 21,245 miles high.)
In addition to The Baby-sitters Club, Ann is the author of two other series, Main Street and Family Tree. Her novels include
Belle Teal
,
A Corner of the Universe
(a Newbery Honor book),
Here Today
,
A Dog's Life
,
On Christmas Eve
,
Everything for a Dog
,
Ten Rules for Living with My Sister
, and
Ten Good and Bad Things About My Life (So Far)
. She is also the coauthor, with Laura Godwin, of the Doll People series.
Ann lives in upstate New York with her dog and her cats.
Copyright © 1986 by Ann M. Martin.
Cover art by Hodges Soileau
All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc.
SCHOLASTIC
,
THE BABY-SITTERS CLUB
, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.
First edition, 1995
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.
e-ISBN 978-0-545-53249-5
