"I don't know," I told her.
"I'll pay you twice as much," she said.
Twice as much? I could take Robert to the best play in town. I'd have my sports car in half the time. Perhaps I could buy it without even getting a loan.
"Can I call you tonight?" I asked. "I need to think about it." Mrs. Cheplin's face fell. "Is something wrong, Stacey?" The tables had turned. Now she was concerned about pleasing me.
"I just need to think about a few things," I told her.
I said good-bye to Dana and Adam and rode my bike toward Claudia's house. When I arrived I threw myself onto her bed. "What's wrong?" asked Kristy, alarmed.
Everyone gathered around me. "Are you okay?" asked Mallory.
"No," I said, tears brimming in my eyes. "I'm not okay." I poured out the whole story - everything, how I'd been feeling, how I ruined Valentine's Day, how I'd deserted my mom and had no energy for my father this weekend. "And I'm sure I'm going to get a terrible grade on my English paper even after I got a second chance at it. Now Mrs. Cheplin just offered me twice as much money to stay on, and I can't say no to it." "Why not?" Claudia asked.
"What do you mean why not? I need the money. You know that." "Do you need it more than friends and family and good grades in school?" Kristy asked.
"No," I admitted.
"You don't need it more than your health," said Claudia. "You don't look so good." "I know." I wiped the tears from my eyes. "And I don't need it more than my brain. I feel like that's the next thing to go." "Quit," Kristy said simply.
"Mrs. Cheplin sounds like a pain, anyway," Abby added.
"She is a pain. But I don't want to leave her stranded." "She'll find someone else," Jessi said. "She might need a grown person who has a car and no homework at the end of the day." "She might," I said. "But she won't find someone quickly." "Tell her one of us will come over every day until she finds someone permanent," Kristy suggested. "But we don't do housework." "Okay," I said. "I will." As the meeting wore on, I realized I was feeling better and better. I had needed the support of my friends to help me make the decision to quit, but I'd made it.
I called Mrs. Cheplin as soon as I got home.
"This is Stacey," I said. "I've decided not to take your offer for the next two weeks." At first there was silence at the other end of the phone. "Why not?" she asked after a moment.
"Mrs. Cheplin, I feel taken advantage of," I said. "The lists of chores are way too long. I don't think it's good for the kids when the person taking care of them is tied up with housework. They need attention, too." I decided not to add my complaints about her attitude or the way she wouldn't commit to a steady job. I'd said enough already. I'd said the important things.
I suppose I'd hoped she'd say, "Oh, Stacey, you're right. I've been so wrong. I'm sorry." That's not what she said.
"Obviously, you don't have the maturity required for this job," was her reply.
"No, I don't have the time," I said politely. I told her she could count on the BSC for fill-in sitters until she found someone permanent. "Tell the kids I'll miss them." "They'll miss you, too," she said grudgingly. "Good-bye." " 'Bye." I hung up the phone and drew in a deep breath. Then I jumped up and punched the air. "Yes!" I shouted. I was free. I could have a normal life again. There was no doubt in my mind that I'd done the right thing. It felt right. And I was glad I'd mentioned the housework problem. Dana and Adam needed attention more than they needed a tidy house.
Mom came into the kitchen. "What happened?" she asked.
"I've just learned a big lesson about what's important in life and what's not," I told her.
"You have?" she asked, looking pleased.
"Yes. I was allowing money to be the most important thing in my life. My job at the Cheplin's was taking over everything." "It was?" "Yeah. Like friendship and you and Robert. My school work was suffering. And the worst part was that I didn't even have time for me. I didn't have a minute to think a thought or to relax." Mom smiled. "You have learned a lot. I'm glad." I phoned Robert and told him the good news. He was very glad to hear it. "Way to go!" he cried. "That took guts, Stace. I'm proud of you." He couldn't have said anything nicer.
"This weekend I'm going to buy those tickets and then Dad and I are going to have a long talk," I said to Mom that evening as we prepared supper together.
"About what?" she asked.
"About not being a father-daughter team of workaholics! There's so much more to life!" About the Author ANN MATTHEWS MARTIN was born on August 12, 1955. She grew up in Princeton, NJ, with her parents and her younger sister, Jane.
Although Ann used to be a teacher and then an editor of children's books, she's now a full-time writer. She gets the ideas for her books from many different places. Some are based on personal experiences. Others are based on childhood memories and feelings. Many are written about contemporary problems or events.
All of Ann's characters, even the members of the Baby-sitters Club, are made up. (So is Stoneybrook.) But many of her characters are based on real people. Sometimes Ann names her characters after people she knows, other times she chooses names she likes.
In addition to the Baby-sitters Club books, Ann Martin has written many other books for children. Her favorite is Ten Kids, No Pets because she loves big families and she loves animals. Her favorite Baby-sitters Club book is Kristy's Big Day. (By the way, Kristy is her favorite baby-sitter!) Ann M. Martin now lives in New York with her cats, Gussie and Woody. Her hobbies are reading, sewing, and needlework - especially making clothes for children.
