Sea City, Here We Come! Read online

  “Yes! Can you hear me okay?” she asked loudly.

  “Fine!” I said. “Where are you?”

  “Still in Sea City. Oh, I have so much to tell you when I get back. Guess what? They fixed the causeway a few hours ago.”

  “Wow, so you’re going to come home —?”

  “Tomorrow, just the way we planned.”

  “That’s great!” I said. “But — but how is everyone? No one got hurt?”

  “No. Everyone’s fine. I mean, the storm was scary. But we’ve had the best time!”

  “And all your neighbors and friends? You know, Toby and Alex, for instance.”

  Ugh. Very subtle, Bruno.

  “They’re fine. We saw them today for the first time all week. They spent the storm inland. Their cars were the last ones to make it over the causeway before the flood.”

  “Oh,” I said. “Hmm, how lucky….”

  Whoa. Did I feel stupid. Idiotic. Off the scale on the Dorkometer.

  I was glad Mary Anne could not see the color of my face.

  One whole week of guessing and second-guessing. Worrying and suspecting and assuming. I guess I should have felt ecstatic. (Well, I did, sort of.) But it was almost a letdown. I mean, all that worrying had been a lot of work — and for nothing!

  We had a great phone call. I didn’t mention a word about how I’d felt. I just let myself steep in guilt, like a tea bag.

  That was when I had the urge to give Mary Anne something really special as a welcome-home present. And Terry Dutton’s dad came to mind.

  So that brings me to Friday. There I was, waiting for Terry’s dad to come on the phone.

  “Hi, are you Terry’s friend?” he asked.

  “Yes, sir,” I said.

  “What’s this idea Terry tells me about?”

  I described my plan to him. It was a little wacky, and I thought he’d say no.

  He listened to every word, and then said, “Young man, that is the craziest idea I ever heard —”

  “I’m sorry to take up your time, sir,” I cut in. “Thank you for —”

  “And I love it!” he continued. “Sounds like the kind of thing I used to do with Terry’s mom when we were young.”

  “R-really?” I said.

  “You don’t think we had any spunk when we were young?”

  “No! I mean, yes! I mean, I’m sure you did. It’s just —”

  He laughed. “All right, Logan. Let’s figure out a time of delivery and return, and I’ll take care of the rest.”

  I couldn’t believe he had said yes. Mary Anne was going to be thrilled out of her mind!

  My heart was fluttering the minute I woke up. I threw aside my covers. I ran to the mirror.

  Left side of face. Right side of face. No pimples. Good.

  It had not been a great summer, blemish-wise. When you’re as fair as I am, your skin can do weird things in the heat. Blisters, pimples, heat rashes, you name it.

  But not this morning. Not the morning of the evening of the Big Date.

  Okay. Hair. Horrendous as usual. Thick and frizzy and piled up on one side from sleeping. A cross between Bozo the Clown and the Bride of Frankenstein (Frankenstein the Clown? The Bride of Bozo?). But I could deal with that.

  I found my brush and did my ritual morning arm wrestle with my hair. I managed to control it enough to trap it with some hair clips.

  Then I pinched my cheeks, said, “Good morning, beautiful,” and went downstairs.

  This was not like me.

  In case you haven’t noticed, I am not Ms. Fashion-and-Glamour of the Baby-sitters Club. (More like Ms. Braces-and-Glasses.) But I was meeting him tonight.

  What would I wear? Should I put on makeup? Could I learn how to put on makeup in time? Should I practice what to say? Should I leave my glasses home?

  I was beginning to realize what it must be like to be Stacey.

  Uh, no. Not a good comparison. For one thing, I wasn’t feeling mean and jealous.

  Which was how Stacey had been acting for days. She had hardly said a word to me. When she did, she made sure it was something nasty.

  At first I felt confused and hurt. But not any more. By Friday I was determined to have a fun, relaxing day.

  If I could keep myself from exploding with anticipation.

  So I bounced downstairs and cried, “Good morning!”

  As usual, Jessi was already up, making pancakes and eggs and bacon.

  “Listen, Mallory!” Adam exclaimed. He was grinning broadly. “I one my mother … I two my mother … I three my mother … I four my mother … I five my mother …”

  My siblings were chanting along with him now. I could see where this was leading.

  “I six my mother … I seven my mother … I EIGHT MY MOTHER!”

  They erupted with laughter. “Get it?” Adam said. “I ate my mother!”

  I tried very hard not to laugh. It would only encourage him. “Adam, eat your pancakes,” I replied.

  When the kids had finished, my friends and I sat down to breakfast. “Are you ready?” Jessi asked me with a sly grin.

  “Actually,” I said, “I was thinking of going into town to get some barrettes, maybe a fun kind of pin …”

  “I’ll go with you!” Claudia volunteered.

  “Me too!” Jessi said.

  “Don’t worry about the kids,” Mary Anne added. “We’ll take care of them.”

  What great friends. “Okay!” I said. “Thanks!”

  Well, Claudia and Jessi and I had the best time. Claudia found me a pair of barrettes in the shape of flamingoes — but cool, not corny-looking. Then we bought about ten tiny buttons with pictures on them. The faces included Virginia Woolf, Jimi Hendrix, Stephen Hawking, and Janis Joplin, but Claud didn’t know who any of them were. She just picked them because they looked “funky.”

  On the way back, guess who we ran into?

  Stacey was taking the Barrett kids to the boardwalk for ice cream. “Hi,” she said.

  “Hi,” Jessi and Claudia answered.

  “Where’ve you been?” Stacey asked.

  “Shopping,” I said, clutching my bag a little tighter.

  “Ooh, can I see?”

  I felt awkward. I didn’t want to be rude, so I opened the bag for her.

  “Wow … really interesting,” Stacey said. “Is this stuff for Margo and Vanessa?”

  “No,” I replied, grabbing the bag back. “It happens to be for me.”

  “Well, excuuuuuse me,” Stacey shot back. She began shoving the Barrett kids ahead of her. “I guess we’ll see you all later.”

  When we were far enough away, I said, “See? She hates me.”

  Jessi sighed and shook her head. “I just don’t understand what’s going on between you two.”

  We walked back to the house. “Claudia,” I said, “do you think I should wear jeans and a polo shirt with this stuff, or something fancier?”

  “Show me what you have,” Claudia replied, “and we’ll figure out something.”

  The three of us ran inside and upstairs. We pulled out just about every outfit I had brought.

  Claudia took a look at everything. Then she made Jessi take out her outfits.

  I tried on casual. I tried on fancy. I tried on weird combinations. I just followed the directions of Claudia Kishi, Fashion Consultant.

  As I slipped on a clingy, short sundress, I heard high-pitched squeaks behind me.

  Mice? No, Pikes.

  Jessi opened the door. Adam, Jordan, and Nicky fell into the room. “Hrrrrumph!” Jessi said.

  They scrambled to their feet. “Oh, um, we were — ha ha — looking for Nicky’s Etch-a-Sketch,” Adam said.

  Claudia glanced around. “Hmmm, doesn’t seem to be here in Jessi and Mal’s room.”

  “Okay, ’bye!” The boys were off like a shot. We could hear them giggling as they ran down the stairs. Then: “Mal and Toby sitting in a tree, N-E-C-K-I-N-G!”

  “Boys!” my dad’s voice bellowed.

  “
Now, where were we?” Claudia said.

  We worked for another half an hour. I ended up choosing a short, flared, white-on-blue polka-dotted skirt (mine); a white, ribbed tank-top (Jessi’s); and a long, royal-blue men’s shirt with the tails tied in front (Claudia had run to her room for that). Claudia insisted I not wear anything too light or it would “wash out my face.” We carefully placed some of the buttons we’d bought on the tanktop.

  Claudia yanked back my mane and figured out how to put the flamingo barrettes in it so they wouldn’t get lost.

  I looked in the mirror. I watched a smile light up my own face. “Wow! I look pretty good.”

  “Pretty good?” Claudia repeated. “You look sensational! Toby’s eyes are going to fall out!”

  “That ought to be an interesting date,” Jessi remarked.

  I sighed. “Doesn’t this remind you of the time you helped me dress for the Valentine Dance?”

  Claudia laughed. “After you’d had that big fight with Ben — over how to use the library card catalog?”

  Ben.

  I really hadn’t thought of him. Ben Hobart was the only boy I ever went out with before this trip. We’d been to the movies, and just about all of the school dances. I’d never officially called him my boyfriend or anything, though.

  So why was I feeling this sudden twinge of guilt?

  “Remember when you went to the movie theater with the little cafe?” Jessi asked.

  I cringed. “And I poured sugar on the popcorn!”

  We laughed. And I felt this incredible urge to call Ben. I really missed him.

  I put aside my outfit and changed into beach clothes. Then I told Jessi and Claudia I’d meet them outside, and I went into my parents’ room.

  I still remembered Ben’s number.

  “Hello, Hobart residence.”

  Mr. Hobart’s voice made me break into a smile. The Hobarts are from Australia and speak with this wonderful accent. “Hi, Mr. Hobart! This is Mallory!”

  “Well, hello, love! Let me get Ben for you!”

  In a second, Ben was on the phone. “Hi, Mallory!”

  Hoi, Mel-ry! Oh, was that great! He sounded thrilled. “Hi, Ben. How are you?”

  “Alive.” Aloiv. “I guess you survived the storm, huh? We lost a tree. It missed our car by about five inches!”

  We talked and talked and talked. We didn’t stop until we’d filled in the past two weeks. I found out that Johnny Hobart had turned on all the flashlights the night before the storm “to warm them up.” Of course, their block was the only one to lose power in the hurricane. Then Ben told me how Mathew went to grab “a cocoon” in the branch of the tree that fell in the street — and it turned out to be a sleeping bat.

  It was the funniest, happiest conversation I’d had in a long time. I didn’t want to hang up.

  When I did, I realized something.

  There was no one I wanted to go out with but Ben.

  I tried to get excited about my date with Toby again. But I just couldn’t. The thrill was completely gone.

  I walked slowly downstairs, in a daze. Then I went to the beach and spent the rest of the afternoon with everyone. Later I talked to Jessi about it.

  “Look,” she said, “it’s up to you. What time is he picking you up?”

  “Seven o’clock.”

  Jessi looked at her watch. “You have an hour. This is your last day in Sea City. Do whatever makes you happy.”

  “But my mind is so mixed up,” I said.

  “Well, don’t do it from your mind, then. Do it from your heart.”

  I giggled. “Jessi, that’s corny.”

  She laughed, too. “It’s true, though.”

  Jessi is so smart.

  The beach was starting to get that cool, late afternoon feeling. All the Pikes and Barretts were playing extra hard, building extra nice castles, taking extra long swims.

  I was going to miss this place so much. Maybe it would be best just to spend the last day with my friends and family.

  “You decided not to go on your date?”

  Leave it to Stacey McGill to destroy a wonderful mood.

  I turned to look at her. “I didn’t say that.”

  Stacey shrugged. “Sorry. It was just getting late. I thought maybe you’d come to your senses.”

  That did it.

  “For your information, I am going. In fact, I was just heading back to the house now.”

  I stormed away. There was no way I’d give Stacey the satisfaction of thinking she changed my mind!

  I marched straight to my room and put on my outfit. Then I waited on the porch, pacing back and forth.

  Toby arrived at seven. He was smiling as he walked to the porch. And he looked gorgeous.

  But the side of me that wanted to go was saying: Stacey will be so jealous. And the rest of me was saying, I wish Ben were here.

  “You look great, cutie!” Toby said, stepping onto the porch.

  I smiled. I looked him in the eye.

  Do it from the heart, Jessi had said. Somehow, that silly little statement made things much clearer.

  “Toby,” I said. “Um, I feel really embarrassed about something. Can we … uh, talk?”

  He shrugged. “We are talking.”

  Go for it, I told myself. “Toby, I know I should have said this earlier, but I have this boyfriend at home. His name is Ben, and … well, we’re kind of going steady.”

  Toby’s smile disappeared. “Oh. Well, I didn’t know….”

  “You couldn’t have. I’m really sorry. You came all the way over here and everything. But, I guess I was just so amazed you’d even be interested in me. I mean, you’re a really cute guy and all …”

  “I can’t convince you to go out just as a friend?”

  I shook my head. “It’s my family’s last evening here. I think I’m going to spend it with them.”

  Toby sighed and looked down. “Well, I guess I understand. I mean, if I had a steady girl I’d do the same.”

  “Thanks,” I said.

  Toby forced a smile. “Well, have a fun time. If you come back next summer and know of another cute girl who’s unattached, let me know, okay?”

  Huh?

  “Okay,” I said. “ ’Bye, Toby.”

  “ ’Bye, Mal.”

  I went back into the house to change. I dragged myself up the stairs. Walking down the hallway to my room, I was lost in thought. I had ruined Toby’s night, and that didn’t seem fair. But that comment he made! Was that all I was to him, just “another cute girl”?

  I flung open my door.

  Stacey was sitting on the bed.

  I stared at her. “For your information, Toby did not dump me,” I said. “That’s not why I’m back so soon.”

  Stacey looked as if she were about to cry. “Oh, Mallory, I’m sorry … about everything.”

  All my anger melted away. Stacey stood up, and we gave each other a big, big hug. “It’s okay,” I said.

  “No, it’s not,” Stacey replied. “I was a jerk. For some reason, I was jealous that Toby liked you, when he had dumped me. I just talked to Jessi about it. I — I don’t want to be enemies. A boy isn’t worth that. You can do whatever you want.”

  “I already did,” I said. “And I’ll tell you about it at the barbecue tonight.”

  “You — you’re staying?”

  I nodded. “But not looking like this. Mind if I change?”

  For the first time in two weeks, I saw a smile cross Stacey’s face.

  I took the flamingoes from my hair and started thinking about spare ribs. This was my last night in Sea City, and I planned to have some fun!

  The author gratefully acknowledges

  Peter Lerangis

  for his help in

  preparing this manuscript.

  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 © 1993 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, July 1993

  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 978-0-545-63322-2