"Guess not," Kristy said.

I noticed that Kristy and I were the only ones not eating. I reached into my night-table drawer, remembering a Kit-Kat I had hidden once. Sure enough, it was still there. I broke it in half and offered one of the pieces to Kristy.

"Save that half," Kristy said. "You can make a painting of it."

"Good idea," 1 said. But that wasn't how I felt. You know how hard it is to not eat the

other half of a candy bar? All I wanted to do was gulp it down.

I looked at it longingly. Maybe this project wasn't such a smart idea.

I decided to concentrate on the phone, which was right next to me. If I looked at it hard enough, it just might start to ring.

My phone, by the way, is the reason we use my room for BSC meetings. I'm the only club member who has her own private line. And the Baby-sitters Club couldn't be the Babysitters Club without a phone.

Here's how the BSC works. We meet from 5:30 to 6:00 every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoon. Our clients (neighborhood parents) call us during those times, asking for a baby-sitter for such and such a day. We check each member's schedule, then figure out who can cover the job. Someone js usually available — and if no one is, Logan and Shannon are our backups. With just one phone call, each client is assured of a reliable, experienced sitter.

Simple, right? It's really a great idea, and I'll bet you can guess who thought of it.

If you guessed Kristy, you were right. It all started one day when Kristy's mom needed someone to sit for David Michael (this was before she was married to Watson). She ended up making.about a million phone calls, and

no one was available. Kristy felt really bad for her. She wished there were some easier way to find a sitter. She began to think: Suppose you needed a taxi or an ambulance or a police officer? You wouldn't have to call each car separately to find a free one. You'd call a central number and . . .