Lucidly, just at that moment, my bus finally pulled up. I chose a seat on the side of the bus facing the girls. I lowered my window. "Good-bye, snobs," I shouted.

" 'Bye, jerk-face," the curly-haired blonde replied.

I stuck my tongue out at her, and then the bus turned a corner and they were gone from sight.

Chapter 2.

"Thanks, Charlie! See you later! 'Bye!" I slammed the car door.

Charlie backed down the Kishis' driveway as I ran to their front door and rang the bell. It was time for our Monday afternoon meeting of the Baby-sitters Club.

Janine Kishi, Claudia's older sister, answered the door. Janine has never been one of my favorite people, but lately she's seemed a little better than usual. The thing about Janine is that she's so smart. She's always correcting everybody.

But that day, all she said was, "Come on in. Claudia's upstairs. Dawn and Mary Anne are there, too."

"Thank you," I replied politely. But I didn't go straight upstairs. I stopped in the kitchen to say hello to Mimi, Claudia's grandmother. Mimi had a stroke over the summer, but she's

getting much better. She can't use her right hand, so she's learning to do things one-handed. When I looked in on her, she was stirring something at the stove.

"Hi, Mimi," I greeted her.

"Kristy. Hello. How nice to see." Mimi's native language is Japanese, and her speech was affected by the stroke, so she has a little trouble speaking. "How things in your new neighborhood?"

"Okay, I guess. I don't know that many people." For some reason, I was embarrassed to tell her what had happened at the bus stop that morning.

"You will get to know new people," Mimi told me confidently. "That I am sure."

"Thanks," I said and ran upstairs. On the way I heard the doorbell ring. It must have been Stacey. Good. She was right on time. The five of us could begin our meeting.