ductions recently, including Coppelia, in which she played Swanilda. I go to every one of her performances, and so do the rest of my friends in the Baby-sitters Club —but I'll tell you about them later.

Jessi is the same age as me, eleven. We're both junior officers in the BSC (Baby-sitters Club). We're a lot alike except for a few things. First, I come from a huge family with eight kids. And guess what. Three of them are identical triplets. But even though they look alike,Byron,Jordan , and Adam have very different personalities — especially Byron, who's quieter and more sensitive than his brothers.

People often say we're stair-step kids, which means that we were born one after the other. And they're right. You see, I'm the oldest. The triplets, who are ten, are right behind me. My sister Vanessa is nine, Nicky is eight, Margo is seven, and last but not least is Claire. She's five. Can you imagine eating dinner with that many people every night? It can be a zoo, sometimes. But Mom and Dad don't seem to be bothered by it. They're great.

Everyone in my family has chestnut brown hair and blue eyes. And out of all ten of us, Nicky and I are the ones who wear glasses. Which I hate. I've begged my parents for contacts, but they say I have to wait until I'm older. I also wear braces. (The clear plastic

kind.) And as long as we're on the subject of things I hate, let's talk about my nose. I got it from my grandfather. If I could get rid of it, I would.

Jessi doesn't wear braces or glasses, and her family is regular-sized (two parents and three kids, plus her Aunt Cecelia). Jessi's eight-year-old sister is named Becca (short for Rebecca), and her baby brother is nicknamed Squirt. His real name is John Philip Ramsey, Jr., which is a very big name for such a little guy.