"Yes," chorused the eight of us. We sure were in. We were squished in, like sardines in a can.

We were pretty quiet as we drove over to Mary Anne's. But as soon as Charlie let us out and we'd settled ourselves on the floor in the Spiers' living room, we all began talking at once.

The first thing Kristy said was, "Ew! Your parents kissed in public! PDA! PDA! Public Display of Affection!" Mary Anne blushed to the roots of her hair.

Then Claudia said, "Mary Anne, I can't believe you cried so much at the wedding that all your makeup came off." Mary Anne blushed an even brighter red.

Everyone started laughing.

I looked around at my friends. I felt happy. I felt happier than happy. My mom had gotten married again, and I had a new stepfather and a new stepsister.

I smiled at everyone - Kristy, Claudia, Logan, Stacey, Mal, Jessi, and Mary Anne. . . .

Chapter 2.

I was lucky to have such a nice group of friends, and I wouldn't have had them at all if it weren't for Mary Anne. She was one of the first people I met after I moved to Stoneybrook. And she introduced me to her friends in the Baby-sitters Club. The BSC is a business that Kristy started. We baby-sit for families in our neighborhoods. But the club members aren't just business partners, they're friends, too. And, boy, am I grateful for them. They made moving across country and switching to a new school in the middle of the year a lot easier than I'd expected. Plus, they're very different people (I mean, from each other), and I like that. They aren't a clique of girls who have to dress alike, talk alike, think alike, and be sure to have a boyfriend at all times.

Take Kristy Thomas, for instance. She's the president of the BSC. Kristy is an ideas person.

She thought up the club and got it going. She's an extrovert who can be bossy and has sort of a big mouth. She's also a tomboy who loves sports. She likes kids, too, of course. (We all do, or we wouldn't enjoy baby-sitting so much.) Kristy likes sports and children so much that she organized a softball team for kids who are too young to try out for Little League, or who are afraid to try out for it.