Even though she's the oldest, Mallory feels that her parents still treat her like a kid. (I can relate to that!) She had to work really hard on her parents - just like I did - to convince them to let her get her ears pierced. Her next project is to get contacts, but I think that's a long way off. With her red hair and freckles, and her glasses and her braces, Mal has a hard time feeling glamorous - even with pierced ears. But you know what? I bet she's going to be a real knockout someday. She just has to be patient. (I should talk. I'm as impatient as she is.) When I first moved to Stoneybrook, I felt so lonely. I'd just left my best friend, Keisha (who also happens to be my cousin), and I wondered if I'd ever find another best friend. But as it turned out, I not only found Mallory, which was great, but a whole bunch of other friends. These friends are all very different from each other, but they have one thing in common. They love baby-sitting, just like I do. And that's why they formed the Baby-sitters Club. I'm lucky to be a member and to have them all as friends. Mallory and I are the youngest in the club, by the way. Everyone else is thirteen.

    Kristy Thomas is the president of the BSC. She's something else. When I first met Kristy, I was a little intimidated - she's very straightforward (sometimes she's even got a big mouth) and energetic. But now I like her, and admire her, a lot. She's always having these great ideas - and she acts on them, too. She's not just a dreamer.

    Kristy's family is pretty complicated to describe, but here goes. First of all, her parents got divorced years ago after her dad walked out, leaving Kristy's mom to take care of Kristy and her brothers. (She's got two older brothers, Charlie and Sam, and: a younger one named David Michael.) Mrs. Thomas did a good job of being a single parent. But then she met Watson Brewer, who is a real, true millionaire. They fell in love and got married, and Kristy and her family moved across town to live in Watson's mansion.