We're sophisticated and boy-crazy, although we don't have steady boyfriends. And we love fashion. Stacey is allowed to wear pretty much whatever she wants, and to have her blonde hair permed. Unlike me, Stacey is excellent at math, which is how she became the club treasurer. Stacey's in charge of keeping track of the money we earn, and of collecting our dues every Monday. Then she doles out the dues money as it's needed - to help pay my phone bills, to buy new items for the Kid-Kits, and so forth.

    Also, unlike me, Stacey can't eat sweets. This is because she has a disease called diabetes. Her body doesn't process sugar the way it should, so Stacey has to help things along by sticking to a strict diet, and giving herself injections (yes, injections) of something called insulin. None of this is easy, but Stacey copes well. I guess she's a survivor, too. (Actually, in our own way, we're all survivors.) The two youngest officers of the Baby-sitters Club are our junior members, Jessi and Mal. "Junior member" means that they are too young to be allowed to sit at night, unless they're sitting for their own brothers and sisters and, believe me, they have plenty of brothers and sisters between them. Jessi has one younger sister and a baby brother, and Mal has seven brothers and sisters. She's the oldest of eight kids.

    Jessi and Mal are another pair of best friends. And Jessi is another newcomer to Stoneybrook. Her family moved here at the beginning of the school year when her father's job changed. (Mal grew up in Stoneybrook.) Jessi is an extremely talented ballet dancer, and Mal likes to write and draw, and plans to create picture books when she's older.

    Jessi and Mal don't look a thing alike. Jessi is African-American. Her skin is the color of cocoa, and (because of her dance classes) she often wears her hair up, or pulled back. Her legs are the long legs of a dancer and her eyelashes are so long she looks as if she's wearing mascara, even though she isn't allowed to use makeup.