Okay. I thought that was that. I had liked Stoneybrook all right, and I had loved my new school and especially my new Mends, but I missed the city. I didn't mind returning. But I did mind that my parents started to fight. Not just a spat every now and then, but lots and lots of long, shouting arguments. Even so, I was taken by surprise when they told me they had decided to divorce. I thought that only happened to other families. Worse, Dad had decided to stay in the city (with his job), but Mom wanted to go back to Stoneybrook - and I had to choose which of them to live with. In the end I chose Mom, not because I love her more than Dad, but because I found myself missing Stoneybrook and needing my friends here.

    Those things happened awhile ago. Now Mom and I are settled into a little old house which is directly in back of Mal's. And in the city, Dad is settled into a tiny two-bedroom apartment. (The second bedroom is mine, for when I visit my father.) Mallory and I had reached her driveway, the spot where we usually separate. She follows the walk to her front door. I cut through her backyard and then mine, and enter my house through the kitchen.

    "You're coming back at four, right?" Mal called over her shoulder.

    "Yup. I'll see you then!" Mal is the oldest of eight children. (Hers is the biggest family I have ever known.) I was going to help her baby-sit for her younger brothers and sisters for an hour, and then we were going to go to a meeting of the Babysitters Club together. (My friends and I call it the BSC. I'll tell you more about it later.) I cut across the lawns and ran into my house. "Hi, Mom! I'm home!" I called. I headed for the refrigerator.

    "Hi, honey." Mom entered the kitchen, looking pale and tired. She's been looking that way a lot lately. It comes from being a single parent who's job-hunting and doing temporary work.