"Mallory," Mom said, "could you please watch Claire for a little while?" Just as I'd expected.

    Don't get me wrong. I love to baby-sit. I love it so much that I'm even a member of a club called the Baby-sitters Club (which I'll tell you about later). But one thing I don't like about being the oldest of eight kids is that I'm always being asked to take care of one or more of them. (The other thing I don't like is the privacy problem. There's practically no privacy in my house.) Sometimes Mom and Dad ask me to baby- sit when it's not convenient; like when I want to read, or write in my journal, or just be alone. When 1 go on a baby-sitting job for the BSC (Baby-sitters Club) 1 know exactly when and where I'll be sitting. (The club is super organized.) But at home, baby-sitting assignments can pop up unexpectedly.

    Most of the time I just sigh and say okay. (Or smile and say okay, depending on my mood.) But today 1 really couldn't do it.

    "I would, Mom, but Ben is coming over," 1 told her. "We're going to do our homework together." Mom opened her mouth as if she were about to argue with me, but then she seemed to change her mind. "Okay," she said, kneeling and tossing the last of the puzzle pieces in the box. "I just wanted to make some phone calls. I can make them after supper." "I'll watch Claire after supper," I offered.

    Mom smiled. "It's a deal." When Mom and, Claire went outside, I was alone in the rec room. The clock on the wall said 3:15. "Oh, no!" 1 cried. Ben was coming over at 3:30. That left only fifteen minutes for me to get ready.

    1 raced up the stairs and into the room I share with Vanessa. "I have to get ready," I panted. Only 1 wasn't sure what I was supposed to do. I mean, it wasn't like 1 could take off my braces and my glasses. The braces are on for at least another year. (Thankfully, they're the clear plastic kind. I still hate them, though.) And I can't see without my glasses. I have begged - begged - my parents for contacts, but they say I'm too young. That makes no sense to me. An eleven-year-old is plenty old enough to take care of a pair of contact lenses. At least this eleven-year-old is.