"Rosie Wilder next Tuesday, right after school?" I put down the magazine and opened the record book. "Um . . . Jessi and Kristy are free." "I don't know . . ." Kristy said. (Rosie is sort of a genius, and a little hard to tolerate sometimes.) "I'll take it," Jessi chimed in. "Last time we did barre exercises together. It was fun." Jessica Ramsey is one of our two junior officers, along with Mallory Pike. Why junior? Well, they're both in sixth grade, while the rest of us are in eighth. They do everything we do, except take late sitting jobs (their parents have strict curfews).

    Jessi and Mal are best friends, and they have a lot in common. Both of them are the oldest in their families, both like to read, and both are convinced their parents treat them like babies. Oh, and both are great baby-sitters.

    Other than that, they're pretty different. Jessi's black, and she has these long, graceful dancer's legs. Her hair is always pulled back from her face. Mal is white, with curly red hair, and she wears glasses (which she hates, but her parents won't let her have contacts) and braces (clear, so you don't notice them much).

    Jessi has an eight-year-old sister named Becca and a baby brother named Squirt, while Mal has seven siblings, including triplets! Their interests are different, too. Jessi is a ballerina. She's so natural on stage, and her technique is incredible. She's danced lead roles in some important ballets in Stamford, the nearest big city.

    Mal's talent, on the other hand, is thinking up stories. She wants to write and illustrate children's books someday.

    Let's see, that brings me to our associate officers - Shannon Kilbourne and . . . saving the best for last. . . Logan Bruno! Usually they take jobs we can't fill, either because we're too booked or someone is sick.

    Yes, in addition to all his other qualities, Logan is a fantastic baby-sitter. He's kind and funny and very patient.