Mary Anne Breaks the Rules by Ann M. Martin

Author:Ann M. Martin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Published: 2014-03-14T16:00:00+00:00

“What happened to you?” Kristy asked as I barged into Claudia’s bedroom.

I was early. Only Claudia and Kristy were there. They were both looking at me as if I had a plant growing out of my forehead.

“I — I —” I was trying to keep from bursting into tears. If I did, I’d be underwater for a half hour.

Rrrrrring!

Kristy reluctantly snatched up the receiver. “Hello, Baby-sitters Club!” Her forehead crinkled right up, and she stopped staring at me. “What? She’s right here, Mrs. Kuhn.”

My heart dropped through the floor.

I could hear Mrs. Kuhn’s voice, like a distant bird in a tin can, as she talked to Kristy. Kristy listened intently, nodding from time to time. “Uh-huh…. Yes, he is an associate member…. No, our policy is to send only the scheduled sitter, unless other arrangements are agreed on…. No, I had no idea … Well, I apologize, Mrs. Kuhn, I didn’t know … Yes, I will talk to her … you can be sure … good-bye.”

Kristy did not slam the receiver down. She just placed it quietly. I have to admire her for that.

“What was that all about?” she asked.

“Here,” Claudia said, holding out a box of Mallomars. “You look like you could use one of these.”

“No, thanks.” I flopped down on the bed next to her. “I — I —”

“We heard that part already,” Claudia said with a smile.

“Stop,” Kristy scolded.

But Claudia’s joke loosened me up just enough. The words came pouring out. “I invited Logan to come over to the Kuhns’ last week. But not to see me. I wasn’t sneaking around or anything. It was for Jake. I mean, he was so depressed about his dad. And his best friend was all excited about getting a new dad. So I felt bad for him. I just thought it might be nice if Logan came over once in awhile and did a few boy things with him. That’s all.”

“How many times did you invite Logan over?” Kristy asked.

“It wasn’t … a plan like that,” I said. “I just asked him to drop by whenever he could. They both had such a good time with each other. Jake was soooo happy. You should have seen him.”

Claudia looked puzzled. “Well, if that’s all it was, why didn’t you tell Mrs. Kuhn?”

“I didn’t mean not to tell her. I guess it just didn’t come up. One day she’d be in a hurry, or else I would …” I sighed. “But I guess in the back of my mind I was afraid to tell her. Because when she finally asked me, I couldn’t. I thought she’d take it wrong — like I was trying to make up for what she couldn’t give Jake. Does that make sense?”

“Yeah.” Claudia nodded thoughtfully. “I can see what you mean, but still …”

I felt about two feet tall. And I kept shrinking as the other members walked in and Claudia explained the whole thing to them.

The worst thing was seeing the expressions on everyone’s faces. Like they couldn’t believe I’d done it.

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