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asked him. “A brother or a sister?”
    â€œBrother.”
    â€œAren’t you excited?”
    Jamie shrugged again.
    Kristy and I glanced at each other.
    â€œYou know,” I said suddenly, not at all sure where the idea came from, “being a big brother is so important that I think you ought to have a Big Brother Party, Jamie.”
    Jamie looked at me with wide eyes.
    Kristy jumped in immediately, understanding just what I meant. “That’s right,” she said. “We should celebrate this afternoon. We’ll have a special Big Brother Party for our favorite big brother—you.”
    â€œA party for
me?”
said Jamie, his voice squeaking.
    â€œYeah, we’ll invite everyone,” I added. “Kristy, do you think your mother will mind?”
    â€œNah.”
    I dashed to the phone and began dialing. In ten minutes, I had spread the news to Claudia, Mary Anne, Charlotte, and the Pike kids. I’d also called a few other baby-sitting charges, but they weren’t home.
    â€œWell,” I said to Kristy and Jamie when I was finished, “Claudia’s on her way over, Mary Anne will come when she finishes the batter forthe cranberry bread—she says she can bake it tonight—Charlotte’s coming, and Mallory Pike is going to bring Claire and Margo over.” (There are eight Pike kids. Mallory’s ten, and Claire and Margo are four and six.)
    â€œTerrific!” cried Kristy. She was rummaging around in the kitchen and had pulled out a bag of marshmallows, several apples, a can of juice, and a carrot, which I assumed was for me. “Claudia’s bringing over something from her room,” she added. “Pretzels, I think. Jamie, what would you like to do at your party? Play games?” She began to slice the apples.
    Jamie nodded.
    â€œWhat games?” I asked.
    Jamie looked blank.
    â€œPut some music on the stereo in the rec room and spread a bath mat on the floor,” Kristy instructed me. “We can play musical rug. It’s easier than musical chairs. I’ll explain later.”
    â€œAll right,” I replied. “And we can have egg races—you know, with spoons. And the kids can make paper masks. We’ll have a contest for the funniest one.”
    â€œGood idea. Then when it’s time to calm everyone down, we’ll see if we can get Mary Anne to read
The Little Engine That Could.
She makes itreally funny, using all these different voices.”
    â€œOh, boy!” exclaimed Jamie. “Oh, boy!”
    At that moment, Claudia arrived. Charlotte was right behind her. I gave her a hug. The Pikes showed up next, and just after Mary Anne arrived, Charlie walked in with David Michael. I was so excited about the Big Brother Party that I was only a little disappointed that Sam wasn’t there.
    The little kids—Jamie, David Michael, Claire, and Margo—gathered excitedly in the rec room, which I had decorated hastily with a roll of green crepe paper. The members of the Baby-sitters Club looked on proudly. Mallory wandered between the two groups. But Charlotte hung back.
    â€œEverything okay?” I asked her. She nodded shyly. “Why don’t you come over here with me?” I led her to the group of kids. “This is Jamie. You know Jamie Newton, right?” Charlotte nodded again. “He’s our guest of honor. He’s going to become a big brother.”
    Jamie beamed.
    â€œMake way for the food!” called Kristy, carrying a tray of food in from the kitchen. Charlie followed her, bringing napkins, plates, and paper cups. Then he left. I don’t think Big Brother Parties held any interest for him.
    â€œEat now, games later!” Kristy announced.She turned to Mary Anne and Claudia and me. “Take the food away in twenty minutes, no matter what,” she whispered. “Otherwise, they’re going to spoil their appetites for dinner.”
    Everybody helped themselves to