Read Online Claudia's Big Party by Ann M. Martin - Free Book Online Page B

continued.
     
    "Dinner? Tomorrow? Saturday?" I stammered. "Urn..." "Claudia, ask Janine how she feels about coming over," Peaches said.
     
    "It sounds like fun, but," I paused, "Janine and I were planning something . . . special. A sister thing." Janine's head snapped up and she smiled at me, nodding and giving me a thumbs-up.
     
    "You and Janine? A special sister thing?" I could hear the disbelief in her voice. Peaches and Mom are as different as Janine and I are.
     
    "That's right. Me and Janine." "That will be nice," said Peaches, sounding doubtful. "Have a good time. And be sure to..." "... call if we need anything," I said, finishing her sentence for her.
     
    "All right. 'Bye." I hung up the phone. "That was Peaches," I told Janine. "She wanted us to come over tomorrow night. I didn't think she needed to know about the party." "I think you're correct. And the special sister thing sounded nice." Janine's eyes gleamed. "I'm feeling very excited about both your party and the special sister thing. What did you have in mind? Perhaps a sister slumber party?" "Maybe," I said, not wanting to commit myself yet. "But Janine, let's concentrate on the party." "Yes, first things first." She sailed out of the room.
     
    I decided not to worry about what she might expect on the sister front. I had a party to plan. I needed to come up with some games. I wanted people to talk to one another, get acquainted. I could see how easy it would be for Josh, Shira, Joanna, and Jeannie to end up on one side of the room and the BSC members on the other - like boys and girls at sixth-grade dances. So how could I make sure everyone mixed?
     
    I had some stickers in my desk. What if everyone received a sticker when he or she arrived and had to match it to a group of others? I found hearts, a page of animal stickers, and some stars. Three groups would be enough. All the hearts could be one team, the animals the second, and the stars the third. But what would each team do? If Janine really wanted to make some special food, she could create a giant cookie for each team to decorate.
     
    Also, I could make up a list of facts about everybody at the party and people could try to match each fact to a person. That would be a start.
     
    I started writing down facts: I talk in my sleep. (Mal) I live in a haunted house. (Mary Anne) Carolyn Keene is my favorite author. (Me) I love those Mets. (Logan) This could be addictive, I thought as I wrote faster. By the time I finished, I had enough facts to keep everyone talking for days.
     
    At dinner, Janine agreed to be in charge of the giant cookies. She suggested that we use some of the grocery money to buy decorations. She also said she'd type the facts (without the answers) on her computer and make copies for everyone the next day.
     
    By the time I finally turned off my light and crawled into bed, I was so tired I thought I'd fall asleep immediately. But I couldn't. I was too excited. I looked at my clock. Only nineteen or so more hours until party time.
     
    Chapter 10.
     
    "Claudia! You're not dressed yet." Janine came into my room wearing a pleated skirt, loafers, and a sweater. She moved toward the bed, then changed direction and lifted a pile of clothes off my desk chair, tossing them onto the bed.
     
    "I'm still deciding," I said. "But at least I'm changing clothes." "I changed," Janine replied, sounding hurt.
     
    It was hard to tell with Janine. She had plenty of clothes, but most of them looked the same to me. Maybe she'd had on a navy skirt earlier and changed to black for this evening. Her sweater had a little bit of red trim and the one she had on earlier in the day had been a solid color. It wasn't a big change. On the other hand, I'd taken out several outfits, tried them on, and decided they weren't quite right for a hostess. I wished I had more time. I could have put together something special. All I