Part 5 (1/2)

It was Tuesday night, after our emergency club meeting, and Mallory and Dawn were sitting at the Pikes'. I really do like being an only child, but sometimes when I hear about an evening at the Pikes' I get a little jealous. It must be fun to have a built-in gang of friends around all the time. The Pikes are: Byron, Adam, and Jordan, the triplets, who are ten; nine-year-old Vanessa; eight-year-old Nicky; seven-year-old Margo; five-year-old Claire. And, of course, Mal, Dawn's co-baby-sitter.

Dawn arrived at six-twenty, just as Mr. and Mrs. Pike were about to leave. She'd known when she accepted the job that she and Mal would have to give the kids dinner, but she'd forgotten what dinner hour at the Pike house can be like.

Mr. and Mrs. Pike are very smart about raising a big family. They know that some things just aren't worth making a fuss about, not with eight kids to deal with. For example, mealtimes. Since some kids will eat anything while others are fussy eaters, and some will eat a ton while others just pick, the Pikes have decided not to try to make many rules about what the kids do and don't have to eat. Especially when they have a sitter. When Mal is in charge, she usually just opens up the fridge and stands back. The kids rummage around, and each one finds whatever they want to eat. They call it a ”smorgasbord.”

That's exactly what happened on Tuesday night. Dawn did her best to help out, but she had a hard time dealing with some of the choices the kids made. Remember, Dawn is a true health-food fanatic. So how do you think she felt when Bryon pulled out the bologna and a jar of grape jelly and began to make a sandwich?

”Are you sure that's what you want, Byron?” she asked faintly.

”Sure! It's my favorite,” he said, carefully spreading the right amount of jelly on the bread.

When he'd finished, Dawn looked around. There was Nicky, holding a jar of peanut b.u.t.ter.

”Okay, Nicky. Peanut b.u.t.ter and jelly, right?” Dawn asked. She was relieved. This was a little more normal. But ”normal” was not what Nicky had in mind.

”Nope. Peanut b.u.t.ter and bologna,” he said. Dawn made a face, but she also made the sandwich. If that's what he wanted . . .

Adam and Jordan both wanted SpaghettiOs, but they refused to let Mal heat them up. They wanted to eat them right out of the can. She convinced them to at least put their servings on plates.

Margo just wanted bread and b.u.t.ter for dinner. She's in a picky phase, and there are very few foods she'll eat.

Dawn asked Vanessa what she was having.

”A fried egg will do the trick. b.u.t.ter the pan, so it won't stick,” said Vanessa.

Mal groaned. Was Vanessa, who longed to be a poet, going to drive them crazy by speaking in rhyme all night?

While Dawn fried the egg, Mal helped Claire get her dinner. She wanted cereal, but it had to be in a certain bowl (the one with Big Bird on it) with a certain spoon (the one with the red handle). The milk had to be poured precisely so that it came right up to the border painted inside the bowl, and no further. Finally the bowl of cereal was just right, and Claire carried it to the table.

”Thank you, Mallory-silly-billy-goo-goo!” she called over her shoulder.

”You're welcome, Claire,” said Mal, rolling her eyes. It looked like Claire was in her ”silly” mood again.

Mal made herself a ham sandwich, while Dawn checked the fridge for anything resembling health food. Finally she turned up a couple of carrots, a container of yogurt, and some wheat germ left over from one of Mal's baking experiments.

”This'll do just fine,” she said. ”Let's sit down.”

There was a mad rush for the ”good” seats. Claire had already claimed Mrs. Pike's usual spot, and Margo sat next to her. The triplets jostled each other, tripping and blocking as they competed for Mr. Pike's seat. While they were occupied, Nicky slipped into it. Vanessa drifted in and seated herself daintily in Adam's usual spot but was forced to move almost immediately when he sat in her lap, pretending not to see her.

Finally, everyone was seated. Dinner had begun.

”Want some SpaghettiOs, Nicky?” Adam asked.

”Sure!” he answered. His face lit up. His brothers usually only paid attention to him when they were teasing him.

”You do?” do?” asked Jordan. ”Don't you know they're made out of worms?” asked Jordan. ”Don't you know they're made out of worms?”

Nicky's face fell and he went back to eating his sandwich. Byron quietly offered him a bite of his sandwich, but Nicky looked at it closely and shook his head. ”Worms” had reminded him of something.

”The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out, the worms play pinochle on your snout,” he sang, looking very cheerful again. he sang, looking very cheerful again.

”Ew!” cried Claire. She dropped her spoon into her cereal. Milk flew in all directions.

”C'mon, Nicky. We're trying to eat,” said Mallory. She reached over with her napkin and wiped up some milk.

”Okay, how about this one?” he asked. ”I'm Popeye the sailor man, I live in a garbage can,” ”I'm Popeye the sailor man, I live in a garbage can,” he started. he started.

Adam reached around Nicky and tapped him on the shoulder. Nicky stopped singing and whipped his head around to see Jordan, looking innocent. When he turned back to check on Adam, Jordan reached around to tap him on the other shoulder. Nicky looked like a spectator at a tennis match as Adam and Jordan took turns.

Dawn tried to distract them. ”What shall we do tonight, guys?” she asked.

Everybody spoke up at once. Claire wanted to play Candy Land, the only game she's old enough for. Margo thought that sounded fine, too. The triplets voted for volleyball, except for Adam, who wanted to play dodgeball. Nicky thought it would be fun to build a tent out of blankets and play Indians.

It was Vanessa, though, who came up with an idea that everyone liked. ”Let's put on a play!” she said.

”Yea!”

”Let's do Batman!” Batman!” said Byron. He loves to be the Joker. said Byron. He loves to be the Joker.

”No, Snow White!” Snow White!” said Claire. said Claire.

Dawn thought quickly. What could they do that would please everyone? ”How about The Wizard of The Wizard of Oz?” she said, remembering what Kristy had said about how much her brothers and sisters liked that movie. Oz?” she said, remembering what Kristy had said about how much her brothers and sisters liked that movie.

”Great choice, Dawn,” said Mallory.

”I get to be the Scarecrow!” yelled Jordan.

”I get to be the Cowardly Lion!” yelled Adam.

”I get to be the Princess!” yelled Margo.

”Princess?” asked Nicky. ”I don't remember any princess in that movie.”

”There's always a princess, right, Mallory?” Margo looked at Mal for support.

”Sorry, not in this story,” said Mallory. ”But you can be the Good Witch. That's the closest thing to a princess in this play. Anyway, let's dear the table and clean up the kitchen before we get started. And anyone who's got homework has to do it first.”

When everyone was ready, they had a quick meeting to a.s.sign the rest of the parts, and then everyone ran off to put together costumes.

The house was a little quieter for a few minutes while the actors and actresses dressed up. Downstairs, Mal and Dawn looked at each other and smiled.

”Well, at least we got through dinner,” Dawn said.

Just then, the triplets slid down the banister, one after the other. Adam, as the Cowardly Lion, wore a yellow fringed bedspread tied around his shoulders. Jordan had on old jeans and a flannel s.h.i.+rt. He looked pretty good as the Scarecrow. Byron was the Tin Woodsman, and his was the hardest costume to put together. He'd found a funnel to wear as a hat, and he was carrying a toy hatchet.

The rest of the cast gathered, and Dawn and Mal were a.s.signed parts, too. Dawn was the Wicked Witch, and Mal was the Wizard. By the time everyone was onstage, they realized that there were no people left over to be an audience, but by then it was too late.