Stella Arden sat in class doodling in her notebook to keep from falling asleep when Kristy Thomas leaned over and handed her a piece of paper.

Stella, got a cool idea for a babysitting club. It'll be lots of fun and you can make lots of $$$. Meet at Claudia's house if you're interested.

Stella looked around to make sure the teacher wasn't looking before handing her reply over. It said, 'I'll think about it.'

"I'm only going to one meeting," Stella told Kristy as she walked with her and Mary Anne Spier to Claudia Kishis house.

"One meeting, got it," Kristy nodded. Kristy walked up to the door and knocked. Mimi, Claudias grandmother, answered. "Oh, this is Stella. She's a friend of mine."

"Hi," Stella waved shyly. She gasped lightly when Mimi embraced her in a tight hug. "Oh, okay."

"The other girls are upstairs," Mimi said, letting go of Stella. "I'll make tea."

"Girls? Plural?" Stella asked, already regretting coming with.

"Oh. Hi, Janine," Kristy greeted as the three walked by Claudias sisters room. Janine just looked at them before typing something on her computer and the door slammed shut.

"I think he likes you," They heard a girl say as they approached Claudias room.

"Really? You think so?" Claudia asked.

"Yes," The other voice laughed.

"I don't know."

"Hey," Kristy said as they entered.

"Hey," Claudia greeted. "Kristy, Mary Anne, this is my friend Stacey McGill."

"Hi," Stacey smiled.

"Stacey just moved to Stoneybrook from New York."

"Where in New York?" Mary Anne asked.

"Oh, the city," Stacey replied.

"You mean, like, Manhattan?"

"Yeah. The Upper West Side."

"And this is?" Claudia asked, pointing towards Stella.

"Um, I'm Stella. Stella Arden. I'm a friend of Kristy's," Stella introduced herself.

"Nice to meet you, Stella," Claudia smiled. Stella had been waiting years to hear her name roll off the tounge of Claudia Kishi. Maybe this club wouldn't be such a bad thing.

"So this babysitting thing sounds pretty chill," Stacey said.

"You told her?" Kristy asked.

"Sorry, was it a secret?" Claudia asked, carrying a book over to the group.

"Not technically," Kristy muttered. Claudia opened the book to reveal that it was hollowed out with Twizzlers hiding inside.

"I'm good," Stacey shook her head when Claudia offered one to her. When offered, Stella was quick to grab one. She loved Twizzlers for some odd reason.

"Fine. It's a babysitting club," Kristy said.

"Excuse me, I thought you said we were going to make money," Claudia said.

"Let me finish. So the other night my mother needed a sitter for David Michael, and she had to make, like, a million phone calls and pay 80 bucks to join this weird website."

"Which will then sell her personal information to, like, the Russians."

"Sure, and I thought, wouldn't it be a great idea if you could make, like, one phone call and reach a whole bunch of good sitters at the same time? A few times a week, we'd all meet together in phone place, and people would call and offer us jobs."

"My dad doesn't let me pick up the whole if I don't recognize the number," Mary Anne said.

"Not your phone," Kristy assured her. "An olden times phone."

"A landline?" Stella asked. "I don't think they're that old."

"I've got one up here," Claudia said. "We got an extra line with that super ultra high-speed internet package Janine needed for her stupid nerd servers."

"So you'll do it?" Kristy asked.

"Maybe, if it doesn't conflict with my art class. Hey, guys. Watermelon gummies!"

Stacey took the package before handing it over to Kristy.

"So how many times a week will we meet?" Stella asked.

"A few," Kristy said. "Three."

"Monday, Wednesday, Friday," Stacey suggested. "Easy to remember. Targeted social media ads are probably the best marketing strategy. I can figure out the best ratio of click-throughs to investment. I'm pretty good at math."

"Have you ever even babysat before?" Kristy asked. "Don't all the kids in New York just have fancy Polish nannies till they graduate from college?"

"I think you're confusing real life with Gossip Girl."

"And Dorotas actually a maid," Mary Anne said.

"But you're right," Stacey said. "Most of the kids in our building had nannies, but not on the weekends or evenings. So I babysat a lot when their parents had events."

"Events," Mary Anne said dreamily. "Like the Tony's."

"Speaking of marketing, Claud, I was wondering if you wanted to draw us something, like a logo," Kristy suggested.

"Maybe. I need to process," Claudia said.

"That sculptures cool," Stella complimented. "What's it about?"

"Menstruation."

After that first meeting, Stella decided this club wouldn't be such a bad thing.