BSC Mystery #1 Stacey and the Missing Ring
So, this book starts out with Stacey about to let us in on a huge secret, and imploring us to not tell her friends because she would so die if they knew. Wait, wait, dont tell me Stacey, let me guess. You let Toby get to second base in Sea City? You occasionally sneak puffs out of discarded cigarettes? You think Karen Brewer is actually the anti-Christ? No, none of that. Stacey's secret is she sometimes likes to clean. And she doesn't care if you understand that or not, because she's had a great morning cleaning with her mom, dammit! First, her mother made her blueberry pancakes which are killer because she doesnt need maple syrup since they are already sweet. Why would she care if she needed syrup? Because she can't have it, and you know why? On page two Stacey lets us in on another big issue- she has diabetes. Well, Ellen Miles really wasted no time on that one, did she? After giving us a PSA about the Diabeetus, she moves on to tell us she just moved back to CT from NY following her parents divorce. Anyways, she and her mother are cleaning and grooving to 60s music and having a gay old time, when one of the songs prompts Maureen McGill to reminisce about her sixteenth birthday party, and she pauses the cleaning to drag out her pictures to show Stacey. Maureen comments that she loves celebrating her birthday (which most people generally find tiresome after the 22nd b-day, but whatever) and fondly says her sixteenth birthday party was the best ever.
Well, that provides the opening Stacey has been waiting for, and blurts out that she too loves celebrating her birthday, in fact, what she really wants is a birthstone ring commemorating her birthday. Oh, smooth, Stacey. That certainly was a seamless transition, wasnt it? Stacey's mom just asks her what her birthstone is, and Stacey replies that it is a diamond. I always thought diamonds were plain and ugly when I was 13 and preferred colored stones, but I suppose someone as cool and sophisticated as Stacey would like a diamond ring. Stacey's mom is already skeptical and asks how much the ring is. Stacey tells her, but doesnt actually name the price to the reader, and I was always wondering what it was. I'm going to guess both on the time period and about what Stacey would think was reasonable to ask, and venture a guess thats in the neighborhood of $1000-$1500. That's just my guess though. Predictably, Maureen balks and says no way, Jose. She'll give $10, and thats it.
Stacey gets super pissy, and internally bitches that she doesn't ask for much, so her mother should give in this time. You know, Stacey, I realize you're thirteen, but you have to realize that asking your mother to buy you a gift that probably equals or is even greater than her monthly support checks isn't going to go over well, and perhaps Maureen is just a little too concerned with paying for stupid things like, oh say, the mortgage or groceries. Bitch. Stacey snots that her father would buy it for her. Well, then, why didn't you just ask him, dummy? Maureen retorts that she may be right, since he can afford it, but that he is spoiling her already and she thinks its not good for Stacey.
On the one hand, she is absolutely right, Stacey is acting like an overly entitled little bitch, but on the other hand, she learned this behavior from someone, and it was probably the person who dropped $1500 in one day on jewelry at Tiffanys because she felt her husband was neglecting her. You reap what you sow, Maureen.
Anyways, Stacey flounces off and says she is going to hang with her friends instead of her mother for the rest of the day. Awesomely, she calls Kristy first because she wants to go to the mall, and she figures Kristy can get Charlie to take her. Sure enough, Charlie has nothing better to do and readily agrees. While Kristy is rounding up the troops Stacey takes the time to explain each girl in the BSC, as well as the BSC itself. It is not interesting.
The girls make it out to the mall, and Stacey geeks out like Mallory Pike over how super special the mall is. I can't really make fun of her though- although I never waxed poetic about a mall I did hang there a lot in middle school. And some in high school too. But I actually worked there then. The nerd herd (Mallory, Jessi, Mary Anne, and Kristy) go off to hang in the pet store, while Claudia, Stacey, and Dawn go to the shoe store. While Claudia tries on shoes, Stacey and Dawn shamelessly watch- and later mock- a couple older women trying on shoes and laugh at them for having to keep sending shoes back in favor of larger sizes. It was actually pretty funny. By the way, while at the mall, Claudia buys nachos, sneakers, and a brownie fudge sundae. She must have a little business on the side, because shes throwing down money like she's Britney Spears. Stacey tells the other girls about asking her mom for a ring and being shot down, but she is annoyed that the other girls all seem to think she had pretty big balls to ask her mother to spend that kind of cash. Stacey gets home and hits her mom up one more time for the ring, and then skulks off to complain to Claudia about her meanie-mo of a mother. Well, Stacey and her new diamond ring would be the prettiest, most fashionable girl living in a cardboard box, wouldnt she?
The next chapter is a BSC meeting, notable only because the BSC gets a new client, the Gardellas, and Stacey gets the job, for a seven month old baby. Stacey is very excited.
Stacey is nervous as she goes to her sitting job, since the house is huge and her arrival is met by a large barking dog. Mrs. Gardella is pretty nice though and shows Stacey around. She insists Stacey divide her attention equally between the dog and cat so neither one will get hurt or offended. If Stacey was a house sitter or pet sitter I would think that was a reasonable request, but Stacey is supposedly there for the baby, who Mrs. Gardella barely mentions. Instead she goes over the eating and sleeping habits of the pets, their nighttime routine, and what kind of games to play with them. Also, the cat eats at the dinner table with the adults. Like, has a plate on the table. Sorry to offend any cat people here, but that is strange. When it comes time to introduce the baby, she just hands her off to Stacey and says she should be no trouble, then heads out with her husband. Anyways, Stacey's night is uneventful, as she plays with baby Tara then puts her to bed, and then spends the rest of the evening playing with the pets. When the parents come home they ask about the pets, not the baby. They pay her and take her home, and Stacey thinks that the family is nice but weird.
The next morning, Stacey's mother wakes her up and says Mrs. Gardella is calling and sounds upset. Stacey gets up and takes the call. Mrs. Gardella tells Stacey she had set a diamond ring out on her dresser the night before but got distracted before she could put it on, and well, now it is missing. They have already looked everywhere. Mrs. Gardella asks if Stacey perhaps "borrowed" it. Nice of her to put that spin on it, but Stacey tells her she didnt take the ring, period; she wasn't even near their room at any time the previous night. Mrs. Gardella asks to speak with Stacey's mother next. I'm torn on this one- obviously if you had a missing ring and a stranger in your house the night before that would probably be a logical theory, but that's quite a thing to accuse someone of doing. And Mrs. Gardella had clearly already made up her mind that Stacey was guilty, so Im not sure what the point of asking her about it was. Anyways, after talking to Maureen Mrs. Gardella asks to speak to Stacey again and tells her that she won't be using any of the BSC girls from now on, and also, she's warning other potential clients from using them. Well, thats overreacting a bit. Stacey is pretty horrified, but I dont see what the big deal is. Theyre pretty revered in Stoneybrook and I'm sure none of the regular clients would pay much attention.
The girls gather for an emergency meeting and brainstorm what to do next. Stacey points out that Mrs. Gardella is convinced she is guilty, and that her warning people about the BSC is just her trying to do the right thing. Kristy responds that Mrs. Gardella doesn't know Stacey is guilty and therefore should not be making claims against her she can't prove. The girls decide to just hope for the best and trust that their clients won't believe that Stacey stole anything.
At the next regular meeting, the phone is silent. They do get two phone calls for jobs, but Stacey says that is way below average.
The next chapter is a babysitting chapter, MA sitting for Jenny Prezzioso. Mostly uneventful and boring. Jenny is fairly well behaved, but has a little friend who came over and turned the hose on inside the house. Fascinating stuff.
At the next meeting, the phone is mostly quiet, except for two people calling to cancel. Despite both callers giving legit reasons, the BSC suspects they have heard, and believe the accusations. The girls reminisce about other times the club had troubles and cheer up reminding themselves they got through those times and will get through this.
Jessi is babysitting for her family and although I avoid babysitting chapters like the plague, this one is actually relevant. Jessi and Becca take turns hiding items around the house and having the other one look for them. While playing the game, it dawns on Jessi that something as small as a diamond ring really could be anywhere and despite the fact that Mrs. Gardella said she looked everywhere, she probably didn't. Well, probably not Einstein, but an expensive piece of jewelry isn't like a bottle cap and she probably does try and keep tabs on it. While I think it is unfair of Mrs. Gardella to brand Stacey a thief without proof, were I in her shoes I would probably think (privately) that was the most likely scenario. Anyways, while Jessi is thinking about that, she hears something on the radio about a thief loose in Stoneybrook. Jessi immediately panics and turns on every light in the house, and makes sure all windows are locked, throws all her mothers jewelry in a drawer, and puts a blanket over the television set. Well, that would probably fool the Wet Bandits so I guess Ellen Miles gets credit for a timely pop culture reference, even an implicit one. Jessi then turns on the radio loud, and rocks out with her siblings until her parents come home. While in bed, Jessi thinks that it was possible the Gardellas were victims to the robber- while Stacey was in the house. As freaky as that would be, if the robber is going to make the effort to rob a house while people (and a huge dog) are in it, he would probably want to come away with more than just a diamond ring. But maybe he's just not too ambitious. Anyways, Jessi hopes it was him, since that would clear Stacey's (and by extension, the BCS's) reputation.
The next chapter is Claudia babysitting for the Prezziosos, and just for you guys, here is a list of everything she misspelled in her entry- appreciate, grateful, Prezzioso, since, cancelled, really, means, Jenny, pain, right, gotten, lately, there, buy. She does nail the correct than though (instead of then). Anyways, Claudia is pissed because although Jenny is behaving better than usual lately (i.e. jumped on the Charlotte/Becca/Norman Hill bandwagon of unrealistic children), her sitting job was originally slated to be for at least three hours and was cut down to one since the Prezziosos came home early. Why did they come home early? Because they were confronted at their cocktail party by the Gardellas and were too upset to stay. However, I'm betting Mrs. Gardella probably thought the Prezziosos rushed home after realizing one of them was home alone that moment with their valuables, and just wouldn't admit it. The Prezziosos tell Claudia they don't believe it for a minute, but came home because their night was ruined. They could have theoretically done something else though. Anyways, Claudia is glad to have their trust but is bummed about only being paid for the shortened night, although Mrs. P. does kindly round up and pay her for two hours instead of one.
While Claudia is at her job, Stacey and her mom are hanging out together, and they rent a movie and make popcorn. Stacey is enjoying herself until Claudia calls, upset and wants to come over. Stacey invites her to hang out and they go to her room. While Stacey is trying to engage Claudia in a conversation, Claudia is giving distracted one word responses while digging through Staceys stuff. Stacey realizes Claudia is looking for the missing ring. She confronts her, and Claudia points out that it is quite the coincidence that days after talking about how much she wanted a diamond ring, a new clients ring goes missing, right after Stacey babysat for her. Stacey asks if Claudia believes her now, after not finding the ring in her room. Claudia says she is mostly convinced. You know, here is what is so dumb about the whole thing. Why would Stacey take the ring? She would never be able to wear it in front of anyone without being questioned. I suppose she could theoretically lie and say her father bought it for her, but it seems like that could easily come to bite her in the ass. Anyways, Stacey tells Claudia to leave, which she does, angrily, slamming Stacey's door and stomping down the stairs. So respectful and mature, Claudia. Even Jenny P. doesn't do that.
After the weekend, Stacey goes to the Monday BSC meeting with an idea. She tells them she wants to prove shes not a thief, which MA responds that everyone there already knows that. Stacey gets passive aggressive and says, well, most of you do, and I really shouldn't have to prove myself to my friends, but... and trails off, prompting Kristy to ask her what she plans to do. She wants to offer to babysit the Gardellas for free, until the ring is paid off. I don't see how that, in any way, proves her innocence, but Stacey maintains that even though she didn't take the ring, it went missing on her watch, and she feels responsible. Mrs. Gardella sounds doubtful, but says she will accept the offer if Stacey brings another girl with her. My guess is, Mrs. Gardella has already reported the ring stolen to the insurance company, replaced the ring, and is laughing about how shell get a free babysitting from some misguided kid until Tara leaves for college. Anyways, Kristy agrees to the plan, and they spend the rest of the meeting speculating on what really became of the ring. Jessi is still convinced a robber scaled the fence, broke into a house with a guard dog, and left after pocketing one piece of jewelry, MA thinks the baby swallowed it- interesting she doesnt think the dog swallowed it-, Dawn thinks the Missus dropped it down the drain without noticing, and Kristy thinks that Mrs. Gardella just misplaced it and hasnt looked hard enough. I admire their support of Stacey, but all of those scenarios seem pretty unlikely. I mean, does Kristy really think that Mrs. Gardella just absent mindedly chucked her expensive ring under the bed one day? Or dangled the ring over the drain and didn't notice when it fell in? At the end of the meeting Dawn jokes that no jobs equal no entries in the notebook, which gets a laugh out of everyone but Kristy.
Friday night Stacey and Kristy go over to sit for the Gardellas. Kristy is taken aback by the way the parents treat their pets as opposed to how they treat their kid, but Stacey shrugs it off. They put Tara down pretty shortly after arriving, and spend some time playing with the pets. Ha, this is funny, Mouse the Cat goes on a catnip bender. Kristy cracks up, but Stacey is worried he'll hurt himself. Stacey notices that after she gives the cat a new toy, he plays with it for a minute, then takes it out of the room and returns without it. After going through several toys, Stacey follows him and watches what he does. He takes each toy to a desk in the library, and bats it under the desk, then comes back for another one. Stacey retrieves all the hidden toys and brings them back to the main room, where Kristy says the cat is now playing with twist ties. He takes the twist ties to yet another hiding spot, and Stacey follows him. I bet you guys will never guess what is in the second hiding place. It is a DIAMOND RING! OMG! Mystery solved! Luckily for Stacey, Mouse is known to hide things already and this is a new spot, so Mrs. Gardella cant comment on the coincidence of the ring happening to turn up as soon as Stacey comes back to babysit. Mrs. Gardella immediately apologizes upon seeing the ring and admits they should have checked all Mouse's hiding spots but didnt, although that wouldnt have really mattered seeing as how she says this is a new spot anyways. Anyways, she promises to call the Prezziosos and retract her accusation, and adds that they are the only people she told, so the quiet days lately werent because of them. Mr. Gardella takes the girls home and pays them double, which I guess would amount to about $3 an hour right? I suppose thats a fair trade for falsely accusing a kid of stealing. Wait until Stacey gets them back by reporting them for insurance fraud.
At the next meeting, happy days are here again, as the BSC is now swamped with job requests. Claudia apologized to Stacey- before she found out where the ring really was- and the two made up. During the meeting Mrs. Gardella calls and apologizes again, adding that their regular nanny is back at work and she won't need the BSC anymore. Stacey comments to the other girls she wouldn't feel comfortable sitting for them again anyway. All the girls agree they won't sit for the Gardellas again, although I suspect that has more to do with them not liking the amount of pet sitting involved than moral principles. Oh, also, Jessi announces the Stoneybrook Burglar was busted on account of leaving his wallet at one of the houses. Genius. I wonder which one it was, Harry or Marv. They don't really say. Anyways, Claudia gives Stacey an I'm Sorry present- a homemade ear cuff. Score! And Stacey tells the group that she may get the ring after all; her mother and father are planning on going in on it together as a combination birthday/Christmas gift. I'm thinking it will be more of a 25/75 split than 50/50 though. Just a hunch.
Well, that provides the opening Stacey has been waiting for, and blurts out that she too loves celebrating her birthday, in fact, what she really wants is a birthstone ring commemorating her birthday. Oh, smooth, Stacey. That certainly was a seamless transition, wasnt it? Stacey's mom just asks her what her birthstone is, and Stacey replies that it is a diamond. I always thought diamonds were plain and ugly when I was 13 and preferred colored stones, but I suppose someone as cool and sophisticated as Stacey would like a diamond ring. Stacey's mom is already skeptical and asks how much the ring is. Stacey tells her, but doesnt actually name the price to the reader, and I was always wondering what it was. I'm going to guess both on the time period and about what Stacey would think was reasonable to ask, and venture a guess thats in the neighborhood of $1000-$1500. That's just my guess though. Predictably, Maureen balks and says no way, Jose. She'll give $10, and thats it.
Stacey gets super pissy, and internally bitches that she doesn't ask for much, so her mother should give in this time. You know, Stacey, I realize you're thirteen, but you have to realize that asking your mother to buy you a gift that probably equals or is even greater than her monthly support checks isn't going to go over well, and perhaps Maureen is just a little too concerned with paying for stupid things like, oh say, the mortgage or groceries. Bitch. Stacey snots that her father would buy it for her. Well, then, why didn't you just ask him, dummy? Maureen retorts that she may be right, since he can afford it, but that he is spoiling her already and she thinks its not good for Stacey.
On the one hand, she is absolutely right, Stacey is acting like an overly entitled little bitch, but on the other hand, she learned this behavior from someone, and it was probably the person who dropped $1500 in one day on jewelry at Tiffanys because she felt her husband was neglecting her. You reap what you sow, Maureen.
Anyways, Stacey flounces off and says she is going to hang with her friends instead of her mother for the rest of the day. Awesomely, she calls Kristy first because she wants to go to the mall, and she figures Kristy can get Charlie to take her. Sure enough, Charlie has nothing better to do and readily agrees. While Kristy is rounding up the troops Stacey takes the time to explain each girl in the BSC, as well as the BSC itself. It is not interesting.
The girls make it out to the mall, and Stacey geeks out like Mallory Pike over how super special the mall is. I can't really make fun of her though- although I never waxed poetic about a mall I did hang there a lot in middle school. And some in high school too. But I actually worked there then. The nerd herd (Mallory, Jessi, Mary Anne, and Kristy) go off to hang in the pet store, while Claudia, Stacey, and Dawn go to the shoe store. While Claudia tries on shoes, Stacey and Dawn shamelessly watch- and later mock- a couple older women trying on shoes and laugh at them for having to keep sending shoes back in favor of larger sizes. It was actually pretty funny. By the way, while at the mall, Claudia buys nachos, sneakers, and a brownie fudge sundae. She must have a little business on the side, because shes throwing down money like she's Britney Spears. Stacey tells the other girls about asking her mom for a ring and being shot down, but she is annoyed that the other girls all seem to think she had pretty big balls to ask her mother to spend that kind of cash. Stacey gets home and hits her mom up one more time for the ring, and then skulks off to complain to Claudia about her meanie-mo of a mother. Well, Stacey and her new diamond ring would be the prettiest, most fashionable girl living in a cardboard box, wouldnt she?
The next chapter is a BSC meeting, notable only because the BSC gets a new client, the Gardellas, and Stacey gets the job, for a seven month old baby. Stacey is very excited.
Stacey is nervous as she goes to her sitting job, since the house is huge and her arrival is met by a large barking dog. Mrs. Gardella is pretty nice though and shows Stacey around. She insists Stacey divide her attention equally between the dog and cat so neither one will get hurt or offended. If Stacey was a house sitter or pet sitter I would think that was a reasonable request, but Stacey is supposedly there for the baby, who Mrs. Gardella barely mentions. Instead she goes over the eating and sleeping habits of the pets, their nighttime routine, and what kind of games to play with them. Also, the cat eats at the dinner table with the adults. Like, has a plate on the table. Sorry to offend any cat people here, but that is strange. When it comes time to introduce the baby, she just hands her off to Stacey and says she should be no trouble, then heads out with her husband. Anyways, Stacey's night is uneventful, as she plays with baby Tara then puts her to bed, and then spends the rest of the evening playing with the pets. When the parents come home they ask about the pets, not the baby. They pay her and take her home, and Stacey thinks that the family is nice but weird.
The next morning, Stacey's mother wakes her up and says Mrs. Gardella is calling and sounds upset. Stacey gets up and takes the call. Mrs. Gardella tells Stacey she had set a diamond ring out on her dresser the night before but got distracted before she could put it on, and well, now it is missing. They have already looked everywhere. Mrs. Gardella asks if Stacey perhaps "borrowed" it. Nice of her to put that spin on it, but Stacey tells her she didnt take the ring, period; she wasn't even near their room at any time the previous night. Mrs. Gardella asks to speak with Stacey's mother next. I'm torn on this one- obviously if you had a missing ring and a stranger in your house the night before that would probably be a logical theory, but that's quite a thing to accuse someone of doing. And Mrs. Gardella had clearly already made up her mind that Stacey was guilty, so Im not sure what the point of asking her about it was. Anyways, after talking to Maureen Mrs. Gardella asks to speak to Stacey again and tells her that she won't be using any of the BSC girls from now on, and also, she's warning other potential clients from using them. Well, thats overreacting a bit. Stacey is pretty horrified, but I dont see what the big deal is. Theyre pretty revered in Stoneybrook and I'm sure none of the regular clients would pay much attention.
The girls gather for an emergency meeting and brainstorm what to do next. Stacey points out that Mrs. Gardella is convinced she is guilty, and that her warning people about the BSC is just her trying to do the right thing. Kristy responds that Mrs. Gardella doesn't know Stacey is guilty and therefore should not be making claims against her she can't prove. The girls decide to just hope for the best and trust that their clients won't believe that Stacey stole anything.
At the next regular meeting, the phone is silent. They do get two phone calls for jobs, but Stacey says that is way below average.
The next chapter is a babysitting chapter, MA sitting for Jenny Prezzioso. Mostly uneventful and boring. Jenny is fairly well behaved, but has a little friend who came over and turned the hose on inside the house. Fascinating stuff.
At the next meeting, the phone is mostly quiet, except for two people calling to cancel. Despite both callers giving legit reasons, the BSC suspects they have heard, and believe the accusations. The girls reminisce about other times the club had troubles and cheer up reminding themselves they got through those times and will get through this.
Jessi is babysitting for her family and although I avoid babysitting chapters like the plague, this one is actually relevant. Jessi and Becca take turns hiding items around the house and having the other one look for them. While playing the game, it dawns on Jessi that something as small as a diamond ring really could be anywhere and despite the fact that Mrs. Gardella said she looked everywhere, she probably didn't. Well, probably not Einstein, but an expensive piece of jewelry isn't like a bottle cap and she probably does try and keep tabs on it. While I think it is unfair of Mrs. Gardella to brand Stacey a thief without proof, were I in her shoes I would probably think (privately) that was the most likely scenario. Anyways, while Jessi is thinking about that, she hears something on the radio about a thief loose in Stoneybrook. Jessi immediately panics and turns on every light in the house, and makes sure all windows are locked, throws all her mothers jewelry in a drawer, and puts a blanket over the television set. Well, that would probably fool the Wet Bandits so I guess Ellen Miles gets credit for a timely pop culture reference, even an implicit one. Jessi then turns on the radio loud, and rocks out with her siblings until her parents come home. While in bed, Jessi thinks that it was possible the Gardellas were victims to the robber- while Stacey was in the house. As freaky as that would be, if the robber is going to make the effort to rob a house while people (and a huge dog) are in it, he would probably want to come away with more than just a diamond ring. But maybe he's just not too ambitious. Anyways, Jessi hopes it was him, since that would clear Stacey's (and by extension, the BCS's) reputation.
The next chapter is Claudia babysitting for the Prezziosos, and just for you guys, here is a list of everything she misspelled in her entry- appreciate, grateful, Prezzioso, since, cancelled, really, means, Jenny, pain, right, gotten, lately, there, buy. She does nail the correct than though (instead of then). Anyways, Claudia is pissed because although Jenny is behaving better than usual lately (i.e. jumped on the Charlotte/Becca/Norman Hill bandwagon of unrealistic children), her sitting job was originally slated to be for at least three hours and was cut down to one since the Prezziosos came home early. Why did they come home early? Because they were confronted at their cocktail party by the Gardellas and were too upset to stay. However, I'm betting Mrs. Gardella probably thought the Prezziosos rushed home after realizing one of them was home alone that moment with their valuables, and just wouldn't admit it. The Prezziosos tell Claudia they don't believe it for a minute, but came home because their night was ruined. They could have theoretically done something else though. Anyways, Claudia is glad to have their trust but is bummed about only being paid for the shortened night, although Mrs. P. does kindly round up and pay her for two hours instead of one.
While Claudia is at her job, Stacey and her mom are hanging out together, and they rent a movie and make popcorn. Stacey is enjoying herself until Claudia calls, upset and wants to come over. Stacey invites her to hang out and they go to her room. While Stacey is trying to engage Claudia in a conversation, Claudia is giving distracted one word responses while digging through Staceys stuff. Stacey realizes Claudia is looking for the missing ring. She confronts her, and Claudia points out that it is quite the coincidence that days after talking about how much she wanted a diamond ring, a new clients ring goes missing, right after Stacey babysat for her. Stacey asks if Claudia believes her now, after not finding the ring in her room. Claudia says she is mostly convinced. You know, here is what is so dumb about the whole thing. Why would Stacey take the ring? She would never be able to wear it in front of anyone without being questioned. I suppose she could theoretically lie and say her father bought it for her, but it seems like that could easily come to bite her in the ass. Anyways, Stacey tells Claudia to leave, which she does, angrily, slamming Stacey's door and stomping down the stairs. So respectful and mature, Claudia. Even Jenny P. doesn't do that.
After the weekend, Stacey goes to the Monday BSC meeting with an idea. She tells them she wants to prove shes not a thief, which MA responds that everyone there already knows that. Stacey gets passive aggressive and says, well, most of you do, and I really shouldn't have to prove myself to my friends, but... and trails off, prompting Kristy to ask her what she plans to do. She wants to offer to babysit the Gardellas for free, until the ring is paid off. I don't see how that, in any way, proves her innocence, but Stacey maintains that even though she didn't take the ring, it went missing on her watch, and she feels responsible. Mrs. Gardella sounds doubtful, but says she will accept the offer if Stacey brings another girl with her. My guess is, Mrs. Gardella has already reported the ring stolen to the insurance company, replaced the ring, and is laughing about how shell get a free babysitting from some misguided kid until Tara leaves for college. Anyways, Kristy agrees to the plan, and they spend the rest of the meeting speculating on what really became of the ring. Jessi is still convinced a robber scaled the fence, broke into a house with a guard dog, and left after pocketing one piece of jewelry, MA thinks the baby swallowed it- interesting she doesnt think the dog swallowed it-, Dawn thinks the Missus dropped it down the drain without noticing, and Kristy thinks that Mrs. Gardella just misplaced it and hasnt looked hard enough. I admire their support of Stacey, but all of those scenarios seem pretty unlikely. I mean, does Kristy really think that Mrs. Gardella just absent mindedly chucked her expensive ring under the bed one day? Or dangled the ring over the drain and didn't notice when it fell in? At the end of the meeting Dawn jokes that no jobs equal no entries in the notebook, which gets a laugh out of everyone but Kristy.
Friday night Stacey and Kristy go over to sit for the Gardellas. Kristy is taken aback by the way the parents treat their pets as opposed to how they treat their kid, but Stacey shrugs it off. They put Tara down pretty shortly after arriving, and spend some time playing with the pets. Ha, this is funny, Mouse the Cat goes on a catnip bender. Kristy cracks up, but Stacey is worried he'll hurt himself. Stacey notices that after she gives the cat a new toy, he plays with it for a minute, then takes it out of the room and returns without it. After going through several toys, Stacey follows him and watches what he does. He takes each toy to a desk in the library, and bats it under the desk, then comes back for another one. Stacey retrieves all the hidden toys and brings them back to the main room, where Kristy says the cat is now playing with twist ties. He takes the twist ties to yet another hiding spot, and Stacey follows him. I bet you guys will never guess what is in the second hiding place. It is a DIAMOND RING! OMG! Mystery solved! Luckily for Stacey, Mouse is known to hide things already and this is a new spot, so Mrs. Gardella cant comment on the coincidence of the ring happening to turn up as soon as Stacey comes back to babysit. Mrs. Gardella immediately apologizes upon seeing the ring and admits they should have checked all Mouse's hiding spots but didnt, although that wouldnt have really mattered seeing as how she says this is a new spot anyways. Anyways, she promises to call the Prezziosos and retract her accusation, and adds that they are the only people she told, so the quiet days lately werent because of them. Mr. Gardella takes the girls home and pays them double, which I guess would amount to about $3 an hour right? I suppose thats a fair trade for falsely accusing a kid of stealing. Wait until Stacey gets them back by reporting them for insurance fraud.
At the next meeting, happy days are here again, as the BSC is now swamped with job requests. Claudia apologized to Stacey- before she found out where the ring really was- and the two made up. During the meeting Mrs. Gardella calls and apologizes again, adding that their regular nanny is back at work and she won't need the BSC anymore. Stacey comments to the other girls she wouldn't feel comfortable sitting for them again anyway. All the girls agree they won't sit for the Gardellas again, although I suspect that has more to do with them not liking the amount of pet sitting involved than moral principles. Oh, also, Jessi announces the Stoneybrook Burglar was busted on account of leaving his wallet at one of the houses. Genius. I wonder which one it was, Harry or Marv. They don't really say. Anyways, Claudia gives Stacey an I'm Sorry present- a homemade ear cuff. Score! And Stacey tells the group that she may get the ring after all; her mother and father are planning on going in on it together as a combination birthday/Christmas gift. I'm thinking it will be more of a 25/75 split than 50/50 though. Just a hunch.