Read Online Stacey And The Mystery At The Mall by Ann M. Martin - Free Book Online
Authors: Ann M. Martin
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yourself, I knew you'd understand."
"Parent?" repeated Mr. Morton. "I'm not
even married. I don't have kids."
"Oh!" said Kristy. "I thought you did. I've seen you on the security videotapes a bunch of times, talking to some kids. I just assumed they were yours."
"Nope!" he said. "Not mine. Probably, um, just some young customers . . ." He stood up and started to pace around a little. He looked excited. "Okay, here's the deal," he said. "I have an empty storefront by the games arcade. I'll let your group use it for half of the regular rent. If you can convince your bosses — and the other merchants — to come up with the rest of the rent, you can have your center."
"YESSS!" shouted Kristy, pumping her fist in the air. Then she caught herself. She looked down and smoothed her skirt, blushing. "I mean, thank you very much. That’s great news."
Five minutes later, we were at the ice cream parlor and Kellie was licking a chocolate cone. In fact, we all treated ourselves (I ordered pure fruit sherbet) and had a regular celebration. Everything had happened so fast, we could hardly believe it. But it was definitely not a dream. Our day-care center was going to become a reality!
Chapter 9.
"Phew! There sure is a lot to do," said Kristy, looking over a sheaf of papers that April had just handed her. It was the following Tuesday, and we were in the middle of our second planning meeting for the day-care center. All the members of the BSC were there — our bosses had agreed to let us take extra time off for the meetings — plus April and two other store-owners who had agreed to help us start the center.
April had left her part-time employee, a woman named Sarah who usually works Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, in charge of Toy Town. She and I had hurried over to the store that would soon house the day-care center, where we had met the others. Mr. Williams, who manages the Cheese Outlet, was there, and so was Ms. Snyder, who's a salesperson at Lear's, the main department store in the mall. Both of them had already talked
to April about wanting to help, and they were eager to get started. But April had been the most enthusiastic. She had spent the last few days running around doing research.
The papers Kristy was looking over were regulation lists and application forms that April had picked up from the people who are in charge of licensing for day-care centers. "I guess this isn't something you can just casually jump into," Kristy said now, after she had read through some of the material. "There's a lot to figure out. Like, if kids are going to bring food with them, we'll need to have a refrigerator. And that’s the least of it. We also have to hire enough staff to cover the requirements for kids at all different age levels. Plus we have to set up different areas for babies, toddlers, and school-age kids. And there are a ton of health regulations."
"We can do it," said April. "Ifs just a matter of working through these forms and setting things up correctly." Then the licensing people come and do inspections, and after that we'll be on our way."
Mary Anne looked around the room we sat in. It was a big rectangular space, with a storeroom and a bathroom in the back. The walls were a sort of dingy light green. "At least there's plenty of room," she said. "But this place sure could use some sprucing up. Painting with bright colors would help a lot."
"I think our next step should be making up a list of things we'll need," said Ms. Snyder. "Paint is an example, and so is the refrigerator. Then we can try to get donations from the merchants. I've already talked my boss into the idea of Lear's donating some used office equipment — we'll need a desk and a file cabinet."
"I spent some time last night writing a note about how the center will work," said Mr. Williams. "I hope you all don't mind. I think it will help a lot when we present the idea to the other merchants." He passed around a letter he'd written. It outlined the idea
"Parent?" repeated Mr. Morton. "I'm not
even married. I don't have kids."
"Oh!" said Kristy. "I thought you did. I've seen you on the security videotapes a bunch of times, talking to some kids. I just assumed they were yours."
"Nope!" he said. "Not mine. Probably, um, just some young customers . . ." He stood up and started to pace around a little. He looked excited. "Okay, here's the deal," he said. "I have an empty storefront by the games arcade. I'll let your group use it for half of the regular rent. If you can convince your bosses — and the other merchants — to come up with the rest of the rent, you can have your center."
"YESSS!" shouted Kristy, pumping her fist in the air. Then she caught herself. She looked down and smoothed her skirt, blushing. "I mean, thank you very much. That’s great news."
Five minutes later, we were at the ice cream parlor and Kellie was licking a chocolate cone. In fact, we all treated ourselves (I ordered pure fruit sherbet) and had a regular celebration. Everything had happened so fast, we could hardly believe it. But it was definitely not a dream. Our day-care center was going to become a reality!
Chapter 9.
"Phew! There sure is a lot to do," said Kristy, looking over a sheaf of papers that April had just handed her. It was the following Tuesday, and we were in the middle of our second planning meeting for the day-care center. All the members of the BSC were there — our bosses had agreed to let us take extra time off for the meetings — plus April and two other store-owners who had agreed to help us start the center.
April had left her part-time employee, a woman named Sarah who usually works Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, in charge of Toy Town. She and I had hurried over to the store that would soon house the day-care center, where we had met the others. Mr. Williams, who manages the Cheese Outlet, was there, and so was Ms. Snyder, who's a salesperson at Lear's, the main department store in the mall. Both of them had already talked
to April about wanting to help, and they were eager to get started. But April had been the most enthusiastic. She had spent the last few days running around doing research.
The papers Kristy was looking over were regulation lists and application forms that April had picked up from the people who are in charge of licensing for day-care centers. "I guess this isn't something you can just casually jump into," Kristy said now, after she had read through some of the material. "There's a lot to figure out. Like, if kids are going to bring food with them, we'll need to have a refrigerator. And that’s the least of it. We also have to hire enough staff to cover the requirements for kids at all different age levels. Plus we have to set up different areas for babies, toddlers, and school-age kids. And there are a ton of health regulations."
"We can do it," said April. "Ifs just a matter of working through these forms and setting things up correctly." Then the licensing people come and do inspections, and after that we'll be on our way."
Mary Anne looked around the room we sat in. It was a big rectangular space, with a storeroom and a bathroom in the back. The walls were a sort of dingy light green. "At least there's plenty of room," she said. "But this place sure could use some sprucing up. Painting with bright colors would help a lot."
"I think our next step should be making up a list of things we'll need," said Ms. Snyder. "Paint is an example, and so is the refrigerator. Then we can try to get donations from the merchants. I've already talked my boss into the idea of Lear's donating some used office equipment — we'll need a desk and a file cabinet."
"I spent some time last night writing a note about how the center will work," said Mr. Williams. "I hope you all don't mind. I think it will help a lot when we present the idea to the other merchants." He passed around a letter he'd written. It outlined the idea
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