The Mancusis don't have any kids...but they sure have a lot of pets!

Claudia hung up the phone and looked up from some notes she'd been making. She found the rest of us staring at her.

"Well?" said Kristy.

"Well, the Mancusis need a pet-sitter," Claudia began.

"A pet-sitter," Kristy practically jumped down Claud's throat. "How could you even think about another pet-sitting job?"

"Another one?" I asked.

"Yeah," said Kristy. "The very first job I got when we started the club - my first job offer at our first official meeting - was for two Saint Bernard dogs, and it was a disaster."

"But Kristy," protested Claudia, "if the Mancusis can't find a pet-sitter, they'll have to cancel their dream vacation."

Kristy sighed. "All right. Suppose one of us was crazy enough to want to pet-sit - don't the Mancusis need someone everyday?"

"Well...well, um," I began, "my ballet school is closed next week, remember? So I'm available. For the whole week. I could take care of the Mancusis' pets. I mean, if they want me to."

"Perfect!" exclaimed Claud. She called Mrs. Mancusi back, as promised. As you can probably imagine, Mrs. Mancusi was delighted to have a sitter. she asked to speak to me. After thanking me several times, she said, "When could you come by? My husband and I will have to show you how to care for the animals. there are quite a lot of them, you know."

After some discussion, we decided on Friday evening, right after supper. since the Mancusis live near my house, I knew that would be okay with my parents.

I hung up the phone. "Gosh, the Mancusis sure are going to pay me well."

"They better," Kristy replied. "I don't think Claud told you exactly how many pets they have. There are three dogs, five cats, some birds and hamsters, two guinea pigs, a snake, lots of fish, and a bunch of rabbits and turtles."

I gulped. What had I gotten myself into?

Jessi Ramsey, Pet-sitter
Published by Scholastic Inc. 1996
ISBN: 0590436589