There's trouble for everyone when a TV star comes to town!

P.S. 162 faded off for a commercial break and an ad for some gasoline company came on.

Becca stared dreamily at the TV screen.

"Isn't Lamont just the cutest thing in the world?" she sighed.

"I think Waldo's funnier," I said

"You like Waldo?" Becca said. "So does everyone in my class. Charlotte Johanssen said that the kid who plays him used to go to Stoneybrook Elementary School." (Charlotte Johanssen is Becca's best friend. She's lived in Stoneybrook a lot longer than we have.)

"Is that true?" asked Mama.

"Cross my heart," said Becca. She traced an X on her chest over her heart. I still didn't know whether to believe her. "Charlotte said that he used to always get his picture in the paper here."

Hmm. Well, maybe Becca was telling the truth. She certainly seemed to have enough details.

When the show was over I ran to the telephone to call Mallory. I figured if there was any one family that would know about this Waldo business it would have to be the Pikes.

Mallory confirmed everything Becca had said. Waldo and his family did live in Stoneybrook. She said that Waldo's real name was Derek Masters, and she told me that before he got the job on the TV show, he had lived here permanently. Now, of course, he had to be out in California for a chunk of the year, so the whole family had moved with him out to L.A. while he was taping P.S. 162.

"How do you know all this?" I asked.

"A star, from Stoneybrook? Are you kidding? It's big news. Everybody knows it," said Mallory. "Anyway, Derek used to be in Nicky's class." Nicky is one of Mallory's younger brothers. He's eight years old and in third grade.

"Wow!" I said. I couldn't believe that no one had told me any of this before. This was hot news, and I wanted a chance to talk about it with my friends. I couldn't wait for the next meeting of the Baby-sitters Club.

Jessi and the Superbrat
Published by Scholastic Inc. 1996
ISBN: 0590425021