When a local business, Davis Diapers, offers to sponsor the Krushers, Kristy accepts.

The team gathered around me, pushing and shoving. (Except for David Michael. He was standing, arms folded, against the backstop.)

I had a plan. At my house, I'd only looked at the back of the shirt. But here I would first reveal the front of the shirt, which I assumed was nice and blank. The kids would become so psyched that when I turned the shirt around, they wouldn't mind the logo.

I held my breath. I pulled out a team shirt, making sure the back faced me.

The first face I noticed was Linny's. he looked deathly ill. "I'm not wearing that!" he protested.

"Dye...a...Purse?" Patsy Kuhn said.

I turned the shirt around. The back of the shirt was facing the team complete with the drawing of a diaper.

"What's it say?" Claire asked.

"Davis Diapers," Nicky replied.

"Dirty diapers?" Patsy said.

"Eeeeeeeew!" Margo shrieked, dissolving into giggles.

Nina Marshall looked ashen. "We have to wear diapers?"

"Di-pees! Di-pees!" Gabbie squealed.

"Can we send them back?" Linny asked. "Or tell him to put Krushers on them?"

"Well, no," I said. "That's his company name. The whole idea is to advertise."

Why didn't you ask us first?" Jake asked angrily. "You always say teammates should communicate."

"Well, yeah," I replied, "but I guess...I don't know, I figured we all needed the new stuff, that's all."

Glowering, Jake and Linny stalked away.

I felt like a fool. They were right. I should have called a team meeting and proposed the idea. The way I would have introduced a new idea in the BSC. What kind of leader was I, anyway?

Kristy and the Dirty Diapers
Published by Scholastic Inc. 1996
ISBN: 0590228730