Stacey bounced up the steps of the Johanssen’s front stoop to ring the bell. Even though it was a sitting job, Stacey was excited about this afternoon’s charge. Charlotte Johanssen was her favorite kid. Quiet and reserved, Charlotte looked up to Stacey. And Stacey loved the attention.Dr. Johanssen answered the door. “Stacey” she exclaimed happily. “So good to see you! Charlotte’s in the playroom with Becca. I hope you don’t mind that she’s here.” Dr. J was a doctor on a reality show about celebrities addicted to sniffing glue.Becca Ramsey was the younger sister of Stacey’s friend Jessi, who used to be the BSC but had to drop out because she was always getting offered parts at the NYC Ballet, despite being eleven and dancing en pointe for a week.Jessi and Becca are black.

“No that’s fine,” said Stacey, smiling. The more to admire her!

Dr. J lowered her voice. “I left you some quinoa and spelt bread for a snack.” Dr. J was so understanding when Stacey admitted her gkuten allergy. It was so hard to find people to understand her affliction.

Stacey fluffed out her hair, adjusted her Steve McQueen romper and headed up to Char’s room. She heard Char from the hallway “ok, a little to the left,” Char was saying. Stacey put her head through the door and saw Becca lounging on her bed and Char filming her on her flipcam.

“What are you guys doing?” Stacey asked. “We’re playing Celebrity. Char is Kim Kardashian.”

Stacey giggled. Charlotte was so imaginative, that was part of why she was her favorite sitting charge. “Hey are you guys ready for your snack?”

They went down to the kitchen and Stacey prepared their Kale and soy-mayo sandwiches. “MMMppphhh” Becca said, her mouth full of kale. “Stacey aren’t you having any?” she asked.

“No,” Stacey looked down. “Uhhhhh, I’m on a diet.”

“What?” asked Charlotte. “But you’re already so skinny! You’re a size zero.”

“Yea, but I want to be a size double zero for when I go shopping at sample sales in New York.”

“Come on Stacey, just have one half! It’s low carb bread.”  Char urged.

“I, uhhh……hey, let’s go outside and play!”

The issue quickly forgotten, the girls ran outside . The Johanssens had built an elaborate treehouse for Charlotte,.and she and Jessi were pretending that they were at the Jersey Shore house. Among screams of “Raaaaahhhhhhnnnn!” and “GTL! DTF!” Stacey snapped some pictures and sent them to the BSC tumblr account.

“Hello?” said someone at the backyard gate. “Oh, hey Hayley!” waved Char. Hayley lived next door and had a stylish, ironic mulllet. “What are you up to?”

“Well, my mother baked these brownies, but I’m off of carbs with week, so I thought you guys could use them. I thought to myself, ‘Becca and Charlotte DEFINITELY don’t care what they eat.”

Oblivious to the hipper, more stylish girls back-handed compliment, Jessi and Becca reached for brownies. “Yum!” said Becca. Stacey, try one!”

“Nah”, said Stacey, blushing.

“Oh come on” said Hayley. “Yea!” said Charlotte, chocolate smeared across her “Team Edward” tee shirt. “They are sooooo good!”.

“I SAID NO!” snapped Stacey. The three girls froze, mid-chew.

“I’m sorry” sniffed Charlotte. “I dibn’t meed to bake you mad.” She said through her tears and mucus..

“Oh guys,” Stacey felt horrible. She hoped Kristy or Charlotte’s parents didn’t hear her yelling on the live webfeed they had coming from all their client’s homes. “I….I have something to tell you.”

“What is it You can tell us,” said Becca. Becca is black.

“I have this problem….I have a gluten allergy. I can’t eat any gluten, and I have to watch what I eat really carefully. When I lived in New York, all my friends- those who I thought were my friends- thought I was weird and started being mean to me. This one time, at a sleepover, we had garlic bread, and during the night, I had gas. It was so embarrassing. They spread rumors that I had epilepsy. It was so horrible. That’s why I didn’t tell anyone when I moved to Connecticut I didn’t want to tell anyone- I wanted to make a fresh start.”

Stacey was looking down as she talked, and waited to hear the girls reaction.

“That’s it?” Charlotte said. “That’s what you;’re embarrassed about? That’s nuts. We don’t care! You’re still our favorite baby-sitter!”

“Yea” said Hayley. “My mother only eats things that are red. That and cayenne pepper. And then throws is all up. No biggie.”

“Really you guys” said Stacey? “Wow, I am so lucky.”

Charlotte said, “Come on guys! Let’s go back inside and play America’s Next Top Model! I’m Andre Leon! Stacey, you can be go-see and judge each of us on our potential to be a model.”

“Ok Char,” said Stacey. “Lead the way!” She couldn’t wait to put this all in the BSC blog.