#44 Dawn and the Big Sleepover (Chapters 4-6)
Chapters 1-3
When we last left off, the kids were working on their plot device project - pen pals on a Zuni reservation in New Mexico, and Dawn's jealous, because she's an individual and wants to have a pen pal just like the kids. The following Friday, Mallory showed up late to a BSC meeting and Kristy shot lazer beams at her, breaking her glasses, with the sad news that a fire on the reservation destroyed the kids' school and some of the homes. And in typical BSC fashion, Dawn decides she MUST do something about it, despite not having any connection to the kids or the penpal program, besides watching the Pikes participate in it.
Chapter 4:
Dawn and Mary Anne come home from the BSC meeting, Dawn crying on the inside for the Zuni kids. I know I'm being hard on her, because if I heard news like that I'd be upset too, but she's being so melodramatic about it. Even the Mexican food Richard picked up on his way home from work can't cheer her up! Geez Dawn, he even remembered to get vegetarian!
The girls are quiet throughout dinner (Dawn says she's thinking of the Zuni kids and thinks Mary Anne is wondering why she's so quiet...um, you were both at the same meeting, I'm sure she knows why!), while Sharon and Richard try to make conversation. Finally, while seasoning her pico de gallo with her secret stash of "oregano," Sharon asks Dawn why she looks sad and asks if something happened at school. So Dawn tells her about Pens Across America and Rachel Redriver and Sha'la'ko (and yes, I looked this up while at work in the children's room at the library last week. Lerangis did his research correctly) and describes the BSC's meeting where Mallory gave them the horrible news.
Sharon and Richard agree that it's an awful tragedy, and Richard adds, Maybe they didn't have a good sprinkler system. Insensitive, much? Way to be a Debbie Downer, Richard. Another reason why the girls never go to their parents for help/advice. Dawn gushes about how the penpals are such great kids, and they don't have much money. She feels so strongly and knows so much about these kids after hearing a few letters that they sent the Pikes? Like I said, I know I'd be upset too, but she's taking it over the top. Either that, or it's the "BSC Superhero" gene coming out full-force.
Mary Anne says she feels bad for the Pikes, who feel like something happened to their best friends. Sharon reassures them both that everything will be ok, what matters most is no one was hurt. And Richard, making up for his stupid comment before, suggests Dawn tell the Pikes to write supportive, encouraging letters to their penpals. Dawn realizes that a Stoneybrook parent actually said something worthwhile, so she calls up Mallory after dinner to see what she thinks.
Before Dawn can bring up what Richard said, Mallory asks Dawn what she thinks about the stuff the kids were going to send - the pennant and photos and all that. Dawn says they should send it, because it would cheer the kids up. Then it's Mallory's turn to be the Debbie Downer and says she wouldn't know how to feel if her house burnt down and she got a pennant in the mail. *Debbie Downer noise - WAAAAAA-AAAAA!* Dawn realizes, no matter how much she doesn't want to admit it, Mallory's right. Sending cutesy little things after their penpals went through something so traumatic would seem like they weren't taking it seriously. Especially if Margo really did end up puking in a jar and mailing that (hey, it's her one personality trait!). I love how Mallory is usually the voice of reason to the 13-year-olds.
While Dawn thinks of how to respond to that, Mallory says she has to put Claire to bed, being that she's the Pike's live-in nanny. They say bye and hang up. Way to go, Dawn! But Dawn won't let something like upsetting Mallory stop her, it hasn't in the past anyway. One thing kept sticking in my mind: Compared to the Zunis, we were probably rich. Surely there had to be something the people in Stoneybrook could do. Something we could give them. But what? And how? Being that this is a BSC book, it's required that any activity needs to drag the entire town into it. And why does she feel like SHE has to do something? SES has that Kids Can Do Anything Club. They can do something. But knowing the BSC, they'd swoop in and take charge of that too. Right away, she concludes that the things the families need most are food, clothes, and money. I smell a BSC project...
She goes into Mary Anne's room to run the idea past her, and finds her stepsister reading Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume. Eh, I prefer the Fudge books. Mary Anne's deeply engrossed in the book, so to get her attention, Dawn starts to blow the ending for her. "Hey! Snape kills-" That gets her attention and Mary Anne yells at her. And rightfully so! WTF Dawn?
Dawn tells Mary Anne her Great Idea (don't tell Kristy! Oh wait, you're probably going to have to) - they could organize a food and clothing drive, then have a fundraiser to raise money! Mary Anne, thinking the same as me, says it's a big project and they'd have to get some teachers involved. Unless they're as inept and clueless as the Stoneybrook parents are, then the BSC's flying solo for this one. Dawn welcomes Mary Anne's advice, but I guess she takes it as an insult because she felt like a big balloon with its air being squeezed out and it takes a while for her to fall asleep. How dare Mary Anne be a realist and not find her idea marvelous and spectacular? Oh lord, is this going to be the recycling center all over again?
The next day, Dawn decides to get a teacher on board with her plan. However, as we all know, she doesn't know any teachers from SES because she didn't go there. But wait! She knows of a teacher! Ms. Besser, Jeff's old teacher that he hated and he skipped through the house singing "Yay no more Ms. Besser!" when he found out he was moving back to CA. And Dawn wants to get in touch with her? Awkward.
And what's more awkward? Dawn wants to get in touch with her right away...on a Saturday. So, being a total creeper, she goes through the phone book and dials the only Besser listed. Let me repeat that: She calls a teacher she barely knows up at home! Even if she knew her teacher, yikes! That is just...who would be willing to do that? One of my professors gave us his cell number in case we had to reach him in an emergency for help on our final papers, and I was too uncomfortable to call him up. What the hell, Dawn? She says she feels scared, but adds that if she were a teacher and a kid called her, she wouldn't be weirded out at all. Adults can be funny about things like that. Are you partaking when Sharon throws pot parties?
There's only one Besser in the phone book, so Dawn dials and a guy answers. She asks for Ms. Besser and the guy calls for his wife, saying it's one of her kids. And Dawn gets offended because he thinks she's 10 years old. Yeah, three years younger than you. And you called a teacher at home, you surrendered your right to get offended, Dawn! Geez, this whole chapter is full of outrage from me.
Paranoid that the woman will hang up on her when she learns she's Jeff's sister, she goes ahead anyway and introduces herself as Jeff Schafer's sister. Ms. Besser doesn't flip out, but I'm sure she's thinking "Oh great, the little hell raiser who was always acting out and getting into fights? Why the fuck does his sister want to talk to me?" She recognizes Dawn because Sharon mentioned her during conferences. And Dawn gets weirded out, wondering what her mom said about her. They discussed how self-righteous and annoying you are, I'm assuming. After a brief interlude where they talk about how things are much better for Jeff in CA, Dawn cuts to the chase and finds out Ms. Besser's class is indeed participating in Pens Across America.
Dawn tells her she's here to save the day, because she has some wonderful ideas on how to help the kids! She then eagerly explains what she thought of. Ms. Besser, probably humoring her, says it sounds interesting and she'll bring it up with the other teachers on Monday. But Dawn needs to know OMGNOW what the teachers will think about it, because no one leaves a BSC member waiting on something! Ms. Besser responds they'll probably go for it, because they wouldn't want their students to let down kids who have become their friends (at least they have a reason for wanting to help their penpals). She gets Dawn's number so she can call her back, and that's that.
Dawn's thrilled, then realizes she should probably contact Kristy, as this would make a perfect project for the BSC. *DING DING DING* We have a BSC Project! Everyone take a shot! We're hitting all the cliches right away in this book.
So she calls Kristy up and, of course, Kristy takes charge right away, ordering an OMGEMERGENCYMEETING as soon as Ms. Besser calls Dawn back, and making a list of things they need to figure out as far as the plan goes. She asks Dawn to keep her posted on everything. And because these girls are petty little twits despite being ~best friends~, Dawn worries Kristy will take all the credit. Because Kristy is the only one in the BSC allowed to have Great Ideas. Um, you're doing this to help out kids in New Mexico, not turn this into a debate about who gets the credit for thinking about it. Grow up.
Thankfully, Dawn reassures herself to stop being stupid. By Monday, one of the assistant principals at SMS finds Dawn and relays a message from Ms. Besser - her idea was met with approval from all the teachers involved in the program at SES. Either that, or Kristy set the BSC Mind Control Ray over the elementary school. Dawn goes to tell Kristy the good news, and the OMGEMERGENCYMEETING is set for 5:00, a half hour before the actual meeting. Only Stacey and Jessi have sitting jobs, so they're not going to be there until 5:30. Geez ladies, BSC projects supercede EVERYTHING, even sitting jobs! Get with the program!
Chapter 5:
At the OMGEMERGENCYMEETING, Dawn's fears are put to rest, as Kristy does the unthinkable and lets Dawn explain the project. When Dawn's finished, Mallory says she votes yes to go along with it, and Claudia chimes in too. But Miss Napoleon Complex quiets them down and says they must make a motion to put the project to a vote. WHAT?!? Parliament uses Robert's Rules. You're a babysitting club, not a deliberative assembly. STFD, Kristy. You too, Mallory, for even bringing up the topic of voting in the first place. I'm surprised Kristy isn't making sure they have a quorum (which, not counting the associates, they do. My service sorority followed Robert's Rules too, and we always had to do that).
Claudia complains that Kristy's being a domineering bitch (well, not in that language, or else Kristy would chop off her side ponytail), but Kristy ignores her and demands she be specific about what she's motioning to put to vote. Sure thing, Madame President! *rolls eyes* Claudia motions for them to vote about whether they should help out Dawn, and Mary Anne seconds, because she's Kristy's little yes-girl. Kristy asks who's in favor and obviously, everyone's hand shoots up. It's unanimous!
Dawn says she'll tell Ms. Besser the good news, and Mallory will enlist the Pike Army to tell their teachers and friends. But that isn't enough for Kristy! I don't know...the Pike Army is awfully big! Dawn suggests making a flyer, and Claudia immediately volunteers herself for the job, grabbing a pad of paper to sketch it out. And no one stops her. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! Haven't these girls learned anything about NOT LETTING CLAUDIA DO ANYTHING INVOLVING WRITING?! They're going to end up with this: "The BSC is haveing a projekt project prajekkct to help the Zooni Kids in New Meksico. We're coleckting foode, clothing, and money! Please help by donateing! Thank yoo!" Let's hope Mallory's spell-checking.
They decide they'll do a door-to-door collection of non-perishable food and clean clothing. And Dawn volunteers her barn as a drop-off location for everything. Damn, that barn gets so much use, thanks to the BSC! Though...wouldn't the logical thing be to drop off the donations at the school? It would probably be more convenient for the kids. Whenever my school did a food or toy drive, we'd bring the stuff to school with us. The BSC, of course, doesn't think about this. They're the ones in charge dammit, not the teachers! Claudia pencils the barn into the flyer, though knowing her, she probably wrote "Bring the donayshuns donnait donayysh stuf to Dawn's barnn."
Then Mallory gets a Great Idea. Damn Kristy, you're losing your touch! Mallory thinks they should give prizes or awards out, to get the kids really excited about the project. Mary Anne adds that they should have a big party for everyone who participates, because it's wrong to instill a sense of competition in children, Mallory. Mallory agrees and suggests something like a school picnic. Only the BSC is running it, the school is just following orders, Mallory. Kristy says she heard of a school that let the kids and teaches switch spots for a day. She would. And how would that work, there's a bigger number of students than teachers, so some would get left out, Kristy!
Since everyone's having Great Ideas besides Kristy, Dawn comes up with another. They could have a big sleepover! *DING DING DING* We have a book title! Dawn says they could use the gym (what, is the barn unavailable that night?) and maybe some of the school staff could participate. Because all seven of you could handle a bazillion kids because you're such wonderful babysitters. Try thinking of the legalities there, since you guys are children yourselves.
Claudia smiles at how cute it would be seeing all the little kids in their pajamas (ew?), and Dawn starts to formulate the plan: they can serve pizza for dinner, and maybe get a place to donate pies, serve pancakes in the morning, play games and give out awards (if they want to). Everyone likes the idea of it, and totally forgetting the shitfit she threw about Claudia not following parliamentary procudure, Kristy asks who's in favor of doing a sleepover. Nice. Everyone raises their hands, and because she's a dweeb, Mallory raises both hands.
Kristy then throws everyone a curveball when she realizes that fliers aren't the best way to go, as they can't guarantee the kids will bring them home to their parents, and some of the kids can barely read, just like Claudia. And what about the rest of Stoneybrook? And the fundraiser? They end up concluding that they'll leave fundraising ideas to the kids, because Peter Lerangis got lazy and couldn't think of something big for everyone to do because the Pike kids managed to pull together and think of creative ideas when Mr. Pike got laid off! Good showing that you read other BSC books, Lerangis. And how did Vanessa manage to make money, styling hair on the playground?
So Jessi and Stacey show up on time (of course) and they forget about the problems they encountered. No more Good Ideas? It's time for a certain gifted charge to save the day. And no, thankfully it's not Karen.
Chapter 6:
Notebook entry from Stacey. Despite talking about such a serious matter as their plan to help the Zuni kids, Stacey still manages to dot her i's with little hearts. Which reminds me of one of my fellow staff members on the radio station in college complaining that when he did news updates, the DJs would play music underneath it. "I don't really think it's appropriate for me to talk about the War in Iraq, while the Jackson 5 plays."
Anyway, Stacey says Charlotte's addicted to this book series called Freddy the Pig. Never heard of it. Charlotte should try this series, she'd be able to relate really well. We've all heard the story about how Charlotte used to hate school and be miserable, and now she's happier because she skipped a grade ad infinitum. Only thing of importance here is they decided to keep the project idea a secret, so they could spring it on everyone when they get the right chance. Um, ok.
So after Charlotte shows Stacey some tricks she taught her schnauzer Carrot, they go into the kitchen to have some pretzels. When they get in there, Stacey notices a stack of letters from Charlotte's penpal, Theresa. Charlotte informs her that Theresa's house was one of the ones that caught fire and gives Stacey the letter to read where she describes what happened. The letter is really upsetting, Theresa says her aunt was a teacher at the school and is now unemployed, the only clothes she has are the ones that were in the washing machine during the fire, her tv and vcr were destroyed. Her family is now living with her aunt and uncle, and she says her mom cries a lot and she misses school.
Needless to say, Stacey's heartbroken after reading it. Charlotte is too (because Stacey read it out loud...thanks for opening up old wounds, Stacey!) and immediately freaks out, wondering what would happen if her house burned down. That's the Charlotte we're familiar with. I actually like Charlotte, but good lord, she's made of fear. Stacey tells her not to worry about that, and Charlotte keeps panicking, asking if her family could move in with Stacey, because she has no family in the area and wouldn't want to move away. Stacey reassures her everything will be alright, then decides to blow the BSC's secret, to see if that will calm her down. Thankfully, Stacey doesn't get 50 lashes for revealing it, because they all agree she did the right thing.
Charlotte thinks the idea is great and is really excited about it, especially the sleepover. She agrees not to tell anyone, and asks if they're going to have a big school assembly to tell everyone about it. So an 8-year-old can come up with that idea, but seven 11 and 13-year-olds can't? Nice. Stacey says they can tell Dawn right away and instead of calling her like a normal person would, they ride their bikes up to Dawn's house. If I remember correctly from the Complete Guide map (which fell off my book and got thrown away awhile ago), Charlotte lives pretty far away from Dawn's. I'm pretty sure the Johanssens have a phone, which would have made things a lot easier, Stacey! What if she wasn't home, you guys rode up there for nothing!
Thankfully, Dawn and Mary Anne are home, and Dawn says Charlotte's really excited to tell her about her assembly idea. Dawn says she's a totally different person than when she ran off the stage in tears during the Little Miss Stoneybrook pageant (you'd think this was a Nola Thacker book, with all the references to past BSC books). Yeah, but I'm sure she still hates performing. Someone tell that to Mallory when #80 rolls around.
Dawn says it's a great idea, but Mary Anne points out that they wouldn't be able to give one during school, as they all have school too. Nothing wrong with that, they can just get permission to be out of school for a little bit! How about having one of the teachers explain it to the kids, instead of you guys blowing off school? Because convincing your teachers you had to skip class to go talk to elementary school kids about a project not related to school? Good luck with that. I had teachers who would flip a shit at me if a weekly band lesson fell during their class. But since this is Stoneybrook, of course they get to go.
And Charlotte saves the day again! They should just make her an honorary BSC member at this point.
Coming up next...the BSC announces their plan, the triplets pwn Mallory in public, ANOTHER carnival (only this one isn't run by the BSC), and kids do the darndest things!
When we last left off, the kids were working on their plot device project - pen pals on a Zuni reservation in New Mexico, and Dawn's jealous, because she's an individual and wants to have a pen pal just like the kids. The following Friday, Mallory showed up late to a BSC meeting and Kristy shot lazer beams at her, breaking her glasses, with the sad news that a fire on the reservation destroyed the kids' school and some of the homes. And in typical BSC fashion, Dawn decides she MUST do something about it, despite not having any connection to the kids or the penpal program, besides watching the Pikes participate in it.
Chapter 4:
Dawn and Mary Anne come home from the BSC meeting, Dawn crying on the inside for the Zuni kids. I know I'm being hard on her, because if I heard news like that I'd be upset too, but she's being so melodramatic about it. Even the Mexican food Richard picked up on his way home from work can't cheer her up! Geez Dawn, he even remembered to get vegetarian!
The girls are quiet throughout dinner (Dawn says she's thinking of the Zuni kids and thinks Mary Anne is wondering why she's so quiet...um, you were both at the same meeting, I'm sure she knows why!), while Sharon and Richard try to make conversation. Finally, while seasoning her pico de gallo with her secret stash of "oregano," Sharon asks Dawn why she looks sad and asks if something happened at school. So Dawn tells her about Pens Across America and Rachel Redriver and Sha'la'ko (and yes, I looked this up while at work in the children's room at the library last week. Lerangis did his research correctly) and describes the BSC's meeting where Mallory gave them the horrible news.
Sharon and Richard agree that it's an awful tragedy, and Richard adds, Maybe they didn't have a good sprinkler system. Insensitive, much? Way to be a Debbie Downer, Richard. Another reason why the girls never go to their parents for help/advice. Dawn gushes about how the penpals are such great kids, and they don't have much money. She feels so strongly and knows so much about these kids after hearing a few letters that they sent the Pikes? Like I said, I know I'd be upset too, but she's taking it over the top. Either that, or it's the "BSC Superhero" gene coming out full-force.
Mary Anne says she feels bad for the Pikes, who feel like something happened to their best friends. Sharon reassures them both that everything will be ok, what matters most is no one was hurt. And Richard, making up for his stupid comment before, suggests Dawn tell the Pikes to write supportive, encouraging letters to their penpals. Dawn realizes that a Stoneybrook parent actually said something worthwhile, so she calls up Mallory after dinner to see what she thinks.
Before Dawn can bring up what Richard said, Mallory asks Dawn what she thinks about the stuff the kids were going to send - the pennant and photos and all that. Dawn says they should send it, because it would cheer the kids up. Then it's Mallory's turn to be the Debbie Downer and says she wouldn't know how to feel if her house burnt down and she got a pennant in the mail. *Debbie Downer noise - WAAAAAA-AAAAA!* Dawn realizes, no matter how much she doesn't want to admit it, Mallory's right. Sending cutesy little things after their penpals went through something so traumatic would seem like they weren't taking it seriously. Especially if Margo really did end up puking in a jar and mailing that (hey, it's her one personality trait!). I love how Mallory is usually the voice of reason to the 13-year-olds.
While Dawn thinks of how to respond to that, Mallory says she has to put Claire to bed, being that she's the Pike's live-in nanny. They say bye and hang up. Way to go, Dawn! But Dawn won't let something like upsetting Mallory stop her, it hasn't in the past anyway. One thing kept sticking in my mind: Compared to the Zunis, we were probably rich. Surely there had to be something the people in Stoneybrook could do. Something we could give them. But what? And how? Being that this is a BSC book, it's required that any activity needs to drag the entire town into it. And why does she feel like SHE has to do something? SES has that Kids Can Do Anything Club. They can do something. But knowing the BSC, they'd swoop in and take charge of that too. Right away, she concludes that the things the families need most are food, clothes, and money. I smell a BSC project...
She goes into Mary Anne's room to run the idea past her, and finds her stepsister reading Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume. Eh, I prefer the Fudge books. Mary Anne's deeply engrossed in the book, so to get her attention, Dawn starts to blow the ending for her. "Hey! Snape kills-" That gets her attention and Mary Anne yells at her. And rightfully so! WTF Dawn?
Dawn tells Mary Anne her Great Idea (don't tell Kristy! Oh wait, you're probably going to have to) - they could organize a food and clothing drive, then have a fundraiser to raise money! Mary Anne, thinking the same as me, says it's a big project and they'd have to get some teachers involved. Unless they're as inept and clueless as the Stoneybrook parents are, then the BSC's flying solo for this one. Dawn welcomes Mary Anne's advice, but I guess she takes it as an insult because she felt like a big balloon with its air being squeezed out and it takes a while for her to fall asleep. How dare Mary Anne be a realist and not find her idea marvelous and spectacular? Oh lord, is this going to be the recycling center all over again?
The next day, Dawn decides to get a teacher on board with her plan. However, as we all know, she doesn't know any teachers from SES because she didn't go there. But wait! She knows of a teacher! Ms. Besser, Jeff's old teacher that he hated and he skipped through the house singing "Yay no more Ms. Besser!" when he found out he was moving back to CA. And Dawn wants to get in touch with her? Awkward.
And what's more awkward? Dawn wants to get in touch with her right away...on a Saturday. So, being a total creeper, she goes through the phone book and dials the only Besser listed. Let me repeat that: She calls a teacher she barely knows up at home! Even if she knew her teacher, yikes! That is just...who would be willing to do that? One of my professors gave us his cell number in case we had to reach him in an emergency for help on our final papers, and I was too uncomfortable to call him up. What the hell, Dawn? She says she feels scared, but adds that if she were a teacher and a kid called her, she wouldn't be weirded out at all. Adults can be funny about things like that. Are you partaking when Sharon throws pot parties?
There's only one Besser in the phone book, so Dawn dials and a guy answers. She asks for Ms. Besser and the guy calls for his wife, saying it's one of her kids. And Dawn gets offended because he thinks she's 10 years old. Yeah, three years younger than you. And you called a teacher at home, you surrendered your right to get offended, Dawn! Geez, this whole chapter is full of outrage from me.
Paranoid that the woman will hang up on her when she learns she's Jeff's sister, she goes ahead anyway and introduces herself as Jeff Schafer's sister. Ms. Besser doesn't flip out, but I'm sure she's thinking "Oh great, the little hell raiser who was always acting out and getting into fights? Why the fuck does his sister want to talk to me?" She recognizes Dawn because Sharon mentioned her during conferences. And Dawn gets weirded out, wondering what her mom said about her. They discussed how self-righteous and annoying you are, I'm assuming. After a brief interlude where they talk about how things are much better for Jeff in CA, Dawn cuts to the chase and finds out Ms. Besser's class is indeed participating in Pens Across America.
Dawn tells her she's here to save the day, because she has some wonderful ideas on how to help the kids! She then eagerly explains what she thought of. Ms. Besser, probably humoring her, says it sounds interesting and she'll bring it up with the other teachers on Monday. But Dawn needs to know OMGNOW what the teachers will think about it, because no one leaves a BSC member waiting on something! Ms. Besser responds they'll probably go for it, because they wouldn't want their students to let down kids who have become their friends (at least they have a reason for wanting to help their penpals). She gets Dawn's number so she can call her back, and that's that.
Dawn's thrilled, then realizes she should probably contact Kristy, as this would make a perfect project for the BSC. *DING DING DING* We have a BSC Project! Everyone take a shot! We're hitting all the cliches right away in this book.
So she calls Kristy up and, of course, Kristy takes charge right away, ordering an OMGEMERGENCYMEETING as soon as Ms. Besser calls Dawn back, and making a list of things they need to figure out as far as the plan goes. She asks Dawn to keep her posted on everything. And because these girls are petty little twits despite being ~best friends~, Dawn worries Kristy will take all the credit. Because Kristy is the only one in the BSC allowed to have Great Ideas. Um, you're doing this to help out kids in New Mexico, not turn this into a debate about who gets the credit for thinking about it. Grow up.
Thankfully, Dawn reassures herself to stop being stupid. By Monday, one of the assistant principals at SMS finds Dawn and relays a message from Ms. Besser - her idea was met with approval from all the teachers involved in the program at SES. Either that, or Kristy set the BSC Mind Control Ray over the elementary school. Dawn goes to tell Kristy the good news, and the OMGEMERGENCYMEETING is set for 5:00, a half hour before the actual meeting. Only Stacey and Jessi have sitting jobs, so they're not going to be there until 5:30. Geez ladies, BSC projects supercede EVERYTHING, even sitting jobs! Get with the program!
Chapter 5:
At the OMGEMERGENCYMEETING, Dawn's fears are put to rest, as Kristy does the unthinkable and lets Dawn explain the project. When Dawn's finished, Mallory says she votes yes to go along with it, and Claudia chimes in too. But Miss Napoleon Complex quiets them down and says they must make a motion to put the project to a vote. WHAT?!? Parliament uses Robert's Rules. You're a babysitting club, not a deliberative assembly. STFD, Kristy. You too, Mallory, for even bringing up the topic of voting in the first place. I'm surprised Kristy isn't making sure they have a quorum (which, not counting the associates, they do. My service sorority followed Robert's Rules too, and we always had to do that).
Claudia complains that Kristy's being a domineering bitch (well, not in that language, or else Kristy would chop off her side ponytail), but Kristy ignores her and demands she be specific about what she's motioning to put to vote. Sure thing, Madame President! *rolls eyes* Claudia motions for them to vote about whether they should help out Dawn, and Mary Anne seconds, because she's Kristy's little yes-girl. Kristy asks who's in favor and obviously, everyone's hand shoots up. It's unanimous!
Dawn says she'll tell Ms. Besser the good news, and Mallory will enlist the Pike Army to tell their teachers and friends. But that isn't enough for Kristy! I don't know...the Pike Army is awfully big! Dawn suggests making a flyer, and Claudia immediately volunteers herself for the job, grabbing a pad of paper to sketch it out. And no one stops her. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! Haven't these girls learned anything about NOT LETTING CLAUDIA DO ANYTHING INVOLVING WRITING?! They're going to end up with this: "The BSC is haveing a projekt project prajekkct to help the Zooni Kids in New Meksico. We're coleckting foode, clothing, and money! Please help by donateing! Thank yoo!" Let's hope Mallory's spell-checking.
They decide they'll do a door-to-door collection of non-perishable food and clean clothing. And Dawn volunteers her barn as a drop-off location for everything. Damn, that barn gets so much use, thanks to the BSC! Though...wouldn't the logical thing be to drop off the donations at the school? It would probably be more convenient for the kids. Whenever my school did a food or toy drive, we'd bring the stuff to school with us. The BSC, of course, doesn't think about this. They're the ones in charge dammit, not the teachers! Claudia pencils the barn into the flyer, though knowing her, she probably wrote "Bring the donayshuns donnait donayysh stuf to Dawn's barnn."
Then Mallory gets a Great Idea. Damn Kristy, you're losing your touch! Mallory thinks they should give prizes or awards out, to get the kids really excited about the project. Mary Anne adds that they should have a big party for everyone who participates, because it's wrong to instill a sense of competition in children, Mallory. Mallory agrees and suggests something like a school picnic. Only the BSC is running it, the school is just following orders, Mallory. Kristy says she heard of a school that let the kids and teaches switch spots for a day. She would. And how would that work, there's a bigger number of students than teachers, so some would get left out, Kristy!
Since everyone's having Great Ideas besides Kristy, Dawn comes up with another. They could have a big sleepover! *DING DING DING* We have a book title! Dawn says they could use the gym (what, is the barn unavailable that night?) and maybe some of the school staff could participate. Because all seven of you could handle a bazillion kids because you're such wonderful babysitters. Try thinking of the legalities there, since you guys are children yourselves.
Claudia smiles at how cute it would be seeing all the little kids in their pajamas (ew?), and Dawn starts to formulate the plan: they can serve pizza for dinner, and maybe get a place to donate pies, serve pancakes in the morning, play games and give out awards (if they want to). Everyone likes the idea of it, and totally forgetting the shitfit she threw about Claudia not following parliamentary procudure, Kristy asks who's in favor of doing a sleepover. Nice. Everyone raises their hands, and because she's a dweeb, Mallory raises both hands.
Kristy then throws everyone a curveball when she realizes that fliers aren't the best way to go, as they can't guarantee the kids will bring them home to their parents, and some of the kids can barely read, just like Claudia. And what about the rest of Stoneybrook? And the fundraiser? They end up concluding that they'll leave fundraising ideas to the kids, because Peter Lerangis got lazy and couldn't think of something big for everyone to do because the Pike kids managed to pull together and think of creative ideas when Mr. Pike got laid off! Good showing that you read other BSC books, Lerangis. And how did Vanessa manage to make money, styling hair on the playground?
So Jessi and Stacey show up on time (of course) and they forget about the problems they encountered. No more Good Ideas? It's time for a certain gifted charge to save the day. And no, thankfully it's not Karen.
Chapter 6:
Notebook entry from Stacey. Despite talking about such a serious matter as their plan to help the Zuni kids, Stacey still manages to dot her i's with little hearts. Which reminds me of one of my fellow staff members on the radio station in college complaining that when he did news updates, the DJs would play music underneath it. "I don't really think it's appropriate for me to talk about the War in Iraq, while the Jackson 5 plays."
Anyway, Stacey says Charlotte's addicted to this book series called Freddy the Pig. Never heard of it. Charlotte should try this series, she'd be able to relate really well. We've all heard the story about how Charlotte used to hate school and be miserable, and now she's happier because she skipped a grade ad infinitum. Only thing of importance here is they decided to keep the project idea a secret, so they could spring it on everyone when they get the right chance. Um, ok.
So after Charlotte shows Stacey some tricks she taught her schnauzer Carrot, they go into the kitchen to have some pretzels. When they get in there, Stacey notices a stack of letters from Charlotte's penpal, Theresa. Charlotte informs her that Theresa's house was one of the ones that caught fire and gives Stacey the letter to read where she describes what happened. The letter is really upsetting, Theresa says her aunt was a teacher at the school and is now unemployed, the only clothes she has are the ones that were in the washing machine during the fire, her tv and vcr were destroyed. Her family is now living with her aunt and uncle, and she says her mom cries a lot and she misses school.
Needless to say, Stacey's heartbroken after reading it. Charlotte is too (because Stacey read it out loud...thanks for opening up old wounds, Stacey!) and immediately freaks out, wondering what would happen if her house burned down. That's the Charlotte we're familiar with. I actually like Charlotte, but good lord, she's made of fear. Stacey tells her not to worry about that, and Charlotte keeps panicking, asking if her family could move in with Stacey, because she has no family in the area and wouldn't want to move away. Stacey reassures her everything will be alright, then decides to blow the BSC's secret, to see if that will calm her down. Thankfully, Stacey doesn't get 50 lashes for revealing it, because they all agree she did the right thing.
Charlotte thinks the idea is great and is really excited about it, especially the sleepover. She agrees not to tell anyone, and asks if they're going to have a big school assembly to tell everyone about it. So an 8-year-old can come up with that idea, but seven 11 and 13-year-olds can't? Nice. Stacey says they can tell Dawn right away and instead of calling her like a normal person would, they ride their bikes up to Dawn's house. If I remember correctly from the Complete Guide map (which fell off my book and got thrown away awhile ago), Charlotte lives pretty far away from Dawn's. I'm pretty sure the Johanssens have a phone, which would have made things a lot easier, Stacey! What if she wasn't home, you guys rode up there for nothing!
Thankfully, Dawn and Mary Anne are home, and Dawn says Charlotte's really excited to tell her about her assembly idea. Dawn says she's a totally different person than when she ran off the stage in tears during the Little Miss Stoneybrook pageant (you'd think this was a Nola Thacker book, with all the references to past BSC books). Yeah, but I'm sure she still hates performing. Someone tell that to Mallory when #80 rolls around.
Dawn says it's a great idea, but Mary Anne points out that they wouldn't be able to give one during school, as they all have school too. Nothing wrong with that, they can just get permission to be out of school for a little bit! How about having one of the teachers explain it to the kids, instead of you guys blowing off school? Because convincing your teachers you had to skip class to go talk to elementary school kids about a project not related to school? Good luck with that. I had teachers who would flip a shit at me if a weekly band lesson fell during their class. But since this is Stoneybrook, of course they get to go.
And Charlotte saves the day again! They should just make her an honorary BSC member at this point.
Coming up next...the BSC announces their plan, the triplets pwn Mallory in public, ANOTHER carnival (only this one isn't run by the BSC), and kids do the darndest things!