The Babysitters Club #37: Dawn and the Older Boy

Kristy hosts a slumber party at her house for the members of the BSC. The girls stay up until 3 am and the next day, Mary Anne starts waking everyone up super early. She thinks they should go downstairs and help the family make breakfast. Kristy assures them that they can wear whatever they want, but when they get downstairs, they find a hot guy at the table. His name is Travis and he’s a new student from California. The girls make up excuses to run away and hide.

When they go back, Charlie points out that Dawn used to live in California too. Travis talks about this place in Malibu and it turns out that Dawn went there too. He also loves running/walking on the beach and doing a lot of other stuff that she likes too. The topper comes when he leans over and tells her that she should always wear blue because it really brings out the color of her eyes.

Dawn is instantly smitten and wants to talk about Travis all the time, but Mary Anne is worried because he’s so much older than her (16). He randomly shows up at their house and Dawn goes crazy over him. He brings her hair clips and a beaded necklace, all in a blue color that he says looks good on her. He suggests that she cut her hair 4” and she promises to think about it, then makes Mary Anne do it. He talks about himself a lot and acts really conceited, but she doesn’t pick up on it.

Cut to a few days later and Travis shows up at her school. He needs help picking out a present for his dad’s birthday, but he already knows what he wants. Dawn knows she shouldn’t go without telling her mom, but she gets in his car anyway. He takes her out for a snack at a burger joint and when she reaches for the menu, he tells her that he’ll order for her. She doesn’t really like that and worries that he’ll order meat, but he just gets grilled cheese.

The last stop on their “date” is the jewelry store. He shows her a pair of earrings that he saw once before and thought they were perfect for her. She sees the little silver butterflies and almost melts. He buys them for her and suggests she get her ears pierced again, to wear them higher. He’s less than thrilled when she decides against getting it done.

Dawn gets home and Sharon is less than pleased. It turns out that Mary Anne got home and they were both home early. Sharon asked where Dawn was and she told her. Sharon is shocked that Dawn would get in a car with someone she barely knows. She finally caves and says that they need to meet him and make a decision, but Richard is pissed because Travis is just too old.

Dawn is a little obsessed with Travis and wants more info on him. Kristy makes a comment about Travis dating a swimmer in high school. Dawn doesn’t believe it, but then decides to follow him and see what happens. She sees him kissing another girl and follows while they go to a burger place and the jewelry store. Sound familiar?

Kristy brings up Travis at the next meeting and Dawn flips out, threatening to leave. Mary Anne tells her to confess the story and she tells them all what’s been going on. Stacey and Claudia think it sounds like they were dating, but Kristy thinks he was just being friendly. Dawn decides to just follow them again. This time, she “accidentally” runs into them. Sera (girlfriend) thinks it’s all a joke and refers to Dawn as a “little girl”, saying he made her a real beauty. She makes a snide comment and then runs home to cry.

Mary Anne tells Dawn that she should confront Travis and she agrees. She calls him on the phone and kind of tells him off. She tells him that he made a lot of suggestions and she felt bad when she didn’t do what she wanted. Travis kind of blows the whole thing off, thinking she made it a bigger deal than it was, but at least she gets her confrontation. The book ends with her having a letter relationship with Lewis, Logan’s cousin.

Several of the club members get the chance to sit for the Hobart kids, including one day when Mallory goes on a date with Ben. James writes a play, starring the Perkins’ girls, Chewy and his brothers. His friend Zach keeps making fun of him and saying that the other kids at school think he’s weird. James starts spending more time with Zach. In the end though, he blows Zach off to help out after the play.

*I love that Travis is 16, which automatically makes him way too old. Sam, who’s only 15, is somehow perfect for Stacey. Personally I don’t think anyone in high school should date a junior high student.

*Dawn says that she had to beg and persuade her mom to get her ears pierced in the first place. Um no, she didn’t. She called her mom from the mall and her mom let her get two holes in each ear. I think it took about 16 seconds.

*Mary Anne’s tattling reminds me of my one and only toilet papering incident in high school. We had a sleepover and snuck out of my friend’s house, but she stayed behind to keep an eye out for her parents. The next day, her mom saw the TP down the street, made a comment about it and my friend confessed the whole thing!

*Travis is a complete ass. He buys her presents, takes her out and then can’t understand why she might have a crush on him. Hello?

*Sera isn’t much better. I don’t know about you guys, but I wouldn’t be okay with my boyfriend giving another girl presents and taking her out, regardless of what he told me.