The Baby-Sitters Club #98: Dawn and Too Many Sitters

Dawn is back home in California and getting ready to head to her second home in Stoneybrook for the summer. She keeps thinking about how much she will miss Sunny and Sunny's mom, but she also keeps freaking out because she has so much stuff to do before she goes. Carol gives her a hug the morning of her flight and starts crying because she thinks of Dawn as a daughter. She also worries after having a dream that the BSC voted her out in favor of Abby and because she doesn't know how things will work with Abby there.

Of course it turns out that she has nothing to worry about. Everyone shows up for her first meeting, and a bunch of members take her out shopping that morning. Richard and Sharon let them order Chinese food and pizza. Even Jeff seems happy to be back, if only because he loves running around with the triplets.

Claudia had to take her math final over again and has some big news. The school signed up for a special program that offers a discounted rate for students traveling. Kids must be between 11 and 14, and the first trip is that summer to Hawaii. If SMS cannot get 50 students to sign up and pay their deposits, they'll take kids from other schools who sign up on the wait list. They have to pay $250 upfront as a deposit and then another $250 later.

Dawn isn't too sure that she wants to travel across the country and then go back across the country again but changes her mind and decides to go. She and Mary Anne work out exactly what they will tell their parents. Richard and Sharon already know about the trip though because they got something from the school. Sharon isn't sure that she wants Dawn to go, but Richard thinks it's a great opportunity. After talking things through and talking to other parents and chaperons, they agree. They'll pay the deposit, but the girls are responsible for paying the rest. All the other members get the same deal from their parents except for Mallory who can never afford to go anywhere and Kristy who is going to Hawaii later in the summer.

It comes right down to the wire whether Dawn can go, and she's actually the last person who makes it on the list. They all start sitting their asses off and make $100 a piece within the first week or two. Dawn and Mary Anne set up a healthy food stall in town but don't make much money because so many people just run by them on their way to fast food places. They also mow lawns, hold a car wash, and do other things to make money.

Kristy then points out that they also need money for souvenirs and stuff like that. She points out that there's a big Fourth of July celebration coming up. Jessi's parents pay for red, white, and blue stuff like flags and sunglasses that they can pay them back for later. They make a bunch of food people will actually eat, set up a face painting booth, and do some other stuff. The club almost sells out and pretty much makes all the money that they need for the trip.

The B-plot is all about Jeff and the triplets. They think that they're now old enough to sit and want to become baby-sitters in training or BITs. Dawn brings it up, even though Mallory and Mary Anne already know. Kristy decides that they can try it out and see how it goes but wants all four to come to a meeting. They only come because Claudia gives them junk food. Kristy gives them a bunch of rules but tells them that they'll get 25% of whatever the sitter earns.

Things are okay, kind of. Jeff freaks out when sitting for Jenny and Andrea because he doesn't want to change diapers, but he does get along well with Jenny. Byron skips a sitting job at his own house to play baseball but feels so bad that he comes back and sits anyway. It's all little stuff though that starts getting on the sitters' nerves like Jeff wearing rubber gloves to sit and Adam shouting at babies to stop crying. They also keep eating all the food when sitting and they stop showing up for meetings.

The club finally comes to the conclusion that the BIT program isn't working. All members nominate Mallory and Dawn to share the bad news. Dawn chickens out at the last minute and calls Mallory who hasn't figured out how to tell her brothers. When she finally works up her nerve, Jeff sits her down and tells her that they want to quit. It's just too much work and there's more stuff that they want to do, though he does hope Dawn is cool with it. They show up to the celebration though and do help out.

*Dawn whines because she has two sitting jobs and five finals in the same week. Gasp, the horror! I really feel for her when she hits college and has an actual job and multiple finals.

*Jeff now wants to be a stand up comic and keeps telling jokes. He even plans on writing a book of jokes. When they get back to Stoneybrook, he tells Richard a joke, and Richard's just like, “ah yes, that's a good one. Now let me tell you one I heard.” It was pretty funny.

*According to Dawn, humidity is just an East Coast thing. Yes Dawn, they never ever have to deal with humidity in California.

*Dawn's dad makes a snide comment about how she should enjoy her last breakfast there because she won't find food like it in Connecticut. It's really douchey.

*Anyone could have told Dawn and Mary Anne that the food stall would fail. They literally sell like a vegetable juice, hummus sandwiches, and some type of gross bread.

*I'm curious how they divide up the cash for the shared fundraisers like the Fourth of July thing and the car wash. Mallory and Kristy help, so they should get an equal share, even if they're not going to Hawaii.

*Dawn is all shocked that Mal and MA already know about the triplets wanting to sit, but MA points out that it's something they've talked about. Also, Mal lives with the triplets and would obviously know.

*Ann's notes at the end are all about figuring out the right age to sit and how some kids are ready before others.

*The Hawaii trip costs $500 total, which includes tickets there and back, a hotel room, and three meals per day. I think it also includes all the side trips they took in the actual book like Stacey and the helicopter tour.

*It seems weird that the company would only let 50 kids go though. They must have at least 50 kids sign up, but then they only take 50 total. There are other kids after Dawn on the non-SMS waiting list who don't make the cut.