Oh, Dawn. Dawn, Dawn, Dawn, Dawn, Dawn. What are we going to do with you? Was I this clueless about guys when I was 13? Answer: Probably, but I must have hidden it better. At least, I hope I did.
So I endured multiple issues with this book, not least of which was the fact that I chose it because I was sure it was the one where Dawn starts trying to make herself over as a "wild child" and one of the things she does is put half her hair in little tiny braids before she went to bed one night and then the next morning she took them out so that half her hair was way frizzy and half of it was straight, and then she goes to school and talks back to the teacher, and informs us that sometimes, you have to take a bad grade in exchange for being cool. Of all the lessons I could have chosen to take from the BSC, that is the one that has stuck with me most vividly. Also, I totally tried to do that to my hair one morning, but my mother freaked out and made me wash my hair before she let me go to school. Unfortunately, none of that awesomeness took place in this book, damn it. Someday, somehow, I will find that scene and relive it. And it will be glorious.
But anyway, back to this book...
The BSC is slumber partying at Kristy's when they decide to go downstairs to breakfast the next morning in pajamas looking like death warmed over, because apparently they all fell asleep while doing makeovers and not a single one of them was smart enough to wash her stupid face? What about brushing their teeth? I mean, they were pigging out at that slumber party and if they all fell asleep without washing their faces, I think we can assume they didn't brush their teeth, and EEEW. Also, Claudia, sleeping with make-up on? Good luck keeping that perfect complexion your friends are always raving about in Chapter 2 of every single book. And Mal, maybe this behavior is part of why you have zits? Maybe stop complaining and instead break out the Neutrogena, hmmm?
But most importantly, what 13 year old girl doesn't know the hard and fast rule of sleeping over at a friend's house? If the friend has older brothers, you always, always, always look your best!!! Hello! Sam and Charlie are primo dating prospects (well, Charlie's kind of a loser who does things like haul his sister and her lame-ass friends around on a Friday night, but Sam... Stacey, are you listening???)! Sigh. Do I have to teach these girls everything?
Anyway, they all stumble into breakfast looking like death, only to find not just Sam and Charlie (not to mention the 27 other people who live in Watson's house) but their new friend, Travis. Now Dawn's heart is all aflutter. The girls beat a hasty retreat (after Sam razzes them about their raving beauty) and Dawn re-emerges an hour later dressed to impress the new love of her life in none other than a Canadian tuxedo, the preferred "Casual Friday" outfit of my obnoxious boss. Oh Dawn, Dawn, Dawn, Dawn, Dawn. Even in 1990, this was vastly unacceptable. There is no excuse.
However, Travis doesn't seem to mind, and he and Dawn bond over their shared home state of California and love of healthy food (This stereotype never makes sense to me. I know plenty of Californians who love nothing more than an In-and-Out burger. This does not exactly scream "Health food capital of the USA" to me.) Dawn goes home and obsesses about him, and Mary Anne totally blows her off, which is another kind of shit move, considering how everyone always tiptoes around her, especially when she was all in a kerfluffle over Logan. I really don't think Mary Anne is as great of a friend as they always say.
Travis begins hanging out with Dawn, although really, I'd call it more like stalking. Basically, Travis is a weirdo who straddles the line between creepy pedophile and gay best friend. He's 16, and Dawn is 13, which is kind of a big age difference at that time. A junior and an eighth grader is a little weird, no? Even if it were one year later and they were freshman/senior, it would seem a little better to me, but I"m creeped out by the upperclassman/junior-high dynamic (Before anyone calls me a hypocrite, let me just say that Sam Thomas is a sophomore, so his relationship with Stacey, an eighth grader, is far less creepy. At this age, one year can make all the difference.) Also, credence is lent to my "Travis is a pedophile" theory by the fact that the Travis on the cover is even older than Scott Foley- this dude is clearly pushing 40, and also HE is wearing a Canadian tuxedo, and oh mylanta, there is just so much wrong with this scenario. The cover art is barf-worthy.
To be fair to Travis though, which I am loathe to do because he is so freakin' annoying, he never puts any real moves on Dawn. I mean, there's no kissing or anything, although he does repeatedly tell her how beautiful she is. However, he does it while making editorial comments on how she needs to cut her hair, should get another hole pierced in her ears, and should always wear the color blue. I'm sorry, what straight 16 year old male goes around offering advice like this to junior high girls?
[Travis] lifted my fine blonde hair and tucked it behind my ears. 'This is a much better style for you. It brings out your eyes and your cheekbones. I think you should try it...another thing I wanted to mention. When's the last time you got your hair cut?...I think you should lose a few inches, maybe three or four. It will give your hair more lift, you know?
I'm sorry, but what??? This is totally ridic. I wouldn't even let me gay best friend talk to me like that (side note: I don't actually have one, but am totally taking applications to be my new gay best friend! I can sorely use the fashion tips and as you can tell, I'm really good at making snarky, bitchy comments! Call me!)
Travis is also way self-absorbed, constantly prattling on about his athletic prowess and how everyone wants him and he's the best at everything, and blah, blah, blah, I'm falling asleep here, I don't know how Dawn can stand it. But she just hangs on his every word, and does everything he wants (which, no, does not include anything sexual. This is a BSC book, after all!) including going downtown with him in his car after school one day without permission from her mom or stepfather, who've never even met Travis. Mary Anne totally snitches on her, and Dawn gets reamed out by both Sharon and Richard. Richard, in particular, gets really worked up over this. Hmmmm. Dawn, if you really want to end that conversation, now would be an excellent time to snottily inform Richard that he is not your father. That always seems to buy teenagers some time in the movies (not that I would know, as I've only ever had my mom and dad. Not that I would have wanted to be a divorced kid, but as Stacey knows, it does have a few perks...) But maybe Dawn is saving that one for when her parents catch her sneaking boys in through the unsealed secret passageway into her bedroom?
One day, Kristy lets it slip that Travis is dating some age appropriate girl from SHS. Dawn is devastated and follows them around a few times like Harriet the Spy, before purposely bumping into them one afternoon, planning to tell Travis off for leading her on. Instead, she makes a fool of herself and goes home. However, after a heart-to-heart with stupid Mary Anne, she later calls Travis and tells him that she didn't appreciate him trying to make her into something she's not and she's not the girl for him, and he's all "Umm, ok." and they say good-bye and that is that for Travis.
In baby-sitting news, this was one of those dumb-ass secondary plotlines that exactly mirror the main line, to the point where you want to shout "All right! We get it already!" The Australian Hobart boys (except for Ben, who is "dating" Mallory, for reasons unknown to any of us) are putting on a play with the Perkins girls, starring their god-awful annoying dog, Chewy (I have absolutely no patience for Chewy, who is the canine version of Jackie Rodowsky.) But James Hobart's friend, Zach, keeps coming by when they are rehearsing and making fun of James, calling him a girl and telling him he needs to learn to play American sports and talk like a real American. Dawn can't understand why James lets his "friend" treat him like that, until MA points out in the BSC notebook that that is exactly how Travis treats Dawn. Wow. Big revelation.
Honestly, what is it with guys being total jerks in the BSC? I never really noticed before how many of them there are. There's Bart, Toby, John Brooke, the list goes on and on. Pathetic.
The scene to which you refer (where Dawn dresses differently and back-talks the teacher) can be found in book 50, Dawn's Big Date.
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