The Baby-sitters Club #12: Claudia and the New Girl
See, I bet you all thought that I met some sort of new girl (or even better, new BOY) and was dragged away from my BSC recapping duties in order to become new best friends with this person and follow my other muse... but I didn't. And I don't really have another muse. What I do have, as I've complained about before, is a freaking job. And sometimes it really interferes with my life (oh, and grad school doesn't help much either.)
Claudia, on the other hand, does not have a job. She has her art. You know who else has art? Ashley Wyeth, the titular "New Girl." Ashley is one of those pretentious arty types that no one wants to talk to at cocktail parties, the kind who prattles on about her muse and who can't possibly see the humor in a story about someone else's annoying boss (I myself have myriad "annoying boss" cocktail party stories, and they are all hilarious. Maybe someday you all will be lucky enough to attend a cocktail party with me!) However, in this case, it sort of works, because Ashley doesn't want to talk to anyone else anyway. Except Claud.
Ashley recognizes that Claudia is artistically talented and decides she wants to mentor her. For her part, Claud is awed (ha! Rhymes! Someone call Vanessa Pike!) that someone who studied at the hoity-toity Chicago art school that Ashley used to study at finds her (Claudia) talented. Claud sort of falls under her spell and begins spending her free time with Ashley, skipping BSC meetings to wander around downtown Stoneybrook looking for inspiration for their sculpture class competition. Ashley decides to sculpt a fire hydrant, and wants Claud to sculpt a stoplight. When Claud balks at that idea, Ashley then tells her to sculpt "an abstract idea, like love, with gentle curves" or some such bullshit.
The BSC, especially Stacey, is NOT HAPPY about this. They think Ashley is a freak, for a multitude of reasons, not least among them that she wears weird clothes. Okay, I get that, but um, girls? So does Claudia. And you still want to be friends with her.
Except perhaps they don't! After Claud has skipped a few meetings, the BSC decides they're not going to stand for it. They rather hysterically decide to booby trap her room, mess up her candy stash, and leave hilarious notes in random places for her to find. I will now transcribe a few for you, so you can laugh too.
In my breadbox of friends, you are a crumb.
Famous Jerks: Benedict Arnold, The Wicked Witch of the West, Claudia Kishi
Claudia finally decides to stand up for herself to Ashley after Ashley is rude to Jackie Rodowsky (Geez, what is it with this kid? He's everywhere, and he's so damn annoying.) They have a fight and Claudia decides that instead of sculpting any of Ashley's ideas, she's going to sculpt Jackie for the sculpture competition. Unfortunately, she doesn't have enough time to finish the sculpture, unless she gives up baby-sitting, which is what Ashley has been telling her to do this whole time. She doesn't understand how Claud can waste time on little kids when her muse is calling. Claudia takes exception to this and finally realizes that her life is much fuller than Ashley's, and she likes it that way. She decides not to enter the sculpture contest in order to maintain time in her life for baby-sitting and homework. However, her teacher enters Claudia's half-finished Jackie sculpture in the contest without her knowledge, and it ends up winning honorable mention, and would have won first prize if it had been finished. To which I say, in the immortal words of Michelle Tanner, "Oh, PUH-leeeeeze."
Claud and Ashley do come to terms eventually. Ashley even agrees to eat lunch with the BSC and though they'll never be best friends, they do make a truce. Welcome back, Claud! I'd have missed your hideous outfits if you really left for good.
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