BSC Super Special #2: Baby-sitters' Summer Vacation

By Ann M Martin. Published July 1989.

So many letters and postcards in a Super Special. We start with a letter from the entire club begging Stacey to join the rest of them at Camp Mohawk. The next page is a postcard from Stacey to her parents, saying she arrived at camp. Way to build suspense.

Poor Stacey feels like an outcast on the bus ride up, because everyone else seems to know each other. She won’t read, because she doesn’t want to look like a dork. For fuck’s sake, why on earth would you tell your readers that what they’re doing is dorky?

Anyway, they have a big baby-sitters reunion once Stacey arrives. Charlotte practically bowls Stacey over.

Because that’s right, it’s not just the BSC at camp, it’s half of Stoneybrook as well. Twenty-three Stoneybrookites, to be exact. The thirteen-year-olds are counselors in training, or CITs. Jessi and Mal are technically campers, but they lobbied for something more special, so they’re the only Junior CITs. And the regular sitting charges are all campers. The girls are on one side of Lake Dekanawida, and the boys are on the other.

Kristy has eight-year-olds, including Becca and Charlotte. Charlotte is VERY homesick, and practically was before they left. Some introverts just can’t handle that type of environment.

Claudia has nine-year-olds, with Vanessa and Haley. She is relieved to hear she can buy junk food at the canteen. Thank goodness.

Mal and Jessi are bunking with a bunch of racist bitches, who think Mal and Jessi are babies. But at least they find out what they’ll be doing as Junior CITs. They’ll be helping an eight-year-old cabin with a dance for Parents’ Day. How perfect.

Mary Anne is in with the seven-year-olds and Margo. The other CITs are quite mature, and don’t believe she has a boyfriend.

Dawn has eleven-year-olds, but unfortunately not Mal and Jessi. I always thought that would have been hilarious. But y’all, seriously. Dawn can be such a bitch. Describing her co-CIT: “She’s not exactly pretty, but she’s not bad-looking, either.” And talking about Heather, the quiet camper: “She reminded me an awful lot of Mallory. Only in a good way.” Ouch. I didn’t know being an “individual” made you judgmental as shit, Dawn.

Stacey has six-year-olds, including Karen (oh you lucky girl) and a know-it-all lisper named Nonie. And a girl with a sore throat, and another with pinkeye. Oh joy. Stacey has problems right away at dinner, because she can’t eat half of it. You know, because of the diabetes. Even though her parents had many phone conversations with the camp about it. But she finally gets it worked out.

Jessi and Mal wake up to the racist bitches, but they can’t get their insults right, so they just laugh it off. They have their first rehearsal with the eight-year-olds, which is Becca and Charlotte’s cabin. It sounds like they’re a hot mess, but they have fun.

Kristy is seen as a baby to her other CITs. They totes want to give her a makeover. Other than that, Kristy spends most of her time being Charlotte’s personal baby-sitter. It sounds like a frustrating situation.

Claudia meets a boy. Kinda. A couple of boy CITs come knocking at their cabin, to tell the girls about a CIT movie night, and a CIT dance. One of the boys is a super hot Asian guy, and he and Claudia just kind of stare dumbly at each other. After they leave, the girls in her cabin make it their mission to find out who he is.

Mary Anne. Oh my goodness. So to prove she has a boyfriend, Mary Anne writes a ridiculous, super sappy love letter to Logan, then leaves it out on her bed for the other CITs to see. Of course they read it, and tell her she has to get it to him. She can simply sneak around the lake at night. Obviously. She actually attempts to do this, but gets caught halfway around. One of the male counselors promises to get the letter to Logan. Mary Anne gets punished by being banned from swimming for three days, which she’s totally down with. And she earned the respect of the other girls.

We get a Logan chapter. He’s a CIT too, of course, and has seven-years-olds, with Jackie, Matt, and Buddy. Jackie is his usual accident-prone self. One day at lunch, a counselor delivers Mary Anne’s note to Logan. Everyone sees it, and starts teasing him about it. So Logan does what any thirteen-year-old boy would do, and starts a food fight. It sounds pretty epic. He gets in trouble, but only gets banned from doing arts and crafts for three days, which he’s totally down with.

That’s all for this installment. Check back Monday for the thrilling conclusion!

o   At the beginning of the book, Stacey is reading The Catcher in the Rye. Really? Has Ann read it? There’s some pretty mature shit going down in that book.

o   There are no twelve-year-olds. The campers only go up to age eleven. You have to be thirteen to be a CIT. Where the fuck are the twelve-years-olds?!