Friday, May 2, 2014

BSC #38: Kristy's Mystery Admirer


By Ann M. Martin. Published October 1990.


We open with a Krushers game. But guess what? The Krushers win the damn game. For the very first time. Huzzah. Then Kristy’s day gets even better. Bart walks her home, and they talk about things other than softball. For the very first time.

Shannon the person calls Kristy one evening, and tells her she got a heart and flower covered envelope with “Kristy” written on it in her mailbox. She brings it over after dinner. Inside is a letter, saying how the writer thinks Kristy is beautiful, and he wants to go steady with her. It’s signed her mystery admirer. Kristy thinks it’s Sam playing a joke, but Shannon is convinced it’s from Bart. Kristy gives Bart a call to see if he drops anything about the letter, but he doesn’t.

Kristy receives another letter (at her house this time) the next morning, and then another that afternoon. Persistent little fucker, isn’t he? Also that afternoon, Stacey sits for the Perfect Perkins, but she just has to take them to Krushers practice, and Laura sleeps the whole time. So Stacey has time to talk with Shannon, who shows up. After she gets home, Stacey gets a call from Kristy. She tells Stacey that Bart walked her home from practice. They decided to have a one game World Series between their teams. How that is considered a series, I have no idea. Kristy also asks Bart to the Halloween Hop, and he accepts. It’s very weird reading this secondhand, and not actually seeing it. I guess it’s because it’s part of a Stacey sitting chapter, but it’s very strange.

Kristy and the girls discuss the letters at lunch. Kristy has brought the letters, plus the envelopes, with her. They are talking very loudly, when they notice Cokie and her friends listening in. GOSH, I WONDER IF SOMETHING BAD IS GOING TO HAPPEN. They even talk about last Halloween (even though they were in eighth grade then, too) when they had issues with Cokiepulling a prank.

And then, what do you freaking know, Kristy gets another letter that afternoon, but this time it’s weird, telling her to beware. She wonders if she’s invited a psycho to the Halloween Hop.

Mal and Jessi sit for the Pikes, and the kids discuss what their Halloween costumes are going to be. They decide to have a haunted house in their basement during the day of Halloween. Then they start talking about the Krushers’ game, and Vanessa decides the cheerleaders should dress up in costumes for the World Series game. The three of them choose to be the Three Stooges.

Kristy is totally distracted at the next BSC meeting. She even forgets to call the meeting to order! The others are aghast. But then she fills them in on the creepy notes. She’s gotten a few more, and they just get weirder, talking about blood and death. The others completely freak out, and jump onboard on the “Bart is psycho” train. Stacey says she should just confront him, but Kristy doesn’t want to confront a psycho. Then she has another thought. This could just be some random psycho, who’s going to kidnap Kristy and demand a ransom from Watson. She considers telling her mom and Watson, but she thinks they’ll just think she’s crazy. Quite possibly, Kristy, but maybe you need to hear that.

On the way to a Krushers game, Shannon has a new theory. She thinks Bart is trying to psyche Kristy out for the World Series game. Kristy totally gets behind this idea, and so do Mary Anne and Dawn, who are at the game. They all act like total bitches to poor Bart.

In her next letter, there are fingernail clippings included. Things are getting gross, y’all.

Kristy continues blowing Bart off, and he finally has enough. He shows up at her house, and demands to know what’s going on. She tells him he should know, and shows him the letters. He’s both embarrassed and pissed. He did send the nice letters, but he has no idea about the creepy ones, and he’s offended that Kristy would think he could do something like that. With good reason. Kristy is super pleased that he sent the good notes. Then they try to figure out who could have sent the weird ones. Bart asks her if she has any enemies, but she can’t think of any. Really, Kristy? You can’t think of anyone? Oy. So she’s back to thinking it’s some crazy kidnapper.

It’s the day of the World Series, and it’s highly exciting. Even Cokie and her friends show up for the game. How nice! Kristy runs into her, and they exchange a few words. And Cokie totally gives herself way by using a phrase from one of the notes. WHAT? OMG NO WAY! IT WAS COKIE ALL ALONG?!?! Kristy asks her why, and Cokie says it’s because they made her look like an idiot in front of Logan. Kristy’s all, Bitch now you’re going to look like a fool in front of the whole school, and Stoneybrook Day School, too.

So that settles that.

On to the game. It’s apparently very intense, and Kristy even lets the thought go through her mind that she should let the Bashers win so Bart will continue liking her. Kristy. Fortunately, she pushes that thought away. And the Krushers win, 8-7. Yay!

Shannon shows up at Kristy’s and works on talking her into wearing a dress and makeup to the dance. Then Bart calls, and says he found a couple of costumes they can wear. They’ll be going as a pair of lobsters. Awesome. Kristy is thrilled, Shannon, not so much.

Kristy is nervous for the dance, but excited as well. It goes fine, she and Bart dance in their lobster costumes the whole night, including the slow dances, which Kristy is surprised she likes. At the end, Bart kisses her on the cheek. Kristy thinks she’s in love.

The girls, including Shannon, have a sleepover at Kristy’s after the dance. They fill Shannon in on everything that happened at the dance, since she wasn’t there. When Kristy pulls back her covers, she finds a kidnapping note, and freaks out. Until Shannon starts laughing. She got bored that night waiting for them to come back. I always liked Shannon. It gives Kristy an idea, though. They go down to the den, where their computer is set up. Fancy for 1990. Kristy slips a disk in (!) so she can write a letter to Cokie. It is a “heartfelt invitation to dissect a frog” with her Mystery Perspirer. Oh, you girls. You’re so damn funny.










o   When pointing out how Nannie isn’t like a normal grandmother, one of her points is that she wears pants. I very rarely saw either of grandmothers in anything besides pants or shorts.

o   Boo for super poor editing. Kristy says Mal says something at lunch, when six paragraphs earlier it was stated she and Jessi have lunch at a different time.

o   Kristy keeps the letters in her copy of The Cat Ate My Gymsuit.

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