BSC SS #7: Snowbound Part Two

Part One

Jessi is still stuck at her dance school, along with a bunch of crying kids. But don’t worry! Super-sitter Jessi is here! She gets a bunch of kids settled down. But on the inside, she’s worried about Quint. He’s all alone, stuck in a train station, in an unknown town, without a way to get ahold of anyone. But wait! Who is this snow covered figure coming through the door? It’s Quint! He asked for directions, and walked from the station.

Mr. and Mrs. Pike call; they’re stuck in New York at their friends’ home. The younger kids think this is awesome: no parents and no school. Hell yeah! But Mary Anne and Mallory are worried about a few things. The food situation is pretty bad. And nobody is home at the McGills’. And then of course they go through the phone and power going out thing. Somehow the heat still works, at least.

When Dawn and her mom arrive at the airport, they’re relieved to learn Jeff’s plane hasn’t landed yet. In fact, it can’t land and is circling. And then Dawn starts freaking out about Jeff being scared. Her mom pretty much tells her to stop acting like Mary Anne. Ha! Later, they learn that his plane can’t land at all, and has been diverted to Washington. Jeff will spend the night at a hotel. Also, their airport has totally closed, and it’s recommended that nobody attempt to leave. So they’re stuck there for the night, in uncomfortable chairs. Dawn actually compares it to being stuck on the island. You know, Dawn, for someone who is supposed to be so laid back, you can be awfully dramatic.

Stacey and her mom are still stuck in their car. Stacey sets her mother worrying by telling her that she’s hungry. She does have her injection kit, and a snack, but she really needs dinner. Well, you’re shit out of luck, Stace. Randomly, she asks her mother what made her fall in love with her dad. She seriously wants to know, and admits she’s only thirteen, and has never been in love. I guess there’s a difference between love and luv. Good to know. Then things go from bad to worse. The heat stops working, and Stacey’s mom realizes they’re out of gas, so they couldn’t go anywhere anyway. But wait! Someone’s coming! Stacey’s worried he might be a desperate criminal. But the guy says he and his wife live close-by, and they’re welcome to stay with them.

The Pike kids realize they should probably eat all the ice cream they have, so it doesn’t go bad. Good thinking. I always recall this scene whenever the power goes out. Mary Anne’s dad scares the crap out of them by coming by to make sure they’re ok. He heads back home in case he’s able to connect with Dawn and Sharon. Mary Anne and Mal wonder about the rest of their friends. They finally get all the kids to bed. Early the next morning, the storm seems to have passed; it’s only lightly snowing. And the power is back on. That was actually really fast. And school is indeed closed.

Claudia gets the girls in bed, then goes to continue the search for Chewy. Then her mom scares her by coming over. She helps Claudia look for Chewy, and then offers to stay, but Claudia says it’s ok. She goes to bed herself, but is woken up around five by Gabbie, saying she’s hearing noises. They follow them to the basement door, open it, and there’s Chewy. Seriously? You idiots didn’t think to look there? Anyway, they’re all up for the day, so they have breakfast, and then snow ice cream for dessert. Then the girls head out to make a snow family.

Back at the dance school, the little kids are getting whiny and tired. Jessi and Quint pretty much just take on the entire responsibility of getting them all to sleep. Jessi gives the impression that she thinks less of the other older kids who are just talking and having fun. Yes, Jessi, there are people who aren’t completely obsessed with children and baby-sitting. But at least she and Quint hang out with them after the kids are asleep. It’s nice to see her interact with kids her age, outside of the BSC. The sleeping arrangements for the older kids are girls on one side of the room, boys on the other, with Madame Noelle in the middle. They get free breakfast the next morning at the café across the street.

Mary Anne and the Pikes are starving to death. Not really, they each managed something for breakfast, it just sounds like they’re enjoying complaining. So much so, that the first person she calls is Logan, to bitch at him that she’s hungry. And then she remembers that, oh yeah, there are missing friends and family members. Yes, Mary Anne, you’re so damn sensitive. Anyway, still no answer at Stacey’s, but Richard heard from Sharon and Dawn and they’re ok. Then there’s a knock on the door. It’s Logan, who cross-country skied his way over with some food. Oh Logan, you’re so dreamy. Although honestly, I did find this pretty romantic when I was little. Don’t hate. Once they’re fed, they all start worrying that the Winter Wonderland Dance will be postponed.

This is one of my favorite scenes in the whole series. I just think it’s adorable. Kristy gets up at 5:30 and locks herself in the bathroom. First she shaves her legs for the very first time. She doesn’t think her legs look any different, but they feel naked. She takes a shower, and then finds Charlie’s hairdryer and a random old curling iron. She realizes she should probably dry her hair before curling. But the result is that it looks and feels like limp macaroni. She only owns mascara and blush, but figures that’s enough. This all takes her an hour and a half. By then, there are brothers waiting to get in. They totally make fun of her, because they’re good brothers like that. But at breakfast, Bart tells her she looks beautiful, so it was all worth it. After breakfast, Kristy calls everyone else, and joins in on worrying about Stacey.

Dawn has a very uncomfortable night at the airport. When she finally does doze a bit, a creepy little kid wakes her up. But she finally gets a few hours of real sleep. Then the next morning, Jeff actually arrives. He was upset at first, but then realizes his little detour was actually pretty cool.

The mysterious man on the road turns out not to be some escaped criminal, but Ken Schiavone, a very nice man who lives in a beautiful Victorian house with his wife and baby, Mason. They’re super welcoming to Stacey and her mom, cooking whatever Stacey can eat, and having them spend the night. And they’re all reluctant to part the next day, but eventually Maureen calls AAA, and they’re on their way. When they get back to Stoneybrook, Claudia’s waiting on their front porch. She’s super relieved to see Stacey, and tells her all about how worried they were. All of the BSC ends up at Stacey’s to talk about their adventures. And they learn that, even better than Stacey being alive, the dance is still on! Oh thank goodness!

To wrap it all up, Kristy’s article is going to get published. Of course it is. Everyone had a great time at the dance. Mary Anne says it was dreamy. Jessi is in heaven and everything’s wonderful.

And even though it did nothing to advance the plot in any way, Emily Junior is back. David Michael ratnapped her.

o   Reading all these older books, but especially this one, makes me extremely grateful for cell phones.

o   Reading about Kristy shaving her legs for the first time made me think. I don’t think I’ve ever read about another character doing so. I consider it a pretty big adolescent milestone.

o   You know, for such a long book (by BSC standards), not that much really happens.