"On the way to Fifth Avenue, I thought we passed Elvis Presley..." Super Special #6, New York, New York

Nice shorts, Mary Anne. Stacey, you look super-sophisticated in that Hard Rock Cafe shirt and your tan mom-jeans. I think Kristy got dressed in the dark. Who else wore black tights under cut-off jean shorts? (Admit it, I'm not the only one.) I just realized that Dawn's bookcover headshot comes from this picture. Mal and Jessi, as usual, look dorky and not at all 11.


It's another two-week break (reason unspecified) and Claudia has decided to take a "serious" art class at the Fine Arts League of New York. Mallory catches wind of this and begs her parents to let her take the class with Claudia. Stacey is going to her dad's for the break, and everyone else insists that they go along, because they absolutely can't be separated for two whole weeks. I mean, why stay in Stoneybrook when you can go laze around the city and mooch off people you barely know for two weeks? Amirite here or what?

Like the last Super Special, I'll do everyone's plots, but only WTFs, no Continuity Issues, unless it's complete rediculosity.


Claudia: Takes her fancy art class at FALNY. The instructor, McKenzie Clarke, is constantly telling her to "slow down and concentrate" but Claudia misconstrues it to mean that she's totally untalented. She's in a funk for a week and a half (and completely pissed at Mallory) until "Mac" tells her she's very talented but has to develop discipline or her talent will be wasted. Then she's on top of the world.

Mallory: Also takes the class to improve her illustration techniques for her yet to be written children's books. Mac heaps praise on her, but Mal decides this kind of art isn't for her. She would rather draw mushrooms and flowers and raindrops.

Dawn: Is deathly afraid to be in New York City. She's convinced that she's going to get mugged or even killed. She exacerbates this by reading the "grisly" news every day. Dawn also meets Richie, who lives downstairs from Stacey's dad and he takes her on a tour of the city. He also feeds her many things she wouldn't normally eat.

Kristy: Baby-sits Dawn their first two days in the city because Dawn's too afraid to go outside. After getting bored with that, Kristy and Jessi go to Central Park and Kristy finds a stray dog. She, Mary Anne, Mal, and Jessi are staying at the Cummings' apartment in the Dakota, and Kristy is pretty good at sneaking the dog "that's not allowed" in and out of the building. Kristy puts up posters to find a home (or its owner) for the mutt, and eventually a little boy takes it.

Mary Anne and Stacey: Get a job as nannies/tour guides for the children of some English diplomats, the Harringtons, who are in New York for political reasons. They take the kids on a majorly touristy jaunt through the city and realize that there's a man following them. They come to the natural conclusion that he wants to kidnap the children to get his microfilm and diamonds back.

Jessi: Goes to an afternoon performance of Swan Lake at the Lincoln Center and meets Quint, a boy who is a dancer and good enough to get into Julliard. He doesn't want to even audition because he gets hassled by the other mature kids on his block. Jessi convinces him to audition over an egg cream. And he gets in (naturally).

WTF Moments:
*Dawn's entire scenario of being so afraid to be in New York City. She grew up in a suburb of Los Angeles, where plenty of bad things happen everyday. I just don't get why she's so freaked out.

*The girls' system of who is going to stay where: Claudia snatches up the chance to stay at Stacey's, and in her room, no less; Kristy and Mary Anne have met Laine's parents so they'll stay there, and Mal and Jessi volunteer to stay at the Cummings' too. That leaves Dawn, whose comfort zone has extended to Mr. McG's apartment and doesn't want to leave to go the the Dakota. She lamely settles for the fold-out sofa bed, even though it's right next to the fire escape.

*Mary Anne creams herself about getting to stay at the Dakota. She mentions that famous movies have been filmed there (Rosemary's Baby) and that famous people have died there (John Lennon, except he isn't mentioned by name).

*Kristy thinks that she can take the stray dog home and no one will notice it. She wants it just because it looks like Louie. She even names it Sonny, for "Son of Louie." Every time I read that, I always think of the Son of Sam killer. Don't ask.

*Jessi gets ticked that Laine wants to walk Jessi to Quint's apartment. Jessi thinks it's because she's only 11, but Laine tells her it's for safety. Hey, Jessi? You are in New York City, not Stoneybrook, and sometimes, you just can't trust everyone.

*Claudia calls her art instructor "Mr. Clarke" while she's mad at him. Then, when he tells her she has potential, he turns into "Mac."

*Dawn gets talked into eating cannoli and Godiva chocolate. There's no mention of wanting to brush her teeth right away either. Yum, Godiva.

*Stacey and Mary Anne's theory of the man who's following them: He's a spy, and on the flight to New York, he dropped his microfilm containing diamonds into the kids' bags. He has to kidnap them to get his spy paraphernalia back, and the children's parents are loaded so he'll ask for ransom. Where do they get this stuff? The girls don't want to tell the Harringtons that their kids are about to get kidnapped because then they won't be able to baby-sit/sight-see for free anymore. Okaaay. Well, it turns out that the guy is a bodyguard for the kids. Which, in my opinion, they should have been told in the first place, but I'm not an English diplomat, so what do I know?

*Stacey and Mary Anne's job with the Harringtons starts on a Sunday, and goes on strong for a week. The next week, they "work" on Monday, and are then told that they won't be needed till Friday. That's kind of a weird schedule.

*Dawn, before she actually goes out into the city, cleans Mr. McGill's apartment from top to bottom. At the end of the book, he writes to Stacey asking where his salad plates are.

*I can't believe the BSC is giving up two entire weeks of baby-sitting jobs. You'd think that being on a school vacation would have Claud's phone ringing off the hook. If Kristy, Dawn, Mary Anne, and Jessi had stayed in Stoneybrook, they would have been rich.

*On their last night in the city, Laine's Broadway-producer dad gives them tickets to a show, and they go eat at Tavern on the Green. That's, um, wow. I just looked at their menus, and I don't even know what to say. $15 for a Cosmopolitan? $45 for the pre-show "thyme-crusted, french-cut chicken breast"? $20 for a cheese omelet? $6 for a plate of bacon?? Thanks, but I'll go to Denny's. I'm down-home, yo.

Oh! I just remembered there is a continuity issue in this book (well, more of a bad-editing issue): Jessi's name is spelled "Jessie" on one page.