#22: Jessi Ramsey, Pet-Sitter
Despite the fact that I recently realized I like Jessi, I am not super excited for this installment because the pet thing just seems ugh. It's not that I don't like animals; I just don't want to read a whole book about unruly pets. I honestly don't remember this book from when I was a kid, though, so I guess I'll have to read it to find out what's up!
Jessi has a week off coming up - her ballet school will be closed, and the Braddocks are going on vacation, so her regular sitting job is on hold. Instead of straight chillin' for the week, she takes on a weeklong pet-sitting job for a family who has no kids but like forty-five pets. They have dogs, cats, hamsters, guinea pigs, birds, rabbits, turtles, and a snake named Barney. Jessi is not a fan of Barney. I wouldn't be either. Kristy is not a fan in general of one of "her baby-sitters" being tied up all week with a pet-sitting job. (She still holds resentment over her first BSC job with Buffy and Pinky.) She has a slightly bossy explosion that puts everyone on edge a little bit. She "lets" Jessi take the job though.
Things go pretty well at first. Jessi manages to walk the rowdy dogs, feed the creepy snake, etc. She notices one fat hamster sleeping apart from the others and wonders if she should be worried. She lets Claudia bring Jamie Newton and Nina Marshall over to say hey to the animals (even though Jamie is scared of guinea pigs and calls them beasties). Easy peasy? So far.
Things are less easy peasy at the next BSC meeting. Some tension from the last meeting remains, and when Kristy announces that she's allowed to boss around the club members, Claudia, Dawn, and Mary Anne are like what?! Then they're all like, "what exactly to you do as president besides have ideas?" and they discuss how hard all of their jobs are. This is gearing up to be a fight straight outta #4 or #12. Yikes bikes. By the end of the meeting the four girls aren't speaking and Mallory and Jessi know that soon, someone's gonna ask them to take sides. They agree to not take sides no matter what.
The next time Jessi's at the Mancusis checking on the animals, Mary Anne brings Myriah and Gabbie Perkins over to visit the "zoo." While she's there, Mary Anne also accidentally lets Barney the snake escape his home. YIKES BIKES. Jessi and Mary Anne freak out but Myriah is a little genius and knows about snakes, so they're able to find him and get him back in his cage. Phew.
Things don't end so smoothly at the next BSC meeting. There's another power struggle involving Kristy. Claudia, Mary Anne, and Dawn demand new elections for club offices and Kristy eventually gives in, not getting any support from Mal and Jessi. There's going to be a special Saturday meeting to hold the elections. Adding insult to injury for Kristy, Jackie Rodowsky tells her she's a bossy baby-sitter. Kristy is like, am I really that bossy?! (Yes, Kristy. You're bossy as hell.)
Jessi is super nervous about the elections and doesn't know who to vote into which office. She asks her mama for advice, but her mama tells her to just vote for who she think would honestly be best for each office. Jessi basically thinks everyone is in the best office already, so what is she going to do? But first (copyright Julie Chen) she has to deal with the increasingly fat and ragey hamster at the Mancusis' house - she calls her mom to bring them both to the vet. What does she find out? The hamster she thought was a he is in fact a she and she's pregnant. Not only that, but the pregnant hamster (named Misty by Jessi) will probably give birth the next day.
The girls finally get around to their elections. Jessi decides to just vote the girls back into their current offices. Turns out... everyone else did the same thing. They all unanimously voted Kristy as president, Claudia as vice president, Mary Anne as secretary, and Dawn as treasurer. LOL AMIRITE?! Obviously the girls were already in the best offices for the club's sake. Jessi and Mal are relieved that the tension is finally over, especially after Kristy tells everyone she's going to try to be less bossy.
The girls all go over to the Mancusis' after the meeting and find Misty giving birth! All in all, there are ten new hamster pups. When the Mancusis come home they pay Jessi well, tell her that Misty's name is actually Snicklefritz, and tell her that they will give out the baby hamsters to good homes. Jessi hopes that her home will be one of them. She asks her parents and they say yes - Jessi will get a hamster, as will the Pikes, and Jackie Rodowsky. HAMSTERS FOR ALL!
