#95: Kristy + Bart = ?
Kristy is having some what-are-we anxiety about her and Bart (but she’s still Kristy, so her anxiety is pretty matter-of-fact). Meanwhile, Bart suddenly wants to play grab-ass all the time and Kristy doesn’t always love how Bart tries to kiss her or put his arm around her or hold her hand or things like that. (I look forward to one day visiting her and her wife on their farm.)
“Mary Anne and Logan are in deep LUV. Bart and I are in advanced LIKE.” - Kristy
Kristy is simultaneously jealous of how in sync Mary Anne and Logan seem to be and annoyed at how presumptuous Bart seems to be. Then one night Bart comes over unannounced to watch the Mets game with Kristy while her parents out (which is forbidden) and Watson and Elizabeth return to find Kristy and Bart kissing on the couch. KRISTIN AMANDA THOMAS! Kristy gets grounded for the whole weekend, which means she isn’t allowed to leave her room (except to use the bathroom) or talk to anyone. Even her meals are brought to her. She sits around getting more and more pissed at Bart (and reading Jane Eyre???) and then calls him and breaks up with him.
Okay, this book has a lot of awkward descriptions of teenage kissing, but the scene I really like is when Kristy calls Mary Anne and kind of nervously explains her whole deal and all of her confusion and Mary Anne is just like, “it’s okay if you’re not ready to have a boyfriend.” Yes! Normalize not putting pressure on your friends! Normalize moving at your own pace! Normalize not caring about having a boyfriend or girlfriend at age thirteen and not having to do things you’re uncomfortable with! Just because I got kicked out of pre-school for kissing doesn’t mean everyone was on my level and that’s okay!!!
Anyway, Kristy (after a few false starts) is finally able to communicate to Bart that she still likes him as a friend but that she’s not ready for more than that right now. And to Bart’s credit, he’s cool with it and even asks someone else to his school’s April Fools Dance, with Kristy comes to terms with. (Also, who has an April Fools Dance? That sounds like a recipe for disaster.)
