#73: Mary Anne and Miss Priss
First: how JTT are the Pike triplets on this cover?
Mary Anne picks up a regular (like, every weekday, “indefinitely”) sitting job for Jenny Prezzioso, she of the spotless and frilly clothes. Jenny, who had once relaxed a bit, is back to being afraid of getting dirty, even changing her clothes if one speck of juice dribbles on her. She also has some more concerning habits, though, like compulsively washing her hands. Mary Anne doesn’t know what the hell is up, but things slowly come into focus as she finds out that Mrs. Prezzioso has been taking baby Andrea on commercial and modeling auditions. Meanwhile, the Pike triplets are on a bit of an independent streak and have started their own kickball team; none of the kids want Jenny to join the team because she’s a priss who’s afraid of getting dirty. (Ooooor is she struggling with something mental health-related?) Mary Anne reads her dad’s psychology textbook and diagnoses Jenny as having “obsessive behavior.” (Like when I can’t stop eating Humpty Dumpty barbecue chips?)
Mary Anne realizes that Jenny is trying to be perfect to compete with her sister for attention, and when Mrs. Prezzioso agrees to let Jenny try modeling, Mary Anne accompanies Jenny to have her head shots taken. It’s clear that Jenny is trying hard but not really enjoying herself, and it’s a lot of work for a four-year-old. Things get worse when Jenny and Andrea both audition for a hamburger chain named Karburgers and Andrea books the spot and Jenny doesn’t. So Jenny flips the script and becomes Miss Mess, getting dirty and messy and decidedly unperfect to get her mother’s attention. (Really, it just creates a headache for Mary Anne.)
Mary Anne and Mrs. Prezzioso discuss the problem but don’t really know what to do. Eventually Jenny and Andrea book the same job, and they both do well, and after that Jenny seems to kind of get over things and she gets really gung-ho about playing kickball. The Prezziosos and Mary Anne just shrug and are like, “okay, cool.” Problem solved?
Meanwhile, Mallory has confronted her parents about how much she’s been baby-sitting for her siblings and if she can sit for the Pike Brigade that much then surely she should be able to rejoin the Baby-sitters Club. They (and her doctor) agree that it’s okay. No more Honorary Member status!
