A Myner Problem
The Pretty Committee Strikes Back, part four.
Hey GLUs! Welcome back to The Clique Book Club! We’re wrapping up THE PRETTY COMMITTEE STRIKES BACK, but the drama is far from over.
Remember poor Kristen? She couldn’t afford the school trip, so they left her back in Westchester. Today, most schools would find a way to send her anyway. But the early aughts were savage. You had to pay to play, and since Kristen couldn’t pay, the PC stashed her in their cabin like a 12-pack of hard seltzer. More on that later.
In romantic news: First kisses with Cam and Derrington have finally happened! (Thank gawd they didn’t have Instagram back then. Could you imagine?) Alicia found out that Kuh-laire kissed Josh, and what’s a scorned seventh grader to do? Trick Cam into revenge-kissing her, that’s what! The second Cam found out it was a ploy, he raced back to Claire, and they finally had their kiss. But Claire vs. Alicia? That is so awn.
Massie, desperate to recover from public humiliation and prove she is a kissing expert, enlists Claire to stage her comeback. The plan? Massie kisses Derrington while Claire has the MUCK girls “very casually walk in on them.” And it works!
All is right in Massie’s world until Mr. Myner finds Kristen in the cabin and threatens to suspend her! In a moment of panic, she TAKES OFF into the woods. The Pretty Committee immediately follows, and they get lost for FIVE HOURS. In that time, Claire and Alicia make up, Dylan pees herself, and Massie’s thrilled that they’re surviving this special kind of hell together. They return triumphant, but their joy crumbles when Mr. Myner expels them from OCD. No probation, no suspension, no unmarked bills that have a funny way of changing his mind.
Let’s discuss:
If you were their parents, how hard would you be on them for this expulsion? Why?
The expulsion is bad for all of them, but arguably worse for Kristen. Do you think she regrets the adventure? Why?
How transactional was Massie’s kiss? What percentage was for her heart, and what percentage was for her reputation?
LFG (Let’s F-ing Gossip)!
Xoxo Lisi & Ellen
Next week, we dive into DIAL L FOR LOSER
1. Listen, the girls were wild for this but also Mr. Myner was not a stellar chaperone. Like Alicia said, get her lawyer dad on the case ASAP!
2. I do think Kristen regrets it, because she didn’t get much out of the trip except maybe a bad back from sleeping under Massie’s bunk. She has a lot more to lose than her friends because of her scholarship and drive to do well in school. On top of that, she gets even more screwed over in the next book when she’s forced to stay home while her friends pursue movie-stardom. How unfair!
3. I think initially, it skewed very highly on the reputation side, but afterwards Massie realized she kind of liked kissing Derrington and it added some percentage points to that heart side.
I would be very sad they were expelled, but mostly I would be concerned because I would worry about their futures and their development at a different school. It definitely must be a lot worse for Kristen, because she might not find a scholarship to go to another good school. I think Massie’s happiness from her kiss is 25% feelings for Derrington, 75% how it makes her feel because of other girls admiring her.