Ann Martin - Baby-Sitters Club 037

Travis gave a little laugh. "Dawn, I really think you're making too much of this. You know, if we could just get together and talk this over, I .think you'd see things my way." "I don't think so," I said quietly.

"You mean you don't want to see me just because I told you to wear combs in your hair? I can't believe it." "It's a lot more than that, Travis. Look, I'll give you the perfect example. Remember when you wanted me to get that third hole punched in my ear? I actually felt guilty because I didn't want to go along with it. I'm just glad I had the brains not to listen to you." "Dawn, you're making a big deal out of nothing," Travis sputtered. Now he was beginning to sound really uncomfortable.

"No, it's true. You've been trying to make me over ever since the day you met me," I said, cutting him off. "You wanted to change everything about me. I just didn't see it in the beginning." "Dawn, this is crazy." "It's not crazy at all," I said smoothly. "I've had time to think about it, and I've talked things over with Mary Anne. You never liked me for myself, just for what you could make me into. It all makes sense now." "Look, I never wanted to hurt you, Dawn - " "Maybe not, but that's what happened. Besides everything else, you led me on. You let me think I was special to you, but you were seeing Sara at the same-time." I felt very calm. "Anyway, I think we should just say goodbye now." "Say good-bye? Are you serious?" "Very serious," I said softly. "That's why I called you tonight, Travis. To say good-bye, and to say that I hope you find the perfect girl for you. She's probably out there somewhere, Travis, but I'm not her. Maybe it's Sara." Travis started to say something, but I didn't give him a chance. I hung up the receiver very gently and stared out the window for a few minutes.

It was over. And I knew I had done the right thing.

The reaction at the next BSC meeting was just what I had hoped for.

"Dawn! I can't believe you did it. I'm so proud of you!" Claudia was beaming. "He really got what was corning to him." "Travis must have been furious," Stacey chimed in. "1 wish I could have been there." "I'm just happy you're rid of him," Mary Anne said. "You finally caught on." "It took a little help from my friends," I added. "For awhile, I thought there was something wrong with me." "Ha! That's probably what he wanted you to think," Kristy said. She tilted her visor back. "I had no idea Travis was such a jerk. He hangs around with my brothers all the time." Mary Anne looked up from the notebook. "Well, he's probably okay when he's with guys because he's not trying to make them over." Kristy nodded. "I guess you're right. The main thing is that he's out of Dawn's life for good - "I started to giggle, and Kristy stopped in mid-sentence. "What's so funny?" "I just thought of something I should have said. I should have told Travis to have his hair trimmed and to get rid of those stone-washed jeans. He could use a few fashion tips himself!" "You would have been wasting your breath," Stacey said, examining her nail polish. "He's so conceited, he probably thinks he's perfect." I was struggling with a math problem later that night when Mary Anne came into my room. She looked a little embarrassed, and I wondered why.

"How's it going?" She glanced at my math book, but I knew she had something else on her mind.

"Okay." I closed the book and spun around in my seat. "I can take a break if you want to talk." "Well . . . sure," Mary Anne said, settling herself on the bed. I waited while she fumbled in her pocket for a white envelope. "I ... just wanted to tell you again that I'm really proud of the way you handled Travis." I smiled at her. "I'm glad. But I bet that isn't why you came in here." Mary Anne flushed. "Well, I- Okay, I'll be honest with you. I've got something for you." She glanced at the envelope but drew back when I reached for it. "No, wait! Before you read it, I want to explain something." From the look on Mary Anne's face, I knew it must be something important. And I knew there was no way I could rush Mary Anne. She would tell me in her own good time.

"Do you remember when I told you about Lewis?" "Lewis?" I drew a blank, and then it hit me. "Oh, yeah. Logan's cousin. What about him?" "Well, guess what? His visit to Stoneybrook is all planned!" "Really?" I know Mary Anne expected me to look thrilled, but I just couldn't. My hand edged back to the math book. I had about a million problems to work on, and Mary Anne was all set for a long conversation about some guy I didn't even know! "Don't you get it?" she said finally. "Lewis wants to meet you." "That's crazy," I said, sharpening a new pencil. "He doesn't even know me." Mary Anne cleared her throat. "That's not exactly true. He, um, knows a little bit about you." "How could he?" I was flipping through the book, trying to find my place when I paused and said, "Mary Anne, what have you done?" She was blushing all the way up to her hair roots. "Now don't get mad, Dawn, but Logan and I told Lewis a few things about you. And I sent him your picture." "What?!" "Please don't get upset. If you just think about it, you'll realize it was a great idea. Logan says Lewis is a really neat guy, and I think he's just what you need now." She was still clutching the white envelope and she handed it to me.

"It's a letter addressed to me," I said, turning it over. "Mary Anne, what's going on?" "It's from Lewis. Isn't that great? He must have liked your picture and the things Logan and I told him, so he decided to write to you. I said he was a great guy." "Terrific," I muttered, tearing open the envelope. I scanned the first few lines and relaxed a little. Lewis said he had heard a lot about me, and he wanted to meet me. He also said I was very pretty and that we had a lot in common. He didn't sound so bad, but I just wasn't interested in meeting another boy at the moment. Why couldn't Mary Anne figure that out?

"Well?" Mary Anne said. She stood next to me, trying to read over my shoulder. "What do you think?" I shrugged. "He seems like a pretty nice guy." A picture of a boy with dark brown hair and a great smile fell out of the envelope. "And he's even good-looking." "Definitely. And he's a lot of fun, too. That's why Logan and I want this to work out." She looked at me very seriously. "You'll see him when he visits, won't you? Please, Dawn." 1 looked at the picture again. I didn't feel any sparks the way I had with Travis, but Lewis did seem nice. Still, the timing was wrong, all wrong.

"Well?" Mary Anne said impatiently. "Will you see him or won't you?" 1 sighed. "I don't know." "Dawn, puh-leeze.'" "Okay, okay. If Lewis wants to take me out when he comes to Stoneybrook, I'll go. I guess." "Good!" said Mary Anne. "That's all I wanted to hear." Chapter 15.

Later, when I was alone in my room, I read Lewis's letter again. (Okay, I'll tell you the truth. I read it three more times.) I'm not sure exactly what I was looking for, but I wondered if Lewis was too good to be true. He seemed funny, smart, not at all stuck-up, and nice. I'll show you what I mean. He started out by describing himself. (We had to do this once in English class, and it was the toughest assignment I've ever had.) Did I write him back? Yes. But I took my time, and I decided to be very casual.

I read my letter to Lewis twice before sealing the envelope. I wondered if I could have made it more interesting, decided that I couldn't, and finally dropped it in the mailbox. Imagine how surprised I was when I got a letter back four days later! Lewis must have written the minute he received my letter.

It sounded like Lewis was planning to spend a lot of time with me when he visited Logan. Would it be just the two of us, or would we be doing things with Logan and Mary Anne? I decided I didn't really want to see him alone. That would be too much like a "date." But if he wanted to be friends, that would be okay.