FIFTEEN by Beverly Cleary [chapters 3 & 4]

CHAPTER THREE - A Perfect Date

Jane washed her hair two times in the last three days and clearly it is a cry for help. She finally decides what to wear had has to press her garment. There is so much pressing of clothes in these malt shop books! And so many rules about what to wear. Gloves? No gloves? Hats? No hats? For the love of all things holy...girdles? SO much grooming. 

And there are worries about the date itself - will Stan be a hot-rodder? Will he be like the dreaded George and order an ice cream cone to go and talk about rocks? Oh the horror!!

Jane worries about her parents as she continues to groom herself. Will her mother wear stockings? Will her father make some of his awful dad-jokes like the hilarious "It spoiled his appetite to realize he had a pinhead for a daughter." bit. They are having "It Smells to Heaven" for dinner. Seriously, Mrs. Purdy? Why tonight of all nights??

Jane has some lipstick anxiety. Was lipstick a sticking point? I remember Natalie Wood in REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE fighting with her dad over it. 

Jane's parents clean up nicely, and Stan does too. Of course her dad can't resist the "cat coming in on little fog feet" joke - it's clearly one of his greatest hits. And Sir Puss is a complete jerk, cleaning his ... area. Stan is cultured and laughs at the Sandburg reference. 

There is a slight problem in that Stan just STANDS THERE. Why, oh why won't he sit? It finally occurs to Jane that he is too well brought up to sit while a lady stands and she grabs a seat. Sitting and standing has become so complicated thanks to boys.

They finally leave and Stan hopes it is okay to walk. Jane is thoroughly relieved. She does some real estate data analysis which adds up to Stan being of about the same social class. Whew! He wants to be a veterinarian - he has plans! 

At the movie, Jane folds her hands in her lap so he doesn't think she is the type of girl who expects to have her hand held sitting in the dark. She is one step away from giving him a scrap of her dress! She notices the admiring glances of some Woodmont High girls and glories in them. 

At Nibley's, she makes note of the social configuration of the room in a perfectly teenaged way. There are some excellent observations about the mood in the room - Cleary is excellent at bringing these to light. LOVE ME ON MONDAY is playing, but I believe it to be a made up song. Prove me wrong. Songs do add so much to courtship in books, do they not? Even fake songs. 

Mr. Nibley is the worst! "Aren't you out pretty late? Don't you like chocolate coke floats anymore? What kind of fertilizer is your father using on his begonias this year?" READ THE ROOM, NIBLEY!! Finally he pisses off and the conversation begins. What to talk about? Jane is mesmerized by Stan's lashes and ID bracelet and can't think of a thing. But he gets her started on babysitting stories and they are off to the races.  Stan is not one of those backward jerks who think it is unladylike to make a little money. 

Then Marcy and Greg come in and they are the WORST! Marcy drinks coffee. Marcy appears to already have had a date with Stan.  Greg is the big man on campus, but Jane clearly prefers Stan's calm strength. Jane doesn't like to play softball (kindred spirit!) and realizes that Stan is already in with the in-crowd. 

It seems that the date went well. Stan says, "I'll be seeing you." which is kind of vague. Jane starts to spiral. She felt so young and unsophisticated. She goes to the window and sees Stan wrestling his bike out of her bushes and calms right down. She smiles - he probably had a curfew and needed to haul butt home and was embarrassed of his mode of transport. He's just a kid like her! "Things looked different now, and all because of a bicycle."

CHAPTER FOUR - Let My People Go!

LOVE ME ON MONDAY is the soundtrack to Jane's life now. Stan waits until Tuesday to call her. Oy. He offers to drive her to her babysitting job. Dreams do come true! She doesn't mind riding in the truck at all. Take that, Marcy, you cow. They head over to the no-down-payment-to-vetrans side of town. She is a babysitter with a plan. Stan remembers the dress she was wearing the first time they met. They pull into a neighborhood that is going to explode into 1960s teen-angst-ville in 10 years. Jane and Little Joey Dithridge threaten to chop each other into little pieces and Stan says his goodbyes. 

Jane dreads parental pushback to all the time she is spending with Stan. So far, she's playing it cool. And cool she is when she orders coffee next time they are at Nibley's. And Stan pops the questions! Does she want to go on a dinner date to THE CITY?? Hell yes, Jane screams at the top of her lungs. Oh wait, that was me.

She knows her parents are going to flip but she seems 100% down to sneak out if need be. It won't be a solo date - Marcy (gag), Greg, Buzz and a rando girl to be named later will be coming with. And the Krushes KRUSH the illustration of the envious girls and Jane's pure pleasure. Even though some animal from Memorial Junior High School (my husband's former Junior High - maybe it was him) has defaced Stan with a Maynard G. Krebs beard. 

The best part of the whole thing? They will be taking the CAR! Bev Cleary is excellent at getting into the mind of kids as evidenced by every single thing she has written, but she is also adept at teens and clearly understands the importance of a car. 

The dinner is going to be Chinese food and Jane is a little nervous. She has found Chinese food to be slithery in the past. This is a minor worry as "Jane lay awake, tense from coffee and excitement." She adorably imagines the date and Sir Puss makes his dreadful presence known. Her father's response reminds her of her biggest worry - getting permission to go. 

The next day Jane scores Julie the spot as Buzz's date before she has even brought her plans up to her parents! They fantasize about the great event. It seems that they are going to play the old - "Jane/Julie's mom said she can go - can I?" Card that works when your parents know your friend's parents but not too much. 

Jane is a boss! Her opening salvo is "Stan is taking me to the city for dinner Saturday. I think I'll wear my gray suit." Damn girl! Way to just put it out there as a done deal. It doesn't work of course. There is much discussion. The phrase "This Stan Crandall" works its way into the conversation. Jane has lots of good ammo:

• Most of the kids are 16.
• The city is only 10 miles away.
• You get a lot for your money in Chinatown. (Okay, that's Mr. Purdy helping out.)
• Stan can borrow the car.

But when her mother asks if Julie's mom has given permission, Jane tells the truth. Good girl! Her mom brings up the fear of juvenile delinquency that was so prevalent at the time, but Jane assures her that she and Stan aren't like those teens. STAN HAS PURPOSE!! It is Stan's commercial driving license that does the trick for Mr. Purdy. He is on team romance. 

Julie has gotten permission as well and everyone is happy. The girls have to decide on hats, gloves and rounded collars - so baby-ish, but what can you do? - and there is excitement in the air. Mr. Purdy doesn't understand all the excitement. He is to be pitied. 

Jane imagines, as many do, that having a boyfriend will make school perfect. I have not found that to be the case. At Nibley's on Thursday Jane and Julie project their voices a little more than usual when they talk about going "to the city for dinner with Stan and Buzz." It's adorable and I would have done the same thing. Although a boy who is monologuing finds it irritating because everyone is way more interested in the girls' plans than his indeterminate IQ score.

The day before the big day Jane has an easy-peasy babysitting job and daydreams all through it. And the picture on page 107 proves that teenagers have always been untidy and forevermore will be. 

Brace yourselves - you know what is coming next!