Estimated Elapsed Time: 2 weeks
Summary/Overview:
Because the kids at Sweet Valley High don’t have enough random classes or extracurricular activities, the school is hosting two week long mini-courses. All the students are super excited about these classes. Liz, Enid, and Olivia Davidson end up in the painting course. Olivia talks a lot about how lonely she is since she broke up with Roger, and Liz reflects rather smugly on how lucky she is to have a kick-ass boyfriend like Jeffrey (OH FORESHADOWING).
It doesn’t take long for Olivia to form a huge, obsessive stalker-crush on the painting class’s teacher, Stuart Bachman. Her crush reaches insane levels very quickly: she finds out where he lives, cuts a picture of him out of a magazine, obsesses over whether or not every compliment he pays her about her art is an indication that he’s into her, too. Enid notices Olivia’s weird behavior right away, but Elizabeth brushes it off for a really long time until Olivia misses a newspaper deadline. The two worry about Olivia’s judgment and sanity.
Olivia continues to pursue Stuart, who seems blind to the fact that she’s so into him. He invites her to come to his art show, and she’s sure this is the SIGN that she’s been waiting for. She confides in Liz and Enid that she’s positive he’s going to do something romantic for her birthday. Liz and Enid have been helping Olivia’s parents plan a surprise party, and they are skeptical that Stuart has anything on the agenda. Their doubts are confirmed when Olivia goes to the art show and meets Stuart’s girlfriend Monica. Olivia is crushed but gets over it when she realizes that Stuart is displaying some of Olivia’s artwork. Everyone goes to her surprise party. It is a success. All is well.
The B-Plot involves Jessica and her mini-course of doom: electronics. She chose the class thinking it would be full of cute boys, but it was full of nerds. She and Randy Mason end up making a lie detector because she’s sick of Lila talking about her dad’s new soap-star girlfriend. The lie detector is a huge success.
Memorable Quotes:
- “So Far Olivia hadn’t told anyone how she felt about Stuart. She knew it wasn’t a good idea. After all, he was her instructor, and he was older–though not all that much older, she assured herself. After all, her birthday was coming up–it was a week from tomorrow.” (49)
Trivia/Fun Facts:
- Lila’s dad’s new girlfriend is named Anika Hunt.
- Lila takes a sewing class for her mini-course.
- Olivia’s grandmother was a “serious” oil painter–whatever that means.
(Totally Unqualified) Critical Analysis:
I mean, what is there to say about this one? If I had majored in psych in undergrad, I could probably expound on the fact that Olivia’s crush on Stuart is indicative of daddy issues. What’s more alarming to me is how totally creepy she is about her crush. Driving by his apartment? Cutting out pictures of his face? Isn’t this the sort of thing a girl does when she’s much younger? Okay, not the driving by his apartment part, because my friends and I totally did that in high school, but the rest of the stuff is totally bizarre.
And no matter how innocent Stuart thought Olivia was, I’m still unsettled that he’d invite her into his apartment when she showed up unannounced. It’s not smart teaching–or living, for that matter. A teacher should NEVER invite a student into their home. Ever.
Next up: Todd Wilkins is moving back to Sweet Valley–and now he’s rich!
Tags: daddy issues, jeffrey french, olivia davidson, ridiculous rationalizations, some sort of arbitrary contest, someone overreacts, someone throws a party
