Fabulous Five 028 - Breaking Up (2 page)

"Have you seen Keith anywhere?" Beth asked when
she got to the yellow bumper car a few minutes later. She was standing on
tiptoe and craning her neck to see around the crowded room.

Jana cringed inwardly. She couldn't tell Beth that Keith had
left the moment her name was mentioned. Besides, she reasoned, it might have
been just a coincidence. Maybe he really did have to leave just then.

"He was here a minute ago, but he said he had to split,"
replied Jana.

"Ooooooh," said Beth, her voice sinking with her
as she dropped onto the seat beside Jana. "Where did he go? Did he say?"

Jana shook her head. "He was in a pretty big hurry, so
it must have been important. Otherwise I'm sure he would have stayed around to
see you."

"You told him I was here?" asked Beth. "And
he still left?"

Uh-oh, thought Jana. I opened my big mouth again. "Well,
I just said that you were brushing your hair, and he said that he really had to
leave. I'm sorry you missed him."

"That's okay," said Beth. "We're going out
tonight, so it's no big deal. Have you found anybody to flirt with yet? If you
work fast, maybe we can double."

Jana couldn't help laughing. "No," she answered, "but
I made a list of cute seventh-graders as possibilities. I'll read it to you,
and you can tell me what you think."

She flipped open her notebook and pulled a folded sheet of
paper out of a side pocket. "Okay. Here goes. Derek Travelstead, Tony
Sanchez, Jared—"

"Hey, look over there," Beth interrupted. "The
Dreadful Alternatives are sitting in that booth. Have you ever noticed that
every single one of them is a hunk?" Then she added dramatically, "I
mean, everyone would be impressed if you went out with one of the gorgeous
members of Wakeman's own rock band!"

Jana glanced toward the booth where the four boys sat. "Yeah,
they're cute all right," she admitted. "But Cory Dillon goes with
Kimm Taylor, and Craig Meachem dates Shawnie Pendergast. That only leaves
Parker Donovan and Chris Burke."

"Sure, but
look
at them," said Beth. "They
are totally awesome."

Jana looked at Chris and Parker again. Beth was right, of
course. They were both terrifically good-looking. Parker was tall and slim with
medium-brown hair and a lopsided grin that always made Jana wonder what sort of
mischief he had been into. Chris, on the other hand, had dark, thoughtful eyes
and a quiet smile. He's probably a very sincere person, she thought.

"But why are you in such a big hurry for me to find
someone to go out with?" asked Jana. "A few minutes ago you were full
of sympathy and said you'd absolutely die if you and Keith broke up."

"You're the one who thought up the experiment with
Randy," said Beth. "I'm just trying to help. Hey, let's go over and
talk to them, before
you
lose your nerve." She jumped up before
Jana could protest and bounded across the room.

"Be-ETH, come back here!" Jana pleaded, but it was
too late.

Beth had already scooted into the booth beside Craig Meachem
and was talking a mile a minute. Each time she stopped for a breath, she darted
a look over her shoulder, motioning with a jerk of her head for Jana to join
them.

Jana let out a deep breath and sank back against the bumper
car, wondering what to do. The only way I'm ever going to make this experiment
work is to go out with other guys, she reasoned. Then why is it so hard even to
talk to them?

Just then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Randy. He
was walking toward the order counter, but he stopped when he saw her.

Jana gulped hard and tried not to look at him, but she
couldn't help it. Her eyes met his for an instant, and then she looked away. He
had looked so sad that she wanted to cry.

No! she told herself. I've got to do this, or else we're
right back where we started.

Picking up her notebook and jacket, Jana headed for the
booth where Beth sat with The Dreadful Alternatives, noticing as she went that
Randy had moved on to the counter now and was placing his food order.

"Hey, Jana," Beth called as she saw Jana
approaching. Turning, she yelled, "Move over, Craig, and make room for
Jana."

"There's room on this side," said Parker, flashing
a big smile at Jana. "Come on. Sit down."

Jana was surprised at the flush of pleasure she felt and
hoped he hadn't noticed. She gave him a quick grin and sat down beside him.

"So like I was saying," Beth said, "he was
doing forty-five in a thirty-mile zone."

"Wow!" cried Cory, laughing and slapping his knee.
"I can't believe it."

"Who was doing forty-five in a thirty-mile zone?"
asked Jana. She could feel Parker looking at her, and it made her nervous.

"Our beloved principal, Mr. Bell," Beth told her.

"Oh, come on," scoffed Jana. "Mr. Bell wouldn't
do a thing like that."

"Oh, yeah?" countered Beth. "Marcie Bee's
uncle is a policeman, and he's the one who gave Mr. Bell the ticket. Isn't that
a riot?"

When Jana shook her head in disbelief, Chris chimed in, "Hey,
give the guy a break. He's human."

"So I hear you and Kirwan split up," said Parker.
He was turned toward Jana and totally ignoring the rest of the conversation.

Little prickles raced up the back of Jana's neck. She looked
to Beth for help, but her friend was too busy with her story about Mr. Bell to
notice Jana. "Uh-huh," she said softly.

"His tough luck." Parker gave her a sly grin.

Jana felt her face turn hot. She caught Beth's eye and said
quickly, "It's getting late. I'd better be heading home."

Beth made a face at Jana and then sighed in resignation. "Okay.
I'll go with you. See you guys later." She jumped up, started to leave,
and waved back at the boys in the booth.

Jana gave them a small wave, too, and then made a beeline
for the door with Beth right behind her.

"What did you do that for?" Beth demanded as soon
as they were outside. "Things were just getting
interesting.
I
could tell that Parker was zeroing in on you. What did he say? Did he ask you
out?"

"Whoa!" said Jana. "Not so fast. I don't
think I'm ready for this."

Beth put her hands on her hips and gave Jana an impatient
look. "But you're the one who started it."

Jana didn't answer. It was impossible to explain to Beth how
she felt. She wasn't even sure herself.

"I know!" Beth blinked her eyes open as if a light
had just flashed on in her brain. "I'll call Shawnie and ask her to talk
to Craig about hinting around to Parker to ask you out."

"But, Beth—"

"You guys would make a great-looking couple," continued
Beth, totally ignoring Jana's protest.

Back home a little while later Jana grabbed a soda out of
the fridge and took it to her room, dropping down on her bed to sip the cold
drink and think.

It had been her idea for Randy and her to date others. There
was no question about that. And she still believed it was the right thing to
do. But why was she suddenly so nervous? And what would she do if Parker
Donovan asked her out?

"Eee
yew!
It's green!" shouted Beth, making
a face.

"What is it?" asked Jana, peering into the bowl
that Katie had stuck under her nose.

The Fabulous Five had decided to get together in Jana's
bedroom the next afternoon for a study and gab session, since it was too rainy
out to do anything else. Only Melanie hadn't arrived yet.

"It's spinach dip," Katie said proudly. "I
made it myself, and I brought it for us to eat during our meeting."

"But it's
green,
" insisted Beth.

Katie put a hand on one hip and looked down her nose at
Beth. "It's supposed to be green. It has spinach in it. Now that my mom
has started writing a gourmet food column for the local paper, I've decided to
start making some of her recipes. Here, take a cracker and try some. It's
très
gourmet."

Beth backed away. "What is
tray
gourmet?"

"Très,"
Katie repeated. "You know,
French for very. This dip is
very
gourmet. Come on, guys, try it."

Jana exchanged dubious glances with Beth and tried to decide
what to do. Katie's
très
gourmet spinach dip looked awful. Fortunately,
at that moment, the bedroom door opened, and Melanie came rushing in.

"Hey, I got a letter from Christie!" she sang,
waving an envelope in the air.

"Go ahead and read it," Jana said eagerly. "Everybody's
here."

There was a catch in Jana's throat at the mention of
Christie Winchell, the fifth member of The Fabulous Five, whose move to London
had left a blank space in their group that was impossible to fill. Christie
wrote often to her friends, addressing her letter to a different member of The
Fabulous Five each time but meaning it for everyone. Jana wondered what
Christie thought of her breakup with Randy and if she would mention it in this
letter.

Melanie carefully turned her wet raincoat inside out and put
it on Jana's bed before sitting down on the edge and pulling the letter out of
the envelope. "Wait till you hear this," she said excitedly.

Dear Melanie,

Boy, the weather in London is everything you've ever
heard it was. It's rained for so long that I swear I'm getting webbed feet just
like a duck!

"Tell me about it," muttered Katie, glancing toward
the rain-streaked window.

"Be quiet, Katie," said Melanie. "I'm getting
to the good part."

I really wish you guys could meet Connie Farrell. I know
that he's an umpteenth cousin to the queen, but he really doesn't act the way
I've always imagined royalty would act. In fact, he's super. And he's handsome
and fun. And I absolutely LOVE his beautiful horse, Rigel. The only problem is,
I still like Chase!

I really wish I could talk to you and the rest of The
Fabulous Five about this. You're the best friends in the world, and I miss you
guys so much!

That's about all the news from here. Write soon!

Love,
Christie

Melanie let the letter flutter to the floor as she fell back
against the bed, pretending to faint. "Can you imagine dating
royalty?
"
she gushed, sitting back up and looking around with wide eyes. "I can just
hear it now. 'Would you like to go out with me Saturday night, Christie? If you
do, I'll present you to the queen.' Or maybe they'll double with Charles and
Di!"

"Wow," said Jana, shaking her head. "I always
knew that Christie was special, but dating royalty! That's really something."

"I can't help feeling a little sorry for Chase,"
commented Katie, poking a cracker into the green dip and eating it.

"Why?" asked Melanie. "Christie wrote him
that she still likes him, but that she isn't sure if she's coming back anytime
soon, so they should date other people."

"I know," replied Katie, "but he's really got
it bad for Christie." She glanced at Jana and frowned. "Just like
Randy has it bad for you."

Jana turned to Katie. "I thought you, of all people,
would understand, even think it's a great idea. I thought you'd see me as sort
of
liberated
, or something."

"Come on, Jana," said Melanie. "Everybody
knows that you and Randy are perfect for each other. You guys will get married
and live happily ever after."

Jana smiled weakly. That's what my mom expected for herself
and my dad, she thought. There was no use trying to explain. There was nothing
she could say without giving away her mother's secret.

Jana glanced across the room at Beth. She had hardly said a
word since Katie passed her the green dip. It wasn't like her to be so quiet.

"So how was your date with Keith last night?"
asked Jana, hoping to draw Beth into the conversation.

"Don't ask," Beth muttered, and then looked
helplessly at her friends. "I don't know what's wrong with him," she
went on.

"What do you mean?" asked Melanie. "What
happened?"

"Nothing. And I mean that's exactly what happened—
nothing!
We went to a movie at Cinema Six, and what did he do while we waited to get
into the theater? He left me standing by the concession stand while he horsed
around with Joel Murphy and Tony Sanchez. Then once we got inside and the movie
started, he treated me as if I had bad breath or something. He leaned on the
arm of the seat opposite from me and never once held my hand."

Jana frowned, remembering how Keith had left Bumpers
yesterday as soon as Beth's name was mentioned. Maybe it wasn't just a
coincidence, after all.

"He was probably just in a bad mood," offered
Katie. When Beth gave her a puzzled look, she added, "You know. He could
have had a fight with his parents, or something."

"I'm sure everything is going to be okay," Melanie
said sympathetically. "You know how boys are sometimes
—weird!
"

Beth shrugged, and lapsed into silence again.

When The Fabulous Five meeting broke up later in the
afternoon, Beth lingered, pretending to search her coat pockets as if she were
looking for something important. As soon as the others had gone, she dropped
her coat on Jana's bed and sank down beside it. "Jana, I have to talk to
you. It's an emergency."

"Of course, Beth. You know you can always talk to me,"
Jana said gently. She could guess what was coming, and she took a deep breath
and sat down beside her friend. "It's about Keith, isn't it?"

Beth nodded and looked as if she were struggling to hold
back tears. "It was just awful, Jana. He didn't say six words to me all
night. I tried to ask him what was wrong, but he wouldn't tell me. He just kept
saying 'nothing.' But I knew that wasn't true."

"Is there anything he could be mad about?" asked
Jana. "Have you done anything lately that he didn't like?" She was
thinking back to the times Keith had been jealous of all the time Beth spent
with the Drama Club. In fact, they had almost broken up once because he said
she cared more about acting than about him.

Beth shook her head. "I can't think of
anything
,
and, believe me, I've tried. Oh, Jana, I like him so much. I know we've had
problems sometimes because he's immature, but he's fun and almost as crazy as I
am. I'm really worried." She hesitated and then said just above a whisper,
"He didn't even kiss me good-night."

Jana's hopes sank. It wasn't Beth's imagination, after all.
Something really was wrong, and she couldn't stand to think of her best friend's
getting hurt.

"You've got to do me a favor," Beth said
earnestly. "Please, you're the only one I can ask."

Jana knew she had no choice, even though red warning lights
were flashing in her brain. "What?"

"Call Keith," Beth implored. "Call him and
ask him what's wrong. Just don't tell him I put you up to it."

"Oh, Beth. I don't know," she replied slowly. "I
mean, what excuse could I use for calling? He knows we're best friends."

"I don't know. You'll think of something."

Jana bit her lower lip. Beth looked so miserable that she
couldn't possibly say no. Finally she took a deep breath and said, "Okay.
I'll try, but I can't promise that he'll tell me anything."

Beth wrapped her arms around Jana and gave her a huge hug. "Oh,
thank you!
Thank you! THANK YOU!
You don't know how much better I feel
already. And I'll call Shawnie about Craig's talking to Parker, too. I promise!"
Beth grabbed her coat and headed for the door. "And call me the instant
you talk to Keith, okay?"

Jana agreed and closed the door behind Beth. Now what am I
going to do? she wondered.

She went back into her bedroom and sat down at her desk. She
knew it was almost time to help her mother get supper ready, but first she had
to figure out a way to talk to Keith. She opened her notebook and began
scribbling down possible things to say.

Hi, Keith. This is Jana. I was wondering if I could talk
to you about Beth.
She paused and bit the end of her pencil. That wasn't
too bad. But what next?

Are you mad at her about something?
No, thought Jana,
scratching that out.

Did Beth do something to make you mad?
Not much
better, she thought, and drew a line through the words.

Beth's a little worried that you might be mad about
something
,
and she asked me to talk to you.
Hmmm, thought Jana. That
might work.

Through her closed bedroom door, she could hear the phone
ringing. A moment later Mrs. Pinkerton knocked softly on the door. "It's
for you, honey. A boy."

"Thanks, Mom," Jana said, and felt little tingles
race across her scalp. Who could that be? she wondered. Parker? Or Randy? Gosh,
I hope not. I'm not ready to talk to either of them.

Nervously she rose from the desk and went to the phone.

"Hi, Jana. This is Keith. Can I talk to you a minute?"

"Keith!" Jana exploded in surprise. "I mean,
hi. I hope I didn't break your eardrum," she added apologetically. "I
guess I just wasn't expecting it to be you."

"That's okay," said Keith.

There was a pause, and Jana wondered if she should ask him
about Beth. Somehow the timing seemed wrong, so instead she said, "What's
up?"

"Umm," fumbled Keith. "I was wondering if you'd
do me a favor. I mean, a
huge
favor."

"Well . . . sure, Keith . . . if I can," she
replied.

"Thanks. I knew you would."

"So what is it you want me to do?" asked Jana,
puzzled.

"Tell Beth something for me," he answered.

"What?" Jana asked in surprise.

"That I want to break up with her."

Jana gasped and almost dropped the phone.