Fabulous Five 006 - The Parent Game (3 page)

Several students were in the yearbook staff room when Jana
arrived after school. Mr. Neal was looking at photographs with Garrett Boldt,
and other students were working in groups of twos and threes.

Jana loved the busy atmosphere in the room. Large sheets of
paper with lists of things for each of the classes to do and schedules for
photo sessions were taped all around the walls. There were personal computers
on some of the tables and piles of paper and things they needed to prepare
The
Wigwam.
It seemed so businesslike, just like a newsroom.

"Hi, Jana!" Funny called. Funny Hawthorne was one
of the members of The Fantastic Foursome clique, and the only
good
one
as far as Jana was concerned. Laura McCall was their leader. It was even
rumored that she made her friends do certain things to remain members of The
Fantastic Foursome. Melissa McConnell was the fastidious one. She was precise
in every way and had run against Christie for seventh-grade president, probably
at Laura's insistence. Tammy Lucero was the world's biggest gossip. But Jana
and Funny had hit it off from their very first day at Wacko Junior High when
Funny returned the class schedule that Jana had dropped. Lots of people thought
Funny was a bubblehead, but she really wasn't. She just had a great sense of
humor and showed it by laughing a lot.

"How are the plans coming for your mom's wedding?"
Funny asked, beaming at Jana with her usual big smile.

"Okay, I guess. But Mom's turning into a basket case. I
can't believe how she's worrying about every little detail as if the world will
come to an end if even the smallest thing goes wrong. I guess she's just
nervous, but I hope I'm not like that when I get married." Jana rolled her
eyes toward the ceiling and then grinned at Funny, who sat at a table covered
with papers. "So, what are you up to?"

"I got started on the list of committees and other
activities that seventh-graders are in. Do you want to help?"

"Sure," said Jana, dragging over a chair. Being
around Funny always lifted her spirits. "What do you have so far?"

"I've got the football team and the boys' and girls'
basketball teams. Then there are the track teams and soccer. Of course there's
the class officers. We need
b-i-i-g
pictures of them. That way, you and
I get our pictures in special." She giggled.

"Don't forget the Teen Court," said Jana.

"Oh, that's right. Your friend Katie's on that, isn't
she?"

Funny looked down when she said that. Jana wished it were
easier for the two of them to be friends. Even though they belonged to separate
cliques that were always at war with each other, they each understood how the
other one felt. That helped a lot, but Jana had seen Funny and Laura arguing
once, and she knew it was because Funny was hanging around Jana.

"Yes, Katie's on it, and so are Shane Arrington and Whitney
Larkin," Jana answered.

Funny continued with her list of activities. "And then
there's the Drama Club and the cheerleading squad and the band."

"There sure are a lot of seventh-graders doing things,"
said Jana. "Let's see, on cheerleading there's Mandy McDermott, Dekeisha
Adams, Melanie, and Beth and . . . oh, yes, Laura. Sorry. I almost forgot her.
I didn't do it on purpose." She gave Funny a look that said she truly was
sorry.

"You know," said Funny thoughtfully, "Laura
really isn't all that bad. You guys have the wrong idea about her."

Jana didn't answer right away, although she knew Funny was
waiting for her to say something. After thinking for a moment she said, "I
know you Fantastic Foursomes are all friends, just the way we are in The
Fabulous Five. But it sure seems as if Laura's out to get us."

Funny was silent herself for a moment. "It seems the
other way around, too." Then she touched Jana's arm. "You're the
leader of The Fabulous Five. They'll do whatever you want. Isn't there some way
you can make them understand?"

Jana looked at Funny. "I heard that Laura is going to
ask Randy Kirwan to be her partner for the Family Living project. Is that true?"

A cloud passed over Funny's face, and she said quietly, "She
did say she wished he would ask her." Then she added quickly, "But
she said she'd like to be Shane's partner, too, except that he's not in her
class."

"I know," said Jana. "Shane's in Mrs. Clark's
Family Living class with me."

"Well," said Funny, looking sad, "I guess we'd
better work on this list."

Jana hurried into Bumpers. Funny and she had made lists of
most of the activities that seventh-graders were involved in and had put down
the names of all the kids they could think of who were doing things. She had
finally told Funny she had mentioned to Randy that she would meet him, and she
had to leave early. They each took half the names of the kids to call to make
sure they were at the photo sessions.

Bumpers was full, as usual. Every booth, table, and bumper
car was crowded with Wacko Junior High kids. Melanie, Christie, Beth, and Katie
were squeezed together in a booth with Mona Vaughn and Sara Sawyer. Taffy was
sitting with Lisa Snow and Kim Baxter. Laura McCall, Tammy Lucero, and Melissa
McConnell were by the counter talking to Shane Arrington and Tony Sanchez. Jana's
friends in The Fabulous Five waved when they saw her come in.

"See if you can get a chair," called Christie.

"Don't," said Sara. "I want to go talk to
Stacy and Gloria, so you can have my seat."

"I'll go with you," volunteered Mona.

"How's the yearbook coming?" asked Katie as Jana
slid into the booth.

"Fine. Funny and I are working on the lists of
activities that seventh-graders are on. We've got all of your names down."

"Just think. Someday
The Wigwam
will probably be
valuable because my picture is in it," said Beth. "I can see it now.
Former student of Wacko Junior High makes Broadway. They might even change the
name of the school to Beth Barry Junior High. Wouldn't that be neat?"

"Dream on," said Katie. I'll bet they rename it after
that famous female Supreme Court justice."

"Why do you think they would name it after Sandra Day O'Connor?"
asked Melanie.

"Not her. I'm talking about me—Her Honor, Katie
Shannon," said Katie. The others groaned loudly.

"Save my seat while I get a soda," Jana said,
digging her change purse out of her pocketbook.

She was standing in line waiting to order when Taffy came up
behind her. "Hi, Jana." Jana almost jumped with surprise. She had
been avoiding Taffy because she didn't want to be pushed for an answer about
Taffy and Randy's being partners. She just hadn't figured out Taffy's motive
yet.

"Hi," she answered.

"See that gorgeous guy over there?" asked Taffy,
speaking in confidential tones and nodding toward a group of boys. "The
one wearing the pullover shirt with green stripes?"

Jana knew who he was, but she had never spoken to him. He
was Chad Wallace, and everyone thought he was the biggest deal in the eighth
grade. He played all the sports and was even on the varsity team. He was even a
bigger deal than Garrett Boldt. "Sure. What about him?" she asked.

"I think he's
really cute.
He even spoke to me
the other day. He's been looking at me, and I think he's about to ask me out."

"Really?" said Jana. "But he's in eighth
grade."

"I know. But I like older men," Taffy said with a confiding
grin. "Don't tell anyone, but right now
he's all I want in the world.
"

"He is?"

"Sure. Isn't he gorgeous?"

Jana looked over at Chad. He was certainly handsome. He was
almost as good-looking as Randy, except a little older. "That's nice,
Taffy. I hope he does ask you out."

"Me, too. Oh, I think I've changed my mind. I was going
to get some french fries, but they're fattening. See you later, Jana."

Jana watched Taffy walk away. That was weird. Taffy had
certainly never confided in her about boys before. Maybe she did want to be
friends, after all.

"We saw you talking to Taffy," Christie said. "Was
she trying to tell you again what a great friend she is?"

"Not really. She was telling me how much she likes Chad
Wallace."

"Chad Wallace? He's neat!" said Melanie.

"Taffy said she's wild about him, and she thinks he's
going to ask her out. Did any of you see her at school?" asked Jana.

"I did," answered Beth.

"Was she friendly?"

"She was as sweet as can be. I nearly threw up."

"I saw her, too," said Christie. "And she was
nice to me, also."

"I saw her, but I couldn't bring myself to talk to her,"
said Katie.

"It looks as if she might just be serious about wanting
to be friends," Jana said, thinking out loud.

"There you go, being trusting again," warned
Katie.

"Well, she is acting differently. She said she wouldn't
ask Randy to be her partner unless I said okay, and Randy said she's been
talking about how much she likes me. And don't forget, she was nice to you
guys. Now she says she's crazy about Chad Wallace. Maybe she
is
telling
the truth."

"Have you found out who Randy wants for a partner?"
Beth asked Jana. She nodded toward the booth where he was sitting with Scott
Daly, Keith Masterson, and Bill Soliday.

"I asked him yesterday, but I didn't find out anything.
Maybe I'll try again."

"I could go over and tell him to come to our booth
because you want to talk to him," suggested Melanie.

"I'd be embarrassed. I'm not going to talk to him about
whether he is going to be partners with someone in here in front of everyone."

"If you wait until later, we won't know what he said
until tomorrow," complained Melanie. "You'd have to call us."

"Look!" Katie said, putting out her hands to
silence them. "He's going to the jukebox. Maybe you can ask him now."

"Yeah, go ahead," said Christie, practically
pushing Jana out of the booth. "This is your chance."

Jana summoned up all her courage and wove her way across the
room to meet Randy at the old Wurlitzer jukebox.

"Hi," she said stopping beside him at the machine.

"Hi, back," he said, reaching out and putting an
arm around her waist. "Do you have a song you want to hear?"

She looked down at the rows of song titles. "Number
B-eight."

"Great. That's my favorite, too."

Okay. Here goes, Jana thought, taking a deep breath. "You
never told me if you were going to have a partner for the Family Living
project," she said, trying her best to sound casual.

He was just about to answer when Laura McCall's voice came
from behind them. "Hi, Randy. Are you going to play a song for me?"
she asked.

"Hi, Laura," answered Randy. "What would you
like to hear?"

"Whatever you like, I'd like." She gave Jana a
hostile smile as she flicked her long blond braid with one hand.

Jana glared at her. "I think I'd also like to hear
number H-twenty-three," Jana said to Randy. "Remember how we used to
listen to it when we went to Mama Mia's Pizzeria after the Mark Twain football
games?"

Randy smiled at her and turned back to look at the song
titles. Jana inched closer to him, sticking her shoulder in front of Laura.

"Oh, how cute, Jana. You still like grade school
things." Her voice dripped sugar.

Jana fumed. "Some people just establish relationships
that last and super memories to go with them," she said through clenched
teeth. Randy seemed unaware of the war that was going on right next to him as
he punched number H-twenty-three.

"What did you ask me about school before?" he
asked Jana.

"Uh . . . I forgot." She couldn't talk about the
Family Living project with Laura standing right there.

"Hey, Randy," yelled Scott from across the room. "Keith
says there's no way you can run the one-hundred-yard dash in ten point two
seconds."

"That's all he knows," Randy yelled back. "Excuse
me," he said to Jana and Laura. "I've got to straighten this guy out."

He left Jana and Laura standing together. Laura looked at
Jana and then spun around, whipping her braid across Jana's arm.

"The nerve of her," said Katie when Jana sat down
again with her friends. "How could she push in on you and Randy like that
while you were talking?"

"Boy, that witch butted right in," huffed
Christie.

"You should have punched her out," advised
Melanie.

"What did Randy say?" asked Beth. "Did you
get to talk to him about the project at all?"

"He was just about to tell me about it when Laura
pushed her way in," answered Jana.

"So you still don't know if he's going to team up with
anyone?" asked Katie.

"No. But one thing's for sure. Laura will be his
partner over my dead body." Out of the corner of her eye Jana could see
Taffy looking at her.

Randy took Jana's hand as they walked home from Bumpers. He
had come up to her as she was leaving and had taken her books from her. It made
her tingle when he held her hand in his.

"Are you coming to the game Saturday?" he asked.

"I'm not sure. I want to, but my mother has been
bugging me to go shopping for a dress for her and Pink's wedding. I think I can
still get there, though."

"Hey, I'd forgotten about the wedding. It's getting
pretty close, isn't it? Are you going to be a bridesmaid?" he asked.

"I'm going to be maid of honor. I do need a dress for
the wadding, but I'm so busy."

Randy looked down at her as they walked along. "The
wedding must be pretty important to your mom."

"I know," Jana murmured. She felt uncomfortable
with him looking at her. She was busy and couldn't help it if she didn't have
time to shop for the dress. Besides, just thinking about the wedding made her
feel strange.

She forced herself to smile as they walked on hand in hand
under the tall maple trees that arched over the sidewalk of her street. When
they reached the porch of her apartment building, she leaned back against the
pillar, not wanting to say good-bye to him yet. She still hadn't found out what
he was planning to do about the parent project.

"I hope you can get your shopping done and come to the
game Saturday," he said, a serious look on his face. "I play better
when you're there, and Trumbull Junior High can be tough."

The look on his face sent a thrill through her, and he
leaned forward and kissed her forehead. Suddenly the feeling of anxiety washed
back over her.

"Have you decided whether you're going to be partners
with anyone yet?" she asked quickly.

"No. I was thinking about being a single parent, but
Laura McCall was talking about how much easier the project would be with a
partner. I think she's right."

Jana's body went rigid. "Did she ask you to be partners
with her?"

"No. Some of us in Mrs. Blankenship's class were just
talking."

Jana felt her muscles relax. Laura
was
about to ask
Randy, she just knew it. She had to talk to Taffy right away.

"Why don't we go out to the mall and look for your
dress after we clean up the dishes?" Jana's mother asked at the dinner
table. "It's such a nice evening it would be good to get out. Maybe we'll
go to a movie afterward." Jana knew the movie was just an enticement to
get her to look for a dress.

"Actually, Mom, tonight isn't good. I've got homework
and I'm supposed to call a lot of the kids that haven't come in yet to sign up
for their yearbook pictures." Besides those reasons, thought Jana, Taffy
hadn't been home when she called her house. Her mother had said she would ask
Taffy to call when she got home. Jana had to talk to her tonight.

The smile faded from her mother's face. "What about
tomorrow evening then?"

"I don't know. It depends on how many of the kids I
reach this evening, I guess."

"When do they have to have their pictures taken by?"

"Oh, before December."

"That's a long time away, sweetheart. Couldn't you wait
to call some of them?"

"It's not so long when you've got nearly two hundred
kids who have to get their pictures taken," Jana said.

"You know, the wedding is a lot closer than December,
and we have just
got
to get you a dress. It might have to be altered.
Couldn't you put off some of your calling one evening so we can go out to the
mall?"

There she goes, getting paranoid again, Jana thought,
stirring her lasagna with her fork. "I guess so."

Her mother pursed her lips and frowned. Jana tried to ignore
the look of frustration. She knew the wedding was getting closer, but you
couldn't just ignore everything else. The yearbook was a big thing, and there
were so many things to do to get it ready for publication. Her mother didn't
understand. And she
had
to talk to Taffy. If her mother would
just
quit mentioning the dress, Jana would find time to shop for it.

After dinner, as Jana went to her room to get her list of
kids to call, she heard the phone ring.

"Jana! Telephone," her mother called.

She went back to the kitchen and picked up the receiver. "Hello."

"Jana?" It was Taffy.

"Oh, Taffy. I'm glad it's you. I wanted to talk to you
about your being partners with Randy for the Family Living class."

"Yes?"

"It's just for the class, isn't it?"

"Of course it is. Sometime you can return the favor.
Like when I have a modeling appointment or an acting class and it's my turn to
take care of Randy's and my baby, you could sit for me. You
would
do
that, wouldn't you?"

The words
Randy's and my baby
echoed in Jana's ears.
She hated the way they sounded coming from Taffy. At least Taffy had pointed
Chad out to her at Bumpers and said she was crazy about him. If she was as
crazy about Chad as she said, she couldn't be out to steal Randy.

"Sure, Taffy. Anytime. Just let me know."

"I will."

By the time she hung up the receiver, Jana was feeling a lot
better. With Taffy's help she would show Laura McCall that she couldn't steal
Randy. She went back to her room with a smile on her face. She would choose her
baby now and then call some kids about getting their pictures taken. The Family
Living project was going to be fun, after all.