Fabulous Five 012 - Katie's Dating Tips (2 page)

When Katie got home from Jana's, she found her mother in the
bedroom with most of her wardrobe spread out on the bed. She was scowling at
first one outfit and then another.

"Oh, Katie. I'm so glad you're home," she said
eagerly. "Do you have time to come in here and help me decide what to wear
to school tomorrow?"

Katie smiled to herself. Her horoscope was coming true
already. Her mother not only needed her advice, she was asking for it. Things
couldn't be working out better if she had planned them herself. "Sure,"
she said, breezing into the room and studying the clothes lying on the bed.

"I was thinking about wearing this," Willie said,
holding a gray suit up in one hand and tucking a black blouse under her chin.
With a toss of her red hair, she struck a fashion-model pose.

"Yuck," said Katie, shaking her head.

"Well, how about this?" asked Willie, picking up a
beige wool dress for Katie's inspection.

"Double yuck. You look like a schoolteacher in that."

Willie looked deflated. "That's exactly what I want to
look like," she said. "And what do you mean, 'yuck'?"

"Look at it this way," said Katie. "You're
coming to school to teach kids something about writing. Most kids hate to
write, and they're always getting assignments to write paragraphs for this
class and sentences for that class. It's nothing new, so you're going to have
to get them excited about writing. Maybe even inspire them to become newspaper
reporters or novelists. To do that, you need to have some glamour. Some flash.
Something that will make kids notice you and want to be like you. Then they'll
sit up and listen to what you have to say."

"They'll notice me," Willie insisted. "I'll
be standing at the front of the class."

Katie rolled her eyes. "Teachers stand at the front of
the class all the time, and believe me, lots of them are easy not to notice.
Besides," she added slyly, "there are tons of good-looking single
teachers at Wacko. Who knows? Maybe one of them will notice you, too."

Willie didn't answer for a moment, but Katie could tell that
she was thinking over that last statement. "Well, maybe the gray suit and
the beige dress are a little dull," she conceded. "But on the other
hand, I don't want to look tacky."

"Mom, you never look tacky," Katie said sincerely.
"Here. How about this?" She tossed a bright teal-blue jumper and
contrasting paisley blouse to her mother. "This will dazzle them."

Shaking her head, Willie caught them. "Katie, this
doesn't sound like you. You're always so conservative and so . . . well, so
no-nonsense
about things. And suggesting that I not only dazzle the kids, as you put it,
but look for a man at Wakeman Junior High is . . . well, it's . . ."

"A great idea!" said Katie, finishing her sentence
with a flourish. "You see, I have this new theory about guys. Although
most of them are definitely jerks, if you find the right one, life can
certainly be a lot more fun. Take Tony for instance. Lots of girls think he's
macho and a troublemaker. But he isn't. He's very caring, and he stands up for
what he believes in. He also respects my rights. That's important, right?"

Katie waited just long enough for her mother to nod and then
went on, "Besides, you're not looking for a husband. You just need someone
to take you out once in a while. Someone you can have some fun with."

Willie was pensive. "You're right about one thing. I'm
definitely not looking for a husband. And it would be fun to get out of the
house once in a while for something other than business. But gosh, Katie. It's
been years since I've been on a date. I'd be terrified. I wouldn't know what to
say or how to act or anything like that."

"Don't be silly," said Katie. "You talk to
men all the time, don't you?"

"Sure, in my work. But that's different from dating
them. I'm so out of practice, I'd probably make some major boo-boo on a date
without even knowing it."

Katie put her hands on her mother's shoulders. "Mom,"
she said solemnly. "This is a terrific opportunity. Come on. Go for it."

Willie looked squarely into her daughter's eyes, the way she
always did when she wanted Katie to know that she was being totally serious. "I'm
not going to Wakeman Junior High to flirt with men. I'm going to teach writing,
but
. . .
" She paused and a little smile darted across her
face. "
If
I meet someone interesting, and
if
he thinks I'm
interesting, too, well, we'll see."

"Right," said Katie jubilantly. "We'll
definitely
see. You can count on me."

A little while later Tony called. "Yo, there, Your
Honor. How's it going?"

"Terrific," Katie said, grinning to herself at his
use of his favorite nickname for her. Tony couldn't resist teasing her about
being a judge on Wakeman's Teen Court. "Tony, can you hang on a minute?"
she asked. Katie got up from the kitchen floor where she usually sat when she
talked on the phone and ducked into the utility closet a few feet away so that
she could talk to Tony without being overheard by her mother. "Now,"
she said as soon as she was settled, "we can talk. Do you remember a few
days ago when I mentioned that Mom's life was so boring that I didn't know how
she stood it?"

"Sure," said Tony. "And you said you wanted
to give her advice on finding a boyfriend."

"Well, I did," said Katie. "And she went for
it. Isn't that great? And I've even got somebody picked out for her. Mr.
Newkirk. He'll be perfect."

"Mr. Newkirk!" Tony shouted so loudly that he
nearly blew out Katie's ear. "You've got to be kidding."

Katie glared at the phone. "Why would I be kidding?"

"Have you looked at him lately? He has a potbelly and
his voice is too high. I certainly wouldn't want
my
mother going out
with him."

"Looks aren't everything," Katie insisted. "He's
smart and cultured, and I'm positive he likes the same kinds of things Mom
likes. He's also in charge of the writing seminars Mom's giving at school, so
they'll have a perfect opportunity to get acquainted. Besides, this isn't going
to be a lifetime commitment. It's just for a few dates. Believe me," she
added icily, "I know what I'm doing."

"Oh, yeah? Think about this. Are you sure you want your
mother dating a teacher at Wacko Junior High?"

"Why not?" asked Katie. "Let's face it. The
only single men I know are teachers."

"It could spell trouble," Tony warned.

"Not for me," Katie said with a laugh. "I
make super grades, and I'm a judge on Teen Court. I never have trouble with any
teachers. Besides, Mr. Newkirk is head of the English department, which means
that he teaches ninth-graders. I'm in seventh, remember? I won't have him for a
teacher for two more years."

Katie heard Tony sigh. "Well, don't say I didn't warn
you."

"Excuse me, Mr. Newkirk. May I speak to you for a
moment?" Katie stuck her head into the classroom where the head of the
English department sat at his desk grading papers. Melanie and Tony had been
right about one thing, she thought with a sigh. Mr. Newkirk wasn't the
greatest-looking man in the world, but still . . .

"Why, hello, Katie," he said, glancing up and
smiling. "Come right on in. I'm looking forward to meeting your mother and
getting her started with her classes this morning. She didn't send you to tell
me that she's developed cold feet, did she?"

"No, sir," Katie assured him. "We came to
school together. She's in the office right now." Katie took a deep breath.
All the way to school she had been rehearsing what to say next. "Mom
probably told you that this is her first time teaching and that she's a little
nervous."

Mr. Newkirk nodded. "Everyone's nervous at first,"
he assured her in his high-pitched voice. "She'll be fine once she gets up
in front of the class."

"I know that," Katie said confidently. "I
just wondered if you could keep an eye on her when she's not in class. You
know, in the teachers' lounge and places like that. Please don't tell her I
said this, but she doesn't know any of the other teachers, and she's a little
shy."

Mr. Newkirk cocked an eyebrow. "A newspaperwoman who is
shy? That's hard to believe."

Katie groaned inwardly. After all her planning, she still
hadn't said it right. "Oh, she's not shy when she's on a story. This is
different, though. The rest of you are all
professional
teachers. She
feels like such an amateur."

"Don't worry for a moment, Katie," said Mr.
Newkirk. "I'll make sure that she feels at ease the entire time she's at
Wakeman Junior High. In fact, I'll go to the office right now and escort her to
her first classroom, and I won't breathe a word of our conversation. It's nice
to see a young person so concerned about her mother."

Katie murmured thanks and backed out the door. That had been
one of the hardest things she had ever done, but at least it had worked out
okay after such a shaky beginning.

It was still too early for most kids to be at school as
Katie headed for her locker, and she was deep in thought when she turned a
corner and slammed into Mr. Dracovitch, who was coming from the opposite
direction. She only had time to glimpse his pale face and black, shiny toupee
when her books went flying out of her arms, and she had to wobble toward the
wall to steady herself. It was only then that she realized the science teacher
was sprawled at her feet, his toupee slightly askew. Beside him, a black
plastic garbage bag spilled its reeking contents across the floor.

"Oh, my gosh! Are you okay?" she cried, bending to
offer him one hand and holding her nose with the other.

"No problem," he muttered. "But what about
you?"

"I'm fine," Katie assured him in a shaky voice.
She tried not to look at the garbage strewn around her feet. She had never been
so embarrassed in her life.

Mr. Dracovitch didn't seem to notice her embarrassment or be
the least bit embarrassed himself as he rose to his hands and knees and plucked
a coffee-stained styrofoam cup off the toe of her shoe. Then he reached across
her ankles to grab at something white. Katie's eyes bulged. It was a baby's
disposable diaper, and it was
used!

He deposited the styrofoam cup and the disposable diaper in
the black plastic garbage bag and picked up the other pieces of trash before
straightening his toupee and looking at her.

"Sorry, sir," she said. "I guess I wasn't
watching where I was going."

He smiled weakly. "It was as much my fault as yours.
Now if you'll excuse me, I must get this to my lab."

Katie picked up the books she had dropped in the collision
and hurried on toward her locker, shaking her head in wonder. What was he doing
carrying a bag of stinking garbage through the halls of Wakeman Junior High?
And was he really taking it to his lab? Mr. Dracovitch had done some pretty
weird things before, she thought, but this was the worst. He
definitely
was not her mother's type.

And neither is Mr. Neal, she mused a moment later. Glancing
in the door of Miss Dickinson's classroom as she went by, Katie couldn't help
but notice that the two teachers were deep in conversation near Miss Dickinson's
desk. They were standing much too close to each other to be discussing
adjectives and adverbs. Maybe Melanie's right about them, too, she thought,
breathing a sigh of relief, and I was right about Mr. Newkirk's being the best
choice for my mom.

When she finally reached her locker, Tony was leaning
against it. He looked bored as he waited, but the moment he caught sight of
Katie his face broke into a smile.

"Do you always wear your hair lopsided, or is today
special?" he teased.

"What!" she shrieked. Her left hand shot up to
first the left side of her hair, which was still firmly pulled up in a barrette
and then to the right, where a barrette dangled from a lock of hair and the
rest of the red curls hung forward.

"Oh, brother," she said, rolling her eyes. "Wait
until I tell you what just happened to me."

By the time she had fixed her barrette and hung up her
jacket, she had finished the story of her encounter with Mr. Dracovitch, and
Tony was doubled over with laughter. "That explains it," he said
between guffaws. "Everybody's been wondering what Dracula cooks in his lab
every morning, and now we know. Garbage."

"Oh
, please!
" said Katie, making a face. "Well,
one thing finally went right this morning anyway. I think I've set things up so
that Mr. Newkirk will get interested in my mother. He's on his way to the
office right now to escort her to her first classroom. She looks sensational,
too. I picked out her outfit and helped her do her hair. This is going to work.
I know it is."

Tony gave her a long, solemn look and then shook his head
helplessly. "Well, good luck . . . I guess. Come on. I'll walk you to
class."

All morning long Katie tried to pay attention in her
classes, but her mind kept flashing to her mother. How was Willie getting along
in her seminars? Were the kids behaving themselves and listening to her? Was
she still nervous?

It would be the last period of the day before Willie Shannon
would step to the front of her own English class. Would Willie dazzle them with
her good looks and her talent as a writer? Or would the seminars turn into a
disaster for both of them? Katie had tried not to think about that possibility,
but after all, her mother wasn't really a teacher. And it was nerve racking for
anyone to have their mother at school. If something went wrong for Willie, kids
would never stop teasing Katie. She knew she shouldn't let the chance of that's
happening bother her, but it did.

Then her thoughts went back to Tony's warning about her
mother's dating one of the teachers at Wakeman. Maybe he had known what he was
talking about after all.