Fabulous Five 012 - Katie's Dating Tips (8 page)

"We'd like to speak with you, if you have a few
minutes, sir," Mr. Dracovitch said politely.

"Certainly," replied Mr. Bell. "Come in, all
of you. My office is small, but I think everyone can fit in."

Katie took a deep breath and followed her mother and the
science teacher into the office. Behind her she could hear the soft shuffle of
feet as the others pressed forward.

It was a tight squeeze for standing room, but as soon as
everyone was settled, Mr. Bell stood beside his desk and said, "Now, I
suppose you've come about the cafeteria food. That was quite a plea you made in
yesterday's edition of the
Post.
"

"Yes, Mr. Bell. That's exactly why we've come,"
Willie spoke up. "I think the students have a valid point. Even the
newspaper agreed in their editorial that the situation should be looked into."

"But Ms. Shannon, surely you realize that the school
has a responsibility to serve nutritional food to its students. A lot of time
and effort has been put into planning the meals served at Wakeman Junior High."

"Mr. Bell?" Tony asked softly.

The principal glanced at Tony. "One moment, son."
Then he turned to Willie and went on, "You know as well as I do that if
the boys and girls had their way, they'd eat nothing but junk food. Some of
them would want us to order lunches from fast food places. We certainly can't
allow that, now can we?"

"Mr. Bell?" This time Tony spoke a little louder
and waved his hand in the air as if he were asking permission to speak in
class.

Still Mr. Bell did not call on him. It seemed to Katie that
the principal was only interested in talking to the grown-ups.

"Sir," Willie said sharply. "I don't think
the students are asking for junk food. They just want to be able to let the
cafeteria personnel know which things they like and which they particularly
dislike. Serving things no one likes is a waste of food."

"And money," blurted out Katie. Instantly she
clamped her hand over her mouth and all eyes turned toward her. She hadn't
meant to speak up without permission.

"I'm sorry," she said sheepishly. "I guess I
just got carried away."

Mr. Bell looked at her with a critical eye. "Well then,
Katie. If you're so concerned about saving both food and money, tell me how you
and your friends propose to change what is served in the cafeteria
without
bringing in junk food."

Katie took a deep breath and met his gaze. "Tony has a
terrific plan. I think he should tell you about it."

Mr. Bell turned to Tony. "All right, young man. You may
speak now. Let's hear your plan."

Tony shifted nervously. "Well, sir," he began. "I
was thinking that if the cooks would prepare samples of the dishes they serve
and let a panel of students taste them and rate them, then they could find out
what kids really like."

Mr. Bell leaned forward, looking interested. "You mean
a sort of taste test?" he asked.

"That's right," Tony said. Excitement rose in his
voice. "The cooks could try out new things, too. And maybe the kids could
make suggestions ahead of time for things they'd like to taste, also. There are
tons of things that could be done."

Katie felt pride swelling as all around the room kids were
nodding and murmuring agreement with Tony's idea. Even Willie and Mr.
Dracovitch looked impressed.

Mr. Bell stroked his chin. "A panel of students, eh?"

"Yes, sir." Tony chuckled softly. "It would
be great if everyone could have the chance to take part, but it would get a
little expensive."

A smile flickered in Mr. Bell's eyes. "And am I correct
in assuming that the rest of you think Tony's idea is a good one?"

A chorus of yeses filled the air.

Slowly Mr. Bell sat back down behind his desk. The room got
quiet enough to hear the dust settle as everyone waited for his reply. Katie
touched Tony's arm and gave him a reassuring smile, even though she was sure that
down deep she was as nervous as he was.

Finally Mr. Bell cleared his throat and said, "Your
idea certainly has merit. We do live in a democratic society, and I am not
opposed to listening to students' concerns. However"—he paused and Katie's
heart fell into her shoes—"this is not a decision that I can make either
instantly or completely on my own."

Katie heard a soft groan behind her and wondered if Mr. Bell
had heard it, too. If he did, he didn't let on. Katie held her breath as he
went on speaking.

"I'd like the time to consult with the cafeteria
personnel and with several other teachers before I make a final decision on
this matter," he said. "It's fair to warn you that there may be valid
objections, or problems may arise that we haven't thought of here. But I know
you're all anxious, so I promise that you'll have my decision before school's
out this afternoon."

"Thank you, Mr. Bell. Thank you," came from all
around the room as the students filed out of the principal's office and grouped
again in the hall.

"What do you think will happen?" asked Dekeisha
Adams.

"I think he went for it," said Garrett Boldt.

"At least he didn't throw us out," offered Richie
Corrierro with a grin.

Katie exchanged glances with Tony, and she had the feeling
that they were both thinking the same thing.

"There's one thing we should remember," Katie
cautioned. "The earring petition. We had tons of signatures on the
petitions to allow boys to wear earrings at Wakeman Junior High, and a few of
the teachers were even in favor of it, but the idea got defeated."

"Right," said Tony. "We'd better not get our
hopes up too high."

Willie and Mr. Dracovitch had come up behind them.

"Well, at least we don't have long to wait," said
the science teacher. Then, with a big smile, he raised his hand and slapped
high-fives with each of them for luck.

Just then the first bell rang, and Katie headed for her
homeroom thinking about how her opinion of Mr. Dracovitch had changed. She had
been embarrassed for her mother to be seen in the halls with him before, but
now she thought he was a real hero. He had actually gone to bat for the kids
and had led them in their stand for better food in the cafeteria. How many
teachers would do a thing like that? Without him, she thought, we would
probably still be back where we started. And no matter what Mr. Bell decided,
she would never call Mr. Dracovitch weird again.

Although the school buzzed with the news that a taste test
in the cafeteria was being considered, Katie couldn't remember a longer day.
Her classes seemed endless, and the hands on the classroom clocks seemed mired
in molasses. Twice between classes she saw Mr. Bell hurrying through the halls
and wondered if he was on his way to another conference on the food situation.

At lunchtime The Fabulous Five gathered at their usual
table, but Katie could only nibble on her tuna sandwich.

"Just think, if the cafeteria food improves, we can all
start getting hot lunch instead of bringing food from home," said Melanie.

Katie knew her friend was trying to make her feel better.
Still, she was afraid to be too optimistic. "But what if it doesn't?"
she asked worriedly.

"At least you tried," said Jana. "I think it's
terrific that Mr. Dracovitch helped, too."

"Me, too," said Beth.

Christie nodded. "Everybody in school is talking about
how super he is."

"You know," said Katie, "I'll have to admit
that I'm actually glad my mom didn't break their date and is going out with him
tonight. There's only one thing that still bothers me, though."

"What's that?" asked Jana.

Katie sighed. "I just wish he didn't look so much like
Dracula."

The afternoon went even slower than the morning, and by the
time she went to her last-period English class, Katie was beginning to wonder
if Mr. Bell was going to renege on his promise to make a decision before the
end of the day.

Willie called the class to order and looked around the room,
smiling. "I just want you all to know what a great week this has been for
me," she began. "You have . . ."

The crackle of the public address system broke in, and she
immediately stopped talking as every eye in the class was on the speaker above
the blackboard at the front of the room.

"May I have your attention, please. This is Mr. Bell,
and I have an important announcement."

Katie closed her eyes and crossed her fingers. This was it.
The moment she had been waiting for and dreading at the same time.

"It has been brought to my attention that many of you
have complaints about the food in the cafeteria."

There was a lot of shuffling as kids grinned and nodded to
each other.

"It has further been suggested that the cafeteria
conduct a taste test using a panel of students to determine which
nutritious
dishes the majority of you prefer over less popular ones."

He paused again, and Katie thought she would burst.

"I have consulted with cafeteria personnel and with a
number of teachers, and it is our unanimous decision that this is an idea that
deserves to be tried."

Katie let out a gigantic breath of air as a cheer went up in
the room.

"It has also been decided that the panel of students
who will do the testing shall consist of the twenty-eight who wrote letters to
the editor voicing their concerns over the cafeteria food, plus Mr. Dracovitch,
who will serve as a faculty representative."

Katie could hardly believe what she was hearing. She hugged
herself as a grin of happiness spread across her face. The room was in
commotion as kids congratulated each other. Katie could hear a roar of voices
coming from all over the school.

"If I may have your attention for one more moment,"
Mr. Bell said. "I would like to pay a special tribute to our guest
teacher, Ms. Wilma Shannon, who has not only given of her time and her talent
in the field of writing, but who has also contributed to the reevaluation of
this important school policy. Thank you, Ms. Shannon."

The room broke out in applause, and one by one the students
got to their feet to give Willie a standing ovation. Katie ran to the front of
the room and hugged her mother. She had never felt prouder in her entire life.

"So what did you tell Mr. Newkirk when you broke your
date for the Ramses exhibit tomorrow?" asked Katie. She was in her mother's
bedroom helping her get ready to go out with Mr. Dracovitch.

"I just said that I didn't think it would be a good
idea for us to go together because I doubted that we would enjoy each other's
company after what happened over the letters," said Willie. "I told
him as plainly as I could and didn't pull any punches."

"Right on, Mom," said Katie. "That sounds
like you. Besides, I didn't like him anyway," she teased. "He has a
potbelly and his voice is too high."

They both laughed over that, and then Willie said, "You've
been a lot of help, but you were really pushy, you know. Calling Mr. Newkirk
and handing me the phone! How could you do a thing like that?"

Katie shrugged and made a silly face. "I was only
trying to help."

Just then the doorbell rang.

"Oh, my gosh. That must be Mark, and I still have to
put on my mascara," cried Willie.

"That's okay, " said Katie. "Take your time.
I'll answer the door and invite him in."

When Katie reached the door, she looked out through the tiny
peephole in the center, expecting to see Mr. Dracovitch standing there.
Instead, a tall, thin man with wavy blond hair was leaning against the porch
rail. What is he selling? she wondered, sighing with agitation.

She opened the door a crack, meaning to get rid of him as
fast as possible, then she realized that there was something familiar about
him. She frowned. Where could I have seen him before? she thought.

"Yes?" she said, sticking her head through the
opening. "Can I help you?"

The blond-haired man began to laugh. "Hello, Katie. Don't
you recognize me? I'm Mark Dracovitch, and I've come to pick up your mother for
our date."

Katie's mouth dropped open. Mr. Dracovitch! It really was
him, and he wasn't wearing his Dracula wig. Not only that, he was even
handsome
!

"Um . . . oh, Mr. Dracovitch," she said, opening
the door wide. "I didn't . . . I mean . . . you look . . . I mean,
come
in
.
"

Mr. Dracovitch gave Katie an understanding smile as he came
through the door. Just then Willie appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Oh, hi, Mark. I'll be right down."

Katie shook her head in amazement. Her mother not only
recognized him, she didn't even seem surprised that his hair was blond.

Oh, well, she thought after they left and she was waiting
for Tony to pick her up for the movies, I
was
right about one thing all
along. Things are always more fun when you're with someone special.

Melanie tore a sheet of paper out of her spiral notebook.
Christmas wasn't far off, and she knew that her parents had been shopping for
gifts because of the number of closets that were off limits. She had been
dropping hints about things she would like to have for the last month and a
half, but she didn't think she had gotten the point across about how badly she
wanted one special thing. She had to make another try.

At the top of the page she printed:

Melanie's Christmas
Wish List

Then she wrote the number one in the left margin. Next to
that she wrote:

A warm and furry
puppy.

She looked at the words and smiled. She could just imagine
having a little fur-ball that would jump up into her arms and lick her face
when she came home from school and would sleep on her bed next to her pillow at
night.

She had been wanting a pet for the longest time, and if she
didn't get one for Christmas she just knew she would die. Each time she had
said something about it, her mother would start talking about how much trouble
an animal was to take care of, especially a puppy who had to be trained. They
had to be fed and watered and taken outside, and her mother said she would end
up doing all the work. Melanie had told her mother about Katie's cat, Libber,
and Beth's old English sheepdog, Agatha, and had tried to convince her that she
would take care of it, but her mother wouldn't believe her.

Melanie wrote the numbers two through twenty under the
number one. Next to each of them she wrote her wish for a puppy in different
ways: A cuddly and playful puppy. An adorable, beautiful little puppy. A smart
puppy that is paper trained real fast and doesn't howl at night. She filled all
twenty lines with descriptions of puppies.

When she had finished, she folded the paper and went out
into the hall. She could hear noise coming from the family room where her
younger brother, Jeffy, had been watching television. The lights were still lit
in the living room, which meant that her mother and father were reading in
there. The coast was clear.

Melanie tiptoed down the hall to her parents' bedroom, Standing
next to the bed, she kissed her Christmas wish list for luck before placing it
in the center of the pillows where they couldn't help seeing it. If this didn't
work, she would probably be an old lady before she got her own pet.

Melanie's wish for a puppy for Christmas eventually involves
her friends and a lot of other people, even Laura McCall and The Fantastic Foursome.
Find out what Melanie gets for Christmas in
The Fabulous Five
#13:
The Christmas Countdown.