Fabulous Five 014 - The Seventh-Grade Menace (7 page)

BOOK: Fabulous Five 014 - The Seventh-Grade Menace
8.54Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads
CHAPTER 15

Later that night, after Randy had left, Jana got into bed
and sat up in the dark, thinking. After eating at the McNatts' house that
night, she was amazed to find that she felt sorry for Geena. It must be awfully
lonely for Geena, being a year older than everyone in her class, hanging around
the edges of groups, and going to Bumpers by herself. And everyone in her
family, except her older brother George, seemed to solve things by hitting or
yelling. Even Mr. McNatt, who was a construction supervisor, had to be tough to
handle the men he worked with. Maybe Geena had never seen any other ways of
solving her problems. There had to be a way to help people like that.

But what about all the kids Geena picked on? Jana asked
herself stubbornly. Feeling sorry for Geena probably wouldn't stop her from
bullying people. And even though Jana had tried to talk to Geena about her
mother, Geena had threatened her about the dress. Jana sighed. Geena McNatt was
a bully. That's all there was to it.

Jana was still sitting up and thinking when she heard her
mother and Pink come home. Her mother pushed the bedroom door open slightly and
peeked in.

"Oh! You're still awake, sweetheart. How was your dinner?"

"Okay. Mom, can I talk to you a minute?"

"Sure." Her mother turned on the bedside lamp and
sat on the edge of the bed. "What's up?"

After Jana told her about her supper at the McNatts' and her
conversation with Geena, she asked, "Can you and Pink do me a favor?"

"Sure, sweetheart. What is it?"

Jana told her about the plan she had just come up with and
the part she needed her mother and Pink to play in it. Her mother's expression
turned from quizzical to pleased as she listened.

The next day was Saturday, and since no one else could enter
the competition for Miss Seventh Grade, and Jana was assured of winning, her
mother announced that she and Pink wanted Jana to have a new dress for the
awards ceremony. Jana found a beautiful dress with a creamy gold top and
buttons that matched the dark blue skirt. Her mother even let her pick out a
necklace and matching earrings to go with the outfit. Jana couldn't wait to
wear it.

Later in the day, she called the rest of The Fabulous Five
and asked them to come to her house. That was when she told them about her plan
and asked for their help, too.

On Monday, just about everyone in the seventh grade at
Wacko, except Laura McCall, Tammy Lucero, and Melissa McConnell, seemed to tell
Jana how glad they were that she and Randy were going to be Mr. and Miss
Seventh Grade. Even Kaci Davis told her how she envied Jana's not having to
wait until the voting on Wednesday. Jana saw Geena McNatt staring at her
several times with an angry look on her face when people were congratulating
her.

"You won't believe how gorgeous my new dress is,"
Jana told a crowd of girls who had gathered around her in the hallway after
lunch. As she described the dress to "Oohs" and "Aahs," she
watched Geena out of the corner of her eye. She was drifting around the outside
of the group pretending not to be listening, but each time Jana went into
detail about some part of the dress, Geena would stop and turn an ear toward
her.

 

On Tuesday, after school at Bumpers, Shane climbed onto a
chair, put his arms up, and asked for everyone's attention. "I want you
all to know how much Igor has appreciated all the cards that he has received
and the yellow ribbons that everyone has been wearing to show their concern for
him during his illness. On the advice of a close friend, I asked Mr. Dracovitch
if he would have a look at Igor."

Several kids booed at the mention of Mr. Dracovitch's name.

"Our illustrious teacher has been able to do what the
veterinarians and the people at the zoo were not able to. He has discovered the
cause of Igor's affliction, so you can all take off the ribbons."

A cheer went up throughout Bumpers, and some of the kids
pounded on the tables. "Igor! Igor! Igor!" someone started chanting,
and the others picked it up. Mr. Matson, the owner of Bumpers, stood beside the
cash register and smiled.

Shane let the cheering continue for a moment before he waved
his hands for silence.

"Mr. Dracovitch has discovered that Igor's affliction
is"—Shane paused for effect—"
love.
He's just been pining away
for a girlfriend!"

The place exploded in a roar. Jana laughed so hard she
thought her sides would split, and Melanie pounded on Beth's back as she
roared.

Clarence Marshall shouted and threw his big yellow ribbon in
the air, and it landed in the middle of The Fabulous Five's table right in
front of Jana. Still laughing, she took the grubby ribbon between two fingers
and threw it back. The next thing she knew the room was filled with flying
ribbons as everyone took them off and threw them at Shane and each other.

 

Mr. Neal passed out ballots at the beginning of homeroom on
Wednesday and told them that even though Jana's and Randy's names were the only
ones on the ballot for Mr. and Miss Seventh Grade, Mr. Bell thought they should
still go through the formalities of voting. He also said that the results would
be posted on the bulletin board outside the office during lunch period.

Jana looked at Randy before she made a big X next to his
name, and he flashed her his 1,000-watt smile and made a big X near her name.
Laura McCall and Melissa McConnell folded up their ballots and stuck them in
their notebooks without even voting, and Christie looked back at Jana and gave
her a thumbs-up sign.

After lunch, The Fabulous Five hurried to the office to see
who the winners were. A large crowd of kids was standing in front of the
bulletin board, and it took them a few minutes to be able to work their way
close enough to read the list.

"There it is," said Katie, putting her arm around
Jana's waist and squeezing her. "You are now officially Miss Seventh Grade
of Wacko Junior High."

A tingle ran up and down Jana's spine. "Yes, and Randy
is
Mr.
Seventh Grade." While she hadn't wanted to run in the
beginning, the thought of Randy and her being elected Mr. and Miss Seventh
Grade by all of their friends was so wonderful, she thought she would cry. She
was so proud, and she was just as proud of Randy. While she wasn't sure she
deserved the honor, there was no doubt in her mind that he did.

"Kaci got Miss Ninth Grade," said Beth.

"Did you actually expect Marsha to beat her?"
asked Katie.

"Well, I'm glad to see Chet Miller got Mr. Ninth Grade,"
said Christie. "He's nice."

"Oh, Garrett Boldt got Mr. Eighth Grade!"
squealed Melanie. "I've got to go congratulate him." She quickly
squeezed her way out of the crowd.

"It's nice that Shelly Bramlett got Miss Eighth Grade,"
said Jana. "Although Daphne Alexandrou is super nice, too. I didn't want
either one of them to lose."

Suddenly there was shoving, and Jana was pushed aside as
Geena McNatt stuck her head in to see the voting results.

"Humph!" she snorted. She glared at Jana, spun
around, and pushed her way back out of the crowd.

Jana looked after her. As angry as Geena was, there was a
very
good chance that Jana's plan would work.

That afternoon the feeling was reinforced. As she passed the
bulletin board on her way between classes, Jana came to a screeching stop. Her
name on the list had been smeared over with a bright red substance. She didn't
have to test it to know it was catsup.

CHAPTER 16

"Thanks!" Jana called to Pink as she jumped out of
the car and reached into the backseat to take her new dress from the hook. Her
stepfather had given her a ride to school so she could keep the dress, which
was in a plastic cleaning bag, from getting soiled or wrinkled.

Jana looked around the school yard as she headed toward her
friends, who were waiting by the fence. Geena McNatt stopped throwing a
football with Clarence Marshall and watched Jana walk by. Jana waved to The
Fabulous Five and held the dress high so they could see what she was carrying.

"That is
some gorgeous
dress!" said Beth.

"It's beautiful," said Melanie. "You're going
to look
sooo
glamorous in it."

Whitney Larkin and Marcie Bee came over to see it, too, and
soon a dozen seventh-grade girls were admiring the dress.

Dekeiska Adams, who hadn't been around when Jana was telling
everyone about it before, was asking, "Where in the world did you find
such a super dress?"

"At Tanninger's," answered Jana, watching Geena
out of the corner of her eye. Geena had dropped the football and walked
casually over to where the crowd was gathered.

"When are you going to put it on?" asked Christie.
Jana knew that Christie had seen Geena, too.

Speaking loudly so everyone could hear, Jana said, "I'm
going to dress in the girls' room by my locker just before I'm supposed to go
to the auditorium. I'll keep it in the cleaning bag until then. That way it
will stay nice right up until the very last moment."

"We'll meet you at your locker." Katie spoke
loudly, too. "But we won't be able to stay with you while you dress. We'll
have to go on so we can get good seats. Everyone else will already be in the
auditorium."

"That's fine," answered Jana, hoping their
conversation didn't seem too planned. "It will only take me a minute or
two."

Jana saw Geena going into the building as the first bell
rang. Would her plan work? The only alternative if it didn't was to take Geena
before the Teen Court, and knowing what Jana did now, she would rather not.

 

When The Fabulous Five met at Jana's locker, the halls were
filled with kids on their way to the auditorium for the awards ceremony. Jana
had seen the other winners during the day. Kaci Davis was wearing a beautiful,
lacy, burgundy dress, and she had a brand-new perm that made her look terrifically
sophisticated. Shelly Bramlett was wearing a slim white dress that looked as if
it were made of real silk. Jana had talked to Chet Miller and Garrett Boldt.
They had their suits and ties in their locker, as did Randy, and were going to
put them on just before the ceremony.

"You'd better hurry," said Christie as they
escorted her to the girls' room. "You're not going to have a lot of time."

"I know," said Jana.

"You won't have to worry about it if your plan fails,"
said Katie. "You won't want to go out onto the stage anyway."

Jana gave her a wry smile. She hoped that wouldn't happen.
Her Fabulous Five friends had kept her safe so far. It was all up to her now.

Two eighth-grade girls were leaving as Jana walked into the
girls' room, which was empty now. She hung the dress on the back of a stall
door and looked at her watch. She had seven minutes.

Quickly she pulled off her skirt and blouse, folded them,
and laid them on the lavatory. Slipping the new dress from the plastic bag, she
pulled it on over her head. For a moment, with her head covered up, she felt
vulnerable to an attack, and when her head poked through the collar, she looked
around quickly to assure herself that no one had slipped into the bathroom.

Jana brushed her hair and put on a little lipstick. There,
she thought, looking in the mirror. I'm not as pretty as Kaci Davis, but Randy
likes me, and that's what counts.

She hung the clothes she had taken off on the hanger, put it
in the plastic bag, and checked her watch again. Twenty seconds to go.

Jana walked to the bathroom door and checked her watch
again. Fifteen seconds, ten seconds, five seconds, she counted. Finally she
took a deep breath and stepped out.

Mom, Pink, and Mr. McNatt were coming toward her in the hall
that led directly to the girls' room. Her mother wore a serious expression, and
Pink and Geena's father were smiling. Neither of the men knew about the plan.
Mr. McNatt just thought he had been invited because Geena and Jana were going
to be friends.

Jana knew she wouldn't be able to see down the intersecting
hallways until she had gone about ten feet toward the adults. Now! she thought
as she started forward. Nothing happened. Had she been wrong? Just as she had
those thoughts, Geena streaked out of the hall on Jana's left. She had the
meanest look on her face that Jana had ever seen, and she was pointing the
squeeze catsup bottle at Jana with both hands as if it were a gun.

"You think you're better than everybody
!"
she yelled, and squirted a stream of catsup at Jana.

Even though she had been expecting it to happen, Jana was
almost too slow in getting out of the way. She dropped her hanging clothes and
danced away from the other girl, and the red stream followed her like an
arching laser, splattering red on her shoes and ankles. Jana skipped backward
and Geena followed her, a vicious smile on her face.

"GEENA!" Mr. McNatt shouted, and ran toward his
daughter.

Geena froze, a look of horror on her face.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" He grabbed her by the arm
and jerked the catsup bottle away from her.

Jana jumped forward. "NO, MR. MCNATT! Please don't yell
at her!"

The big man stared at Jana with a surprised look on his
face.

"It's
all right
, Mr. McNatt. She didn't mean it."

"She didn't mean it? How can you say that? She was
squirting that stuff at you, wasn't she?"

"Yes, but she doesn't know how to tell someone she
doesn't like them without hitting or doing things like squirting catsup on
them."

"She
ought
to know better. She'll have to be
punished."

Jana took a deep breath. Was it possible that she could make
him listen to her? Or would he shake her off and take Geena home and punish
her?

Jana looked right into Mr. McNatt's eyes. "When I ate
dinner at your house, I saw Joe and Max punch each other a bunch of times, and,"
she said, softening her voice, "you hit Max on the hand with a spoon and
bumped Joe's and Max's heads together. Geena only knows how to react the ways
she's seen at home."

Geena's father's mouth opened as if he were going to say
something, but no words came out. Pink looked dumbfounded.

Jana continued quickly before she lost her nerve. "Geena
doesn't like me very much, and I kind of understand why now. I guess I
do
have the best of everything. I've got lots of friends that picked me to be Miss
Seventh Grade when I didn't even want to be, and my mom has taught me that
there are a lot better ways than fighting to solve problems. And," she
said, looking shyly at her mother, "she's taught me to be a girl."
Her mother's face was beaming with pride.

"Geena doesn't have all those things, and I can't be
mad at her for acting the way she does, knowing what I know now."

Geena was looking at Jana with a surprised expression, and
Jana thought she felt her father's arm relax.

"Mr. McNatt, I really would like to be Geena's friend.
I think she could be a very nice girl." Jana's legs were as limp as ropes
when she finished. She didn't know what else to say.

The expression on Mr. McNatt's face changed several times as
he looked at Jana. Finally it softened, and he took a deep breath. His voice
was calm when he said, "I guess
I'm
the one who didn't understand."
He looked at his daughter. "All I know is how to handle men. Tough men.
And I don't know how in the world I thought Geena could figure out how to be a
girl in a house full of men." His eyes were moist. "Did you mean it
when you said you wanted to be her friend?"

"Yes, I do. Very much. But I think Geena should be
allowed to pick her own friends. She may not want to be friends with me."

Geena raised her eyes and looked at Jana in surprise.

"Mr. McNatt," said Jana's mother, "I believe
my daughter when she says she wants to be friends with your daughter. I believe
we should all think about what's happened a little, and then, if they both want
to, maybe Geena could go out to lunch with us sometime."

Mr. McNatt reached out and put his arm around his daughter
and pulled her close. "I think that's a good idea, Mrs. Pinkerton. And
maybe sometime they can go shopping for some girls' things."

Jana was astounded at the look on Geena's face. All the
anger that had been in it just minutes before was gone, and her freckled face
shone with happiness as she looked up at her father.

Jana shivered with pleasure as she took her mother's hand.
Maybe the two of them could help Geena pick out some new clothes.

BOOK: Fabulous Five 014 - The Seventh-Grade Menace
8.54Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Other books

The Storm by Alexander Gordon Smith
Life Light by R.J. Ross
The Window by Jeanette Ingold
Fateful by Claudia Gray
The Sheik's Safety by Dana Marton
Ellie's Wolf by Maddy Barone
Angels Burning by Tawni O'Dell