Fabulous Five 017 - Celebrity Auction (9 page)

Melanie was sitting in the media center, trying to
concentrate on her biology homework, when she suddenly had the feeling that
someone was looking at her.

Ooooh
,
maybe it's a cute boy!
She tingled at
the thought and glanced over her left shoulder, trying to act casual.

Most of the study tables were full, although naturally, not
everyone was studying. Curtis Trowbridge and Whitney Larkin were whispering
together at one table, and Tammy Lucero was passing a note to Laura McCall at
another. But Melanie couldn't see anyone who seemed to be paying the least bit
of attention to her.

She twirled a strand of reddish-brown hair around a finger
and twisted slightly to the right, scanning the room in that direction. Her
heart skipped a beat when she saw Shane Arrington sitting two tables over.
Shane was definitely cute. In fact, he was one of her mega-crushes. But Shane
was bent forward, looking down intently at what appeared to Melanie to be a
picture he was drawing.

"Probably another portrait of Igor," she whispered
under her breath.

Suddenly she felt eyes upon her again, and she jerked her
head farther to the right, this time coming face-to-face with the clownlike
grin of Brian Olsen. The instant she looked at him, his eyes began to glow.
Melanie froze. The dazzling smile she had been prepared to flash came out
instead as a sickly smirk.

Horrified, she whirled back around and buried her nose in
her biology book. The last thing in the world she wanted to do was encourage
Brian Olsen, otherwise known as Mr. Obnoxious. Brian was huge and muscular, and
he liked to show off his strength by sneaking up behind girls and lifting them
over his head while they squealed in fright and begged him to put them down. So
far, Melanie had escaped such treatment, possibly because Mr. Bell had threatened
to send Brian to Teen Court if he did it again. So lately, Brian had turned all
of his attention to flirting with Melanie.

Melanie scrunched down in her chair, wishing she could
become invisible. She was an expert at knowing how to flirt with boys, but how
on earth, she wondered, could she do the
reverse
?

How will Brian Olsen's crush on Melanie affect her life at
Wakeman Junior High? And even worse, how will it affect her romances with Scott
and Shane? Find out in
The Fabulous Five
#18: Teen Taxi.

Betsy Haynes, the daughter of a former newswoman, began
scribbling poetry and short stories as soon as she learned to write. A serious
writing career, however, had to wait until after her marriage and the arrival
of her two children. But that early practice must have paid off, for within
three months Mrs. Haynes had sold her first story. In addition to a number of
magazine short stories and the Taffy Sinclair series, Mrs. Haynes is also the
author of
The Great Mom Swap
and its sequel,
The Great Boyfriend
Trap.
She lives in Colleyville, Texas, with her husband, who is also an
author.