Fabulous Five 027 - The Scapegoat (5 page)

"Miss Winchell, I'd like to talk to you for a moment,"
said Miss Woolsey as the bell rang, ending the homeroom period the next
morning.

Denise gave Christie a look of sympathy as she passed her on
the way out the door.

"Please sit down," Miss Woolsey said, indicating
the chair next to her desk.

Christie had an ominous feeling. Miss Woolsey obviously had
something serious on her mind.

After the other students had left, the teacher began, "I've
noticed that you're not doing well in science, Miss Winchell. As a matter of
fact, you have a D average. This surprises me, to say the least, since you
appear to be doing well in all your other classes. You haven't been gathering
wool when you should have been paying attention, have you?"

"No, Miss Woolsey. I've been trying
very
hard."

"Have you been keeping up with your assignments?"

Christie looked the teacher directly in the eyes. "Yes,
ma'am, I have. Every single one of them."

The firm way that Christie answered seemed to reassure Miss
Woolsey. "How is your project for the science competition progressing?"
the teacher asked. "What have you selected?"

"I haven't decided on one yet," answered Christie
truthfully. "I want a really good one and haven't found one I like."

"Well, I suggest that you settle on one soon, Miss Winchell,
or there won't be time for you to complete it. I also
strongly
suggest
that you talk to Miss Finney about your progress in her class. I've known Miss
Finney for quite some time. As a matter of fact we grew up together. She's a
dedicated teacher. I'm sure she can help you solve your problem."

Christie nodded. She wanted to say,
Miss Finney is my
problem
, but Miss Woolsey wouldn't understand. How could she when Christie
didn't understand it herself?

"Maintain your position in line, girls!" Miss
Finney called as the science class stood at the entrance to the Tower of
London. Mrs. Woodruff was talking to the attendant at the gate.

Christie looked up at the tall, gray, stone walls. The Tower
of London was really a huge fort. To her left, one wall topped by parapets
stretched farther than a football field. On the right, the tower was bordered
by the Thames River. There were narrow windows in the towers at the corners,
through which defenders could shoot arrows. Guards wearing red coats, black
pants, and tall bearskin hats stood at each side of the gate.

When Mrs. Woodruff waved the girls through the gate,
Christie hurried to stay near the teacher. She wanted to make sure Miss Finney
saw how interested she was in everything.

She felt a tingle run up and down her spine as she followed
the others into the passageway between the outer and inner walls of the
fortress. It was eerie knowing that she was walking where so many people had
been imprisoned or killed.

The first place they stopped was next to the Bloody Tower.
Christie shivered, and hugged herself. This was where twelve-year-old King
Edward and his nine-year-old brother Richard, Duke of York, had been murdered.
Christie had read that some people claimed to have seen two small ghosts in
white nightgowns walking hand in hand in the halls of the tower.

"Does anyone know the name of this structure?"
asked Mrs. Woodruff.

"The Bloody Tower," answered Christie quickly. She
was glad she had been there before and had also learned so much about London in
Mr. Dracovitch's class.

"Correct," said Mrs. Woodruff.

"Notice the way in which the builders hand-cut the
stones and fit them perfectly," said Miss Finney, pointing at the walls. "They
did this without the aid of our modern tools."

"This gate is a very good example of how things have
changed over the years," continued Mrs. Woodruff, stopping in front of a
wide archway. Christie could see the river on the other side. "At one
time, the Thames came up to this gate during high tide. Does anyone know what
the gate's purpose was?"

"It's called the Traitor's Gate," volunteered
Christie. "They used to bring prisoners through it in boats at night."

Miss Finney didn't look pleased that Christie was the one to
answer again.

They continued through the passageways, stopping
periodically while Miss Finney or Mrs. Woodruff explained something, most of
which Christie already knew. Christie listened intently, anyway, to show her
interest. It didn't hurt to hear it all one more time.

Finally they stopped to rest on benches near the building in
the center of the grounds. Christie took a seat next to Miss Finney.

"The Tower of London is one of my favorite places in London,
Miss Finney," Christie said. "My ancestors were English, you know."

"Oh?"

"Yes," she continued. "Winchell is an English
name. I'm glad you brought us to the tower. There's so much to learn here."

Miss Finney didn't respond.

"Actually, I think everything about England is
fascinating." Christie desperately tried to find something that would
interest the teacher. "There's so much history here. And as you said, you
can see the way our ancestors did things years ago.

"When Mr. Dracovitch, my science teacher at Wakeman
Junior High, found out my family was moving, he made sure our class learned
lots of things about England." Christie looked at Miss Finney. She didn't
see any signs of encouragement, so she hastily decided to change the subject.

"I want to go to Oxford University," she said
brightly. Did she see a spark of interest in Miss Finney's eyes? "I want
to major in science. My mom says, if I keep my grades up, I might get a Rhodes
scholarship. People from the United States can get Rhodes scholarships, if they're
smart enough." Christie knew she was running on and on, but she couldn't
seem to stop herself.

She said softly, "I'm trying really hard in your class,
Miss Finney." She had to swallow a huge lump in her throat.

"I know all too well that people from the United States
can be awarded Rhodes scholarships, Miss Winchell," replied Miss Finney. "But
I'm not sure you appreciate just what it takes to get one." She got up and
called to the others, "All right, girls. Come along."

Christie followed, feeling bewildered. Miss Finney didn't
seem to care about anything she had said. Trying to find the right things to
say to Miss Finney was like walking on a balance beam. If she made the
slightest mistake, she would fall. But she
had
to keep trying.

Next they went to the building where the crown jewels were
stored.

"There must be tons of diamonds and crowns and things
in here," said Becca, ogling the glass cases where the jewelry, golden
scepters, and other precious things were kept.

"What I wouldn't give for a ring like that one,"
commented another girl, pointing at a diamond the size of an egg.

"Can anyone tell me why the Tower of London was built
at this location?" Miss Woodruff asked when they were back in the central
courtyard.

Christie raised her hand. "It was easy to defend, and
the land is good for planting gardens. Also, the river was a good place for
traders. Most big cities were built on rivers." She said a silent thank
you to Mr. Dracovitch for teaching her those things.

Miss Finney looked coldly at Christie. "Who knows the
means of transportation the first people used to come to the British Isles?"

Sarah raised her hand. "Boat!"

"Correct," said Miss Finney, smiling at her.

"They might have walked," said Christie.

Several of the girls giggled.

"Oh,
really
, Miss Winchell," replied Miss
Finney. "You certainly must know by now that Britain is an island. People
couldn't walk on water then, any more than they can now."

"Britain wasn't always an island," offered
Christie quickly. "Thousands and thousands of years ago it was part of the
mainland of Europe. They could have walked here then."

The rest of the girls were silent. Some of them were looking
at Miss Finney, others were pretending they were interested in other things.
Miss Finney's face had turned a deep red.

"Miss Winchell, you shouldn't speak unless you know what
you're talking about. The first settlers in England were Celts who came by sea.
It's very well documented,
and that's that!
"

Christie wanted to pull the collar of her St. Meg's blazer
up around her face and hide. She had only been trying to offer another
possibility that she had learned about at Wakeman. Mr. Dracovitch said people
today didn't know
everything
about what had happened in prehistoric
times. Even scientists didn't always agree on the way things were then. So why
did Miss Finney think it so terrible when Christie suggested another
possibility?

She dropped back to the end of the line as Miss Finney
marched them along to see other parts of the tower. Christie didn't want to be
anywhere near the teacher.

"Gosh, I'm sorry," said Becca, moving in beside
Christie. "Miss Finney shouldn't have jumped on you the way she did. I
think what you said sounds possible."

Christie gave her a stiff smile. "I know it's possible.
A very good teacher in the States showed my class how it could have happened.
It's even suggested in some books."

"Well, don't let her get you down," Becca told
her. "I think you're the smartest kid in our class."

"Thanks," muttered Christie. She stared at Miss
Finney, who was explaining something to Sarah Pike and two other girls. "I
don't know if I'm the smartest, but I do know that I can't be wrong
every
time.
"

Christie set her backpack down on the front step and juggled
the books in her arms so she could open the front door. She had taken the
underground, the London subway, to the Tottenham Court station and walked to
the British Library from there.

She'd spent two hours searching for an idea for her science
project, and still not finding one that seemed just right, Christie had checked
out as many books as she could carry. After Miss Finney's reaction at the
tower, she was more determined than ever that her project would be the best St.
Meg's had ever seen. It wouldn't matter what Miss Finney thought about it or
what score
she
gave Christie—the project was going to be excellent.

Pushing the door open, Christie dragged her backpack into
the foyer and left it with the books she had been carrying at the bottom of the
stairs. She found her mother in the kitchen.

"Hi, sweetheart," said Mrs. Winchell. "You're
late. I was beginning to worry about you."

"I went to the library." Christie climbed on a
stool. "Mom, what's the greatest school science project you ever heard of?"

"Still looking for one?" asked her mother. "Let
me think. There are lots of things you could do. I remember making a model
volcano when I was about your age. It had red smoke coming out the top and
looked really neat. As I recall I got an A on it."

"You probably got an A on everything you ever did in
school," said Christie. "The volcano sounds like a good idea, but not
supercolossal, if you know what I mean."

"Oh," replied her mother. "It has to be
that
good, huh? Tell you what, I'll think about it, and we'll ask your father to
help, too. If we Winchells put our minds to work, we ought to be able to come
up with a
supercolossal
science project. Oh, as usual, there's mail for
you."

Christie hopped off the stool and sorted through the stack.
She found a letter from Jana, and one from Chase.

In her room Christie tore Chase's envelope open first and
read it hurriedly. He wrote that Coach Benfield had put Chase's application in
for the Junior Olympics and Chase had started to train hard. He was even
swimming on Saturdays and Sundays, and lifting weights to build his strength.
After that he added,

I'm kind of glad you're not going to be around during the
Olympics. I'm going to shave my head to help me swim faster. I know everyone's
going to call me Telly Savalas and baldy!

After that he talked about going to a ball game with Randy
Kirwan, Shane Arrington, and Tony Calcaterra, and how his parents had increased
his allowance because his grades were so good.

He didn't say anything about Tammy, but he also didn't say
he missed Christie. Wasn't he thinking about her anymore, or had he just
forgotten to say it?

Christie read the letter two more times, trying to find
hidden messages about his liking her. She had to be honest. There weren't any.
Finally, she put Chase's letter down and picked up Jana's.

Dear Christie
,

Thanks for answering my letter so quickly. I can't tell
you how much I appreciate your advice about Randy's and my dating other people.
I talked to him
,
and he's definitely against our doing it
,
but
I'm still not sure I agree. I'm afraid that our going together may just be a
habit
,
and there's no way of knowing without testing our relationship. I
know you think I should forget the idea
,
since Randy doesn't like it
,
but I'm going to think about it some more
,
anyway.

Now for some bad news. I hate to tell you this
,
but
Chase has been hanging around Tammy even more lately. He even sat with her at
the movies last Friday! I don't think it was really a date
,
but they were
sitting awfully close. Katie and I asked him about it
,
and he said it
was no big deal. Should we kill her, him
,
or both of them? Just say the
word
,
and we'll do it.

Tears welled up in Christie's eyes. There was no doubt that
Tammy was after Chase.

"Let me be sure I've got this right," said
Christie's father at the dinner table. "Your science project can be about
anything. What ideas have you had so far?"

"How to make computers and ice and rainbows, all kinds
of things," Christie told him. "They're interesting, but they're . .
."

"Not
supercolossal,
" Mrs. Winchell finished
the sentence with a grin. "I agree. For this kind of competition, if
Christie wants to win, she needs something unusual. It has to be a special
idea."

"I know," agreed Mr. Winchell with a wink. "If
we could find the formula that Dr. Jekyll uses to turn himself into Mr. Hyde,
we'd have a winner. Or we could use Frankenstein's blueprints for making his
monster. Now
that
would be a supercolossal science project!"

"Daddy, you're no help at all," complained
Christie.

"Sorry. I just had to get those ideas out of my system,"
he told her, smiling. "Have you thought about doing something on space?
You could make a rocket, maybe a space shuttle or space lab."

"There are going to be lots of those kinds of things."
Christie sighed. "Miss Finney says it will take something distinctive to
win."

"Sometimes the most distinctive thing comes from the
simplest idea," said her mother. "You enjoyed all the things Mr.
Dracovitch taught you. Was there anything that might work for this?"

Christie thought for a minute. "No."

"Why don't we split up the books you brought home and
go through them and make lists of ideas," suggested Mrs. Winchell. "We
ought to be able to find that one wonderful idea."

"As long as we find one by Monday," said Christie.
"I'm dead if we don't. I won't have enough time to build it."

After supper they each took a third of the books. Her
parents went into their study to read, and Christie went to her room. She
really appreciated her parents' helping her. She probably should have asked for
their help sooner.

Christie opened one of the books. Taking time off to go
horseback riding with Connie tomorrow worried her, but if she didn't, he'd
definitely think she didn't like him. She didn't want that to happen.

What will Chase be doing this weekend? she wandered glumly.
Going out with Tammy Lucero?