Fabulous Five 028 - Breaking Up (7 page)

At one minute until seven o'clock Mrs. Hawley announced that
the countdown to the read-in would begin. "We'll read for half an hour,
tally up our pages, and then go on to another activity," she said. "Okay,
everybody. Watch that second hand.
Go
!
"

"Fifty-nine! Fifty-eight! Fifty-seven!" The
second-graders chanted off the seconds as they watched the clock on the wall
above the librarian's desk.

The floor was a patchwork quilt of brightly colored sleeping
bags, which had been spread out for each child and his or her Book Buddy to sit
on.

"Thirty-one! Thirty! Twenty-nine!"

While the countdown continued around them, Jana smiled at
the slender little girl with long brown hair and enormous eyes who sat beside
her. The little girl's name was Megan, and she handed Jana the book she had
picked out for Jana to read to her.

"But there aren't any words in
Good Dog, Carl,
"
whispered Jana, thumbing through the pages. "It's all pictures."

Megan turned her big eyes on Jana and said solemnly, "That's
okay. It's a book, and our teacher said we could pick out any book we wanted.
Besides, it's my favorite story."

Jana took a deep breath and tried again. "But, Megan,
looking at pictures isn't the same as reading, and that's what we're supposed
to do," she explained patiently. "Surely there's another book that
you like
almost
as much as
Good Dog, Carl.
"

Megan blinked a couple of times and slowly shook her head. "Nope,"
she said. "I want
Good Dog, Carl.
"
Then she crossed her
arms and looked at Jana as if to say that the subject was closed.

"Okay, okay, I'll read the pictures," Jana
muttered as the countdown ended and a cheer went up around the room.

The soft murmur of the Book Buddies' voices reading to their
students filled the room as Jana opened the book and began telling the story to
Megan. To Jana's surprise she was suddenly glad that the little girl had chosen
a book without words. It meant that she didn't have to keep her eyes glued to
the page the way the other Book Buddies did. Glancing up from time to time, she
was able to spot Randy sitting cross-legged on a bright red sleeping bag near
the center of the room. His head was lowered as he read to a boy who listened
intently and reached up now and then to swipe an unruly lock of blond hair out
of his eyes.

Had Randy been watching as she talked to Keith? she wondered
again. And had he actually been upset about it? Was it possible that he was
worried that she might be interested in Keith? The idea gave her a small spark
of hope. But then she noticed Sara Sawyer sitting on the sleeping bag beside
Randy's, and she frowned.

"Come on, Jana," said Megan. "You're supposed
to be reading."

Jana jerked her attention back to the book. "Oh, yeah.
Sorry." When she finished the story, she handed the book back to Megan and
asked, "Okay, what next?"

"Here." Megan pulled another book out of the
canvas bag beside her.

"
Charlotte's Web
, huh?" said Jana. "That's
a good one." With one last look in Randy's direction she opened the book
and began to read.

At seven-thirty Mrs. Hawley blew a whistle to signal that it
was time to stop reading. Megan counted up the pages they had covered and
scurried up to the librarian's desk to give her their total.

As the second-graders streamed toward Mrs. Hawley, Jana
sneaked another glance at Randy. To her relief he was just sitting there,
looking around and not paying much attention to anybody. Curtis Trowbridge and
Whitney Larkin were directly in front of him, and Whitney had stretched across
her sleeping bag and was talking to Curtis.

Out of the corner of her eye Jana could see Keith trying to
get her attention. Rats! she thought. Why can't he take the hint and just leave
me alone?

"Psst. Jana!" Keith called.

Jana let out a sharp breath and was considering giving Keith
a dirty look when she saw Sara lean over and tap Randy on the shoulder. Jana
narrowed her eyes and watched Randy smile at Sara, and the two of them lapsed
into conversation. Keith was still trying to attract Jana's attention, but Jana
ignored him, unable to take her eyes off Randy and Sara.

"All right, everyone," called Mrs. Hawley. "Great
news! Forty-five second-graders and their Book Buddies have read a total of one
thousand two hundred thirty-six pages!"

A big cheer went up, and when the noise died down, Mrs.
Hawley announced that they would all play a musical game for the next half hour
to stretch their legs before going back to reading.

Jana avoided looking at Keith all through the game, even
though she could feel him looking at her. When they settled back down to
reading, Jana breathed a sigh of relief that for the next half hour, at least,
she wouldn't have to worry about Keith. Megan stretched out on her stomach and
propped herself up on her elbows as Jana picked up the story where she had left
off.

She was just finishing chapter two when something whizzed by
her face and dropped into the open book in her lap. Startled, Jana looked down
at a piece of paper folded and refolded into a tiny square. Probably a note
from Beth, she thought, telling me about her latest scheme for getting Keith
back.

Megan was gazing off into the distance, listening to the
story, and hadn't noticed, so Jana unfolded the note with one hand as she
continued to read aloud.

The instant she opened the note, she was sorry. It wasn't
from Beth, after all. It was from Keith! Even worse, he had drawn a big heart
in the center of the page, and inside the heart he had written:

Keith Masterson
+
Jana Morgan

Jana stopped reading in midsentence, and she could feel heat
climbing up her neck and spreading over her face. What is the matter with
Keith, anyway? she thought. What does it take to get through to him?

"What's that, Jana?" asked Megan. She was leaning
forward, trying to see the note.

"Oh, nothing," Jana mumbled. She folded the paper
again and put it down on the sleeping bag beside her leg, promising herself
that she would deal with it later.

This time the half hour of reading seemed endless. Jana
tried to keep her mind on the story for Megan's sake, but too many thoughts jumbled
together in her mind. Randy and Sara's looking so interested in each other.
Keith's not taking no for an answer. Beth's seeming suspicious about Jana's
talking to Keith. What could go wrong next?

Finally Mrs. Hawley blew her whistle again. Megan counted
the pages and scurried to turn in their tally. Refreshments would be next, and
Jana scrambled to her feet and eyed the table covered with cookies, brownies,
and glasses of juice. She was more than ready for a snack.

She had hardly gotten to her feet when she was almost
knocked down again by Beth, who had spider-walked across half a dozen sleeping
bags and she grabbed the note off the floor as she jumped to her feet beside
Jana.

"What did he say?" Beth cried excitedly. "I
saw Keith pitch this note in your lap. Does it say he wants to get back
together with me?"

Jana watched in horror as Beth fumbled with the square piece
of paper.

"No!" yelled Jana. "Give that to me!"

Beth looked at Jana in surprise as she continued to unfold
the paper. "But—"

"I said, give it to me!" Jana demanded. Her hand
flew out, and she grabbed at the note, tearing it in half.

A crowd of kids was gathering now to see what all the
yelling was about, and Jana could see Randy staring at her with a shocked
expression. She couldn't react. Everything seemed to be happening in slow
motion.

Beth was looking down at the two halves of the note,
suspended in the air from their outstretched hands like pieces of a jigsaw
puzzle. Now she was looking up at Jana, her eyes filled with pain. Slowly Beth's
mouth opened and formed Jana's name.

"It says, 'Keith Masterson plus Jana Morgan!"'
Beth cried. "How could you? You're supposed to be my best friend, and you
stole my boyfriend!"

"But, Beth! You don't understand!" Jana protested.
"I didn't steal your boyfriend. Keith's been asking me out now that I'm
not going steady with Randy, that's all."

"Oh, yeah! I've seen you two with your heads together.
And you tried to make me think you were talking about me!"

Jana grabbed Beth's arm and pulled her to the side of the
room. "Beth!" she insisted, glaring at the crowd of kids staring
goggle-eyed at them. "Everybody will hear you!"

"I hope everybody
does
hear me," Beth
snapped. "I couldn't figure out why in the world you broke up with Randy,
but now I understand. You wanted
Keith!
In fact, it was probably your
idea for him to break up with me! Well, you can have him, and
I'll never
speak to you again!
"

Jana gathered her things and left the library before the
others were up the next morning, making an excuse to Mrs. Hawley that she wasn't
feeling well. She didn't want to hang around and have to face Beth again, much
less Randy or Keith.

When she got home, she said a quick hello to her mother and
Pink and went to her room, pacing the floor and thinking about her incredible
fight with Beth. They had been best friends practically forever, and they had
never had an argument this big before. Beth had whirled off like a tornado
after her big outburst, leaving Jana feeling humiliated and totally alone.

"Of course Beth's totally hyper," she reminded herself
aloud, "especially when it comes to Keith. And when she saw the note, she
was too upset to listen to reason. But
still
, she should know I would
never do such a terrible thing."

Why hadn't Keith come to her rescue and explained the truth?
Or why hadn't Randy stuck up for her? He knew what kind of girl she was. But
neither of them had said anything. They had left her to face Beth's anger
alone.

I have to talk to somebody, she thought a while later. She
looked at her watch, amazed at how much time had passed. It was two o'clock on
Sunday afternoon. Maybe she could call Katie and Melanie. They should be at
home now, and if she couldn't talk to her friends in The Fabulous Five, whom
could
she talk to?

Jana curled up on the end of the sofa and dialed Katie's
number. It rang only once before Katie answered.

"Hi, Katie. It's Jana," she began, suddenly
realizing that she hadn't planned what she was going to say.

"Oh, hi," Katie responded, and Jana thought she
sounded a little funny.

"So . . . how was your big gourmet pizza party last
night?" asked Jana hesitantly.

"Wow, it was
très
terrific," said Katie,
sounding like her old self now. "You should have tasted the pizza. I put
anchovies and zucchini on it."

Yuck! thought Jana, but she didn't say it. Instead she
asked, "How did Tony like it?"

"He thought it was delicious, even though he wasn't
very hungry."

Jana put a hand over the receiver so that Katie wouldn't
hear her giggle at the idea of Tony Calcaterra's not being hungry for pizza.
Someday somebody's going to have to explain to Katie that everyone's not crazy
about
très
gourmet food, she thought. She felt more relaxed now, so she
said, "I really need to talk to you. I've got a humongous problem with
Beth."

"Yeah . . . I heard." The funny sound came back
into Katie's voice.

Jana blinked in astonishment. "You
heard
?
"

"Beth stopped by my house on her way home from the
library, and she told me all about how you broke up with Randy and then sneaked
behind her back to get Keith. Frankly, Jana, I couldn't believe you'd do such a
thing, but obviously you did."

"Katie!" Jana cried. "Give me a break! How
can you possibly believe that? I'm one of your best friends!"

Katie didn't say anything for a minute. "I always had a
hard time buying your story about wanting to test your relationship with Randy
by breaking up and dating other boys. I mean, it just didn't make sense. But
now it does. You had a secret crush on Keith, and you had to break up with Randy
so you could go after him. I'm really surprised at you, Jana. Beth was your
best friend, and she really trusted you."

Jana drew in a sharp breath. Maybe she should have told her
friends the story about her father and her mother. No, she thought, that's
private. Mom told me about it in confidence. I couldn't tell Randy, and I can't
tell my best friends now.

Jana stared at the telephone for a long time after she and
Katie hung up. Had Beth talked to Melanie, too? If she had, there was no use in
Jana's talking to her. Melanie thought of herself as an expert on boys, and she
had been horrified when Jana broke up with Randy, calling her reason
ridiculous. What would she think now, if she had already heard Beth's side of
the story?

With a sigh, Jana called Melanie's house. Jeffy, Melanie's
six-year-old brother, answered.

"Edwards residence.
Mr.
Jeffy Edwards speaking,"
he said proudly.

Jana smiled in spite of herself "Mr. Jeffy, this is
Jana. Is Melanie there?"

"Yup," he said, and the phone clattered on the
table as he raced off, calling his sister's name.

A moment later he was back. "This is
Mr.
Jeffy
again. She said to tell you she's not home. Bye."

Before Jana could protest, the dial tone buzzed in her ear.

Jana replaced the receiver on its hook and looked around the
room in despair. Beth
had
talked to Melanie—that was obvious—and now,
just when she had thought that things couldn't possibly get worse, they had!
Katie and Melanie had taken sides with Beth. And not only were she and Randy
broken up, and Beth and Keith broken up, but it looked as if The Fabulous Five
might break up, too!

Jana dreaded going to school the next morning. Rumors always
spread like wildfire at Wakeman, and she was sure that anybody who hadn't heard
about Beth's accusations by now would before the bell rang for class. It would
make juicy gossip, the kind that would keep kids whispering behind her back for
days.

She knew the instant she reached the school ground that she
had been right. Nobody looked at her as she walked along.

She stopped when she saw Beth and Katie and Melanie standing
by the fence. She had been automatically heading that way. The Fabulous Five
met there every morning to talk and giggle and wait for the bell.

But what about today? Would they want her standing there
with them? Would they even talk to her if she went over to join them? She had
an awful feeling in the pit of her stomach that they wouldn't. They weren't
looking her way, either, but she was certain they knew she was there.

They should also know that I would never stoop so low as to
steal my best friend's boyfriend! Jana wanted to shout. I shouldn't have to
convince them of anything!

She spun around and marched off toward the building, but she
didn't go inside. Her shoulders sagged as she tried to decide what to do. She
certainly couldn't go to The Fabulous Five's spot by the fence. Still, she
couldn't help looking toward her former friends, and when she did, she saw that
Beth was looking back at her with pain in her eyes.

Jana felt her chin quiver as she fought back tears. Maybe
she should try one more time to talk to Beth. She wanted so badly to run to
Beth and hug her and remind her about how strong their friendship had always
been. How they had been able to tell each other their deepest secrets.

But just then Beth looked away.

"It's no use," Jana mumbled, and scuffed toward
the door.

Walking through the hall, she heard the sound of someone
running up behind her, and then Shawnie Pendergast called her name.

"Wait up!" Shawnie yelled as Jana turned around. "I
need to talk to you."

"Oh, hi, Shawnie," said Jana. "What's up?"

Shawnie frowned and shook her head. "Honestly, Jana, I
don't know what's wrong with you. Parker Donovan was going to ask you out
again, but then he heard all the rumors about you and Keith."

"There's nothing going on between me and Keith,"
replied Jana, bristling.

"Oh, sure. Then how come everyone is talking about how
you and Keith secretly planned to break up with Randy and Beth so that you
could go together? All the boys are talking about it, even Randy."

"Randy believes a lie like that?" screeched Jana. "You've
got to be kidding! Randy would never believe a thing like that!"

"Ha!" scoffed Shawnie. "According to what
Craig and Parker told me, Randy said he heard it from Keith himself. Even you
can't argue with that. Especially since Keith told him that you two had a date
last Friday night."

Jana stared at her, dumbfounded. She didn't know what to
say.

"Well, I've got to go. I just wanted to let you know
that you blew your chances of going out with Parker anymore, that's for sure,"
Shawnie said, turning and trotting down the hall.

Jana watched her go, thinking that she didn't
want
to
go out with Parker again. But Randy was another matter. Surely he couldn't
believe the awful rumors about her and Keith's actually going on a date. He knew
her too well. Shawnie had to be making it up!