Fabulous Five 007 - The Kissing Disaster

by Betsy Haynes

  "I can't do that," Melanie insisted. "What I mean is that I have class the rest of the afternoon and won't have time to copy them. What if I get them after school . . . say at Bumpers? You'll be there, won't you?"

  Melanie held her breath. This had to work. It just had to.

  "Okay," he said. "I'll see you at Bumpers. Bye."

  Shane peeled off in the direction of his next class, leaving Melanie feeling weak-kneed with relief. Of course The Fabulous Five would be at Bumpers after school. And of course they would see her with Shane. So what if they don't have time for me anymore, she thought. I don't have time for them anymore, either. That's life. No, she corrected herself. That's junior high.

  After school, everything went just the way she had planned. She sauntered into Bumpers, trying to look totally casual. Out of the corner of one eye she could see Beth and Katie sitting at a table. They had spotted her, too, and Katie was waving in her direction.

  "They probably just want me to come over to their table so that they can have someone to ignore," Melanie grumbled under her breath.

  Shane also spotted her just then. "Hey, Melanie," he called out. "Come on over."

  Even though Bumpers was noisy, Shane had shouted so loud that Melanie was sure her friends had heard.

  Shane was sitting with four other boys from the seventh-grade football team: Tony Sanchez, Keith Masterson, Bill Kingman, and Randy Kirwan, and he was telling them about the cow's-eyeball project when she walked up.

  ". . . and then old Dracula gets this big bowl of eyeballs out of the fridge and starts plopping them into the pans on everybody's table, and when he gets to our table . . . hey, Mel. Tell them what happened when he got to our table."

  Melanie felt herself blushing. "It was gross," she said with a nervous laugh. "Let's change the subject, okay? We could talk about the seventh-grade dance."

  "Sure," said Shane, looking apologetic, but the other guys wanted to hear more about the cow's eyeball.

  "Come on, Melanie. Tell us what happened in biology class," said Keith.

  "You can talk about it," insisted Tony. "It's all over with now."

  Suddenly Melanie realized that she had their complete attention. She glanced quickly toward The Fabulous Five's table to make sure they had all noticed that she was in the spotlight with five gorgeous football players, but Beth and Katie were still by themselves. Where were Jana and Christie? she wondered. Then she spotted Christie and Jon at the order counter. Well, anyway Beth and Katie had noticed her. And so had a lot of other kids sitting around at nearby tables. Laura McCall and her three friends were glaring in her direction. Taffy Sinclair and Mona Vaughn had actually gotten up from their table and were standing close enough to hear.

  "Well," she began, feeling like a movie star giving her first live television interview, "as Shane said, Dracula just plopped that great big gruesome eyeball into the pan on our table. It was actually staring at me!" Melanie added for effect.

  "Yew!" cried Mona.

  "Did you throw up?" asked Bill Kingman.

  "No, silly," said Melanie. "I just . . ."

  "Well, I almost did," interrupted Shawnie Pendergast. Melanie hadn't even noticed that she was nearby, but Shawnie immediately began telling everybody how she had had to run out of the room the day the project was announced.

  Gradually the crowd around the table got bigger as more and more kids heard bits and pieces of the conversation and came over to listen. Shane and she talked the most, telling in great detail about the bluish-black gel on the backs of the eyeballs and the sickening smell of formaldehyde that hung in the air and about Dracula's standing over them in his black, shiny toupee.

  Melanie tried to keep tabs on each of The Fabulous Five, but she missed seeing when any of them left. Still, it had been a wonderful afternoon. She felt more popular than she ever had in her life. Kids were crowding around her, clamoring to ask questions and hanging on to every word she said. And it wasn't until after Shane had walked her home and said good-bye that she remembered she had forgotten to borrow his notebook and copy his notes.

  CHAPTER 6

  It was midnight before Melanie finally finished her homework and switched off her bedside lamp. She was beat. The meeting of the decorations committee had been fun, especially since Derek Travelstead had paid a lot of attention to her, but it had lasted far longer than she had expected. That was mainly because Taffy Sinclair had had so many crazy ideas—such as decorating in pastel colors. Melanie closed her eyes to go to sleep, but she could still see Taffy's face and hear her voice as she argued her point.

  "Just because the dance theme is 'Wacko Wonderland' and everyone is coming dressed as a monster doesn't mean that the decorations have to be black and orange like Halloween," she had insisted. "If kids used their imaginations, they could come up with some really neat monsters instead of the same old thing."

  "Hey, I was picturing bats and spiders and stuff like that dangling from the ceiling," said Derek Travelstead, grinning at Melanie and then winking.

  "Me, too," said Jill Weinberg. "Whoever heard of pastel monsters?"

  "Did you see Ghostbusters?" Taffy challenged. "The monster in that may not have been pastel, but it was white."

  The argument had gone on and on, with Melanie reminding everybody of Shane's green and purple and yellow dinosaur for the parent project. Curtis mentioned that Alf was orange, and someone else said that Alf was an alien from another planet and not a monster. Then the subject had switched to Mr. Dracovitch.

  "I suppose that if we all come as pastel monsters, someone will have to talk Dracula into showing up in a blond wig instead of his regular black one," offered Chandra.

  Alexis had laughed like crazy. "It certainly might help his image," she said.

  The meeting had finally broken up without any real decisions made. Everybody had agreed to think things over before the meeting next Tuesday.

  Chuckling to herself, Melanie turned over to go to sleep, wondering if her dreams would be filled with pastel monsters.

  Jana was standing alone at The Fabulous Five's spot by the fence the next morning when Melanie got to school. She had wondered where Jana was at Bumpers the day before and if she had seen the way Shane and she had entertained the crowd with stories about Dracula and the eyeball project.

  She was debating whether or not to join Jana at the fence when Garrett Boldt came loping toward her, his camera swinging from the strap over his shoulder. Garrett was an eighth-grader and sports photographer for the yearbook, and he was totally gorgeous. He was also one of the boys Melanie had a crush on.

  "Hey, Melanie. How's it going?"

  "Hey, yourself," she shot back, and gave him her most dazzling smile. "Everything's great."

  He fell into step beside her. "That was one funny story you and Shane told at Bumpers yesterday. Leave it to old Dracula to come up with something new this year. When I took biology last year, all we got to dissect was your standard frog."

  "Frogs. Eyeballs. If you ask me, they're all gross," Melanie admitted.

  Garrett stopped and looked thoughtful. "You know," he began, "you should talk to Jana and Funny about getting some pictures of you guys working on your eyeballs for the seventh-grade section of The Wigwam. It would be a riot."

  Melanie cast a sidelong glance toward Jana. "Terrific idea," she said, wondering why she hadn't thought of it herself. "I'd better go talk to Jana about it right now," she added.

  Garrett went off toward some friends, and Melanie headed for the fence where Jana stood. This time it was Dekeisha Adams and Mandy McDermott who stopped her.

  "I can't stop laughing about you guys and your cows' eyeballs," said Mandy, immediately breaking into a fit of giggles.

  "Me, either," said Dekeisha. "That's the funniest story I ever heard. I almost wish I was in that class."

  "Not me!" insisted Mandy. "I'd die if I had to touch one of those things."

  Then Dekeisha began talking about the dance and how glad she was that she was on the pub
licity committee with Melanie, so that by the time Melanie was able to get away from them, the first bell was ringing. And when she looked toward the spot by the fence, Jana was already gone. As upset as she was at The Fabulous Five for practically snubbing her lately, she couldn't help feeling a little bit disappointed that she had to walk to the lockers alone. It seemed strange not to be doing everything together. Oh, well, she thought with a sigh, I'll get a chance to talk to them in the cafeteria at lunch. I can ask Jana then about taking the biology-class picture for the yearbook.

  All through her morning classes Melanie kept thinking about her friends. Maybe she had been wrong to believe they weren't interested in her anymore. Maybe they even thought she was snubbing them. Still, she reasoned, no matter what subject she had tried to bring up lately, they all seemed to want to talk about something else. And The Fabulous Five hadn't been spending much time together these days, either. It was as if they were all starting to go their own separate ways. The stories she had heard must be true. This was the way it was supposed to be in junior high.

  When the lunch bell rang, she pushed her way through the crowded halls toward the cafeteria. She had made up her mind to give them one last chance. She would sit with her friends and act as if nothing were wrong between them.

  "Hi, gang," she said, plopping her lunch bag down on the table. Christie and Jana were already there, and they both looked up and returned her greeting. Katie and Beth had come in behind her, and Melanie waited patiently for everyone to get settled at the table before she began her story about biology class.

  "Wait until I tell you guys what old Dracula is making us dissect in biology class," she began.

  "A cow's eyeball," said Katie. "We heard all about it from Shawnie Pendergast."

  "Oh," said Melanie, feeling deflated. "Well, it's really a gross thing to look at, all bluish-black and yucky."

  "Do we have to talk about it at lunch?" asked Christie. She faked sticking her finger down her throat to throw up and rolled her eyes at Melanie.

  "I agree," said Jana. "It's disgusting."

  Melanie shrugged and took a bite of her tuna sandwich. It tasted like cardboard. So what if cows' eyeballs were disgusting? she thought. It would still make a funny picture for the yearbook. She sighed and then remembered the seventh-grade dance. Surely they would want to talk about that.

  She started to speak and then stopped. Around the table conversation was starting again. Katie was telling Jana about a case that had come before Teen Court the week before. Christie and Beth were discussing a math assignment. But no one was saying a word to her. They were ignoring her. Acting as if she weren't even there. Plus, no one had even mentioned her invitation to sleep over Saturday night after they had all acted so sad when they turned her down. It was as if she didn't exist anymore.

  Melanie looked down at her sandwich. She had only taken one bite, but one bite was enough. There was no way she could eat any more of it. She gathered up her belongings and glanced around the table one more time before standing up to leave. Her old friends were still deep in their own conversations. No one would even notice when she was gone.

  This is junior high, she reminded herself. Friendships change. It's going to be fun being friends with Mandy and Dekeisha and Alexis and Jill and all the others. And she hurried away to look for her new friends.

  CHAPTER 7

  When Melanie left the cafeteria, the first person she saw was Funny Hawthorne.

  "Hi, Melanie," Funny called out in her usual bubbly way as they passed in the hall.

  "Hi, Funny," said Melanie. She whirled around and reached out to stop Funny. "By the way, have you heard about Dracula's biology project yet?"

  "Sure," said Funny. "It's all over school. What a scream."

  "Have you thought about getting some pictures of kids working on their eyeballs for the seventh-grade section of the yearbook?"

  "Wow! What a terrific idea," cried Funny. "What time do you have the class?"

  "First period after lunch."

  "Excellent. I have study hall then. I'll get a camera from the yearbook staff room and see if I can get permission to come into the class and shoot pictures. I'd better run if I'm going to get all that done before the bell rings."

  Funny took off down the hall and then skidded to a stop. "Melanie," she called over her shoulder, "thanks a million for the idea."

  Melanie nodded and watched with mixed feelings as Funny raced toward the yearbook staff room. She really should have told Jana. After all, they had been best friends for ages. But another part of her was glad that she had told Funny instead.

  She wandered out of the building and sat down on the front steps. She had remembered to borrow Shane's biology notes in English class this morning, and this was a good time to copy them. She certainly wouldn't have time to do it tonight because the music committee was having its first meeting and Miss Dickinson had given a huge reading assignment in English. She would probably be up late again tonight. Just thinking about it made her tired.

  She yawned and shook the cobwebs from her head, trying to focus on copying the biology notes. Instead, her mind wandered. Why did things always have to get so complicated? she wondered. If her friends hadn't started snubbing her in the first place, she wouldn't have to work so hard to make new friends. She sat there for a long time staring off into space and thinking about the situation with her friends. Sometimes she felt like crying when she thought about the great times they had had together. No matter how she tried to fake it, making new friends would never be the same.

  The bell rang, interrupting her thoughts. She still hadn't finished copying Shane's biology notes and it was time for class. Maybe she could borrow them again later.

  When she got to the biology room, Funny was waiting for her, standing beside the row of cages where Mr. Dracovitch kept his menagerie, and wearing her usual big smile. There was a camera in her hand.

  When Melanie walked up, Funny pointed to the cages and asked, "You don't have to dissect any of these, do you?"

  Melanie chuckled. "No. They're just his pets. The two crows are Heckle and Jeckle, after the cartoon crows, and the snake is named Sirloin Snake. Isn't that hysterical?"

  Funny nodded. "It's all set up," she said. "Mr. Dracovitch was really nice about letting me take pictures during the class." Looking toward the teacher, she covered her mouth with her hand and whispered, "Does he know yet that he gets to be a chaperon for our monster dance?"

  Melanie shrugged. "I don't know. I guess it's up to Curtis to invite him. He's the dance chairman."

  "Mr. Dracovitch will be perfect," said Funny. "Clarence Marshall swears that he brings formaldehyde instead of coffee in his thermos."

  "Oh, come on," said Melanie. "That's silly. Besides, how would Clarence know a thing like that?"

  "Do you remember when Clarence had to be hall monitor for a week when Teen Court found him guilty of fighting with Tony Calcaterra?"

  Melanie nodded.

  "Well, according to Clarence, he had to take a phone message to someone in the teachers' lounge, and he saw Dracula pour formaldehyde out of the thermos, into a cup, and then take a drink. He said he knew it was formaldehyde because he could smell it all the way across the room."

  "All right, class," called Mr. Dracovitch suddenly. "Time to take your seats and get started."

  Melanie drifted to her seat, feeling strange about what Funny had just told her. Clarence Marshall wasn't the most trustworthy person in the world, of course. But Mr. Dracovitch was a little weird. Surely he realized that his toupee made him look exactly like Dracula. Was there some reason he wore such a black, shiny one and pulled it so far down on his forehead? Why couldn't he wear a brown, curly wig? Or a blond one? And hadn't he said the first day of the experiment that he liked the smell of formaldehyde? Was it possible that he liked it well enough to drink it?

  When everyone was seated, Mr. Dracovitch started talking about how the eye worked. He discussed the pupil and the lens and the retina and then sa
id the class was ready to begin dissecting their cows' eyeballs to see what all these parts looked like.

  When they got to the dissecting tables, Mr. Dracovitch allowed Funny to wander around, taking pictures of first one team and then another. Shane crossed his eyes and stuck out his tongue, hamming it up and pretending he was dying when she stopped at their table.

  "Cut it out, Shane," Melanie whispered. "Don't you want her to choose our picture for the yearbook?"

  Shane gave her a surprised look. "Yeah, you're right," he said. He picked up the big, bluish-black eyeball and held it high.

  "Grab on," he instructed Melanie. "Then we'll give her our toothiest grins. She'll never be able to pass up a photo like that."

  "You've got to be kidding," Melanie muttered. She hadn't meant for him to carry things that far.

  "Think of the publicity," said Shane. "And hurry up. Formaldehyde is running down my arm."

  Melanie shook her head at Shane in wonder, but she had to admit it would be good publicity. She could certainly use every bit she could get. She took a deep breath and slowly reached for the eyeball, being careful not to look at it. She flinched slightly when her fingers touched the slimy thing, but she held the pose and smiled her best at Funny as the camera flashed.

  CHAPTER 8

  Melanie was fifteen minutes late arriving for the music committee meeting. She had been hurrying as fast as she could ever since she got home from school, but there was just simply too much to do and too little time now that she was attending dance committee meetings every single night of the week.

  She pushed open the media center door and eased in quietly. Shane, Joel Murphy, Laura McCall, Brad Eisenhauer, and Jon Smith were seated at a library table listening to Curtis, who had the floor.

  "We aren't going to have much money to work with," Curtis was saying. He paused when he noticed Melanie enter the room.

  She looked toward the table and was surprised to see Shane motioning her to an empty chair on his left. It was all that Melanie could do to keep from shooting a triumphant look in Laura's direction as she ducked across the room and dropped into the chair.