Fabulous Five 001 - Seventh-Grade Rumors

by Betsy Haynes

  "What's going on between you and Funny Hawthorne?" Katie challenged before Jana could even get her locker door open. "Every time I look around I see the two of you talking together."

  "And laughing," added Christie. "Don't you like your old friends anymore?"

  "First Beth deserts The Fabulous Five and now you," added Melanie.

  Jana was stunned. "Hey, you guys. Hold on a minute. Since when is it a crime to talk to somebody outside The Fabulous Five?"

  "It's not a crime," Christie insisted. "It's just that we get the feeling that you'd rather be with her than us, which is really strange since she's one of them."

  "Right," said Katie. "After all of the things we've heard about The Fantastic Foursome."

  "So, did it ever occur to you that some of those rumors might not be true? Besides, what have you heard about Funny Hawthorne? That she's a bubblehead? Well, let me tell you, she's just a nice person. That's all. She happens to have a great sense of humor. I suppose that makes her a bubblehead, right? If that's the case, I'd be happy if people called me a bubblehead, too."

  Spinning around, Jana stomped off, leaving her bewildered friends staring after her.

  CHAPTER 9

  "They think I'm a traitor," Jana complained at the dinner table. She had just finished telling her mother about the terrible scene at her locker after school. "They think I'm being disloyal to them—my old friends—just because I've made a new friend. It isn't fair. No. It's worse than that. It's STUPID."

  Mrs. Morgan was quiet for a moment, studying the swirls in her coffee as she slowly stirred it. "It sounds to me as if they're worried."

  "Why would they be worried?" asked Jana.

  "They think that you don't like them anymore. Maybe they just need reassuring. Did you tell them that nothing has changed the way you feel about them?"

  "Of course not," Jana snapped. "I don't have to tell them a thing like that. They know. Besides, why wouldn't I like them now just as much as always?"

  Her mother shrugged. "You've got me," she said, smiling sympathetically. "It never hurts to remind people of how you feel about them, though."

  "If you ask me, they ought to trust me. I mean, we've been friends forever. I shouldn't have to go around saying, 'I really like you! I really like you!' like some kind of broken record."

  Her mother didn't answer. Jana was silent for the rest of the meal, too. It didn't make sense that her friends would think she didn't like them anymore. They were just jealous. And that didn't make sense, either, after all the years they had been friends. But it was true.

  That still didn't explain Beth, Jana thought with a sigh. She hadn't told her mother about that yet. What was the use, anyway? Her mom would say what grown-ups always said, talk to her and work things out. How could she talk to Beth when Beth wouldn't talk back?

  The phone rang, jolting Jana out of her thoughts.

  "It's for you," her mother said. Then she put her hand over the mouthpiece and added with a smile, "This call might just make things a little better."

  "Hi."

  Jana felt like melting down into her shoes at the sound of Randy Kirwan's voice. "Hi, back," she said softly.

  "How is school going?" he asked. "Did you get any good teachers?"

  "Besides Mr. Neal, I got Miss Dickinson for English. She looks as if she's going to be fun. How about you?"

  "No. Nobody special. I'm more interested in football. With the Mark Twain guys and some of the Riverfield and Copper Beach guys going out, we ought to have a good team."

  Jana had an instant vision of Randy's scoring a touchdown with the crowd cheering, just the same way it used to happen at Mark Twain Elementary.

  "Are you going to the movie and then to Bumpers Friday night?" he asked. "It should be a lot of fun."

  "Probably," she said, and then crossed her fingers behind her back. "I haven't asked Mom yet, though."

  "Scott and Mark and I talked about going. I hope you go. I'll see you there if you do."

  Jana thought she heard his voice get softer when he said that, and it made her feel good all over. They talked a little while longer, and when they hung up, Jana decided that her mother had been right. That telephone call had made things better.

  In her room a little while later, Jana thought again about what her mother had said about her friends. Maybe she should call Katie and Christie and Melanie. Not to reassure them, as her mother had suggested, but to find out what was wrong with them. She could call them one at a time and ask them why they were acting so . . . so . . . so stupid. She hated to use that word, but it seemed to be the only one that fit.

  "Stupid. Stupid. Stupid," she whispered over and over again, but instead of the anger she expected to feel, helpless tears flashed into her eyes.

  A little while later she heard the phone ring again, and then her mother's voice called out, "Jana, it's for you."

  Rats! she thought. The truth of the matter was that she didn't want to talk to anyone. Not Katie. Not Christie. Not Melanie. She thought about pretending to be asleep, but she knew her mother would never let her get away with that. Dragging herself away from her desk, Jana went to the phone and barely mumbled hello.

  "It's me, Funny," came a bubbly voice. "Is everything okay?"

  Jana stared at the phone in surprise. "Sure," she lied. "Everything's fine. Why?"

  "It's just that I noticed the look you got from your two friends when we were standing in the hall before history class. And then I was near the front door when you came barreling out after school. You were all by yourself and you looked furious. I just thought maybe something was wrong."

  Jana didn't answer. It wasn't her so-called friends calling, the ones who were causing her problems. No, it was Funny. Kind, caring Funny—her new friend.

  "I'll bet I'm the problem," Funny added shyly.

  "Well . . . sort of," Jana confessed. "They think I'm a traitor for being friends with you."

  "Believe me, I understand. Laura has been giving me a hard time about you, too. She keeps saying things like, 'You seem to be forgetting who your real friends are. We've stuck together through thick and thin.' Things like that."

  "And what's so ridiculous is that they're really super friends," Jana went on. "I just don't understand what's wrong with them."

  Funny sighed deeply. "Well, I don't want to come between you and your friends. The other thing I called to say was that you don't have to try for seventh-grade coeditor of the yearbook with me at the sign-up meeting next week if you'd rather not. I'll understand."

  "I want to!" Jana practically shouted the words into the phone, surprising herself at the feeling of determination that was swelling within her. "Nobody is going to tell me who to be friends with." Then she added in a softer voice, "But you don't have to, either, if it's going to make your friends mad."

  "I think my friends should understand," said Funny, "and if they don't understand, they're not my friends."

  "You're right. What we really ought to do is meet and walk to school together in the morning. When they see that they can't intimidate us, maybe they'll leave us alone and let us be friends."

  "Do you want to?" asked Funny.

  "Sure. Do you?"

  "Okay," said Funny. "Where shall we meet?"

  Jana thought a minute. It should be a few blocks from school. A place where they could meet without many kids seeing them so that they could pull their act together before making a grand entrance on the school ground. Maybe even the same place she and the rest of The Fabulous Five had met on the first morning of school. "Do you know the corner by Nugent's Grocerv?"

  "Sure."

  "Great. Be there at eight-thirty, and we'll march onto the school ground together and really give our friends something to talk about."

  The girls talked for a little while longer. After they hung up and Jana was back in her room, she couldn't help wondering if she had done the right thing. What if it backfired? What if she lost her old friends and things didn't work out with Funny? Where would
she be then?

  She drummed her fingertips on her desk and thought again about calling Christie, Katie, and Melanie. Maybe they really were so insecure that they needed to hear that she still liked them. But did she? After the way they were treating her? she asked herself. It was a puzzle that didn't seem to have an answer.

  Sliding into bed, she reached over and turned Randy's picture so that she could see him better. She smiled at him before she turned off the lamp and drifted off to sleep.

  CHAPTER 10

  Funny was bouncing up and down in eager anticipation, and she began waving wildly when she saw Jana headed her way the next morning.

  "Wow! I don't know why I'm so nervous," said Funny. "I had an awful time getting to sleep last night. I just kept thinking about what everyone will say when they see us coming to school together."

  Jana smiled weakly. "Me, too," she admitted. "You don't want to chicken out, do you?"

  "No," said Jana. "Not unless you do."

  Funny squared her shoulders. "Nope," she said defiantly. "I've made up my mind, so let's go."

  Jana looked at her new friend with admiration. Funny definitely wasn't a bubblehead.

  When they walked onto the school ground, Jana had the crazy feeling that she had just stepped into the center of a stage. It seemed as if everyone stopped to look at the two of them. Even kids they didn't know.

  "This is weird," she whispered.

  "It's probably just our imagination," said Funny.

  Jana nodded, but she could see the other members of The Fabulous Five standing by the fence staring as if they were seeing ghosts. Near the front door, Laura and the rest of The Fantastic Foursome were staring, too. So were Alexis Duvall, Sara Sawyer, and Lisa Snow, who were clustered on the sidewalk.

  "Say something funny," Jana ordered. "Then we'll laugh like crazy, make a mad dash for the building, and duck inside."

  "Oh, sure," said Funny. "Just like that, I'm supposed to turn into a comedian."

  "Okay, tell me about Shane Arrington. I heard that he has a pet iguana."

  This time Funny actually did burst out laughing. "Oh, so you've heard about Igor?"

  Jana faked a big laugh and looked straight at Funny so that she wouldn't have to meet anyone else's eyes. "Yeah, Igor!" she cried. "Isn't he hysterical?"

  Funny caught on to the trick, and the two of them ignored everyone and giggled wildly as they headed into the building, collapsing against the water fountain once they were safely inside and out of sight of the others.

  Now Funny was giggling for real. "Wasn't that a blast? And did you catch the looks on everybody's faces when they saw us together?"

  "Did I ever? I guess we showed them."

  Things were great, Jana thought, so long as Funny and she could stick together. They knew people were watching them whisper and talk as if they had been best friends for ages. It was fun, but Jana's nervousness returned when the first bell rang and she made her way through the crowded halls toward homeroom. Laura McCall was in that homeroom, and so were her friends Tammy Lucero and Melissa McConnell. That was bad enough, but so was one of her own best friends, Christie Winchell.

  Jana got there first and scrunched down into her seat, wishing she could become invisible. As much as she wanted to show her friends that she had a right to be independent and make other friends, the thought of any of them being truly angry with her was awful. What should I do when Christie comes into the room? Jana wondered. Should I look up and say hi as if nothing has happened? Or should I wait for her to say something to me first? What a choice, Jana thought. If I look up first, it will give her the perfect opportunity to snub me. But if I don't look up, she'll think I'm snubbing her.

  If only Randy would come in now, she thought. If only he would stop at my desk, give me one of his 1,000-watt smiles and say "Hi, Jana" in his gorgeous, masculine voice.

  "Hi, Jana," said a masculine voice.

  Hopeful, she glanced up into a smiling face. The only trouble was, it belonged to Curtis Trowbridge.

  "Hi, Curtis," she mumbled, and thought, Rats! Why did it have to be him? Then, in a flash of inspiration, her face brightened and she added, "So what do you think of Wacko Junior High?"

  It wasn't that she really cared what Curtis thought about anything, but if she could involve herself in a conversation with someone, even nerd-of-the-world Curtis, then she wouldn't have to make the first move when Christie came in. How could she speak to Christie if she was busy talking to Curtis?

  Curtis's smile stretched wider, and he literally leapt down the aisle and landed beside her desk. "It's terrific! I like all my classes and every single one of my teachers."

  Jana groaned inwardly. Nobody but Curtis would go around shouting about how much he liked his classes and his teachers. She forced herself to smile at him and say, "That's great, Curtis. That's really great."

  Glancing around Curtis, she saw that Christie had just sat down at her desk. There was an angry look on her face that made Jana cringe.

  Suddenly Curtis's voice cut into her thoughts. "Well, are you?" he was insisting.

  "Oh, sorry, Curtis," Jana stammered. "I missed that question. What did you want to know?"

  "If you're going to join the newspaper staff." There was an exasperated sound in his voice.

  Before she could answer him, the bell rang, and Mr. Neal motioned everyone to their seats and began taking roll. Jana breathed a sigh of relief. Her plan had worked. She had avoided having to look at Christie. Out of the corner of her eye she could see that Christie was staring straight ahead. The stony expression was still on her face.

  Jana looked away. Maybe she had been wrong to avoid speaking to Christie. Now Christie probably thought it was Jana who didn't want to speak. She started to sneak another look at Christie when she realized that Christie was looking at her. Eek! thought Jana. What should I do now?

  Taking a deep breath, she turned her head slowly toward her friend. She would look at Christie, maybe even smile, and see what happened. But Christie turned her head abruptly, looking away from Jana before their eyes could meet.

  Now what? thought Jana. Maybe if I stare at her, she'll have to look back. I'll even give her a big smile to show her that if there's a problem between us, it's all her fault.

  Jana answered when her name was called and then took a deep breath, slowly swinging her eyes around toward Christie. Christie fidgeted slightly, and a spot of color appeared on her cheek, but she continued to stare straight ahead. She knows I'm looking at her, Jana thought. Why doesn't she look back?

  Snapping her eyes forward again, Jana opened her notebook. She would die before she would let Christie make a fool out of her. Grabbing her pencil, she began doodling. Anything to look busy, she thought. I don't have time for stuck-up friends.

  When the bell rang ending homeroom, Christie was the first one out of her seat and through the door. It was only then that Jana looked down to see what she had doodled all over the page:

  T-R-A-I-T-O-R

  CHAPTER 11

  Jana stayed glued to her seat while the rest of the class filed out of homeroom. She was staring at the doodles on the page.

  T-R-A-I-T-O-R

  T-R-A-I-T-O-R

  T-R-A-I-T-O-R

  I'm not a traitor, she thought stubbornly, but still, it was pretty obvious that her friends saw her that way.

  She made it to English class just as the bell was ringing. Fortunately Funny had saved her a seat, and she sank into it just as Miss Dickinson was announcing the assignment. She gave Funny a quick smile and opened her book. Deep down she was glad that there wasn't time for conversation with Funny. As much as she liked her new friend, a lump the size of a tennis ball formed in her throat every time she thought about Melanie, Christie, Katie, and especially Beth. She couldn't just abandon them completely and spend all of her time with Funny. It wasn't the same. Something was missing. There were no memories of things they had done together the way there were with her old friends. With The Fabulous Five she had mem
ories of good times. Even of bad times. Hadn't Laura reminded Funny that they had stuck together through thick and thin? She had been talking about the very same thing, only Jana hadn't realized what she meant until Christie had refused to look at her in homeroom.

  Thick and thin, she mused, thinking of all their problems with Taffy Sinclair. The club they'd had against Taffy. The time she got a part on a soap opera. The time she blackmailed Jana! Her friends had stuck by her and helped her out of every one of those dilemmas. They had helped her in her romance with Randy Kirwan, too. Wonderful Randy, who was not only the handsomest boy in the world but the kindest and most sincere, also. She thought about his call last night. What would he think of her if he suspected that she was abandoning her best friends? The thought hit her like a bolt of lightning. She couldn't lose Randy Kirwan. She just couldn't.

  Morning classes went on as usual, but Jana hardly noticed what was going on. Her mind was on her friends in The Fabulous Five and the misunderstanding that was growing between them. Maybe Mom was right, she thought. Even though they should know that they were special to her without being told, if they needed reassuring, she would do it. At lunch period, she thought. I'll do it then. It was amazing how easy it would be now that she thought about it. She would simply march up to their table and say that she had something to talk about. Then she would explain how much she still wanted to be friends with them. Surely they would listen, and when they did, everything would be all right again. She would explain about Funny, too. About how she was a nice person, not a bubblehead, and how they ought to give her a chance.

  Jana was actually humming to herself as she got her lunch out of her locker and headed for the cafeteria. Her plan was going to work. She was sure it would. She forced herself to hang back a little, letting the lunchroom fill up so that her friends would be sure to be there when she went in. She giggled to herself, feeling a little like Taffy Sinclair making a grand entrance. That's okay, she told herself. It's for a fabulous cause.