by Betsy Haynes
Beth nodded. She had been listening to their talk, but her mind had been only half on what they were saying. The other half had been on Keith.
"I still wish someone would tell on them," Jana went on.
"Maybe I will," said Beth, feeling suddenly brave.
"Whoa, Barry," spoke up Katie. "There you go again, jumping off the deep end. What good would it do? You don't have proof. They wouldn't be arrested."
"And even with proof, everybody else would turn against you and call you a fink," said Melanie. "If you ask me, it's a lost cause."
"Well, I'll tell you a cause that isn't lost," Christie said triumphantly. "The celebrity auction. Jon called last night with the name of a book that has the addresses for all kinds of celebrities and public figures."
"Terrific!" everyone shouted.
"Can we borrow it?" asked Beth.
"No," murmured Christie. "His parents said that we'd have to get it from the library because their copy can't leave the television station. But that's no big deal."
"Right," said Katie. "Let's all go to the library together tonight after dinner. That way we can start copying down addresses right away. Is that all right with everybody? Is anyone busy tonight?"
Beth's thoughts flashed to Keith, and she shook her head.
"Okay, then. It's settled," Katie said. "Now all we have to do is spread the word."
"We need to talk to more than just seventh-graders, too," said Beth. "We'll have to get the eighth- and ninth-graders involved if this is going to be a real success."
"Why don't we split up and see how many kids each of us can talk to before the bell rings?" suggested Christie.
"Good idea," said Jana. "We could even sit with different kids at lunch and really talk up the auction."
"Anything to keep from having to make posters again," said Melanie. "After the school election last fall and then the Christmas project to save the animals, I'm absolutely postered out!"
"Me, too," said Beth with a laugh. But deep down she wasn't laughing. If The Fabulous Five stayed apart all day talking up the auction, it would be ages before she would get to talk to her friends about her troubles with Keith. Not that they could do anything, but she was about to burst with anger and frustration. She really needed someone to talk to.
By the time The Fabulous Five met again in Bumpers after school, they had each talked to dozens of students from all three grades.
"Just about everybody I spoke to likes the idea of the auction," Melanie reported. "And some of them are dying to write to their favorite stars, but most of them don't want to turn the money over to the school."
"Right," said Jana. "It's the same old story. They're asking why we should try to prove anything when nobody will listen anyway. I keep trying to explain to them that people will listen, but lots of them won't believe me. They say that the only way adults will be convinced is if the police catch the ones who did it, but they won't. You know that as well as I do."
"I think the best thing we can do is get the whole thing started," said Beth. "Once they see how much fun we're having and how the celebrities are responding, I'll bet that just about everybody will want to be involved."
"I agree," said Katie. "We'll work on convincing them that we have to turn the money over to the school later."
"Hey, guys. I just thought of something awful," said Melanie. "What if none of the celebrities answers our letters?"
Beth stared at her. She had never considered a possibility like that.
CHAPTER 12
"I asked my mom who some of the celebrities were that kids in her generation liked," said Katie. "I thought that if we could get donations from some of them, our parents might buy them."
"Good thinking," said Beth, and the others nodded their agreement.
The Fabulous Five were sitting at a table in the reference section of the public library. They had just taken a book off the shelf entitled New Address Book: How to Reach Anyone Who's Anyone, and they were trying to decide whom to look up first.
"So, who did your mother name?" asked Christie.
"Oooooh," groaned Katie. "She gave me a list as long as my arm. Let's see, there's Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones, Chicago, the Beach Boys, Joe Namath . . ."
"Who's Joe Namath?" asked Melanie, wrinkling her nose.
"He was a professional football player and a swinging bachelor," Katie told her.
"Well, I personally think you should write to all those old guys," said Melanie. "I'm going to write to Jason Rider. He's the one I was telling you about. He plays Chad on Interns and Lovers."
Beth chuckled to herself. Interns and Lovers was the soap opera Taffy Sinclair had had a teensy part in last year in sixth grade. The Fabulous Five had all watched it for a while, and she remembered Chad. Melanie was right. He was a hunk!
"Let's not leave out people who are popular now," urged Christie. "Not only will Wacko kids buy their things, but think of all the high school kids who might come."
By the time the library closed at nine and Beth's father had picked them up in the Barrys' ancient van, Beth had totaled up seventy-nine addresses copied between the five of them. They had addresses for River Phoenix, Debbie Gibson, Tom Cruise, David Letterman, Bon Jovi, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and tons more including all the old guys, as Melanie had called them, from Katie's mom's list. They had also agreed to have a meeting of The Fabulous Five at Jana's on Saturday morning to get the project organized and then another meeting at Bumpers on Saturday afternoon and invite any Wacko kids who were interested in helping with the celebrity auction.
"Remember, guys, we have to talk this up like crazy at school tomorrow if we're going to make it work," said Christie when she climbed out of the van in front of her house.
When the last of her friends had been dropped off, Beth squeezed into the front passenger seat beside Agatha, who liked to ride with her head out the window, and hugged the huge dog for the rest of the ride home.
When they turned onto the Barrys' street, Beth sat up straight again and turned to her father. "Thanks, Dad. My friends and I really appreciate the ride home from the library."
"Anytime," he said with a smile. "What was it for? Some school project?"
Beth winced. She hadn't mentioned the celebrity auction at home because she didn't want to bring up the vandalism at school and risk hearing her father complain about today's kids again. But she was caught now. She would have to tell him about it.
"We were getting the addresses of a lot of celebrities," she began, trying to choose her words carefully. "You see, a lot of us at Wakeman feel pretty bad about the vandalism. We also don't like it that everybody thinks all of us are alike. So I got the idea of holding a celebrity auction to raise enough money to pay for the damage. Don't you think it's a great idea?"
Her dad pulled the car into the garage and fingered the steering wheel for a moment before shutting off the engine. Beth held her breath, waiting to hear his reaction. Finally he shook his head and mumbled, "What you kids won't come up with to get attention from rock stars."
Tears shot into Beth's eyes. But you don't understand! she wanted to shout, but she knew it wouldn't do any good. She could never convince him or any other adult by just talking. The celebrity auction has to work, she thought. It just has to.
Saturday morning The Fabulous Five were all talking at once as they crowded into Jana's bedroom for their meeting.
"Where are we going to get the stationery and the stamps to write to all these celebrities?" Katie was asking.
"How many can we write to and how long will it take to get answers?" asked Melanie.
"I think we ought to ask Curtis and Whitney to help us out with their computers," suggested Christie.
"If we're going to have an auction, who will be the auctioneer?" asked Katie.
"This meeting of The Fabulous Five will now come to order!" Jana shouted.
Everyone quieted down. Beth thought about the questions her friends had just asked. She had been wondering the same
things herself. Beth took a deep breath and opened her notebook, turning to the page where she had been jotting down things relating to the auction as they occurred to her.
"Well, we do have some things to work out," she conceded. "I'm not sure about the stamps, but I was thinking we might ask Mr. Bell if we could use school stationery so that our requests would look more official. If we use regular stationery, some of the celebrities might think that we were just individual kids looking for freebies."
"Good point," said Christie. "If you'd like, I'll call Mr. Bell right now at home and see what he has to say."
When Christie went into the living room to make the call, Beth looked at her notebook page again.
"I also thought that maybe The Fabulous Five could draft the letter and get copies run off," said Beth.
"Maybe Miss Simone would run them off on the school's copier," suggested Jana. "Especially if we get to use school stationery."
Melanie put her hands on her hips and made a pouty face. "But I wanted to write my own letter to Jason Rider," she whined. "It won't be any fun if all I get to do is send him a form letter."
"You can address the envelope yourself," offered Beth.
Melanie pretended that she was going to throw a stuffed bear at Beth, but Beth knew she wouldn't really do it.
Just then Christie came back into the room. Her face was glowing. "Guess what? After I explained to Mr. Bell about the auction, he not only said we could use school stationery, he said the school would pay for the postage since the money from the auction was going to repair the damages. Isn't that super?"
"Wow!" the others cried.
Christie was too excited to stop talking. "He said that he had heard a rumor that some of us were planning to have an auction, and he asked me to tell him all about it. I told him that it was Beth's idea and that we were going to get the whole school involved. That was when he said we could use the stationery and postage. He said that the school would do anything it could to help."
"Did you ask him if we could use the gym to hold the auction in?" asked Katie.
Christie clamped a hand over her mouth. "Whoops!" she cried. "I forgot. I'll call him back before we meet the other kids at Bumpers."
"This is terrific," said Beth. "Let's get to work on the letter so we can read it to the other kids at Bumpers."
Christie left the room to call Mr. Bell again. She came back an instant later to report that they could use the school gym for the auction. Then for the next hour and a half the five friends labored over the letter until Beth made a final draft copy in her notebook, which she read to the group.
Dear Celebrity,
A few days ago a disaster occurred at Wakeman Junior High. Vandals broke in and did major damage to the school and its contents. Estimates of the cost to repair this damage are approximately five thousand dollars.
Concerned students have joined together to raise the money for the repairs by holding a celebrity auction. We are writing to you to ask for a small donation to be auctioned off. We are not seeking money, but rather autographs, pictures, or any other item that you would be willing to send us. We would appreciate it if you could get your item to us within one month of the date of this letter.
Thank you in advance for your help. We look forward to hearing from you.
Gratefully,
The students of Wakeman Junior High
"When I send one to Jason Rider, I'm going to add, 'P.S. This letter was addressed by your number one fan in the whole world, Melanie Edwards,'" Melanie said, looking triumphantly at Beth.
Beth frowned, and Melanie giggled and added, "And when I seal the envelope I'm going to write 'S.W.A.K.' and add a big lipstick print."
"Melanie! If you do a thing like that . . ." Beth warned.
"Okay, you two. Knock it off," said Katie. "It's almost one o'clock, and that's what time we told everybody to be at Bumpers."
"Great," said Beth as The Fabulous Five gathered up their things and piled out of Jana's apartment. "This is going to be terrific. I can't wait to see how many kids show up for the meeting."
CHAPTER 13
Beth couldn't believe it. Only seven students showed up.
Shane Arrington was the first one there, coming in at five minutes after one and scooting into the booth beside Melanie.
"Igor couldn't make the meeting, but he said to tell you he wants to help, too," said Shane with a big grin.
"Oh?" said Beth with a laugh at the mention of Shane's pet iguana. "How is he going to help?"
"Hey, he's going to write letters," said Shane, sounding as if everyone should know that. "He's planning to write to Benji and Mr. Ed and the whole crew of Wild Kingdom. Oh, yes, and Alf. Igor says he and Alf are on the same wavelength."
Beth nodded. "It figures," she said. This time everyone was laughing. "But those are all male animals. I thought he'd be writing to Miss Piggy or someone like that. Isn't he still looking for a girlfriend?"
"Miss Piggy?" shouted Shane, sounding offended. "You can't be serious. I'll have you know that Igor has a real eye for beauty. Miss Piggy couldn't qualify as his girlfriend in a million years."
They joked about Igor's love life for a few minutes until Curtis Trowbridge and Whitney Larkin hurried in, holding hands and apologizing for being late. They pulled up chairs and sat down, joining the conversation. Ten minutes later Garrett Boldt arrived, carrying his camera slung over his shoulder and grinning broadly.
Beth looked at her watch. It was past one-thirty. Where was everybody? She had even allowed herself to hope that Keith might be there, but he wasn't. She sighed. Altogether, The Fabulous Five had probably talked to almost one hundred kids. Not all of them had been crazy about the idea of donating the money from the auction to the school, but lots of them had seemed interested in working on the project. She took a deep breath, telling herself not to panic, and trained her eyes on the front door.
At ten minutes to two, three ninth-graders walked in. They were Kaci Davis, Pam Wolthoff, and Jennifer Wray. Beth watched as they gazed around the almost deserted fast-food restaurant and finally sauntered over to the group.
Well, at least the three of them are popular, and they are ninth-graders, Beth thought. If we can get them fired up, maybe they can influence a lot of other kids to join us.
Finally Dekeisha Adams and Alexis Duvall straggled in.
"Sorry we're late," said Dekeisha. "We had decided not to come, but then we changed our minds."
Beth groaned inwardly. "Why weren't you going to come?"
Dekeisha shrugged. "What's the use? We'll be lucky if we get any donations. Those big stars don't care about kids like us. And besides, why should we go to all that work when the whole thing wasn't even our fault?"
"Yeah," muttered the ninth-graders in unison.
Beth wanted to cry. Trying to explain things to the kids at Wacko was as hard as trying to explain them to adults. She couldn't forget her father's words. What you kids won't come up with to get attention from rock stars. Suddenly an idea occurred to her. She cocked an eyebrow and looked at the others.
"But just think, you'll get to personally write to your favorite rock stars, movie stars, and television stars," she said. "You can even sign your own name to the letters."
The other members of The Fabulous Five stared at her, and Melanie's eyes got wide and she opened her mouth to speak, but Beth jabbed her with an elbow, giving her a look that said, Keep quiet.
Melanie eyed her suspiciously, but she didn't say anything.
"I think what we need is a personal approach to appeal to the big stars," Beth went on. The words were coming so fast that they were getting ahead of her thoughts, and she wasn't sure when she opened her mouth just what would come out. "Mr. Bell has agreed to let us use school stationery, so the letters will still look official. But if all of us choose our favorite stars to write to and do our best to make our letters convincing, it would be better than any old form letter. I'll bet we'll get terrific results."
"Hey, it so
unds great to me," said Pam.
"Me, too," said Kaci excitedly. "When do we get started? Do you have the addresses yet? I already know who I want to write to. Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez. I want to ask them what it's like to be big stars and brothers, too."
Katie choked on her soda and turned her face away from the others. Beth knew she was trying to keep from laughing. Beth didn't want to look at Jana, but she couldn't help it. The expression on Jana's face said snow job as plainly as if she had written the words across her forehead with a felt-tipped pen. Still, Beth knew that she finally had everybody's attention. She couldn't stop now.
"But that's only part of what we have to do," she added quickly. "You've all heard how Steve Melchior and his friends are enjoying our misery and laughing because the adults in this town are blaming all of us for what happened."
Everyone nodded and frowned.
"So what?" asked Jennifer. "Who's going to turn them in?"
"They are," Beth said, pounding her fist emphatically. "They're going to turn themselves in. But it's up to us to figure out a way to make them do it."
What do I mean, it's up to us? Beth thought as she looked out at the blank stares coming to her from everyone in the room. It's really up to me if it's going to be done, and I'm going to have to think up something fast.
"Hey, don't worry. We'll think of something," Beth assured them. She didn't want to blow the progress she had just made on the celebrity auction. But at the same time, deep inside she knew that one way to convince kids that the auction was worthwhile was to make sure the blame for the vandalism was placed squarely on the persons who did it.
By the time the meeting was over and The Fabulous Five left Bumpers, Kaci, Pam, and Jennifer had volunteered to spend the rest of the afternoon at the library copying addresses out of The New Address Book. They promised to get at least one hundred more and to help pass them out at school Monday morning to other students who were willing to write letters.