by Betsy Haynes
Christie laughed. Her father was a pretty good tennis player, but the only times he had been able to beat her for the last couple of years were when his serves were really on, which wasn't very often.
Later, after Christie had showered and dressed, Jana called.
"I couldn't sleep last night, thinking about your moving, Christie. It's terrible. I talked to Melanie, Katie, and Beth this morning, and we want to spend as much time as we can with you from now on. Are you going to play tennis, or can you meet us at the mall this afternoon?"
"I don't want to spend my time playing tennis," responded Christie. "I'd lots rather be with you guys."
"Great! See you later," said Jana.
Christie saw the mall differently as she walked into it that afternoon. Usually she just looked for her friends and checked the windows of the dress shops she liked. But today she looked at it more closely. The mall was a bright and cheerful place. The walls were painted a light cream color, and the jelly-roll skylights that ran the entire length of the ceiling let in a flood of light. People sat on benches talking, some licking frozen-yogurt or ice-cream cones, and most had shopping bags nearby.
Tears welled up in Christie's eyes. From the pictures she had seen, there was nothing like this in London. She had gotten so used to meeting her friends at the mall, she just assumed that it would always be a part of her life. Sure, she would have graduated from Wacko and high school and then gone on to college, but she had never doubted that she would come back. Once she had visualized herself with her Fabulous Five friends all grown up and pushing strollers together along the corridors of the mall.
Christie shook her head. It was crazy to get sentimental over a silly thing like a mall.
"Christie! Over here!" called Beth.
Each of her friends hugged Christie tightly. It gave her the same feeling she had had at the funeral home when her great aunt Mildred had died. All her relatives had hugged each other and said how sorry they were. She didn't want that.
"Hey! This isn't the end of the world, guys," Christie said as cheerfully as she could.
"It is for me," said Beth. "I don't want you to go."
"I'm going to write you a letter every single day," promised Melanie. "Maybe sometimes two."
"What about your soap operas?" asked Christie. "You might not have time to watch them and write to me, too."
"To heck with the soap operas. You come first," declared Melanie firmly.
"You're not leaving yet, Christie," said Jana. "We're just going to have to have as much fun together as we can before you do."
"I move we spend all afternoon here together, get together again this evening, and then do it all over tomorrow," said Katie.
"And we'll each call you every evening, Christie," said Beth. "We'll give you enough love to keep you for a long time."
Christie smiled at her friends. "I have to tell you, you guys are really great. But if we're going to have fun, let's do it!" She punched her fist into the air for emphasis.
"Let's do it!" the others shouted, throwing their fists up.
"Look! There are the guys," said Jana. Randy, Chase, Tony, Keith, and Shane were walking toward them.
Chase flashed a wide smile. "I thought that you guys would be here. We decided to keep you company."
"Actually, it was Randy's idea," said Keith. "He called all of us."
"We've been having so much fun together lately," said Shane, "we thought we'd have some more."
That afternoon was one of the happiest that Christie could remember. She and her friends joked, drank sodas, ate popcorn, teased each other, and laughed so much, Christie's sides ached. One of the best parts was that Chase was always right next to her, either holding her hand or putting his arm around her.
"Hey," said Randy when it had gotten late in the afternoon, "why don't we eat here instead of going home? Then we can go to another movie."
"Fantastic idea!" exclaimed Chase. "I'd much rather have a pizza than what my mom is fixing."
They all agreed. When Christie called home, her mother gave her permission, but also slipped in a reminder about Christie's curfew.
"That was one dumb movie," said Shane later, as they were getting ready to separate and leave for home. "I think we should have spent our money on more pizza."
"I agree," said Tony. "Remind me never to see a movie with that guy in it again."
"Oh, well." Katie sighed. "I had a fun day."
"Me, too," said Christie.
"What time are we going to meet tomorrow?" Jana asked the rest of The Fabulous Five.
"Tomorrow?" asked Randy.
"We five want to get together as much as possible before Christie leaves."
"Well, you can't take up all of her time," protested Chase. "You've got to leave some for me."
"There will be plenty for you," said Beth. "But just remember, buddy, we knew her first."
"How could I forget?" Chase laughed. "You'd never let me."
"I've got to go," said Jana, looking at her watch. "Why don't we call each other tomorrow?" The other girls agreed.
After they had said good-bye, Christie put her arm through Chase's and laid her head on his shoulder.
"Want to play some games?" he asked as they passed the video arcade.
Christie looked into the store, where a few people were still playing the machines. "No, I'd better not. I was late getting home last night."
"Aw, we'll just play a couple. There's a tennis game you'll like. I bet I can beat you at it."
"Beat me at tennis? You're a swimmer."
"You don't know all my secret talents. Come on, let's try it. It won't take that long."
"Well . . ." Christie looked at her watch. It was ten-thirty, and it took only fifteen minutes to walk home from the mall. "I guess we can play one game."
"See, I told you," said Christie. It had been close, but she had beaten him two sets to one.
"I demand a rematch," said Chase.
"It's ten to eleven. I'm already going to be late."
"You're not just going to beat me and leave, are you? I demand a rematch. Besides, you're going to spend all that time with The Fabulous Five. What about me?" Chase stuck out his lower lip in a fake pout. He looked so funny, Christie had to giggle.
Christie thought for a moment. Her parents wouldn't be happy with her if she were late again, but they hadn't made too much of a fuss about her being late the night before. And it was so much fun being with Chase. Christie made a quick decision.
"Okay. One more match to prove the first one wasn't a fluke."
"Great!"
Christie slipped her key in the lock as quietly as she could and then crossed her fingers. She and Chase had ended up playing until almost midnight, then had stopped for a soda. Maybe, just maybe, her parents wouldn't hear her come in. Her mother called out as soon as Christie closed the door behind her.
Christie knew her mother was angry by the way she was sitting stiffly in the chair, with no book in her lap. She tried taking the positive approach.
"Hi. Sorry I'm late. We got to playing video games, and I lost track of the time."
"This is two nights in a row you've lost track of the time, Christie. It's not like you. You're usually so punctual."
"I know, but I lost track. It's the truth."
"I understand that mistakes can be made. But getting in late two nights in a row is not good, and after midnight at that. You need to be more responsible than that, Christie. Please don't let it happen again, or we might have to do something about it."
Christie couldn't believe her ears. After she'd gotten in late only two nights, her mother was threatening her with punishment. It wasn't fair. What about all the times she had gotten in early—didn't they count?
CHAPTER 10
On Sunday Christie played tennis with her father in the morning and then went to Jana's house with the rest of The Fabulous Five. She was home way before supper.
Her mother didn't bring up Christie's being late, and Chr
istie tried to be even more helpful than usual. She was drying dishes when the phone rang.
"Christie, it's for you," called her father.
She took the receiver from the wall phone.
"Hi, this is Curtis."
"Oh, yeah. Hi." She had forgotten Curtis had said he would call.
"Christie, I've called everyone in our PEAK class, and no one had any great ideas except me." Christie rolled her eyes. Leave it to Curtis Trowbridge to think that his own ideas were brilliant.
"What I propose to do," he said with a tone of authority, "is to take the offensive." Christie could imagine him pushing his glasses up on his nose with one finger. "Instead of letting those sluggards humiliate us by teasing us, I feel it's imperative that we PEAKs take the offensive. Therefore, I think we should get T-shirts that say PEAKS AND PROUD OF IT."
"You're kidding!" said Christie.
"Most certainly not. I think it's exactly the right thing to do. You'll go along with it, of course. Everyone else has already agreed."
Christie fumbled for an answer. She didn't want to get involved in a public argument with Richie Corrierro and his friends, the PUKES, but she didn't want to be the only one in the PEAK class who didn't stand up to them, either.
"Are the others really getting T-shirts?"
"They sure are."
Christie could understand Whitney's doing it, because she was in love with Curtis, but it was curious to her that Dekeisha, Melinda, and Melissa would go along with the idea. "If everyone else is . . ."
"That's great!" said Curtis before she could finish. "I'll put you down for a yes and have them made at T-shirts Plus. You can pay me later."
"Curtis!"
"I've got to go. My dad's mad because I've been on the phone so much. See you tomorrow."
"Curtis!" The response was a click from Curtis's end.
Christie shook her head in frustration. She had wanted to say, "If everyone else is going to, I'll think about it," but he hadn't let her finish. Oh, well, she thought, that's one more T-shirt I'll probably never wear.
Christie felt depressed the next day. It was hard to keep her mind on her classes when she knew she would have to leave her friends in just a month and a half. Semester breaks had always seemed so slow in coming, but already she wanted to hold this one back.
Part of her mind was also thinking about what her father had said about taking holidays to the European continent. In spite of herself, she found the idea intriguing.
She was surprised by a pop quiz in French and, for a change, wasn't sure at all of the answers. She tried to smile confidently when she handed the paper in to Mrs. Lemane.
"Hey, Christie, wait up," Chase called to her as she made her way to the cafeteria at noon.
"Hi," she said, smiling.
"Did you get in trouble for getting in late Saturday?"
"A little."
"See, I told you they wouldn't do anything," Chase said confidently. "Eleven o'clock is too early a curfew for someone in junior high to have. My folks never say anything to me anymore. I've got them trained. Your parents just need to loosen up and realize that you're almost an adult."
"I don't know," said Christie. "I guess I think parents should set some kind of hours for kids."
"Little kids," said Chase. "You're not a little kid. Neither am I. It's like swim practice. I know what I need to do to keep myself in shape, and I do it. In fact, I'm planning to miss practice after school today."
"You are? Won't Coach Benfield be angry?"
"Why should he be? I'm the best swimmer. If I weren't, he wouldn't keep me in the lead-off position in the endurance runs. Besides, it'll give somebody else, like Randy, the chance to be first once in a while."
It bothered Christie that Chase didn't take swim practice more seriously. She had never approached anything with less than a wholehearted effort. But Chase had been a swimmer for a long time. He ought to know what he could and couldn't do.
"Do you want to study together tonight?" he asked.
Christie forgot about his skipping practice at the thought of seeing him that evening. "I'd like that."
"Hey, look, more goodies!" said Melinda Thaler.
Spread out on a table in front of the PEAK classroom were paper plates filled with different kinds of snacks. Although Christie couldn't tell what they were, they looked yummy.
"The food looks pretty good, doesn't it?" said Mr. Dracovitch, walking into the room. He was wearing his straw hat and a pair of bib overalls. A plaid shirt and a piece of hay sticking out of his mouth completed the costume. A ripple of laughter went through the class.
"Good afternoon," said the teacher. "Where are all the farmers' clothes you were going to wear?"
"We weren't sure you were for real." Dekeisha giggled.
"I was, but don't worry about it. I won't count off your grades because you were afraid to be different. Remember, though, being different should never bother you. Some of the greatest achievers were considered odd or different, like Christopher Columbus and our first female astronaut, Sally Ride. Now, if you'd like, you can come up to the table and sample the goodies."
"What's this?" asked Melissa, picking up a cracker with a spread on it.
"Try some of the stuff in the bowl," said the teacher, ignoring her question.
"Hmmm, good," said Dekeisha.
They all tried a little of each of the snacks.
"I like those two best," remarked Christie. "That one's my least favorite."
"But what are they?" insisted Melissa.
"That one's made out of seaweed. That one's made out of krill. It's the same thing that whales eat. And that one's made out of plankton."
"Eeeyew!" Melissa made a face and stuck out her tongue. "Whale food!"
"Yuck," said Melinda, wiping food off her tongue with a napkin.
"Now, wait a minute," said Mr. Dracovitch. "Just a minute ago you were all telling me how great these things tasted. What changed your minds?"
"It's just that . . . it's just that . . . I don't know." Melissa struggled to explain.
"It's just that you're not used to eating them," offered Mr. Dracovitch. "But you'd better get used to them, because things like these are the foods of the future. As the land resources are depleted, we're going to have to depend more and more on our seas for food."
As he explained what he meant, Christie started wondering what junior high school would be like in England. She knew that some kids wore uniforms to school. Would she have to wear one? Did the kids have to stand up in front of the class and talk a lot? If they did, the other kids would probably think she was the one who sounded funny. She could just imagine them whispering and giggling to each other about her.
Then she started remembering all the things she and her friends had done during the last year. There was the time The Fabulous Five had rescued animals from the animal shelter at Christmas. Melanie had kept one of the dogs, and had named it Rainbow. Then there was the trip the five of them had taken with Melanie's family to the island of Barbados, when Marco Montavo had tricked each of The Fabulous Five into thinking she was the one he was in love with. And then there were all the football and basketball games, where they jumped up and down and cheered for the Wacko teams. Seventh grade had turned out to be more fun than she could have imagined.
All of the friends she had and the things she liked to do would be erased from her life when she moved. Why should she keep trying so hard to make good grades when she'd be gone in less than six weeks? It made more sense to kick back and enjoy herself, the way Chase did.
Christie was surprised when Mr. Dracovitch said, "That's it for today, students. I'll see you on Wednesday." She looked at her watch. How had the class gone so quickly?
"Christie," called Mr. Dracovitch as she headed toward the door. "Can I see you a moment?
"You didn't seem to be with us today, Christie. Is there something I can help you with?"
"No, sir."
"Is the class interesting to you?"
/> "Oh, yes, sir. Very interesting. I really like the way you teach it. I guess I just had something on my mind today. "
"Fine. If there's anything you can think of to make it more interesting, let me know."
"Thank you. I will."
"Hi, Mr. and Mrs. W," Chase said cheerfully. "I want to tell you how sorry I am that I got Christie home late again Saturday. We really meant to be on time."
"It's nice of you to mention it," said Mrs. Winchell.
"Things like that happen," said Mr. Winchell jovially. "It's great to see the two of you studying instead of messing around the way some kids do."
"Yeah, they should be more serious about what they do. After all, we kids are going to have to run this country one of these days."
Christie looked at Chase in surprise. It didn't sound like him.
Christie's mother was impressed. "That's a very mature attitude, Chase."
He shrugged his shoulders. "What can I say?"
"Did you get your history test back?" Christie asked as they sat down at the kitchen table to study.
"Yeah. I aced it, like I said I would. Now, if I can just get my math and English scores up. Hey, do you know what the teacher spanked the student with?"
"No."
"The board of education," he said, deadpan.
Christie laughed and made a face. "That's really bad, Chase."
"I know, but did you hear this one?"
Chase told jokes until Christie couldn't stand it anymore and made him settle down to study.
CHAPTER 11
"Look out. Here come the PUKES," said Beth, her voice low.
The Fabulous Five were sitting in the cafeteria, making plans to meet that night for a movie and pizza with their boyfriends.
Christie looked up to see Richie, Clarence, Joel, and Matt carrying their trays to the return.
"Hey, Christie," called Joel. "Have you guys in PEAK come up with any great new scientific discoveries yet?"
"I heard they're studying about water in the PEAK class," said Clarence. "I knew about water when I was a little kid, only I called it 'wa wa' then."