by Betsy Haynes
"Sure, sweetheart. What is it?"
Jana told her about the plan she had just come up with and the part she needed her mother and Pink to play in it. Her mother's expression turned from quizzical to pleased as she listened.
The next day was Saturday, and since no one else could enter the competition for Miss Seventh Grade, and Jana was assured of winning, her mother announced that she and Pink wanted Jana to have a new dress for the awards ceremony. Jana found a beautiful dress with a creamy gold top and buttons that matched the dark blue skirt. Her mother even let her pick out a necklace and matching earrings to go with the outfit. Jana couldn't wait to wear it.
Later in the day, she called the rest of The Fabulous Five and asked them to come to her house. That was when she told them about her plan and asked for their help, too.
On Monday, just about everyone in the seventh grade at Wacko, except Laura McCall, Tammy Lucero, and Melissa McConnell, seemed to tell Jana how glad they were that she and Randy were going to be Mr. and Miss Seventh Grade. Even Kaci Davis told her how she envied Jana's not having to wait until the voting on Wednesday. Jana saw Geena McNatt staring at her several times with an angry look on her face when people were congratulating her.
"You won't believe how gorgeous my new dress is," Jana told a crowd of girls who had gathered around her in the hallway after lunch. As she described the dress to "Oohs" and "Aahs," she watched Geena out of the corner of her eye. She was drifting around the outside of the group pretending not to be listening, but each time Jana went into detail about some part of the dress, Geena would stop and turn an ear toward her.
On Tuesday, after school at Bumpers, Shane climbed onto a chair, put his arms up, and asked for everyone's attention. "I want you all to know how much Igor has appreciated all the cards that he has received and the yellow ribbons that everyone has been wearing to show their concern for him during his illness. On the advice of a close friend, I asked Mr. Dracovitch if he would have a look at Igor."
Several kids booed at the mention of Mr. Dracovitch's name.
"Our illustrious teacher has been able to do what the veterinarians and the people at the zoo were not able to. He has discovered the cause of Igor's affliction, so you can all take off the ribbons."
A cheer went up throughout Bumpers, and some of the kids pounded on the tables. "Igor! Igor! Igor!" someone started chanting, and the others picked it up. Mr. Matson, the owner of Bumpers, stood beside the cash register and smiled.
Shane let the cheering continue for a moment before he waved his hands for silence.
"Mr. Dracovitch has discovered that Igor's affliction is"—Shane paused for effect—"love. He's just been pining away for a girlfriend!"
The place exploded in a roar. Jana laughed so hard she thought her sides would split, and Melanie pounded on Beth's back as she roared.
Clarence Marshall shouted and threw his big yellow ribbon in the air, and it landed in the middle of The Fabulous Five's table right in front of Jana. Still laughing, she took the grubby ribbon between two fingers and threw it back. The next thing she knew the room was filled with flying ribbons as everyone took them off and threw them at Shane and each other.
Mr. Neal passed out ballots at the beginning of homeroom on Wednesday and told them that even though Jana's and Randy's names were the only ones on the ballot for Mr. and Miss Seventh Grade, Mr. Bell thought they should still go through the formalities of voting. He also said that the results would be posted on the bulletin board outside the office during lunch period.
Jana looked at Randy before she made a big X next to his name, and he flashed her his 1,000-watt smile and made a big X near her name. Laura McCall and Melissa McConnell folded up their ballots and stuck them in their notebooks without even voting, and Christie looked back at Jana and gave her a thumbs-up sign.
After lunch, The Fabulous Five hurried to the office to see who the winners were. A large crowd of kids was standing in front of the bulletin board, and it took them a few minutes to be able to work their way close enough to read the list.
"There it is," said Katie, putting her arm around Jana's waist and squeezing her. "You are now officially Miss Seventh Grade of Wacko Junior High."
A tingle ran up and down Jana's spine. "Yes, and Randy is Mr. Seventh Grade." While she hadn't wanted to run in the beginning, the thought of Randy and her being elected Mr. and Miss Seventh Grade by all of their friends was so wonderful, she thought she would cry. She was so proud, and she was just as proud of Randy. While she wasn't sure she deserved the honor, there was no doubt in her mind that he did.
"Kaci got Miss Ninth Grade," said Beth.
"Did you actually expect Marsha to beat her?" asked Katie.
"Well, I'm glad to see Chet Miller got Mr. Ninth Grade," said Christie. "He's nice."
"Oh, Garrett Boldt got Mr. Eighth Grade!" squealed Melanie. "I've got to go congratulate him." She quickly squeezed her way out of the crowd.
"It's nice that Shelly Bramlett got Miss Eighth Grade," said Jana. "Although Daphne Alexandrou is super nice, too. I didn't want either one of them to lose."
Suddenly there was shoving, and Jana was pushed aside as Geena McNatt stuck her head in to see the voting results.
"Humph!" she snorted. She glared at Jana, spun around, and pushed her way back out of the crowd.
Jana looked after her. As angry as Geena was, there was a very good chance that Jana's plan would work.
That afternoon the feeling was reinforced. As she passed the bulletin board on her way between classes, Jana came to a screeching stop. Her name on the list had been smeared over with a bright red substance. She didn't have to test it to know it was catsup.
CHAPTER 16
"Thanks!" Jana called to Pink as she jumped out of the car and reached into the backseat to take her new dress from the hook. Her stepfather had given her a ride to school so she could keep the dress, which was in a plastic cleaning bag, from getting soiled or wrinkled.
Jana looked around the school yard as she headed toward her friends, who were waiting by the fence. Geena McNatt stopped throwing a football with Clarence Marshall and watched Jana walk by. Jana waved to The Fabulous Five and held the dress high so they could see what she was carrying.
"That is some gorgeous dress!" said Beth.
"It's beautiful," said Melanie. "You're going to look sooo glamorous in it."
Whitney Larkin and Marcie Bee came over to see it, too, and soon a dozen seventh-grade girls were admiring the dress.
Dekeiska Adams, who hadn't been around when Jana was telling everyone about it before, was asking, "Where in the world did you find such a super dress?"
"At Tanninger's," answered Jana, watching Geena out of the corner of her eye. Geena had dropped the football and walked casually over to where the crowd was gathered.
"When are you going to put it on?" asked Christie. Jana knew that Christie had seen Geena, too.
Speaking loudly so everyone could hear, Jana said, "I'm going to dress in the girls' room by my locker just before I'm supposed to go to the auditorium. I'll keep it in the cleaning bag until then. That way it will stay nice right up until the very last moment."
"We'll meet you at your locker." Katie spoke loudly, too. "But we won't be able to stay with you while you dress. We'll have to go on so we can get good seats. Everyone else will already be in the auditorium."
"That's fine," answered Jana, hoping their conversation didn't seem too planned. "It will only take me a minute or two."
Jana saw Geena going into the building as the first bell rang. Would her plan work? The only alternative if it didn't was to take Geena before the Teen Court, and knowing what Jana did now, she would rather not.
When The Fabulous Five met at Jana's locker, the halls were filled with kids on their way to the auditorium for the awards ceremony. Jana had seen the other winners during the day. Kaci Davis was wearing a beautiful, lacy, burgundy dress, and she had a brand-new perm that made her look terrifically sophisticated. She
lly Bramlett was wearing a slim white dress that looked as if it were made of real silk. Jana had talked to Chet Miller and Garrett Boldt. They had their suits and ties in their locker, as did Randy, and were going to put them on just before the ceremony.
"You'd better hurry," said Christie as they escorted her to the girls' room. "You're not going to have a lot of time."
"I know," said Jana.
"You won't have to worry about it if your plan fails," said Katie. "You won't want to go out onto the stage anyway."
Jana gave her a wry smile. She hoped that wouldn't happen. Her Fabulous Five friends had kept her safe so far. It was all up to her now.
Two eighth-grade girls were leaving as Jana walked into the girls' room, which was empty now. She hung the dress on the back of a stall door and looked at her watch. She had seven minutes.
Quickly she pulled off her skirt and blouse, folded them, and laid them on the lavatory. Slipping the new dress from the plastic bag, she pulled it on over her head. For a moment, with her head covered up, she felt vulnerable to an attack, and when her head poked through the collar, she looked around quickly to assure herself that no one had slipped into the bathroom.
Jana brushed her hair and put on a little lipstick. There, she thought, looking in the mirror. I'm not as pretty as Kaci Davis, but Randy likes me, and that's what counts.
She hung the clothes she had taken off on the hanger, put it in the plastic bag, and checked her watch again. Twenty seconds to go.
Jana walked to the bathroom door and checked her watch again. Fifteen seconds, ten seconds, five seconds, she counted. Finally she took a deep breath and stepped out.
Mom, Pink, and Mr. McNatt were coming toward her in the hall that led directly to the girls' room. Her mother wore a serious expression, and Pink and Geena's father were smiling. Neither of the men knew about the plan. Mr. McNatt just thought he had been invited because Geena and Jana were going to be friends.
Jana knew she wouldn't be able to see down the intersecting hallways until she had gone about ten feet toward the adults. Now! she thought as she started forward. Nothing happened. Had she been wrong? Just as she had those thoughts, Geena streaked out of the hall on Jana's left. She had the meanest look on her face that Jana had ever seen, and she was pointing the squeeze catsup bottle at Jana with both hands as if it were a gun.
"You think you're better than everybody!" she yelled, and squirted a stream of catsup at Jana.
Even though she had been expecting it to happen, Jana was almost too slow in getting out of the way. She dropped her hanging clothes and danced away from the other girl, and the red stream followed her like an arching laser, splattering red on her shoes and ankles. Jana skipped backward and Geena followed her, a vicious smile on her face.
"GEENA!" Mr. McNatt shouted, and ran toward his daughter.
Geena froze, a look of horror on her face.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" He grabbed her by the arm and jerked the catsup bottle away from her.
Jana jumped forward. "NO, MR. MCNATT! Please don't yell at her!"
The big man stared at Jana with a surprised look on his face.
"It's all right, Mr. McNatt. She didn't mean it."
"She didn't mean it? How can you say that? She was squirting that stuff at you, wasn't she?"
"Yes, but she doesn't know how to tell someone she doesn't like them without hitting or doing things like squirting catsup on them."
"She ought to know better. She'll have to be punished."
Jana took a deep breath. Was it possible that she could make him listen to her? Or would he shake her off and take Geena home and punish her?
Jana looked right into Mr. McNatt's eyes. "When I ate dinner at your house, I saw Joe and Max punch each other a bunch of times, and," she said, softening her voice, "you hit Max on the hand with a spoon and bumped Joe's and Max's heads together. Geena only knows how to react the ways she's seen at home."
Geena's father's mouth opened as if he were going to say something, but no words came out. Pink looked dumbfounded.
Jana continued quickly before she lost her nerve. "Geena doesn't like me very much, and I kind of understand why now. I guess I do have the best of everything. I've got lots of friends that picked me to be Miss Seventh Grade when I didn't even want to be, and my mom has taught me that there are a lot better ways than fighting to solve problems. And," she said, looking shyly at her mother, "she's taught me to be a girl." Her mother's face was beaming with pride.
"Geena doesn't have all those things, and I can't be mad at her for acting the way she does, knowing what I know now."
Geena was looking at Jana with a surprised expression, and Jana thought she felt her father's arm relax.
"Mr. McNatt, I really would like to be Geena's friend. I think she could be a very nice girl." Jana's legs were as limp as ropes when she finished. She didn't know what else to say.
The expression on Mr. McNatt's face changed several times as he looked at Jana. Finally it softened, and he took a deep breath. His voice was calm when he said, "I guess I'm the one who didn't understand." He looked at his daughter. "All I know is how to handle men. Tough men. And I don't know how in the world I thought Geena could figure out how to be a girl in a house full of men." His eyes were moist. "Did you mean it when you said you wanted to be her friend?"
"Yes, I do. Very much. But I think Geena should be allowed to pick her own friends. She may not want to be friends with me."
Geena raised her eyes and looked at Jana in surprise.
"Mr. McNatt," said Jana's mother, "I believe my daughter when she says she wants to be friends with your daughter. I believe we should all think about what's happened a little, and then, if they both want to, maybe Geena could go out to lunch with us sometime."
Mr. McNatt reached out and put his arm around his daughter and pulled her close. "I think that's a good idea, Mrs. Pinkerton. And maybe sometime they can go shopping for some girls' things."
Jana was astounded at the look on Geena's face. All the anger that had been in it just minutes before was gone, and her freckled face shone with happiness as she looked up at her father.
Jana shivered with pleasure as she took her mother's hand. Maybe the two of them could help Geena pick out some new clothes.
CHAPTER 17
Jana stood where she couldn't be seen in the wings of the stage, waiting for Mr. Bell to finish his speech, which seemed to go on forever. It looked as if The Dreadful Alternatives, who were positioned at the back of the stage, were about to go to sleep. Jana gripped a tissue tightly in each hand to absorb the perspiration from her nervousness. She sneaked a look at Randy. He was watching Mr. Bell and looked as cool as an ice cube. How can he do that? she wondered. Girls were the ones who were supposed to look as if they didn't perspire.
"And now let me introduce to you the president of the seventh-grade class, who will present the winners of The Wigwam Mr. and Miss Seventh Grade contest." Mr. Bell turned and held his hand out to indicate Curtis Trowbridge, who came striding out onto the stage as if he had just been elected president of the United States. "Curtis Trowbridge," Mr. Bell finished his introduction.
Curtis adjusted his black horn-rimmed glasses and pulled a sheaf of papers from his suit-coat pocket. Jana was surprised he hadn't rented a tux for the occasion. "Friends! Students! Parents," he began.
Oh, no! Jana couldn't believe it. Curtis was going to make a speech that would probably cover every subject in the encyclopedia.
Kaci Davis threw back her head and closed her eyes in despair, and the other winners shuffled their feet impatiently. Jana noticed bits of tissue sticking out of Kaci's tightly clenched fists, and dark places developing under the arms of her burgundy dress. So, Kaci wasn't as cool as she wanted people to believe, either. The discovery pleased Jana.
After Curtis had been talking for five minutes, some of the kids in the audience started stomping their feet, and Mr. Bell began waving his hands at Curtis and running his finger across his own throat
. Curtis finally got the idea and cut his speech off right in the middle of a sentence.
"Uh . . . I guess I'd better introduce our seventh-grade winners now," he said, placing one finger between his eyes and pushing his glasses up. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a three-by-five index card.
Randy leaned close to Jana and whispered, "You'd think this was the Academy Awards."
She smiled and nodded.
"First let me introduce Mr. Congeniality himself," Curtis said with a grand gesture toward the wings where they were standing.
Randy put his hand over his eyes and shook his head in disbelief.
I will never be able to get Randy to do anything like this again, thought Jana. And it will be all Curtis Trowbridge's fault.
"RANDY KIRWAN!" Curtis finished his announcement, and The Dreadful Alternatives started playing a rock version of the Wakeman Junior High fight song.
Randy straightened his shoulders and walked out onto the stage as the auditorium was filled with applause, cheers, and whistles.
Tears came to Jana's eyes as she watched him reach out and shake hands with Curtis. Randy looked so handsome.
Jana couldn't remember hearing Curtis announce her name. The applause and cheers rose, and she saw him extending his hand toward her. Randy was smiling a zillion-watt smile at her. She stepped out from the wings, and a roar went up.
When she reached Randy, he beamed down at her as she curled her arm through his. In the first row, she saw her best friends jumping and cheering with their arms outstretched. Tears ran down her face as she searched the audience for her mom and Pink. They were sitting in the parents section with Mr. McNatt. Geena was sitting next to her father.
Jana put a kiss on her fingertips and blew it to her mother and Pink and smiled at Geena. She thought she saw Geena smile back.
Jana squeezed Randy's arm tight to hold her on the ground.
"Do you think this really looks okay on me?" Geena asked Jana. She was standing in front of the mirror wearing a short skirt and matching cotton sweater. True to her mother's word, Mrs. Pinkerton and Jana had invited Geena out for lunch and shopping on Saturday. Jana hadn't been quite sure she was ready to handle Geena so soon, but it was turning out okay.