by Betsy Haynes
Jana took a deep breath and stepped onto the sidewalk again.
"Hey, Jana. Come here."
She whirled around to see who had called her, knowing deep down who it had been. Keith stood a few yards away, and he was looking straight at her.
"What do you want?" she challenged.
"Come here, would you?" he insisted.
Jana sighed loudly to show her disgust and scuffed toward him. "If you want to know if I've talked to Beth yet, the answer is no. I tried to call her last night, but nobody was home."
Keith nodded that he understood and shifted from one foot to the other. "Okay," he said nervously. "But would you do it as soon as you can? I really want to get this over with."
"Oh, sure," Jana replied sarcastically. "I do this sort of thing every day. I'll just run right up to her in front of everybody and tell her you want to break up. Is that what you want me to do?"
"No, but . . . well . . ." he fumbled. "Just let me know when you've talked to her. Okay?"
Jana nodded curtly, narrowing her eyes as he walked away. "That creep!" she mumbled under her breath.
Beth's expression changed to a smile as Jana walked toward her. Katie and Dekeisha were there now, too.
"Hi, Jana," Beth said excitedly. "I saw you talking to Keith just now. Did you ask him?" She got a mysterious look on her face, as if she didn't want Katie and Dekeisha to know what she meant, and added, "You know. The stuff we were talking about."
"Oh, that?" answered Jana. She knew immediately that her words had come out sounding fake. "Umm, well, not exactly."
Beth's face fell. "What do you mean, not exactly?"
"I can't tell you right now," Jana said quickly. "It would . . . umm . . . take too long, and the bell's going to ring."
Beth looked confused. "Well, can't you tell me what it was about?"
"I've got to hurry," called Jana, running backward toward the school. "Have to see Miss Dickinson before the bell. I'll meet you in the cafeteria at noon. Okay?"
Beth nodded as she watched Jana leave, and from the look on her face Jana knew she was already feeling hurt.
"She knows I'm hiding something," Jana whispered to herself as she hurried into the building. "And she knows I don't have to see Miss Dickinson about anything, either. Darn that Keith Masterson, anyway!"
CHAPTER 5
Jana was deep in thought as she headed for her homeroom, and she had almost reached room 107 when she saw Randy standing beside the door watching her approach. She caught her breath as their eyes met. She knew instantly that he was waiting for her.
She walked slowly toward him as her heart thudded in her chest. What did he want? Was he going to tell her that he liked Sara Sawyer now and was glad they had broken up?
Neither one of them said anything for a moment. Then Randy pulled a piece of paper out of his notebook and handed it to her.
"I found this and thought you might need it," he said.
Jana glanced down at the paper. It was her math homework from a couple of weeks ago. She could barely remember why she had given it to him. To check a couple of problems he had gotten wrong, if she remembered correctly.
"Umm, in case you need to study for a test or something," he added.
Jana smiled in spite of herself There was no test scheduled in math, and even if there were, she probably wouldn't need this old homework to study for it. "Thanks," she said. "I've been looking all over for it. I'm glad you found it."
Randy glanced around uneasily, as if he were trying to think of something else to say, now that he had come up with an excuse to talk to her. Jana didn't want the conversation to end, either, and she racked her brain for something to talk about.
"I saw you at the library on Saturday afternoon." The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them, and instantly she realized what she'd done. The last thing in the world she wanted to bring up was his being with Sara Sawyer.
Randy's face colored slightly. "Yeah, we had to . . . umm . . . to work on our reports for Family Living."
Jana could feel tears gathering in a big lump in her throat and knew she wouldn't be able to force words around it, even if she tried to speak. What was she going to do now? Why had she mentioned seeing him at the library in the first place? It was dumb! she shouted to herself.
"Hey, would you guys move? You're blocking the door."
Jana bolted to attention. Joel Murphy was giving them a dirty look as he tried to get around them and into the classroom.
"Sorry, Joel," Randy mumbled, and stepped back out of the way.
"I guess I'd better go in, too. See you later," Jana said hurriedly, escaping into the room and to her seat before Randy could say anything else. She had to get away from him, or else she'd give away how miserable she was without him. She kept her eyes down when he came in and took his seat on the other side of the room just as the bell was ringing.
The morning dragged on, and Jana barely heard anything in any of her classes. She couldn't forget the look on Randy's face as he waited for her by the homeroom door. How can I stand to see him every day at school for a whole month until our experiment is over? she wondered.
She also couldn't help thinking about lunchtime, when she would have to talk to Beth and tell her that Keith wanted to break up. But how was she going to do that? What could she possibly say?
If only there were someone I could talk to about it, she thought. But there wasn't. She was on her own.
Everyone was already in the cafeteria when Jana got there. They were sitting at The Fabulous Five's favorite table. Beth munched on an apple while Katie pulled small plastic containers out of her lunch bag as if she were getting ready for a banquet. Beside her, Melanie unloaded a hot-lunch plate from her tray.
"So now will you tell me what you and Keith were talking about this morning?" Beth asked as soon as Jana reached the table. It was obvious from the tone of Beth's voice that she was more than a little miffed at Jana.
"Sure. As soon as we're finished eating." When Beth frowned, she added, "We'll go outside where we can have some privacy."
Beth seemed satisfied, for the moment, anyway, and Jana nibbled her cream cheese and jelly sandwich and listened to Katie explain her latest gourmet dish to Melanie.
"It's from India," Katie explained, "and the ingredients have to be mixed together at the table." She took hot rice out of a thermos and began mixing strange-looking things with it.
Jana rolled her eyes in disgust and tuned Katie out while she tried for the millionth time to plan what she would say to Beth. Her mind was blank. There just was no easy way to tell someone that her boyfriend wanted to break up with her.
Finally she couldn't put it off any longer. Lunch period was half over, and soon there might not be much privacy outside, either.
"Hey, guys," she said, turning to Katie and Melanie. "Beth and I need to talk about something. Would you mind if we went out without you?"
"'Course not," replied Melanie, and Katie agreed.
Beth looked as if she wanted to say, "It's about time," but to Jana's relief, she didn't.
They left the building, and Jana led the way across the school ground to an isolated bench. Taking a deep breath, she turned around to face Beth.
"About this morning," Jana began. "I was stalling."
When Beth's eyes got wide, Jana grabbed her friend's hand and said softly, "I just didn't want you to know, that's all."
"Know what?" Beth asked slowly, as if she were already beginning to understand.
Jana took a deep breath and cleared her throat. "I hate to tell you this, but Keith wanted me to talk to you for him and tell you that . . . that he wants to break up."
"What!" shrieked Beth. "Break up?" She looked at Jana with pleading eyes. "He didn't really say that, did he?"
Jana felt as if her heart would break, and all she could do was nod.
"What did he say?" asked Beth. Her voice was shaky, and tears brimmed in her eyes. "Tell me exactly what he said. Every single word."
/>
"Well . . ." Jana began. "When he called—"
"You mean, he called you?" Beth interrupted.
"Right," said Jana. "He said he wanted me to tell you that he wanted to break up. And when I asked him why he didn't tell you himself, he said that if he tried to tell you, he would probably goof it up and say it all wrong. He . . ." Jana paused and looked into Beth's tear-streaked face. "He said it might be better if you heard it from me. Oh, Beth. I'm so sorry!"
Beth was crying hard now, long sobs shaking her body. Jana put an arm around her shoulder, even though she knew it wouldn't be much comfort at a moment like this.
Beth pulled a tissue out of her jacket pocket and blew her nose, which by now was turning red. "But why? What did I do? Did he say why he wanted to break up?"
Jana hesitated, remembering Keith's words. I just don't want to go out with her anymore. There was no way she could tell Beth a thing like that. Besides, that was one thing Keith should tell her himself!
"No," Jana said, assuring herself that this little lie was for Beth's own good.
"Well, didn't you ask?" Beth demanded.
Jana looked down at the ground, avoiding Beth's eyes. "It was none of my business."
"But I asked you to talk to him and find out what was wrong," she insisted, hiccuping back a sob.
Beth looked so miserable that Jana wanted to cry, too. "Well . . ." Jana offered helplessly, but she didn't know what else to say.
"Please go back and ask him," Beth pleaded. "Oh, Jana, you've got to find out what's wrong for me! Maybe it's some little thing I did that I didn't mean to do. Or maybe it's a silly misunderstanding. Something I can fix. Don't you see? I have to know!"
Jana's mind was reeling. She knew she was getting in deeper by the minute, but there was no way she could turn Beth down. If she agreed to talk to Keith again, it would buy her a little time to figure out what to say. And maybe Beth was right about its being a silly misunderstanding or something she could fix. In fact, maybe she could talk Keith out of breaking up with Beth! There was no guarantee, but it was certainly worth a try.
"Okay," she assured her. "I'll do it."
"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" shouted Beth, jumping up and down and hugging Jana at the same time. "I knew you wouldn't let me down!"
Jana tried to return Beth's smile, but deep down she had a sinking feeling that things were going to get a lot worse before they got better.
CHAPTER 6
Jana was heading for her locker after school when she saw Shawnie Pendergast beside the drinking fountain talking to Craig Meachem and Parker Donovan. She probably wouldn't have noticed them if she hadn't remembered her conversation with Beth at Bumpers Saturday afternoon. Beth had been excited about calling Shawnie and suggesting that she talk to Craig about the possibility of Parker's asking Jana out. Jana shook her head, thinking how ironic it was that just a couple of days ago Beth had been trying to find a way to fix her up with Parker, and now Beth didn't have a boyfriend, either.
Jana walked past them, but a moment later she heard someone call her name. When she turned to see who it was, Parker hurried toward her. Jana watched the tall eighth-grader approach, thinking that he really was awfully good-looking. But, of course, no one compared with Randy.
"Hey, Jana, could I talk to you a minute?" he asked, giving her the little mischievous grin that seemed to come so naturally to him.
Eeek! thought Jana, trying not to panic. Had Beth actually called Shawnie and suggested a fix-up between Parker and her, after all?
She took a deep breath and tried to appear calm. "Hi, Parker. Sure. What's up?"
"I just wondered if you got the history assignment." He grinned again, looking more impish than ever. "I never can keep my mind on what Mr. Naset is yakking about up there. I mean, history is one boring subject."
"Yeah, I got it," Jana replied, hoping the relief she felt didn't show on her face. "We're supposed to read chapter seventeen and answer the questions at the end."
Parker made a note on the cover of his notebook with a stubby pencil, which he stuck behind an ear. "Gotcha," he said, and fell in step beside her. "Chapter seventeen. Answer the questions. Oughta be a breeze."
Jana nodded. Why was he walking with her? she wondered. Why didn't he just go on about his own business?
"Come to think of it, it probably won't be much of a breeze," said Parker. "No matter how many times I read those history chapters, I don't have much luck with the questions."
"Maybe you just don't concentrate when you read," Jana offered. She certainly had no intention of letting him copy her answers, if that was what he was getting at.
"That's probably it," agreed Parker. "I need someone right there with me, reminding me to concentrate."
Jana wondered briefly if she should say, Yeah, maybe your mom could do it. But Parker wasn't finished talking.
"How about if I come over tonight, and we can study together. I won't copy your answers," he said quickly, holding up his hands in mock surrender. "I promise. And then, after we get all this boring history stuff out of the way, we can go to Bumpers for a little while. Lots of kids go during the week."
Jana could hear her pulse pounding in her ears. Here it was. The moment she had been both looking forward to and dreading. The moment another boy asked her out. She swallowed again. Her ears were ringing now. She couldn't possibly go out with Parker. How would she act? What would she say? But if she didn't, she reminded herself, hers and Randy's experiment would never have a chance to work. Besides, fewer kids went out on school nights than on weekends, which meant fewer would see her out with someone besides Randy. Randy. His name echoed in her mind, and she knew it was really Randy she was worried about. She didn't want him to see her with another boy.
"I guess that would be okay." The words sounded thin as she pushed them out of her mouth. She looked up at Parker, who suddenly seemed taller than ever. He was grinning his mischievous grin. "Come over about six-thirty," she added.
"Great. I'll be there." Parker ducked away toward his own locker, leaving her standing in the middle of the hall with weak knees.
She had done it! She had accepted a date with another boy! For tonight! "Oh, my gosh," she murmured as she hurried to her locker. Her hands were trembling so much that it took three tries to work the combination.
Jana had just come into her apartment and was still in a daze from accepting a date with Parker Donovan when the phone rang.
"Have you talked to him?" Beth demanded the instant she said hello.
"Who, Parker?" Jana asked, then realizing that wasn't who Beth meant at all, she said quickly, "I meant Keith. No, I haven't had a chance yet."
Beth's voice fell. "Oh," she said. "Well, when are you planning to talk to him? Oh, Jana, things were going so much better between us until just lately. I've got to find out what's wrong so that I can patch it up."
Jana looked up at the ceiling helplessly. What was she going to say? So much had happened today that she hadn't had time to plan when she would talk to Keith.
"How about tonight?" Beth continued. "You could call him after supper."
"Can't," Jana told her. "Parker Donovan is coming over to study history. Then we're going to Bumpers."
"Great," said Beth without much enthusiasm. "I guess Shawnie must have talked to Craig about Parker. I hope you guys have fun."
Jana felt a rush of guilt. Beth had called Shawnie, and now Jana had a date while her best friend was wallowing in misery. Even if she confessed to Beth how nervous she was about going out with Parker, it wouldn't help.
"I'll call Keith right now," she promised. "And if he isn't home, I'll keep calling until Parker gets here. Okay?"
"Thanks, Jana," said Beth gratefully. "You're the best friend anyone could ever have."
After she hung up the phone, Jana gazed around the empty apartment. It would be another hour before her mom and Pink got home from work. It would be best to call Keith now, the way she had promised, while there was no one around to
hear her conversation. But what am I going to say? she asked herself as she punched in his number. It was too late now to make plans. She would just have to play it by ear. Who knows, she thought hopefully, maybe he won't even be home.
Naturally Keith answered the phone.
"Hi, Keith," said Jana.
"Hey! Jana!" he cried, and she couldn't help thinking that he seemed surprisingly glad to hear her voice.
"Listen, Keith. There's something I need to talk to you about," she said. "It's about Beth," she added softly.
"Oh, yeah. I saw you talking to her at noon. She looked pretty torn up."
Jana was irritated that he sounded so unconcerned, but she didn't say so. Instead, she went on, "I was wondering about why you broke up with her. I know you said that you just got tired of going with her . . ." Jana hesitated, gathering courage, and then plunged on. "But I was wondering if there was another reason. You know, maybe something she did that you didn't like. Or something she said."
There was a pause on the other end of the line. "Now that you mention it, there was another reason," he replied.
Jana's hopes leapt. "There was?"
"Sure," Keith answered, sounding pleased again. "A big reason."
"Could you tell me what it was?" Jana asked. "You see, Beth still really likes you, and if it was a misunderstanding or something like that, maybe you guys could get back together."
"Naw," Keith assured her. "It's nothing like that."
"Are you certain?" Jana pressed. "Maybe she could explain, or even apologize. Are you sure it wouldn't work?"
"Positive," said Keith. "And if you really want to know why I broke up with Beth, I'll tell you."
"Okay," Jana murmured, waiting tensely.
"So that I can ask you out now that you and Randy have split."