by Betsy Haynes
Jana's mouth dropped open in horror. "What?" she whispered.
"You heard me. It's you I like, not Beth. I've liked you for a long time, but I knew I didn't stand a chance while you were going steady with Kirwan."
Oh, no! thought Jana. This can't be happening. What am I going to tell Beth now?
CHAPTER 7
Jana couldn't believe what she was hearing. The last thing in the world she wanted was to be the cause of Beth and Keith's breaking up.
"I have to go now. My mom's calling me," she lied.
As soon as she hung up the phone, she sprawled across the sofa and buried her face in one of its soft cushions. What's happening? she asked herself over and over.
It had started out so innocently, with her deciding that she and Randy should date others for a while to see if they really cared for each other as much as they believed they did. And they had made a date for one month after the breakup to talk things over. That was it. No big deal. But now, Beth had a broken heart because Keith had broken up with her, and Keith wanted to take Jana out.
"Beth will hate me if she ever finds out," Jana whispered. "My very best friend in the world will never trust me again."
Jana was still lying on the sofa when her mother came home a little while later. "Something wrong, dear?" Mrs. Pinkerton asked.
Jana poured out the whole story for her mother, and was grateful when she didn't say, I told you so. Instead Mrs. Pinkerton gave Jana a sympathetic pat and said, "I wouldn't worry too much. I'm sure you don't intend to go out with Keith, do you?"
"Of course not," said Jana. "I wouldn't go out with him if he were the last boy on earth."
"Then how could Beth get mad at you? You can't help it if Keith has a crush on you. Beth may not be happy about it, but she can't blame you," Mrs. Pinkerton assured her.
Jana felt a little better, and by the time six-thirty came, she was actually looking forward to getting to know Parker better. It was exciting that he was part of a rock band, and he definitely was handsome. Still, she was awfully nervous.
Maybe I can talk him out of going to Bumpers after we finish our homework, she thought, since being seen in public with him is the scariest thing of all. We could watch TV or something instead.
She almost jumped out of her skin when the doorbell rang.
"Do you want to get that, Jana?" called Pink from the living room. "It's probably your friend."
Jana raced to the door and opened it. Parker was standing there with his books in hand, grinning as usual. She ushered him into the apartment's tiny foyer. "This is my mom and my stepdad. Mom and Pink, this is Parker Donovan."
"Hi, Parker. Welcome," Pink said, shaking Parker's hand while Jana's mother said hello.
"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. . . . umm . . ."
He looked helplessly at Jana, and she realized that he didn't know their last name.
"Pinkerton," she said quickly. Of course he wouldn't know, she thought. This is the first time he's ever met them. But still it seemed strange. She had never had to clue in Randy about anything like that. He had been around long before her mom and Pink had gotten married.
"So do you like to bowl?" Pink asked Parker, his voice full of enthusiasm. Parker was glancing at the shelf full of bowling trophies in the living room.
"Never tried it," answered Parker.
"Well, one of these days . . ." Pink began, but Jana's mother cut him off.
"I'm sure Parker has lots of things to keep him busy," she said gently to her husband, and then winked at Jana. "Make yourself at home, Parker." Then she steered Pink back to the living room, where the television was on.
Jana led Parker into the kitchen and stood there awkwardly for a moment. "I guess we can study in here," she said, gesturing toward the table.
"Sure." He dropped his books on the side of the table nearest the refrigerator and sat down.
Jana frowned. Randy always sat on the other side when they studied together. Not that it mattered. Except that the kitchen was tiny, and if Parker sat next to the fridge, she would have to ask him to move when she got out sodas and ice. Sighing, she got her own books from the counter and placed them across the table from Parker.
"Want something to drink before we get started?" she asked brightly.
"Sure," he said. "Got any root beer?"
Jana shook her head. Randy always drank cola. "All we have is cola," she told him apologetically.
"Naw," he replied. "I'll just skip it."
Jana swallowed hard. Why hadn't she thought to get something besides cola on her way home from school? She should have known Parker might want something else. Not every boy was like Randy.
The thought made her sit up straight. Then she slumped again. Of course every boy isn't like Randy, she scolded herself.
"I'll go ahead and start the popcorn, then," she said. She and Randy always ate popcorn while they studied, and everybody in the world liked popcorn.
"Hey, don't make any for me." Parker grinned. "I love the stuff, but it gets under my retainer."
"Oh," Jana said, feeling totally deflated. "Is there anything you would like?"
Parker thought a minute. "I forgot my pencil."
Jana grabbed an extra pencil out of the cup beside the phone and handed it to him. "I guess we'd better get started," she said with the best smile she could muster.
Parker nodded. "Yeah, the sooner we get started, the sooner we get it over with." Then he grinned and added, "And we can cut out for Bumpers."
Jana sat down and opened her history book, flipping to chapter seventeen. She looked nervously across at Parker, who was slowly turning the pages of his book. He looked so relaxed, and her heart was thumping away like a runaway bumper car. He didn't like cola. He couldn't eat popcorn. And he was in a big hurry to get to Bumpers, where tons of Wacko kids might see them. Things weren't going well at all, and she didn't know what to do about it.
She jumped a foot when the phone rang. She heard her mother answer. A few seconds later she appeared in the kitchen doorway. "It's Beth."
Jana felt goose bumps rise on her arms. Beth must be feeling pretty desperate to be calling now. Jana had promised Beth she would call her as soon as she talked to Keith, but Beth knew that Parker was coming over to study.
"Would you explain that I can't talk to her now?" Jana asked, nodding toward Parker, who was bent over his book, tapping a beat on the table with his pencil while he read.
Her mother nodded and left the room. Jana felt bad about not talking to Beth. But what could she do? Even if she knew what to say to Beth, which she didn't, she certainly couldn't say it in front of Parker.
She went back to her reading, but she wasn't making much progress. In fact, she realized, she had just read the same paragraph three times.
Suddenly Parker looked up at her. His eyes were twinkling, and he gave her a lopsided grin. "Hey, that's enough reading. I can't hack any more of this stuff! Let's start on the questions."
Jana was dumbfounded. "But how can we answer the questions if we haven't read the chapter?"
Parker shook his head in amusement. "We'll look up the answers. That's all we need for the test, anyway."
"But—" sputtered Jana.
"I know what I'm talking about," said Parker. He leaned back in his chair and gave her a cocky grin. "Old Naset always uses the questions at the end of the chapters for his tests. He'd never go to the trouble of making up his own. Reading the chapter is just a waste of time."
Jana wasn't sure how he talked her into it, but half an hour later they had looked up the answers to all the history questions and were walking into Bumpers. Loud music came from the old Wurlitzer jukebox, and the place was filled with an astounding number of kids that Jana knew.
"Now this is what I call homework!" Parker exclaimed happily as he steered her toward a table near the front door. But instead of sitting down with her, he began gyrating to the rap beat of the song and lip-synching the words.
Jana wished she could crawl away somewhere and
hide. So what if he was one of The Dreadful Alternatives? Did he have to put on a solo performance when she was there with him!
Kids in nearby booths clapped their hands in time with the music and urged him on. Others moved closer from booths farther away. It was obvious to Jana that Parker was loving every minute of it. "All RIGHT!" he yelled as the music ended and everybody applauded wildly.
Parker made a little bow to the crowd and sat down, spinning around to give Jana a dopey grin.
She tried to smile back, but her face felt like cement. She was glad when she heard someone call her name.
"Hi, Jana!" Dekeisha Adams sped across the floor, carrying a plate of french fries. "See you're with Mr. Cool!" she added behind a hand, and then giggled.
Before Jana could answer, Alexis Duvall yelled from a booth, "Hey, Morgan. What are you doing here on a school night?"
Jana waved to both Dekeisha and Alexis. Mr. Cool, Dekeisha had called Parker. Jana frowned. I'd like it better if he were a little less cool, she thought.
"Isn't this place great?" Parker asked, drumming his fingers on the table. "It's always like this on school nights. You don't know what you've been missing by staying home and reading your history book," he added, raising an eyebrow.
She felt a tap on her shoulder and looked around to see Alexis standing there.
"Want to go to the girls' room with me?" asked Alexis. "I need to talk to you."
Jana excused herself and followed Alexis, grateful to get away from Parker for a moment. When they reached the restroom, Alexis looked around and didn't speak until she was sure they were alone.
"I just wanted you to know that Randy's here," she said.
Jana gulped. "He is?" she asked weakly. "Is he with anyone?"
Alexis nodded. "He came in with Tony Sanchez, but half the girls in the place are sitting in their booth and flirting their heads off with Randy. And he's loving every minute of it."
"Who's flirting with him?" Jana demanded.
"Laura McCall and Tammy Lucero were there for a while. Now Marcie Bee and Melinda Thaler are sitting there, and naturally Sara Sawyer. She told Lisa Snow that she's had a crush on Randy for ages and that she's thrilled you guys broke up."
"You're kidding!" Jana exploded. "Sara Sawyer's supposed to be my friend!"
"Ha!" scoffed Alexis. "You know as well as I do that friendship goes down the tubes when it comes to boys. If you ask me, you should never have let Randy out of your clutches."
At that moment Jana couldn't have agreed more.
CHAPTER 8
Jana glanced toward Randy's booth as she left the restroom. Alexis had been right. Not only were Marcie and Melinda sitting with Tony and Randy, but Sara was right beside him, looking at him with adoring eyes. What was worse, Randy was smiling back at her.
Pain stabbed Jana's heart. She couldn't stand to look at them, so she took a deep breath and hurried back to the table where Parker waited.
His face lit up as she approached. "I got us a couple of root beers," he said, waving a hand toward a pair of glasses on the table.
Jana tried not to frown. Why hadn't he asked her what she wanted instead of going ahead and getting her something? She hated root beer! Randy would have brought her a cola, after he had asked her what she wanted. He was totally considerate, which was more than she could say for Parker.
She sighed and sat down, murmuring thank you. Then she picked up the glass and put the straw in her mouth, taking a tiny sip of the sickly sweet root beer. At least that way, she could avoid talking. Parker was really getting on her nerves.
"I'd better be heading home," she said a few minutes later.
"Hey," protested Parker, "we just got here."
"I know, but I forgot that I have some other homework to do," she lied, hoping that he wouldn't ask her which subject.
Parker shrugged and loudly slurped the last of his root beer. Jana cringed in embarrassment. Randy would never do a thing like that.
She darted a quick look toward Randy's booth as she and Parker left Bumpers. Her heart sank. Sara was still looking at Randy adoringly. Randy was still smiling at her. And now they were alone in the booth.
Parker talked a mile a minute as they walked back to Jana's apartment building. He told her about the new songs The Dreadful Alternatives were working on and about a date they had in two weeks to play for a ninth-grader's birthday party.
Jana nodded a few times at appropriate places, but otherwise she was glad that she didn't have to make conversation. She was anxious to get this evening over with. Parker Donovan was definitely not the boy for her.
When they reached her front door, Jana thanked him for the root beer at Bumpers and started to say good-night as she dug in her jacket pocket for her key.
Suddenly Parker bent toward her, slipping one arm around her and lifting her chin with his other hand. Before she knew what was happening, he kissed her so hard on the lips that she could feel the outline of his retainer.
Her eyes opened wide as she pushed away from him, but if he knew she didn't like the kiss, he didn't show it.
"Gotta go now," said Parker, his impish grin reappearing. "Catch you later."
Jana sank against the door and watched him disappear down the hall.
"So how did things go with Parker Donovan last night?" Melanie asked Jana. Melanie and Katie were already standing by the fence when Jana arrived at school the next morning.
Jana blew out an exasperated breath before she answered. "He's such a show-off. We went to Bumpers, and he made an idiot of himself lip-synching to a rap song. You wouldn't believe how embarrassed I was." She couldn't bring herself to tell them about the kiss.
"You're just not used to guys like him" said Melanie. "After all, he's always on stage."
"You can say that again," muttered Jana.
"Let's face it, there's nobody like Randy," added Katie. "I don't think you guys should have broken up."
"Randy was at Bumpers, too, with Sara Sawyer," Jana told them, frowning at the memory. "Alexis said that Sara's glad we broke up because she's had a crush on Randy for ages."
Katie and Melanie exchanged glances. "We heard that, too," said Katie. "She told Marcie Bee that she's going to ask Randy to go skating this weekend. According to Marcie, Sara skates on roller blades, and she is FAN-TAS-TIC!"
Jana sighed. "I tried on a pair of roller blades once, and I couldn't even stand up on them. What's worse, Randy admires athletic people, and he'll probably think Sara is terrific."
"Don't be silly," insisted Melanie. "It's you Randy likes, and you know it."
Jana didn't answer. Instead, she glanced at her watch. Beth should be here any minute, she thought, but she still hadn't decided what she was going to say. I guess I'll just have to wing it. Jana looked around to see if Beth was coming yet, but instead of Beth, she saw Keith heading their way.
When he saw her glance at him, he started to trot, yelling, "Hey, Jana. Can I talk to you a minute? It's important."
Jana hesitated. She really didn't want to talk to Keith.
"What do you suppose he wants to talk to you about?" asked Katie.
"Maybe he's changed his mind about breaking up with Beth," Melanie said breathlessly.
Was that possible? Jana wondered. If it was, it could be the best news she'd heard in a long time. "I'd better go find out," she said to her friends, and then hurried toward Keith.
"What is it?" she asked hopefully.
Keith fidgeted nervously. "You know what I was talking about on the phone?" he asked.
Jana nodded, holding her breath.
"Well . . . well, I just wondered if you'd go to a movie with me on Friday night."
"What?" Jana shrieked. "Keith Masterson, you know very well that Beth is my best friend!" She stopped, realizing for the first time how loud she was talking. Several kids had stopped to look at her and Keith. Stepping closer to him, she continued in a lower tone. "I couldn't go out with you even if I wanted to."
He moved toward her.
"That doesn't make any difference."
Jana was getting flustered. "Of course it does," she insisted. "I can't just . . . just . . ." Suddenly she was aware that Keith was staring at something over her left shoulder. She frowned and waited for him to look at her again. When he didn't, she turned slightly to see what he was so interested in. It was Beth.
Beth was standing with Katie and Melanie. She was watching Jana and Keith with a hopeful expression on her face. Oh, no, thought Jana. Beth thinks maybe I'm patching things up between her and Keith. If she only knew.
"I've got to go now," Jana muttered to Keith. She didn't wait to hear his reply. Instead she headed slowly in Beth's direction. At that same moment Beth started walking toward her. Jana could see Melanie and Katie leaning against the fence, watching, too.
"So what did you find out?" Beth asked anxiously when they met. "Did Keith tell you why he broke up with me? Is it something stupid that I did? Something I can fix?"
Jana tried to act casual. "Gosh, I'm not sure."
Beth looked puzzled. "What do you mean, you're not sure? What did he say?"
Jana knew it was useless to stall. The important thing was to keep Beth from finding out the truth. She took a deep breath.
"He just doesn't want to go steady anymore." The words almost stuck in her throat. Still, she had started the lie; she had to finish it. "You know what copycats boys are. Just because Randy isn't going steady, Keith doesn't want to, either."
"Is that what he said?" Beth asked in amazement.
Jana hedged. "Not exactly," she fumbled. "I mean, not in those words, but I'm sure that's what he meant."
"But what did he say?" Beth insisted.
Jana felt trapped. Why did Beth have to keep pressing? But deep down she knew that she would do the same thing if it had been Randy who had broken up with her so mysteriously. Still, what could she say to Beth? Lying was always so much harder than telling the truth.
"I don't remember his exact words. Honest," she said.
"Well, maybe you could talk to him again," Beth offered.
Jana gasped. "Again?"
"Sure," said Beth. "Maybe you could tell him that we don't have to go steady if he doesn't want to. That way we could still go out."