by Betsy Haynes
At one point, when Jana set her plate of brownies on the refreshment table and Beth added her own platter of peanut butter cookies, Beth glanced toward the door. Suddenly she nudged Jana and said in a high-pitched, squeaky voice, "Oh, my gosh! Keith's here! How do I look?"
"Great," Jana called over her shoulder as she left Beth standing beside the refreshment table and raced to the tree house, where two boys were midway up the ladder, hanging on with one hand and trying to push each other off with the other.
"Okay, guys. Enough. Somebody's going to get hurt," she said in her most authoritarian voice.
"I was here first!" yelled the bigger of the two, lunging at the other boy.
"No, you weren't!" insisted the smaller one, who immediately hauled back his foot and kicked the bigger boy in the shin.
"I said, stop it!" Jana commanded. She reached out to grab each of them, only to find that now they were attacking her with their fists.
Before she could react, Keith stepped between Jana and the boys, grabbing each one firmly by the arm and drawing them slowly down the ladder. When they were standing on the floor, he leaned down and began talking to them. Jana watched in amazement. She couldn't hear what Keith was saying to the boys, but their immediate reaction was to drop their heads in shame, and she thought she heard the bigger boy saying that he was sorry. A moment later they raced off in opposite directions.
"Wow, Keith. That was terrific," said Jana in genuine admiration. "You really know how to handle second-grade boys."
Keith beamed at her. "Nothing to it," he joked. "Used to be one myself."
Jana couldn't help laughing. She remembered Keith in second grade, and he had been a holy terror.
Keith's eyes twinkled. "So maybe now you're glad I came tonight," he said. "Maybe we could sit over in the corner, and I could explain the secrets of stopping fights between little kids."
"All right, Keith, don't start that again," warned Jana. "I told you, I'm not going to date you, and that's that."
"Oh, come on, Jana. Just go out with me once, okay? Try it—you'll like it! I promise!"
"No, Keith," she said between clenched teeth. "Now leave me alone." She spun away and left him standing beside the tree house.
"What was that all about?" Beth demanded when Jana returned to the refreshment table.
Jana avoided Beth's eyes. "What was what all about?"
"You and Keith. It looked like a pretty private conversation to me."
"Don't be silly," replied Jana. "Those two little kids were trying to kill each other. Keith broke them up when I couldn't."
"Yeah, I saw that," said Beth. "But then you both hung around. What were you talking about, anyway?"
"Nothing . . ." Jana hesitated. "I mean . . . I complimented him on being able to handle second-grade boys . . . and, well . . . he made a joke about how he used to be one. Honestly, Beth, I don't understand why you're so paranoid."
Beth sighed. "Me, either. Sorry."
Jana felt like collapsing with relief. She would absolutely die if Beth ever found out that Keith was asking her out. There would be no way in the world that she could explain the truth to her best friend. It was too awful to tell anyone, even the rest of the Fabulous Five.
At the same time, she had the funny feeling that someone else was watching her. Looking up, she locked eyes with Randy, who was standing alone by the checkout desk on the other side of the room. He didn't move when their eyes met, and his expression was anything but smiling. Jana's momentary feeling of relief was replaced by a sinking feeling.
How long had Randy been watching her? Had he seen her talking to Keith, too? she wondered. And if he had, did he have the same suspicions as Beth?
CHAPTER 12
At one minute until seven o'clock Mrs. Hawley announced that the countdown to the read-in would begin. "We'll read for half an hour, tally up our pages, and then go on to another activity," she said. "Okay, everybody. Watch that second hand. Go!"
"Fifty-nine! Fifty-eight! Fifty-seven!" The second-graders chanted off the seconds as they watched the clock on the wall above the librarian's desk.
The floor was a patchwork quilt of brightly colored sleeping bags, which had been spread out for each child and his or her Book Buddy to sit on.
"Thirty-one! Thirty! Twenty-nine!"
While the countdown continued around them, Jana smiled at the slender little girl with long brown hair and enormous eyes who sat beside her. The little girl's name was Megan, and she handed Jana the book she had picked out for Jana to read to her.
"But there aren't any words in Good Dog, Carl," whispered Jana, thumbing through the pages. "It's all pictures."
Megan turned her big eyes on Jana and said solemnly, "That's okay. It's a book, and our teacher said we could pick out any book we wanted. Besides, it's my favorite story."
Jana took a deep breath and tried again. "But, Megan, looking at pictures isn't the same as reading, and that's what we're supposed to do," she explained patiently. "Surely there's another book that you like almost as much as Good Dog, Carl."
Megan blinked a couple of times and slowly shook her head. "Nope," she said. "I want Good Dog, Carl." Then she crossed her arms and looked at Jana as if to say that the subject was closed.
"Okay, okay, I'll read the pictures," Jana muttered as the countdown ended and a cheer went up around the room.
The soft murmur of the Book Buddies' voices reading to their students filled the room as Jana opened the book and began telling the story to Megan. To Jana's surprise she was suddenly glad that the little girl had chosen a book without words. It meant that she didn't have to keep her eyes glued to the page the way the other Book Buddies did. Glancing up from time to time, she was able to spot Randy sitting cross-legged on a bright red sleeping bag near the center of the room. His head was lowered as he read to a boy who listened intently and reached up now and then to swipe an unruly lock of blond hair out of his eyes.
Had Randy been watching as she talked to Keith? she wondered again. And had he actually been upset about it? Was it possible that he was worried that she might be interested in Keith? The idea gave her a small spark of hope. But then she noticed Sara Sawyer sitting on the sleeping bag beside Randy's, and she frowned.
"Come on, Jana," said Megan. "You're supposed to be reading."
Jana jerked her attention back to the book. "Oh, yeah. Sorry." When she finished the story, she handed the book back to Megan and asked, "Okay, what next?"
"Here." Megan pulled another book out of the canvas bag beside her.
"Charlotte's Web, huh?" said Jana. "That's a good one." With one last look in Randy's direction she opened the book and began to read.
At seven-thirty Mrs. Hawley blew a whistle to signal that it was time to stop reading. Megan counted up the pages they had covered and scurried up to the librarian's desk to give her their total.
As the second-graders streamed toward Mrs. Hawley, Jana sneaked another glance at Randy. To her relief he was just sitting there, looking around and not paying much attention to anybody. Curtis Trowbridge and Whitney Larkin were directly in front of him, and Whitney had stretched across her sleeping bag and was talking to Curtis.
Out of the corner of her eye Jana could see Keith trying to get her attention. Rats! she thought. Why can't he take the hint and just leave me alone?
"Psst. Jana!" Keith called.
Jana let out a sharp breath and was considering giving Keith a dirty look when she saw Sara lean over and tap Randy on the shoulder. Jana narrowed her eyes and watched Randy smile at Sara, and the two of them lapsed into conversation. Keith was still trying to attract Jana's attention, but Jana ignored him, unable to take her eyes off Randy and Sara.
"All right, everyone," called Mrs. Hawley. "Great news! Forty-five second-graders and their Book Buddies have read a total of one thousand two hundred thirty-six pages!"
A big cheer went up, and when the noise died down, Mrs. Hawley announced that they would all play a musical game for the n
ext half hour to stretch their legs before going back to reading.
Jana avoided looking at Keith all through the game, even though she could feel him looking at her. When they settled back down to reading, Jana breathed a sigh of relief that for the next half hour, at least, she wouldn't have to worry about Keith. Megan stretched out on her stomach and propped herself up on her elbows as Jana picked up the story where she had left off.
She was just finishing chapter two when something whizzed by her face and dropped into the open book in her lap. Startled, Jana looked down at a piece of paper folded and refolded into a tiny square. Probably a note from Beth, she thought, telling me about her latest scheme for getting Keith back.
Megan was gazing off into the distance, listening to the story, and hadn't noticed, so Jana unfolded the note with one hand as she continued to read aloud.
The instant she opened the note, she was sorry. It wasn't from Beth, after all. It was from Keith! Even worse, he had drawn a big heart in the center of the page, and inside the heart he had written:
Keith Masterson
+
Jana Morgan
Jana stopped reading in midsentence, and she could feel heat climbing up her neck and spreading over her face. What is the matter with Keith, anyway? she thought. What does it take to get through to him?
"What's that, Jana?" asked Megan. She was leaning forward, trying to see the note.
"Oh, nothing," Jana mumbled. She folded the paper again and put it down on the sleeping bag beside her leg, promising herself that she would deal with it later.
This time the half hour of reading seemed endless. Jana tried to keep her mind on the story for Megan's sake, but too many thoughts jumbled together in her mind. Randy and Sara's looking so interested in each other. Keith's not taking no for an answer. Beth's seeming suspicious about Jana's talking to Keith. What could go wrong next?
Finally Mrs. Hawley blew her whistle again. Megan counted the pages and scurried to turn in their tally. Refreshments would be next, and Jana scrambled to her feet and eyed the table covered with cookies, brownies, and glasses of juice. She was more than ready for a snack.
She had hardly gotten to her feet when she was almost knocked down again by Beth, who had spider-walked across half a dozen sleeping bags and she grabbed the note off the floor as she jumped to her feet beside Jana.
"What did he say?" Beth cried excitedly. "I saw Keith pitch this note in your lap. Does it say he wants to get back together with me?"
Jana watched in horror as Beth fumbled with the square piece of paper.
"No!" yelled Jana. "Give that to me!"
Beth looked at Jana in surprise as she continued to unfold the paper. "But—"
"I said, give it to me!" Jana demanded. Her hand flew out, and she grabbed at the note, tearing it in half.
A crowd of kids was gathering now to see what all the yelling was about, and Jana could see Randy staring at her with a shocked expression. She couldn't react. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion.
Beth was looking down at the two halves of the note, suspended in the air from their outstretched hands like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Now she was looking up at Jana, her eyes filled with pain. Slowly Beth's mouth opened and formed Jana's name.
"It says, 'Keith Masterson plus Jana Morgan!"' Beth cried. "How could you? You're supposed to be my best friend, and you stole my boyfriend!"
"But, Beth! You don't understand!" Jana protested. "I didn't steal your boyfriend. Keith's been asking me out now that I'm not going steady with Randy, that's all."
"Oh, yeah! I've seen you two with your heads together. And you tried to make me think you were talking about me!"
Jana grabbed Beth's arm and pulled her to the side of the room. "Beth!" she insisted, glaring at the crowd of kids staring goggle-eyed at them. "Everybody will hear you!"
"I hope everybody does hear me," Beth snapped. "I couldn't figure out why in the world you broke up with Randy, but now I understand. You wanted Keith! In fact, it was probably your idea for him to break up with me! Well, you can have him, and I'll never speak to you again!"
CHAPTER 13
Jana gathered her things and left the library before the others were up the next morning, making an excuse to Mrs. Hawley that she wasn't feeling well. She didn't want to hang around and have to face Beth again, much less Randy or Keith.
When she got home, she said a quick hello to her mother and Pink and went to her room, pacing the floor and thinking about her incredible fight with Beth. They had been best friends practically forever, and they had never had an argument this big before. Beth had whirled off like a tornado after her big outburst, leaving Jana feeling humiliated and totally alone.
"Of course Beth's totally hyper," she reminded herself aloud, "especially when it comes to Keith. And when she saw the note, she was too upset to listen to reason. But still, she should know I would never do such a terrible thing."
Why hadn't Keith come to her rescue and explained the truth? Or why hadn't Randy stuck up for her? He knew what kind of girl she was. But neither of them had said anything. They had left her to face Beth's anger alone.
I have to talk to somebody, she thought a while later. She looked at her watch, amazed at how much time had passed. It was two o'clock on Sunday afternoon. Maybe she could call Katie and Melanie. They should be at home now, and if she couldn't talk to her friends in The Fabulous Five, whom could she talk to?
Jana curled up on the end of the sofa and dialed Katie's number. It rang only once before Katie answered.
"Hi, Katie. It's Jana," she began, suddenly realizing that she hadn't planned what she was going to say.
"Oh, hi," Katie responded, and Jana thought she sounded a little funny.
"So . . . how was your big gourmet pizza party last night?" asked Jana hesitantly.
"Wow, it was très terrific," said Katie, sounding like her old self now. "You should have tasted the pizza. I put anchovies and zucchini on it."
Yuck! thought Jana, but she didn't say it. Instead she asked, "How did Tony like it?"
"He thought it was delicious, even though he wasn't very hungry."
Jana put a hand over the receiver so that Katie wouldn't hear her giggle at the idea of Tony Calcaterra's not being hungry for pizza. Someday somebody's going to have to explain to Katie that everyone's not crazy about très gourmet food, she thought. She felt more relaxed now, so she said, "I really need to talk to you. I've got a humongous problem with Beth."
"Yeah . . . I heard." The funny sound came back into Katie's voice.
Jana blinked in astonishment. "You heard?"
"Beth stopped by my house on her way home from the library, and she told me all about how you broke up with Randy and then sneaked behind her back to get Keith. Frankly, Jana, I couldn't believe you'd do such a thing, but obviously you did."
"Katie!" Jana cried. "Give me a break! How can you possibly believe that? I'm one of your best friends!"
Katie didn't say anything for a minute. "I always had a hard time buying your story about wanting to test your relationship with Randy by breaking up and dating other boys. I mean, it just didn't make sense. But now it does. You had a secret crush on Keith, and you had to break up with Randy so you could go after him. I'm really surprised at you, Jana. Beth was your best friend, and she really trusted you."
Jana drew in a sharp breath. Maybe she should have told her friends the story about her father and her mother. No, she thought, that's private. Mom told me about it in confidence. I couldn't tell Randy, and I can't tell my best friends now.
Jana stared at the telephone for a long time after she and Katie hung up. Had Beth talked to Melanie, too? If she had, there was no use in Jana's talking to her. Melanie thought of herself as an expert on boys, and she had been horrified when Jana broke up with Randy, calling her reason ridiculous. What would she think now, if she had already heard Beth's side of the story?
With a sigh, Jana called Melanie's house. Jeffy, Melanie's six-
year-old brother, answered.
"Edwards residence. Mr. Jeffy Edwards speaking," he said proudly.
Jana smiled in spite of herself "Mr. Jeffy, this is Jana. Is Melanie there?"
"Yup," he said, and the phone clattered on the table as he raced off, calling his sister's name.
A moment later he was back. "This is Mr. Jeffy again. She said to tell you she's not home. Bye."
Before Jana could protest, the dial tone buzzed in her ear.
Jana replaced the receiver on its hook and looked around the room in despair. Beth had talked to Melanie—that was obvious—and now, just when she had thought that things couldn't possibly get worse, they had! Katie and Melanie had taken sides with Beth. And not only were she and Randy broken up, and Beth and Keith broken up, but it looked as if The Fabulous Five might break up, too!
Jana dreaded going to school the next morning. Rumors always spread like wildfire at Wakeman, and she was sure that anybody who hadn't heard about Beth's accusations by now would before the bell rang for class. It would make juicy gossip, the kind that would keep kids whispering behind her back for days.
She knew the instant she reached the school ground that she had been right. Nobody looked at her as she walked along.
She stopped when she saw Beth and Katie and Melanie standing by the fence. She had been automatically heading that way. The Fabulous Five met there every morning to talk and giggle and wait for the bell.
But what about today? Would they want her standing there with them? Would they even talk to her if she went over to join them? She had an awful feeling in the pit of her stomach that they wouldn't. They weren't looking her way, either, but she was certain they knew she was there.
They should also know that I would never stoop so low as to steal my best friend's boyfriend! Jana wanted to shout. I shouldn't have to convince them of anything!