Fabulous Five 023 - Mall Mania

by Betsy Haynes

  Dekeisha Adams smiled and waved as Beth passed her locker. Then Dekeisha did a double take.

  "Hey, Beth!" she called out. "Wait a minute. Where did you get those awesome earrings?"

  "I made them," Beth said, "by accident."

  Dekeisha cocked an eyebrow. "By accident?"

  "Yup," said Beth.

  "So what are they made of?" Dekeisha asked. "I mean, besides the buttons?"

  Beth laughed. "Would you believe fishing line and red paint?"

  Dekeisha laughed, too. "Wow. I love them."

  "Thanks," Beth said, and hurried on down the hall. By the time Beth got to her first-period class, five people had stopped her to ask about her earrings. But more than that, she had come up with a terrific idea for The Wakeman Bulletin Board.

  After school she hurried to her locker to put away her books. The Media Club was meeting in five minutes, and she could hardly wait to tell everyone her great idea. She was shoving her books onto the top shelf when she felt a tug on her hair. She whirled around.

  "Keith! What do you think you're doing?"

  Keith shrugged and slumped against her locker. "Pulling your hair."

  "There's not much to pull," she said with a laugh, looking up into his eyes. He was so cute. His blondish hair was swept back a little from his forehead, and his eyes were twinkling as he gazed back at her.

  "I haven't seen much of you since your awesome appearance on TV," he said.

  "I know," she said. "I've been pretty busy with the Media Club."

  He reached out and touched one of her earrings. "Hey, these are great. Are they new?"

  Beth grinned. "Yes and no."

  "What's that supposed to mean?" Keith asked.

  "They're brand-new earrings made out of old junk I found around the house."

  Keith looked impressed. "Wow! You're not only pretty and talented, but artistic, too."

  Beth felt her cheeks heat up. "Thanks."

  "What are you doing after the Media Club meeting?" he asked. "Want to meet me at Bumpers?"

  "Sure," she replied. "Our meeting should be over in about an hour. I'll see you then."

  Beth watched Keith walk down the hall and out the door. He had seemed so proud of her TV appearance. She hoped she could be as successful on this week's show.

  Shawnie let out a whoop when she saw Beth's earrings.

  "Hey," she exclaimed. "These are wonderful."

  Funny, Paul, and Shane walked over just as Shawnie moved in close to examine the earrings. Then she stood back and narrowed her eyes, deep in thought.

  "You got them at the Treasure Trove, right?" Shawnie asked.

  Beth smiled and shook her head. Shawnie knew the mall better than any other living human.

  "Don't tell me, don't tell me," Shawnie insisted, waving her hands. "Let me think. I know! Emerson's."

  "Nope."

  "Hmmm," Shawnie said. "Juniors' Jungle?"

  "No," Funny interjected. "I'd guess Earrings Galore."

  Beth laughed. "I didn't buy them anywhere. I made them."

  Shawnie gave her a skeptical look. "Aw, come on."

  "I'm perfectly serious," Beth insisted. "Not only that, I made them out of stuff I found around the house, which means that they're recycled junk." She turned to Paul. "Are you still looking for ideas for your ecology segment? I could bring them to the taping and show the audience how to make something out of nothing."

  "Beth, you're a genius!" Paul exclaimed. "That's just exactly the kind of thing we're looking for. Can you make more? You know, different styles?"

  "Sure," said Beth.

  "That's a super idea," said Funny.

  "I think so, too," agreed Mr. Levine. "It would be a great addition to the show. I think the kids will be very interested to learn how you make them."

  "I'll do it," Beth said, grinning. Then she laughed and struck a dramatic pose. "Anything for the cause!"

  When Beth walked through the door of Bumpers, she saw Keith sitting in a booth with Randy Kirwan and Jana. Keith waved as soon as he saw her.

  She hurried over to join them.

  "What'll you have?" Keith asked.

  "Something big, and gooey, and chocolate," said Beth, rubbing her hands together in anticipation.

  Keith started scooting out of the booth to head for the order counter when Shawnie came rushing up.

  "Beth!" she said, breathlessly. "I forgot to tell you—I was distracted by your earrings at the meeting. My parents will kill me if I don't give you this message." Shawnie ran her finger across her throat and made a cutting sound. "They say you have to start paying them back for your purchases right away."

  Beth's heart started beating hard. She felt her cheeks flame. She had never been so mortified in her life. And why hadn't Shawnie talked to her in private instead of in front of Keith and Jana and Randy?

  "Right away?" she murmured.

  Shawnie nodded. "My parents weren't thrilled that I loaned you my card. They want the money for what you charged by the time the bill comes in. They don't want to have to lay out the money themselves."

  Beth couldn't look up, so she just nodded stiffly, knowing everyone could see how humiliated she was. "Of course." Her voice was soft. "I'll start paying them back this weekend when I get my allowance. Tell them they can expect my first payment then."

  Shawnie shook her head. "I don't think that your allowance will be enough, Beth," she said. "My parents want you to pay at least thirty percent of what you owe. If you pay that much each week, it will all be paid off by the time the bill comes in."

  Beth jerked herself upright. "Thirty percent!" She did some quick figuring in her head and gasped. "Shawnie, my allowance isn't even ten percent!"

  Shawnie frowned. "I'm sorry, Beth, but my parents are pretty steamed at me for letting you use my credit card."

  Beth felt as if she were sinking in quicksand. "Well . . . maybe I can drum up some baby-sitting jobs this weekend," she said hopefully.

  "I'm supposed to pick up your payment on Friday after the shoot," Shawnie told her.

  "Oh, no!" cried Beth. It felt as if a rock had suddenly formed in her stomach.

  Shawnie nodded. "Or they say they'll call your parents." Beth groaned and slumped back against the booth. The rock had just turned to a boulder.

  "My parents are going to be furious!" She held her head in her hands, no longer worried about being embarrassed in front of her friends. "I should never have bought those things!"

  She felt a hand on her arm. "Beth," Jana said softly. "I could lend you—"

  Beth felt a tingle of hope for an instant, but then she shook her head and said emphatically, "No! That's what got me into this mess in the first place. Borrowing money and buying on credit!" She looked at Jana, and her face softened. "Thanks, Jana, but I'm going to have to get myself out of this." Then she looked at Shawnie again. "Tell your parents that I'll talk with my mom and dad, and that they will be paid back as quickly as possible."

  "Okay," said Shawnie. She turned and left Bumpers.

  "I don't know what that was all about," Keith began, "but if you need some help—"

  Beth rose from the table. "It's my mess and something I'm going to have to take care of." She looked at the floor, feeling embarrassed and a little sick to her stomach all over again. "I'm really sorry to run off like this, but I don't think I'd be very good company right now."

  "No problem," Randy said.

  "I'll talk to you later," Keith said. He reached over and squeezed Beth's hand.

  "Thanks," she said to all of them.

  "I'll call you tonight," Jana said. "Good luck."

  Beth sighed. "I'm going to need as much of that as I can get."

  She gathered up her book bag and slung it over her shoulder. Then she and the boulder in her stomach headed out the door toward home.

  CHAPTER 10

  "How in the world am I going to tell them?" Beth whispered. She had stopped outside Bumpers and was trying to hear herself think above the pounding of
her heart. She couldn't just go home and admit to her parents that she had gone behind their backs and run up a bill for new clothes that they had told her she definitely could not have because money was tight right now. And she certainly couldn't tell them the truth about sneaking out to the mall with Shawnie and then lying to them by saying that Shawnie had lent her the outfits.

  "I didn't lie," she corrected herself as she headed slowly in the direction of home. "I never ever said that Shawnie lent me the clothes." She swallowed hard at the thought of what she had actually said. "I just put it in a way that made them think she did."

  Scuffing along, she wished desperately that something—anything—would come along and make the whole problem disappear.

  Maybe her parents had entered a million-dollar sweepstakes, and the letter would come today saying they had won. Then the amount she had charged at Tanninger's would hardly mean a thing.

  Or maybe her father had just gotten a humongous promotion and raise, and to celebrate he would give each of the Barry kids a crisp, new one-hundred-dollar bill!

  "Dream on," Beth muttered, and kicked a rock into the street.

  When she got home, she tiptoed up to her room. I'm not really stalling, Beth told herself. I'm just not ready. She racked her brain. How could she explain it so that her parents would understand? Nothing she could think of sounded right.

  Talking to them at dinner was out of the question. Todd and Alicia were squabbling over whose turn it was to clear the table. Brian was telling Mr. Barry about a hot new car one of his friends had, and Brittany was listening for the phone, as usual. For once in her life, Beth was glad she was the middle child. The one no one ever paid any attention to. That way, no one noticed that she only picked at her food as she agonized over her impending moment of doom.

  As soon as dinner was over, she hurried back to her room to try one more time to find the perfect thing to say.

  "You see, Mom and Dad, Shawnie practically forced me to use her credit card. And she said her parents wouldn't care and that I could take forever to pay her back."

  Beth sighed. Of course, that wasn't exactly true. Shawnie hadn't forced her to do anything. On the other hand, Beth argued with herself, Shawnie did insist, saying that I had to look good enough to be on the show with her. Beth bristled at the thought. It really was partly Shawnie's fault. If she hadn't been so worried that I'd wear something awful and embarrass her, probably none of this would ever have happened.

  And Shawnie did say that her parents wouldn't care. And that I could take as long as I wanted to pay her back. So it is partly her fault, after all.

  Beth flopped onto her bed and stared at the ceiling. But what good would it do to blame Shawnie? Her own parents would say it didn't make any difference. That she knew the rules in the Barry family and she had broken them. Besides, Beth thought, Shawnie's never had to worry about money, so she doesn't understand what it's like in a family that does. She wasn't trying to get me in trouble on purpose.

  Suddenly Beth sat up with a start. What if she talked to Shawnie's parents instead of her own? After all, they were rich and didn't really need the money, anyway. She could phone them and explain that she couldn't possibly pay thirty percent by Friday, and maybe they could work out a payment plan to last for the next year or so. That way she could pay the Pendergasts back, and her own parents would never have to know or be disappointed in her. Maybe she could even work off part of the debt, doing chores for Mr. and Mrs. Pendergast. She'd do anything. It would be worth it. She'd be their slave.

  Slumping back against her pillow, she closed her eyes and thought about Shawnie's parents. It was easy to see where Shawnie got her good looks. They were both tall and thin and very expensive-looking, with an air about them that they were always busy. Terribly busy. Almost too busy to breathe. That wasn't all. Every time she'd been around them, Beth had had another feeling about them. They were crabby. And unsympathetic. That's why they gave Shawnie credit cards instead of love.

  Beth swallowed the lump in her throat. At least her own parents loved her. Even when she did something totally stupid like this. And even though they couldn't buy her lots of expensive clothes or give her her own credit card, she would a million, billion, zillion, lillion times rather talk to them than to Shawnie's parents. And she would do it right now, she thought with determination.

  Beth blew her nose and stuck a couple of extra tissues into her jeans pocket. Then, crossing and uncrossing her fingers three times for luck, she headed down the stairs to find her mom and dad.

  CHAPTER 11

  "You did what!" Mr. Barry exploded over the top of the sports page. He leaned forward, pushing his recliner into an upright position, and gave Beth an astonished stare.

  Her mother was frowning as she put the mystery she was reading down on the sofa beside her. "I think you'd better explain."

  Beth nodded. She wasn't sure she could. The lump in her throat was getting bigger by the second. But she took a deep breath and started telling her parents all about using Shawnie's credit card to get new clothes to wear on TV.

  As soon as Beth finished, she could see that her parents looked just as angry and disappointed with her as she had expected them to be.

  "This is very serious, Beth," Mrs. Barry said finally. "I hope you understand that."

  "I do," Beth answered in a small voice.

  "I simply can't believe you'd do it!" Mr. Barry looked at her, shaking his head. "You sneaked around. You lied . . ." His voice trailed off in exasperation.

  Beth hung her head. "I know. I just got carried away."

  "Well, young lady," her father said, "I think your mother and I had better talk this situation over. Go up to your room, and we'll be up to discuss this further in a little while. Why don't you give some thought to solutions, too."

  Beth dragged herself up the stairs. What could she do? She didn't have any money stashed anywhere. There was only one solution. Her parents would have to pay the Pendergasts' credit card bill, and then she would have to spend the rest of her life paying her parents back.

  In her room she went to her closet and pulled out the gorgeous black dress with the red trim she had worn last week. She held it up and looked at herself sadly in the mirror. If only she had never seen this beautiful dress. Or, at the very least, resisted the temptation to buy it. With a sigh she hung it back in the closet. As she started to step back, her gaze fell on the blazer hanging next to it. The great blue blazer she planned to wear for Friday's taping. It had never been worn. In fact, the tags were still on it.

  Beth bit her bottom lip. She didn't absolutely have to have the blazer. Her old dress would look brand-new with the scarf from Whitley's. Anti if she took the blazer back to Tanninger's and asked them to credit Shawnie's account with the purchase price, that would make up for some of what she owed.

  She was feeling a little better by the time her parents knocked on her bedroom door a few minutes later, and she eagerly explained her plan to return the unworn blazer.

  "That's a wonderful idea," her father said, sounding genuinely pleased.

  "The next order of business is to decide how you will pay off the Pendergasts' credit card bill," said her mother.

  "I know," Beth whispered.

  "We'll take care of their payment," said Mr. Barry, "but then you'll have to pay us back."

  "And take care of the debt you incurred with your friends," added her mother.

  "We've decided that your allowance will come directly back to us, and every penny you earn babysitting will come to us until your debt is paid off," said her father.

  "Okay," Beth agreed. "That sounds fair."

  "It's more than fair," said her mother. "When you're out on your own, there won't be anyone to bail you out of trouble, you know."

  "That's right," added her father. "People can lose everything they've worked for if they get into debt over their heads."

  Beth nodded. "I know. I've learned my lesson."

  "Honey," Mrs. Barry said, "I think w
e need to rethink some of your spending habits. Would you get us some paper and a pencil."

  Beth got up and grabbed a pad and pencil.

  "Let's write down how much you usually spend in a week and see how you're spending it," her mother continued.

  "Okay." Beth thought a minute. "Well, there are sodas and ice cream and sometimes french fries at Bumpers a couple of afternoons a week, paperbacks at the bookstore"—she glanced at her mother, who was busily writing what she said, along with approximately how much those items cost—"and maybe a pair of earrings or a necklace or something when I go to the mall on Saturdays. Oh, and tapes and records, too."

  "And you buy your lunch at the mall, too, right?" her mother said.

  "Yeah, and sometimes we go to a movie."

  Her mother held her pencil poised over the list. "Is that it?"

  "I guess. That's kind of an average week."

  "Okay," her mother said. "Let's add those up." She did the figuring and showed the total to Beth and her father. "Now let's write down your allowance."

  "They're almost the same amount," Beth said sadly.

  Mrs. Barry nodded. "That's right. Now, you have baby-sitting jobs that allow you to buy a little extra occasionally."

  "A lot of times I save baby-sitting money to buy birthday and Christmas presents," Beth pointed out.

  Mrs. Barry looked at her husband. "What do you think, dear?"

  "I think it's time for Beth to start a savings program," he said, turning to Beth.

  Her mother nodded. "After you pay off your debt to the Pendergasts and your friends, we'd like you to begin saving half of everything you earn."

  Beth's heart sank. "Half?" she whispered in astonishment.

  "You know, Beth, college isn't many years away," her mother said. "With five kids, your dad and I will need for you to help out with college expenses."

  "But . . ." Beth interjected.

  Her mother held up her hand. "If you start saving half of what you earn now, you'll have a substantial amount of money when you really need it," she went on.

  Beth had expected a lecture on finances. She knew that what her parents were saying was absolutely true, but that didn't make it any easier to sit here and listen to it. And putting half her money into a savings account sounded horrible! How could she possibly do that?