by Betsy Haynes
Beth slouched down in her seat and concentrated on eating her popcorn one piece at a time.
CHAPTER 8
"How can you see the screen from way down there?" asked Jana as the movie started.
"Oh, I can see fine," answered Beth. "I'm looking between shoulders."
"Oh," said Jana, giving Beth an odd look.
From the deep hole she had made in her seat, Beth could watch the tops of the actors' heads as they walked back and forth across the screen. Who cares, she said angrily to herself, from what the actors are saying, this movie doesn't seem very interesting anyway. Maybe if I try, I can go to sleep and wake up after the movie's over and everyone's gone home.
Even slouched down the way she was, she could still see Christie's and Keith's heads close to each other. Keith said something to Christie and she laughed. Then Christie tried to put popcorn in his mouth and ended up stuffing his cheeks full. Keith ate the popcorn while Christie laughed at him again. Tears came to Beth's eyes. They were acting as if they had been going together a long time.
Beth tried not to look at them. She listened as hard as she could to what the actors were saying and looked around the theater at the decorations on the ceiling and the long drapes. She wondered what it cost them to have the drapes cleaned. How many rows there were, and how many seats were in each row. But before she knew it was happening, her treacherous eyes had returned to the black silhouettes of Christie's and Keith's heads.
Will he put his arm around her? I'll get up and walk out of here if he does that, Beth thought. Christie's leaning to talk to Keith now. Their heads are almost touching. What's she saying? Are they talking about me?
They're laughing again, Beth thought, squirming. She bent forward to try and hear but bumped her nose on the seat in front of her instead. Jana flashed her another look.
"Are you okay?" she whispered.
Beth nodded and rubbed her nose. She slumped back down in the seat angrily. This time she held up the popcorn box as if she were trying to read what it said on the side. It blocked her view of Keith and Christie and the screen. But even without the box of popcorn, she wouldn't have been able to see the movie. She was looking at things through watery eyes.
Beth struggled to wake up the next morning. She had hardly slept the night before and had dreams of Christie and Keith walking hand in hand on a sandy beach lined with palm trees with sea gulls flying overhead. She pulled on her bathrobe and padded down the hall to the bathroom.
Yuk! she thought, looking at her red eyes. I might have to use my stage makeup today to get rid of these bags. I look like someone out of a vampire movie.
She paused, remembering the time she had gotten that terrible zit and had colored it over as if it were a bruise so Keith wouldn't see it. She giggled at the memory. She had put foundation over the bruise when she had gone to cheer at a game. Her perspiration made the foundation run, and the red bruise looked like blood and everyone thought she was bleeding to death. And I did it all so Keith wouldn't know I got zits, she thought.
The stadium was filling up quickly as Beth joined the other cheerleaders on the sidelines that afternoon. She looked out on the field where the teams were practicing and saw Keith, looking gorgeous in his red and gold uniform. She could swear that he looked in her direction a couple of times. Had he smiled at her? It looked as if he had.
"Okay, everybody!" Kaci Davis yelled through her megaphone. "Let's warm up with Out of Sight."
Beth took her position in the lineup as they began the cheer.
"We're number one,
and we can't be beat!
We're coming on strong.
Can you feel the heat?"
Beth saw Jana, Christie, and Katie climbing the stairway into the stands. She looked over her shoulder to see if Keith was looking at Christie and did a herkie when the rest of the team did a spread eagle. When the cheer was over, Kaci frowned at her.
At least I ought to get some credit for doing a herkie, thought Beth. It's a lot harder to do than a split anyway.
The team did two more cheers and Beth goofed one more time. "What's wrong?" Melanie asked her. "You missed two jumps."
"I just haven't gotten warmed up yet. I'll be all right."
Beth glanced at the players again. Keith was looking in her direction. He was looking at her, she just knew it.
"Yea, Keith!" came a shout from behind her, and Keith waved.
Beth spun and looked up into the stands. Christie was on her feet and waving both hands at Keith. Beth's heart sank and resentment washed over her. He hadn't been looking at Beth, after all. He had been watching for Christie.
Wakeman kicked off and Georgetown drove the ball eighty yards for a touchdown on their first possession. Beth counted four times that Mike Saharis carried the ball, and he gained a bunch of yards. If he kept that up, it would be tough for Keith to catch him no matter how well Keith did.
On the first play after the kickoff, Randy Kirwan handed the ball off to Keith, and he came thundering toward the sideline with three Georgetown players in pursuit. He cut downfield and was hit by a big player and sent sprawling. The ball came loose and a Georgetown player fell on it. Keith got up and Beth could see he was angry with himself for fumbling.
Wakeman held Georgetown to no gain for two plays, then Mike Saharis broke through the line and went forty yards for a touchdown.
The rest of the first half was a lot of the same. Every time Keith got the ball, he was hit at the line of scrimmage or dropped for a loss.
Beth watched him try time and time again to break through the line. She could tell by the look on his face that he was giving it everything he had, but it just wasn't good enough.
In the second half, the Wakeman team switched tactics, and Randy started throwing the ball. Shane Arrington caught a pass for a twenty-yard gain, and it took four Georgetown players to bring him down. Scott Daly caught another and made it into the end zone for a touchdown.
Melanie went wild and threw her pom-pons into the air. Two of the boys that Melanie liked were making big plays, and she couldn't decide which one to yell for the loudest.
On the extra point try, Randy gave the ball to Keith, and he was almost destroyed at the line of scrimmage. Beth's heart broke when she saw him crawl out from under the pileup and limp off the field. His red and gold uniform was dirty and grass-stained, and his face was beet red from the effort he had given.
The final score was Georgetown twenty-one and Wakeman twenty. It was Wakeman's first loss of the season. Worst yet, Beth knew that Mike Saharis had gained about a zillion yards and Keith hadn't gained any. He wouldn't beat out Mike to be first in the league in yards gained.
As the teams trotted off the field, Keith walked behind with his head down. For a second Beth wanted to run up to him and hug him and tell him that it was okay that he hadn't gained a bunch of yards.
But just as she started to move toward him, Christie came onto the field and ran to him. Beth stopped short and turned away.
CHAPTER 9
The crowd at Bumpers was subdued when Beth and Melanie got there. Beth could tell by the way everyone was talking quietly that they were taking Wakeman's first loss hard.
"There they are," said Melanie, waving to Jana, Christie, and Katie. Their friends motioned them over to the big corner booth that had lots of space for kids to sit.
"Boy, what a game," said Jana with disgust.
"We lost by one measly point," growled Christie.
"Well it wasn't Keith's fault! He tried to make that extra point!" snapped Beth. "He did the best he could."
"Whoa," said Katie.
Christie looked at Beth with her mouth opened in surprise. "No one said it was Keith's fault. He wasn't the only player on the field."
"We know Keith did his best," said Jana.
"I just mean, he had a bad day. Everyone has a bad day now and then."
Beth took a deep breath. Why had she jumped on Christie that way?
She changed the subject
quickly. "Randy and Shane really did well. How many passes did Randy complete?"
Jana's face took on a glow of pride. "Ten, I think." The conversation about the game continued, and Beth tried to say as little as possible as she listened to her friends. She had just let her emotions get the best of her, and she didn't want it to happen again.
But each time Christie said something about Keith, Beth had to bite her lip to keep from saying something nasty. Christie was talking about Keith as if she were the one who had been going with him since way back in Mark Twain Elementary.
When the players arrived, they came in without their usual waving of arms and shouts of triumph. Randy and Scott walked over to the booth where The Fabulous Five were sitting, and Keith and Shane went to the counter to get sodas.
"I need to get something to drink," Beth said, trying to sound casual. "Can I get anyone else anything?" She took orders and got in line behind Keith.
At first he didn't notice her. Beth stood close to him and tried to make it appear that she wasn't aware of whom she was standing next to, either. She thought about bumping into him accidentally, but that seemed too obvious.
Finally, Shane noticed her. "Hi, Beth."
Keith turned around quickly. "Hi." He smiled sheepishly and shuffled his feet.
"Oh, hi," Beth said as if she had just seen him, too. "I didn't know you were standing there," she fibbed. "I gave a few cheers for you today."
"I guess they didn't work too well," he answered. "I pretty well blew it. I couldn't even score the extra point that would have tied the game. And Mike Saharis must have gotten a hundred yards."
Beth didn't know what to say. He looked as if he were blaming Wakeman's loss on himself. She wished she could say something that would make him feel better.
"You couldn't do it all yourself," she said. It was Christie who had said Keith wasn't the only Wakeman player on the field, but she wasn't going to tell him that.
"Thanks," he said, and he looked as if he really meant it.
"Beth?" His voice sounded serious.
"Yes?" she answered, leaning toward him.
His eyes softened, and he opened his mouth to speak. He hesitated, and Beth felt as if she were going to melt down into her shoes. He was going to say something important, she just knew it. Maybe he was going to apologize about dating Christie and say he wanted everything to be the way it had been before.
"I decided I wanted a soda, too."
Beth whipped her head around at the sound of Christie's voice behind her.
"Hi, Keith," Christie said cheerfully, breaking the mood.
Disappointment washed over Beth like a tidal wave. Why did Christie have to barge in just at that moment? Now Beth would never know what Keith was going to say.
The rest of the afternoon passed by in a blur for Beth. She got the sodas, and Keith squeezed into the booth between her and Christie. She thought about leaving but somehow couldn't pull herself away. She kept hoping that she would have another chance to talk with Keith and find out what he had been about to say.
Keith was quiet as the others talked, and she wished she could read his mind. Was he thinking about what he had been about to say when Christie interrupted him? Or was he thinking about the football game?
She looked at him out of the corners of her eyes. He was watching Christie as she told a funny story. Is she showing off for Keith? Beth wondered.
For the first time since she had known Christie, Beth felt as if she couldn't trust her. Was she trying to steal Beth's boyfriend? Right in front of everyone?
"I've got to go home," said Jana. "It's getting late."
"Me, too," said Katie. Everyone else said they had to leave, too.
Beth watched Keith closely, hoping he would walk her home instead of Christie. He left with Scott instead.
Disappointed, Beth pulled on her jacket and headed for the door.
"Oh, Beth!" Christie called to her once they were outside. "I need to ask you something."
Beth waited as she caught up with her.
"I wanted to ask you what kind of music and pizza Keith likes. He's coming over tonight to listen to records and I wanted to be prepared."
Beth looked at Christie in astonishment. How could she ask Beth about Keith's favorite music and pizza? It was bad enough stealing him from her, but now she had the nerve to ask her something like that.
Beth gave Christie an angry look and turned and ran.
"Beth!" she heard Christie call after her. "What's wrong?"
Beth didn't stop running until she reached home.
CHAPTER 10
"Beth! Telephone!" Brittany yelled up the stairway.
Beth struggled to get up from her bed, where she had been lying since she had gotten home. She rubbed the dampness from her eyes.
Was it Keith calling to ask if he could come over tonight? Maybe he had realized after seeing her today that he would rather be with her than Christie. Of course he wouldn't be able to tell Christie why he had broken his date with her. Beth would keep it a secret.
It was Christie instead.
"Beth, I'm just calling to see if you're all right. You're not sick or something, are you? The way you ran off this afternoon scared me."
Beth took a deep breath. She couldn't let Christie know how she really felt. She had her pride, and they had been friends for a long time. She couldn't let Christie know she was angry at her, especially not after she had told Christie that it was okay for her to go out with Keith.
"No. Everything's okay," Beth lied. "I just remembered that I had to get home, that's all."
"Oh. Well, you looked mad at me, and I was trying to figure out what I could have done."
"Mad at you?" Beth asked, pretending to be surprised. Christie really didn't understand. "No. I'm not mad at you," she continued in her best stage voice.
"Good," Christie said happily. "We've been friends for a long time, and we've always told each other when something's wrong. I don't want that to change."
"Everything's okay," Beth lied. "What did you want to ask me before?"
"I wanted to find out what kind of records and pizza Keith likes. You know him better than I do."
"He likes sausage pizza," Beth said. Then she recited the records that they usually listened to when he came over. She thought she would die with each and every title she named. They all had special meaning to her and brought back memories of their sitting together holding hands.
Beth slowly put the phone back in its cradle after Christie had hung up. Christie seemed to have been truly worried that Beth might be mad at her. She really doesn't know how I feel, Beth thought, putting her hands on her cheeks. She's too honest to act as if she didn't when she did.
Back in her room, Beth got out her picture album. There were lots of pictures of her family and her in the first few pages. They were mostly taken when she was little.
Then she came to the pictures that were taken at Mark Twain Elementary. She giggled in spite of herself. Jana, Melanie, Katie, and Christie looked so young in the pictures. She did, too.
Next she found the pictures that they had exchanged when they left Mark Twain Elementary last year. Christie looked so pretty. Her blond hair was always neatly brushed, and she had a fresh-scrubbed, all-American look. And she always seemed to know what she was doing and what was right. Not like me, Beth thought, who's always getting into trouble.
Keith's picture made him look so handsome with his sandy blond hair and blue eyes. She took it out of the album and looked at what he had written on the back.
To Beth,
Your boyfriend, Keith
A tear trickled down her cheek. That was the first time he had ever called himself her boyfriend. She would remember it the rest of her life, just like the first time he had kissed her.
She put the picture next to her own and looked at them. Next she put his picture next to Christie's. Would people start thinking of Keith and Christie as a couple rather than Keith and Beth? Keith and Beth sounded so much b
etter. She said the words out loud.
Sometimes she felt mad at Christie, and sometimes she didn't. It was so confusing. After all, she had told Christie she wanted to break up with Keith. But why did Christie have to believe her so easily? Was Christie waiting for the opportunity to date Keith?
No! Christie was one of her very best friends. She was only dating Keith because Beth had said it was okay. Beth felt guilty about all the bad things she had felt about Christie. But couldn't Christie see that it really wasn't okay?
And what about Keith? Was he really so angry over the play that he didn't want to date her anymore? Or was she such a great actress that she had convinced him he wasn't as important as the play?
One more time, she thought. One more time my big mouth has gotten me into trouble, and this may be the worst time of all. I can't possibly go to school and Bumpers and other places and act as if I don't care that one of my best friends is dating the boy I care about. Beth settled back down on the bed with the picture of Keith in her hand. Staring at it with tears falling from her eyes, she wished there were a way to take back the angry words she had said to him earlier that week.
Her friends were at The Fabulous Five's spot by the fence Monday morning as Beth arrived at school. Jana, Katie, and Melanie were laughing as they listened to something Christie was telling them. Beth screwed up her courage as she approached them.
"Hi," she said as cheerfully as she could manage.
"Oh, Beth," said Christie. "I've got to tell you how funny it was when I had all of Keith's favorite records out when he came over. He couldn't imagine how he and I liked exactly the same music. And when I told him my favorite pizza was sausage, you should have seen his eyes light up." She was laughing so hard she was doubled over. "Thanks for helping me," she said between giggles.
"That's okay," Beth responded, trying to keep her voice up.
"And do you know what else we did?" Christie asked the group as she started laughing again.