Fabulous Five 005 - The Bragging War

by Betsy Haynes

  "Yeah," said Melanie. "Alexis told me all about that, but that's not everything. She said just a minute ago that Laura said she might make her clique bigger and let some more kids in. She was even making up new names, like The Sensational Seven, The Exotic Eight, and . . . get this," Melanie added with a tinkling laugh, "The Naughty Nine. Alexis said that girls were making idiots of themselves trying to do things for Laura and get on her good side. Everybody wants to be in her group. And you'll never guess who some of them are."

  Melanie didn't give Beth a chance to answer. "Kim Baxter and Sara Sawyer and Lisa Snow! Our old friends from Mark Twain Elementary, of all people. Alexis said she didn't want in Laura's clique, but I'm not so sure. All she could talk about was Laura McCall and the things her dad lets her get away with."

  "Big deal!" Beth said with a sniff. It made her furious to think of their old friends buttering up Laura McCall. "So what if Laura can get away with things? That doesn't mean her friends can get away with them."

  "Oh, yes, it does," argued Melanie. "All they have to do is hang around with her. They just tell their parents that they're going over to her apartment. Then when Laura does something, they do it, too. None of their parents ever finds out."

  Beth was just about to explode and yell at Melanie that if she was that impressed with what Laura's friends could do, then why didn't she try to get into the clique, too, when Whitney Larkin and Mandy McDermott stormed up to her.

  "What's the big idea, Beth Barry?" demanded Whitney. "Were you trying to make us look stupid, or something?"

  "Yeah," said Mandy. "You said you were having a slumber party and inviting boys. But when we came to your house last night to TP, there wasn't a single boy there, or girls either, for that matter. What if we had skipped Laura's party thinking we were going to yours? We would have been the laughingstock of Wacko Junior High when everybody found out."

  "Just like you are now!" added Whitney. "And it serves you right."

  The two girls whirled around and marched toward the stadium gate with their noses in the air.

  Beth watched them go in stunned silence. Then she turned to Melanie. "I told them it was too late for them to be included in my party," she argued. "I didn't want them to think that they were really invited—just that our party was going to be better than Laura's. What do they mean, I'm the laughingstock of Wacko Junior High?"

  "Eeek!" squeaked Melanie. "That was the other thing I wanted to tell you, but I didn't know how."

  "Well, you'd better tell me right now," warned Beth.

  "Okay. Here goes," Melanie said with a sigh. "I hate to say this because we're good friends, but you're starting to get a terrible reputation. Everybody says that you have a super extralarge mouth and that nobody can believe a word you say. They say that you make up things just to get noticed. They say that they're tired of it and that your big story about the slumber party was absolutely the last straw."

  "Who says that?" Beth demanded.

  Melanie looked down at her shoes. "Practically everybody," she murmured.

  Beth stared at her friend without moving a muscle or blinking an eye, but inside she felt as if she were crumpling into a tiny ball and growing smaller and smaller by the second. How could Melanie say such a thing? she wondered. How could anybody say such a thing? It was incredible. They just didn't understand her. That was all.

  "Well, I'll show them," she muttered under her breath. "I'll show every single one of them. And I'll do it by making them see the truth about Laura McCall."

  CHAPTER 12

  Beth couldn't ignore the angry looks she got when she and Melanie joined some of the other cheerleaders on the sidelines beside the VVakeman Warriors' bench where they were waiting for the team to come out of the locker room. Taffy Sinclair and Alexis Duvall were there, and they started whispering as soon as she got near. She glanced at the cheering section up in the stands. It was almost filled, and all the kids there seemed to be talking among themselves. Gossiping, she thought. And she was sure the gossip was all about her.

  Just then Laura and Tammy came bounding up, grinning as if they were bursting with news.

  "Guess what, everybody," Laura called as the other members of the squad gathered around her. "Have I ever got some terrific news."

  Beth hung back, staying just far enough to be out of the crowd around Laura but close enough to hear what she was saying. The others were pushing to get nearer to her, including Melanie, Beth noticed, and frowned.

  "Everybody knows that Brain Damage is going to do a concert here next Friday night, right?" Laura nodded to the girls, and almost everyone nodded back.

  Beth didn't respond, but she definitely knew that the wacky English rock band was coming to town. They were the craziest bunch of teen musicians on the planet, dressing in outlandish costumes and sometimes even dragging kids out of the audience to join their group for a song or two. It was always big news when they scheduled a concert. In fact, it had been plastered all over the newspaper for weeks, and everyone was going. But what did that have to do with Laura? Beth wondered.

  "Well, get this," Laura went on, flicking the end of her long blond braid and giving Beth a look of superiority. "My father is a personal friend of the promoter who is handling Brain Damage's North American tour, but that's not all. Daddy said that he can get front row seats for me and any of my friends!"

  Beth could feel the blood draining out of her face as a wild whoop went up from the cheerleading squad. Everybody—except for Beth and Melanie—was jumping around and hugging each other and squealing about how cute the rock stars were.

  "Front row tickets to Brain Damage!" Dekeisha shrieked. "I think I'm going to die!"

  Most of the others scrambled toward the cheering section to tell their friends, and Beth watched in disgust as word spread through the crowed like a wave. How could this be happening to me now? she thought. Just when I absolutely have to get even with Laura, she's going to get front row tickets to Brain Damage! It was almost more than Beth could stand, and when she looked Laura's way, she saw every conceivable shade of purple and red.

  A moment later the Wakeman Warriors jogged onto the field to the roar of the crowd and began their warm-up calisthenics. Beth caught sight of Keith in the second row. He was smiling at her, and she waved a pom-pon back in his direction. Suddenly she remembered her pimple, safely hidden under layers of goop. Thank goodness, she thought, breathing a huge sigh of relief. A fiery pimple blazing beside her nose would have made her day even more unbearable than it already was.

  Dekeisha signaled the squad onto the field, and Beth tried to concentrate on the cheers. She was going through all the motions and saying all the words, but she could tell that she wasn't at her best. Her definition of movement was lousy, and each time she did a jump, she came back to earth like a ton of bricks. She looked at Laura out of the corner of her eye and scowled. It was all Laura's fault. Laura's fault that Beth had had to make up a story about a slumber party. Laura's fault that she was getting the reputation of having a super extralarge mouth. Laura's fault about everything!

  Beth was beginning to perspire. The chilly wind that had been blowing this morning had died away, and her gold letter sweater was beginning to itch. To make matters worse, Dekeisha was really putting them through their paces, calling for only the most difficult cheers and strenuous gymnastics, and Beth was panting like crazy when the horn finally blew signaling halftime.

  Melanie caught up with her on the way to the refreshment stand. "Great game, huh?"

  Beth nodded. She didn't even know who was winning or what the score was much less whether or not it was a great game.

  "Can you believe that Laura McCall?" Beth grumbled, keeping her voice low so that none of the other cheerleaders heard. "I mean, front row tickets to Brain Damage! We can't let her get away with that. The Fabulous Five won't have a single friend left in the world."

  Melanie nodded forlornly. "Just wait until the guys hear about it. I'll be lucky if Scott or Shane or Garrett or a
nybody ever wants to take me out again. They'll all be after Laura." Then Melanie snapped to attention and put a hand on Beth's arm. "But promise me one thing, Beth Barry. Swear that you won't come up with any more harebrained schemes to outdo Laura. Come on. Swear!"

  Beth smiled sweetly at her friend. As a matter of fact, she had just come up with a terrific idea. Harebrained scheme? Humpf! she thought, but she just kept on smiling.

  "Raise your hand and swear, Beth," Melanie insisted as they stopped beside the rest of the squad at the refreshment stand.

  Beth slowly raised her hand. I could fake it, she thought, but then changed her mind. What's the use? she wondered, and instead of swearing, she brought her hand down across the left side of her face to wipe away some perspiration.

  At that same instant Mandy McDermott, who was standing beside Beth, glanced at her. Mandy's mouth dropped open, and the next thing Beth knew, she was pointing straight at Beth's face and letting out a bloodcurdling scream.

  CHAPTER 13

  Beth stared at Mandy in surprise. "What's the matter!"

  "Your face! You're bleeding!" shouted Mandy.

  "Bleeding?" asked Beth incredulously.

  "Oh, Beth," cried Melanie. "You've got blood all over your face!"

  Beth touched her face and looked at her fingers. They were smeared with the greasepaint she had used to fake the bruises. Her sweating had made it and the Shimmering Gloss foundation run together and turn bloodred, and swiping at it had made it run all over her face.

  "Quick! Call a doctor!" yelled Mandy, rushing around in circles. "Get the paramedics!" People started running toward Beth.

  "Oh, my gosh! Stop her someone," Beth pleaded. She didn't want hundreds of people rushing to see her zit.

  "Beth, are you hurt?" Melanie looked scared.

  Beth pushed her way through the crowd and ran for the girls' room at the back of the refreshment stand. Inside, she slammed and locked the door and ran to the mirror over the sink. She stared in horror at the red makeup that had run down her face in streaks. No wonder Mandy had screamed.

  Frantically Beth turned on both faucets and grabbed a handful of paper towels from the dispenser and started scrubbing the makeup off. The water ran bright red in the sink.

  She took more paper towels, drying her face and patting away beads of moisture from the top of her pleated skirt. She was glad it was cardinal red. No spots showed on it.

  Next she examined her face closely. She had gotten all the makeup off, but her zit stood out in proud majesty. Oh, no, she thought. What am I going to do? Someone was pounding on the door.

  "Beth! Beth! Are you all right?" It was Melanie. "Open the door, Beth! I want to help."

  Beth looked around furtively. She couldn't open the door and show her zit to the world. There were probably hundreds of people out there waiting for her. It was just like the last scene in her favorite movie, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, when the walls were lined with men with guns waiting for the pair to come out. Beth sighed. She only wished she could die in the same blaze of glory when she opened the door.

  "Beth Barry! Answer me," Melanie insisted.

  Beth spoke at the door. "I'm . . . I'm okay, Melanie. I . . . uh, the heat just got to me! Yeah! That's it. It's the heat."

  "The heat? Get serious. The temperature's in the fifties, Beth," Melanie responded.

  "I know . . . but the cheers. Doing the cheers with this heavy sweater on overheated me. I just need to cool off for a few minutes." Then Beth had a great idea. "Melanie," she called through the door.

  "Yes, Beth."

  "Do you remember the ice pack the football team put on your ankle when you sprained it during cheerleading practice?"

  "Sure."

  "That's what I need. I definitely need an ice pack to help me cool down. Can you get me one from Coach Bledsoe? I know he keeps them beside the team bench in case any player gets hurt."

  Beth heard talking on the other side of the door. Then Melanie spoke again.

  "They said they could get you one. Someone's gone after it."

  Beth smiled to herself. Maybe she was going to talk her way out of this yet.

  Shortly Melanie spoke again. "Beth, we've got the ice pack. Can I come in?"

  "Yes," Beth answered. "You can. But no one else! And tell everyone else to go away." She cracked the door just enough for Melanie to squeeze inside, and then she locked it again quickly.

  "Beth, are you sure you're all right?" Melanie asked. Beth was struck by the deep look of concern on Melanie's face.

  "I'm okay. Really I am. Let me have the ice pack. How do you work it?"

  "You twist it like this," said Melanie. "Apparently some chemicals mix together inside and make it cold. You do look all right. What happened to the blood on your face? I know I saw blood."

  "It wasn't blood. Really. I had some theater makeup on under some flesh-toned foundation, and when I got hot doing the cheers, it started running."

  "Beth Barry! You mean you scared the living daylights out of everyone over your makeup running? We thought you were in here bleeding to death."

  "It's worse than bleeding to death. Look!" Beth took her hand away from the pimple she had been covering.

  "Oooh," said Melanie, making a face. "That's gross."

  "I knew you would say that," Beth huffed. "If I opened the door with everyone standing out there, a thousand people would have said the same thing in unison. I'd die. Worse yet, I wouldn't die."

  "Well, you're going to have to leave here sooner or later. You can't wait until Mount Everest disappears."

  Beth frowned at Melanie. "I thought it looked like Mount Everest, too, but you didn't have to say so." Then she put the ice pack against her face.

  "I'm going to claim that I got too hot, and my face turned beet red. It wasn't blood everyone saw. It was just my red face and perspiration. You've got to stick up for me. Tell them that's what I looked like when you came in, but the ice pack cooled me down. I'll keep it against my face so they won't see my zit, and they'll think I'm trying to stay cool."

  Melanie looked at her dubiously. "Okay, but I don't know if they'll believe it. Not after . . ."

  Beth felt a stab of guilt. She knew what Melanie had started to say. Not after her big story about the fake slumber party and now everybody thought she had a super extralarge mouth. "Please, Melanie. It's so important," she began. "And I promise. I'll never ask you to do anything like this again. I swear!"

  "Well . . . okay," Melanie relented slowly. "But just this once."

  "Thanks," said Beth. "You're a real friend."

  Beth sat in the grass behind the team bench and kept the ice pack against her face. She had to admit that she sort of enjoyed the attention that everyone gave her. She felt like a star, not like at home where she had to fight to get noticed. Miss Wolfe even came over to sec how she was doing and told her not to do any more cheers. She also instructed the rest of the cheerleaders to take off their sweaters so they wouldn't overheat the way Beth had. Beth knew it was working perfectly when all the cheerleaders, except for Laura and Tammy, stopped by to tell her how worried they were about her. So what if I'm getting a reputation for an extralarge mouth? I'm an actress! she thought proudly, and someday I'll get an Oscar to prove it.

  When Keith heard she wasn't feeling well, he left the Wakeman Warriors bench to see her, too. She moved the ice pack so that it covered both the zit and the place where the imaginary bruise was supposed to be and gazed up at him. She loved the look of concern on his face and thanked her lucky stars she had survived one more incident.

  When the second half of the game started, she had time to think. The ice pack was starting to lose its coldness, but that was okay. At least it hid her pimple. On the way home she would definitely have to get some Band-Aids. She could put one on, and the next time she saw Keith she could tell him the ice pack cured her bruises. Wasn't that what you were supposed to do for bruises? she wondered. Apply ice?

  Now all she had to do was figure out a
way to stop Laura McCall and her father from getting front row tickets for Brain Damage. A tiny idea was starting to form in one of the wrinkles of Beth's brain. The more she thought about it, the bigger it grew. She giggled to herself. There was a way!

  CHAPTER 14

  "Gee, Beth. Are you sure you're okay?" Keith held her hand and stared into her eyes as they sat on the Barry front porch. He had been sweet enough to walk her home rather than go to Bumpers without her.

  "You'd make a great doctor, Keith," answered Beth. She started to flutter her eyelids at him but thought better of it. He might think it was cornball. Instead she gave him her sweetest smile, as she held the ice pack, which was by now positively warm, against her face. "You've got a great bedside manner. Or should I say porchside?"

  Just then Todd came running out of the house and slammed the door. "Coming through!" he yelled as he leapt over them and ran down the steps. He jumped on his bike and rode off down the street doing pop-wheelies all the way.

  "Is that thing still cold?" Keith asked, pointing to the ice pack.

  "Oh, yes, a little. The bruises feel better with it on them. Why, I'll even bet that they'll be gone by tomorrow. I should have thought of using an ice pack before." Wow, what a stroke of genius, she thought. By Monday morning I'll be rid of my pimple, even if I have to amputate it, and he'll never know I had one. No more candy bars for me. They aren't worth it.

  "It really scared me," Keith continued, "when I heard someone say you were bleeding all over the place."

  "That's darling of you, Keith." She started to move the hand he wasn't holding to touch his cheek but remembered in time it was the one holding the ice pack. Instead she leaned against him and put her head on his shoulder. "You don't know how much I really like you."

  He put his arm around her and held her tightly for a moment. Then he sat back and took her chin in his hand and leaned down to kiss her on the mouth. The world spun around Beth as she let herself sink against him. She felt warm all over, especially on her knees. The ice pack had sprung a leak and was dribbling all over her.