by Betsy Haynes
"Hey, Jana!" It was Curtis, and he skidded to a stop beside her. He was all smiles as he pushed his glasses up on his nose and waited expectantly for her to answer.
"Hi, Curtis," she said.
"Mark Twain kids are sitting on the left side," he told her. "Do you want me to save some seats?"
Jana shook her head. "Thanks, but I'm not sure how many of us are sitting together. We'll see you inside."
She looked past Curtis and scanned the crowd. Randy and his friends had just gotten their tickets and were going in the door.
"There's Jon Smith standing over there by himself," said Christie. She was pointing toward a boy leaning against the building. "Isn't he cute?"
Jana glanced at him and then smiled at Christie and nodded. Jon Smith was medium height with medium brown hair and a medium build. Nothing great, compared to Randy Kirwan, and he certainly didn't look as if he had celebrities for parents. But, she thought as she looked him over for a second time, he wasn't so bad either.
Alexis Duvall and Lisa Snow were in the ticket line and waved when Jana looked their way. There were lots of kids from her old school here. She was relieved that they wouldn't be outnumbered, since it was a Friday night tradition for Mark Twain seventh-graders to sit on one side of the theater and Riverfield seventh-graders to sit on the other.
Finally Jana spotted Laura McCall and her three friends. They had just piled out of a small red sports car that was pulling away from the curb, and they were coming across the street toward the theater with Laura in the lead and the other three trailing behind her. She looked terrific in tight-fitting jeans and a fringed western jacket. It was obvious from the way her eyes darted around that she was looking for someone—someone she intended to impress. Jana had the sinking feeling that she knew who that someone was.
By this time her friends had noticed The Fantastic Foursome also.
"Look out. Here they come," Katie buzzed in Jana's ear.
"Laura had better leave Scott and Shane alone," warned Melanie.
Just then Jana's eyes met Funny's. Jana wanted to look away, but Funny gazed at her with such a pleading expression that she couldn't. Jana raised her hand in a brief wave and allowed a smile to flicker across her face. Then she led her friends toward the ticket line before Funny could respond.
It was World War Three inside the theater. The two schools were squared off at each other over a chasm of empty seats in the middle. Straw papers whizzed overhead like miniature rockets, and every couple of minutes bomb blasts sounded as someone else stamped on a popcorn box. Ushers stormed up and down the aisles shushing some kids, warning others, and generally having no effect at all.
Jana couldn't help smiling to herself as she clutched popcorn in one hand and a Coke in the other and hurried down the aisle. Just as she saw Randy several rows ahead, she felt someone pinch her arm.
"Over there!" Melanie whispered excitedly. She had seen the boys, too, and was urging everyone in that direction.
"Great," said Jana. "There are four seats right behind Randy and Scott. Let's grab them before someone else gets them." Silently she was feeling superior. Laura McCall would have to sit on the other side of the theater. Randy, Scott, and Keith were safe from her clutches—at least for now.
"Hi, Jana Banana," shouted Joel Murphy just as Jana slid into a seat.
Jana hated that nickname, and she started to scowl and shout something back at him when Randy turned around and gave her one of his 1,000-watt smiles. Her heart turned at least a dozen flip-flops as she sank deeper into her seat and returned his smile.
"Hi," he said. "You're still going to Bumpers after the show, right?"
All she could do was nod.
"Great," he said, smiling again. "I'll see you there, and I'll walk you home."
Jana didn't see any of the movie. She was too busy daydreaming about Randy and making up stories about what would happen when they got to Bumpers. Laura would be there, too, of course, trying desperately to get Randy's attention. But he wouldn't notice her. He would be gazing into Jana's eyes, telling her how wonderful she was while Laura could only watch and sob her heart out. Then later, he would walk her home, and maybe he would kiss her again. She hugged herself at the thought.
A couple of times Jana noticed Laura and Melissa McConnell strolling up the aisle on the Mark Twain side. Laura pretended to look straight ahead, as if she just happened to be on the Mark Twain side of the theater, but Jana knew better. She could see them looking for Randy and Mark and Keith out of the corners of their eyes. Ha! thought Jana. Are they ever going to be in for a big surprise when we get to Bumpers.
When the movie ended, everyone tried to stuff themselves through the exit at once. It took forever to get out, and Jana could see that a big crowd had already made it to Bumpers ahead of them. She had never been inside the fast food restaurant before since it was strictly a junior high school hangout, but she had heard a lot about it. It was called Bumpers because it was decorated with bumper cars and posters from an amusement park ride. Some cars were hanging from the ceiling by wires. Others were arranged around the room for kids to sit in. The old bumper cars were freshly painted in reds, greens, yellows, and blues, but they still had dents and bashed-in fenders from their days of careening around and smashing into each other.
"Wow! This place is neat," cried Jana over the noisy crowd. "But where on earth are we going to sit?"
"The boys have a big booth over there," Christie shouted. She was pointing toward a booth near the counter.
Jana craned her neck to see who was sitting there. It was Randy, Scott, Mark, Joel, and Keith. "Come on," she said, and motioned the others to follow her. "There's room for all of us."
They tried to push through the crowd, stopping once to let a waiter carrying a tray loaded with burgers and fries pass in front of them.
"This is a worse madhouse than the theater," complained Katie.
Finally a path opened up, but just as Jana started to make a break for Randy's booth, she stopped cold and stared. Laura McCall and her friends were heading in the same direction. The only trouble was, they were in the lead, reaching the booth and pushing their way in before Jana and her friends could get there.
"What are we going to do?" Melanie wailed in Jana's ear. "They've got our seats!"
Just then Laura caught sight of Jana. She narrowed her eyes and flicked her long braid from side to side, looking like a cat about to attack its prey.
Jana could hear someone shouting in the background, but she was too angry to pay attention. She couldn't let The Fantastic Foursome get away with this. She had to do something. But what?
"Jana Morgan!" a man's voice shouted. "There is a telephone call for Jana Morgan!"
Jana spun around and looked toward the counter where a man in a cook's apron was holding a telephone receiver above his head. Had she heard right? she wondered. Had he called her name?
"JANA MORGAN!" he repeated. "Is there a Jana Morgan in here?"
"Here!" she shouted, jumping up and down and waving her hands over her head. It was for her, but who could be calling her at Bumpers? Kids parted, making a path for her as she raced to the man. "I'm Jana Morgan," she panted.
"Hello?" she shouted, putting the receiver to one ear and a hand over the other ear to shut out some of the noise.
"Hi, honey. It's your mom. I'm sorry to interrupt your fun, but have you seen Beth anywhere tonight?"
"Beth?" she asked in alarm. "No! She wasn't at school today, either, and nobody answers her phone. But how did you know? What's wrong?"
"I just had a call from her father. He said she's disappeared, and he hoped she was with you. According to Mr. Barry, Beth's mother underwent surgery today. Didn't you know about that, either?"
"No, Mom. What's wrong with her?"
"She had a lump in her breast and they thought it might be cancer, but thank goodness, the tests were negative."
"At least that much is a relief," said Jana, "but it explains a lot, too. Beth's been act
ing awfully strange for the past few days. In fact, she wouldn't speak to any of us. We thought she was mad about something. We didn't know she was worried about her mother. But what happened to Beth? What do you mean, she disappeared?"
"Beth and her father were in the hospital lounge a few hours ago waiting for word that Mrs. Barry had come through surgery okay. He thinks Beth dropped off to sleep and woke up just as the doctor was giving bad news to someone else waiting in the same lounge. Beth must have been so groggy from her nap that she thought the bad news was about her mother because she jumped up, raced out the door, and he hasn't been able to find her since."
"That's awful!" cried Jana.
"Poor Beth," said Mrs. Morgan. "There's no telling where she's gone or what she's going through right now."
Jana promised her mother that she would find out if anyone at Bumpers had seen Beth or had any ideas where she might have gone, and then she would come right home. As she put down the receiver, tears flashed into her eyes. Poor Beth, her mother had said. There's no telling where she's gone or what she's going through right now.
I've let her down, Jana thought miserably. Why didn't I make her tell me what was wrong? Why didn't I try harder to find her? She's my very best friend in the world, and when she needed me, I let her down.
CHAPTER 15
Taking a deep breath, Jana turned and faced the crowd. Everyone was talking and laughing as if it were the greatest night in the world. Waving her hands over her head, she tried to get their attention. Nobody looked or paid the slightest bit of attention to her. Tears spurted into her eyes. She had to find out if anyone had seen Beth or had any clues to where she might be. Quickly she scrambled up onto the counter, astounding the man in the cook's apron and everyone else nearby. "Quiet, please!" she shouted. "This is an emergency! May I have everyone's attention?"
Slowly a hush spread over the crowd as Jana continued to call for silence. Finally, every eye in Bumpers was on her. She cleared her throat, wiped the tears from her eyes, and said, "I just found out that Beth Barry is missing."
Her words were met with gasps and murmurs from shocked boys and girls in the crowd, but they quieted down again immediately and leaned closer to hear as she explained about Mrs. Barry's surgery and the misunderstanding that had caused Beth to run away.
"Everybody think hard. This is important. Has anybody seen her anywhere today or this evening?"
Heads shook and kids talked quietly among themselves, but no one came forward with information about Beth. Katie, Melanie, and Christie stood close by, looking as stricken at the news as Jana felt. They helped her jump down from the counter and briefly described Beth to the man in the cook's apron, who introduced himself as Mr. Matson and said he was the owner of Bumpers and wanted to help.
"What are we going to do?" she sobbed as kids drifted out the door and headed for home.
Just then an arm slipped around her shoulder. "It'll be okay," said Randy, gently pushing her head onto his shoulder. "We'll find her."
Later, he walked her home just as he had promised, but instead of kissing, they made plans for what they would do if Beth wasn't home by morning.
Jana stared at the ceiling all night long worrying about her best friend and trying to figure out where she might be. She and Randy had hurried home, hoping that by then her mother had heard good news, but she hadn't. Poor Beth, Jana thought. She believed her mother had died. Jana wanted so badly to find her and tell her that her fears were wrong.
Early the next morning Jana and her mom called Mr. Barry, but there was still no good news about Beth. Then she called Randy to put their plan into action.
Splashing cold water on her face and jumping into her most comfortable jeans and sweatshirt, Jana was gulping down a glass of orange juice when the phone rang.
"Oh, my gosh!" she shouted. She dashed past her mother and lunged for it, nearly dropping the receiver in her excitement. "HELLO!"
"Hi, Jana. It's me, Funny. I just called to see if Beth has been found yet."
"Not yet." Jana collapsed limply onto the sofa, feeling breath leave her lungs like air rushing out of a balloon. "I was hoping that you were Mr. Barry . . . or Beth."
"I'm really sorry," said Funny. "I didn't get a chance to tell you last night in all the excitement. Can I come over and wait with you?"
"I won't be here. All the kids from Mark Twain are meeting at the mall when it opens at ten. It was Randy's idea, and he's calling everyone and telling them what to do. We're going to form search teams and comb the whole town looking for her."
"Wow! What a great idea. Can I help?"
"No," snapped Jana. "It will just be Mark Twain kids."
Even though Funny was silent, Jana could tell she was hurt. In some ways Jana was sorry, but Funny would just have to understand. It was something private that they wanted to do together. At least, she wanted it that way. She wanted things the way they used to be, without anyone from Riverfield horning in.
The doors hadn't opened yet when she got to the mall, but already a few kids were standing outside. Marcie Bee, Gloria Drexler, and Sara Sawyer were leaning against the building. Richie Corrierro and Joel Murphy were locking their bikes in a rack by the front door, and Taffy Sinclair and Alexis Duvall were crossing the parking lot. No one smiled or said much of anything. It was as if they were going to a funeral, Jana thought, and then shuddered. She couldn't let herself or them think that way. Her heart was pounding, and the lump in her throat kept growing larger. As frightened as she had been last night when she heard that Beth had disappeared, somehow she had honestly believed that everything would be all right by morning. Things such as this happened to other people. You read about it in the paper all the time. But it never happened to her . . . or to Beth.
A couple of minutes later a man in a security guard's uniform opened the mall doors. Jana and the others went in, heading for the goldfish pond by the escalators where they had agreed to meet. One by one the others arrived. Christie Winchell. Randy Kirwan. Scott Daly. Lisa Snow. Clarence Marshall. Mark Peters. Curtis Trowbridge. Katie Shannon. Melanie Edwards. Mona Vaughn, and the others, until all twenty-six members of Miss Wiggins's sixth-grade class at Mark Twain Elementary had assembled except one—Beth Barry.
Randy came over to stand beside Jana as she held up her hand for quiet, even though it wasn't necessary. Everyone was already quiet, stunned and silent as they worried about their classmate, and they were looking to her, Beth's best friend, to tell them what to do next.
"First," she said, "has anybody thought of any place she might have gone?"
"Did they search the hospital?" asked Matt Zeboski. "She might have just ducked into an empty room where she could be alone and think."
Jana nodded. "They looked there. In every room and every supply closet and behind every door that she could have opened."
"What about her grandmother or an uncle or cousin or someone like that," offered Kim Baxter.
Jana sighed. "They checked them, too. Doesn't anyone have any new ideas?" she blurted, aware that panic was creeping into her voice. "We have to find her! Come on, everybody. Think!"
Just then Jana was aware that more kids were joining their group. She looked up and gasped. "What are you doing here?" she said angrily.
Laura McCall was standing slightly in front of her three friends, but it was Funny Hawthorne who stepped forward and spoke.
"We want to help. Honest. We really do."
"How could you figure out where Beth would go?" challenged Alexis Duvall. "You hardly even know her."
"Yeah," murmured others in the crowd.
"I have an idea," offered Laura. "At least I know where I go when I'm upset." Everyone got quiet and looked at her. "It may sound silly, but I go to my old playhouse in my backyard. When I was little I always went out there and told my troubles to my dolls, probably because it was my favorite spot in the world. My very best memories are there. My dolls aren't there anymore, but I still feel safe and protected there, anyway."
&nb
sp; "But Beth doesn't have a . . . playhouse . . ." Jana started to protest, but she stopped in the middle of the sentence, suddenly understanding what Laura was getting at. "You're saying that we should try to figure out where she felt the happiest and most secure because that might be where she is right now."
Laura nodded.
Jana looked at her friends. There was one place that they had all wished they were over and over again during this first wacko week of junior high, she thought. Mark Twain Elementary. Was it possible that Beth had hidden there? Had she taken refuge in the school where she had been so happy in the past now that she thought the future looked so bleak? She could have gotten in yesterday afternoon before the building was locked and hidden out until everyone went home.
A cheer went up when Jana suggested their old school. A lot of kids agreed that it was a logical place to look.
"I'll call my mom and ask her to meet us there with the key," called Christie, running for the pay phones.
"Let's go," shouted Randy. He took Jana's hand and gave it a quick squeeze, and she gave him a smile back that said thank-you. Then he added, "Even if she loves Mark Twain enough to hide there, she's probably pretty scared right now."
"And lonely," added Melanie. "Let's just hope she's there and that she's okay."
Jana started to leave with the others, but instead she stopped and turned to Funny. "I'm sorry I doubted your friendship. Come with us. We want you to." Then, motioning to all of The Fantastic Foursome, she added, "If we find her at Mark Twain, we'll have you to thank, Laura. It really is a good idea."
The entire group marched out of the mall and toward the school together, spilling over the sidewalk and into the street. Some jogged in nervous anticipation. Others pushed bikes. Jana walked along with her arms around two of her friends, Melanie on one side and Funny on the other.
The crowd got quiet as they approached the school. Mrs. Winchell's car stopped at the curb a moment later. Jana and the others milled around anxiously while she found her key. "I hope you kids are right about her being here," she said as the lock turned and the door swung open. "Beth!" she called into the empty corridor. "Beth Barry. Are you here?"
