Fabulous Five 021 - Jana to the Rescue

by Betsy Haynes

  THE FABULOUS FIVE #21

  JANA TO THE RESCUE

  BETSY HAYNES

  A BANTAM SKYLARK BOOK

  NEW YORK • TORONTO • LONDON • SYDNEY • AUCKLAND

  RL 5, 009-012

  JANA TO THE RESCUE

  A Bantam Skylark Book / November 1990

  Skylark Books is a registered trademark of Bantam Books, a division of Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc. Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and elsewhere.

  All rights reserved.

  Copyright © 1990 by Betsy Haynes and James Haynes.

  Cover art copyright © 1990 by Andrew Bacha.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  For information address: Bantam Books.

  ISBN 0-553-15840-6

  Published simultaneously in the United States and Canada

  Bantam Books are published by Bantam Books, a division of Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc. Its trademark, consisting of the words "Bantam Books" and the portrayal of a rooster, is Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries. Marca Registrada. Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10103.

  PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

  OPM 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  CHAPTER 1

  Jana Morgan hurried down the hall, clutching the note in her hand. It had been delivered to her just moments ago from the principal's office, and she couldn't imagine what it meant.

  The note was printed on a slip of yellow paper, and it looked like a multiple-choice test.

  _x_ Please see the principal, Mr. Bell.

  ___ Please see the counselor, Mrs. Brenner.

  ___ Please see the office secretary, Miss Simone.

  ___ Please see the nurse, Miss Byars.

  _x_ Immediately.

  ___ After your next class.

  ___ During lunch.

  ___ After school.

  Jana wondered why Mr. Bell wanted to see her. Usually he used the yellow slip to summon troublemakers, but she certainly was not a troublemaker. In fact, she was a good student, and her teachers seemed to like her a lot.

  Miss Simone, the school secretary, was sitting at her desk, talking on the phone, when Jana walked into the office.

  "Hi, Jana. You got a yellow slip, too?"

  Jana glanced to the left and saw Whitney Larkin and four other students sitting in a row of chairs along the wall. Whitney was also a seventh-grader. Tim Riggs and Shelly Bramlett were eighth-graders, and Kyle Zimmerman and Pam Wolthoff were in ninth. All of them were good students and definitely not troublemakers, which made her feel a little better.

  "I sure did," answered Jana. She motioned toward the others. "Did everybody get the same slip?"

  Whitney nodded. "No one can figure it out."

  "I wondered if I was in trouble for a minute," Jana said.

  "Oh, so did I," Whitney said. "Or if they'd changed the rules about skipping grades and that I would have to go back to the sixth." She rolled her eyes as if to say that would be the pits.

  Jana smiled. Whitney was not only one of the smartest seventh-graders in Wacko, she was probably a genius. That was why she had gotten to move from fifth grade directly into seventh this year. She was smaller than most seventh-graders, and for a while some kids had resented her and treated her like a baby.

  Just then the door to the principal's office opened, and Mr. Bell stepped out with the counselor, Mrs. Brenner. They were both smiling.

  "Come with us, everybody," Mr. Bell said cheerfully. "There's no one in the cafeteria now. We can talk there."

  The students shuffled down the hall behind Mr. Bell and Mrs. Brenner, shrugging and looking quizzically at one another. Jana was as puzzled as everyone else, but at least she wasn't worried anymore.

  When they reached the cafeteria, Mr. Bell pointed to one of the long picnic-style tables. "Have a seat, folks," he said. When they were settled, he went on. "You're probably curious about why I called all of you in today."

  "Yeah, Mr. Bell," piped up Tim Riggs. He grinned. "We thought we were in deeeeep trouble."

  Mr. Bell smiled. "Oh, just the opposite. In fact, you were chosen to come in here today because you are good students, you get along well with other kids, and your teachers think you are sensitive to the needs of others."

  "Boy," said Tim, talking to the kids around the table, "I guess we fooled them, huh?"

  Everyone laughed at Tim, then turned back to the principal.

  "I think you are all familiar with our buddy system for new students," Mr. Bell said. "Whenever a student comes in during the school year, we pair that person up with another student who can, in general, be a friend while the new girl or boy is getting acclimated."

  "Right," said Kyle Zimmerman. "I was paired with two different kids last year. It was fun, and both of them turned out to be good friends."

  Mr. Bell nodded. "Well, we're going to start a new program that is nearly identical to that," he said, "but the students will be from Phoenix House."

  "The shelter for the homeless?" Pam asked, and a low murmur went through the room.

  "Yes," said Mr. Bell. "You probably have heard about the number of homeless people we have in this town."

  The kids nodded. Jana remembered about a month ago when the local TV station aired a report on the plight of the homeless in their area. The reporter had been Marge Whitworth, her friend Jon Smith's mother, and the program had startled Jana. She had been shocked that there were so many people right around her own home who didn't have a place to live or enough food. Marge Whitworth had pointed out that the homeless were all colors, sizes, and ages. But the most surprising thing she said was that half of the people who lived in homeless shelters were children. Jana had thought for a long time about that. She had always supposed that most of the people who wound up in shelters were winos or drug addicts or people with mental problems, not kids.

  Mr. Bell nodded toward the counselor. "Mrs. Brenner will tell you about the experimental program we're going to start here at Wakeman to mainstream the junior high age kids of these families. Some of the younger children will go into similar programs at two of the local elementary schools."

  "Hey, that's a great idea," said Tim Riggs. Jana agreed with him.

  Mrs. Brenner stood at the end of the table and looked at each of the students. "If any of you have ever moved to a new school, you know how difficult it is to fit in when you don't know anyone."

  "That's sure true," Kyle said. "I moved here in fifth grade, and I was totally miserable for the first six months."

  Mrs. Brenner nodded sympathetically. "Well, just imagine how you would feel if you were also homeless."

  Again, the image of drunk old men and druggies flashed in Jana's mind. But what would it be like if she were homeless? It could have happened. The thought shocked her. But it was true. Her father had deserted her mother and her when she was only three. He had almost never sent support checks, and her mother had had to support them as best she could by herself until a few months ago when she remarried. What if she hadn't been able to get a job? What if . . .

  Mr. Bell's voice interrupted her thoughts. "We'd like to pair up each homeless student with one of you people if you like the idea, and you'll all be part of this new buddy system. The new students will be scheduled into most—but not all—of your classes. You will have the opportunity to show them around, help them with class work if they need it, eat lunch with them, and just generally be a friend and assist them
in any way you can."

  The room was silent for a moment.

  Jana felt emotion welling up inside. If things had worked out differently, I could have been one of them, she thought. "I think it's a terrific idea," she said more loudly than she had meant to. In a softer voice she added, "It'll be fun, and we'll make some new friends."

  Suddenly all around the table the kids started nodding and buzzing with conversation about the project.

  "Now, this won't be easy," Mrs. Brenner warned. "Most of these kids will be behind in their subjects. In fact, a lot of them will have missed weeks or even months of school because of their situation. When you don't have a home, it's pretty tough to go to school or to get schoolwork done."

  "Well, what do you think?" asked Mr. Bell. "Do the rest of you like the idea?"

  "I like it," piped up Tim.

  "Me, too," said Whitney.

  "Yeah, it's gonna be cool," said Kyle.

  "Is there anyone here who would prefer not to participate?" asked Mrs. Brenner.

  The chatter at the table stopped abruptly, and the boys and girls looked around questioningly at one another, but no one spoke.

  "Okay, great," Mr. Bell said, smiling.

  "Will guys be paired with guys and girls with girls?" asked Kyle.

  Mr. Bell chuckled. "I'm afraid so, Kyle."

  "Rats," said Kyle, snapping his fingers in make-believe disappointment. The others laughed.

  "When do the new kids get here?" asked Whitney.

  "Right away," Mr. Bell replied. "In fact, some of them will be here tomorrow. The rest will arrive by the end of the week."

  "Keep in mind, though, that homeless people often don't stay in one place very long," interjected Mrs. Brenner. "There may be students who start school at Wakeman and then leave in a few months or weeks—or in some cases, even days. But others will come in to take their places."

  "How will we know when our student has arrived?" asked Jana.

  "The office will send you a note to come down and meet your partner," Mr. Bell said. "Any more questions?"

  Heads shook around the table.

  "Okay," he said. "If you need help, don't hesitate to come in and see me or Mrs. Brenner."

  Jana left the cafeteria with the rest of the students. She felt good about the buddy system and was flattered that her teachers thought enough of her to suggest her for the program.

  But one thing nagged at her a little. How would the rest of The Fabulous Five feel about her spending most of her time with the new student? They were super friends and would surely understand, but Mr. Bell had said that most of her classes would include the new girl. She would have to walk to classes with her, eat lunch with her, do all kinds of things with her. That wouldn't leave much time for anyone else. Would her friends really understand?

  CHAPTER 2

  "But that's crazy!" Katie Shannon said. "We don't mind. In fact, this sounds like a great program. Here's a chance for us kids to really do something to help the homeless."

  "That's right," said Beth Barry, nodding. She turned to Jana. "Of course, we don't mind."

  "Right," Christie Winchell echoed.

  "You're sure?" Jana said. "You know, the new girl will need an awful lot of my time."

  "Of course we don't want to be without you," Christie said, "so why not just invite her to join all of us at lunch? And if we're going the same direction to classes, we'll all walk together."

  Jana sighed with relief and sagged against the chain-link fence that surrounded the school property. She should have known her friends wouldn't mind. The Fabulous Five stuck together, no matter what.

  "You don't know how good this makes me feel," she said.

  "Oh, Jana, you shouldn't have worried about us," said Beth. "But what about Randy? Do you think he'll be jealous?"

  "He'd better not be," interrupted Katie. "He has no more claim to your time than anyone else."

  "I know," Jana admitted. "And he's really a sensitive and caring person, so I hope he likes the idea. It would make it a lot easier for me." She stopped and glanced around. "Say, has anyone seen Melanie?"

  "Gosh, no," said Beth. "I wonder where she is?"

  This spot by the fence was the usual meeting place for The Fabulous Five before school.

  "Maybe she's sick," offered Katie.

  Beth squinted off into the distance. "Isn't that her coming now?"

  Jana followed Beth's gaze and saw Melanie Edwards running—her arms and legs pumping hard—in their direction along the sidewalk.

  "She sure is in a hurry," Beth said. "I wonder what's up?"

  It took Melanie another minute to reach them. Gasping for breath, she staggered up to her four friends and collapsed against the fence, causing the chain-link to thwang against the framing pole.

  "Melanie, are you okay?" Jana asked.

  Melanie nodded while she tried to catch her breath.

  "Hey, you weren't late or anything," Beth assured her. "What's the rush?"

  "Test," Melanie said between breaths. "I have this test."

  "You have a test today?" asked Jana. "You were studying and left for school late?" It was beginning to be like a game trying to find out what Melanie's problem was.

  Melanie shook her head. "I had to make copies before I left," she said.

  "You made copies of a school test?" Katie asked, her voice rising in alarm. "I thought you knew better—"

  "No," Melanie interrupted, her breathing beginning to return to normal. "It's not a school test. I swear. I got it in the mail yesterday from my cousin in California."

  "What kind of test?" asked Jana.

  "It's totally awesome," Melanie said, her eyes wide. "Here, let me show you."

  Melanie dug through her book bag for a full minute.

  "Oh, rats, where are they?" she mumbled. "I worked all through breakfast . . . Oh, here they are!" She pulled out a handful of papers. "It's about getting your true love!" she announced proudly.

  Katie groaned. "Are you kidding?"

  "No, I'm completely serious about this," Melanie said, shuffling through the papers. Then she stopped and looked up at Katie. "This is not a joking matter, Katie. My cousin tried the test, and it worked!"

  Katie rolled her eyes.

  "Let me see it, Mel," said Jana.

  Melanie handed the papers to Jana, who glanced quickly over the six sheets.

  "These are all the same," said Jana. "I don't get it."

  "I know," Melanie said. "You're supposed to send out these tests to six girls within six days—"

  "You mean like a chain letter?" asked Beth.

  Melanie shrugged. "Sort of. What you do is send out these tests to six girls in six days. Then on the fourth day after that, you drink a glass of water, then say your favorite guy's name. Within another four days, he'll ask you out or tell you he likes you. If you get the letter and don't do what it says, your love life during the next four years will be a total disaster!"

  Katie, Christie, and Beth burst out laughing. Jana wanted to, but she was able to control herself.

  "That's the silliest thing I ever heard," said Katie.

  Beth stopped giggling long enough to ask, "Does it work if you drink Pepsi instead of water?"

  Melanie frowned and stomped her foot. "I'm perfectly serious! I know it sounds a little crazy, but can you imagine if it works? Wouldn't that be super?"

  "So, what's in the test?" asked Christie.

  "It's all about the things you should think about before you drink the water and say the name," Melanie said. "Like"—she began reading—"'What qualities do you want your boyfriend to have?' Now that makes sense! I'll bet a psychologist or somebody who really knows about relationships wrote this test."

  Katie laughed again, but Christie gave her a nudge with her elbow, so she covered her mouth with her hand and tried to keep a straight face.

  "And, 'How important are his looks?'" Melanie read. She stopped and stared off into the distance, thinking. "Got a pen or pencil?"

  Ja
na handed her a ballpoint pen.

  "Ve-ry im-por-tant," Melanie said as she wrote.

  "Oh, brother," said Katie.

  "These are all important," Melanie said defensively. "Here, you four take a test."

  "No way," said Katie, shaking her head.

  "Us, either," the others said in unison.

  Melanie shrugged. "Suit yourself," she said. Then she grinned slyly. "But you may never find your true love."

  Katie grinned back. "I'll take my chances," she said.

  "Okay, but I've got to give these tests to six girls before the end of the six days," Melanie said.

  "I'm sure you'll find some kids who'll think it's fun," Jana assured her, "even if they don't quite believe it."

  "Yeah," Melanie said. "I should quit worrying. I'll find some girls who'll take it seriously." She directed the last comment to Katie, who just smiled.

  "So when does your new student show up?" Beth asked, turning back to Jana.

  "Anytime," Jana said. "Maybe even today."

  "New student?" asked Melanie, wrinkling her nose. "What's that all about?"

  "Wacko is hosting some homeless kids," Jana explained. "I'm getting paired up with one of them."

  "Wow. Do you think it might be a boy?" Melanie asked, her eyes getting wide.

  Jana shook her head. "Girls are paired with girls."

  "Have you ever noticed," said Beth, "that when Melanie talks about boys, the pupils of her eyes dilate?"

  Melanie burst into fits of giggles. "Really?"

  "Really," Beth answered, grinning.

  Just then the first bell rang, and students began heading toward the building.

  "Come on," Jana said. "If my student is here, I want to be available whenever the office sends for me."

  "Oh, and I've got to find some girls to take the test," Melanie said. "It would be horrible if I had to go through four years of a disastrous love life."

  Jana shook her head as they hurried into the school building and scattered to their classes.

  For the next two days, Jana could hardly think of anything else but the new girl she would be paired with. She kept waiting to be called to the office to meet her, but the call hadn't come.

  Several of the new students had arrived already. She had seen Whitney Larkin escorting a new girl between classes, but she hadn't had a chance to speak to Whitney about how it was going.