by Betsy Haynes
Sitting in her first period history class on Thursday, Jana made a mental note to call Whitney that night. Then she started daydreaming about the girl who would be assigned to her. Jana wondered what her name would be, whether she would be nice, and whether they would have things in common. But most of all, Jana was excited about the idea of helping this new girl. She knew that it wouldn't be easy at times, but she expected good things to happen. After all, she reasoned, she really wanted to help.
Jana sat at her desk and doodled on her notebook. Then she started making a list of things she could do for the girl on her first day. She'd already decided that she wouldn't overwhelm the girl by introducing her to The Fabulous Five right away. Jana knew that she and the new girl would want to have a little time alone first to get to know each other.
Jana began her list.
1. Show her to locker.
2. Introduce her to teachers.
3. Eat lunch alone with her.
Jana paused and tapped her pencil against her cheek. That all seemed so obvious. What else could she do? She couldn't think of anything.
The classroom door opening caught her eye, and a student messenger from the office strode across the front of the room and handed Mr. Naset a note.
Jana's stomach fluttered and she sat up straight. Was the office sending for her?
"Jana," said Mr. Naset, looking up from the note. "Your presence is requested in the office."
Jana gasped, leaped to her feet, and headed for the door. Oh, she thought, maybe I should bring my books and stuff in case I don't have time to come back—
She whirled around and headed back for her desk, then stopped. She'll be in most of my classes anyway, she thought. I'll be coming back to history.
She turned for the door and stopped again. But if I'm gone for the rest of the period, I'll need my books to go on to second period, she reasoned.
She sighed and whirled around for the third time, causing the kids around her to laugh. Rushing back to her desk, she grabbed her book bag and pencils.
"You look like a duck in a shooting gallery! Calm down," Beth whispered loudly behind her hand. "You'll be fine."
Jana's cheeks turned red, but she managed to flash a weak smile at Beth and then ran out the door.
CHAPTER 3
What should I say to her? Jana wondered. She wished she had written a list of things she could talk about in her first meeting with the new girl.
Oh, well, I guess I'll play it by ear, she decided. Just let it happen.
She rushed into the girls' bathroom and ran a brush through her hair. She wanted to make a good first impression.
Outside the office door, Jana stopped and took a deep, calming breath. Then another. Okay, she thought, I'm as ready as I'll ever be. She opened the door.
Miss Simone looked up from her desk. "Ah, Jana," she said, smiling, "Mr. Bell and Mrs. Brenner are waiting for you in Mr. Bell's office."
"Thanks," said Jana. She steadied herself and walked in.
"Hi, Jana," Mr. Bell said cordially. "Come in and sit down." He gestured to an empty seat next to his desk. Jana sat down.
Sitting around the principal's office were three adults: Mr. Bell, Mrs. Brenner, the counselor, and a pale, thin woman with dark hair.
Sitting next to the woman was a girl about Jana's age. She was rather pretty, Jana thought, with large, dark eyes and shoulder-length brown hair, although her hair looked as if it needed shampooing. She wore a faded pair of jeans and a worn red jacket that was unzipped, revealing a plaid shirt underneath. On her feet were ancient, worn-out sneakers. She was flexing her feet nervously, and Jana noticed that one of the shoes was coming apart at the front toe seam. The one detail that didn't go with the rest of her was the pair of earrings she was wearing. They looked like real gold and were among the prettiest Jana had seen. The girl's gaze swept quickly over Jana, then she looked at the floor.
"Jana," Mr. Bell said, "this is Lizzie Flagg and her mother. Lizzie's starting school here at Wakeman today."
"Hi," Jana said, and smiled.
Lizzie looked up at Jana and softly said, "Hi." She didn't return the smile.
"Well," said Mr. Bell. "Mrs. Brenner and I have worked out Lizzie's schedule to fit with yours, Jana. The only class she'll have that will be different from yours is biology, which you don't have. That'll give her a chance to meet some new people on her own."
"Okay," said Jana cheerfully.
She looked at Lizzie, who seemed incredibly bored as she stared out the window, yawning. Mr. Bell looked around the room, and his gaze stopped at Lizzie's mother.
"Do you have any questions for us, Mrs. Flagg?" he asked.
Mrs. Flagg shook her head but didn't speak. Jana studied her closely. Was she bored, too? No, it was something else, Jana decided. She looked tired, incredibly frazzled, as if it took all her effort to sit in the chair.
"How about you, Lizzie?" Mr. Bell asked.
Lizzie also shook her head.
"Well then, I think I'll excuse you two young ladies. Jana, you should show Lizzie to her locker first, then go to your class."
"Here's Lizzie's locker number," said Mrs. Brenner. She handed Jana a slip of paper.
Mr. Bell stood up. He reached out to shake Lizzie's hand, but she only stared at him, keeping her hand by her side.
"Welcome to Wakeman, Lizzie," he said, slowly lowering his own hand. "I'm sure you'll like it here. Your locker combination is printed on your schedule card that Mrs. Brenner gave you."
Lizzie nodded slightly.
"I didn't hear the bell," Jana said as she stood up. "Are we still in first period?"
"Period one will be ending in a few minutes," the principal said. "If you hurry, you'll have time to stop by Lizzie's locker on your way to second period class."
The two girls moved out the door and into the outer office. Jana opened the door for Lizzie to go into the hall, but the girl didn't move.
I don't like the way this is starting out, Jana thought, biting her lower lip. But she didn't say anything. Instead she hurried into the hall and was relieved to see Lizzie trailing along behind her.
"I think you'll like Wakeman Junior High," Jana said, slowing slightly to let Lizzie catch up. "Actually, most of the kids call it Wacko." She laughed a little, and Lizzie glanced at her quickly but didn't respond.
"The teachers here are really nice," Jana continued, trying desperately to make conversation as they walked down the hall. "You'll especially like Miss Dickinson, our English teacher."
Jana thought she saw Lizzie nod.
The bell rang then, ending the first period, and within seconds, the hall was crowded with seventh-, eighth-, and ninth-graders hurrying to their next classes.
"I remember I was really nervous on the first day of junior high," Jana said quickly. She knew she was talking too fast, but she couldn't help it. Lizzie's silence was getting to her. "But once you get to know some of the other kids and the teachers, and you get involved in school activities, you'll think it's great!"
Lizzie glanced sideways at Jana, then muttered, "Did anyone ever tell you, you talk too much?"
Jana was stunned. "I wanted to tell you about Wakeman," she said in a small voice. "There are some things you'll have to know."
Lizzie stared straight ahead and didn't respond. Jana didn't speak for a full minute—at least it seemed like at least a minute—but then realized that she had to tell her about some of the day-to-day details about Wakeman.
"Your locker is right around here somewhere," Jana said. She scanned the long rows of lockers that ran down either side of the hall. "Number twenty-three nineteen. Oh, here it is."
Jana walked up to the tall, narrow locker painted pale blue and turned to Lizzie. A passing student jostled Lizzie, who scowled and pressed her shoulder up next to the lockers to avoid contact with any more kids.
"Do you have your schedule card?" Jana asked.
Lizzie nodded but didn't move.
"Your combination is printed on t
he top right corner," Jana said.
Lizzie frowned but still didn't move.
Jana couldn't understand why Lizzie didn't open her locker. "Do you want to hang up your jacket?" she asked, trying hard not to let the exasperation she was feeling be heard in her voice.
"I want to wear my jacket, okay?" Lizzie's voice was thick with hostility.
Jana winced. "Sure, okay," she said. "I just thought you might like to open your locker and make sure the combination's right. Once in a while, the office makes a mistake or the locker sticks. If it's not okay, we can get it fixed right away."
"No," Lizzie said, her voice a little softer.
Jana nodded and forced herself to smile.
"Okay," she said. "Maybe we'd better get to your biology class so that I can introduce you to Mr. Dracovitch. We have just five minutes between classes, so you'll always have to hurry if you're going to stop at your locker or the bathroom."
The two girls walked down the hall in silence. One minute Jana wanted to scream in frustration. The next, she wanted to stomp off and let Lizzie find her way around by herself. But she knew she couldn't do either. This is what this project is all about, she reminded herself. Helping kids like Lizzie feel at home in a strange school.
"Hi, Jana!" Alexis Duvall called out as she passed them.
"Hi, Alexis," Jana answered.
"Wait till you take that math test," Alexis shouted over the noise. "It's a killer!"
Lizzie hadn't even looked up to see the girl who spoke. She kept her eyes directly on the floor.
"Oh, here's your biology class," Jana said. "Mr. Dracovitch is a little weird, but everybody loves his class."
Jana led the way into the classroom, then turned to speak to Lizzie.
"Come up front, and I'll introduce you," she said.
The classroom was already crowded with kids. Jana walked briskly between two rows of seats up to the front of the classroom. The teacher was writing on the board, his back to her.
"Excuse me, Mr. Dracovitch," Jana said.
The tall, slender man turned around. The paleness of his skin and the black, shiny toupee that always sat too far forward on his head made all the kids think of Dracula. In fact, everyone even called him Dracula behind his back.
Jana and the rest of The Fabulous Five had thought that he didn't know what the kids called him. But not long ago they discovered that he wanted the kids to think of him as Dracula in order to get them interested in coming to his class and studying science.
"Yes, Jana," he said.
"I'd like you to meet your new student, Lizzie Flagg," Jana began. She turned around to gesture to Lizzie, but Lizzie wasn't there.
"Lizzie?"
"A phantom student, Jana?" Mr. Dracovitch said, smiling devilishly. "Sounds like my kind of person."
Jana couldn't help grinning. "She was here just a minute ago." "Excuse me, I'll be right back."
Jana rushed down between the rows of desks to the back of the room. Students were milling around, chatting and getting ready for class to begin.
"Lizzie!" Jana found Lizzie still standing in the doorway, gazing into the hall. "Come up and meet Mr. Dracovitch."
Lizzie frowned but followed Jana up to the front of the classroom.
"This is Lizzie Flagg," Jana said in a controlled voice. "She's new today and has some classes with me, so I'm showing her around."
"Hello, Lizzie," Mr. Dracovitch said. "Glad to have you join us. I think there's an empty seat in the back. You can sit there."
Lizzie shrugged. "Okay."
She trudged to the desk located in the back of the classroom, close to a window, and sat down. She stuffed her hands into the pockets of her jacket. Jana hurried to her own class, relieved to get there and face an entire class period without having to try to make conversation with Lizzie.
The morning classes seemed to drag for Jana. She had known that Lizzie might not be superfriendly, but this was ridiculous. She was surprised and hurt at how hostile and angry Lizzie actually was. Jana kept wondering what more she could do to make this new school experience go smoothly for Lizzie.
At lunchtime, Jana led Lizzie to the cafeteria and showed her where to get in the hot-lunch line. Jana paid for her own lunch, and then Lizzie leaned far over to the side to block Jana's view. Jana could still see, though, when Lizzie took out a card and slipped it in front of the woman selling lunch tickets. The woman glanced at the card and nodded, and then turned to the boy behind Lizzie to get his lunch money.
She didn't want me to see that she's on the free lunch program, Jana thought. That made Jana sad. There were quite a few low-income kids getting reduced or free lunches, and it wasn't a big deal. She had always thought it was a great program, that kids could always get a hot lunch, no matter how much their parents earned.
"Let's sit over by the window," Jana said when they had their lunch trays.
She smiled and waved at The Fabulous Five at their usual table. She'd told each of them that on the new girl's first day she would sit alone with her at lunch. Her friends had agreed that it would be a good idea for Jana to spend some private time with her at first.
"How did you like your first morning?" Jana asked Lizzie after they'd sat down.
Lizzie shrugged and took a stab at the meatball on her spaghetti. "It was all right," she said, "if you like boredom."
"Yeah, it can be boring, all right," Jana said. "But sometimes it's really fun. Mr. Dracovitch, for instance, can be really interesting. Once he had his classes dissect a cow's eyeball!"
Lizzie dropped her fork with the meatball back into her plate.
"Oops, sorry," Jana said, and giggled nervously. "I shouldn't have mentioned that at lunch."
Lizzie made a face. "That's disgusting," she mumbled.
"But what I meant was that Wakeman doesn't have to be boring," Jana insisted. "There are a lot of activities you can get involved in, too. I'm the seventh-grade coeditor of The Wigwam, our school yearbook. Some of my friends are cheerleaders and in the school plays and on the Teen Court."
"Uh-huh," Lizzie said, looking very bored.
"Maybe you'd like to get involved in some of those activities," Jana added hopefully.
"Yeah, right," Lizzie said sarcastically. "Like, I'd really like to be in a school play." She made a gagging noise.
"It was just a suggestion," Jana said in a small voice. "Maybe you'll like your afternoon classes better, Lizzie."
Lizzie sat back in her chair and gazed at Jana for a moment. '"Would you do me a favor, Jana?"
"Sure," Jana said, eager to help.
"Would you call me Liz instead of Lizzie?"
"Oh, sure, okay," Jana said.
Lizzie nodded and folded her arms across her chest. "Just my good friends call me Lizzie."
CHAPTER 4
"She was angry and mean all day!" Jana said. "She thought school was boring. She didn't like our teachers. She said I talked too much. And then she asked me to call her Liz instead of Lizzie."
"Why?" her mother asked, taking the casserole out of the oven. "What's wrong with Lizzie?"
Jana raised her eyebrows. "Only her good friends call her Lizzie," Jana said. "Obviously she has no intention of ever letting me be a good friend."
Jana's stepfather, Pink, had just finished setting the table. He strolled over to Jana and put his arm around her shoulder.
"The girl sounds as if she's built a wall around herself," he said. "By telling you that only her friends call her Lizzie, she's saying that she wants to keep you at a distance."
"Exactly," Jana said, shrugging to show her exasperation. "That's the trouble, but why would she want to do that? Doesn't she want to make new friends?"
"Maybe she feels insecure," her mother said. "The name 'Lizzie' sounds a little younger, a little more vulnerable than 'Liz,' which sounds more like a mature, independent young woman. Maybe she feels a little threatened by her new situation and wants to be called by a more sophisticated name."
"Maybe," Jana gr
umbled, but she wasn't convinced. Maybe Liz was just a crabby person who got her kicks by hurting other people's feelings.
"Dinner's ready," her mother called.
The three squeezed into their places at the kitchen table.
"Where does Liz live?" Pink asked.
"At a shelter for the homeless—Phoenix House," Jana said.
Pink smiled. "Good name," he said.
Jana frowned, trying to understand. "Phoenix? You mean, the city in Arizona?"
"Well, originally the name came from mythology," Pink said, spooning a helping of casserole onto his plate. "A phoenix was a bird. Only one phoenix existed at a time," he went on. "It lived a very long time, and at the end of its life, it burned itself in a funeral pyre."
"That's sad," Jana said, putting down her fork.
"No, not really," said Pink. "Because another phoenix rose up in its place, filled with youth and beauty. Because of its rebirth, the phoenix has come to represent starting life over with renewed strength and determination."
"I'm impressed, Pink," Jana's mother said, grinning. "I didn't know you knew Greek mythology."
"My high-school English teacher, Mrs. Mortimer, gets the credit. She pounded all that stuff into our heads during my junior year."
"Say, I have an idea," her mother said. "Why not invite Lizzie—excuse me, Liz—over for dinner on Saturday?"
Jana thought a moment and then nodded. "Yeah, okay," she said. "It's worth a try, anyway. Maybe she'll see that I'm not so awful, and she'll loosen up a little."
"I'll fix chicken and dumplings and green beans—"
"Oooh, invite her to come every night," Pink teased. "If we get to eat like that when she comes, I like her already."
Jana's mother laughed.
"Thanks, Mom," Jana said. "I'll ask her tomorrow at school."
"She'll need to check with her mother," Mrs. Pinkerton said. "Tell her we can pick her up if she needs a ride."
"I can't wait to invite her," Jana said. "I hope she says yes."
After supper Jana helped with the dishes and then went to her room. She had just opened her lit book when the phone rang.
