by Betsy Haynes
"Jana," Melanie said very patiently, "I know that you know a lot about boys, but let me say as kindly as I can that—as smart and knowledgeable and perceptive as you are about boys—you don't know diddly about fate."
"What?"
"It's fate, plain and simple," Melanie said sadly. "My life is over where boys are concerned, for at least four years. But I'll just have to get through it the best I can. I'll just have to concentrate on how wonderful my life will be when I'm a junior in high school and this curse has passed."
"That's crazy, Melanie!" Beth exploded. "That's idiotic! There's no power in that dumb test, except for the power that you give it!"
"Power," Melanie murmured, staring into space. "Beth, that's it!"
Beth frowned and shook her head. "What's it?"
"If the test has power over my love life, maybe I can find an antidote to it!" Melanie exclaimed happily.
"What?" whispered Beth, frowning and shaking her head even harder.
"An antidote!" Melanie repeated. "Maybe I can break the spell somehow! I'm going to the library on my way home. Maybe I can find something that will stop the spell from working."
Jana sighed as she exchanged glances with Beth. "Okay, Mel," Jana said. "Suit yourself. But I think you're wasting your time."
"You don't think I'll find a spell-breaker?" Melanie asked anxiously.
"I don't think there's a spell to break," Jana said. "But I think you have your mind already made up."
"Right!" Melanie said enthusiastically. "Either of you want to come with me?"
"No, thanks," said Jana.
"No, Mel," Beth said. "I have a lot of homework."
"Okay, I'll see you guys later," Melanie said. "I just know I'll find something to break this spell." She turned and walked several steps toward the front door, then stopped and whirled around with a big grin on her face. "When you see me again, I'll be a free woman!"
CHAPTER 9
Jana sat on the living room couch and waited for the doorbell to ring. It was 7:07, and already she was wondering if Liz might not show up.
Pink strolled into the room. "Just waiting?" he asked.
"Mm-hmm," Jana said. "She said she'd come at seven."
"She'll probably be here any minute."
"Maybe," Jana said. "But then again, maybe she decided not to stick her neck out."
Pink sat down on the couch beside her. "What do you mean?" he asked.
"Well, I've been thinking about this," Jana said. "Coming here is a big step for Liz. She's taking a risk by letting me spend a little time with her, by letting you drive her back to the shelter. If she's embarrassed about being homeless, coming here to our home is probably tough for her."
Pink nodded. "I think you're right."
"So maybe she decided just to skip it, to stay safe and not take the risk," said Jana.
"You know," Pink said with a grin, "you're a pretty smart girl. No, maybe perceptive is a better word here."
"How about smart and perceptive?" Jana teased.
"Now you're talking," Pink said, squeezing her shoulder.
Just then the doorbell rang, and Jana's stomach did a flip-flop. "She's here! She really came!" Jana whispered.
"You open the door," Pink whispered back. "I'll get lost."
"Thanks," said Jana. Pink disappeared down the hall to the master bedroom.
Jana hurried to the door and pulled it open. "Hi, Liz," she said. "Come on in."
Liz was wearing blue jeans, a blue cotton blouse, and, as usual, her red down jacket. She carried two notebooks and her school textbook.
"Hi," she said just above a whisper.
She isn't smiling and she looks a little nervous, Jana thought. She wondered briefly if she should ask to take Liz's jacket, but decided against it. If Liz wanted to take it off, she would.
Jana ushered her into the living room. Liz stood in the middle of the floor and looked around at the dining room table with its silk-flower centerpiece, at the homey kitchen around the corner, at the comfortable furniture in the living room and the wall covered with photographs of Jana's family. She didn't speak.
"I thought we could study right here," Jana said. "Mom and Pink are going to watch TV in their bedroom, so we won't be in the way, and my room is really too small for us both to study there."
I'm talking too much and too fast again, Jana thought. Taking a deep breath, she gestured to the couch. "Have a seat."
Liz walked over to the couch and sat down, and Jana followed. Liz's gold earrings caught the light from the lamp on the end table and shone brightly.
Jana leaned toward Liz. "Those are beautiful earrings. I noticed them at school."
"Thanks," Liz said. There was a little pause, and she touched the left earring gently. "They belonged to my grandmother. They're real gold."
"I wish I had a pair like them," Jana said. "They're gorgeous."
Liz looked off into space. "My grandmother died three years ago. I used to live with her some of the time."
"Really?" Jana said, both surprised and delighted that Liz had lowered that wall a little to talk about her life. "Where did you live?"
Abruptly, the wall was snapped back into place. "Out of state," Liz snapped, and looked away.
"Oh," said Jana, swallowing hard. "Well, I guess we'd better study. Now, the important thing to remember about Mr. Naset's tests is that he likes lists."
"Lists?" echoed Liz.
"Right. whenever he gives you three points to remember about, say, the reason the colonists came to America—be sure to learn them. He'll definitely ask them on a test."
"Okay," Liz said with a definite lack of enthusiasm.
"Did you copy my notes into your notebook?" Jana asked.
Liz shook her head. "I'm going to do that now."
"Oh," Jana said. She was disappointed. Why hadn't Liz copied them before she came? They could have spent this time studying together. And, come to think of it, she could have been studying on her own during the last two days if she'd had her notes to study. Liz certainly hadn't been very considerate. And now, Liz would just sit there by herself and copy the notes, which would take her at least half an hour.
Liz opened both notebooks and sat down on the floor, working on the coffee table as she began copying the notes.
"Would you like a Coke?" Jana asked.
"Sure," said Liz.
"Diet or regular?"
Liz looked up. "Regular."
"How about if I make some popcorn, too?" Jana suggested.
"Suit yourself."
Jana exhaled loudly. She didn't care if Liz knew how exasperated she was. In the kitchen she found her mother pouring herself a diet soda.
"How's it going?" she whispered.
Jana frowned. "Okay, I guess. But she sure knows how to get to me. And she didn't copy my notes, so she has to do it now."
Jana's mother nodded sympathetically and padded softly back to the bedroom. Jana filled two glasses with ice and soda and returned to the living room. She expected to see Liz copying the notes, but when she stepped through the door, Jana saw Liz gazing at something in her hand. It looked like a photograph, but at the same instant Liz glanced up. Seeing Jana, she slipped whatever it was inside her book.
Jana set the Coke in front of Liz on the coffee table without a word. Liz didn't speak either but went back to copying the notes.
It took Liz nearly an hour to copy all of them. Finally she set her pen down and, locking her fingers, stretched her arms in front of her.
"Writer's cramp?" Jana asked, trying to sound friendly.
Liz shrugged.
"Are you ready for me to quiz you?" Jana asked.
Liz made a face. "Are you kidding?" she asked sourly. "I just finished copying the notes."
"Oh, okay," Jana said. "Do you just want to study by yourself, then?"
"That's the idea," Liz said sarcastically.
"Okay," Jana said wearily. Old, ornery Liz is back, she thought. Jana picked up her own notes and curled up on
the couch to study. For the next hour, Jana and Liz studied their notes silently, never speaking. Jana peeked over at Liz several times. She couldn't help wondering if Liz really had been looking at a picture, and if so, who was in it. But Liz seemed to be concentrating pretty hard on the notes in front of her. Still, the third time Jana looked at her, she noticed that Liz's eyes weren't moving.
How can you read and study if you don't move your eyes? Liz wasn't studying, Jana realized. She was just sitting there staring at the page, pretending to study!
"Would you like me to quiz you?" Jana asked. She knew she was setting a trap for Liz, but she didn't care.
"No, I gotta go," Liz said abruptly. She got up and zipped her jacket.
"Oh, well . . ." Jana fumbled. "Uh, I'll get Pink to drive you home."
"Don't bother," Liz mumbled. Without another word, she walked to the door, opened it, and disappeared down the hall.
Jana stood in the middle of the living room with her mouth open in surprise. "I can't believe it," she muttered to herself.
"Jana, did I hear someone go out?" her mother called from the bedroom.
Jana trudged back to where her mother and Pink were sitting on the bed watching TV. "I can't believe it," she repeated. "Liz came, copied my notes, drank a Coke, studied by herself, and then left! All without a thank-you, or I'll-see-you-tomorrow or goodbye." She flopped down on the end of their bed.
"That's too bad," Jana's mother said, shaking her head. "I guess Liz just isn't ready to make her own friends yet."
"Well, I've had it with her!" Jana said angrily. "I've done everything I can think of! I've shown her around school, introduced her to my friends, eaten lunch with her, given her my notes—which I could have been studying myself—and offered to help her study. And all I've gotten in return is rudeness!"
"I agree with you, honey," her mother said. "If you ask me, you've been awfully patient."
"You bet I've been patient!" Jana cried. "I've waited and waited for her to decide to be nice! I know she's had a hard life, and I know she doesn't have a home, and I know she wants to get out of the shelter! But I didn't put her there!" Jana sighed wearily. "I'm going to take a shower."
As she left her parents' room and entered her own, the phone rang. Pink answered it.
"Jana," Pink called. "It's for you."
"Thanks. I'll get it in the living room." When she picked up the receiver, she made a face at it and said, "Hello."
"Hi, Jana. This is Melanie."
Jana's shoulders sagged. "Oh, hi, Mel." She wished Melanie hadn't picked this moment to call. She wasn't in the mood to talk right now.
"I just wanted to tell you what happened to me today," Melanie said anxiously, "and get your advice."
Jana sighed. "Okay," she said, "but I'm really tired, Mel, so could you make it kind of fast?"
"Well, sure," Melanie said, sounding a little hurt. "I'll make it fast, I promise." She immediately rushed into her story, speaking nonstop. "You see, it was after school, and I was walking down the sidewalk, and along came Shane on his bike, and I was thinking about the love test, and I was kind of afraid that he wouldn't speak because the test said that he'd hate me for four long, miserable years, and so I said, 'Hello!' just like that, and he turned around and waved a little, and I guess that kind of gave me confidence that maybe things weren't going to be so bad after all, and I remembered the incantation I read about in a book of folklore at the library that's supposed to cancel any kind of spell, and I said in this really loud voice—I kind of yelled it, in fact—'Spider's web and kitten's bell, I command that you remove this spell!' and, oh, man, Shane looked at me as if he thought I was totally crazy, and, Jana, no kidding, I just wanted to crawl into a hole and die!"
Melanie stopped and panted a moment. "Do you think I did the wrong thing?"
"Yes, I think you did the wrong thing!" Jana exploded. "I keep telling you that the love test is just a silly game, but you refuse to believe me. And of course, Shane is going to think you're nuts if you yell dumb things like that at him! Anybody'd think you were nuts! Now, if you'll excuse me, Melanie, I had kind of a bad day, and I'm going to take a shower and go to bed, okay?"
"Okay," Melanie said in a little voice. "Sorry." She hung up.
Jana sighed and trudged back to her room and flopped onto the bed. Why did I treat Melanie that way? she thought. Mel didn't deserve it.
Jana rolled over on her back and stared at the ceiling. She visualized Melanie yelling that stupid incantation at Shane and laughed out loud. Shane must have thought she'd popped a screw loose in her brain somewhere.
Poor Melanie, Jana thought. She needs a friend, not another problem.
Jana sighed. She hadn't been very nice to Melanie. She was just so frustrated with Liz! Melanie was a good friend, though, and Jana knew that she would—
Jana sat upright. What had she just done? She was upset about a problem and had treated Melanie rudely, just as Liz had treated her rudely during this terrible time in her life. And Liz certainly had bigger problems than Jana.
"Oh, brother," she said aloud. "I'm just as bad as Liz."
Jana went back to the living room, picked up the receiver, and dialed Melanie's number.
"Hello, Melanie?" she said. "I'm calling to apologize . . ."
Already, Jana felt better.
CHAPTER 10
"I'm so glad we're having this meeting," Whitney said, slipping into one of the front row seats in the auditorium. "I'm coming unglued! Leslie is just as quiet and sulky as she was the first day!"
"Yeah," said Jana, sinking into the seat next to her. "Liz won't talk much either, even the few times when she's not angry."
Mr. Bell and Mrs. Brenner sat informally on the edge of the stage. The four remaining student partners entered the auditorium within a few minutes and seated themselves in the first two rows.
"Well," Mr. Bell began, "we thought it might be a good idea to get together today and talk about how our new program is going. Any problems? Have you learned anything helpful?"
Kyle Zimmerman spoke up. "I've learned that my student hates school and likes to pick fights."
"Oh, yes," Mr. Bell said. "Your partner was one of the boys who was suspended for fighting, wasn't he?"
"Yeah," Kyle said. "I called the shelter last night, and the supervisor told me that he and his mom have left town. I guess his mom was going to look for work."
"That's typical," Mrs. Brenner said. "Homeless people move around a lot looking for shelter and jobs.
"Yes, Whitney," said Mrs. Brenner.
"Leslie is really hard to deal with," Whitney said softly. "I thought she'd become a friend, but she acts as if she hates me. She doesn't want to talk or do anything with me. If I offer to help her with homework or with a problem she's having in class, she gets very quiet and acts angry."
"How about you, Jana?" Mr. Bell asked. "Are you having problems, too?"
Jana nodded. "My friends and I have tried to get Liz interested in extracurricular activities, but she gets really sarcastic and says those things are dumb."
"Do you think she really believes what she's saying?" Mrs. Brenner asked.
"Oh, yes," Jana said. "I think the idea of trying out for cheerleading or the school play seems stupid to her. Sometimes I've wondered if Liz is on another, well, plane than the rest of us."
"You mean another planet?" Tim said, and everybody laughed.
"No," Jana replied, "I mean that Liz and her mother are really trying hard to survive in the world. They're thinking about a place to stay, a good job, food, that sort of thing, and I suppose that, compared with those things, cheerleading and acting in a play does sound pretty silly."
"I think you're absolutely right," Mrs. Brenner said, smiling at Jana.
"So, how do we get her interested in school?" asked Jana.
"Maybe we don't," offered Pam. "Maybe all we can hope to do is try and make the school as pleasant a place as we can. Then it's up to them to do the rest."
"Ri
ght," said Jana. "And I'm not really sure that I even want to do much more. I mean, I try and try. I even asked her to come over to my house to study. She just couldn't be less interested in being a friend—or even having a friend!"
"Pam's right," Mrs. Brenner said. "We can only do so much. We can offer help, friendship, guidance—and if the students want to take advantage of those things, fine. If they don't, that's too bad. There's only so much you can do."
"Is anybody having a good experience?" Mr. Bell asked.
Tim Riggs sat forward. "Yes," he said. "My student is really a great guy."
"How long has he been homeless?" Jana asked.
"Just a few weeks," Tim said. "And his parents have already lined up jobs. They won't be at Phoenix House very long."
"Maybe he doesn't feel so bad about what he's going through, then," Jana said. "I mean, since he knows everything will be okay very soon."
"Yeah," Tim said. "You're probably right."
"I'm sure the anger and withdrawal you other people have been seeing is due to the shame and embarrassment of being homeless," said Mrs. Brenner.
"I'll bet part of it," Kyle interjected, "is the way some of the kids here at Wakeman have been treating them. I've heard some kids say pretty mean things to the students from the shelter. I walked into my science class the other day and overheard a kid call my student 'Homeless Joe.' He thought he was being really cool, I guess."
"Some kids have been saying things to me like, Why don't these people get jobs?" said Jana.
"Right," said Whitney. "Some kids have said they think these homeless people are just lazy, and they don't see why we're trying to help them."
"Well, I'm sure there are some lazy homeless people getting help from local agencies," said Mrs. Brenner. "There will always be people who abuse the system. But there are a great many more who desperately want work but, for one reason or another, don't have jobs or can't find them. Some have been laid off. Others have had other misfortunes. Some of them have difficulty holding jobs because of personal problems."
"Like drinking or drugs?" asked Pam.
