by Betsy Haynes
Desperately Melanie started through the list again. Surely there was one that would apply to the situation she was in at the moment. But which one? While she was thinking, her mother pulled the van into the unloading zone in front of Wakeman Junior High, and Brian got out, calling to some of his friends to help him unload his bricks.
Melanie glanced out the window as she gathered up her books and prepared to leave the van. She couldn't be sure, but it looked as if there were several more kids standing around the unloading area than there had been the day before, and it also looked as if they were watching the activity at the teen taxi.
They're here to watch Brian Olsen make a spectacle of himself, she thought angrily.
"I'll see you after school," her mother called out in a cheery voice.
Melanie said good-bye and jumped out of the van and headed for the building, hoping that her mother would drive away without noticing that she had left the flyers on the floor of the van. She would deal with those tomorrow. Today she had enough problems with Brian Olsen.
She tried to duck through the crowd, but she stopped cold when a girl's voice rang out, "From what I hear, things are pretty lovey in the backseat of that van."
Melanie's heart was pounding as she whirled around and scanned the groups of kids, but she couldn't figure out who had said it. The voice had not sounded familiar, and all the girls standing around looked perfectly innocent. It's a lie! she wanted to shout, but just as she opened her mouth to say it, she caught sight of Garrett Boldt. He was standing only a few feet away, so she knew he had heard, and he was looking at her with a puzzled expression on his face.
Oh, no, she thought. He believes it! But before she could decide what to do, he turned and walked away.
CHAPTER 11
Now what am I going to do? Melanie asked herself over and over again through her morning classes. Not only did Garrett Boldt believe that something was going on between herself and Brian Olsen in the backseat of the van, but if she canceled out on assisting him when he photographed the drama club rehearsal after school, he would think she was reneging on a promise.
"I'm doomed," she moaned to her friends as they filed into the auditorium for assembly later after lunch.
Katie shook her head. "Why is it that your problems always have something to do with boys?"
"Because boys are important," huffed Melanie. "Besides, how would you feel if everyone thought you liked Brian Olsen?"
"I thought you were going to use all the turnoffs we got from our boyfriends to get him to stop bugging you," said Beth.
"I am," said Melanie. "I just have to figure out how."
They found seats near the back of the room, and Melanie was just getting settled when Sara Sawyer, who was sitting in the row in front of her, turned around and said, "Melanie Edwards. Is it true what I've been hearing about you and Brian Olsen?"
Melanie's eyes bugged out and she scrunched down in her seat, trying to be less noticeable. "What did you hear?" she whispered hoarsely.
"Just that Brian is telling everybody that since he's the only rider in the teen taxi, the two of you have gotten really well acquainted. He's making it sound as if something's going on—if you know what I mean."
"Of course I know what you mean!" Melanie said angrily. "And it isn't true! And you can tell everybody that I said so!"
Sara shrugged. "Sure," she said, and then she giggled and turned around.
Melanie could feel tears stinging her eyes and anger welling up inside her like a volcano ready to blow. She was reaching forward to tap Sara on the shoulder and give her a large piece of her mind when Mr. Bell walked out on the stage to begin the assembly.
"Boys and girls," he began, "today we are privileged to have a very special program. We are going to see a karate demonstration put on by ten students of Mr. Hayashida's School of Karate, who also happen to be students right here at Wakeman Junior High."
Mr. Bell paused and there was thunderous applause. Melanie clapped, too, thinking that most kids would applaud for anything that would get them out of class. She glanced at her watch, wondering how long the assembly would last and if Brian would do something weird to embarrass her in front of the whole school.
A tall, thin Asian man walked to the center of the stage, where a large mat had been placed, and introduced himself as Mr. Hayashida. He bowed respectfully to Mr. Bell and then gestured to direct the audience's attention to ten teenagers, all wearing the traditional white pants and shirts with belts ranging in color from yellow to brown, who were filing onto the stage. Melanie recognized all of them, although she only knew three by name. Brian wore a brown belt. He was the biggest and also the last one in the line, which stopped behind the mat and then bowed to Mr. Hayashida.
Melanie drew in a deep breath and crossed her fingers for luck. Then she looked at her watch again. Only two minutes had passed. She half-listened as Mr. Hayashida explained that karate was a Japanese word meaning "the empty hand" and that the reason it was called that was that people who practice karate face the world without any kind of weapon except for their disciplined minds and their skill. Then he announced that it was time for the demonstration to begin.
Two boys and a girl came forward and showed the basic exercises that prepared the students for more advanced moves. Next came a demonstration on punching techniques, followed by four students who did incredible kicks. Each time, the students bowed to Mr. Hayashida and then to the audience before they began, and then they bowed again when they were finished. While they were going through their routines, Melanie's eyes roamed around the auditorium. She was too nervous about Brian's performance to be able to watch the others. What if he wanted her to come up on the stage with him? What if he asked where she was sitting? She'd be so embarrassed that she'd probably die.
Finally the moment came that she had been dreading. Mr. Hayashida bowed to the audience and said, "Now for the most important moment of our demonstration. You will see an incredible feat of discipline and skill. Brian Olsen, an advanced brown belt, will demonstrate tameshiwara, the ancient art of breaking objects with his bare hands."
A ripple of surprise went through the audience, and Melanie ducked lower in her seat. Next to her, Christie gave her a sympathetic look and then reached across and squeezed her hand.
The crowd got quiet as Brian stepped forward and made his bows. Then he carefully brought the bricks onstage and placed them in two waist-high columns in front of him. Next he placed two boards across the top. Melanie held her breath. So far he wasn't doing anything the least bit weird. In fact, she had never seen such a look of concentration on his face. He stepped back, holding his arm outstretched with the side of his hand above the boards like the cutting edge of a knife.
Suddenly he let out a bloodcurdling yell. "ELAAA-NEEE!" Then he lunged toward the boards, bringing the side of his hand down on them in a gigantic chop that broke them straight down the middle.
"Wow," she whispered, but the sound was lost in deafening applause.
"Did you see that?" Beth asked, jabbing her in the ribs with an elbow.
Mr. Hayashida held up his hand for silence as Brian prepared for his next feat. This time he went to the side of the stage and returned with another brick, which he placed across the top of the two columns where the boards had been. Then he bowed again and assumed the same position as before.
"He can't really do that," Katie whispered. "It has to be an optical illusion."
"ELAAA-NEEE!" he yelled again as his hand came crashing down on the brick, splintering it into a thousand pieces.
The crowd went crazy as Brian bowed to everybody and the demonstration ended. Melanie left the auditorium with the others, feeling totally confused. She had seen The Karate Kid, and she knew how much hard work and discipline it took to become good. So why was it that Brian could do something so special some of the time and yet he acted like a total moron the rest of the time?
Maybe I'm being too hard on him, she thought. Maybe I should give him more of a ch
ance. Just then she heard a commotion in the hallway behind her. Turning, she saw the crowd parting and Brian Olsen rushing forward. He was out of breath, but he was coming straight toward her with a big grin on his face.
"Brian, what is it?" she demanded.
"Here," he said, thrusting something into her hand. "It's for you. I want you to have it."
Several kids had stopped to see what was going on, and he stood there, panting heavily and waiting for her response. Melanie frowned. What was he talking about? What did he want her to have? Looking down, she opened her hand.
"A piece of brick?" she shrieked.
"That's right," Brian said proudly. "That was really your name that I was shouting when I was up there on the stage, and I broke it just for you."
CHAPTER 12
Melanie sat in her next class trying to get the ring of laughter out of her ears. She had been absolutely mortified that everyone who had stopped in the hall to hear Brian give her the piece of brick had broken up laughing, and she had muttered a fast "Thank you" to Brian and gotten out of there as quickly as she could.
Now, sitting in Family Living class, she knew that there was no way in the world that she could ride home with him in the van today. How could she possibly face someone who had yelled her name when he smashed a brick with his bare hands in front of the entire school and then said he did it for her? Besides, she was determined to go along with Garrett when he photographed the rehearsal of the drama club.
But how could she get out of riding home in the van? She played the upcoming scene in her mind and saw herself hovering over Jeffy to keep from having to talk to Brian. Jeffy! Why hadn't she thought of him before? He just might be her out.
When Family Living class ended, she raced through the crowded halls to the school office and slid to a stop beside Miss Simone's desk.
"Could I use the phone? Please?" she begged. "I have to call my mother. It's an emergency."
Miss Simone looked up from her electric typewriter and regarded Melanie solemnly. "An emergency?" she said in a calm voice. "Perhaps I can help you? Do you need to see the nurse?"
"Oh, no," Melanie assured her. "It's nothing like that. It's just that my mom is expecting me to ride home with her after school, and, well . . . something's come up . . ." Her voice trailed off as she realized that what she was saying wouldn't sound like much of an emergency to Miss Simone. "It's really important. Honest," she added, putting as much sincerity into her voice as she could.
Miss Simone sighed as if to say that she had heard the same story a million times before and pointed to the telephone on the attendance desk. "You can use that one over there," she said. "And please keep your conversation short."
Melanie thanked her and dialed her own number, cupping her hand around the mouthpiece when her mother answered.
"Mom," she said just above a whisper so that Miss Simone wouldn't be able to hear. "This is Melanie."
"Yes, dear. Is something wrong?"
Melanie could hear alarm in her mother's voice so she quickly assured her that everything was okay. "I just need to stay after school this afternoon to work on something. I'll explain later. It's really important, and I wanted to ask you if it's okay."
"Melanie. You know that I need you to help me with Jeffy while we have a passenger in the van," her mother said sharply. "We've been through this all before. Of course you can't stay after school today."
Melanie took a deep breath. She had been prepared for her mother to say that. "But Mom. You don't need me to take care of Jeffy. He always sits with Brian, and Brian makes sure he has his seat belt fastened and entertains him for the entire trip. I'm just in the way." Melanie winced when she realized what she had just said. Saying that she was just in the way was taking things a bit too far.
"You are not just in the way, young lady," her mother replied. "And I don't want you to get started making excuses for not riding in the teen taxi. It's a very bad habit to get into when you know that I'm depending on you for help. I want you to be on the curb when the van pulls up today. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Mom," Melanie mumbled, and hung up the phone. There was no use arguing any longer. Her mother would never give in.
When the bell rang dismissing classes for the day, Melanie hurried to the yearbook room. She knew her mother would be angry if she was late showing up for the teen taxi, but she had to explain to Garrett that she wouldn't be able to help him today.
Garrett was already there, and as usual, he was fumbling with his camera, his tripod, and all his books.
Coming up beside him, she took a deep breath and started talking before she could lose her nerve. "I'm awfully sorry, Garrett, but I won't be able to be your assistant today. I'm not reneging on my promise. It's just that my mom says that I have to ride along and take care of my little brother while she's driving the teen taxi."
"What?" asked Garrett, screwing up his face in disbelief. "You have to ride along?"
Melanie nodded. "It's true. Jeffy can be a little monster sometimes."
"Is Jeffy the reason you're riding in the van, or Brian?" Garrett challenged. Then he hiked the camera strap up on his shoulder, turned, and walked away, leaving Melanie staring after him.
"But Garrett . . ." she whispered. She wanted to run after him and explain some more, but her chin was quivering so hard that she wasn't sure if she could talk. He did think that she was reneging on her promise. But worse than that, he actually believed that she liked Brian Olsen.
CHAPTER 13
Melanie was furious as she stomped out of the building and made her way across the school ground toward the teen taxi. Why hadn't her mother let her stay to help Garrett? Then she wouldn't be in this predicament. In fact, everything was her mother's fault, her mother's and the teen taxi's. Some career. It was ruining Melanie's life. There was no way that she could stop her mother from driving the taxi, but she could get Brian Olsen to leave her alone.
As she approached the van, she was surprised to see Brian already inside with Jeffy on his lap. She had half-expected to see him demonstrating karate kicks on the sidewalk.
"Hi, Melanie," called out Jeffy. "Big Brian is showing me the callouses on his hands. He has to have them to protect his hands when he breaks bricks," Jeffy said, obviously proud of his knowledge.
Melanie nodded to Jeffy, but she barely looked at Brian as she sat down. There was one thing she could do, she decided. She would throw everything at him that the boys had said they didn't like about girls. If that didn't do the trick, then she was definitely doomed.
She opened her notebook and peeked at the page where she had written the turnoffs. "Okay," she whispered under her breath. "Here goes."
Just before the taxi pulled away from the curb she moved back in the van to the seat directly in front of Brian. She would have to be careful that her mother didn't hear what she was about to say and come totally unglued at her for acting obnoxious. Of course her mother didn't know what an embarrassment Brian had become for her, she reasoned. And she wouldn't understand even if Melanie told her.
Pasting a fake smile on her face, she asked in a voice too soft for her mother to hear, "Brian, did you know that Laura McCall forces her friends to do special favors for her or they can't be her friends anymore?" It was the nastiest thing she could think of to say about any girl in Wakeman Junior High, and besides, it was true.
Brian looked puzzled. "No," he said, shaking his head. "Where did you hear a rumor like that?"
"Oh, everybody knows about it. At least, all the girls do," she said.
Brian frowned slightly and went back to talking to Jeffy. Okay for number one, she thought, and peeked at her list again. Number two was "superior attitude." That would be easy.
Melanie glanced at her mother again, but Mrs. Edwards's attention was on traffic, and she seemed oblivious to the conversation in the back of the van. "Of course I would never treat my friends so badly," she went on. "I happen to care about my friends. Actually, I care about a lot of things. The homele
ss. The environment. The war against drugs. I absolutely can't stand people who aren't caring."
This time when Brian looked up, he shrugged and gave her an embarrassed grin.
Melanie was beginning to feel exuberant. It was working. Brian certainly wasn't giving her his dopey, lovesick grin now. "Or who are insincere," she added. "I absolutely can't stand people who say they care about something and then never do anything about it. I plan to do something about the homeless, the environment, and the war against drugs just as soon as I have time," she said, trying her best to sound totally insincere.
By now Brian was squirming uncomfortably, and Melanie could hardly keep from giggling out loud. She took a deep breath and thought about what to say next. She would skip talking about her diet and about reneging on promises for the time being. They would take some planning. Instead she would go on to talking about other guys and to pointing out Brian's faults and bad habits.
But which other boys would she talk about? A lump jumped into her throat at the thought of Garrett. She couldn't possibly talk about him. Not after what had just happened. And what about Shane and Scott? She really liked both of them, and she would feel strange talking about them in a situation like this. Before she had time to decide, her mother swung the van into Brian's driveway.
"You kids will have to finish your conversation in the morning," Mrs. Edwards sang out happily. "Here you are, Brian. Home safe and sound."
Brian said good-bye to Jeffy, thanked Mrs. Edwards, and ducked out of the van without a word to Melanie. Gleefully she watched him slide the box containing the leftover bricks off the floor and close the taxi door behind himself, thinking that she would definitely finish the conversation in the morning. If Mom only knew, Melanie thought. In the meantime, she had come up with another idea.
