by Betsy Haynes
A tear rolled down Christie's cheek. It's not fair, she thought. I didn't do anything wrong. I work so hard to get good grades and do what everyone expects, and now I'm going to be kicked off the team.
Well, she thought, sitting up abruptly and gritting her teeth. That's exactly what they're going to have to do if they want to get rid of me. I can't give in and let them win when they're the ones who are wrong. She set her jaw in stubborn determination and thought, they're going to have to kick me off because I'm not quitting!
CHAPTER 13
Christie dreaded walking onto the school grounds on Monday morning. She felt as if everyone were watching her as she marched to her execution. This must be the way Joan of Arc felt on the way to be burned at the stake, she thought.
Jana, Melanie, Beth, and Katie were waiting at The Fabulous Five's favorite spot by the fence.
After they had all said hi to her, Katie nodded toward the spot where The Fantastic Foursome usually met in the morning. "Do you see anything different about them?"
"Melissa's not with them?" Christie asked.
"That's right," said Jana. "She went into the building right after we got here."
"And she looked at us and smiled before she went in," added Beth.
Christie's flesh crawled. "She obviously went in to talk to Mr. Neal."
"That's what we thought," agreed Katie. Gloom settled over The Fabulous Five as they waited for the first bell to ring.
Suddenly the school doors popped open, and Melissa came flying out of the building with a big smile on her face.
"I don't think there's much doubt about what happened," said Katie.
"I don't either," said Christie, trying to sound cheerful. "Well, I didn't do anything wrong, and I'm not going to act as if I did. If Mr. Neal is going to suspend me from the team, that's just the way it's going to be."
"Thataway, Christie," said Katie. "I just wish we could get whoever put that folder with your books in front of the Teen Court. I'd vote for hanging them."
The rest of the morning was terrible for Christie. Even though she had made up her mind that she had done nothing wrong and shouldn't feel bad about whatever happened, it was like waiting for the other shoe to drop. Only it's more like the next cannon to shoot, thought Christie, because I'm going to be dead anyway.
In her last class before noon, Christie's teacher gave her an envelope. Christie stayed after everyone else had left with the envelope lying in the center of her desk. She wondered if prison wardens delivered the death sentence to convicts on death row in an envelope like this one.
She chewed her lower lip as she tore it open.
Christie Winchell:
Please see me in my office after lunch.
Mr. Neal
I might have those words put on my tombstone when I die, Christie thought.
"I'm sorry, Christie," Mr. Neal said, after he told her of his decision. He did look sorry, she thought, but not nearly as sorry as I am.
As Mr. Neal had explained it, Melissa had convinced him that it wouldn't be fair for him to wait until Wednesday to decide who would be on the Super Quiz team. Since there weren't any clues that would prove Christie hadn't taken the folder she was off the team.
"If we had anything that would show you accidentally got the questions, Christie, I could do something," Mr. Neal repeated. "But the way it is now, I have no choice."
Christie's stomach turned over. She thought she was going to be sick.
"Come to me if you find out something." Mr. Neal continued. "I'm going to have the team together in the media center after school for a practice. I'll haw to tell them about the change then."
Christie left the office and plodded down the hall like a zombie. For a second she considered faking being sick so she could go home, but then she decided not to. That would just make Melissa McConnell, Laura McCall, and the others feel as if they had really beaten her. She couldn't give them that satisfaction, no matter what.
Christie put her money in the vending machine and pulled the lever. A bag of chips dropped into the trough. She couldn't face going into the cafeteria at noon where she would be stared at, so she walked outside and found a quiet place to sit.
She was off the Super Quiz team. She said it over and over to herself, trying to get used to the idea now that it was definite. How was she going to tell her parents? They were so proud of her. Her mother even thought she was smarter than her brothers, one of whom was an attorney and the other in medical school. How was she going to tell them? Christie gulped hard and stuck her chin out. And Friday after school everyone would be at the Super Quiz match between Wakeman and Trumbull. Tears built up behind her eyes, but she refused to let them out.
"Hey, Christie!" Jon's voice broke through the gloom that filled her mind. "I've been looking all over for you. Where have you been? I thought for sure I'd see you in the cafeteria."
Christie smiled at him weakly and started to explain.
"Never mind," Jon interrupted. "You won't believe what I've got! You just won't believe it."
Christie looked at his beaming face. He was smiling from ear to ear and his brown eyes were gleaming as she had never seen them gleam before.
"Do you know what this is?" he asked as he held up a small black box.
CHAPTER 14
"Of course I know what that is," Christie answered Jon. "It's a videotape. So what?"
"It's not just any old videotape," Jon said proudly.
"It's one I made last Thursday when The Dreadful Alternatives were setting up on stage. Remember? Mr. Neal was doing the walk-through with the Super Quiz team."
"Oh, yeah," Christie mumbled. She was glad that Jon felt excited about the tape, but right now she just wanted to be alone.
"Come on," said Jon, grabbing her hand and pulling her. "I've got to show you this." Christie went along reluctantly to the media center.
Mrs. Karl said Jon could use a VCR, and he quickly started setting up the tape as Christie slid into a chair.
"Okay, hold on to your seat," he said with a smile. "You're about to see the greatest show on earth."
The video started with shots of the band from different parts of the stage. "I was testing to see where I could get the best pictures," said Jon. "I wanted to find the best places to shoot from. You know, for lighting and stuff. Of course the spotlights will be on during a regular performance, but this will give me an idea where to set up. As you can see, I had to shoot through a lot of other people to get the band."
It was true. On the tape the kids from the Super Quiz team were walking all over the stage, totally oblivious as they passed in front of his camera. There were pictures of Mr. Neal at the podium with the band in the background, and at one point the custodian pushing the broom walked directly at the camera's lens.
Why is he showing me this? thought Christie. There's nothing interesting about this video. It's just a bunch of people milling around. But Jon was staring intently at the television.
"Now! Here it comes," he said, grabbing her hand.
Christie stared at the TV. Kimm was talking to one of the guys with a guitar, and the drummer was working on setting up his drums. She could see Tim Riggs and Brad Cochran watching Mr. Neal at the podium.
"There! Behind Mr. Neal. Watch the custodian!" said Jon excitedly. The custodian was wiping off one of the long tables that the Super Quiz team would use the next morning.
Christie leaned closer to watch as the custodian moved some books around to clean. Then he picked up a blue folder and put it on top of another stack of books. That's Mr. Neal's blue folder and those are MY books he put it on! Christie's eyes opened wide in amazement. Next the custodian moved part of Christie's books and then put the rest on top. Christie stared in fascination as Mr. Neal's blue folder ended up in the middle of her books.
"Did you see it?" asked Jon. "Just like shuffling cards." A grin spread from one of his ears to the other.
Christie bounced up and down in her seat and clapped her hands. "Play it
again! Play it again!" Jon ran the tape back slightly and hit play.
There it was, right before her eyes. The custodian moving the books around so that Mr. Neal's blue folder was in between two of her books.
"I must have brought the folder home in my stack of books on Thursday night and not noticed it until the tryouts Friday morning, when I thought my mom had put it there," she said in amazement. She grabbed Jon around the neck and hugged him hard.
"I love it! I love it!" she squealed, and kissed him.
"HUMPH!" Mrs. Karl was looking at them from her desk.
Christie's face turned hot and she knew she was as red as a beet, but she didn't care. She had proof now that she hadn't taken Mr. Neal's folder. Everyone would know that she hadn't cheated. She looked at Jon appreciatively and then took his hand and squeezed it.
He smiled back, and his brown eyes sparkled. "What are best friends for?" he asked softly.
CHAPTER 15
"Quiet, please, everyone," Mr. Neal said loudly. "It's time for roll call.
"Daphne?"
"Here."
"Brad?"
"Here."
Mr. Neal continued calling the names, and when he called out Christie's, several heads turned toward her. Melissa McConnell looked first shocked and then angry.
When Mr. Neal finished, he closed his notebook and placed it on top of the infamous blue folder. "Before we get started, I'm going to turn the floor over to Christie for a few moments. She has something very interesting to show you." He smiled and took a seat in the front row.
Without saying anything, Christie got up and marched to the front of the media center where the television stood on a tall stand that made it easy to see. She turned it on, punched the play button on the VCR, and stepped aside.
The same images flashed on the screen as she had seen when Jon first showed her the tape. The band was setting up. Kids from the Super Quiz team were milling around. Then Jon stepped forward and speeded up the tape. The custodian came charging across the room with his broom and Mr. Neal moved in herky-jerky motions that made all the kids laugh. Christie looked at Mr. Neal, and even he was smiling at the way he looked.
As the videotape reached the point where the custodian was cleaning the table, Jon slowed it again, and when the custodian put the blue folder on her books, it stopped. Christie looked at the faces of the Super Quiz team, and their eyes were fixed on the television screen.
Then the custodian started cleaning again, and when he moved half of her books, the video stopped so no one could miss what was happening. The frame froze once more when he placed the books on top of the blue folder, sandwiching it in between. The room was deathly quiet as everyone stared transfixed at the television set.
"That's how Mr. Neal's folder got in with my books," said Christie loudly so everyone could hear.
The kids in the room started applauding and Tim began shouting and punching his fist into the air. No one paid any attention to the rest of the video.
Shivers of joy ran through Christie, and the tears she had held back so long ran down her cheeks as she stood in front of the Super Quiz team and listened to their cheers. She smiled at Jon, who stood in the back. He returned her smile, gave her a thumbs-up, and walked out of the room.
"Wait!" Christie cried as she raced after him. He was more important than all the Super Quiz teams in the world, and she had to tell him so.
"Jon?" she called shyly when she reached the hallway and saw that he had stopped to wait for her. "Can I talk to you a minute?"
"Sure," he said.
"I just want you to know that you're the best friend anyone could ever have. No matter what happens, I'll never forget this."
Jon chuckled softly. "Want to know a secret?"
Christie nodded.
"I'm not the one who spotted the blue folder in the tape. In fact, I was so busy thinking about all the technical stuff that I wasn't really paying much attention to what anyone in the film was doing."
Christie frowned. "What do you mean?" she sputtered. "Of course you did. Otherwise . . ." She shook her head and raised both arms in a helpless shrug. "Otherwise how . . ."
Jon held up his hand. "Kimm was the one who noticed it. Like everybody else in school, she had heard about the mess you were in over the folder and the questions, and when she looked at the tape, it was the first thing she saw."
"Kimm?" Christie whispered in astonishment.
"That's right," said Jon. "I tried to get her to come along and take the credit, but she wouldn't. She even made me promise that I wouldn't tell you. She knows that things have been a little rocky between us lately, and she not only wanted to make sure you got out of trouble, but that you and I patched things up with each other."
Christie swallowed hard. "She sounds terrific to do a thing like that."
Jon nodded. "I have a feeling the two of you are going to be friends, too."
Christie smiled to herself as she watched him walk away a few minutes later. Their special friendship would probably last forever, and now she knew there was no way that she would ever be jealous of Kimm again either. Kimm was a special person, just as Jon was, and everything was truly going to be all right from now on.
The score was tied at one hundred eighty each, and the moderator was taking a few minutes to confer with the judges. It was the third and last match between the Wakeman and Trumbull Super Quiz teams, and they had each won one game. Christie could feel the tension among the players, and the audience was getting noisier and noisier as the match drew near its end.
She could see The Fabulous Five sitting five rows back. Beth had her head in her hands and was rocking back and forth dramatically in her excitement. Melanie had her eyes covered, as if she were afraid to look, and Jana and Katie were sitting on the edges of their seats.
Christie's mother and father sat farther back. She smiled at them and wondered if they could see her face.
Curtis fidgeted at Christie's left, and Tim frowned and stared hard at the blank paper in front of him on her right. The three of them, along with Daphne, Kyle, and Pam, had started out by losing the first game, and they had trailed in the second before surging ahead by answering the last five questions. The last game had been a neck-and-neck battle all the way.
Christie looked across the stage at the table where the Trumbull team sat. They're good, she thought. If we beat them, we'll be very lucky.
Rodney Cox slouched back in his chair, frowning and running his fingers through his red hair. He had looked arrogant during the first game and the first half of the second, when Trumbull was beating Wakeman, but the cocky look had disappeared when Wakeman pulled even and then won the second game. He looked like a volcano about to erupt when Kyle took a question on the rebound from one of Rodney's teammates to tie the score at one eighty. Christie didn't think she would like Rodney very much.
"All right, everyone," Mr. Perdyne, the moderator, said. "Here is the final question. And, may I say, both teams have fought gallantly. Good luck to you both on this one." He pulled an index card from the box in front of him.
"The category is social studies," he said, and then paused.
Rats. Social studies, thought Christie. I wish it were math or current events. She had done well in those categories and had helped the Wakeman team to win the second game.
"Who," Mr. Perdyne continued, "was the person who fought for women's right to vote, and was eventually honored by having her likeness placed on a silver dollar?"
Christie's hand streaked to the button in front of her. At the same time she saw a flash of movement across the room at Rodney Cox's position. A buzzer sounded and she looked up to see the Wakeman light was lit. She had beaten him. Thank you, Katie Shannon, she thought.
The whole Trumbull team was leaning forward staring at Christie, and she could feel her teammates' eyes on her.
"Go get 'em, Christie," she heard Tim say in a low voice.
"The person who fought for women's right to vote and had her likeness put on a
silver dollar was Susan B. Anthony," Christie said as loudly and clearly as she could.
"The answer is correct," said the moderator. "The match goes to Wakeman Junior High."
Cheers burst from the audience and Christie saw The Fabulous Five jumping up and down. Curtis slapped her on the back so hard it hurt, and Brad shook both fists.
Christie smiled so broadly she thought her face might crack. She could see her mother and father standing and applauding. They were probably telling everyone near them that she was their daughter, she mused. At the side of the auditorium she saw Jon with his camcorder trained on her, and she clasped her hands above her head victoriously the way prize fighters do and mugged for the camera.
Behind her, she heard Tim call her name. She turned to thank him for his encouragement, but before she could get the words out, he scooped her up into a gigantic hug. She stiffened for an instant, remembering Jon, and then she relaxed and hugged Tim back.
CHAPTER 16
"Well, what do you think?" asked Christie. "Should we order the red T-shirts or the gold ones?" The Fabulous Five were sitting in Christie's family room. Two delivery boxes were on the coffee table with the remains of one sausage pizza and one deep-dish pepperoni, mushroom, and green-pepper pizza, which was Jana's favorite. T-shirt catalogs were spread out all over the floor, and the girls were lying around looking at them.
"I vote for red!" yelled Beth, talking around a string of cheese that she had stretched out from her mouth to as far as she could reach. "With THE FABULOUS FIVE in gold letters."
"I vote for gold!" yelled Katie. "With red lettering. The red shirt would look terrible with my red hair."
"It would not," said Beth, letting the cheese dangle back into her mouth.
"Look," said Melanie, holding a catalog up to Katie's face and placing a lock of her hair over the sample color. "It goes perfectly with your hair color."
