by Betsy Haynes
"The PEAKs used to know about water, too," chimed in Richie, "but what they knew ran out the other end of their brains when they learned something else. That's how being smart works."
Christie tried to ignore the boys.
"It's better being one of the PEAKs than one of the PUKES any old day," said Beth angrily. Christie wished Beth hadn't said it.
"The what?" asked Richie.
"PUKES. That's all you guys are, anyway."
The boys looked at each other. "What are PUKES?" asked Joel.
"People U Kant Even Stand," replied Beth sharply.
"Hey, that's neat!" said Clarence. "We oughta get T-shirts that say PUKES on them. What do you think, guys?"
"How do you spell can't?" asked Matt with a frown on his face.
"Who cares?" said Clarence. The boys walked off talking about the T-shirts they were going to have made.
"I can't believe this," said Christie, putting her hand over her eyes.
"How come you missed swim practice again, Chase?" Tony asked. It was Friday night, and The Fabulous Five were sitting in Mama Mia's eating pizza with their boyfriends.
"I had something else I had to do. Did Coach say anything?"
"He just asked if anyone knew where you were," answered Shane. "I don't think he likes it when someone misses and doesn't tell him."
"No sweat," said Chase. "I missed practices in San Diego, and the coach didn't do anything about it. I'll be ready for the meet tomorrow."
"Doesn't it bother you to do something like that?" asked Katie.
Chase shrugged nonchalantly. "Why should it? What do you want to bet I get at least four gold medals?"
Katie frowned at his response.
"I wouldn't want to bet against you," said Randy. Chase gave him a big grin.
"Time to go," announced Katie. "You've got to get your sleep if you're going to keep from drowning during the swim meet tomorrow, macho man," she said to Tony.
"Afraid of losing me, Your Honor?"
"I'm not afraid of losing you. I'm just afraid that if you drown, they won't find that coral necklace I bought you," she answered, laughing.
"Katie and Tony are really funny," said Christie as Chase walked her home.
"They sure are," agreed Chase. "What do you want to do now?"
Surprised, Christie looked at him questioningly. "Now?"
"Sure. It's still too early to go home. I get nervous just hanging around the house. Let's stop at McDonald's again and have a soda."
Christie hesitated. Her mother had been upset with her for being late the previous weekend, but she really didn't want to go home just yet. It was early, and being with Chase was fun. It wasn't fair to have to worry about whether she got in at eleven o'clock or twelve o'clock, especially on the weekend. Like Chase said, what difference did it make, anyway? She might never see him again after she moved.
"Okay, let's," Christie said, squeezing Chase's arm.
"Christie Winchell, what in the world has come over you?" her mother demanded. She and Christie's father were waiting for her when she stepped in the door.
"Mom, it's only eleven-forty-five. That's not late."
"You're supposed to be home by eleven, Christie, and you know that," her father said firmly. "That doesn't mean eleven-forty-five or anything else. Where were you?"
"Chase and I just stopped at McDonald's for a soda, that's all."
"You know that isn't a good excuse, Christie," said her mother. "There is no reason you couldn't have at least called and let us know."
"But eleven o'clock isn't reasonable," Christie said, remembering Chase's words.
"It is until you prove you can abide by it," countered her father. "Until you do, we can't begin to consider changing your curfew."
"I'm amazed at you, Christie," her mother continued. "You've never acted this way before. This is the third night that you've been late. I'm afraid we're going to have to ground you."
"Ground me!" Christie couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"That's right," agreed her father. "You're grounded for the next two weeks."
"That's not fair!" cried Christie. "We're moving in five weeks, and I'll hardly be able to be with my friends at all before I go."
"You can't know how sorry we are about it, Christie, but you know the rules. You should have thought of that before."
Christie turned and went to her room, fuming.
"You're what!" exclaimed Jana.
Christie could hear the disbelief over the telephone. "I'm grounded," Christie repeated. "I got in late last night, and my parents grounded me."
"Why would they do that? I'm not exactly on time every single time."
"I was late getting in last Friday and Saturday, too," Christie admitted.
"You were?" The disbelief in Jana's voice was even greater. "How late were you?"
Christie lowered her voice. She knew it didn't sound good. "About an hour. Chase and I just stopped for a soda a couple of times. Last Saturday we played video games at the mall for a little while after we left you guys. We didn't do anything wrong."
"You've been an hour late three times in the last week?"
"Now you sound like my parents," complained Christie. "Chase says eleven o'clock is too early for someone in junior high to have to be in, anyway. Besides, we're moving, and I ought to have the right to spend some extra time with my friends."
The phone was quiet for so long that Christie thought they had been cut off.
"Jana?"
"I'm here, Christie. Will your parents let anyone come to see you?"
"I think so."
"Look, I've got to go and watch Randy swim in the meet this afternoon. Why don't I stop by when it's over? I'll bring Katie, Melanie, and Beth with me."
"I'd like that," said Christie. As usual, she could count on The Fabulous Five to be there when she needed them.
"I never would have believed you'd be grounded, Christie," said Beth. "Not you." The Fabulous Five were in Christie's bedroom. Beth, Melanie, and Katie were lounging on the bed, while Jana and Christie sat in chairs.
"It's like putting the president in jail, because someone found out he was a crook," said Melanie.
"Thanks, Mel," replied Christie. "I am not a crook. Chase and I were just having so much fun, we forgot what time it was."
"You forgot for a whole hour?" asked Katie. "Whose idea was it anyway, yours or Chase's?"
Christie looked at her in disbelief. "It was both of ours," she fibbed. "I thought you'd be on my side."
"We are on your side, Christie," said Jana, "but I have to agree with Katie that that's a long time to forget about the time."
Christie sighed. "I guess I did know. But I was having so much fun with Chase, and we're going to be moving soon, so what difference does it make?"
"It just doesn't sound like you, Christie," said Beth.
"Speaking of Chase, did you know that Coach Benfield didn't let him race today because he missed two practices this week?" asked Katie.
Christie's mouth dropped open. "How could he do that? Chase is the best swimmer on the team."
"Coach Benfield told the team that it didn't make any difference. Obeying the rules is more important than winning. The others just had to try harder," said Melanie.
Christie was afraid to ask, but she did, anyway. "How did they do?"
"They lost," said Beth. "Randy won first place in the butterfly and one-hundred-meter freestyle, and Tony won first place in the backstroke, but the rest of the team couldn't help enough."
Mixed emotions churned inside of Christie. The Wakeman team had lost because Chase couldn't race. Maybe Chase should have been to all the practices, but his coach in California had let Chase race when he missed practices. Why wouldn't Coach Benfield? Did that make sense?
Deep down Christie knew it did. Chase had just pushed it too far. It wouldn't have been that much trouble to either go to practice or at least talk to the coach about missing it. But that was just the way Chase was. He wa
s carefree and happy-go-lucky.
"I'm sorry that happened," said Christie.
"It's not your fault," said Jana. "It's just the way Chase is."
"I know," Christie agreed with a smile. "He's always getting behind in things. That's why I'm helping him with his math and English. He can do good things, though. He got an A in the history test."
Jana gave her a funny look. "What history test?"
"The one he took last week."
"I'm in Chase's history class, and we didn't have a test last week," said Jana.
Christie stared at her. "The one you had on Thursday."
Jana shook her head.
"Chase said . . ." Christie suddenly understood. Chase hadn't wanted to be bothered doing the homework himself, so he had told her he had to study for a history test. Christie felt used.
Jana reached out and put her hands sympathetically on Christie's. "Christie, Chase is a nice guy, and he's a lot of fun. But the rest of us have been talking, and we're not sure how much you should trust him."
"He may mean well," agreed Katie. "But you have to admit, he's always in trouble."
Christie looked at the faces of her friends. She knew they were right.
After the others had left, Christie sat alone in her room thinking, a tear running slowly down her cheek. Now that she thought of it, there were a lot of things Chase did that she should have paid more attention to. Deep down she had known he was conning her parents. Why hadn't she seen what kind of person he was?
But what difference would it have made if she had? she asked herself. Would she have refused to go out with him? She sighed and shook her head. Probably not, but maybe she could have influenced him more instead of letting him influence her. The worst thing was that although things couldn't be the same between them, she still liked Chase.
There was one thing she definitely had to do, and she had to do it right away. She took a tissue from the box on her desk and wiped her eyes.
"Mom, Dad," she said, as she walked into the family room where they were reading. "I want to say I'm sorry."
CHAPTER 12
"Well, Laura and her friends know you're leaving, Christie," said Beth as The Fabulous Five stood at their favorite spot by the school fence on Monday morning. "She asked me what we were going to call ourselves when you're gone and there are only the four of us. She said The Fabulous Four would sound like we were imitating The Fantastic Foursome."
"It doesn't make any difference what Laura says," said Jana, grim-faced. "We don't have to call ourselves anything else. The Fabulous Five is The Fabulous Five, and it always will be."
"It's not like we won't be talking to Christie, either," offered Beth. "We'll write lots of letters."
"We'll even save money for long-distance telephone calls," added Jana.
"By the way, Christie, Tony told me that he, Randy, Shane, and Keith really got all over Chase for keeping you out late," said Katie. "They didn't care so much about losing the swim meet, but none of them liked Chase's getting you into trouble."
"It wasn't all his fault," admitted Christie. "Don't forget, I could have said I wouldn't stay out late."
"Maybe so, but I'm still glad they did it," declared Katie.
Right or wrong, it gave Christie a warm feeling to know that the guys cared that much. She wondered if Chase would ever speak to her again.
"All right, everyone," said Mr. Dracovitch as the PEAK class ended, "that's all for today. Your assignment for Wednesday is to read chapters five and six in your history book. They're about how and why the prehistoric inhabitants of England chose the Thames River near London to settle. If any of you care to come dressed as cavemen or cave women," he said, chuckling, "feel free to do so."
"Unh! Unh! Unh!" Grunting and scratching, Curtis gave an imitation of what he thought a caveman would sound like.
"Down, boy!" said Melissa.
"Remember, everyone, bring your T-shirts to Bumpers in case those PUKES want to give us trouble," said Curtis. He had handed out red T-shirts with gold letters that spelled PEAKS AND PROUD OF IT before Mr. Dracovitch had entered the room. Christie had immediately stuck hers in her backpack.
"Christie, can I talk to you for a moment?" asked Mr. Dracovitch. "I heard that your family is moving to England. That's why I chose those chapters in the history book for an example of how water determines where people live. I thought it might be especially interesting to you.
"This is going to be a great experience for you," he continued. "England is the source of a great deal of our heritage, and there are lots of things to see there. Winchell is an English name. Maybe you can find where some of your ancestors lived."
"I think the chapters will be very interesting. Thank you," Christie said.
"I was pleased to see you back in the swing of things in class today," said the teacher. "I know that moving is a very disturbing thing, especially when you're young and haven't had to move before. Do you recall my reference to Christopher Columbus and Sally Ride the other day?"
"Yes, sir."
"Well, I believe each of the students in the PEAK class has the potential to do something equally great. I couldn't have been happier when Mr. Bell and Mrs. Brenner asked me to teach the class. You kids are different. I understand that that can be a burden at times because people expect a lot of you. In the long run, though, you'll come to appreciate your talents and realize how much you can contribute to others. Your leaving has given me the incentive to try to make the rest of this semester even better for the PEAK class. Call it my contribution to England through you. Lots of luck, Christie."
Tears welled up in Christie's eyes as she said, "Thank you, Mr. Dracovitch. I want you to know something, too. I think your classes are super. You make learning fun, and I can hardly wait to get to your class each time to see what we're going to do. I think that's special."
"Some kids are just fun teaching," Mr. Dracovitch said with a smile.
The Fabulous Five were sitting in a corner booth in Bumpers when Christie got there.
"Don't forget all those rock stars in London," Melanie said to Christie. "You've just got to get some autographs for me."
"I'll do what I can," said Christie, smiling.
"You know, it could be worse," said Katie. "Your father's job isn't permanent. I bet you'll be back before any of us know it."
"Not before I know it," protested Christie.
She glanced around the room and saw Chase talking to Bill Soliday near the Wurlitzer jukebox. He was smiling and acting as if nothing had happened.
Just then Richie, Clarence, Joel, and Matt stepped into the center of the room. They were wearing ugly green T-shirts with the word PUKES printed on the front in black.
"Where are the PEAKs! Where are the PEAKs!" they shouted.
"We're right here!" said Curtis, accepting the challenge. "Come on, PEAKs. Let's show them we're proud of ourselves." He pulled his T-shirt on over his head and marched to the center of the room to confront the other boys. Whitney followed as she pulled on her T-shirt, too.
"Come on." Curtis waved at the other PEAKs, trying to get them to join him.
"Oh, boy," said Katie. "I can't believe this."
"Me, either," said Christie, but she got up and went over to where Curtis was standing. Melissa and Melinda reluctantly did the same.
"We're prettier than you," said Joel, dancing around in a circle to show off his T-shirt. "That just goes to show that beauty doesn't always go with brains."
"Put on your T-shirts," Curtis said to Christie, Melissa, and Melinda.
"No," said Christie.
"No?" said Curtis incredulously.
"Ha!" said Richie triumphantly.
"I am proud to be in the PEAK class, but I'm not going to put on the T-shirt," said Christie. "I'm not going to be at Wakeman much longer, and I don't intend to spend any of the time I have left in silly arguments. This whole thing is ridiculous, anyway."
"You just don't want to be . . ." Richie started to say.
&n
bsp; "Wait a minute!" said Clarence, sticking out his hand to stop Richie. Even though they had never been close friends, Clarence and Christie had known each other most of their lives. They had gone to Mark Twain Elementary together, although he had spent most of his time getting in trouble, while she had been a model student.
"What did you say, Christie?" Clarence asked, looking at Christie closely. "The part about not being at Wakeman much longer?"
"She's moving," said Melinda. "To London."
Clarence looked surprised. "To London? How come? When?"
"My dad has a new job there," answered Christie. "We're moving between semesters."
Clarence stared at her. "Jeez!" he said. Then he said it again. To Christie's amazement, Clarence pulled off his T-shirt. He frowned at Richie, Joel, and Matt, and they quickly did the same.
"I didn't know you were moving," Clarence said to Christie. He seemed to genuinely care.
After things had settled down, Christie and her friends talked about how often they would write.
"I want you to send me some souvenirs, too," said Beth. "I hear the queen's jewelry is really something. Maybe you could send me a couple of crowns with all kinds of diamonds on them."
"You can send me something from the Hard Rock Cafe in London," said Jana. "A T-shirt would be neat, if you don't mind talking about T-shirts right now."
"I'll just take letters," said Katie. "Lots of them."
"If I send you guys everything you want, I'll be broke in no time," said Christie, laughing. She looked at her watch. "I'd better get home and see what Mom wants me to get out for supper."
As she stepped outside, someone fell in step beside her.
"Hi," said Chase. "Is it okay if I walk you home?" He wasn't sporting his usual grin.
In spite of herself, Christie felt a little thrill run up her back. "Sure."
"I guess you heard how I messed up the swim team," said Chase. "They lost because of me. I'm sorry I let them down."
Christie didn't know how to answer without being hard on him, so she didn't say anything.
"Did your friends tell you how I got chewed out by Randy and the guys?"
