by Betsy Haynes
THE FABULOUS FIVE #29
MELANIE EDWARDS, SUPER KISSER
BETSY HAYNES
A BANTAM SKYLARK BOOK®
NEW YORK • TORONTO • LONDON • SYDNEY • AUCKLAND
RL 5, 009-012
MELANIE EDWARDS, SUPER KISSER
A Bantam Skylark Book / February 1992
Skylark Books is a registered trademark of Bantam Books, a division of Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc. Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and elsewhere.
The Fabulous Five is a registered trademark of Betsy Haynes and James Haynes.
All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1992 by Betsy Haynes and James Haynes.
Cover art copyright © 1992 by Andrew Bacha.
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ISBN 0-553-15874-0
Published simultaneously in the United States and Canada
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CWO 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
CHAPTER 1
"I can't believe we're really here!" Melanie Edwards gasped, pushing her way through the doorway at The Coliseum. "I can't believe we actually got tickets to this concert! I can't believe we're breathing the same air that The New Generation's breathing! It's just so awesome, I'm afraid I'll wake up and find out it's just a dream."
Beth Barry laughed as she waved to Alexis Duvall, who was in the middle of the crowd of kids pressing their way into the huge arena. "Well, just don't wake up before the concert is over," she said.
"Or before they sing 'Super Kisser'," Melanie added. "I don't want to miss them jumping down from the stage and kissing some lucky girls in the audience. Did you hear about that?"
"You bet," said Beth, with a gleam in her eye. "I also heard that in Boston one of the girls who got a kiss fainted dead away, right into the arms of the singer who kissed her. Isn't that wild?"
Melanie giggled. "Well, if I get a kiss from one of The New Generation, he's going to be the one who faints. And," she went on breathlessly, "when he wakes up in my arms, he's going to tell the world that I'm the super kisser the song was written for. So there!"
Beth shook her head. "Dream on, Mel."
"I'll have you know, I am a super kisser," Melanie said, pretending to be hurt. "Just wait. You'll see."
Beth glanced toward a souvenir stand next to the far wall. "Hey, they're selling T-shirts and posters and stuff over there. Want to check it out?"
"Are you kidding?" said Melanie. "I couldn't come to a New Generation concert without getting that stuff. I'd go without movies for a month. Even french fries!"
Beth smiled, then groaned as she looked at the line. "Uh-oh. We may be waiting for a month."
"Don't worry. We've got forty minutes till the concert starts," said Melanie. "Come on."
They slowly made their way through the crowd and got at the end of the line. Melanie was nearly bursting with excitement. "I just can't believe all this. It's too good to be true."
Beth grinned. "You mentioned that."
"You know, Beth, I was sorry when you and Keith broke up," Melanie said, "but I have to admit that I'm glad you're here with me. I would have hated to come alone."
At the mention of Keith, Beth looked sad for a second, but she quickly brightened, and said, "I bet you wish Shane were here."
"It would have been fun," Melanie admitted, "but since he's out of town with his parents, I don't mind too much." She giggled. "At least he's not out with another girl or something." Then she realized what she'd said and felt a stab of guilt. "Oh, Beth, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking about Keith or anything—"
"Hey, that's okay," said Beth. She patted Melanie's arm. "I'm doing all right."
Melanie groaned inwardly. Sometimes she said the dumbest things. Beth's boyfriend, Keith Masterson, had broken up with her not long ago because he had had a crush on another girl—Jana Morgan, Beth's very best friend! Even though Keith's crush on Jana was over now, Melanie wished she hadn't said anything at all about another girl. Beth seemed to be handling the breakup awfully well, but it was bound to be hard on her tonight. They would be sitting with two other members of The Fabulous Five and their boyfriends, Jana and Randy Kirwan, and Katie Shannon and Tony Calcaterra, and Beth would be sure to miss Keith.
"Don't you wish Christie could be here with us?" Beth suddenly asked. Christie Winchell, the fifth member of The Fabulous Five, had moved to England with her parents. The other girls missed her very much.
"She'd love this," Melanie said, whirling around and taking in the entire scene. "We'll just have to write an extra-long letter and tell her all about it. I know—why don't we send her a T-shirt?"
"Great idea!" said Beth, digging in her belt bag. "Here's my half of the money."
"I'm going to get a T-shirt for myself," said Melanie, "a T-shirt for Christie, a poster for my room, and a New Generation drinking glass."
"Help you?" a man with blond hair asked from behind the counter when they reached the head of the line.
Melanie told him what she wanted and paid for her purchases. Then Beth did the same, and the girls elbowed their way back through the crowd toward the arena where The New Generation would be performing.
"Let's go find our seats," said Beth.
"We're in section C," Melanie told her. "Row ten, seats eight and nine."
The girls moved slowly with the crowd of people who were starting to fill up the seats that made a U shape around the stage.
Beth scanned the audience. "Oh, look!" She clamped a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing out loud. "There's Clarence Marshall, and he's all scrunched down in his seat."
Melanie looked around. "Oh, my gosh!" she cried. "No wonder. His father is sitting with him, and he doesn't want anyone to see him!"
"Poor Clarence," said Beth, shaking her head. "I'd die if one of my parents came along to chaperon me."
"Here, we have to go this way," Melanie said, going through the archway marked SECTION C.
A moment later she felt a tap on her shoulder. "Hi, Beth. Hi, Mel," said Shawnie Pendergast. She was squeezing through the crowd, with Kimm Taylor right behind her.
"Hi, you guys," said Melanie. "Are your seats close to ours?"
"Section B, row three, seats twenty-nine and thirty," answered Kimm. "I hope we're on an aisle."
Melanie's spirits fell. Lucky Shawnie and Kimm. She had a feeling that seats twenty-nine and thirty were on the aisle—the aisle that The New Generation would race up to find girls in the audience to kiss!
"Want to trade seats?" asked Melanie. "We're right in the center, and we'll probably look straight up into their faces."
"Let's see your tickets," replied Shawnie.
Melanie held her breath as Shawnie and Kimm read the seat numbers on Beth's and her tickets.
"Are you kidding," said Kimm, laughing as s
he handed back the tickets. "You guys don't have a chance of being on the aisle. We'll see you later."
Melanie shrugged and pushed on, looking at the row numbers on the end seats. Seat number thirty was on the aisle, just as she had suspected. At least we're close to the stage, she thought. We'll even be able to see the color of their eyes. And who knows? Maybe The New Generation will plow through the rows and pick girls in the center to kiss.
"I heard the tickets sold out in just three hours," Beth said as they found their seats and settled in them.
Melanie nodded. "Jana said Randy got here at five-thirty in the morning the day the tickets went on sale, and there were still about a hundred kids in front of him."
As excited as she was about the concert, Melanie couldn't help feeling disappointed at sitting in the center of the row. To make matters worse, she glanced down to where she calculated row three of section B would be just in time to see Shawnie and Kimm collapse into their seats on the aisle! "Oh, no! I can't stand it." she whispered to herself. "They're so lucky."
"Hey, there they are," Beth cried, and waved to Randy and Jana, who were pushing their way down the aisle. Katie and Tony followed close behind.
Melanie pulled her eyes away from Kimm and Shawnie. She didn't want to let anyone know how jealous she felt, and when the others were finally in their seats, she leaned over Jana and tapped Randy's arm. "Thanks, Randy. These seats are great!"
Beth giggled. "Melanie's pretty excited about this concert, in case you haven't noticed."
Melanie's spirits began to rise again. "Hey, these guys are world-famous, they're gorgeous, they're fantastic singers, they're incredible dancers, they're—"
"The best rock singers in the world," chimed in Jana.
"Plus they're gorgeous," Melanie said.
"You already said that, Mel," Katie told her.
"I know," Melanie argued. "But that's very important. Besides, who knows? I might actually be one of the girls they kiss!"
"Yeah. That's what we were telling Shane the other day," said Tony.
Melanie sat up straight, her antennae out for any news about Shane Arrington. She looked at Tony. "What do you mean?"
"I told him that you wouldn't even notice him after seeing the show," he replied. "You'd be too much in love with the guys in The New Generation."
"He said he wasn't worried," added Randy, "but I told him he'd better watch out. Everyone knows how much you love this group."
Melanie smiled. "Shane doesn't have to worry. Besides, Igor will keep an eye on me. I'm taking care of him this weekend while Shane's out of town."
"Shane actually let his precious iguana out of his sight?" Randy asked in amazement.
Melanie nodded. "Igor even wrote me a note and asked very politely if he could stay with me over the weekend. Then he asked Shane to deliver it to me." The others laughed.
Katie glanced at her watch. "Hey, everybody, it's almost showtime."
Several minutes later the arena lights dimmed.
"It's starting! It's starting!" Melanie shrieked.
All at once the multicolor lights onstage came up, and the backup band began to play. Before Melanie's eyes the five members of The New Generation bounded onto the stage. They were even better-looking in person than in their pictures as they grinned and waved to the audience. She held her breath for an instant and then joined the crowd as the kids all went crazy, screaming, yelling, and waving their arms.
The performers waved back to their fans. Then they grabbed their microphones, and began dancing around the stage and singing the song that had become their first big hit just a year ago.
Melanie and her friends stomped their feet and clapped their hands over their heads, as they sang along with the group. The New Generation sang all of their biggest hits, one after the other.
"What a fabulous concert!" Melanie shouted to Beth over the din. Beth nodded her agreement. "But I can't wait until they play 'Super Kisser'!" added Melanie.
Finally the moment Melanie had been waiting for arrived. When the band played the first few bars of the song, the crowd immediately recognized it and began screaming wildly and singing along with the lyrics.
"She's a radical departure
From the girls I've known before.
With her happy face and spirit,
A wild thing on the dance floor.
Even though she loves to party,
I know she loves me more.
And I'm standing tall,
'Cause that's not all.
She's a SUPER KISSER!
A SUPER SUPER KISSER!
She's a SUPER KISSER!
A SUPER SUPER KISSER!"
Then, to the deafening shrieks and squeals of the crowd, the four members of The New Generation jumped into the audience and raced up the aisles.
"Oh! Oh! Oh!" screamed Melanie. "This is it!" She waved her arms over her head, desperately hoping one of them would look her way and wave and smile back.
The music blasted from the stage as each guy picked out a girl on the aisle and gave her the kiss of a lifetime!
"Over here!" Melanie screamed, jumping up and down, trying to see over the heads of the girls in front of her.
"Come on, Melanie," urged Katie. "Do you always have to act so boy crazy?"
Melanie ignored Katie. "If only I could get a kiss!" she cried. "Please, come over here."
The girls on the aisles were going crazy, running up and standing in line for a kiss. Even some girls in center seats were pushing and shoving to get to the aisles.
But it didn't last long. Before Melanie could decide if she should fight her way to the aisle, too, The New Generation ran back up the stairs to the stage. Then they closed the concert with another verse of the song.
When the group finished singing, the audience leapt to its feet and screamed and yelled and applauded for several more minutes. Then The New Generation gave one final wave to the audience and ran off the stage, disappearing behind the doors at the back of the arena.
Melanie collapsed back into her seat. "Oh, that was absolutely fabulous!"
"It sure was," agreed Katie, tugging Melanie back to her feet.
"How would you know, Mel?" teased Jana. "You were yelling so loud that I'm surprised you could hear them singing."
Randy and Tony nodded and grinned.
"Oh, I heard them all right," said Melanie. "'Super Kisser' is such an incredible song." She turned suddenly and gave Randy a mock frown. "It's all your fault!"
Randy looked startled. "What?" he asked. "Did I do something wrong?"
Melanie sighed dreamily. "If only you'd gotten aisle seats, I could have been kissed by The New Generation!"
"Oh, Melanie," cried Katie, "you're the most boy crazy girl I know!"
CHAPTER 2
As Melanie and the others shuffled outside into the night air, she could hear kids talking about how exciting the concert had been and about the incredibly lucky girls who got kissed after The New Generation sang "Super Kisser."
"That lucky Kimm Taylor!" someone shrieked. Melanie whirled around. It had sounded like Lisa Snow, and sure enough, Lisa Snow was not far behind her, talking excitedly.
"Did you say Kimm Taylor?" Melanie demanded.
Lisa nodded. "I saw it with my own eyes."
Melanie gasped. "You're kidding!" Her heart was bursting. How could Kimm Taylor have gotten so lucky? She couldn't possibly have wanted to be kissed by one of The New Generation as badly as Melanie had.
"So, what did she say afterward?" asked Melanie.
Lisa shrugged. "She said he was almost as good a kisser as Cory Dillon—but not quite."
Everyone in the crowd around them laughed. Naturally Kimm would say that, thought Melanie. Cory Dillon was both her boyfriend and the leader of Wakeman's own rock band, The Dreadful Alternatives. For a bunch of junior high boys, they were a pretty good band, and when they imitated The New Generation sometimes, they were even better. But nobody, Melanie thought emphatically, could be a better kisser
than one of The New Generation!
"Well, it's a shame that kiss was wasted on Kimm," said Melanie, closing her eyes. "If it had been me, I'd remember it for the rest of my life."
Suddenly she could hear someone singing "Super Kisser." It sounded fantastic.
"Hey, everybody," cried Tony, pointing to the side of The Coliseum. "It's The Dreadful Alternatives, and they're doing their imitation of The New Generation."
"And look at Cory Dillon," said Beth. "He's standing on the concrete wall and using it for a stage."
Melanie couldn't believe her eyes. Cory was balancing on the wall, rocking and gyrating as he belted out the lyrics to "Super Kisser."
"She's a radical departure
From the girls I've known before.
With her happy face and spirit,
A wild thing on the dance floor.
Even though she loves to party,
I know she loves me more.
And I'm standing tall,
'Cause that's not all.
"She's a SUPER KISSER!
A SUPER SUPER KISSER!
She's a SUPER KISSER!
A SUPER SUPER KISSER!"
One by one, the other three members of his band, Chris Burke, Parker Donovan, and Craig Meachem, joined him on the makeshift stage. Melanie couldn't help thinking that tonight they sounded incredibly close to The New Generation.
Melanie stole a glance at Kimm Taylor, who usually sang with the band. Kimm was watching them with an amused grin. Melanie tried to shut out the envy that was flooding her. How lucky could one girl be?
The crowd had gathered around the boys now, singing along.
"She's a SUPER KISSER!
A SUPER SUPER KISSER!"
Melanie clapped to the beat and glanced around. Practically everyone in Wakeman Junior High was here, and kids who had been heading for the parking lot or the bus stop were streaming back now to hear The Dreadful Alternatives. As they approached the spot where the group was putting on its show, they joined the clapping and a few shouted out their approval.
"All right!" yelled Garrett Boldt.
"Way to go!" shrieked Alexis Duvall.
"Super Kisser!" the crowd roared every time the phrase came around in the song. "Super Kisser!"
