by Betsy Haynes
The singing got louder and louder, and the kids in the audience screamed and jumped and waved their arms just as they had for The New Generation a few minutes ago inside The Coliseum.
"Super Kisser!" Melanie screamed along with the rest of the crowd. She was tingling all over. This was almost as exciting as the concert! "Super Kisser!"
Suddenly Cory, Chris, and Parker jumped off their concrete stage and rushed into the crowd.
Melanie gasped. "Oh, my gosh! Are they going to kiss girls, just like The New Generation?" A thrill ran up her back, and her breath came in excited little bursts. For an instant she felt as if she were back in The Coliseum.
The boys were fanning out through the crowd, just the way The New Generation had done when they jumped off the stage and into the audience. Melanie's heart raced with excitement. They were looking for girls to kiss!
Before Melanie could stop to think, she charged forward, grabbed Cory, and gave him a big kiss squarely on his lips. The crowd went wild, laughing, screaming, and clapping.
"Super Kisser!" everyone began to chant. "Super Kisser!"
Melanie sang along with them, whirling around and around in giddy excitement. This was fun! She swung her hips, dancing to the music as everyone sang, "Super Kisser! Super Kisser!"
Suddenly she saw Chris Burke clapping and grinning at her, and she rushed to him and kissed him smack on the lips.
"Super Kisser! Super Kisser!" the crowd shouted.
A group of boys pushed Parker Donovan toward Melanie, and she gleefully planted a big kiss on his lips, too.
"SUPER KISSER! SUPER KISSER!"
Next the kids in the crowd tried to get Craig Meachem, the band's drummer, to come over for a kiss, but he held back. Melanie was too excited to care. Instead she kept dancing and singing with the band, blowing another kiss at Garrett Boldt, photographer for the school newspaper, when he stepped out of the crowd and snapped a picture.
The Dreadful Alternatives sang one last verse of the song. Then, as quickly as it had begun, it was over.
Breathless, Melanie stopped in the middle of the sidewalk beside The Coliseum and looked at Beth, who had cocked an eyebrow at her.
"Wow, that was fun," said Melanie.
"Your performance was almost as exciting as The New Generation's," Beth said, grinning. "The crowd loved it. Everyone's still staring at you."
Melanie glanced at the crowd, which was beginning to break up. A lot of kids were still looking at her, and some were laughing and whispering among themselves.
Melanie felt a blush spread across her cheeks. "Beth," she began, "you don't think I got carried away, do you?"
Beth shrugged. "Maybe a little. But what's the big deal about kissing three boys in front of a huge crowd right outside The Coliseum?" she teased.
So what if I did get a little carried away, Melanie thought. Would everyone be looking at her if she had kissed one of The New Generation during the show? Why isn't everyone staring at Kimm Taylor, too?
"Hey, good show, Super Kisser!" called out Clarence Marshall.
"Three guys in one night! Whoa!" shouted some girl.
Melanie tossed a carefree smile over her shoulder toward the direction of the voices. She was probably going to be teased for a day or two. Oh, well, she thought. I can take a little joking around as well as anyone.
Gradually the crowd thinned. Jana, Randy, Katie, and Tony had drifted off toward the bus stop, leaving Melanie and Beth lingering on the sidewalk with a dozen or so other kids, waiting for rides.
Just then a car pulled up, and Beth waved. "It's my mom. She's here to pick up my sister," she said to Melanie. "Do you want to ride home with her?"
Melanie glanced at her watch. "My mom will be here in a few minutes. It's too late to call her and tell her not to come."
"Do you mind if I go with my mom?" asked Beth. "That way your mother won't have to drop me off."
"Go ahead," replied Melanie. "I'll call you tomorrow."
Melanie waved good-bye to Beth and watched her climb into the station wagon with her sister, Brittany, who'd also been at the concert. Then the car pulled away. Melanie sighed and strolled back toward The Coliseum. She leaned against the brick building and hugged her bag of souvenirs as she waited for her mom.
Hearing muffled voices, Melanie looked up. The guys from The Dreadful Alternatives were standing in front of The Coliseum's doors. They were talking among themselves and laughing softly.
"Hey, Melanie!" Cory Dillon was grinning at her.
"Hi." She smiled back.
"Come on over," called Cory, beckoning her with his hand.
She glanced up the street. No sign of her mother yet. She walked over to the boys.
"Hey, we really liked the way you got into the song," Cory said. The other boys grinned.
"Really?" asked Melanie. She had never had a compliment on her singing before. And coming from one of The Dreadful Alternatives, it was even more flattering.
"Yeah," Chris answered. "You were terrific. And when you jumped out of the crowd and started dancing and kissing everybody—wow!"
"It's a shame Jon Smith wasn't around with his camcorder," said Parker. "We could have made a music video, and you would have been the star!"
A smile spread across Melanie's face. She had never had a chance to get to know these guys before. They were really nice.
"There was only one problem, though," Cory told her, his face clouding. "Everybody got a kiss except Craig. Poor Craig!"
"Aw, poor Craig," chimed in Chris.
"That's right," said Parker. His eyes were twinkling. "Why don't you give him a kiss, too?"
"Hey, come on guys," said Melanie. "I only kissed you because it was part of your performance."
"Craig's in the band, too," Cory replied.
"Yeah, Melanie," Chris said. "Kiss Craig. He feels left out."
Melanie looked at Craig. He had a dopey grin on his face, and he didn't look as if he felt left out. In fact, he looked as if he were having as much fun teasing her as the others.
"Come on, Melanie," Cory urged.
"Guys, get serious," said Melanie.
"We are serious," said Parker, trying to suppress a smile. "It just isn't fair of you to kiss the rest of us but not Craig."
"I'll sing again!" Cory offered. He started softly singing the first few bars of "Super Kisser." Chris joined in.
"You're going to hurt Craig's feelings, Mel," Parker teased. "Give him a kiss."
Melanie chewed her lip and thought the situation over. The boys were obviously kidding her and getting a kick out of watching her squirm. And it was also obvious that the longer she said no, the more they were going to keep up the teasing.
I guess there's just one thing to do, she thought, kiss Craig so they'll shut up.
"Okay, you win." She leaned forward and gave Craig a quick kiss. "Now, knock off the teasing, okay?"
"Hey, she's a SUPER KISSER, a SUPER SUPER KISSER!" sang out the other three band members.
Melanie giggled and hurried back to the curb just as her mother's van turned the corner and pulled up beside her. As she climbed in and shut the van door, she noticed Melissa McConnell and Tammy Lucero lingering at the bus stop.
She frowned at the thought of Tammy's having seen what just happened with the guys from The Dreadful Alternatives. Oh, well, she thought a second later, so what if the biggest gossip in Wakeman Junior High just saw me kiss another boy?
CHAPTER 3
Melanie spent most of Sunday afternoon listening to her New Generation tape and hand-lettering a tiny square of cardboard to look like a poster for The New Generation concert. When it was finished, she bent a paper clip to use as a hanger and hung the poster inside Igor's cage.
The big green iguana eyed the addition to his home for a moment, and then his long tongue darted over it a few times.
"Pretty neat, huh, Igor?" Melanie asked gleefully. "Maybe we should tell Shane that you went to the concert with me since he couldn't go, and—oh, I know—you
were one of the members of the audience who got kissed by the band!"
Melanie burst out laughing so hard at the idea of one of the members of The New Generation's kissing an iguana that she barely heard her mother calling upstairs that she had a phone call. She dashed downstairs and picked up the receiver.
"Hi, Mel. It's Shane. How are you and Igor doing?"
Melanie giggled. "We're having lots of fun. I just made him a poster for his cage."
"Sounds great," replied Shane. "I was going to come over and pick him up, but if you're having that much fun, he may not want to come home."
"Maybe not," said Melanie. "I guess you'll just have to take your chances."
"Okay," Shane said. "I'll be there in fifteen minutes."
Melanie smiled as she hung up the phone. Anyone else would think she was crazy to make a poster for Igor's cage, but Shane could appreciate it. She couldn't wait to tell him all about The New Generation's concert.
She ran upstairs to get Igor's cage, and then brought it down to the living room so Shane could see it as soon as he came in the house. Then she straightened the tiny poster and waited.
Several minutes later she heard his parents' ancient Volkswagen bug sputter and cough to a stop in the driveway. Her hand was already on the doorknob when the doorbell rang.
"Hi," she said as she swung open the door. "Come on in and say hello to The New Generation's newest fan!"
Grinning broadly, Shane hurried to Igor's cage. "Hey, old buddy. How's it going?" He bent closer. "Nice poster!"
"I bought it for him after he volunteered to wait in line for me at the souvenir stand," Melanie joked. "It was the least I could do, since the line was so long. But let me tell you about the concert!"
The words came tumbling out as Melanie related each detail of The New Generation's performance. As she got to the part when they had rushed into the audience to bestow their fabulous kisses, she hesitated.
"Okay," Shane said knowingly. "Let's have it. You got a kiss, didn't you? I knew you'd manage it."
Melanie let out a long sigh. "No, I didn't, but . . ." For an instant she was tempted to tell Shane about The Dreadful Alternative's performance after the concert, but she decided not to. Instead she smiled and said, "I was going to tell you that Igor got a kiss, but I knew you wouldn't believe it."
"Yeah." Shane raised an eyebrow. "They wouldn't have kissed Igor. He's a boy." They both laughed at that.
"Actually, Kimm Tavlor was one of the lucky ones who got a kiss," Melanie continued. "She had an aisle seat. Everybody will probably be talking about her at school tomorrow."
Shane stayed awhile longer, telling her about his weekend. After he'd left, she went back upstairs and played her New Generation tape one more time. Even though she hadn't been one of the girls kissed by The New Generation, it had been a fabulous weekend. She wouldn't forget the concert for as long as she lived.
When Melanie got to school the next morning, the first thing she heard was someone singing the lyrics to her favorite song.
"She's a SUPER KISSER,
A SUPER SUPER KISSER!"
I guess I'm not the only one who can't stop thinking about that concert, she thought. Smiling, she glanced around to see Tony Sanchez and Derek Travelstead leaning against a tree and belting out the song. But to her surprise, they were singing it straight at her.
"It's Melanie Edwards, super kisser!" Derek shouted.
"Yeah, she nearly OD'ed on smooches Saturday night!" yelled Tony. He made loud smooching noises, and then both boys broke up laughing.
"Come on, guys," Melanie said, grinning at them. "Grow up. It was just part of the performance." Why did boys act so immature sometimes, she wondered as she hurried away to the fence where her friends were waiting.
As Melanie approached, Beth made a theatrical bow. "Ta-DAH, here comes Melanie Edwards, super kisser!"
Melanie stopped in her tracks. "Not you, too!" she said with a groan. "Derek Travelstead and Tony Sanchez were just giving me a hard time."
"I'm only kidding," Beth replied. "I just couldn't resist teasing you about the way you got into that song."
"Yeah," Jana added. "You fit the lyrics to a tee: 'With her happy face and spirit, / A wild thing on the dance floor.' That's you!"
Melanie shrugged, but she was secretly pleased that the rest of The Fabulous Five thought the song was meant for her. She had felt the same thing every single time she heard it.
"So what did Shane think about your kissing all those guys?" asked Katie.
"I . . . I didn't mention it," Melanie fumbled. "I mean, it was no big deal, and Shane knows me well enough to understand that."
She was beginning to wish everyone would stop talking about her kissing The Dreadful Alternatives after the concert. So what if she had gotten a little carried away with the music? She hadn't done anything wrong.
Katie chuckled. "Yeah, he knows you're boy crazy."
"Hey, let's leave Melanie alone," said Jana. "She looks like she's had enough teasing."
"Are you kidding?" answered Beth. "I was just getting started."
"Forget it," Katie told her. "It's almost time for the bell. We'll get her again at lunch."
The four girls headed toward the building. Melanie glanced at her watch. There was just enough time to go to her locker before the first bell.
"Melanie Edwards!" a voice rang out. "From now on, you'd better stay away from Cory and Craig."
Melanie looked up in surprise. It was Shawnie Pendergast. She and Kimm Taylor were standing by the front door of the school.
"Right!" chimed in Kimm. "We saw part of what you did Saturday night and heard about the rest, and we just want you to know that you're in big trouble if it ever happens again."
Melanie's mouth dropped open. "What are you talking about?"
"You know what we're talking about," snapped Kimm. "We saw you kiss Cory and Parker and Chris while they were singing. We were there. You couldn't get to them fast enough."
"And then, from what we hear, you went back and kissed Craig—my boyfriend—after everybody had left," said Shawnie.
The rest of The Fabulous Five looked at Melanie questioningly.
"You don't understand—" Melanie began.
"I should have known something like this would happen with you, Edwards," Shawnie cut in nastily. "You're the most boy crazy girl in the world."
"And we thought you were our friend," said Kimm. "But what everybody's saying must be true. You'll kiss anybody, any time, any place!"
"Now, wait a minute," interjected Katie. "I'm not sure what happened, but you have no right to talk to Melanie like that."
"Are you kidding?" scoffed Shawnie. "If I were you, I'd keep an eye on Tony."
"I can't believe you guys are saying this," cried Melanie. "What about you, Kimm? At the concert you kissed . . ."
But her voice trailed off when she realized that Shawnie and Kimm weren't listening. They had whirled around and were heading into the building with their noses in the air.
"'But I didn't do anything wrong!" Melanie whispered as she watched them go.
CHAPTER 4
"Is it true, Mel?" asked Jana as the four friends entered the building. "Did you kiss Craig, too?"
Melanie quickly explained to her friends what had happened on Saturday night after they left, how The Dreadful Alternatives had been teasing her.
Katie shook her head. "How do you get yourself into these situations, Melanie? Did you really think kissing Craig would stop those guys from teasing you?"
Melanie nodded miserably. "I just wanted them to leave me alone."
"Well, even if you did kiss Craig, it's obvious you didn't mean anything," Katie replied. "They have no right to talk to you that way—especially Shawnie. She's a friend of ours."
"Cheer up, Melanie," said Jana. "They're mad now, but it'll all blow over."
"That's right," agreed Beth. "Everybody knows you flirt all the time, anyway."
Melanie looked at her sharply. "What do you
mean by that?"
Beth grinned sheepishly. "I guess that didn't come out exactly the way I meant it. I was just thinking about the seven tips for flirting that you talk about all the time, and how before you started going out with Shane, you always had crushes on lots of guys at the same time. Being boy crazy is just part of your personality."
Melanie shrugged. She wanted to protest, to insist that she wasn't boy crazy, but she couldn't deny it. Still, she had thought that now that things were going so great between her and Shane, she had stopped flirting and talking about boys so much.
Melanie's locker was at the end of the hall, so she said good-bye to the others and continued on. As she got near her locker, she noticed Richie Corrierro, Joel Murphy, and Clarence Marshall clustered around it.
"Hey, here she comes!" shouted Joel.
The boys scattered, weaving in and out among the students crowding the corridor as they made their getaway.
"What was that all about?" Melanie mumbled. She stopped cold as she saw the front of her locker. Half a dozen pieces of red construction paper, cut into the shape of lips, were taped haphazardly to the door.
All around her kids were stopping to stare. Some giggled and moved on. Others stood in groups, whispering to each other. A few couldn't resist commenting out loud.
"Great artwork, SUPER KISSER!" shouted Kevin Walker-Noles. He winked at her as he passed.
"Hey, I like those lips, Mel," called out Mona Vaughn.
"Riiiiight," Tony Sanchez said slyly. "I guess it pays to advertise." He started singing," She's a SUPER KISSER! / A SUPER, SUPER KISSER," and a few other people joined in.
Melanie felt mortified. She tried to laugh along with everyone, but she could barely fake it as she felt a pit growing deep in her stomach.
Finally, as the crowd began to drift away, Melanie opened her locker and bent down to pull out some books. Out of the corner of her eye she could see that someone was still standing behind her. It was Shane.
He stood across the hall, leaning against a locker with his arms folded across his chest and looking at her with a puzzled expression.
Melanie sucked in her breath. Had he been there all the time and heard what the others had said to her? He must have seen the lips all over her locker, too.
