by Betsy Haynes
"Don't you have a Drama Club meeting today?" asked Melanie.
"I don't want to go now, especially since Shawnie will be there," Beth answered. "I'd rather stay with you."
Melanie looked at Beth gratefully. "Thanks, Beth, but you know, I'm not sure I feel like walking home now with all those kids out there."
"What do you want to do?" asked Beth.
"Go to your meeting," said Melanie. "I'll wait."
Beth started to protest, but Melanie held up her hand.
"I want to," she told her. "Maybe I'll write Shane one last note. Just to tell him that story isn't true, either, since he'll be sure to hear it, and then I'll say good-bye to him."
"Really?" murmured Beth.
Melanie nodded. "I don't want a boyfriend who believes everyone else instead of me."
"I guess that's a good way to think about it," Beth said.
Melanie nodded again.
"Okay, I'll see you right after the meeting," said Beth. "Meet you—where?"
"Just inside the front door," said Melanie. "I'll leave my note at Shane's locker, then I'll wait for you there."
As Beth headed down the hall, Melanie found a spot near Shane's locker where no one would bother her and plopped herself down on the floor. She fished through her book bag for her spiral notebook and a pen.
Then she began writing.
CHAPTER 6
After Melanie got home, she thought a lot about the note she had written to Shane and left in his locker. Had saying good-bye been the right thing to do? What choice did she have? Why should she even want a boyfriend who thought she went around kissing every boy in sight?
She had sat in the corner of the hall and chewed nervously on the end of her pen until the words had come, and then she had poured her heart out onto the paper. Even now, a couple of hours later, she could remember every single word.
Dear Igor,
By now Shane has probably heard another terrible rumor about me. The guys in The Dreadful Alternatives told their girlfriends that I went up to Craig and kissed him on my own. They said that they had absolutely nothing to do with it.
Shane will probably believe them instead of me, but I want you to know the truth. They started teasing me while I was waiting for my mom to pick me up. They wouldn't stop. They kept telling me to kiss Craig because he felt left out. I was already embarrassed about kissing the other guys while they sang "Super Kisser." But when they wouldn't stop bugging me, I kissed Craig to shut them up. It was such a STUPID thing to do! I wish it had never happened!
I really miss Shane and wish he would listen to the truth. Maybe you can tell him for me. Maybe you can also tell him good-bye. Even though I'll miss both of you, I won't write you anymore.
Shane's former girlfriend and your friend forever,
Melanie
Now, alone in her room, she glanced at the poster she had bought at The New Generation's concert and hung directly over her bed. It showed the rock band singing on stage during a concert. It was a photograph of a live performance, and the band members looked as if they were singing directly to her. When she bought it, she thought she'd hang it over her bed and look up at it, imagining that they were singing "Super Kisser" just for her. But that was before all of her troubles. And it wasn't the big illustration in the center of the poster that caught Melanie's eye right now. Down in the lower righthand corner, underneath the information about the date and place of the concert, was another, much smaller picture. It was The New Generation's lead singer with his arms around a girl from the audience, and he was giving her a big kiss.
Melanie sighed. It was the band's trademark, and it had almost ruined her life. "How could a bunch of guys I don't even know have done this to me?" she whispered. "Kids at school are laughing at me and making fun of me. Girls I used to be friends with hate me. And I've lost my boyfriend." She ripped the poster off her wall and stuffed it into the wastebasket.
By the time Melanie got to school the next morning, she had decided that her relationship with Shane was definitely over. Her stupid mistake had taken him away forever. Now she would have to live without him, no matter how much her heart ached.
She was walking along the sidewalk leading to the school ground deep in thought when Dekeisha Adams came racing up to her.
"Hey, Mel. Wait till you see this!" she called, holding a copy of the Wakeman Smoke Signal out in front of her. "Your picture's on the front page of the school paper!"
"What?" gasped Melanie. She grabbed the paper from Dekeisha and stared in horror at the picture right in the center of the front page. It was her, all right, taken the night of The New Generation's concert, and she was dancing and laughing to the wild applause of the kids crowded around her. But that wasn't all she was doing. She was blowing a kiss straight toward the camera, and underneath the picture the caption read, "Melanie Edwards: Wakeman's Own Super Kisser"!
"Oh, no," she whispered as she vaguely remembered Garrett Boldt's stepping out of the crowd with his camera and snapping a picture right after she had kissed Cory, Chris, and Parker. How could he have done a thing like that? Garrett was her friend. In fact, she had had a humongous crush on him at the beginning of the school year, and they had even gone out a couple of times.
"Great picture, huh?" asked Dekeisha. "You sure look like you were having fun. I wish I'd been there!"
Melanie smiled weakly. She wished that Dekeisha had been there, too—dancing, blowing kisses, kissing boys—INSTEAD OF HER!
"Hey, gotta go," said Dekeisha, taking her paper back. "Just thought you'd want to see this." Whirling around, she trotted away.
Melanie's mind was racing. Dekeisha had her paper now because she was on the Smoke Signal staff and got hers early. Copies would be handed out to everyone else during homeroom, which was the first period of the day. Melanie knew she didn't have much time before everyone in school saw the picture, and the total embarrassment over what she had done after the concert started all over again.
The rest of The Fabulous Five were at the spot by the fence where they met every morning to wait for the bell. Melanie hurried to them. She needed advice, and she needed it fast.
"Guys, guess what?" she said breathlessly. "Something awful is about to happen."
Her friends looked up in surprise.
"What are you talking about?" asked Beth.
"The Sig comes out this morning, right?" she said. The Sig was what most students called the Smoke Signal.
The others nodded.
"Well . . ." Melanie began, suddenly embarrassed to admit the truth even to her friends. "My picture's on the front page. And guess what else? Garrett Boldt took it after the concert . . . when I was dancing and singing . . . and blowing kisses."
"What!" shrieked Jana.
"Oh, no," groaned Katie. She shook her head sadly. "You just can't get into enough trouble over boys, can you, Mel? And of course Shawnie and Kimm will just love it."
Melanie stiffened. "I don't need a lecture, Katie," she snapped. "What I need is help. What am I going to do?"
Katie looked annoyed, but Jana and Beth exchanged worried glances.
Jana shrugged. "I guess you'll have to do what you've been doing," she said. "Just tough it out."
"But everybody's going to start talking all over again," insisted Melanie. "And teasing me, and humming 'Super Kisser' every time I pass by. I don't think I can take it. And what about Shane? What's he going to think?"
Jana sighed. "I hate to tell you this, Mel, but Randy and I were talking about Shane on the phone last night and it doesn't look good."
Melanie shot Jana a quick look. Then she took a deep breath and asked softly, "What did Randy say?"
"Well, Shane's been getting as much teasing as you have," said Jana. "Maybe more. Guys can really get carried away with stuff like that. Randy said he heard Darren Cross come up to him yesterday and yell, 'Hey, Arrington, your girlfriend really kisses good.' Then he made a bunch of smooching noises and broke up laughing. I guess it was pretty awful."
Melanie stared at the ground. She couldn't even look at her friends. Her heart hurt so badly, as if giant hands were squeezing it until it burst. She would never get Shane back now. Never, never, never.
When the bell rang, Melanie got her books from her locker and marched to her homeroom with her head high. Unfortunately none of The Fabulous Five were in her homeroom, so she would have to face alone the moment when the paper was passed around. She couldn't stop it from happening, so she would take Jana's advice and try to tough it out. It was the only thing she could do.
The stack of school papers was sitting on the corner of Mr. Naset's desk when Melanie walked in and took her seat. Melanie stared at them, wishing they would suddenly disappear. But of course they wouldn't. And even if they did mysteriously vanish, every other homeroom teacher in the school would be handing them out within the next ten minutes, anyway.
Mr. Naset took the roll and read the morning announcements. Then he asked Derek Travelstead and Heather Clark to pass out the papers.
Melanie could feel goose bumps the size of mountains rising on her arms as Derek and Heather slowly made their way down the aisles, handing out the Sig.
"Oh, my gosh! It's Melanie!" shouted Lisa Snow.
"Where?"
"Let me see!"
"It is her!"
The room was buzzing with the sounds of amazement as kids grabbed their copies of the Sig and stared at Melanie's picture. Melanie held her breath. Any minute now someone would start humming "Super Kisser" or making smooching noises. She knew exactly what would happen.
But to her surprise Mr. Naset called the room to attention. "Boys and girls!" he boomed. "That's quite enough."
Melanie looked up and noticed for the first time that a hall monitor had entered the room and was handing Mr. Naset a note.
The teacher squinted at the note and then cleared his throat. "Melanie Edwards, please report to the office."
Melanie was stunned. The office? That meant Mr. Bell wanted to see her. Was it because of the picture? Her heart sank. What else could it be? Slowly she gathered her books and left the room.
CHAPTER 7
When Melanie reached the office, Miss Simone sent her into Mr. Bell's private room. She was surprised to find Garrett Boldt and Miss Dickinson, the faculty advisor for the Smoke Signal, there, also. Miss Dickinson was sitting in a chair beside the principal's desk, looking flustered. Garrett stood to one side, looking nervous, too, but he gave Melanie a big smile when she entered the room.
"How'd you like that shot?" he whispered from behind his hand. "I can make you a print, if you want one."
Melanie smiled weakly and didn't answer.
Mr. Bell cleared his throat and got to his feet. "Won't you two have a seat," he said to Garrett and Melanie as he gestured toward two empty chairs along the wall. "Now that everyone's here, let's get down to business."
Melanie sank into one of the chairs. She was so nervous that her ears were ringing. Was she going to get in trouble because her picture was in the paper? And did Mr. Bell know that she had kissed four boys alter The New Generation's concert? Could she get expelled for something like that?
"I'm sure you all realize that we're here because of this," Mr. Bell said. He held up a copy of the Sig and pointed to the picture of Melanie on the front page.
Melanie had thought the picture looked bad enough before, but now, with the principal of Wakeman Junior High pointing straight at it, it looked absolutely absurd. There she was, dancing in front of a crowd of kids with her head tilted to one side as she blew a kiss toward the camera. Melanie closed her eyes and wanted to die.
"I take full responsibility, Mr. Bell," spoke up Miss Dickinson. "I've had a touch of the flu this week, and I went home right after classes yesterday instead of looking over the paper before it went to the printer. That's my responsibility, and if I had done my job, this picture would never have been published and embarrassed the whole school."
Melanie's eyes widened in horror. Had she heard right? Embarrassed the whole school? But then she remembered that most kids took their papers home, where their parents would see them. Not only that, the paper staff mailed out copies to the local businesses that ran advertisements. By this time tomorrow the whole town would know about Melanie Edwards: Super Kisser!
Garrett shifted in the chair beside her. "I don't see anything wrong with the picture," he said. "Almost everyone in the whole school went to the concert. It was one of the biggest events of the year. I thought everybody would like to see a picture of a Wakeman student who was there having fun. And besides, they wouldn't let me take my camera into the performance."
Melanie threw Garrett a grateful look as she collapsed back in her chair. Of course, she thought, it's just a picture of someone having fun. Anyone could see that. What's the big deal?
"And what do you think, Melanie?" Mr. Bell's voice cut into her thoughts. "Do you feel comfortable with that picture of yourself on the front page of the Smoke Signal? Or are you embarrassed? I certainly don't want any of my students placed in an embarrassing position."
"Oh . . . well . . . I . . ." she fumbled. "Garrett was right. I mean, I was just having fun."
Miss Dickinson frowned and looked at the picture again, but she didn't say anything.
"And you don't think your parents will object to the picture?" Mr. Bell asked.
The question startled Melanie. She didn't know how to answer that. She hadn't thought about her own parents' seeing it. "I don't think so," she murmured.
"Very well," said the principal. "And as for you, young man," he added, turning his attention back to Garrett, "in the future, please clear your pictures with Miss Dickinson before they appear in the paper. Is that understood?"
Garrett nodded and mumbled, "Yes, sir."
"In that case, you may both return to your classes," Mr. Bell told them.
Melanie's knees felt weak as she got up to go. She hadn't been expelled, after all, she thought as she walked out into the hall. Garrett and she hadn't even gotten in trouble. But because of him and that awful picture, everyone was going to start teasing her again. She stomped off down the hall, angrier than ever.
Melanie managed to get through the morning without another major calamity, although she was totally frazzled by the time she joined her friends in the cafeteria at noon.
"Don't ask," she said when Katie, Beth, and Jana looked at her questioningly. "I'm toughing it out, okay?"
They nodded sympathetically, and Melanie considered telling them about her experience in Mr. Bell's office. No, she decided. I don't have the energy right now. I'll talk to them about it later.
"I forgot to tell you, I got a letter from Christie yesterday," Jana said when they were almost finished eating. She took an envelope out of her purse and handed it to Melanie. "It's addressed to all of us, but you can read it first, Mel."
Melanie smiled and took the envelope. As she opened it, Beth leaned over and peered over her shoulder, asking, "Any big news?"
"There's a picture of Christie with the boy she told us about, Connie Farrell," replied Jana.
"Ooh, he's gorgeous," said Beth as Melanie glanced at the photo and passed it around. "Is that the horse that Connie has been letting Christie ride?"
Melanie nodded. "You mean Rigel? That's what she says."
"We'd better not let Chase Collins know we've got the picture, though," commented Jana. "If he sees it, he'll get jealous."
"I don't see what difference it would make," remarked Katie. "Chase and Christie decided to date other people after she left Wakeman, and he's hanging around Tammy Lucero."
"I just think Christie should decide that," said Jana.
"It sounds as if she's really having a good year in England." Melanie looked up from the letter and grinned. "Maybe I should go to London and live with her until all this super kisser stuff dies down."
"Oh, no!" cried Beth. She raised a hand to her forehead as if she were going to pass out, and went on dramatically, "Then we'd
just be The Fabulous Three!"
"Oh, listen to this," said Melanie, ignoring Beth's theatrical performance. "Christie says that her grandmother is sick in New Jersey, and she's kind of worried. She also says that her dad is doing great in his job, and she's keeping her fingers crossed that he'll get promoted back to the States. Wouldn't that be great?"
"Wow, would it ever," said Katie. "But don't read the whole letter out loud. Leave something for me."
They all laughed at that, and Melanie started to hand the letter to Katie when she noticed Parker Donovan and Cory Dillon walking toward the table. Craig Meachem was behind them, and he seemed to be trying to get the other two to head in a different direction.
"Hey, you guys. Let's get out of here, okay?" said Craig.
"Naw. We want to talk to Melanie," said Parker. "Don't we, Cory?"
"Right," agreed Cory. "We think we should have gotten our picture in the paper, too, since it was our music she was dancing to."
Melanie could feel her temperature soaring toward the boiling point. Couldn't those guys just leave things alone? Ignoring them, she turned to Katie and held Christie's letter toward her.
"Here," she said as calmly as possible. "You can read this now if you want."
At the same time, she looked over her shoulder, searching for Shane. The last thing she needed was for him to see her talking to the guys from The Dreadful Alternatives. She spotted him at a table near the wall. Fortunately he was talking to Scott Daly and Keith Masterson and didn't seem to notice anything else going on.
"Aw, Melanie's turning into a snob now that her picture's in the paper," said Parker. "She doesn't even want to talk to us anymore."
Melanie whirled around, ready to explode. But before she could utter a sound, Shawnie Pendergast and Kimm Taylor came rushing up.
"Didn't we tell you to stay away from these guys?" Shawnie demanded.
"But . . . I . . ." fumbled Melanie. How could Shawnie say a thing like that? Melanie hadn't approached the boys. They had come up to her!
