Chapter 14.
I almost dropped the bowl of salad I'd been holding. It was one thing to know Janine had been keeping secrets and telling my parents little fibs once in a while. But it was another to hear her lie — right to Mom's face! Now, I'm no goody-goody, and I admit I don't always tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, but when I heard Janine lie like that, I was shocked.
"How could she — "I started to say.
"What?" asked Dad. He was standing at the sink, peeling carrots.
"Nothing," I said. I put down the salad bowl and picked up the bread basket. "Is this ready to go out on the table?" I asked my dad.
"Sure," he said. "Take the butter, too."
I stepped into the dining room and set the basket and the butter dish down. Janine was walking around the table, putting a folded
napkin at each place. She looked up at me. "Hi, Claud,” 'she said, smiling.
"Hi," I said, without smiling back. I gazed into her eyes, and thought I saw a flash of nervousness there. "So have you found a cure for the common cold yet?" I asked. "I heard you were at the lab this afternoon."
"No cure yet," she answered, "but we're still looking." Her tone was light, but I thought I could hear a little tension in her voice. She put down the last napkin. "All done, Mom," she said. "I'm just going to run upstairs and change before we eat, okay?"
"Sure, honey," said Mom. "Take your time. The chicken won't be done for another fifteen minutes."
I watched Mom smooth out the tablecloth and wipe a smudge off one of the glasses. She looked up at me. "Anything wrong?" she asked. "You're awfully quiet all of a sudden."
"I'm okay," I said. I was quiet because I was thinking. Thinking hard. I had realized something. I'd been following Janine around and playing detective just because I was curious about what she was up to. I'd kind of been thinking of myself as the Nancy Drew of Stoneybrook. But this wasn't just some story, made up to entertain people. This was real life. And Janine could be heading for trouble. After all, I'd seen her get into a car with a
strange guy. Cute, yes. But not a familiar face. And then she'd lied to Mom about where she'd been.
What if Janine was in some kind of trouble already? What if that guy was a drug dealer, or some other type of criminal? What if he had Janine under his spell? What if he'd threatened to kill her if she told anyone she'd been with him? Maybe that was why she'd been lying!
I knew I was getting carried away. It was unlikely that Janine was involved with some evil lawless mastermind. But still, she really could be in trouble. It was then that I realized I should probably tell my parents everything I knew.
I struggled for a moment with the idea. After all, nobody likes a tattletale. My parents have never encouraged Janine and me to report on each other's behavior. Even when we were young they wouldn't listen when we came running with stories about how one of us had knocked over the other one's blocks.
Suddenly I realized my mother was staring at me. I was still standing at the dining room table, gripping the back of my father's chair. I was breathing hard, and I could feel that my cheeks were flushed. "Claud?" Mom said. She put her hand on my forehead. "Are you feeling all right? You don't look well."
"I'm fine, Mom. But — " I paused. "But I
think there's something you and Dad should know."
She looked at me curiously, but instead of asking any more questions, she just took my arm and steered me toward the den. On the way, she called to my dad. "Honey? Would you please come into the den for a minute?"
"Be right there," Dad replied.
A couple of minutes later I was settled in the big chair in the corner of the den. Mom and Dad were sitting opposite me, on the couch. "What is it, Claud?" asked my mother. She looked very concerned. "Is it about your schoolwork?"
"Are you having trouble keeping up?" asked Dad gently. "We're always here to help, you know."
"It's — it's not me," I said. They raised their eyebrows. Usually I hate the fact that I'm always the "bad daughter." But this time I couldn't take any pleasure in the fact that Ja-nine was the one who was misbehaving. I was too worried about her.
"Go on," said Dad. He leaned forward.
"It's Janine," I said. "I don't know exactly what's going on, but I think she could be in trouble."
Mom frowned. "What do you mean?" she asked. "I know she's been late a few times, and she wasn't entirely honest about where
she'd been that night, but I think she understands now that we expect the truth from her."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," I muttered.
"Claudia," said my father sternly. "Why don't you just tell us what this is all about?"
"Okay," I said. I took a deep breath. "The thing is, Janine isn't being honest with you. You know how she said she was working at the chemistry lab today?"
My parents nodded.
"Well, that's not true," I said. I started to talk fast. "She was here when I got home from baby-sitting this afternoon. And then she left and she met this guy and got into his car with him and drove off." I stopped for a breath.
"What?"both of my parents said at once. Then they started to ask a million questions.
"How do you know this?" asked my father.
"Who was this 'guy'?" asked my mother. "Did you know him?"
"What do you mean she drove off with him?" asked my father.
"Where did they go?" asked my mother.
I held up my hands. "Wait, wait," I said. "I'll start from the beginning."
"All right," said my father. "Go on." He crossed his arms.
I told them everything I knew, and I told them how I'd found it out. I could see that
they were unhappy with the idea of my "detective work," but they let that pass for the moment. As soon as I had finished, my father stood up and opened the den door. "Janine!" he called. "Please come down here for a moment. We need to talk."
When Janine walked into the den, I stood up to leave.
"Oh, no," said my mom. "You stay here. This is going to be a family conference. Why don't you tell Janine what you just told us?"
It wasn't easy, but I did it. Janine stared at me angrily the whole time. "How could you?" she hissed, when I'd finished. "You little sneak." Then she turned to my parents. "I think I better clear some things up," she said.
My father nodded. "We'd appreciate that."
"Well," said Janine. She paused for a moment, and seemed to gather herself together. Then she looked straight at my mother and said, "I have — I have a boyfriend."
You wouldn't believe how quiet that room became. My parents looked as .if they'd just heard that the sky was actually green and the grass blue. As for me, I was sure I couldn't possibly have heard Janine correctly.
"A what?" I asked.
"A boyfriend," said Janine. "His name is Jerry Michaels. I met him at the college. He's
a junior in high school, like me, but he's in advanced placement, too."
My parents were still looking stunned, so I said, "But he's a total hunk!" I said.
Janine nodded, looking miserable. "That's one of the reasons I kept it so quiet," she said. "I've always hated people who put physical appearance first. I never understood girls who wore makeup, or spent money on clothes, just so they could attract cute guys. To me, it's a person's mind that matters."
"But lately you've been wearing makeup and dressing better," I said. "Was that to attract Jerry?"
Janine nodded again. "But I found something out today," she said. "He said he liked me in spite of the way I look, not because of it. So I'm going back to the old me. I was never comfortable wearing all that stuff on my face. I just thought it was the only way to get Jerry's attention."
"So he's a hunk and a genius," I said. "He sounds perfect for you. What's the problem?"
Janine glared at me. I was so fascinated by her news that I'd almost forgotten she was mad at me. "Maybe the problem is that I'm a very private person," she said stiffly. "I'm not used to other people kn
owing my business. I guess I wanted to keep Jerry to myself for a little while."
"I can understand that," said my mother softly. She'd finally come out of her state of shock, and she was gazing fondly at Janine. "I felt the same way when I met your father." She reached over and took my dad's hand. He smiled at her. "Janine," she went on, "I'm very happy for you. But I'm also disappointed. I may have wanted to keep your father a secret when I met him, but I never lied to my parents. And I would not have expected you to lie to us."
"That's right," said my father. "You've earned yourself another two days at home. You're grounded — and I hope I'll never have to say those words to you again."
"You won't," whispered Janine, looking down at her hands.
"One other thing," said my father, sounding even more serious. He paused until Janine looked up at him. "When are you going to bring Jerry home, so we can make sure he's good enough for you?" He smiled at her, and she smiled back, a little nervously.
"Yes," said my mother. "I'm looking forward to meeting him."
"You mean I can keep seeing him?" asked Janine.
"Of course," said my mother. "You just have to promise to be honest with us about where you're going, and with whom."
"Oh, I will! We never go anywhere special, anyway. Most of the time we just find a quiet place to study."
I rolled my eyes. It figured. Janine gets a boyfriend, and all they do is study together. Most couples go to the movies, or out for dinner. But Janine and Jerry just want to crack the books. They were made for each other.
I thought again about how cute Jerry was. "Does he have a younger brother?" I said, grinning. "Like, maybe an eighth- or ninth-grader?"
Janine didn't grin back. "No," she said shortly. "Just sisters."
I could tell she was going to stay mad at me for a long, long time.
Chapter 15.
"So that guy is actually Janine's boyfriend?" asked Mary Anne. She shook her head in disbelief, and then helped herself to one of the Yodels I was passing around. We'd already covered our club business, so I was using our BSC meeting to fill my friends in on the solution to the big mystery.
"That's right," I said. "His name's Jerry, and he's a genius, just like Janine. How about that?"
"I think it's wonderful," sighed Mallory. "A secret love is so romantic."
"To tell you the truth, I'm sort of disappointed," said Jessi. She was next to Mallory on the floor, but instead of sitting still, she was doing one of her ballet stretches, with her head all the way down on the ground between her legs. She looked up. "I mean, I was really hoping Janine was a kleptomaniac, at the very least. Something interesting, you know?"
"I agree," said Kristy. She tucked her pencil over her ear, and leaned back in the director's chair. "But still, I'm happy for Janine."
"Me, too," said Dawn. "A boyfriend with a little red car! She's got it made."
Stacey sighed. "I can't believe we all laughed the other day when Mallory guessed the truth. Now it seems so obvious that she was right."
"It does, doesn't it?" I asked. "But, you know, if it had been anybody but Janine, I would probably have guessed right away. I just never thought of her having a boyfriend before. Especially such a cute one." I unwrapped another Yodel. "It just goes to show you — "I started to say, and then the phone rang.
Kristy grabbed it. "Baby-sitters Club," she said. "Kids are our business." She listened for a moment, and then smiled. "That's great, Derek," she said. "You must be relieved." She listened again. "Oh, well. There's always next season." A few moments later she hung up. "Guess what?" she asked us. "Derek's agent called and told him the writers for the show have decided to forget about the kiss. They think Waldo's too young."
I couldn't believe it. "After all that nervousness!" I said. "But Derek must be happy."
"Not really," said Kristy, laughing. "He said
he had just gotten psyched up for it, and now he's disappointed that it's not going to happen!"
Mallory giggled. "I bet my brothers will be disappointed, too. They couldn't wait to see that episode!"
"I was looking forward to it myself," I said. "Oh, well. At least Derek learned something about truth and lies because of this."
"So did Janine," said Stacey. "Only I bet she isn't going to put off kissing for another year!"
We started to giggle. I tried to imagine Janine kissing a boy, which only made me giggle more. Pretty soon my friends and I were laughing so hard we couldn't stop, not even when J heard a knock at the door. "Come in!" I finally gasped, and Janine poked her head into the room.
"What's so funny?" she asked.
"N — nothing," I said, trying to catch my breath, "What's up?"
"I just wanted to tell you that I'm going over to Jerry's house to study. And then he's coming here for dinner. Will you please try to act like an adult around him?" She frowned at me. "Or is that too much to ask?"
She was still mad at me. "I'll do my best," I said. "I promise not to suck my thumb or spit baby food on him." I wanted to see if she would crack a smile. She didn't. She just
frowned even harder and then closed the door and clomped down the stairs. I turned to my friends and shrugged. "Do you think she'll ever forgive me?" I asked.
"Someday," said Stacey. "But you may have to be patient. She seems pretty mad."
"She is," I said. "Stubborn, too. I've apologized all over the place, but she just doesn't seem to hear it." I hated having Janine mad at me, and I was .sorry I'd spied on her, but I knew I'd done the right thing when I told my parents. She did, too. She just couldn't admit it. .
Our meeting broke up soon after Janine's visit, and I went downstairs to help my mom with dinner. I could tell she was a little nervous about Jerry coming over, because she kept checking to make sure that the tablecloth was clean and that the silverware all matched. Also, she was worried about the food she was planning to serve. "I hope he likes chicken," she said at one point.
"Mom," I said, "everybody likes chicken. Unless they're vegetarians or something."
"Vegetarians!" said my mother. "I didn't even think of that. What if he doesn't eat meat at all?"
"Then he'll have to get by with baked potatoes and salad," I said. "He'll live." I gave her a hug. "It's going to be fine," I said.
"I know," she answered. "It's just that this is the first time one of my babies is serious about somebody. You're both growing up so fast!" She hugged me back.
The table was set and dinner was ready by the time Janine and Jerry walked through the front door. Janine introduced her friend to us, blushing. Dad shook his hand, Mom smiled at him, and me? I just stood there. He really is the most gorgeous guy I've ever seen up close. He looks like he could be on TV.
But he wasn't conceited or anything. In fact, he turned out to be really nice. He ate everything we'd cooked, and he kept saying how good it was. He asked my dad about the stock market (my dad works for an investment firm), and he talked with my mom about funding for the library. Then he turned to me. "Janine tells me that you're the vice-president of a successful business," he said, grinning. "That's really impressive."
"Uh, thanks," I said, blushing. I must have sounded like a jerk. I closed my eyes for a second and tried to pull myself together. I knew I should ask him a question, to make him feel comfortable. "Um, what are you studying in school?" I asked finally. I tried to look at him, but it was hard. He was too cute — he made me nervous.
"Well, I'm most interested in physics," he
said. "Nuclear physics, actually. You know, like quarks and things like that."
"Quarks," I repeated. I'd never heard of a quark. It sounded like something a weird duck would say. But I smiled at Jerry, and nodded. "That's great," I said. Then I pretended to be very, very interested in my baked potato, so I wouldn't have to say anything else.
My parents asked Jerry about a million questions — where did he live, and how many sisters did he have, and that kind of stuff. He gave polite answers, and I could tell Mom and Dad we
re impressed with him. Janine sat next to him, smiling. She looked happy, and very proud of him.
Somehow, we made it through that meal. I didn't spill gravy down my shirt, and my father didn't ask any uncomfortable questions, and my mother didn't tell any stories about cute things Janine had done as a baby. In other words, we didn't do anything to embarrass Janine.
After dessert, we said good night to Jerry, and Janine walked him to his car. I started up the stairs, since I had homework to do. Then I heard Janine come back in. She went into the living room where my parents were sitting. I paused on the stairs so I could hear what she said to them. "I just want to thank you," I heard her say. "Jerry really liked you both."
"We liked him, too,” said my mother. "He's welcome anytime."
"He's a fine young man," added my father.
I rolled my eyes. Dad sounded like the father on some old TV show!
"Well, thanks again,” said Janine.
I wondered if Janine would thank me. After all, I had done what she'd asked and acted like an adult. I'd done my best, anyway. But I had a feeling she was still mad at me, since she had hardly spoken to me during dinner. I heard 'her start up the stairs, so I ran to my room and closed the door. I didn't feel like being glared at any more that day.
I started in on my math homework, -but before long I got stuck. I'll never understand why I need to know how to find the lowest common denominator. I'm positive I'll never use that in my adult life. I put down my math book and picked up the Nancy Drew I'd been reading. Then, just as I was getting to a really exciting part, I heard a knock on my door. "Come in," I said, expecting my mother.
It was Janine.
"Hi, Claud," she said. "Listen, I just wanted to thank you for being nice to Jerry."
"No prob," I said. "He's pretty nice himself."
"He said he thought you were really sweet — and cute."
I blushed. "He's crazy about you," I said. "I could tell by the way he looks at you."
"Really?" asked Janine. "You mean that?" Now she was blushing. "Well, anyway — " She paused for a minute. "I'm sorry I got so mad at you. I know you feel bad about spying on me, and I have to admit that I probably shouldn't have been lying and sneaking around. I just — "
Mystery At Claudia's House Page 8
