Fabulous Five 006 - The Parent Game

by Betsy Haynes

  "Well," said Funny, looking sad, "I guess we'd better work on this list."

  Jana hurried into Bumpers. Funny and she had made lists of most of the activities that seventh-graders were involved in and had put down the names of all the kids they could think of who were doing things. She had finally told Funny she had mentioned to Randy that she would meet him, and she had to leave early. They each took half the names of the kids to call to make sure they were at the photo sessions.

  Bumpers was full, as usual. Every booth, table, and bumper car was crowded with Wacko Junior High kids. Melanie, Christie, Beth, and Katie were squeezed together in a booth with Mona Vaughn and Sara Sawyer. Taffy was sitting with Lisa Snow and Kim Baxter. Laura McCall, Tammy Lucero, and Melissa McConnell were by the counter talking to Shane Arrington and Tony Sanchez. Jana's friends in The Fabulous Five waved when they saw her come in.

  "See if you can get a chair," called Christie.

  "Don't," said Sara. "I want to go talk to Stacy and Gloria, so you can have my seat."

  "I'll go with you," volunteered Mona.

  "How's the yearbook coming?" asked Katie as Jana slid into the booth.

  "Fine. Funny and I are working on the lists of activities that seventh-graders are on. We've got all of your names down."

  "Just think. Someday The Wigwam will probably be valuable because my picture is in it," said Beth. "I can see it now. Former student of Wacko Junior High makes Broadway. They might even change the name of the school to Beth Barry Junior High. Wouldn't that be neat?"

  "Dream on," said Katie. I'll bet they rename it after that famous female Supreme Court justice."

  "Why do you think they would name it after Sandra Day O'Connor?" asked Melanie.

  "Not her. I'm talking about me—Her Honor, Katie Shannon," said Katie. The others groaned loudly.

  "Save my seat while I get a soda," Jana said, digging her change purse out of her pocketbook.

  She was standing in line waiting to order when Taffy came up behind her. "Hi, Jana." Jana almost jumped with surprise. She had been avoiding Taffy because she didn't want to be pushed for an answer about Taffy and Randy's being partners. She just hadn't figured out Taffy's motive yet.

  "Hi," she answered.

  "See that gorgeous guy over there?" asked Taffy, speaking in confidential tones and nodding toward a group of boys. "The one wearing the pullover shirt with green stripes?"

  Jana knew who he was, but she had never spoken to him. He was Chad Wallace, and everyone thought he was the biggest deal in the eighth grade. He played all the sports and was even on the varsity team. He was even a bigger deal than Garrett Boldt. "Sure. What about him?" she asked.

  "I think he's really cute. He even spoke to me the other day. He's been looking at me, and I think he's about to ask me out."

  "Really?" said Jana. "But he's in eighth grade."

  "I know. But I like older men," Taffy said with a confiding grin. "Don't tell anyone, but right now he's all I want in the world."

  "He is?"

  "Sure. Isn't he gorgeous?"

  Jana looked over at Chad. He was certainly handsome. He was almost as good-looking as Randy, except a little older. "That's nice, Taffy. I hope he does ask you out."

  "Me, too. Oh, I think I've changed my mind. I was going to get some french fries, but they're fattening. See you later, Jana."

  Jana watched Taffy walk away. That was weird. Taffy had certainly never confided in her about boys before. Maybe she did want to be friends, after all.

  "We saw you talking to Taffy," Christie said. "Was she trying to tell you again what a great friend she is?"

  "Not really. She was telling me how much she likes Chad Wallace."

  "Chad Wallace? He's neat!" said Melanie.

  "Taffy said she's wild about him, and she thinks he's going to ask her out. Did any of you see her at school?" asked Jana.

  "I did," answered Beth.

  "Was she friendly?"

  "She was as sweet as can be. I nearly threw up."

  "I saw her, too," said Christie. "And she was nice to me, also."

  "I saw her, but I couldn't bring myself to talk to her," said Katie.

  "It looks as if she might just be serious about wanting to be friends," Jana said, thinking out loud.

  "There you go, being trusting again," warned Katie.

  "Well, she is acting differently. She said she wouldn't ask Randy to be her partner unless I said okay, and Randy said she's been talking about how much she likes me. And don't forget, she was nice to you guys. Now she says she's crazy about Chad Wallace. Maybe she is telling the truth."

  "Have you found out who Randy wants for a partner?" Beth asked Jana. She nodded toward the booth where he was sitting with Scott Daly, Keith Masterson, and Bill Soliday.

  "I asked him yesterday, but I didn't find out anything. Maybe I'll try again."

  "I could go over and tell him to come to our booth because you want to talk to him," suggested Melanie.

  "I'd be embarrassed. I'm not going to talk to him about whether he is going to be partners with someone in here in front of everyone."

  "If you wait until later, we won't know what he said until tomorrow," complained Melanie. "You'd have to call us."

  "Look!" Katie said, putting out her hands to silence them. "He's going to the jukebox. Maybe you can ask him now."

  "Yeah, go ahead," said Christie, practically pushing Jana out of the booth. "This is your chance."

  Jana summoned up all her courage and wove her way across the room to meet Randy at the old Wurlitzer jukebox.

  "Hi," she said stopping beside him at the machine.

  "Hi, back," he said, reaching out and putting an arm around her waist. "Do you have a song you want to hear?"

  She looked down at the rows of song titles. "Number B-eight."

  "Great. That's my favorite, too."

  Okay. Here goes, Jana thought, taking a deep breath. "You never told me if you were going to have a partner for the Family Living project," she said, trying her best to sound casual.

  He was just about to answer when Laura McCall's voice came from behind them. "Hi, Randy. Are you going to play a song for me?" she asked.

  "Hi, Laura," answered Randy. "What would you like to hear?"

  "Whatever you like, I'd like." She gave Jana a hostile smile as she flicked her long blond braid with one hand.

  Jana glared at her. "I think I'd also like to hear number H-twenty-three," Jana said to Randy. "Remember how we used to listen to it when we went to Mama Mia's Pizzeria after the Mark Twain football games?"

  Randy smiled at her and turned back to look at the song titles. Jana inched closer to him, sticking her shoulder in front of Laura.

  "Oh, how cute, Jana. You still like grade school things." Her voice dripped sugar.

  Jana fumed. "Some people just establish relationships that last and super memories to go with them," she said through clenched teeth. Randy seemed unaware of the war that was going on right next to him as he punched number H-twenty-three.

  "What did you ask me about school before?" he asked Jana.

  "Uh . . . I forgot." She couldn't talk about the Family Living project with Laura standing right there.

  "Hey, Randy," yelled Scott from across the room. "Keith says there's no way you can run the one-hundred-yard dash in ten point two seconds."

  "That's all he knows," Randy yelled back. "Excuse me," he said to Jana and Laura. "I've got to straighten this guy out."

  He left Jana and Laura standing together. Laura looked at Jana and then spun around, whipping her braid across Jana's arm.

  "The nerve of her," said Katie when Jana sat down again with her friends. "How could she push in on you and Randy like that while you were talking?"

  "Boy, that witch butted right in," huffed Christie.

  "You should have punched her out," advised Melanie.

  "What did Randy say?" asked Beth. "Did you get to talk to him about the project at all?"

  "He was just about
to tell me about it when Laura pushed her way in," answered Jana.

  "So you still don't know if he's going to team up with anyone?" asked Katie.

  "No. But one thing's for sure. Laura will be his partner over my dead body." Out of the corner of her eye Jana could see Taffy looking at her.

  CHAPTER 6

  Randy took Jana's hand as they walked home from Bumpers. He had come up to her as she was leaving and had taken her books from her. It made her tingle when he held her hand in his.

  "Are you coming to the game Saturday?" he asked.

  "I'm not sure. I want to, but my mother has been bugging me to go shopping for a dress for her and Pink's wedding. I think I can still get there, though."

  "Hey, I'd forgotten about the wedding. It's getting pretty close, isn't it? Are you going to be a bridesmaid?" he asked.

  "I'm going to be maid of honor. I do need a dress for the wadding, but I'm so busy."

  Randy looked down at her as they walked along. "The wedding must be pretty important to your mom."

  "I know," Jana murmured. She felt uncomfortable with him looking at her. She was busy and couldn't help it if she didn't have time to shop for the dress. Besides, just thinking about the wedding made her feel strange.

  She forced herself to smile as they walked on hand in hand under the tall maple trees that arched over the sidewalk of her street. When they reached the porch of her apartment building, she leaned back against the pillar, not wanting to say good-bye to him yet. She still hadn't found out what he was planning to do about the parent project.

  "I hope you can get your shopping done and come to the game Saturday," he said, a serious look on his face. "I play better when you're there, and Trumbull Junior High can be tough."

  The look on his face sent a thrill through her, and he leaned forward and kissed her forehead. Suddenly the feeling of anxiety washed back over her.

  "Have you decided whether you're going to be partners with anyone yet?" she asked quickly.

  "No. I was thinking about being a single parent, but Laura McCall was talking about how much easier the project would be with a partner. I think she's right."

  Jana's body went rigid. "Did she ask you to be partners with her?"

  "No. Some of us in Mrs. Blankenship's class were just talking."

  Jana felt her muscles relax. Laura was about to ask Randy, she just knew it. She had to talk to Taffy right away.

  "Why don't we go out to the mall and look for your dress after we clean up the dishes?" Jana's mother asked at the dinner table. "It's such a nice evening it would be good to get out. Maybe we'll go to a movie afterward." Jana knew the movie was just an enticement to get her to look for a dress.

  "Actually, Mom, tonight isn't good. I've got homework and I'm supposed to call a lot of the kids that haven't come in yet to sign up for their yearbook pictures." Besides those reasons, thought Jana, Taffy hadn't been home when she called her house. Her mother had said she would ask Taffy to call when she got home. Jana had to talk to her tonight.

  The smile faded from her mother's face. "What about tomorrow evening then?"

  "I don't know. It depends on how many of the kids I reach this evening, I guess."

  "When do they have to have their pictures taken by?"

  "Oh, before December."

  "That's a long time away, sweetheart. Couldn't you wait to call some of them?"

  "It's not so long when you've got nearly two hundred kids who have to get their pictures taken," Jana said.

  "You know, the wedding is a lot closer than December, and we have just got to get you a dress. It might have to be altered. Couldn't you put off some of your calling one evening so we can go out to the mall?"

  There she goes, getting paranoid again, Jana thought, stirring her lasagna with her fork. "I guess so."

  Her mother pursed her lips and frowned. Jana tried to ignore the look of frustration. She knew the wedding was getting closer, but you couldn't just ignore everything else. The yearbook was a big thing, and there were so many things to do to get it ready for publication. Her mother didn't understand. And she had to talk to Taffy. If her mother would just quit mentioning the dress, Jana would find time to shop for it.

  After dinner, as Jana went to her room to get her list of kids to call, she heard the phone ring.

  "Jana! Telephone," her mother called.

  She went back to the kitchen and picked up the receiver. "Hello."

  "Jana?" It was Taffy.

  "Oh, Taffy. I'm glad it's you. I wanted to talk to you about your being partners with Randy for the Family Living class."

  "Yes?"

  "It's just for the class, isn't it?"

  "Of course it is. Sometime you can return the favor. Like when I have a modeling appointment or an acting class and it's my turn to take care of Randy's and my baby, you could sit for me. You would do that, wouldn't you?"

  The words Randy's and my baby echoed in Jana's ears. She hated the way they sounded coming from Taffy. At least Taffy had pointed Chad out to her at Bumpers and said she was crazy about him. If she was as crazy about Chad as she said, she couldn't be out to steal Randy.

  "Sure, Taffy. Anytime. Just let me know."

  "I will."

  By the time she hung up the receiver, Jana was feeling a lot better. With Taffy's help she would show Laura McCall that she couldn't steal Randy. She went back to her room with a smile on her face. She would choose her baby now and then call some kids about getting their pictures taken. The Family Living project was going to be fun, after all.

  CHAPTER 7

  Jana hurried to school the next morning. She held her books in one arm and in the other hand carried a brown grocery bag containing her make-believe baby. It was okay to carry it that way until next week, after it was approved by the teacher and became an official baby. All around the grounds were seventh-graders carrying bags and boxes and stuffed animals.

  "Hi," called Dekeisha Adams. She was carrying a big kangaroo and walking with Marcie Bee, who had a clear plastic cleaning bag with a rabbit in it slung over one shoulder.

  "Hi, Dekeisha. Did you wash Buniper, Marcie?" Jana called.

  "Yes, and I hung him on the line by his ears to dry and they stretched three inches." Marcie sounded exasperated. "Now they won't stand up."

  "Why don't you tie them in a bow and tell everyone Buniper is a girl?" Jana asked with a laugh.

  "Good idea."

  Katie, Christie, Beth, and Melanie were already at their special place by the fence.

  "Oh, no, Melanie!" cried Jana as she stepped up. "Is that your baby?"

  Melanie was holding a gray walrus with saggy skin and white tusks. Black whiskers stuck out from both sides of its nose. "Don't laugh," she warned. "Everyone else has been making fun of me since I got here."

  "Why isn't Scott carrying it?" asked Jana. "It's his—isn't it?"

  "He wanted to go to the Quick Stop for a slushy with Matt Zeboski, and he asked me if I'd hold it."

  "I told you," said Katie. "Boys will have you doing all the work. That's why I'm going to be a single parent."

  "Just because I'm doing it this once, doesn't mean I'm going to do it all the time," said Melanie, glaring at Katie.

  "Right," said Katie with a cynical look on her face.

  "Well, I don't think that Sheena doll you're carrying is such a cute baby either," Melanie shot back.

  "It's the only thing I could get away from Libber. That cat sleeps with all my animals and toys."

  "Your bunny in the tennis outfit is cute, Christie," said Jana.

  "My dad gave it to me when I was little. I think he thought I'd be a better tennis player if I kept it near me."

  "What's in your bag, Jana?" asked Beth.

  Jana opened it and held out the sides so her friends could see. In it was the pink bunny with no name her father had given her when she was a baby.

  "Quiet down, class," said Mrs. Clark. "It's time to check your choices for babies. Why don't we start with you, Whitney? W
ill you show us your child?"

  Whitney Larkin, who was a brain and had skipped sixth grade at Copper Beach Elementary and come straight to junior high this year, stood up. "Curtis Trowbridge and I have decided to be make-believe parents together, and we have chosen this robot to be our baby," she said, as if she were reciting an algebra formula.

  She held it up for the class to see. The plastic toy looked like something out of a science fiction movie. Whitney punched a button and a red light moved behind its visor, and then it started walking around the floor. Jana looked at Curtis, who was beaming like a proud new father. Curtis, who had gone to Mark Twain Elementary with her and was the nerd of the world, had been walking through the halls holding hands with Whitney ever since school began. They're the perfect couple if there ever was one, thought Jana, and they couldn't have picked a better child.

  "Hmm, it's certainly different, but I see no reason why you can't use it, Whitney and Curtis. Very good. All right, Clarence Marshall, what have you chosen for your baby?"

  "This mouse," said Clarence, holding up a small, gray, hairy mouse for everyone to see. He squeezed it and it went Squeak! Squeak! The rest of the class broke up laughing.

  Mrs. Clark frowned but finally she said Clarence could use the mouse. He stuck it back in his jeans pocket.

  Each of the students took turns showing their make-believe babies. When it was her turn, Jana took the rabbit from the bag and was about to show it. Clarence Marshall, who was seated in front of her, twisted around to see.

  Squeak! Squeak!

  "Clarence, don't hurt your baby!" veiled Joel Murphy.

  "Mouse abuse!" veiled Shane. The whole class started yelling at Clarence not to hurt his baby.

  Clarence grinned as he dug into his pocket and pulled the mouse out by its head.

  "Clarence, next week you'll have to treat it better," scolded Mrs. Clark. "Think of it as a child. Class"—she looked at everyone as she spoke—"I want you all to understand that this is to be taken seriously. If anything happens to the toy or stuffed animal that you have chosen, you could fail the course. You are responsible for it and must follow the rules and keep a detailed schedule of feedings, bedtimes, and so forth. If you have chosen to be partners with someone else, it's up to both of you to make sure it is taken care of properly, or you both could fail. You can get a sitter for your child, but it cannot be one of your parents. Is that perfectly clear?" The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Jana smiled to herself as she saw Clarence lay his mouse very carefully on a tissue as if it were a tiny bed.