by Betsy Haynes
THE FABULOUS FIVE #4
HER HONOR, KATIE SHANNON
BETSY HAYNES
A BANTAM SKYLARK BOOK®
TORONTO • NEW YORK • LONDON • SYDNEY • AUCKLAND
RL 5, 009-012
HER HONOR, KATIE SHANNON
A Bantam Skylark Book / January 1989
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.
All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1988 by Betsy Haynes and James Haynes.
Cover art copyright © 1988 by Ralph Amatrudi.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
For information address: Bantam Books.
ISBN 0-553-15640-3
Published simultaneously in the United States and Canada
Bantam Books are published by Bantam Books, a division of Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc. Its trademark, consisting of the words "Bantam Books" and the portrayal of a rooster, is Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries. Marca Registrada. Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10103.
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
O 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Chris Schechner
CHAPTER 1
Katie Shannon felt like a criminal as she crept along the nearly deserted halls of Wakeman Junior High. She had hung around her locker until most of the kids had gone home for the day, and now she stopped outside the detention room and checked to the right and to the left, making sure that no one saw her.
"I've never had a detention before in my whole life," she mumbled to herself, "and I don't deserve one now!"
Sighing deeply, she entered the small room next to the principal's office where she had been sent to spend an entire half hour after school. This is disgusting, she thought, and totally unfair.
Four boys were already seated at desks, and there were no other girls in the room. Two of the boys she had only seen in the halls, and she didn't know their names. One was bulky and dark-haired, with the shadow of a mustache across his upper lip. He didn't look up when she walked into the room. Neither did the short, brown-haired boy with glasses. But Clarence Marshall and Joel Murphy from her old elementary school were there, and they gawked at her as if they were seeing a ghost. Joel pointed at her and put his hand over his mouth, while both of them doubled over with silent laughter.
Katie stuck out her chin indignantly. Those jerks! she thought, giving them both drop-dead looks. It didn't surprise her to see them serving detentions. Clarence and Joel had always been in trouble in Mark Twain Elementary.
She took a deep breath and marched straight up to the front of the room where Miss Wolfe, who taught girls' gym, was the teacher on duty.
"Miss Wolfe," she began as she handed in her pink detention slip. "I really shouldn't have gotten this detention. You see, what happened was—"
"Be seated, please," interrupted Miss Wolfe in her thick German accent. "And begin your homevork. If you have any questions about your detention, you may discuss them tomorrow vith the teacher who gave it to you."
Katie could hear Clarence snickering behind her.
"But Miss Wolfe," Katie insisted. "If you'd just let me explain."
"This is not the time to explain," Miss Wolfe said firmly. "Now, please take a seat and get on vith your homevork."
Katie clenched her fists and dropped into the first seat she could find. Her face was blazing from embarrassment. Her old classmates from Mark Twain would spread it all over school that she had been here. A lot of kids would laugh about it, too. Just because she never broke the rules and because she was always standing up for women's rights, a lot of kids didn't like her. Especially boys.
Not only that, this was the worst day in the world to get a detention. Tomorrow morning the teachers would announce the names of the three students from each grade who had been selected as members of the new Teen Court, and she wanted more than anything to be one of the seventh-graders chosen. Instead of sending kids to detention, Mr. Bell, the principal, wanted to try sending them to Teen Court, where students would listen to both sides and decide if the person was guilty. The Teen Court was also supposed to decide the appropriate punishment.
Katie lowered her eyes and pretended to be looking in her notebook for a clean sheet of paper. Getting this detention had probably blown her chances, she thought gloomily. And what made it worst of all was that the detention had been totally unfair.
Suddenly Miss Wolfe's shrill voice cut the air. "Tony Calcaterra! Vhere have you been? You know you vere supposed to be here as soon as school vas dismissed."
Katie glanced up at the boy standing in the doorway. He was awfully cute, with black hair and dark, flashing eyes and a small gold earring in his left ear. But as she looked at the way he was standing, so that no one could help but notice the muscles in his arms and shoulders, she groaned. This guy was a regular macho man!
"Sorry, Miss Wolfe," said Tony. "I guess I just forgot about detention."
"You didn't forget," scolded Miss Wolfe. "Not vith all the detentions you've had so far this year."
Tony Calcaterra smiled. "You're right about that," he bragged. "This is number eight, and school has just started."
Katie kept her eyes down for the rest of the half hour. For some reason she felt certain that if she looked up, Tony Calcaterra would be looking back, and she definitely didn't want to lock eyes with him.
When detention finally ended, Katie bolted from the room and raced toward Bumpers, the fast food restaurant where all the kids from junior high hung out. Hopefully her friends would still be there. Even though they all had totally different personalities, the members of their clique, The Fabulous Five, had been best friends forever, and they always stuck together. Christie Winchell was the brainy one. Beth Barry was the actress. Melanie Edwards was boy crazy. And Jana Morgan was their leader. Maybe one of them could think of some way to make her feel better.
"It's unfair," she insisted as she slid into their booth. "Totally unfair," she repeated.
"What happened?" asked Christie. "I heard that you got a detention, but I couldn't believe it."
"Humpf." Katie made a face. "The detention belonged to Mona Vaughn and Matt Zeboski. You should have seen how they were acting up in English Lit class. It was disgusting. They were talking and laughing. Flirting is what they were actually doing, but did Miss Dickinson see them? Of course not."
"Then why did you get the detention instead of them?" asked Jana.
"It wasn't until I was warning them that they would get a detention if they didn't shut up," said Katie, "that Miss Dickinson turned around. Then she gave me the lousy detention! Do you have any idea how embarrassing it was to spend half an hour after school in the detention room with boys like Clarence Marshall and Joel Murphy? It was totally humiliating!"
Nobody said anything, and Katie could see that all four of her friends were trying hard not to laugh.
"It isn't funny," she grumbled, even though she knew that they really were sympathetic. "I didn't even get a chance to tell my side of the story. Miss Dickinson just wrote out the detention and that was that."
Beth shrugged. "She's the teacher, and teachers can do anything they want. They're in charge. They don't have to listen to anybody's side of the story if they don't want to."
Katie silently agreed.
"Teachers can't do just
anything they want," argued Christie. "They have rules, too."
"Name one," Katie challenged. Just because Christie's mother was principal of the elementary school they had gone to, Christie wasn't an expert.
Christie bit her lower lip. "For one thing, a single teacher can't date another teacher in the same school."
"What about married teachers?" teased Beth. "Can they date anyone they want to?"
"You know what I mean, silly," insisted Christie.
"All I know is that I feel like an ex-con," groaned Katie. "And this detention will probably keep me from being picked for the Teen Court."
"I think you'll still make it," said Jana. "The teachers have probably already chosen the court. And anyway, which teachers besides Miss Dickinson and Miss Wolfe could possibly know about your detention?"
"I totally agree," said Melanie. "You're worrying about nothing." She grinned. "Were there any cute boys in the detention room?"
Katie looked at Melanie with surprise and hoped no one would notice the blush creeping across her face. "Of course not," she said quickly. "Just a bunch of animals."
She looked down and pretended to be totally engrossed in tearing the paper off her straw and forcing it through the tiny X in the lid of her soda cup. She could feel her friends' eyes on her as she took a long sip of Coke and tried to push Tony Calcaterra's face out of her mind.
Show-off! she thought as she remembered how he had swaggered into the detention room with a conceited smile on his face and bragged about all of his detentions. He acted as if he was such a big deal. He even sat there flexing his muscles as if he thought he were Hulk Hogan. She hated boys like that. So why was she thinking about him now? she wondered, and why had she blushed when Melanie asked about cute boys?
CHAPTER 2
"Hey, Katie! Is it true that you had to serve a detention after school yesterday?"
Katie stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and whirled around, shading her eyes from the morning sunlight. Richie Corrierro was leaning against a no parking sign in front of the school and smirking at her. Next to him was Clarence Marshall, faking a look of innocence.
"What's it to you?" she snapped.
"Wow! Then it must be true. Katie Shannon had a detention," shouted Richie. "Call the networks! Get Brokaw on the phone. Get Rather! Eee-gad! Call Curtis Trowbridge! This is the biggest news of the year!"
Katie narrowed her eyes and glared at the two boys, who were doubled up with laughter. She hadn't been able to sleep last night because she was so worried that the detention would ruin her chances to be on Teen Court, and their teasing was the last thing she needed this morning. What was worse, a bunch of kids standing nearby had heard what Richie had said.
"What are they talking about, Katie?" asked Alexis Duvall, who was standing with Sara Sawyer. "You didn't really get a detention, did you?"
Katie pulled herself up to her full height, trying to muster all the dignity that she could. "It was a mistake!" she said loudly.
At that, Richie and Clarence began to howl with laughter.
"Of course it was a mistake," said Richie. "It's always a mistake when a girl gets a detention. Right, Katie?"
"You should have heard her," cried Clarence between laughing spasms. Then he raised his voice to a higher pitch in imitation of Katie's voice. "Miss Wolfe. I really shouldn't have gotten this detention. If you'd just let me explain."
Katie's face turned crimson as giggles raced through the crowd. She had never been so humiliated. Just because she stood up for the rights of girls, people such as Richie and Clarence never missed an opportunity to poke fun at her. That detention was a mistake, she wanted to shout. It was totally unfair!
"Hey, Marshall! Cut it out," called a voice from behind her. "How do you know it wasn't a mistake?"
She froze as she recognized the voice. It couldn't be, she thought. Not Tony Calcaterra. Why would he stand up for her? But when she glanced back over her shoulder, she saw that it was Tony, and he looked as cute today as he had yesterday. He was wearing a deep-red shirt that set off his olive skin and black hair. The earring sparkled in the sun. But he's still a jerk, she reminded herself, a macho jerk.
Tony sauntered past her. "You wouldn't know a mistake from a hole in the ground," he said, tapping Clarence on the chest.
Clarence braced his feet and stood his ground. "Sure I do. That earring's a mistake. I hate to see guys wearing earrings."
Everybody got quiet as a dark cloud passed over Tony's face. His eyes suddenly went cold.
"What did you say, Marshall?" he said in a low tone.
The two boys stood toe-to-toe, their noses nearly touching.
"Watch it!" said Richie. "Here come some teachers."
Katie watched as Mr. Neal and Miss Dickinson came out of the building together and walked toward them. The kids on the sidewalk scattered, leaving Tony and Clarence facing each other alone. Clarence gave Tony one last grimace, which Katie guessed was supposed to scare him, but Clarence looked more like a chimpanzee smiling.
As Katie walked on toward the school ground with Alexis and Sara, she was deep in thought. Tony's sticking up for her had seemed totally out of character. He had probably just wanted to show off in front of a crowd, she thought, and prove that he's a tough guy. Oh, well, at least the argument is over.
Alexis and Sara called good-bye and headed for their homerooms, and once she was alone Katie felt a catch in her throat. Her worst fears had come true. By the time the bell rings, everybody in junior high will know I had a detention, she thought. Probably all of the teachers know about it, too. I'll never make Teen Court now.
"And I would have been fair, too!" she mumbled as she walked along. "Really fair. I would have listened to both sides and done the right thing."
"Who are you talking to?" asked Melanie, rushing up from behind.
"Myself," confessed Katie. "I guess I'm so nervous about making Teen Court that I've started talking to myself."
When Katie slipped into her seat in homeroom, butterflies were dive-bombing in her stomach.
Mrs. Abernathy took forever to get her desk organized and call the class to attention. Finally she took attendance and then squinted at a mimeographed sheet in her hand. "Now for the morning announcements," she said.
Katie closed her eyes. This was it. In the next couple of minutes she would know her fate. She listened as Mrs. Abernathy read with maddening slowness the list of activities taking place that day after school. Finally, the moment came.
"And now for the students selected by Mr. Bell and the teachers' committee to serve on the new Teen Court for the first semester," the teacher said. "Ninth grade: Kaci Davis, Kyle Zimmerman, and D. J. Doyle. Eighth grade: Shelly Bramlett, Daphne Alexandrou, and Garrett Boldt. And seventh grade . . ." Mrs. Abernathy paused and smiled at the class. "I'm sure this is the one you've all been waiting for."
Katie thought she would faint. Absolutely pass out and fall on the floor. Come on! she screamed inside her head. Get it over with!
"From the seventh grade," Mrs. Abernathy repeated, "Shane Arrington, Whitney Larkin, and Katie Shannon."
A cheer went up in the room, but Katie barely heard it. She was numb. "I made it," she whispered to herself. "I actually made it even though I got a detention."
"Katie," called Mrs. Abernathy. "Let me be the first to congratulate you."
Katie smiled weakly as the classroom erupted in applause, and everyone turned to look at her.
"Since you're the only member of our homeroom class to be chosen for this honor," Mrs. Abernathy went on, "I wonder if you would like to take this opportunity to tell us what you plan to do as a member of Teen Court?" She motioned for Katie to stand.
As Katie slowly got to her feet, she realized with a new feeling of panic that at least half of the class had been on the sidewalk this morning before school when Richie Corrierro and Clarence Marshall told the world about her detention. They were probably thinking that she was the last person in the world who should be allowed
to decide whether or not they should be punished.
"Well . . . I . . ." she fumbled. The room had gotten quiet, and every eye was on her. What could she say? How could she explain to them how she felt?
Katie cleared her throat and began speaking barely above a whisper. "I'm very happy to be chosen for Teen Court."
She was looking at the class, but in her imagination she could see Richie and Clarence doubled over with laughter and hear Clarence imitating her as she tried to explain to Miss Wolfe how unfair her detention had been.
I made it anyway, she thought with determination. And I know better than anyone in this room just how important Teen Court can be. Okay, she said to herself, sticking her chin out. Here goes!
"Now that I have served a detention myself," she began in a loud, clear voice, "I understand some things that I didn't realize before about getting into trouble. I know that just because you're a kid, that doesn't automatically make you wrong. Or just because it looks like you are doing something you shouldn't, that doesn't mean that there isn't another side to the story. So as a member of Teen Court I plan to listen to both sides and to be fair!"
The room was completely silent for a moment as if everyone was letting Katie's words sink in. Then the clapping started. It was followed by whistling and shouting and stamping until Mrs. Abernathy had to hold up her hand for quiet.
Katie felt a triumphant glow spread over her as she sat back down again. Maybe things will be okay after all, she thought.
CHAPTER 3
"How does it feel to be a judge?" asked Jana as The Fabulous Five gathered in the cafeteria for lunch.
Beth laughed as she pulled a sandwich out of her lunch bag. "Yeah. Are we supposed to call you 'Your Honor'?"
Everyone else laughed, too, except for Katie. "Actually being on Teen Court is a very big responsibility," she said, pointing a carrot stick at Beth. "Do you realize that when someone like Clarence Marshall gets into trouble, I'll be one of the people who will decide what to do?"
"Lucky you," said Christie sarcastically. Then she took a long drink of her chocolate milk and rolled her eyes toward the ceiling.
