by Betsy Haynes
Laura switched her long braid back and forth with one hand like a cat switching its tail. "I understand Teen Court made some big decisions last Friday. Like making Randy Kirwan and Keith Masterson clean tables in the cafeteria. I suppose that was your idea. Now is that any way to treat friends?"
Katie felt Jana and Beth recoil from the words, and a knot came into her stomach. Laura had heard about the punishment and wanted to make sure that Jana and Beth were mad at her. If she only knew how mad they were already, Katie knew she would be overjoyed.
Christie jumped to her defense. "You wouldn't know about making important decisions like the Teen Court does. All you worry about is how to have parties and make your friends do what you want them to do."
Katie saw Christie had hit a tender spot. Laura's eyes narrowed and they seemed to spit fire.
"Well," she said slowly, "if punishing your friends' boyfriends and letting your own boyfriend off is an important decision, I guess I don't."
"What do you mean?" asked Jana, her eyes narrowing.
"Oh, didn't you know?" Laura was smiling sweetly and swinging her braid slowly. Katie knew she didn't want to hear what she was going to say next.
"It's easy to figure out that Katie was the one who talked the Teen Court into letting Tony Calcaterra off after he caused a near riot in class. We saw them walking home together after school on Friday."
Katie was miserable in the silence that followed Laura's words. This time none of The Fabulous Five spoke up.
CHAPTER 8
As Laura McCall and the others drifted off, Katie's friends turned and glared at her. "You argued for letting Tony Calcaterra off?" asked Beth. "You know he's in trouble all the time. Randy and Keith are never in trouble. Why didn't you argue for them?"
"Wait a minute," said Katie, putting up her hands to fend Beth off. "She doesn't know what she's talking about. I didn't argue for anybody. I just asked questions about what was going on in the classroom when Tony was supposed to be causing trouble. I asked questions when Randy and Keith were in front of the court, too. I was only trying to be fair both times. Randy and Keith admitted they were guilty. There wasn't anything anyone could do."
"Did you really talk the court into letting Tony off?" asked Jana.
Katie sighed. "All I said was, since the bell hadn't rung and there were kids still not in their seats, it didn't seem fair to accuse him of disrupting class. That's all. Besides," Katie added, glaring in Laura's direction, "what goes on in Teen Court is supposed to be confidential."
"Do you really like Tony Calcaterra?" asked Melanie.
"That has nothing to do with it. I mean, no. He's just a show-off. You know how I feel about boys like that." She looked at her friends pleadingly.
Just then the first bell sounded for classes. "Whew. Saved by the bell," said Christie. "Come on, let's talk about it later."
Katie felt blue all morning. Everything her teachers said seemed to be coming through a fog. So far, being a judge in the Teen Court was a disaster.
Laura McCall was making up stories about Katie's letting Tony Calcaterra off because she liked him, and Beth and Jana were mad at her. Why didn't they understand that she was just trying to be fair? She didn't even like Tony. In fact she might even hate him. So what if he was cute? All he could do was stand around and flex his muscles. Still, she couldn't help admiring the way he stood up for himself. He was definitely independent, and she usually liked that in a person. But in Tony? she wondered. In macho, show-off Tony?
She probably should have kept her mouth shut and not asked Mr. Naset all those questions. Especially since he was probably the one blabbing the courtroom proceedings all over school.
"I should have let him be convicted," she said to herself in the middle of Family Living class. "I should have recommended hanging."
Mary Sweeney, who was sitting in the next row, looked at Katie as if she thought she were talking to her. Katie smiled and shook her head.
At lunchtime, when Katie joined her friends at the group's favorite table, Beth and Jana were eating their lunches quietly while Melanie and Christie chattered away. Katie knew Beth and Jana were still angry over Randy and Keith's punishment, but she didn't know what she could do about it. In the meantime Christie and Melanie were obviously trying to heal the rift between their friends.
"How is the yearbook coming?" Melanie asked Jana.
Her response was a brief "Fine."
Christie raised her eyebrows in sympathy with Melanie's effort to get Jana to talk. She broke her sandwich in half and made her own try at lifting the gloom that hung over their table by raising a subject that was dear to Beth's heart.
"Oh, by the way, I heard they've decided to get the Indian mascot costume we suggested in my platform for the elections. Isn't that great?"
Katie could see that, in spite of herself, Beth's ears perked up.
"How are they going to decide who will wear it?" Katie asked, trying to keep the momentum going. If they could get Beth talking, maybe they could draw in Jana, too.
Christie seemed to catch on to what Katie was trying to do because she said, "I think they'll have tryouts and pick several people who will trade off. Are you going to try, Beth?"
Beth turned her apple over and looked at it. It seemed as if she was trying hard to act indifferent. "Probably."
Katie gave Christie a weak smile at the failed attempt and settled back to eat her lunch.
Suddenly there was a commotion near the door to the kitchen. Katie glanced around to see Keith Masterson and Randy Kirwan sweeping out through the swinging doors carrying sudsy sponges. They were wearing paper chef's hats and aprons and had drawn curving black mustaches on their upper lips with Magic Marker. "Messieurs! Mesdemoiselles!" they shouted in unison, thrusting their sponges into the air with such gusto that soapy water ran down their arms and soaked their shirtsleeves. "We are at your service."
Laughter erupted in the crowded cafeteria, and Katie could see that the two boys were having a hard time keeping straight faces themselves.
Spotting the table where The Fabulous Five sat, Randy cried, "Aha!" and raced toward them. "A SPECK!" he shouted, pouncing on an imaginary spot and scrubbing furiously.
By this time the entire cafeteria was up for grabs. Kids clapped and whistled and shouted as Randy and Keith ran from table to table calling out "Voila!" as they washed away spills and splattered soap suds all over the laughing students.
Katie couldn't help looking out of the corner of her eye at Jana and Beth as their solemn expressions turned first to surprise, then to comprehension, and finally to the same kind of amusement as everyone else's.
When the boys finally disappeared back into the kitchen and the cafeteria returned to normal, Jana looked sheepishly at Katie and said, "Did you see that? They were having a ball. I guess it's a little silly to be mad at you for punishing Randy and Keith when they don't seem to mind at all."
"Yeah," admitted Beth. "We were definitely overreacting. I wouldn't blame you if you were mad at us."
"Forget it," said Katie, reaching toward each of them and giving their hands a quick squeeze.
As relieved as she was that her friends weren't mad at her anymore, some things didn't get any better for Katie in the afternoon. Namely, the rumors about Tony Calcaterra. In English class Kim Baxter leaned over and said, "I hear you like Tony Calcaterra. Are you dating?"
"No!" Katie shot back angrily. "Where did you hear that?"
"Melissa McConnell was telling me that she heard you helped get him off when Mr. Naset took him to the Teen Court. She said that he walked you home later, too."
Katie was so angry that her red hair seemed to burn her scalp. "Melissa McConnell and her friends don't know what they're talking about. I do not like Tony Calcaterra. He's just a show-off, and I wouldn't date him if he were the last boy on earth."
Later that afternoon Katie had the same conversation with Gloria Drexler and Marcie Bee. She was so depressed that she decided to skip going to Bumper
s after school.
As she was walking out of the building, she saw a crowd of shouting kids gathered in a circle on the sidewalk in front of the school.
Someone shouted, "Get him!"
Katie stood on her tiptoes to see what was going on inside the circle. Someone was fighting.
She pulled Mona Vaughn's arm. "Who is it?"
"Clarence Marshall and Tony Calcaterra. Clarence said something to Tony about his earring."
Katie rolled her eyes. Oh, no, she thought. Tony's just gotten out of one jam and now he's in another.
The door to the school slammed, and Mr. Bell came storming across the school ground.
"STOP IT! STOP IT IMMEDIATELY!" he shouted, making his way to the center of the circle.
He reached down and separated Tony and Clarence, pulling them to their feet. "STOP IT, YOU TWO!"
"He started it," growled Clarence, blood running from his nose.
Tony looked at him coldly and didn't say a word.
"I don't care whose fault it is. I want you both in my office RIGHT NOW!"
Tony dusted off his pant legs and looked boldly at the spectators. Then his eyes fell on Katie, and he smiled.
"See you in court," he said, laughing.
CHAPTER 9
That night Katie tossed and turned in bed, worrying about the long week ahead. It would be four whole days before Teen Court met again on Friday and heard the case against Clarence and Tony for fighting. Four days for Laura and her friends to spread rumors about a romance between her and Tony. Four days for people to question her about how she would vote or what kind of punishment she would go for.
She was feeling more depressed than she had felt in a long time when she left for school the next morning, and she had barely gotten there when her first nightmare came true.
"Well, if it isn't Her Honor."
Katie spun around to see who had spoken. It had sounded like Laura McCall's voice, so she wasn't surprised to see The Fantastic Foursome standing in a group nearby.
"I'll bet she's already thinking about how to put the blame for Tony and Clarence's fight on Clarence so that she can get Tony off again," said Laura. She was looking at her friends as she spoke, but it was obvious that she meant for Katie to hear.
Katie's temper started building like a mushroom cloud. "Listen, Laura McCall, I'm tired of your mean gossip. There's nothing between Tony Calcaterra and me, and you know it."
"Oh, is that right?" Laura asked in a fake-sweet voice. Then turning to her friends, she added, "That's not what we hear. Is it?"
"Well, what you hear is wrong!" came an angry voice from behind Katie. This time the voice was a welcome one, and Jana stepped up beside Katie and glared at the startled Fantastic Foursome. "Katie can't stand Tony Calcaterra. He's nothing but a macho jerk! Maybe one of you ought to go out with him."
Laura raised her nose into the air and then wheeled around and led her friends away. After they had gone, Katie let out a sigh of relief and smiled at Jana.
"Thanks," she said.
Jana returned the smile. "The Fabulous Five sticks together. Right?"
"Right!" echoed Katie.
The entire school was talking about the fight the afternoon before, and in practically every class that day someone asked Katie how she planned to vote. By the next day, Wednesday, there was a rumor going around that some of the seventh-grade boys were even betting among themselves that Katie would try to influence the rest of the court to get Tony out of trouble.
"I'm going to resign from Teen Court," Katie declared in frustration as she and her friends sat in a booth in a back corner of Bumpers after school.
"Don't you dare do that," said Melanie. "You know it's Laura McCall who's behind all those rumors about you and Tony."
"And Tammy Lucero," added Christie. "She's the world's worst gossip. I saw her talking to Kim Baxter and Sara Sawyer in the girls' bathroom this afternoon. They all shut up when I walked in, so you can bet what they were talking about. You and Tony."
"It isn't fair," grumbled Katie. "Maybe I shouldn't have argued for Tony last week. Everybody knows he's a troublemaker. Even if he got punished for something he didn't do that time, it would probably only make up for a bunch of other times when he got away with things."
Jana shook her head. "I can't believe you're saying that, Katie Shannon. Not after all the times you've yelled about how everything should be fair."
Katie didn't answer. But for the next two days she thought about Jana's words. Jana had been right, of course. Katie knew she couldn't throw away all the things she believed in just because things were getting tough.
Taking a deep breath, she pushed open the glass doors to the media center on Friday afternoon and went in. Everyone else had gotten there ahead of her and had already arranged the tables and chairs.
"We should get out of here pretty early today, don't you think?" asked Whitney as Katie sat down next to her. "I mean, everybody knows they really were fighting. What's to decide except for the punishment?"
Katie shrugged. "Is that the only case we have?"
"I don't think so," said Whitney. "I heard yesterday that two eighth-grade girls got caught smoking out on the parking lot behind Mr. Neal's van." Whitney's eyes were twinkling with laughter. "They thought nobody would see them, but Mr. Bartosik noticed smoke rising over the top of the van and thought it was on fire. Isn't that a riot?"
Katie couldn't help but laugh. "Talk about dumb," she said, shaking her head.
By now Mrs. Brenner was calling for quiet. "All right, everyone," she said. "We'd better get started. The first case has to do with a fight on the school grounds between Clarence Marshall and Tony Calcaterra. Mr. Bell is the plaintiff. Now," she said, looking at her notes. "We need to choose the officers for today. Let's see. Garrett, will you be the bailiff? Daphne, you be the clerk, and . . ." She hesitated as she looked over her list of names. "Katie, please be the senior judge."
Katie rocked back in her chair and stared dumbfoundedlv at Mrs. Brenner. She wanted Katie to be the judge in Tony Calcaterra's case. This could be the end of her life at Wacko Junior High.
CHAPTER 10
"But Mrs. Brenner," said Katie, trying to keep her voice from quavering. "Shouldn't we let a ninth- or eighth-grader be senior judge? This is only our second meeting."
Katie could see Kaci smirk and look up at the ceiling.
"No. I think you'll do just fine. Miss Dickinson thought you would be a good choice, and I agree." She handed Katie a sheet of paper with the information about the cases on it. Katie looked at Miss Dickinson in amazement.
"Garrett, would you get the plaintiff and defendants for the first case?" asked Mrs. Brenner.
Katie sank into her chair. How could this be happening to her? Could she even look Tony Calcaterra in the eyes without stuttering or saying something dumb? Would she really be too easy on him? Maybe she could say she suddenly felt sick and had to go home. She glanced at Mrs. Brenner for help, but instead she gave Katie an encouraging smile. Katie smiled back weakly and gripped her hands tightly in her lap as the door opened, and Garrett led Mr. Bell, Tony, and Clarence in.
They marched down the aisle with Mr. Bell in front, like a warden bringing two prisoners to trial. Clarence slouched behind him, a small bandage over one eye.
Tony brought up the rear. He stood so tall and looked so proud, with his head held high, that if she hadn't known better, Katie would have thought he was coming to accept an award. His black hair was combed neatly in contrast to Clarence's, and his dark eyes flashed around the room like lasers from a star wars movie. Katie felt the warm feeling creeping over her again. She gulped. She knew her face was turning red. He was handsome.
She shook her head to clear away the thought and arranged the paper and pencil neatly on the table in front of her, trying to look unconcerned while her insides churned.
She pretended to look interested in the paper as Mr. Bell and the two boys took the chairs in front of the court, and all the while she knew T
ony was looking at her. Her eyes betrayed her and she looked up at him. It was as if she had been hit by an electric shock. He smiled ever so slightly.
Katie steeled herself and put her fingertips to her forehead, trying to concentrate on the charge against Tony and Clarence that was written on the paper.
Taking a deep breath, she said, "Would the clerk read the charge?"
"Mr. Bell has brought the complaint of fighting on the school grounds against Clarence Marshall and Tony Calcaterra," said Daphne.
"Is there anything further you would like to say, Mr. Bell?" Katie asked.
Mr. Bell smiled at her confidently. "No. The charge speaks for itself. It really doesn't make any difference who started the fight; fighting in the school or on the school grounds is prohibited.
"However, once the court has taken care of that charge, I have a related matter for your consideration. It shouldn't take much of your time."
Katie made a note: Mr. Bell has something else to talk about. She wondered what it was but hurried on.
"Clarence Marshall or Tony Calcaterra"—Katie stiffened as she said Tony's name—"do either of you have anything to say?"
"He started it," said Clarence huffily. "He shoved me."
She looked at Tony questioningly, expecting him to say something. Tony shrugged as if he didn't care what Clarence said.
"Tony," broke in Shelly Bramlett, "did you shove Clarence?"
"I suppose so."
"Why?"
"It seemed like a good thing to do."
"Come on, Tony," said Shane. "You didn't do it for no reason. Why did you do it?"
Katie was overjoyed. While the others were asking questions, she could stay out of the case. Tony would know she wasn't interested in him, and no one could accuse her of playing favorites, which was ridiculous because she wouldn't do that anyway.
"He said something I didn't like, that's all. It was my fault. I should have considered his mental condition and let it go."
