by Betsy Haynes
Melanie and Taffy glared at each other and continued elbowing for more room until Melanie suddenly realized that the entire first half was over and the cheerleaders were on the field. She had missed the whole thing. She had even missed hearing Christie's asking if anyone wanted anything from the refreshment stand. Now she noticed her friend struggling to get into the crowded row without spilling any of the goodies she was carrying.
"Melanie, I've got to talk to you," Christie called in a loud whisper. Her voice sounded urgent, as if she knew some big secret.
Melanie glanced over her shoulder at Taffy, knowing she didn't dare move from her spot. Taffy would be sure to crowd her out permanently if she got up even for a minute.
"What is it?" Melanie asked. "Can't you come down here and tell me?"
Christie sighed loudly as if she were totally exasperated, but a moment later she was leaning across Beth and cupping her hands around Melanie's ear.
"It's about Garrett Boldt," she whispered. "He was at the refreshment stand when I was, and guess what?"
"Come on, Christie," Melanie whined impatiently. "Tell me!"
"He asked me for your name and phone number!"
Melanie's eyes widened in disbelief and she thought for an instant that she might pass out from sheer excitement. Garrett had asked for her name and phone number? Not Taffy Sinclair's? It was too wonderful to be true.
"You're kidding!" she shrieked. "Oh, Christie. You're the best friend in the world!"
Melanie settled back and tried to concentrate on the rest of the game, but she couldn't. She was remembering how she had been overweight for so long from constantly eating her mother's scrumptious homemade brownies. She hadn't been just overweight, she remembered with a blush. She hadn't paid much attention to her hair or clothes, telling herself that her appearance didn't really matter, when, of course, it did. It hurt to remember how no boy had ever looked at her the way they looked at other girls, especially Taffy Sinclair. If they noticed her at all, they treated her like a sister.
But in sixth grade something wonderful had happened. She had started losing weight and wearing nicer clothes and even styling her hair, the way the other girls did. Finally Scott Daly had asked her to go to a movie with him and a bunch of other kids. She liked Scott a lot. And yet, there were tons of other cute boys in Wacko Junior High whom she hadn't even met yet.
So what if Katie Shannon is always calling me boy crazy? she thought. It didn't matter. Because now, even when she was sitting next to Taffy Sinclair, someone as special as Garrett Boldt had noticed her.
CHAPTER 3
After the soap game Bumpers was packed with kids from Wacko Junior High. Melanie loved the way the place was decorated with brightly painted bumper cars that were relics of an old amusement-park ride. The Fabulous Five had gotten there early enough to get one of the big booths. It was in a perfect location, near enough to the door to see everybody who came in, but close to the counter where kids put in their food and drink orders, too.
As Melanie scanned the room, she realized that most of the kids who had crowded into Bumpers so far were girls. One table was filled with eighth- and ninth-grade cheerleaders. Melanie gazed longingly at them in their short, red, pleated skirts and gold letter sweaters. She wanted more than anything to make the seventh-grade squad. The football players were probably still in the showers using the bars of soap contributed at the game. They would be here in a little while, though. It was part of the Wakeman football tradition that everybody gathered at Bumpers after a game.
"I wish Garrett would hurry and get here," Melanie said in a dreamy voice. He had been the only thing she could think about ever since Christie told her that he had asked for her name and phone number, and Melanie was keeping one eye on the door so that she would know when he arrived. "I wonder where he is?"
"Didn't he say he has to get pictures of all the jocks for the yearbook?" asked Christie.
"Yeah," said Katie. "Maybe he's in the locker room photographing them in their underwear."
Everybody giggled at that.
"Don't you just love football players?" said Beth. "Did you see Keith block that pass? He's such a great player."
"Randy, too," said Jana. "I don't care if the second-string team did lose. They were terrific."
Just then Garrett came through the door. As usual, his camera hung from his shoulder as he waved to some kids near the front and sauntered up to the order counter. Melanie watched closely as his food was placed on a tray. He was having a bacon cheeseburger, large fries, and a large Coke. Yum! she thought. That's exactly what I'll have, too.
Suddenly a cheer went up as the first group of players came in the door, water droplets still glistening in their hair. They were all seventh-graders formerly from Mark Twain Elementary. Randy Kirwan was in the lead, followed by Mark Peters, Scott Daly, Keith Masterson, Joel Murphy, Matt Zeboski, and Clarence Marshall. They were smiling broadly even though the first-string team had beaten them 28 to 0.
"Oh, look," cried Jana, bouncing up and down in her seat. "They're heading this way." She was waving wildly so that they couldn't help noticing.
"Jana, stop waving like that," Melanie scolded. "We don't have enough room for all of them."
"I know that, silly," Jana said. "I just want to make sure Randy knows where I'm sitting."
Melanie sank back against the booth. What was she going to do now? Of all the times for this to happen. Of course Randy would sit with Jana. And when that happened Keith would be sure to sit with Beth, and then Scott would sit with her. That's the way it had worked all the time at Mama Mia's when they were in sixth grade. She had loved it then because she really liked Scott. I still like Scott, she reminded herself. But that was before Shane and Garrett had come into the picture and complicated things.
Matt Zeboski peeled off in the direction of Mona Vaughn's table, and Clarence Marshall, Mark Peters, and Joel Murphy stopped to order something to eat, but the other three were marching straight for the booth where The Fabulous Five sat. To Melanie each step closer they came was like one ominous tick of a time bomb.
"Don't any of you guys get it?" she blurted to her friends while the boys were still too far away to hear. "Garrett Boldt asked for my phone number, but do you think he'll still want to call me if he sees me sitting with someone else? The answer is no."
"Oh, Melanie," said Katie in an exasperated voice, "you are the most boy crazy person I know."
Melanie glared at her friend. Katie couldn't possibly understand how it felt to change from an ugly duckling to a swan because she had been thin all her life. Besides that, Katie hardly knew that boys existed. But before she could answer Katie, the three boys were standing beside their booth.
"Do you have room for us?" asked Keith, dMng in beside Beth before anyone could reply. On the other side, Katie and Christie and Jana shifted to let Scott slide in beside Melanie and Randy sit beside Jana.
"How did you like the game?" Scott asked Melanie. "Did you see that great tackle I made in the third quarter?"
"Sure," she lied. "It was terrific." Melanie tried to smile at Scott and look around the restaurant at the same time. Where had Garret gone? And where was Shane? She hadn't spotted him at all yet. Had they seen Scott sit down with her?
Suddenly she saw Garrett heading back toward the order counter. Had he forgotten something? Ketchup for his fries, maybe? What if he saw her with Scott?
Instantly, Melanie dove under the table, banging her head on the edge. All she could think about was hiding so that Garrett wouldn't see her.
She heard Scott gasp, and then his face appeared sideways in the opening between the table and the seat. "What are you doing down there?" he asked incredulously. "Are you okay?"
Melanie grinned sheepishly. "I'm fine," she assured him. "I just dropped a quarter. I'll be up in a minute."
She waited as long as she dared and then squeezed back up beside Scott. Her head had begun to throb, and she could feel a little lump growing on it, but that didn't ma
tter. She was safe. Garrett had left the order counter and was talking to two boys in a green bumper car, his back turned so that he was facing away from her.
"I'm going to get something to eat," said Scott. "Playing football makes me so hungry."
"Me, too," echoed Randy and Keith.
"Do you want me to bring you something?" asked Scott.
Melanie shook her head. Her appetite was suddenly gone. But just as the boys slid out of the booth, she realized how thirsty she was and handed Scott some money for a Coke. Leaning back, she watched him approach the order counter. He's really terrific, she thought. He's cute and a great football player and not at all clumsy like Curtis Trowbridge, who fell over his own feet at least once a day.
Just then she noticed Shane Arrington come into Bumpers with two boys she had seen around school. They were looking for some place to sit. As Shane's eyes swept the room, Melanie panicked. She couldn't let him see her—Scott would be back any minute. She ducked behind Katie and held her breath.
"What are you doing?" Katie snapped.
"Pipe down," whispered Melanie. "I'm not doing anything."
"Then why are you scrunched up behind me?" Katie had twisted around and was peering down at Melanie.
"If you must know, I don't want Shane Arrington to see me and realize that I'm with Scott. It might spoil my chances with Shane later. Will you lean forward a little bit? I know he can see me this way."
Katie groaned, but she moved forward. Melanie breathed a sigh of relief and leaned her head against the back of the booth. Handling three boys at once was exhausting. Slowly she inched up just enough so that only her eyes were above the back of the booth. It was time to check things out. Scott was still in line at the order counter, but it looked as if Shane and his friends were talking to The Fantastic Foursome. Melanie leaned as far as she could to the right, but a post was blocking her view. And where was Garrett? From where she was sitting she couldn't see him anywhere.
Sighing, she thought about how much she liked Scott. I really do, she insisted to herself. But still she couldn't resist the idea of someday having a date with Shane or Garrett. Or maybe all three. She closed her eyes and imagined herself reserving Friday nights for movies with Scott, and Saturday afternoons for ball games with Garrett, and Sunday afternoons for pizza with Shane. There's only one way to make it all happen, she thought with new determination.
"I'm going to the ladies' room," she announced, pushing her way out of the booth. It was the best excuse she could think of to get up and move around Bumpers. She could never make any progress with Shane or Garrett while pinned in a booth next to Scott Daly.
Melanie ducked into the ladies' room and ran her brush through her windblown hair. Then she added a little lip gloss and stood back from the mirror, surveying herself with satisfaction.
Luckily she was alone in the ladies' room, so she opened the door a crack and peeked out. Scott was not in the order line anymore, which meant he was probably back at the booth and wondering where she was. She could see Shane. He had moved away from Laura McCall and her friends and was talking to some guys. At least that much was going her way. But where was Garrett? She pushed the door open a little bit farther and looked for him again. No luck. Rats!
Melanie took a deep breath and silently rehearsed the list of rules for walking across a crowded room that she had learned in the modeling class she and the rest of The Fabulous Five had taken last year. Then she opened the door and stepped out.
Bumpers was crowded, all right, and noisy. Kids were laughing and shouting to each other, and over it all music blared from an antique Wurlitzer jukebox. Melanie smiled to herself as she began weaving through the tables and booths. She tried to act casual, stopping to say hello to Alexis Duvall and waving to Mona Vaughn and Matt Zeboski, but every second she was on the lookout for Garret. As soon as she spotted him, she would simply walk up to his table, give him a dazzling smile, and then move on, leaving him love-struck as he gazed after her. It always worked in soap operas on TV.
But where was he? There wasn't an empty table in the place, but try as she might, she couldn't spot him sitting at any of them. Just then she looked toward the door. There he was, and his hand was on the knob. Oh, no. He's leaving! she wanted to shout, but instead she bit her lip. As she watched, he opened the door and walked out without even so much as looking back.
"I blew it," she grumbled to herself. "While I was hiding behind Katie and primping in the ladies' room, he was probably looking everywhere for me, and what did I do? I missed my big chance."
CHAPTER 4
Melanie went straight to her room when she got home from Bumpers, leaning back against plump pillows on her bed and opening her notebook to a clean sheet of paper. Then she began to write.
Melanie Edwards
+
Garrett Boldt
That looks nice, she thought. In fact, it looked terrific. Still, she couldn't forget Shane and Scott, so she turned to another clean page and started again.
Melanie Edwards
+
Shane Arrington
Melanie Edwards
+
Garrett Boldt
Melanie Edwards
+
Scott Daly
That looked even nicer. But which one did she really like the best? What a choice, she thought, shaking her head. Shane was so interesting. How many boys had she ever met before who had hippie parents and an iguana named Igor for a pet? None! And then there was Garrett. Wow! He was just about as gorgeous as one guy could get, and he was an eighth-grader. It was the first time someone older and more sophisticated had ever been interested in her, and it was fun.
But how could she ignore Scott Daly? She was so comfortable around him, and she had thought for a long time that they would probably get married someday. Melanie Daly, she wrote. That looked super. Melanie Elizabeth Daly. Melanie Elizabeth Edwards Daly. Or how about, Melanie Edwards-Daly?
Sighing, she closed her eyes and pictured how her name would look if she married Shane or Garrett. Melanie Arrington, she thought, or Melanie Boldt.
Through her closed door she could hear the distant ring of the phone. By the time her mother knocked softly on the door to say that the call was for her, she was already naming the children. Garrett Boldt, Jr. Or should it be Garrett Boldt, II?
She pulled herself out of her daydream and went to the phone. "Hello."
"Hi, Melanie. This is Garrett Boldt."
Melanie's hand started shaking and she almost dropped the phone. She would know that husky, romantic voice anywhere.
"Hi," she whispered, but then, remembering that she had already said hello, she felt herself blush.
"In case you're wondering, I got your phone number from a girl sitting near you in the bleachers. Did you go to Bumpers after the game?" he asked. "I looked around for you, but I couldn't find you anywhere."
"I was there," Melanie assured him. "And I saw you. Maybe I was in the ladies' room when you were looking for me." Then she felt another blush creep up her face and she added quickly, "Combing my hair."
"I got some great pictures at the game," he said. "I'll show them to you after I develop them if you're interested."
"I'd love to see them. Are you going to develop them yourself?"
"Sure. I have my own darkroom," he said proudly.
Melanie was so impressed that she didn't know what to say next. Finally Garrett spoke.
"Well, I'll definitely see you at school on Monday. You will be there, won't you?"
"You bet," said Melanie. "And I'll be sure to say hello."
After they said good-bye, Melanie hung up and then hugged herself with joy. He had been looking for her, after all. Wow, she thought. It's a good thing I didn't let him see me with Scott.
"Who was that, dear?" called her mother from the kitchen. "It didn't sound like Scott."
Melanie wandered into the kitchen and watched her mother lift hot chocolate chip cookies off a cookie sheet with a spatula and place t
hem carefully on a plate. She always thought of her family as being old-fashioned. Her parents weren't divorced like so many kids' she knew, and her mother stayed home and took care of Melanie and her six-year-old brother, Jeffy, baking cookies and things like that.
"It wasn't Scott," she said as she picked up a cookie with two fingers and blew on it to cool it. "His name is Garrett Boldt, and he's an eighth- grader."
"An eighth-grader?" her mother echoed, raising one eyebrow to show her surprise. "Did you meet him at school?"
Melanie shook her head. "At Bumpers, and he asked Christie for my name and phone number at the game today."
She started to tell her mother the whole story, but just then the phone rang again. "I'll get it," she sang over her shoulder. Maybe it was Garrett calling again.
"Oh, Melanie. I've just got to talk to you."
It was Jana, and it sounded as if she was crying.
"What's the matter?" Melanie asked. "Are you okay?"
"Yes . . . no . . . Oh, I don't know," said Jana. "It's Randy. He got one of Laura's invitations in a red envelope, and he says he's going to her party, even though he knows I wasn't invited."
"You're kidding!" said Melanie. "I can't believe Randy Kirwan would do a thing like that."
"Neither could I, at first," said Jana. "I thought he was just joking. But when I asked him if he really planned to go, he said yes. He said all the guys were going just to see what one of Laura's parties is like, and they would tease him if he didn't go, too. Of course he tried to tell me that he wouldn't have any fun without me there, but I know he was only saying that to keep me from getting mad. But I'll tell you something else. It didn't work!"
Melanie sighed. She couldn't blame Jana for getting mad. "If Randy is going, then Scott is probably going, too."
"Of course he is," insisted Jana. "They all are. Scott. Keith. Randy. Every one of them. If Scott didn't tell you, it was probably because you didn't ask him about it. He wouldn't want to admit it if he didn't have to."
Melanie thought a moment. She had chattered all the way home from Bumpers, hardly gMng Scott a chance to say anything. Partly she had done it because she was excited to have three gorgeous boys to like, and partly it was to cover up her guilty conscience over not wanting the other two to see her with Scott. But now that she knew for sure that he was going to Laura's party, she was as angry at him as Jana was at Randy.
