Fabulous Five 003 - The Popularity Trap (7 page)

Christie and her friends were in a happy mood when they
reached Bumpers after school. Laura and her friends had not done their little
commercial for Melissa at lunchtime, and except for the appearance of the
posters for the mystery candidate, the day was a total victory for The Fabulous
Five—so far.

Christie was feeling especially optimistic, and she tried to
act as if it were for the same reason as her friends. The truth was, she was so
excited about the mystery candidate and all the attention the posters were
getting that she could barely sit still in the booth.

"I can't wait for Shane to get here," said
Melanie. "I just know he's going to vote for Christie."

"Maybe Igor told him to vote for the mystery candidate,"
suggested Christie.

Melanie looked at her and frowned.

"Everyone I talked to today was asking about the
mystery candidate," said Jana. "Whoever it is has some pretty good
posters, and everyone's dying to figure out who it is."

"I don't think it's fair," said Melanie. "Whoever
it is should come out and say."

"I think it's really smart. I wish we had thought of
it," responded Katie.

"Well, tomorrow when the football players come out in
the second half of the game with Vitamin C stickers on their helmets, Christie
will get some really good publicity," Melanie assured her.

"Has Scott ever asked the coach if it's okay to do
that?" asked Beth.

"No, but he's not worried about it," said Melanie.
She glanced toward the door and her eyes got big. "Oh, LOOK!" she
squealed. "There's Shane. AND HE'S GOT IGOR WITH HIM!"

Like everyone else, Christie turned toward the door to see.
Shane was standing in the entrance holding his iguana stretched along one arm
and was gently stroking Igor's throat with his fingertips. Igor's tongue was darting
out and his eyes blinked as if he were bored with all the attention.

Curtis Trowbridge rushed forward with his notebook as Shane
carried Igor to the center of the room and set him down on the floor. All the
kids gathered around to see as Curtis took notes furiously. Curtis doesn't miss
anything, Christie thought.

Draped across Igor's back was a square of blue cloth with
hand-lettered writing on both sides. Everyone pushed forward to see what it
said. On each side it read:

IGOR FOR CLASS
PRESIDENT

"What can I say?" said Shane. "He just felt
that he was the best candidate. You can't argue with him. He won't listen."
Everyone laughed.

While they were all fussing over Igor, Christie looked at
Mr. Matson, who was behind the counter. She nodded, and he went into the back
room to play the tape that Jon had given him.

When the music on the sound system stopped, everyone turned
expectantly to listen.

"THIS IS YOUR MYSTERY CANDIDATE SPEAKING," came
Jon's muffled voice. Christie put her hand over her mouth to hold in a giggle
as she remembered how she and Jon had laughed when he had tried to disguise his
voice last night. He had not only succeeded in hiding his own identity, but the
voice was so muffled that you couldn't tell if it was a boy or a girl.

"WHO KNOWS THE MOST ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON AT WACKO
JUNIOR HIGH? WHO KNOWS THE MOST KIDS FROM COPPER BEACH, RIVERFIELD, AND MARK
TWAIN? WHO HAS PROVEN HE WILL WORK HARD FOR YOU?" Jon's voice paused to
let the questions sink in. "ME, THAT'S WHO. YOUR MYSTERY CANDIDATE. WRITE
IN MY NAME TUESDAY." Then, for effect, Jon gave what was supposed to be a
mysterious laugh. Christie broke up.

"Who in the world was that?" asked Jana, looking
at Christie.

"How should I know?" she answered quickly. "It
just struck me funny."

"It may be funny," said Katie, "but he sure
has everybody's interest, including mine. He's got to let everyone know who he
is before Tuesday though, if he really wants people to vote for him."

"I think we're in trouble," said Melanie. "Even
our oranges didn't get this much attention."

"And we'll be paying for them all year," moaned
Beth. Then bolting up in her seat, she cried, "What's Laura doing?"

"ATTENTION EVERYONE!" Laura was standing and she
had raised her hands for quiet. "I want you all to know that anyone who
votes for Melissa McConnell next Tuesday is invited over to my house for a
victory celebration Friday night. And you know how much fun that can be,"
she added slyly. She glanced toward the booth where Christie and her friends were
sitting and her lip curled in a sneer.

"Can you believe that Laura is inviting everyone who
votes for Melissa over to her house on Friday?" Christie shook her head in
amazement as she and Jon talked over the things that had happened that day.
They were sitting next to each other on her front porch.

"No. And I thought I'd fall out of my bumper car when
Mr. Matson played that tape. You should have told me I sounded that funny last
night when we were making it."

"I thought you knew from the way I kept giggling."

Jon tried to look serious, and his voice sounded solemn. "The
only problem I see now is that Igor might split the vote and you'll still get
elected." Then he burst out laughing. Christie was laughing so hard as
well that tears ran down her cheeks.

Finally they got control of themselves, and Jon leaned back
against the white porch pillar. He had shown Christie his finished homework
when he arrived, and he had done it so well that their lesson time had been
very short, and they had decided to sit on the porch for a while before he went
home.

The only sound at the moment was an occasional chuckle from
him or a giggle from her as they sat thinking about their day. Then Christie
felt his arm reach around her, and she gladly gave in to his gentle pull and
leaned against his shoulder.

She smiled dreamily to herself. She was having so much fun
with him. It was almost better than she had imagined it would be. For the first
time since she had started junior high, she felt relaxed, and she had forgotten
the pressure of the election.

All of a sudden, since she and Jon had gotten to know each
other, her troubles had seemed to roll off her shoulders. And Jon seemed more
relaxed, too. The stiff jaw and tight lip he had before had now disappeared. He
was laughing most of the time they were together. It felt so good. Then a
thought came to her.

"I know of one more problem that we have besides Igor,"
she said, looking up into his face.

"What's that?" he asked, smiling at her.

"Who is the mystery candidate?"

"Oh, yeah. We haven't figured that out yet, have we?"

"No. And the elections are Tuesday."

"Who do we know who knows people from all three
elementary schools, knows a lot about what's going on, whom everyone knows is a
hard worker, and everyone would think was fair?" he asked.

Christie thought a moment. Then she sat up straight and
said, "I know who that is, and so do you. I don't know why we didn't think
of him sooner." Then, before Jon could ask any questions, she added
mysteriously, "And I think that he just might agree to do it."

"Quick! There they are," said Christie, pulling at
Jon's hand. "If we hurry we can catch them." The crowd was milling
through the stadium gate, and Christie and Jon threaded their way, trying to
keep Curtis and Whitney in sight.

"This way," said Jon, once they had entered the
stadium. "They're headed for the refreshment stand." Running hand in
hand, they reached Curtis and Whitney as they were studying the menu board
above the stand.

"Curtis, we need to talk to you," Christie said,
stopping next to him.

"Sure," said Curtis, puffing up importantly and
giving Whitney a sideways smile. "What can I do for you?"

He's showing off for Whitney, thought Christie. This is
great! He's playing right into our hands.

"Jon and I have a
secret
proposition for you.
One we hope you won't turn down."

Curtis raised an eyebrow and straightened his shoulders. "Only
if Whitney can listen. We don't keep secrets from each other." He was
holding Whitney's hand and he patted it affectionately.

"Why don't we move out of this crowd where we can talk
privately," said Jon.

Curtis is really going for this, thought Christie as she
watched him look in both directions and then rush to a spot by the stadium
wall, pulling Whitney along with him.

When Christie and Jon reached him, he put his hand over his
mouth and whispered, "Okay. Now what's this all about?"

"Well, you see, Curtis, we know who the mystery
candidate is," Christie said.

Curtis and Whitney looked at each other.
"Who!?"
croaked Curtis.

"You," said Jon.

Curtis stared blankly at him.

"What do you mean precisely by 'you'?" questioned
Whitney. "You can't really mean Curtis."

"Yes, we do. The mystery candidate is someone who knows
kids from Copper Beach, Mark Twain, and Riverfield elementary schools, knows
about everything that's going on, is someone everyone trusts, and is a hard
worker," said Christie. "Who else could it be but you, Curtis?"

"Now wait a minute," said Curtis, raising his
hands in protest. "I didn't put up all those posters or make that tape we
heard in Bumpers."

"We know that," said Jon reassuringly. "But
no one else does."

"Do you mean that you two did that?" Whitney's
mouth dropped open, and she and Curtis looked like a pair of matched bookends
in their surprise.

"Sure. We did it for you, Curtis. I'm not the right
person for seventh-grade class president. And neither is Melissa,"
Christie added quickly. "Think about it," she continued. "You
really do have friends from all the elementary schools."

"You're from Mark Twain, and Whitney's from Copper
Beach," added Jon.

"No one knows more about what's going on around Wakeman
than you do," said Christie.

"Everybody trusts you and you're a hard worker,"
Jon said, punctuating his words with a raised fist.

Christie took her cue and came in for the kill. "You
know, Curtis, I've been noticing you at school lately. From your actions and
the way you handle things, I'd have to say that I believe you could become a
senator someday or maybe even president."

Curtis had been moving his head back and forth from Christie
to Jon as they talked. Now he pulled himself up to his full height and looked
at Whitney to see if she was listening. "Well . . ." he said, "if
you really think . . ." He seemed to be hesitating, but his eyes were
glistening.

Christie knew they had their mystery candidate.

"OKAY!" Curtis's voice sounded like the crack of a
whip. "How do you think we should proceed?"

"Did you two really put up all those posters and make
that tape just for Curtis?" asked Whitney.

Christie and Jon smiled at each other.

Christie saw Jana and Katie sitting in the cheering section
at the same instant they saw her. She waved to her friends and took Jon's hand,
heading up the stadium steps to join them.

"Hi," she said as they squeezed into the aisle.
Jon hadn't gone home early enough the night before for her to be able to call
her friends and tell them that she would be going to the ball game with him,
and both Katie and Jana wore looks of total astonishment as Christie and Jon
sat down. They gave her a thumbs-up victory sign as soon as Jon looked in
another direction.

"Look," said Jana, pointing to Beth and Melanie
standing on the sidelines with the other cheerleaders. They were wearing their
gold and cardinal-red uniforms. "Don't they look terrific?"

Melanie was talking to Darcy Holyfield, and Beth was
shielding her eyes from the sun and looking up into the stands. When she saw
them, she jumped up and down and waved her pom-poms at them. Laura McCall and
Tammy Lucero were standing to one side, and Tammy had her hands cupped around
Laura's ear, whispering. That gossip! thought Christie.

"Where's Randy?" she asked, looking toward the end
zone where the Wakeman players were lined up in rows doing calisthenics.

"He's in front with Shane leading the exercises,"
said Jana.

Christie searched the crowd until she saw Curtis. He was
coming up the stairs with Whitney and was stopping to talk to someone in nearly
every aisle. She nudged Jon and nodded in Curtis's direction. Jon saw him and
winked at her.

"Boy, don't you know what a mess you made?" came
an angry voice from behind them. Christie turned to see who had made the
remark. It was Melissa McConnell. She and Funny Hawthorne had taken seats in
the next row up, and both were wearing Melissa's campaign ribbons in their
hair.

"There are orange peelings all over school and the
school ground, Christie Winchell," Melissa continued in a voice loud
enough for everyone in the cheering section to hear. "Some of the boys
were even throwing oranges at each other. And it's all your fault! I'm
campaigning to clean up that awful unsanitary gum tree in front, and you're
handing out
garbage.
I don't know why you think
you
should be
elected."

Funny looked embarrassed.

"You're just mad because you didn't think of the
oranges first," Katie shot back at her.

"Did you hear about the mystery candidate?" asked
Richie Corrierro, who was sitting in front of them. "I'm glad there's no
mystery candidate running for treasurer. I wouldn't have a chance."

"Who do you think it is?" asked Marcie Bee, who
was sitting nearby. Instantly everyone seemed to forget about Melissa's angry
accusations and started talking about the mystery candidate again. Christie
looked at Jon, and they both had to turn away to keep from laughing.

"Oh, look. There go the team captains," cried
Jana. Randy and Shane were walking out to the center of the field to meet the
Black Rock captains. Randy called the toss of the coin and won and elected to
receive the kickoff. Christie thought she had never seen Jana look so proud.

The teams were evenly matched, and they played hard. Randy
threw passes and Scott and Shane ran and caught balls, but the Black Rock
defense stopped them whenever they got near the goal line. The Wakeman defense
was just as tough. Neither team was able to score in the first half, and both
sides looked tired when they went to the dressing rooms at halftime.

Jana motioned Christie closer. She leaned sideways, and the
two of them and Katie put their heads together.

"Wait until the team comes out again with the stickers
on their helmets. It's the best publicity you've had so far, Christie. I'm just
glad Laura and Tammy are down on the field where they can see them up close,"
Jana whispered and then giggled.

"Laura will absolutely boil," Katie whispered
back. "I just wish we were closer so we could see her face."

Frowning, Christie sat back down again. In the excitement
over persuading Curtis to be the mystery candidate, she had forgotten all about
the stickers that the football team would wear when they returned to the field
from the halftime break. Jana had been right about one thing, she thought. They
would be terrific publicity—but for the wrong candidate. What she needed now
was less publicity, not more. What would she do if Curtis announced that he was
the mystery candidate and she won the election anyway?

She looked where he and Whitney were seated. Curtis was
talking to everyone around him. He's a natural candidate, Christie thought. She
had meant it when she told him she thought he would probably be a senator
someday. Or maybe president. Besides, he had to start his career someplace, and
Wacko Junior High was as good as any. Christie Winchell and Jon Smith, kingmakers,
she thought, giggling to herself as she glanced quickly at Jon.

The players came back onto the field, and Christie looked
hard at their helmets. On the back, as plain as could be, were the big orange
stickers.

Richie Corrierro was the first to notice. "What's that
on the back of the players' helmets?" he asked. Everyone leaned forward to
see.

"What is that?" everyone started to ask.

Christie saw the cheerleaders turn to look at the players.
Laura McCall froze as she stared at them, and then her fists went on her hips,
and she huffed angrily over to Beth and Melanie and started shouting. Christie
wished she could hear.

Christie could see the word being passed back from the kids
who had seats near the field like a gigantic wave. Finally it reached where
they were sitting.

"It says, VITAMIN C FOR SEVENTH-GRADE PRESIDENT!"
shouted Richie, grinning at Christie. "That's a pretty slick way of advertising."

"Way to go, Christie!" shouted Mona Vaughn, waving
her clenched fists.

"I can't believe it!" said Melissa, jumping to her
feet. "First you pollute the school and now you pollute the football team!"

Christie ignored Melissa and tried to concentrate on the
game. She didn't want to think about the stickers right now, and what they
could mean to her campaign.

The teams went at each other again. Gradually Wakeman edged
the ball toward the Black Rock goal line. Suddenly Christie saw Randy roll to
the right and fake a pitchout to Scott.

What's he doing that for? she wondered. But then the Black
Rock players went for Scott, and Randy cut back, splitting two defenders and
crossing the goal line standing up. Shane kicked the extra point, and the green
numbers on the scoreboard said: Wakeman seven, Visitors zero. The crowd went
wild, and Christie and Jon hugged each other.

Wakeman lined up to kick off to Black Rock. Suddenly one of
the officials blew his whistle and stopped the game. He walked over to one of the
Wakeman players and looked at the back of his helmet.

"What's going on?" asked Jon. "What are the
officials doing?"

The officials, in their white-and-black-striped shirts, had
gone over to the Wakeman bench and were talking to Coach Bledsoe. The coach was
looking back and forth between the officials and the players. He walked over to
Scott and turned him around and looked at the back of his helmet. Throwing up
his hands, he went back to the officials. The Wakeman crowd went silent, as if
they were all holding their breath.

"Uh-oh," said Katie, clenching her teeth. "Scott
should have asked the coach if it was okay to put the stickers on the back of
the helmets."

"Oh, no," said Christie, turning to Jon. "What
will the officials do to the players?"

"Make them take the stickers off. I hope that's all.
There's not supposed to be any advertisement on the players. I guess they could
make them forfeit the game."

"It'll be your fault if we lose, Christie Winchell,"
said Melissa from the next row. Christie turned and gave her a drop-dead look.

"It wasn't your idea," Katie said, putting her
hand on Christie's knee. She looked worried.

Christie bit her lower lip. She couldn't believe the
stickers with her name on them were causing all this trouble. On the bright
side, they might damage her campaign and give the mystery candidate an even
bigger edge. But what if they cost Wakeman the game? How could she live with
that?

The officials huddled for some time and then went back to
talk to Coach Bledsoe. The crowd had gotten so quiet, thought Christie, that
you could hear a kernel of popcorn drop.

Jon squeezed her hand as the public address system crackled
to life. "The Wakeman Warriors are penalized fifteen yards for illegal
uniforms. The penalty will be assessed on the kickoff."

A giant "WHOOSH!" went up as the Wakeman
spectators let out their collective breath. Christie leaned against Jon in
relief. Then she watched the jubilant Wakeman players take the stickers off
their helmets and go on to win the game fourteen to seven.