Fabulous Five 009 - The Boyfriend Dilemma

THE
FABULOUS FIVE #9

THE BOYFRIEND DILEMMA

BETSY HAYNES

A BANTAM SKYLARK BOOK®

NEW YORK • TORONTO •
LONDON • SYDNEY • AUCKLAND

THE BOYFRIEND DILEMMA

A Bantam Skylark
Book
/ June 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
©
1989 by Betsy Haynes and James Haynes.

Cover art
copyright
© 1989 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 0-553-15720-5

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

CW         0 9 8 7 6
5 4 3 2 1

To Ken Slade
A dedicated educator

"Ask me another question," Christie Winchell insisted
to her four best friends. I've just
got
to be ready for the Super Quiz
team tryouts."

"How about this one?" said Katie. "The
category is social studies. Who was the woman who led the fight for women's
right to vote and had her head put on a silver dollar?"

"Her
head!
" shrieked Melanie. "Eeek! I'll
bet that hurt."

Christie frowned at Melanie and then turned back to Katie. "You
asked me that one yesterday," Christie protested. "Come on. Ask me
something new."

"You'd know the answer to anything I could ask,"
said Melanie. "You're so much smarter than I am."

"Me, too," said Beth, running her fingers through
her new haircut. It was short and almost spiky and fit her flamboyant
personality better than her old hairstyle did. The short sides exposed the
large fluorescent pink earrings she was wearing.

The Fabulous Five were gathered in the Winchells' family
room and had been asking Christie all kinds of questions for almost an hour.
Katie Shannon was sitting cross-legged on the floor. She was taking the
questioning very seriously and had a notebook in her lap filled with pages of
things she had thought up to ask Christie.

Melanie Edwards and Beth Barry were sprawled on the sofa
eating potato chips and drinking sodas. Jana Morgan was looking through a
history book, trying to find something to ask while Christie paced back and
forth in front of them.

The Fabulous Five had been together almost forever. They had
become fast friends when they first met in Mark Twain Elementary, and later
they had started their club against Taffy Sinclair, the most stuck-up girl in
elementary school. They were all in Wakeman Junior High now, or Wacko Junior
High, as most kids called it.

Christie had always been able to count on her best friends,
and now they were helping her cram for the tryouts on Friday for the Wakeman
Super Quiz team match against Trumbull Junior High. She had been picked to try
out, along with Curtis Trowbridge, Whitney Larkin, and Melissa McConnell from
the seventh grade, but only two students from each grade would be chosen to
compete against Trumbull. Since questions about math, science, social studies,
English, and current events would be asked, Christie wanted to be ready in
every category.

"I think we've done enough for now," said Jana,
closing her book. "You're answering nearly all of the questions and you
don't want to overdo it. You need to peak during the tryouts."

"I guess you're right," agreed Christie. "But
I'm afraid I'll overlook something."

"Yeah, and Melissa McConnell will jump for joy every
time you miss one," said Melanie.

"So will Laura McCall," added Katie.

Christie knew her friends were right. Laura McCall and
Melissa McConnell were two members of The Fantastic Foursome, the clique from
another elementary school who had been feuding with The Fabulous Five from the
instant the two groups had met on the first day of school.

"I don't have time to worry about them," said
Christie. "The tryouts are only three days away, and I don't know
nearly
enough."

"Sure you do," said Jana reassuringly. "Besides,
you can get Jon to help you, too. I'm sure he'd be glad to."

"Are you kidding?" asked Melanie. "Do you
really think Jon's interested in doing homework when he comes to Christie's?"
She winked at Christie knowingly.

"All you ever think about is boys," Katie said to
Melanie. "Can't you get your mind off boys for a little while?"

Melanie laughed. "Sure. But why should I?"

"Actually, I kind of wish Jon wouldn't come over so
often," said Christie softly.

"WHAT?" the others said in unison.

"Don't tell me the big romance is fading," said
Beth, brushing potato chip crumbs from her lap into a napkin.

"It's not that I don't like Jon anymore. I do. I like
him a lot. It's just that I've got so much going on in my life, and he always
seems to be there. I guess I need a little space, now and then."

"Is he coming over tonight?" asked Jana.

"No. I don't think so. He's been using his camcorder a
lot around school lately, and he's going to make one video out of all the ones
he has taken. He was talking about going to the television studio where his mom
and dad work to mix them. I'm glad he's going to the studio," Christie
added. "I'd really like to be alone so I can concentrate on getting ready
for the Super Quiz tryouts."

"Now that you mention it, Jon was at the football field
yesterday," said Melanie. "He was taking pictures of the team and the
cheerleaders during practice."

"I saw him with his camera in the cafeteria, too,"
added Jana.

"He's been taking all kinds of pictures," said
Christie. "He's really interested in movie photography. For someone who
used to feel as if he could never live up to his parents and their big
television careers, he's not doing badly for himself right now."

"Maybe he'll videotape the Super Quiz and turn you into
a game show star," said Melanie with a twinkle in her eyes.

Everyone laughed.

"Well, if we can help some more, let us know,"
said Katie, gathering her books and heading for the door.

"Thanks. I really appreciate everything you've done.
You're great friends."

After the others had left, Christie gathered up the empty
soda cans and put the chips away. In her room, she got out her schoolbooks and
arranged them on her desk, putting the news magazines she had brought up from
the family room on the floor beside the desk. They would help her get ready for
current events questions. Finally, she grabbed a pad of paper, sharpened
several pencils, and took her phone off the hook.

Now, she thought with satisfaction, I'll have two
uninterrupted hours of good, hard concentration. That was all she needed, she
was sure. She'd make the Super Quiz team or wilt her brain trying.

Christie opened her math book. Math was her best subject and
it would be a good warmup. She moved the pad of paper to a better position and
started to read. A few minutes later the faraway sound of the doorbell broke
her concentration.

"Drat!" she said out loud to herself. Sighing, she
got up to see who was at the door. Her mother was probably carrying a load of
groceries and couldn't get her key out of her bag.

But when she opened the door, it wasn't her mother outside.
Instead it was Jon Smith standing there with a big smile on his face.

"Hi!" Jon's eyes lit up when he saw Christie, and
she couldn't help smiling back at him. In spite of the fact that she hadn't
wanted him to come over this afternoon, she was glad to see him.

Most of the kids at school thought of them as a couple.
Christie guessed that was what they were, but right now she couldn't quite
understand her own feelings. Sometimes she liked him more than a friend, but
sometimes she didn't. She wanted so much to be independent, her own person, and
she wanted the same thing for Jon, too. It was very confusing, and she had been
thinking about it a lot lately.

"Hi. I thought you were at the television station
working on your video."

"I was, but I started thinking about you and decided I'd
come over," he said. "May I come in?"

Christie hesitated for a moment, remembering the books that
were waiting for her on her desk. But how could she say no? She gave an inward
sigh and stepped back. "Sure. Come on in." She led him to the kitchen
and got sodas for them.

"I'm surprised you aren't studying," Jon said.

"Oh, I was, but it can wait a minute."

"How
is
the studying for the tryouts going?"
Before she could answer, he added, "I think it's great that you were
picked for the team."

"Thanks," Christie answered, adding a smile of
appreciation. "Just because I was asked doesn't mean I'll be on the team
against Trumbull, though. Curtis, Whitney, and Melissa are tough competition."

"They sure are," Jon agreed. "But I have
confidence in you." Then he added, "Did I tell you that I'm going to
do a video of The Dreadful Alternatives?"

"Oh, that's the new rock group that some of the kids at
Wacko put together, isn't it?"

"Yes. And they're pretty good. I went to one of their
practices. They've got a great guitar player and the lead singer's not bad,
either. They asked me to make a demonstration video to show to people who are
considering hiring them.

"That reminds me." A note of excitement crept into
his voice. "Do you want to see the video I just finished?" He pulled
a black videotape from his jacket pocket. "It's something I'm doing that's
kind of different. I'd like to get your opinion about it."

The thought of the books on her desk tugged at Christie
again. She badly needed to study, but how could she refuse him when he was
obviously excited? Christie was sure that he was extremely proud of the
videotape, and he wanted her to be the first to see it. It made her feel good
that he cared about her opinion.

"Sure," she said. "You go on into the family
room and get it started. I'll get some chips."

By the time she had put chips into a bowl, Jon was sitting
on the couch with the remote control in his hand. The television was turned on
to a network station.

"Okay, what's it about?" she asked.

Jon smiled at her without answering and poked the remote
control at the VCR that sat on top of the TV. The network picture vanished and
the screen was blank for a moment.

Christie heard a low throbbing music, and a distant shot of
the front of Wakeman Junior High came on the screen. Her first thought was that
the quality of the picture was good and the music was a nice touch, but it was
hard to understand why Jon was so excited about it.

Then the camera zoomed in on the school, and the school
started turning over and over in time to the music. Suddenly the school
disappeared and Wakeman kids were walking like Keystone Kops along the
sidewalks. Then they abruptly changed directions and walked backward.

Just as quickly, they were gone, and the screen was filled
with beautiful blurs of color. There were reds and yellows and greens and
blues. The music turned dreamy and matched the soft feel of the picture.
Christie sat forward, her eyes opened wide to absorb what she was seeing.

The camera focused and she saw the objects behind the
colors. She let out a little squeal of delight. It was the gum tree in front of
the school where kids stuck their gum before going in to class.

"I would never have believed that tree could look so
beautiful," Christie said.

The scene changed again, and they were at the football
field. The pictures and music raced along as the players ran and the ball flew
first in one direction and then another. Then pictures of the cheerleaders were
mixed in with the football players, switching back and forth, back and forth,
between the cheerleaders and the players.

Before her mind could fully absorb what she was looking at,
the camera was racing down a hall inside the school, and Christie caught her
breath as she felt drawn into the madly speeding video. Suddenly the hall
flipped over, and then they were in a classroom, and pictures of kids seated at
their desks flashed across the screen.

As quickly as it had begun, the video was back at the front
of the school and then zooming away to the original distant shot. The music and
the actions both stopped, giving Christie an almost physical jolt.

Christie flopped back onto the couch and turned to Jon. His
face had a worried look. At a loss for words, Christie just shook her head in
amazement. But when she saw the cloud pass over Jon's eyes, she reached out and
took his hand.

"Jon, what I meant was, the video is
fantastic
."

A smile brightened his face, and Christie could tell how
much her opinion mattered to him.