Fabulous Five 009 - The Boyfriend Dilemma (2 page)

"How did the studying go yesterday after we left?"
asked Jana. The Fabulous Five were seated at their favorite table in the
cafeteria having lunch.

"Not great at all," answered Christie. "Jon
came over after you left and wanted to show me the video he made. When he left,
it was time for dinner, and after dinner I had my regular homework to do. I
didn't work on the things I need to know for the Super Quiz team tryouts at
all."

"That's too bad," sympathized Katie. "I
thought Jon would be more considerate than that."

"I guess it really wasn't his fault. I didn't tell him how
badly I needed to study."

"How was the video?" asked Beth.

"You wouldn't believe it," answered Christie,
rolling her eyes. "It was the greatest. At first I thought it was going to
be like a home movie. You know, boring. But he used the mixer equipment at the
TV studio where his mom and dad work, and it was really good."

"Maybe I can get him to do a video of me when I become
a famous actress," said Beth, striking a dramatic pose.

"Or he can videotape me in a great court scene, like
one of the lawyers on
L.A. Law
," added Katie. She raised her
eyebrows in mock seriousness and pounded on the lunchroom table with a banana
as if it were a gavel.

Christie smiled at her friends' jokes. "I don't know.
He may be too busy by then. He's going to do a demonstration video of that new
rock group in school, The Dreadful Alternatives."

"Mandy McDermott told me she heard them practicing,"
said Katie. "I guess they're going to play at an assembly. She said they're
really good."

"Wow! Do you know who their lead singer is?" asked
Beth. "It's Kimm Taylor. I wouldn't want Keith hanging around her."

"Kimm Taylor? I don't know who she is," said
Christie.

"You don't know her?" said Beth and Melanie in
unison.

"She's that really pretty girl with the long black hair
who went to Copper Beach Elementary," explained Beth. "She moved here
last year from Hawaii. You might not have noticed her because she doesn't go
out for any activities at school."

"
You
might not have noticed her, but all the
boys have," said Melanie. "She's in my social studies class, and all
the guys grabbed the desks around her."

"I think I know who you're talking about,"
injected Jana. "She's cute but pretty quiet. I'd keep an eye on her if I
were you, Christie."

Christie felt a twinge of irritation at her friends. "Just
because the band has a cute singer doesn't mean that Jon's going to fall all
over her. But so what if he does, as long as he and I stay friends?"

"If you say so," said Katie.

Christie frowned at her, then lapsed into silence. Why
couldn't anyone, even her best friends, understand that a boy and a girl could
be good friends without romance? Besides, maybe it would be a good thing for
Jon to get interested in another girl once she explained to him that she wasn't
ready for romance just yet herself. It wouldn't really affect her own
relationship with him, and she could get the space she needed so badly. The
more she thought about the idea, the better it sounded.

"Do you want us to come over after school and help
again?" asked Jana, pulling Christie back to reality. "We can skip
going to Bumpers if that would help."

"No, thanks," answered Christie. "I really
need some time alone to concentrate. I've got to fill in the gaps in what I
know, and the only way I can do that is by myself."

"Well, if you need us, just yell," said Katie. The
others nodded their agreement.

Christie concentrated hard in each of her classes,
temporarily forgetting about her dilemma with Jon. She didn't want to miss
anything that might be asked in the tryouts.

Later, when she arrived at the media center for study
period, it seemed as if everyone was getting ready for the Super Quiz tryouts.
Curtis Trowbridge and Whitney Larkin were sitting by themselves with piles of
books, and they were taking turns asking one another questions. I can't believe
I can beat either one of them, Christie thought, trying not to panic. Curtis is
really smart, and everybody knows that Whitney skipped a grade and is a genius.

At another table, Laura McCall, Tammy Lucero, and Funny
Hawthorne were seated with Melissa McConnell, questioning her. Now and then
Funny would giggle out loud and Mrs. Karl would frown at her. Melissa wouldn't
be easy to beat, either.

Christie looked at them through narrow eyes. Laura was the
leader of The Fantastic Foursome. She lived alone with her father, who let her
do just about anything she wanted, and she had great parties with no adults
around. There were rumors that she made the others in her clique do things to
stay friends with her.

Melissa McConnell was smart and very prissy and precise. She
had run for seventh-grade class president against Christie, and every time
Christie was involved in something, Melissa seemed to be on the opposite side.
The Fabulous Five thought Laura was putting her up to it.

The other members of The Fantastic Foursome were Funny
Hawthorne and Tammy Lucero. Funny was always laughing, and some people thought
she was a bubblehead, but Jana thought she was nice. They were seventh-grade
coeditors on the
Wigwam
yearbook staff.

Tammy Lucero was a gossip. She talked all the time and told
everything she knew. The Fabulous Five suspected that she had started rumors
about them a few times, but it was hard to know for sure.

Christie sighed. If she didn't get some time to study,
Melissa, Curtis, and Whitney would all do better than she would at the tryouts.
She found a table in a corner and spread her books out so people would see that
she was busy. Finally, she thought, and opened her social studies book.

Just as she was reading the first sentence, something hit
her in the back. She whirled around and saw Clarence Marshall and Joel Murphy
standing behind her. Clarence was grinning at her, and his hair hung in his
eyes, as usual.

"What are you doing, Christie?" Clarence asked. "Trying
to get smarter?"

"She's already the smartest kid in the seventh grade,"
said Joel.

"Please leave me alone, you two," she said
impatiently.

"Whoa! Let's not mess with old Christie," said
Clarence. "Her mother's a principal, and she knows Mr. Bell. You mess with
her and he'll send you to Teen Court."

"Shhhh!"
Mrs. Karl pointed her finger at
the boys and then at two empty seats.

Clarence and Joel headed for the chairs, snickering to each
other.

"Hi. Can I sit here?" She hadn't heard Jon come up
on the other side of her and she jumped.

Christie fought back a frown. "Sure," she mumbled.
But inside she was wondering how she'd ever get to study.

Jon sat down and opened a book. A few minutes later he
looked over at Christie and poked her in the side. "Are you going to
Bumpers after school?" he whispered.

"No. I'm going straight home so I can study," she
answered.

"I'll walk you home."

"I'll really be in a hurry and would rather not,"
she answered.

"Oh." He went back to his reading.

A few minutes later Jon looked up again and asked, "Can
I help?"

"No, thanks."

"What if I asked you some questions?" he insisted.

"No, Jon. Please. I need to study by myself."
Christie instantly regretted the way she had said it. A hurt look passed over
Jon's eyes.

"I'm sorry, Jon," she said softly. "I didn't
mean to say it that way, but I do need to study by myself right now."

"No. I'm sorry," he said with a smile. "I
didn't realize."

She gave him a smile of appreciation.

"Would Christie Winchell please report to the
principal's office.
"
The announcement came over the public
address system.

Christie slammed her book shut in frustration. Mr. Bell, the
principal, probably wanted her to be a messenger again. He was always asking
her to take things to her mother. There was no way she'd be able to get in any
more studying before tonight.

Everyone stared at Christie as she walked out the door, and
Clarence Marshall and Joel Murphy covered their mouths and pointed their fingers
at her.

"Oh, hi, Christie," said Mr. Bell's secretary,
Miss Simone, as she approached his office. "Mr. Bell asked if I'd have you
paged. He wondered if you would mind taking these papers to your mother."
She handed a blue folder to Christie. "I don't know what we'd do without
you, dear."

"No problem, Miss Simone," Christie responded. She
took the folder and put it on her stack of books.

The last bell of the day was sounding as she hurried out of
the office and ran directly into Tim Riggs. Her books spilled all over the
floor.

"Hey! Don't you honk when you come into an
intersection?" he asked as he knelt to help her pick up her things.

"I thought the light was in my favor," she
answered, laughing.

Christie had noticed Tim at the first Super Quiz meeting. He
was tall, even for an eighth-grader, and his hair was dark and wavy.

"Are you ready for the tryouts?" he asked,
flashing her a big smile.

"No way. Every time I try to study, someone interrupts
me or something happens," she responded.

"You won't have any trouble making the team," Tim
said as they walked toward the school entrance together.

"I wish I felt that confident," she answered. "I
know how smart Curtis is, and Whitney skipped the sixth grade at Copper Beach
Elementary. Melissa isn't a dummy, either."

"Look," he said, smiling at her. "I was on
the seventh-grade team last year, and all you have to do is relax. The answers
will come to you."

"If you say so," she said, laughing. Somehow Tim's
easy-going manner made her feel a lot calmer.

They were chattering happily, and he was still carrying
Christie's books, as they stepped out of the school doors. Out on the school
grounds some kids were drifting toward the street while others stood talking in
small groups. Christie let her smile freeze as she spotted Jon standing under
the gum tree watching her and Tim walk out of the building. A strange look
passed over Jon's face as their eyes met, and then he turned and walked away.

Tim put the blue folder Christie had gotten at the office on
top of the books he had just given back to her. "Don't study too hard,"
he said, flashing his great smile at her. She stood for a moment and watched as
he walked away. He was nice—really nice.

A feeling of depression washed over Christie as she walked
home by herself. Jon had looked so hurt when he saw Tim and her come out of
school. If he had only waited to let her explain why she was with Tim.

But why should she have to explain? she thought angrily. She
was her own person. She could talk to anyone she wanted. There was no reason
she should ask Jon's permission to talk to another boy anymore than he should
ask permission to talk to Kimm Taylor. They weren't really going steady. But
still, she had never seen such a sad look in Jon's eyes.

When Christie got home, she grabbed a soda and a snack and
was still in the kitchen when her mother came in.

"Hi, sweetheart," her mother said cheerfully. "How
was your day?"

"Busy."

"Mine, too. Oh, by the way, did Mr. Bell give you
something for me?"

"Miss Simone did. It's with my books."

"Good," said Mrs. Winchell. "It's the new
budget forms. Would you believe that we're supposed to have our new budget
finished already, and they haven't even given us the forms to do it on until
now?"

Christie shook her head. Budgets sounded like one of the
dullest things adults had to do.

"When I finish it, you can take it back to Mr. Bell to
be passed along with all the others in our district."

Christie gave her mother the folder and went to her room to
study. She tried hard, but the words didn't seem to want to stick in her brain
the way they usually did. Her mind kept going back to Jon standing under the
gum tree.

When she went to bed, Christie lay awake for a long time
thinking about herself and Jon. They had been going together for almost two
months, and she enjoyed being with him. She still cared for him, but she had so
many other things to do—so many other interests that Jon didn't share. She was
more concerned with grades and academic things while he loved to make videos.
How could she do all those other things that
she
wanted to do if she
spent all her time with Jon? When she finally drifted off to sleep, she was
still feeling very confused.

"Did you know that Robin Williams stood on his head when
he auditioned for Mork in that old TV show
Mork and Mindy
?
"
Beth asked The Fabulous Five as they stood at their favorite spot by the school
fence the next morning.

"Why did he do that?" asked Melanie.

"So they'd notice him," responded Beth. "I'm
thinking of doing something like that when I try out for the school play."

"Have you thought about going dressed as an Indian?"
asked Jana. "It was lucky for you when Brain Damage was in town."

"It was lucky for
all
of us," said
Christie. "I thought I'd die when Trevor Morgan asked us to come up onto
the stage during their concert."

"No, I don't think an Indian would work," said
Beth. "It has to fit the play. I wish I could just count on my brain like
you can, Christie, for the Super Quiz team."

"That's easy for you to say," responded Christie. "But
if I make it, it will be because Curtis, Whitney, and Melissa have had their
brains freeze-dried."

"I heard that Trumbull has a
real
brain on their
team," Melanie said. "His name is Rodney Cox and he's awfully
arrogant. He never misses a question."

"He's one of the Trumbull guys we saw at the mall last
week," said Katie. "You remember. They followed us and said those
nasty things about Wacko girls being wacko. He was the tall one with curly red
hair."

"I know the one you mean," said Jana. "He
looked kind of like a nerd."

"That's him, all right," answered Katie.

"Well, they haven't met the Wacko team yet," said
Beth. "Christie and the others will wipe him out. Especially since the
match is going to be at Wakeman."

"We'll be pulling for you," added Jana. "The
walk-through is this afternoon, isn't it? What's Mr. Neal going to do then?"

"He's going to show us how the contests are going to
work. How to push the buzzer and all that kind of stuff," answered
Christie. "I know you all will be pulling for me. I appreciate it, too."

"Did Jon come over again after school?" asked
Beth.

"Well, no . . . I don't think Jon is very happy with me
right now."

The others looked surprised.

"Did you have a fight?" asked Melanie.

"No. But Jon asked me if I was going to Bumpers, and I
told him that I had to go home and study. He asked if he could walk me home,
and I said I'd rather he didn't, I was in a hurry. Then I ran into Tim Riggs when
I came out of Mr. Bell's office and dropped my books. You know,
really
ran into Tim—POW! Anyway, Tim picked them up for me and was still carrying them
when we went out the front door."

"Well," said Beth. "What's wrong with that?
Tim's cute."

"Jon was standing outside by the gum tree when Tim and
I came out," Christie said, making a face.

"Oooh," said Jana. "Not good."

"That sounds like trouble," said Melanie. "What
did he say?"

"Nothing. He just turned and walked away."

"That's the worst thing he could have done," said
Beth.

"What are you going to do?" asked Jana. The school
bell rang at that instant.

"Why should she do anything?" asked Katie as they
headed for class. "She hasn't done anything wrong."

"I'll tell you more later," said Christie as they
joined the crow d of kids moving into the building.

Christie rushed to her first class and opened her book for a
few extra minutes of study.

"Okay, tell us
all,
" Melanie said to
Christie as The Fabulous Five put their lunch trays down at their usual table
in the cafeteria. "You know how I love soap operas."

"Your whole life is a soap opera," said Katie.
Melanie stuck her tongue out at her.

"There's really not much more to tell," said
Christie. "I like Jon a lot. Besides you guys, he's my very best friend.
We talk about everything."

"You talk about
everything
?
"
squealed Beth.

Christie's face turned red. "Well, not
everything
,
silly. But almost everything. I feel as if he's my friend. I'd like to keep it
that way, but I don't know how I can and not be romantic."

"You do have a problem," interjected Jana. "Especially
since you have been dating. There aren't many boys that want to be
best
friends with girls and not get romantic and vice versa."

"I agree," said Katie. "If you like a guy
well enough to be best friends, it's hard to imagine not dating."

"I didn't say I didn't want to go places with Jon and
play tennis with him. I do. I'd just like to do it as friends."

The others looked at each other speculatively.

"Have you talked to Jon about it yet?" asked Jana.

"No, I haven't. I'm not sure how to tell him."

"Would right now be a good time to talk to him?"
asked Beth.

"Why?" asked Christie, puzzled.

"Because there he is," said Beth, pointing.

Christie turned and saw him. He was carrying his tray to the
return window. She gulped and then took a deep breath.

"Well . . . I guess I'd better do it," she said as
she got up to follow him. "Wish me luck."