Fabulous Five 009 - The Boyfriend Dilemma (5 page)

"I'm out of here," said Beth as Jon came toward
them. "I want to talk to Keith anyway, and you and Jon don't need us
hanging around." She puckered her lips and made a kissing sound at
Christie.

"Me, too," said Melanie. "I don't want to be
near if you two decide you've had enough of this boy-girl friendship stuff. I
don't know if I could survive the explosion of your first making-up kiss."

"I'm going to sit with Jana," said Katie. "See
you all at the movies tonight."

"Boy, I sure made them scatter," said Jon as he came
up beside Christie. "Isn't my deodorant working?"

"They had people they wanted to talk to," answered
Christie. "It wasn't you."

"When you're ready, can I walk you home?" he asked.
"Can best friends do that?"

Christie almost crumpled with relief. Kimm or no Kimm, he
did still care about her. "Of course. Best friends do things like that all
the time," she said. She wanted him to really believe that she meant he
was her best friend outside of The Fabulous Five. "I'm ready to leave
anytime you are." Christie noticed people watching them as they walked out
of Bumpers.

"What's this rumor going around about your having
trouble with the Super Quiz team?" asked Jon.

Christie patiently explained it for what she thought must be
the zillionth time. She had never been so tired of talking about one thing in
her life, but she wanted Jon to understand how serious things were and just how
much she needed his help.

Jon frowned. "Everybody knows you wouldn't do a thing
like that, of course."

"Melissa McConnell and her friends are telling everyone
I did. Also, she's going to ask Mr. Neal to make a decision about whether or
not I'm on the team by Monday instead of Wednesday. She's the first alternate
and says she needs the extra time to study for the match with Trumbull."

"So even if they aren't responsible for your problem,
they're taking advantage of it," he said.

Christie nodded. "If you think of anything . . .
anything at all . . ." Her voice trailed off. She wanted to tell him how
desperately she needed his help and ask him to call her and come over and spend
all the time with her that he could while they found a way to work her problem
out. But now that he was spending time with Kimm, would he think she was simply
jealous? Or would he want to tell Kimm everything and ask for her help, too?
Christie shuddered at that thought. She certainly didn't want Kimm poking
around in her private business, but if she was Jon's girlfriend then maybe . .
.

Jon must have read worry in her expression because he put
his arm through hers, and they were quiet for a while as they walked along the
street leading to her house.

It was Jon who finally broke the silence. "Don't worry.
You didn't do anything wrong, and we'll prove it." Before she could
respond, he added, "Are you doing anything tonight?"

She looked at him. His eyes were full of expectation.

"No," she said softly.

"I was wondering if a best friend, who just happens to
be a boy, could ask a best friend, who just happens to be a girl, to go to a
movie?"

Christie hesitated. Questions swirled in her mind. What
about Kimm? And was he really asking her as a best friend? Or did he want to
date her? Would it complicate things if she said yes? What would happen when he
took her home? Would he want to kiss her? Or would they be proving that they
could be best friends and go places together?

"I mean it," he said. "I started thinking
about what you said, and I think maybe you were right. A guy and a girl should
be able to be best friends like two guys or two girls. It's just that we'd be
doing something new, and the idea takes a little getting used to."

"Had you thought about asking Kimm Taylor to go with you?"
Christie asked.

Jon got a surprised look on his face. "To be honest
with you, I did think about asking Kimm, but I decided I wanted to ask you
instead."

Christie was quiet for a moment, thinking. "Why?"
she asked.

"I know you're having a hard time now, and people don't
seem to want to believe that a guy and a girl can be best friends. I thought we
ought to show them that you and I can do it."

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather go with Kimm?"

"No. I'd rather go with my best friend," he
replied.

Christie squeezed his arm. "I'd love to go to the movie
with you tonight. We'll show everybody. We'll both pay our own way, right?"

"Right," Jon said with a laugh, and Christie felt
light-headed with relief.

The line at the movie theater was long, and Christie pulled
the money for her ticket out of her pocket as she and Jon got on at the end.
Jana and Katie were already on line with Randy and Tony.

"Beth and Melanie are inside!" called Jana. "They're
going to save a row of seats for us!"

Christie nodded.

"Hi, Christie! Hi, Jon!" Dekeisha Adams yelled as
she joined Dan Bankston, who had just bought tickets for them.

Christie waved back and said to Jon, "Dekeisha and Dan
make a nice couple, don't they?"

He looked at her with a half-smile on his face and nodded
agreement.
Ooops!
Christie thought. Why did I automatically assume they're
a couple? Why can't they just be best friends going to a movie, like Jon and I?
She was expecting Jon to think that way, and yet even she didn't all the time.

She didn't know what to say to Jon after that, and the
silence hung between them like a thick curtain. Christie wondered if he was
thinking about her comment.

Why did girl-boy relationships always have to come down to
dating or hardly knowing each other? Jon and she had talked about a lot of
things . . . just like best friends. She sneaked a glance at him. I wonder if
he has told anyone some of the things I've told him? Like what I said about
Melanie and Beth? He
wouldn't
do that, she assured herself. But she
looked at him and wondered in spite of herself.

She had told him
how
boy crazy she thought Melanie
was. But the rest of The Fabulous Five thought that, too. Katie was always
asking Melanie if she ever thought of anything else but boys.

And Beth was so theatrical. Christie had confided in Jon
that she thought Beth was a little bit of a show-off and that she said some
pretty wild things at times. It
was
the kind of thing she would have
said to any of The Fabulous Five. But she had told Jon, not one of them. And as
far as Christie knew, Katie didn't tell
anyone
outside of The Fabulous
Five that she thought Melanie was boy crazy. If Jon got mad at her, would he
tell someone else what she had said about Melanie and Beth? As much as she didn't
think he would, the thought made her uncomfortable, as if she were a traitor.

Inside the theater it was a madhouse. Kids were moving in
and out of the rows of seats to talk with friends, and every once in a while an
empty popcorn box would go whizzing through the air.

Christie held on tightly to her popcorn as Jon led her down
the aisle, zigzagging through the crowd. Finally they reached the row that Beth
and Melanie had saved for The Fabulous Five and their dates. Jana and Randy
moved in so Jon and Christie could have the seats nearest the aisle.

Elizabeth Harvey, who had been elected secretary of the
seventh-grade class when Christie had run for president, saw her and stopped in
the aisle to talk.

"Hi, Christie. Hi, everybody." She waved to the
others. "Is it true that you might not be on the Super Quiz team,
Christie?"

Christie took a deep breath and said, "I don't know yet.
There's been a mixup, but I think everything will be all right."

"I wouldn't believe everything you hear," Jon
added. "There's just been a mistake.
Everyone
knows Christie didn't
do anything wrong."

"I hope so," said Elizabeth. "But you and I
are prejudiced because I like Christie and you're her boyfriend. Sometimes the
right thing doesn't always happen, you know."

"You're not making our day," Jon grumbled.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sure everything will turn out okay.
Have a good time, you two," Elizabeth said with a knowing smile.

Christie cringed. Why did Elizabeth have to make those
remarks about Jon's being Christie's boyfriend? Couldn't
anyone
realize
that just because she and Jon were at the movie together didn't mean they were
going steady or that they were going to have a big love scene later. Was Jon
embarrassed at what Elizabeth had said? Christie couldn't tell.

"I've got to go to the ladies' room," said Beth. "Does
anyone want to go with me?"

"I'll go with you," said Christie.

"Me, too," said Katie.

There was a long line in the ladies' room, and they had to
wait their turn. Christie dug in her purse for a tissue.

"Hi, Katie, Christie, and Beth." Kaci Davis was
brushing her blond hair and had seen them in the mirror. Kaci was a pretty
ninth-grader who was on the Teen Court with Katie.

"Got a big date with Jon, Christie?" Kaci asked.

"No, not really," Christie answered, trying to
sound as casual as possible. "We're here together, but we're just friends."

Kaci's hand stopped in midstroke, and she looked at Christie's
reflection. "Right! Just like Katie's only friends with Tony Calcaterra."
Kaci nudged Colby Graham, an eighth-grader standing next to her, and they both
laughed.

Christie could feel her face turning red. Not again, she
thought.

Today had been full of the same things happening over and
over. First, she had had to explain about the mixup at the tryouts. Now she had
to tell everyone that Jon and she were just friends. She held back an
exasperated sigh and gave Kaci a forced smile. When would everyone finally get
it?

To make things worse, the movie wasn't as great as Christie
had thought it would be. Maybe it was because she had ducked down to keep from
being seen every time someone she knew came by their row. It didn't work,
though. If kids didn't see her at first, they saw one of the other Fabulous
Five and stopped. Then they saw her, and inevitably there would be a comment
about Jon and her going together.

She did find a quarter and a dime on the floor, however,
which was the good part. The bad part was that she bumped her head against the
seat in front of her and a glob of gum stuck to her forehead. She was
very
glad when the credits came on the screen and the movie was over.

Jon didn't take her hand the way he usually did as they made
their way out of the theater. She decided it was probably for the best even
though it made her a little sad. Why couldn't people understand that boys and
girls could like each other and not always have to have romantic relationships?
This just might be the most miserable day in my whole life, Christie thought.
First, I'm accused of cheating at the tryouts, and now people won't let Jon and
me have a normal friendship.

Jon didn't say anything as the two of them stood at the curb
away from everyone else waiting for his dad to pick them up. Was Jon upset
about all the questioning? He hadn't even suggested that they go to Bumpers
with the rest of the crowd. Would he want to be seen with her after this
evening? She looked at his handsome profile. Most girls would love to have Jon
as a boyfriend.
But I'm not ready to go steady
,
she thought
stubbornly. She glanced in the direction Jon was staring. Kimm Taylor was
looking at them and smiling. Or was she just smiling at Jon?

Except for Mr. Smith's attempts to make conversation, the
ride home from the movie was made in silence. For the first time that she could
remember, Christie felt ill at ease sitting next to Jon. The evening, which she
thought would prove that they could be best friends, had turned out to be a
disaster.

When they reached Christie's house, Jon had walked her to
the door, and they stood there, neither one of them seeming to know what to do
or say next. At one moment she thought he was going to kiss her, and she almost
wanted him to. She wasn't sure. She liked him so much, but she just didn't feel
as romantic about him as she had before.

Instead of kissing her, he looked at her, said good-bye, and
walked back to the car. She stood on the porch watching as the taillights of
his car disappeared around the corner of the block.

Later, Christie tossed and turned in bed. Everything in her
life was a mess. Jon had been awfully quiet when he dropped her off. Was he
disturbed by the way the evening had gone, or was he mad at her? People never
stopped asking questions about their going together, and everyone except her
best friends thought she had cheated on the Super Quiz tryouts. Even Mr. Neal,
whom she had known ever since he was her fifth-grade teacher at Mark Twain
Elementary, probably thought she was a cheat.

How had she gotten Mr. Neal's folder with the questions? If
she could just figure that out, at least she would solve one of her problems.
She went over her movements of the last few days in detail one more time.

She had gotten a blue folder from Miss Simone on Wednesday.
Then she ran into Tim outside the office and dropped her books. Tim had helped
her pick them up and had given them and the folder back to her outside on the
school grounds. She had thought that was the folder with her books on Friday,
but it wasn't. She had checked with her mother, and Mrs. Winchell had assured
her that she still had the folder Mr. Bell had sent her containing forms for
the budget.

Thursday had been normal. She had gone to all of her
classes. She had kept her things, except for what she needed, with her or in
her locker.

Then there was the walk-through meeting for the tryouts. But
she couldn't remember anything unusual happening then. The Dreadful
Alternatives had come on stage, but she couldn't recall their getting near the
Super Quiz team. Oh, yes, Jon had come out with his camcorder and started
taking pictures. There was nothing else. She had gone straight home to study on
Thursday evening. So she couldn't have picked the folder up at Bumpers. Her
mind whirled with confusion. There
had
to be an answer. There was an
answer to
everything.
She could figure out any math problem. Why couldn't
she figure this one out?

It was well into the night before Christie went to sleep.
And then she tossed and turned and had dreams about being in jail and Laura
McCall and her Fantastic Foursome friends standing outside her cell laughing
and pointing at her. Jon stood by himself off to the side, watching but not
saying anything. She heard hammering outside, and when she looked outside her
cell window, she saw The Fantastic Foursome out there. They were pounding nails
into a platform with a trapdoor in the bottom. A rope hung from a crossarm, and
Kimm Taylor was tacking a sign up that read:

BIG CELEBRATION
MONDAY
THE HANGING OF CHRISTIE WINCHELL

The next morning was Saturday, and Christie slept later than
usual. When she looked at her face in the mirror, she couldn't believe the red
rings around her eyes. When she went downstairs, she discovered that her mother
and father were already out. Christie was just finishing her toast when the
phone rang.

"Christie?" It was Jana. "Are you going to
the Milford football game today? It's an important game. If we win we'll be
four and oh and in first place."

"I don't know. I don't think I could stand to have
people ask me anymore about the Super Quiz team. I am really
sick
and
tired
of talking and thinking about it."

"Have you come up with any new ideas?" asked Jana
softly.

"No. None at all," Christie said tiredly. "I've
thought and thought until I can't think about it anymore. I was awake all night
thinking about it." She didn't tell Jana that part of the time she had
been thinking about Jon, too.

"I'm sorry," said Jana. "I wish there was
something I could do to help."

"I know you do. You're a great friend. All of you are.
But I just don't know what more to do."

"Well, The Fabulous Five have got to stick together!
"
said Jana. Her voice sounded as if she were ready to fight anyone who argued
with her. "We're special, and everyone knows it. I think we should go to
the game together and show the whole world that nothing has changed. We're
still fabulous. Are you game?"

Jana's loyalty made Christie feel good deep down inside.
They had been friends for a long time, and Jana, along with the rest of The
Fabulous Five, had never let her down.

"It's too bad we don't still have our Fabulous Five
T-shirts," Christie said with a laugh. "We'd
really
show them,
if we did."

Christie and Jana called Melanie, Katie, and Beth, and they
all agreed that they would meet at Jana's house and go to the game together.
Since they didn't have T-shirts, and since Melanie and Beth had to wear their cheerleading
outfits, they all agreed to wear two red ribbons in their hair as a symbol of
their friendship.

Christie followed Katie and Jana into a row in the cheering
section. The stadium was crowded, and it seemed as if everyone from Wacko
Junior High was in the stands to watch the Wakeman Warriors play the Milford
Mariners.

Christie spotted Melanie and Beth down on the field with the
other cheerleaders. Laura McCall and Tammy Lucero were on the field with them
and so was Taffy Sinclair.

The crisp fall air felt good, and Christie was glad Jana had
talked her into coming. For the first time since yesterday she felt as if
everything would work out. Maybe, someday, she would even be able to laugh at
her problems.

Just then Tim came walking up the stairs with Kyle
Zimmerman, his long legs taking the steps two at a time. He saw Christie and
waved. She smiled and waved back. For a second it looked as if he were going to
come over to her, but several boys started yelling for him to sit down. Tim
yelled back and went to argue with them. Christie wished he had come to talk to
her.

She looked around the stands to see who else was there, and
she waved at Sara Sawyer and Shawnie Pendergast. In the row in front of them were
Mona Vaughn and Matt Zeboski.

Christie looked to her left. Two rows over, she saw Jon. He
was sitting with Kimm Taylor and he had his arm around her. Christie's stomach
turned a flip-flop. What was he doing with Kimm?
It's okay
, she told
herself, quickly. Calm down. He can do whatever he wants.
I'm the one
who
said we should just be friends. But a little voice in the back of her mind
asked her, how could Jon date someone else so soon?