Fabulous Five 017 - Celebrity Auction (8 page)

When Beth showed Trevor Morgan's letter to Mr. Bell, he
asked her to read it to the whole school over the public address system. When
she had finished, she could hear a roar of cheering go up all over the
building. The rest of the afternoon, kids yelled things like "Right on,
Beth!" when they saw her in the halls. She felt like an instant celebrity.
Still, she knew that it was really Trevor's letter that had turned things
around and made kids want to get involved.

From that moment on, Beth and the rest of The Fabulous Five
were swamped by enthusiastic kids asking to help with the celebrity auction.
The girls decided that it was time to start using the form letter Beth had
written earlier, and Miss Simone ran off five hundred copies for them on school
stationery. And when a boy or girl took a letter home to address, he or she was
encouraged to add a personal message at the bottom. Christie kept a checklist
of who had been written to, by which student, and on which day the letter was
mailed.

Jana headed a committee consisting of Daphne Alexandrou,
Jennifer Wray, Kim Baxter, and Marcie Bee that copied more names and addresses
at the library. Most of the football team volunteered to help Katie set up the
gym the night of the auction, which would include putting up tables for displaying
the items to be auctioned as well as chairs on the gym floor. Melanie took
charge of signing up students to bring home-baked goodies and lemonade for a
concession stand, which would also add money to the project.

"I can't believe how this is all coming together,"
said Beth one afternoon after school when The Fabulous Five collapsed, near
exhaustion, in a booth at Bumpers. "Everyone is being so fantastic. Even
some of the teachers have asked if they can help."

"What a switch," said Katie. "It wasn't very
long ago that most of them thought we were all a bunch of self-centered,
materialistic—"

"But lots of them have changed their minds,"
interrupted Melanie.

"That's right," Beth assured her. "Mr. Naset,
Mrs. Lemane, and Mr. Waldrop have offered to help the night of the auction, and
they said several other teachers want to help, too."

"Naset, Lemane, and Waldrop?" Katie gasped. "Those
three were really putting down all of us right after the vandalism happened."

"I guess they've had a change of heart," offered
Christie. "Maybe Trevor's letter, plus all of our hard work, got to them,
too."

"Well, it definitely got to my parents," Beth
said, and chuckled. "All they've talked about for the past week is how
proud they are of me
and
The Fabulous Five. My dad actually said that it
proves our generation isn't self-centered after all."

They were laughing over that when Melanie glanced toward the
door and cried, "Look. Here comes Shane!"

"Hey, girls. Igor wants to volunteer his services,"
Shane said, dragging up a chair and sitting down.

"I thought he had already helped," joked Beth. "Didn't
you tell us he was writing to Alf?"

"Oh, sure. He did that already," said Shane. "But
now he wants to lick envelopes."

"Lick envelopes?
" the girls cried in
unison.

Shane shrugged. "Sure. Did you ever watch him catch
flies? His tongue moves at supersonic speed. Why, he could have all the
envelopes licked and sealed faster than I can eat this french fry." Shane
picked up a catsup-drenched fry off Melanie's plate and popped it into his mouth
while the girls shook their heads at him and laughed.

"We'll let you know," said Beth.

"Right," added Katie, grinning. "Don't call
us. We'll call you."

After Shane left, Jana scooted closer to Beth and exchanged
worried glances with Melanie, Katie, and Christie. "There's something else
we need to talk to you about," she said to Beth, and the others nodded
soberly. "And it doesn't have anything to do with the celebrity auction."

Beth's heartbeat accelerated as she looked nervously at her
friends. "What?"

"We've been hearing things . . ." Jana began. "Things
that Keith has been saying to his friends." She paused and looked at the
others.

"Right," said Katie. "We hate to tell you
this, but he's actually bragging that
he
broke up with
you.
"

"What?" gasped Beth. "You've got to be
kidding. Why would he say a thing like that?"

Christie shrugged. "I don't know, but that's what Jon
overheard him saying to Richie Corrierro."

Melanie nodded. "Alexis Duvall said she heard it, too.
Tony Sanchez and Bill Soliday were talking about it in one of her classes."

Beth sank against the back of the booth. A knot of anger and
frustration was gathering in her stomach. How could Keith do such a thing? What
crazy reason could he possibly have to lie?

"Uh-oh," whispered Jana. "Speak of the devil."

Beth looked toward the door where Keith, Richie Corrierro,
and Derek Travelstead were just coming into Bumpers. They headed for the order
line and immediately began horsing around, shoving and pushing and trying to
get ahead of each other.

"Look at those guys," Katie complained. "You'd
think they were in first grade instead of junior high."

"Totally immature," Melanie agreed.

"Well, I'm getting out of here," said Beth,
gathering her books and taking a final sip of her Coke. "I don't even want
to see Keith right now, much less talk to him. I have lots of homework anyway.
I'll see you guys in the morning."

She ducked through the crowd and out of Bumpers, heading for
home and the safe harbor of her room. As soon as she put her books down on her
desk, she opened her notebook and got out Trevor Morgan's letter, slowly
reading it again.

It said so many things that applied to the celebrity
auction, such as believing in yourself, standing up for what you think is
right, and trying to understand other people's point of view. She thought about
Keith. Could she apply any of Trevor's advice to her problems with him? She did
believe in herself, and she knew it was right to break up with him after the
way he had been acting. But what about understanding his point of view? Did he
really prefer the company of a bunch of immature show-off boys to being with
her? She shook her head in wonder. If the answer to that was yes, then breaking
up really had been the best thing to do.

Beth was summoned to Mr. Bell's office between second and
third periods the next morning, and she hurried through the hall wondering if
something was wrong.

"Go right on in," Miss Simone said cheerfully when
Beth entered the office.

Mr. Bell was all smiles. "I wanted you to be the one to
open this since it's the first thing that's come to the school," he said,
pointing to a large package on his desk.

Beth sucked in her breath in surprise and rushed forward.
The box was addressed to "Celebrity Auction" in care of Wakeman
Junior High. She was all thumbs as she tried to tear away the paper, and Miss
Simone, who had followed her into Mr. Bell's office, handed her a pair of
scissors.

"Wow," Beth said excitedly. "I wonder what it
is."

"It's postmarked Denver, Colorado," offered Miss
Simone.

Beth carefully lifted the lid off the box and looked down at
a football covered with names.

"It's an autographed football from the Denver Broncos,"
cried Mr. Bell. "Look. Here's John Elway's signature." He whistled
low and picked up the football, turning it over in his hands. "I'm
certainly going to bid on this beauty."

Beth could hardly contain her excitement. First, a coupon
for four tickets to a Brain Damage concert, and now, a real autographed
football from the Denver Broncos professional football team. The celebrities
were
going to respond after all.

Over the next few days, donations poured in. Autographed
posters, pictures, records, and tapes came from all sorts of musicians, from
country and western to rock and roll. The President of the United States sent an
autographed pen, and dozens of movie stars sent autographed pictures or
letters. Each day, The Fabulous Five opened the donations and put the new ones
on display in the trophy case where the glass broken by Steve and his crowd had
now been replaced. Then they took out the ones from the day before and stored
them in Mr. Bell's office.

Then one morning as Beth and Melanie were checking the
school's morning mail, Melanie gasped and clutched a large manila envelope to
her heart. "It's from
him!
" she shrieked. "He answered!"

"Who answered?" asked Beth.

"Jason Rider," Melanie said ecstatically. "You
know, Chad on
Interns and Lovers.
"

"Terrific," said Beth. "Open it. Let's see
what he sent."

Melanie's eyes sparkled as she carefully opened the envelope
and extracted the donation. It was made of slick-finish paper and appeared to
have been folded several times. Unfolding it, she let out a shriek of joy. "It's
a life-size poster!" she cried. "And it's autographed!"

Melanie was skipping around the room and holding the poster
of Jason Rider in her outstretched hands as if he were her dancing partner. "Isn't
he gorgeous?" she demanded. "And just think, after the auction he's
going to be
all mine
."

Beth smiled, thinking about how Melanie was constantly
getting a new crush. First it had been Scott Daly. Then Shane Arrington and
Garrett Boldt. She had even been interested in Derek Travelstead for a little
while. And now Jason Rider, a television soap opera star. Sighing sadly, Beth
wondered if she could ever find anyone to replace Keith.

Beth was too nervous to eat supper the evening of the
auction. Instead, while the rest of her family ate, she paced the floor in her
room, with Agatha at her heels, and went over in her mind all the preparations
that had been made to be sure nothing had been left out.

"Jana's mother works at the newspaper and she was able
to get us free publicity," Beth said to Agatha. "And Jon Smith said
his mother, Marge Whitworth, promised to bring a television camera crew to the
auction."

Agatha sat down, lolling her long pink tongue out the side
of her mouth and listening attentively.

"And The Fabulous Five will hand out the numbered cards
that people will hold up when they bid. And Mr. Bell, Mr. Dracovitch, and Miss
Dickinson will collect the money and give people the items they buy. Oh,
Agatha," she said, sinking to her knees and giving the shaggy dog a big
hug. "Wish us luck! Okay?"

She grabbed her jacket and bounded downstairs where the rest
of the family was waiting. Brittany looked bored out of her mind, but Beth had
overheard her on the phone telling a friend that she was planning to bid on
autographed pictures of at least three handsome stars. Brian made no secret of
the fact that he was interested in some of the things rock stars had sent, and
even Alicia proudly displayed seventy-seven cents that she had saved especially
for the occasion.

"Well, sweetheart, this is your big night," said
her father as they climbed into the van for the ride to the gym. "I'll
have to admit that this idea of yours was pretty good after all. You certainly
changed my opinion on a few things."

Beth smiled to herself. No matter how successful the auction
was, changing her father's mind was a major victory.

Shoppers had been invited to come early to look over the items
before the bidding actually started, so the parking lot at Wakeman Junior High
was already packed by the time they got there, and she could see people
streaming in the door to the gym. She excused herself from her family and ran
on ahead, squeezing through the door and rushing to the stage through the
milling crowd.

"Oh, Beth. There you are!" cried Melanie. "Isn't
it great? Look at how many people are here."

"The auctioneer is here already, too," said
Christie.

"Yeah, wait until you see him," Katie said with a
grin. "He looks just like Curtis, black-rimmed glasses, hair sticking up
in back and all."

Ten minutes later it was time to begin. Beth stepped up to
the microphone and looked out at the crowd. Her heart was racing so fast that
she thought surely it would come crashing through her chest, and she crossed
her fingers that she wouldn't forget the little speech she had prepared.

"Ladies and gentlemen," she began. The crowd
quieted. All eyes turned to her. Clearing her throat, she went on, "As you
all know, Wakeman Junior High was badly damaged by vandals a few weeks ago. The
vandals have been caught, and with your generous help tonight we, the seventh-,
eighth-, and ninth-graders, hope to raise enough money to pay for the repairs
to our school. Thank you, and good luck with your bidding."

The audience broke out in loud applause, and one by one,
people got to their feet, standing like exclamation points as they thundered
their approval. Beth stepped back from the mike, handing it to Curtis's uncle,
and looked out at the sea of smiling faces through tear-filled eyes.

Marvin Trowbridge, the auctioneer, held up the first item. "I
have here an autographed football from the Denver Broncos football team."
Then he began in his singsong voice, "Whatareyougonnabid? Whatareyougonnabid?
Letmehearatwentydollar. Letmehearatwenty . . ."

Bidding cards flashed in the air as people held up their
hands to bid, and Beth couldn't resist applauding when Mr. Bell won the
football with a bid of one hundred dollars. Alexis Duvall and her parents
outbid Laura McCall and her father for the Brain Damage ticket coupons, and
Melanie almost exploded with excitement when she was able to buy the life-size
poster of Jason Rider. Even Alicia managed to borrow enough money from her
parents to get the autographed picture of Alf that Igor had written for.

One by one, all the items were sold. The concession stand
did a booming business, and as the bidding finished and the audience began
heading for home, Marge Whitworth left her camera crew, who had been filming
much of the auction, and strode purposefully up to Beth.

"Congratulations, young lady," she said, taking Beth's
hand and shaking it firmly. "You and your friends have done a fine thing.
It looks as if you've made more than enough money to pay for the repairs to the
school. Would you come to the television station after school tomorrow
afternoon? I'd like to interview you on the evening news."

"Wow! I mean, sure. I mean . . . thank you, Ms.
Whitworth," Beth stammered. "I'd love to."

The gym was almost empty now, and Beth turned for one last
look around before heading to the van where the rest of her family would be
waiting. She stopped when she saw Keith standing to one side. She had seen him
in the audience earlier, but now he seemed to be hanging around and looking at
her as if he wanted to talk.

Sighing, she went toward him. "Did you buy anything?"
she asked, not knowing what else to say.

Keith nodded. "I got the Bon Jovi tape," he said,
holding it out for her to see. "But I don't like them nearly as well as
Brain Damage." He paused and looked down at the floor. "I was
wondering if I could come over tomorrow night and bring my Brain Damage tape. I'd
really like for you to hear it."

Beth was flooded with all the same anger and frustration she
had been feeling for the past few weeks. "I don't know, Keith," she
began, shaking her head. "Things go super between us when there are just
the two of us, but I can't stand the way you act when your friends are around.
Like squirting green slime in my hair. That was gross!"

"I know," confessed Keith. He scuffed the floor
with the toe of his sneaker and looked at her sheepishly. "And I really am
sorry. I don't mean to act like that, but when I'm around them, I just do it. I
don't know why."

"And I even heard that you were telling them
you
broke
up with
me
."

"They were teasing me. You heard Richie and Derek
pretending they were us smooching, didn't you?" said Keith.

Beth gave an exasperated sigh. So what? she almost shouted.
But something stopped her: the words from Trevor Morgan's letter.
It's just
that not everyone takes the time to understand the other person. We need to
look below the surface sometimes and find out what really is going on inside of
others.

She looked at Keith. She had never seen him look so sad. She
had also never given a lot of thought to how hard it must be to take all that
teasing. After all, they were his friends, and sometimes friends influenced you
a lot. Thank goodness her friends were The Fabulous Five, she thought. They
were so mature and caring. Maybe Trevor was right and she should try to
understand what Keith was going through. I really ought to give him another
chance, she decided. He's definitely worth it. And maybe now that I understand
his problem, I can influence him at least as much as his other friends do.

"But you'll never guess what they're saying now,"
he added before she had a chance to speak. "Now that the auction was such
a great success after being all your idea, they're saying that you're terrific
and that I'm a real jerk for breaking up with you."

They both broke up laughing at that, and a few minutes later
when the laughter had died down, Beth slipped her hand inside Keith's.

"Why don't you bring your Brain Damage tape over
tomorrow night?" she said softly.

"Super," said Keith. "I'll be there. I
promise." He crossed his heart for emphasis.

They said good-night, and Beth skipped toward the van,
thinking that it had been a perfect night. The auction was a success. Adults
had seen that not all kids were irresponsible and materialistic. And Keith and
she were back together. She was even going to be interviewed on television. She
would tell her friends the good news in the morning. But right now she could
hardly wait to get home and tell Agatha.