Fabulous Five 021 - Jana to the Rescue (6 page)

The history test was in progress when Jana walked into the
classroom. She gave her late pass to Mr. Naset, and he handed her a test.

"You have thirty minutes left," said the teacher
in a low voice. "You should be able to finish before the end of the
period."

Jana nodded and took the test to her seat in the back. Liz
was sitting at the desk in front of her. She looked up and rolled her eyes as
if to say that the test was hard.

Jana smiled and sat down, thinking that during a test, all
the kids were in the same boat. It drew the students together. Even Liz.

Jana pulled a pen out of her schoolbag and scanned the paper
in front of her. Sure enough, Mr. Naset had asked several questions about the
lists he'd given in class notes. Jana was glad she had warned Liz about
studying lists.

Jana answered the first ten questions without much
difficulty. They were fill-in-the-blank statements that could be really hard if
you hadn't studied, but she had.

She had just begun a set of multiple-choice questions when
Liz shifted in the seat ahead of her. Liz stretched her arms out to the sides,
then leaned back in her seat. She turned her face to the side and glanced back
over her shoulder. Her eyes moved over Jana's test paper.

Jana frowned and shifted her paper down a little on her
desk, resting her arm over it so that Liz couldn't see the questions she was
answering. After all, she thought, I worked hard studying for this test. I
offered to help Liz study and loaned her my notes. But I'm not going to let her
copy my test!

Liz made a little noise of frustration and anger, and turned
back to her own paper.

Jana answered the multiple-choice questions, then paused and
turned her attention to Liz. Liz was not working on the test anymore. She had
her head down on her folded arms.

Apparently, Liz had given up. Plain and simple. Jana sighed,
glad that she hadn't let Liz cheat by copying her paper. Mrs. Brenner and Mr.
Bell had been right at the meeting. She could only go so far to help Liz. The
rest was up to her.

Just before the bell rang, Mr. Naset collected all the
tests. As the kids headed for the door, Jana grabbed her book bag and hurried
out, hoping to avoid Liz. How could Liz possibly expect her to cheat? It was
the last straw.

"Jana?" Liz called out.

Jana kept walking.

"Hey, Morgan, I want to talk to you."

Liz's voice had a menacing sound, which made Jana angrier
than ever. She whirled around, stopping so abruptly that Liz almost plowed into
her.

"Liz, I've tried to help you all I could, but—"

"But you'll only do certain things," Liz said
sarcastically.

Jana could feel the anger well up inside.
Stay cool
,
she reminded herself.
Don't let her get you mad.

"Look, Morgan, I've had it with your
help,
"
Liz said.

"What do you mean?" Jana demanded.

The two girls were stopped in the middle of the hall while
the rush of students veered around them in their hurry to get to their next
classes.

"What do you
think
I mean?" Liz challenged.
"You keep wanting to be Little Miss Helpful, Little Miss Fix-It, right?
Well, the one time I really
need
help getting through a ridiculously
hard test, you decide you're too good to help me. 'Just let her drown,' you
probably thought, right?"

"What are you talking about?" Jana demanded,
hearing her own voice rising and knowing she was losing her cool, but not
really caring. "I've offered you help since the day you arrived in this
school! If I
was
Little Miss Fix-It, as you call me, I was only trying
to help you get involved in things so you could enjoy yourself a little bit. I've
introduced you to my friends, offered to help you get involved in school
activities, given you my notes to study, invited you over to my house to help
you get ready for this test—and what do I get in return? You're sarcastic and
rude to my friends, mean to me, and then you want me to
cheat
for you!
Well, I'll tell you something, Liz Flagg. I don't cheat for
anybody,
you
get that? I wouldn't cheat for my very best friend in the whole world, and do
you know why? Because I wouldn't be doing her any favors by letting her cheat,
that's why. And I'll tell you something else, Liz. I don't like it when people
use
me! And expecting me to cheat for you is
using
me!"

"Using you!" Liz cried. "I've never used
anybody in my
Iife!
You keep shoving yourself at me constantly, trying
to help this
poor, pathetic
homeless girl! Well, you know what I think
every time I see you coming down the hall? I think, Oh,
great,
here
comes Miss Goody Two-Shoes Morgan, ready to push her stupid little nose into my
life again. I wonder how she's going to solve my problems today? Gee, maybe
going out for
cheerleading
will turn my life all around, and I'll live
happily ever after! Rah, RAH,
RAH!
"

"I was
hardly
pushing my nose into your
business!" Jana shouted back. "I haven't asked you any personal
questions about your life!"

"You treat me like a charity case!" Liz yelled. "You
and all the teachers—"

"A
charity
case!"

"Look," Liz said, her voice lower but seething
with anger, "my mother and I may not have a home right now, but we're
hard-working and smart, and we don't need your handouts, okay? I had plenty of
friends in my old school before we had to move. I don't need you or anybody
else to take me by the hand and do me the
favor
of being my friend!"

"I wasn't doing you a
favor,
" Jana said
angrily, realizing that the hallway was clear now, and she hadn't even heard
the bell. Their teachers would want an explanation about their lateness, but
this conversation was more important at the moment. At least Liz was
talking
about what she was angry about! "Okay, I
did
do you one
favor—loaned you my notes. Which reminds me, why didn't you study them?"

Liz snorted. "You're obviously totally stupid about
shelters."

"What do you mean?"

"You're used to a quiet apartment where you have your
own room and plenty of privacy," Liz said scornfully. "You couldn't
hold up for one night at Phoenix House!"

"What makes you so sure?" asked Jana.

"Ha! I'd like to see you
try!
"

Jana looked Liz straight in the eye. "Okay, try me,"
she said, pushing her chin out.

"Yeah, right." Liz chuckled and started to move
down the hall. "Tell me another funny story."

Jana grabbed her sleeve. "No, I mean it," she said
stubbornly. "Let me come and spend
one night
there."

An expression of alarm passed over Liz's face, but she
immediately put herself in control again.

"No way," Liz said. "You couldn't handle it."

"You know what I think?" Jana said. "I think
you
couldn't handle having me there!"

"Oh, give me a break!" Liz said, looking around as
if she were searching for a way to escape.

"Then let me come," Jana insisted.

"You're crazy," Liz muttered.

"Okay! So I'm crazy!" Jana said. "Let me
come—
if you can take it.
"

"Okay!" Liz said between clenched teeth. "We'll
just see how you do. Come at seven tonight. And bring that all-important
homework with you!"

"Oh, Jana, wait up!" Melanie called out, running
down the sidewalk after school. "I've
got
to talk to you!"

"What's up, Mel?" Jana asked, turning to greet her
friend.

"I saw Richie in the hall today at school!"
Melanie said. "I've managed to avoid him most of the week, but he loomed
up out of nowhere this afternoon while I was on my way to math class."

"Yeah? What happened?" Jana asked.

Melanie looked worried. "Well, he asked me whether I
was going to Bumpers today after school!"

"Are you?"

Melanie's eyes got big. "Are you kidding! I wouldn't go
near
that place if Richie Corrierro's going to be there! I know he's
hoping I'll be there so he can ask me out."

"Now, Melanie," Jana said patiently, "maybe he
was just making conversation."

Melanie shook her head seriously. "Not with that
expression on his face."

"What expression?" Jana asked.

"Oh, you know what I mean," Melanie said, leaning
close to Jana and speaking confidentially. "He looks straight into my eyes
and just hangs there looking like a lovesick cocker spaniel. You know the look.
It's really pathetic. Especially on Richie Corrierro."

Jana chuckled. "I can't believe Richie could have an
expression like that. He has the permanent look of someone who's about to play
a practical joke. And he usually
is
about to play a joke on someone."

"Well, today he looked lovestruck," Melanie
insisted. "On Shane or Garrett, that expression would have been wonderful,
but on Richie, it looked awful. I thought I was going to throw up, right there
in the middle of the hall."

"So what did you tell him?" Jana asked.

"I told him I had too much homework. Can you believe
that? Me, not going to Bumpers because I have to study?"

"Well, come on then," Jana said. "We'll walk
together."

"But you don't get it!" Melanie said, taking a
step backward.

"What do you mean?" asked Jana.

"What if this happens every day?" Melanie wailed. "What
if he asks me every day if I'm going to Bumpers, and every day I don't go just
so I won't have to see him?"

"You wouldn't do that, would you?" Jana asked.

"Of course I would. Don't you get it? I don't want to
go out with him!" Melanie whined. "But then I'll miss seeing all my
friends at Bumpers."

"You don't
have
to go out with him," Jana
insisted. "If he asks you out, just tell him you're busy. If it happens a
couple of times, he'll get the message."

"Jana, you still don't get it, do you? Even if I turn
Richie down, no one,
especially
Shane, will ask me out. That stupid love
test will see to that. My cousin
proved
it. She said the name of the guy
she liked, and they've been going steady ever since."

"Look," said Jana. "How can I convince you
that the love test is nothing but a hoax? What would have to happen to prove to
you the test has no power?"

Melanie thought a moment. "If Shane asked me out, or
Garrett, or somebody else really cute, I guess I'd be convinced."

"Terrific," said Jana. "Just plan to be at
Bumpers tomorrow after school, okay? Maybe your luck will change."

Melanie looked wary for an instant. "Only if The
Fabulous Five all sit together so that you guys can protect me from Richie."

Jana grinned. "Isn't that what friends are for?"

Jana's mother dropped Jana off in front of Phoenix House a
little after seven that evening. A frown crossed her mother's face as she
looked at the old building that had once been a residence.

"I hope things go okay for you," her mother said,
sounding worried. "And have a good night, honey."

"I will," Jana assured her even though her stomach
was feeling nervous.

Mrs. Morgan waved as she pulled away from the curb, leaving
Jana standing on the sidewalk.

Jana knew her mother wasn't too happy about her daughter's
staying overnight in a shelter for the homeless. At first her mother had said,
"You're
doing what?"

"I'm going to stay at Phoenix House with Liz,"
Jana repeated.

"I'm not sure it's a good idea," her mother had
said. "What about your homework? How will you get your studying done?"
It sounded as if she were searching for reasons why Jana shouldn't go.

"The same way Liz does hers," answered Jana. She
hoped her mother wouldn't ask how
that
was.

"What kind of sleeping arrangements do they have there?
Will you have any privacy?" her mother had asked.

"Mom," Jana had responded, "the whole reason
I'm going to stay overnight with Liz is to see how she has to live. She says I
have no idea what it's like to live in a shelter, and she's right. I think this
will be
good
for me. You know . . . a learning experience."

A smile had crept across Jana's mother's face. "It seems
as if I've heard that argument before. I've used it on you a few times, haven't
I?"

Jana had giggled. "Yes, you have. It's a pretty good
one too, isn't it?"

Her mother had shaken her head. "Okay. But let me talk
to whoever is in charge over there first. Then we'll make a decision."

Mrs. Pinkerton had called the supervisor of Phoenix House, whose
name turned out to be Nathan, asking him every conceivable question. When she
hung up she had a satisfied look on her face.

Jana walked slowly up the sidewalk leading to the front
steps of the gray two-story building. Across the front of the house was a big
screened-in porch. The building was old but the wood siding looked as if it had
been recently painted. All in all, Phoenix House looked better than the neighboring
houses, some of which were pretty run-down and had overgrown yards.

Jana walked up the front steps and hesitated at the screened
door. Should she knock, or go on in and knock at the inner door? She decided
that no one would hear if she knocked where she was, so she opened the door and
went in.

Standing next to the heavy glass paned door that led into
the house, Jana could hear voices. Curtains kept her from seeing inside. She
felt suddenly shy. Phoenix House was really home for the people who lived there.
Would they think of her as an intruder? Would they resent her being there?
Suddenly she felt like turning around and leaving. Maybe there was a phone
booth at the corner, and she could call her mother to come and get her.

No. If she did that, she wouldn't be able to face Liz in the
morning. She could just see the look on Liz's face if Jana didn't show up after
the big argument they had had.

Jana resolutely pushed the doorbell and waited for someone
to answer. She heard the sound of running and the door was jerked open by a
little boy who looked about six years old.

"Hi," Jana said. "Is Liz Flagg here?"

"Yeah," the boy said. He obviously had a bad cold.
His nose was running and he was sniffling. Jana was tempted to get a tissue out
of her purse and wipe the mess on his face for him, but she didn't.

The boy just stood staring at her.

"Do you think I could come in?" Jana asked.

"Guess so," the boy said, stepping back.

"Josh!" came a voice from inside the house. "You
remember the rules."

A pleasant-looking man with blue eyes and brown hair that
was thin on the top but grew down over his ears appeared at the door.

"Josh, you know no one answers the door but me,"
said the man firmly.

"Hi," the man said to Jana. "I keep telling
Josh about the answering-the-door rule, but he never seems to remember."
He stuck out his hand. "I'm Nathan, the director of Phoenix House. Can I
help you?"

"Hello. I'm Jana Morgan," she said.

"Oh, yes. Your mother called. You're Liz's friend. Come
on in."

Jana followed him into the big entry way. Directly in front
of her was a wide staircase that went upstairs. To one side of it was a hallway
leading back into the house, and there were doors both to the left and right
that led into other rooms.

"I'm really sorry," said Nathan. "I checked
after I talked to your mother, and Liz and her family aren't here at the
moment. I believe they went to the church down the block for supper. We provide
breakfast every day and lunch on weekends, but the residents have to get their
own suppers. Most of them go to the church. You can wait for Liz in the TV
room, if you'd like. It's down the hallway on the right."

Jana thanked him and found the TV room. Inside, two women
sat together on a worn couch and stared at the television while Josh, and two
other children who looked like preschoolers, played noisily on the floor at
their feet. Everyone looked up when Jana walked in.

"Hi," Jana said shyly.

"Hi," the women responded, and immediately went
back to watching TV.

The show was a rerun of
The Andy Griffith Show
, and,
not knowing what else to do, Jana took a seat in an oversized chair with
springs that had seen much better days.

On the screen, deputy Barney was confronting bank robbers
and trembling all over with excitement as he searched frantically for the one
bullet the sheriff had given him so he could load his gun. Jana giggled as he
looked in one pocket after the other for the bullet, but the faces of the women
on the couch never changed. No laughs . . . not even a smile. They just stared
at the set, their eyes blank.

The children started climbing onto another overstuffed chair
and jumping off and rolling on the floor, all the while squealing at the tops
of their lungs. Their yelling grew louder as they played until Jana had to
cover her ears. She looked at the women, expecting them to say something to the
kids, but all that happened was one of them got up, turned up the sound on the
television, and sat down again.

Jana wished Liz would come back as the kids started pushing
and shoving one another all over the room. Had Liz remembered that Jana was
coming over? Maybe she did and this was her way of getting even with Jana for
what she had said in the hallway at school.

Halfway into the next sitcom, when Jana was sure her ears
were going to burst, she heard someone call her name. Looking around, she saw
Liz looking at her from the doorway. Liz jerked her head in a motion for Jana
to follow, and then disappeared.

Jana grabbed her bag and purse, hopped over the three kids
and went through the door after her.

"Wait up," Jana called as Liz walked hurriedly
down the hall. Liz's stiff back gave no indication that she had heard Jana.

Jana caught up with her midway up the squeaking staircase to
the second floor.

"So you didn't cop out after all," Liz said
sarcastically without looking at Jana.

"I told you I would come," Jana answered, anger
rising inside her. "If you can stay here, I can too."

"Humph!" said Liz as she continued up the stairs
and in through a door.

Jana followed and found herself inside a large room with
army cots along one wall. Two women were sitting on cots at one end of the room
and a woman with a small girl was unrolling the mattress on another in the
opposite corner. The empty beds had mattresses rolled up like jelly rolls on
them. On the other side of the room, a fireplace with an elegant mantel was
sealed off with plywood, and the windows at the ends of the room were covered
by dilapidated-looking blinds that had wide slats. Liz headed toward the woman
and child.

"You met my mom," Liz said gruffly when they
reached the lady. Jana recognized her from that day in school when she was
introduced to Liz. Mrs. Flagg was making a bed and had two large shopping bags
stuffed with things at her feet. Jana realized that they probably contained
everything that the Flagg family owned.

"Hello, Mrs. Flagg," Jana said politely.

Liz's mother gave her a half smile and returned to making
the bed.

"This is my sister, Martha," Liz said, putting her
hand on the little girl's head.

Martha gave Jana a much bigger smile and seemed happy to see
her.

"The women and children sleep up here," said Liz. "The
men sleep downstairs. They've also got a couple of rooms downstairs for
families that have both parents so they can stay together. You can have that
bed," she said, indicating one that was fourth from the end. "Everyone
tries to get a corner so they can have more privacy."

"Thanks," said Jana. Liz didn't bother to reply.

There was a blanket, a pillow, two sheets, and a pillowcase
stacked on the cot. Jana rolled the mattress out over the wire springs and made
the bed. The name "Phoenix House" was written on the tattered edges
of the sheets and pillowcase with a black marker. It was probably to help keep
people from taking them.

When she was finished, Jana took off her coat and sat on her
cot waiting for Liz to finish making hers.

As she was waiting, other women came into the room carrying
shopping bags and paper sacks, some with children, some without. Jana was
shocked to see one lady who appeared to be about the same age as her own Grandma
Morgan. She had never thought of her grandmother in any way except bustling
around in her kitchen making good smells in the house that she and Grandpa
Morgan had lived in most of their lives. It was hard for Jana to draw her eyes
away from the woman. She might be someone's grandma, too.

"Well, are you ready to do homework?" Liz's voice
startled Jana. She turned, and Liz was standing over her, the same angry look
on her face.

"Sure," said Jana, digging her books out of her
bag. "I'll just stuff these things under my bed," she said, zipping
the bag shut.

"You'd better not," Liz warned. "Put it under
Mom's bed. She'll be here to watch it. And you better not leave your coat lying
there, either. If you do, it won't be here when you get back."

The thought that someone might steal her things if she wasn't
careful made Jana's skin crawl. She had never had to worry about that before.
She did as Liz told her and put her bag under Mrs. Flagg's bed and put her coat
back on.
Now
Jana understood why Liz wouldn't take her coat off at
school.

"It's too dark to study up here," Liz said,
nodding toward the single light bulb in the middle of the ceiling. She was
right, it couldn't have been more than sixty-watts.

Outside the room, Liz pointed to a half-opened door at the
end of the hall. "That's the only bathroom on this floor," she said. "You
can take a bath tonight or in the morning, suit yourself. But you may have to
wait your turn. There's no shower . . . just a tub . . . and you'll have to
scrub it out for the next person when you finish."

Liz led Jana back down the stairs and along the narrow hall
beside the stairway. "This is the playroom," she said as they turned
into a small room. "We can study in here while the kids are in the TV
room. Sometimes, when there's a test coming up in school, I have to study in
the laundry room. That's only when there aren't too many people doing laundry,
of course." She said it in a matter-of-fact way and not with any anger.

There was a large couch in the room. Its back was split and
the arms frayed. Against one wall was a rickety bookcase with children's books.
A child-sized table and chairs sat next to it, and a closet stood open
revealing a jumble of toys. Jana and Liz took seats on the opposite ends of the
couch.

As they were settling in to do their homework, Jana heard
the doorbell ring and Nathan shout, "Josh, don't you
dare
open that
door!"

"Why can't Josh open the door?" Jana asked.

Liz stared at her. "It's the rule," she said. "I
guess some mothers and kids have stayed here in the past to get away from
violent husbands. Nathan's the one who answers the door just in case it's one
of those men."

Jana shrunk down a little on the couch. She hadn't thought
that there might be violence associated with staying at a shelter. Shelters
were supposed to be places where people could come and find a place to stay
where it was safe. She watched Liz as she concentrated on her homework.

Just then there was the thunder of footsteps running in the
hall, and Josh and the two little girls he had been playing with appeared in
the doorway along with two more children.

"Lizzie, where've you been!" yelled Josh as they
rushed into the room squealing.

"Play with us, Lizzie!" the children shouted,
jumping up and down.

"Well, so much for studying," Liz said ruefully. "Look,
kids, I've got company and I have to study. Can't you play by yourselves?"

"Awww," said one of the little girls.

"I know," said another. "Let's play eviction."

"I'm gonna be the daddy!" yelled the littlest
girl.

"
I'm
gonna be the daddy!" shouted Josh. "You
be the sheriff."

"Okay, Angela, you be the sheriff," said one girl
who appeared to be the oldest, "and I'll be the mommy. Anna, you be the
kid."

"Okay," said Josh, sitting down at the little
table. "This'll be the house, and we're at home eating supper."

They all took what looked like preassigned places, and
Angela stomped into what was supposed to be the "house."

Jana watched in amazement at what must have been a game the
children played lots of times.