Fabulous Five 031 - The Fabulous Five Together Again (5 page)

Christie pulled Rigel to a sliding stop as Davey was jumping
off his horse. She was beside him in a flash as he knelt next to Melanie.

"Is she hurt?" she asked.

"I'm not sure," said Davey.

Melanie's eyes were closed, and there was a gash on her
forehead.

Davey yanked off his sweater and spread it over Melanie as
Connie and the others came stampeding up. Charlie took off after the horse.

"What happened?" yelled Jana.

In just moments they were all on the ground and crowding
around to see.

"Give her room," said Connie.

He put his hand on Melanie's cheek, and her eyes fluttered,
then opened. She blinked and looked from one face to the other staring down at
her.

Shaking her head as if to clear it, she asked, "Did
anyone see a runaway freight train?"

"Are you okay, Mel?" Christie asked.

Melanie struggled to sit up. Shaking her arms and legs to
see if anything was broken, she said, "Other than having the wind knocked
out of me and a sore head and rear end, I think I'm okay."

"Wow," said Katie, "you sure scared us. What
happened?"

"It was my fault," Davey answered dejectedly. "I
pulled a clanger. I was showing off, and my horse bumped Melanie's horse, who
then took off. Melanie hit her head on that tree limb." He pointed up. "It
was a dumb thing for me to do."

"It's okay," Melanie told him, smiling weakly. "I'm
fine."'

"It's not the first time you've pulled a clanger,"
said Nicki. "And I don't suppose it'll be the last."

Davey and Christie helped Melanie to her feet as Charlie
brought Cleopatra back.

"Do you think you can ride?" asked Connie.

"Sure," answered Melanie, rubbing a sore spot.

Davey stayed by Melanie's side all the way back to the
stable. As he helped her up the veranda steps, Connie's mother and Neal came
out to see what had happened.

"Oh, dear," said Mrs. Farrell, when she saw the
wound on Melanie's forehead. "Neal, get the medicine kit."

In just a few moments Melanie's head was bandaged, and she
was sitting in a chair on the veranda holding an ice pack against the side of
her head. Pillows were stuffed around her to make her comfortable. In her lap
was a plate of chocolate Olivers.

"Now if you need anything," instructed Davey,
hovering over her, "just let me know."

Melanie smiled at him. "You're nice, Davey, but don't
worry about me. I'm okay."

Nicki made a sour face, but held her tongue.

Shortly after that, Mr. Winchell arrived to take them home.
As Mrs. Farrell was explaining to him what had happened, Phoebe drew Christie
aside.

"What are your plans for Saturday night?" asked
Phoebe.

"We're going to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner with my
parents," Christie told her. "We'll probably go to Montague's after."

"Are you sure you'll be at Montague's?" asked
Phoebe.

"Pretty sure," replied Christie. "I haven't
talked to my friends yet, but I think so."

"Do talk to them about it," said Phoebe. "What
time will you eat dinner?"

Christie shrugged. "Five-thirty or six, I guess."

"Good," responded Phoebe. "If you change your
mind about going to Montague's, let me know."

On the way home Christie thought about Phoebe's interest in
whether she and the rest of The Fab Five would be at Montague's Saturday night.
She felt very encouraged. It seemed that Phoebe, Nicki, and Eleanore finally
wanted to be friends with Jana, Katie, Melanie, and Beth. Maybe things weren't
as bad between the two groups as she'd thought.

"I'm so excited about seeing Trevor Morgan again."
Beth was standing on her toes to see past Katie in the wardrobe mirror in
Christie's room. She was putting on eye shadow as Katie was brushing her hair.

"He'll be surprised to find out we're in London,"
said Jana, spritzing perfume on one wrist and rubbing it against the other. "I
wonder if he'll even recognize me."

"I think they should make more fashionable bandages,"
Melanie joked as she patted down the end of the tape that held hers in place. "This
one doesn't go with anything."

"You're right," added Beth. "It's so . . .
blah."

Christie laughed along with her friends. "Oh, I almost
forgot to ask you. Phoebe wanted to know if we were going to Montague's
Saturday night. She really sounded as if she wanted us to go. How about it?"

The Fab Five seemed to hesitate.

"We're still going to dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe,
aren't we?" asked Beth.

"Yes," replied Christie. "I told her we might
go to Montague's after that."

"Uh, I guess it's okay," said Jana. The others
slowly agreed.

Christie was glad they'd agreed to go, but she felt a
prickle of annoyance. Now that the London girls seemed more interested in The
Fab Five, Christie's old friends didn't seem to care about being with the
Londoners. Christie wanted to scream. She was getting so sick of balancing her
two sets of friends!

"Wow, what a crowd!" exclaimed Beth as The
Fabulous Five filed through the gate near the bandstand in Hyde Park. "It
reminds me of Central Park in New York."

"I love outdoor concerts," said Melanie.

"How are we ever going to find Phoebe and the others in
this crowd?" asked Christie, scanning the nearby faces.

"We goofed," observed Jana. "We should have
picked a place to meet. We'll just have to keep our eyes open. Maybe we'll get
lucky."

"Let's hurry and try for a spot up front by the
bandstand," said Beth. "Maybe Trevor will see us and wave."

"You've got to be kidding," scoffed Katie. "There'll
be zillions of people, and he'll have spotlights shining in his eyes. How in
the world will he be able to see us?"

"At least we'll be able to see
him
better,"
replied Jana.

"Everybody grab a hand and follow me," said Beth,
taking Katie's hand. "I'll make a path."

As The Fabulous Five snaked between people, holding hands,
Beth called out, "Excuse me. Pardon me. Lady with a baby!"

The crowd parted in front of her to let them through.

As they worked their way through the crowd, Christie looked
in every direction for the London girls. Phoebe, Eleanore, and Nicki were
nowhere to be seen.

"How's this spot?" asked Beth with a big grin when
The Fabulous Five had reached a place not far from the bandstand. "Did I
do good, or what?"

"You did fantastic," said Christie with a worried
look. "But I just wish we could find the others." She didn't want her
British friends to think they hadn't tried.

"We'll all keep looking," promised Katie.

They still hadn't found the others when the warmup band came
on. As the music started playing, the audience began clapping and swaying, and
it became harder and harder for Christie to see through the crowd. Finding
Nicki, Phoebe, and Eleanore seemed hopeless.

When the band finished and the audience was waiting for
Brain Damage to come on, Christie saw Davey's head bobbing toward them. He had
spotted them and had a grin on his face. Christie could see Connie and Charlie
behind him.

"Thought we'd find you birds right about here,"
said Davey. "How's the lump on the noggin, Melanie?"

"How'd you ever find us?" asked Christie.

"If it hadn't been for Davey's being six feet taller
than everyone else, we might not have," teased Connie.

"Here they come! Here they come!" screamed Beth as
Trevor Morgan led the members of Brain Damage onto the stage.

The Fabulous Five started jumping up and down, trying to get
Trevor's attention. But with the shouting, waving crowd, it was impossible.

"Have you seen Phoebe and the others?" Christie
asked Connie as Trevor introduced the band. "I'm worried that they'll feel
left out if we don't find them."

"We've been looking but haven't spotted them,"
answered Connie.

Christie made a face. She hated it that they weren't all
together, but at this point there wasn't much she could do about it.

Brain Damage started their first song, and the crowd got
right into it—swaying, clapping, and singing along. Trevor pranced across the
stage singing the lyrics and teasing the kids nearest the stage.

"I wish Trevor would see us," Beth yelled above
the noise.

"He always gets kids from the audience to go up onstage
and sing with the band," said Melanie. "If he saw us, he might ask us
to come up again."

"Hey, Mel," shouted Davey. "They're about to
play the song we both like."

"Yea!" screamed Melanie, grabbing his arm and
jumping up and down.

Davey put his arm around Melanie's shoulder, and the two
started singing at the tops of their voices. The others joined in.

As the band played on, Christie forgot all about Phoebe,
Nicki, and Eleanore. Connie took her hand, and the two of them looked at each
other as they sang.

The band played song after song, and the excitement in the
crowd lifted to a fever pitch. Finally Trevor Morgan started pacing back and
forth across the stage, pointing to different people in the audience.

"He's going to ask kids to come up!"
shouted
Beth. "Oh, I wish he would see us!"

Everyone in the audience knew what Trevor was about to do,
and the screaming and shouting grew louder and louder as he teased the crowd.

Beth and Melanie started jumping up and down and waving with
both hands.
"We're here! We're here!"
they yelled.

Trevor was looking over their heads.

"We'll help!" shouted Charlie, grabbing one of
Beth's arms and legs. "Get her other side," he ordered Davey.

Davey did, and the two of them hoisted Beth above their
heads.

"Trevor! Here! Here!"
she screamed.

Trevor saw her and looked as if he couldn't believe his
eyes. He threw up his arms, then blew Beth a kiss. He motioned that he wanted
Beth and her friends to come up onstage.

The fans standing near The Fabulous Five groaned with disappointment
and shouted
"Lucky!"
as they cleared a path for Beth, Melanie,
Katie, Christie, and Jana. The girls pulled Charlie, Davey, and Connie along
with them.

"Dudes and dudesses!"
Trevor shouted into
his microphone. The cheering and shouting subsided to a dull roar.

"I want you to meet my fabulous friends from the United
States. This is Beth, Melanie, Christie, Katie, and Jana, otherwise known as
THE
FABULOUS FIVE!
"

There was a mixture of friendly cheers and boos.

"The last time I saw you, Beth, you were in an Indian
costume," said Trevor. "What are you gals doing in London?" He
stuck out his microphone so Beth could speak into it.

"We're on spring break and visiting our friend
Christie, who moved here," answered Beth.

"Well, all
right,
" said Trevor. "Glad
you're here, and I hope you're having fun. And who are these dudes you've got
with you?"

"These are our British friends," said Melanie. "Davey
Hopper, Charlie Fenwick, and Connie Farrell."

A cheer went up from the audience.

"Okay," said Trevor. "I'm happy to meet you
guys. Are you going to join in with The Fabulous Five on this next song?"

"I guess so," answered Davey, looking embarrassed
for the first time that Christie could remember.

"What would you all like to sing?" asked Trevor as
two stagehands brought out three wireless mikes and gave them to the girls.

Melanie suggested the Brain Damage song that she and Davey
liked so much.

"Okay, guys!" Trevor shouted to his band. "Let's
do it!
"

The band started, and The Fabulous Five and the boys sang
along.

When they finished, the crowd roared.

"ONE MORE TIME!" shouted Trevor, and the band
started over, with The Fabulous Five, Davey, Charlie, and Connie singing at the
tops of their voices.

By the time they sang the last verse, the crowd was going
wild, and The Fabulous Five's faces were shining with excitement. Charlie was
jamming his fists into the air. Davey grabbed Melanie around the waist and
swung her in a circle. Charlie saw what he was doing, and grabbed Beth and
swung her, too.

Connie looked at Christie with a big grin on his face and
hugged her. She hugged back.

What a night to remember,
thought Christie happily.
Onstage with her best friends and the band Brain Damage in the middle of
London, England, with thousands of people cheering. What more could you ask
for?

She looked down into the audience swirling at their feet and
saw Phoebe, Nicki, and Eleanore looking up at her. They didn't look happy at
all.

"Didn't I tell you they are
FABULOUS
?
"
yelled Trevor over the loudspeakers.

The crowd cheered.

"Stay onstage while we finish up," Trevor said to
The Fabulous Five. "I want to talk to you."

After the performance was over, Trevor invited the girls and
Connie, Davey, and Charlie into his private touring bus.

Charlie whistled as he looked around the opulent interior of
the bus. The walls were finished in a dark paneling; the floors had thick
carpeting; and soft, indirect lighting lit the rooms. Trevor was taking sodas
out of a refrigerator and handing them out.

"I heard entertainers had fancy buses," said Charlie,
"but I never imagined they were this nice."

"It's my home away from home," explained Trevor,
sitting down on a long sofa and kicking off his shoes.

"So," began Trevor, looking from one member of The
Fabulous Five to another, "tell me what you've been doing in London. I
hope these blokes have been showing you the sights," he said, referring to
Connie, Charlie, and Davey.

"Oh, they have," Beth assured him.

After they had been talking for half an hour, a man stuck
his head into the room and announced, "We're ready, Trevor."

"Sorry, kids," Trevor said, standing up, "but
it looks as if we'll have to cut our chitchat short. My manager's telling me it's
time we left."

"Uh, Mr. Morgan . . ." said Davey.

"Yes?" replied Trevor.

"Could I, uh, like have your autograph?"

Trevor chuckled. "Sure. How about if I sign the soda
can you've been drinking out of?"

"Fantastic!" exclaimed Davey.

"Mine, too!" added Charlie.

"I'll sign everybody's," Trevor told them, taking
a marker out of a drawer.

"Wow," said Davey after they had left the bus. "I
can't believe we were in Trevor Morgan's very own tour bus. And look," he
continued, pulling himself up to his full height. "He wrote here on my
soda can,
To Davey Hopper
,
He's a big one
."

"You have to show that to Nicki," said Charlie. "It'll
knock her bug crunchers off."

"Bug crunchers?" asked Katie.

"Her shoes," explained Christie.

"She'll claim I wrote it myself," said Davey. "But
who cares? You guys can back me up."

We may all need to back each other up when we see Nicki, Eleanore,
and Phoebe, Christie thought with a sigh. They weren't going to be happy about
having been left out of things tonight. And Nicki and Eleanore especially weren't
going to be happy about having had to watch their boyfriends onstage having fun
with Melanie and Beth. Christie just hoped she didn't get a call from Phoebe
telling her to forget about going to Montague's on Saturday.

"Phoebe?" Christie tried to keep her voice low.
She was in the Winchells' study later that night and didn't want the other
girls to hear.

"Yes?" answered Phoebe. Her voice sounded stiff.

"We looked all over for you before the concert started,"
said Christie. "We couldn't find you. We should have picked a place to
meet."

"You found Connie, Davey, and Charlie all right,"
responded Phoebe.

"We didn't find them," explained Christie. "They
found us. And then we all looked for you, but the concert started. I'm sorry."

"Listen, Christie," Phoebe replied. "I know
you want us to like your friends, but the way things are going, it's not easy,
especially for Nicki and Eleanore. They're angry about Davey and Charlie, and I
can't blame them."

"But Melanie and Beth aren't playing up to Davey and
Charlie," protested Christie. "The guys are being friendly, and
Melanie and Beth can't just tell them to go away."

"Well," Phoebe said, "Nicki and Ellie are
furious."

"I know," Christie told her. "Look, Phoebe, I'll
talk to Melanie and Beth again and tell them to back off totally. But maybe you
can talk to Nicki and Eleanore and convince them to talk to Davey and Charlie
about their feelings instead of blaming my friends." She softened her
voice. "You three are my best friends in England. I really wanted you and
The Fabulous Five to meet and get to know each other. If you would give them a
chance, I know you'd like them."

Christie heard a sigh on the other end of the line.

"Okay," said Phoebe. "I'll try to talk to the
girls. But you know Nicki. I'm not going to promise anything. Are you still
going to Montague's tomorrow?"

"Yes," answered Christie. "We wouldn't miss
it."