Just Kidding (15 page)

Kevin, who had come back to the audience to sit down after introducing the skit, stiffened in his seat. His eyes flashed to the stage and then to Isabel, who was sitting at the end of the same row, her eyes glued on the stage in horror and disbelief.

Isabel's face was flame red. She wished she had never left Detroit. Her mother was doing better, so maybe they could move back
this
weekend.

Chase had just repeated almost exactly, word for word, what Amanda had said to Kevin that day in the art room, and he'd set up the skit as though Isabel was the gossip who repeated it all. But what Kevin knew, which Chase had apparently forgotten, was that
Isabel hadn't been in the room when Amanda was talking about the hoodie
. There was no way Isabel could have repeated anything like that to anyone, because she didn't even know it had happened. Someone else was framing her.

Kevin began to drip sweat. He felt like a total loser.
Like everyone else, he had been led to believe that Isabel was behind all the rumors and gossip swirling around the breakup. He'd thought Isabel was pretty mean to spread his private life around school like that, when he'd liked and trusted her. But it was totally clear now that Isabel had had nothing to do with it; she
couldn't
have had anything to do with it. And yesterday she had even tried to talk to him—maybe to try to end all those dumb rumors—and he had just walked away and acted like she wasn't there. He hoped his mother and sisters never found out about this. They would be on his case forever!

He shook his head, thinking to himself,
What a bird brain! Oh, no
, he groaned at his own pun.
Enough about the birds
.

Kevin couldn't wait for the stupid skit to be over with. He had to find a way to apologize to Isabel. He hoped she would forgive him. As for Chase, he just might never speak to that phony dude again.

Luckily most of the audience had no idea about the truth of what had happened. They were just laughing at Chase's over-the-top acting style. Someone shouted, “Enough already!” Finally, to the relief of the BSG, Chase stopped the skit and took a long bow at center stage.

Anna and Joline were sitting with their mouths pursed. They weren't laughing at the skit either. Chase caught everyone's attention, and they were outraged.
They
should be the ones getting all the glory; none of this would have happened if it hadn't been for them. Anna whispered to Joline that she was never going to speak to Chase Finley again.

Katani leaned in to Avery. “Mark my words, Avery
Madden. Chase just lost his best friend.”

As the laughter and applause for Chase rose to a crescendo in the auditorium, Anna couldn't stand it anymore. All this applause should be for her, and no one would ever know that she had anything to do with it.

She stood up and shouted, “That's not the line, Chase, and you know it. That's not what she really said. It's ‘Take back your hoodie, because it
clashes
with
everything
I own!'”

Instantly, there was a hushed silence in the auditorium. The boys onstage, even Chase, stopped cavorting and stood uncertainly. Amanda's mouth dropped open, and she and her friends turned in their seats to glare at Anna. Every member of the audience joined them, and then a low, insistent buzz began to rise from the seats.

Anna grew still as she saw the stares coming her way. This wasn't the applause she had been hoping for. These stares weren't friendly. They looked a lot, in fact, like the stares that had been directed at Isabel all week—cold and unfriendly. Anna tried to look away from them, but there were too many—even the teachers were staring at her. Joline yanked on Anna's sweater, “Sit down…you're going to get us into trouble.”

Anna, realizing her predicament, tried to think of something else to say, but nothing came out of her mouth. She hastily sat down, and before she dropped her eyes to the floor, she saw that Kevin was looking at her with disgust.

“And it couldn't have happened to a nicer person,” Katani whispered with a wink to Charlotte.

The buzz didn't stop. Anna whispered loudly to no one in particular, “Look, you're making way too big a deal out of all this. The skit was a joke…the whole thing was a joke…I mean, we were
just kidding
.” But the stares remained hard and cold on her face, and the whispers got louder. Finally, she became defensive. “Hey, can't anyone take a joke around here?”

Since no one seemed to be accepting her explanation, Anna worked her way out of her seat and hurried out of the auditorium. Queen of Mean no. 2, Joline, followed on her heels.

By now Mrs. Fields was up and rapping for order on the podium. She waved a hand at Chase and the others, directing them to return to their seats. Reluctantly, Chase left the stage.

Mrs. Fields looked sternly at the students. “I don't know what's going on here, but too many people seem to see something in this last skit that doesn't seem very funny to me at all. Spirit Week skits are supposed to be about what spirit means to you, and somehow I think this skit has completely missed the point. I won't be saying anymore about it, except to tell you that I find it very disturbing. I find it especially disturbing that many people were laughing at something that obviously is NOT funny and most likely has caused significant pain to someone in this room.”

She said no more but rapped on the podium for quiet.

Charlotte glanced at Isabel. Thank goodness her friend had been publicly cleared of all the awful things other
people thought she had done. Anna's jealous bid for attention had proved Isabel's innocence. Charlotte herself felt relieved. Isabel was safe. Now, if she only knew where Miss Pierce had gone to, life would be back to normal again.

She turned to say something to Katani, but Katani was no longer there.

Without a word to anyone, Katani had left in the middle of the assembly. Charlotte stared at the empty seat next to her.

What in the world is going on?

S
uddenly Katani, looking confident, was standing by Mrs. Fields next to the microphone on the stage. “Whoa, check it out!” Avery elbowed Charlotte, who looked up to see Katani onstage.

“What's she doing?” Isabel wondered.

“Whatever it is, Katani definitely doesn't have stage fright,” Maeve whispered, filled with pride for her tall, stylish friend. Katani's outfit was to die for. The Kgirl had on her embroidered jeans with a shimmery orange top that sparkled as she walked across the stage.

The students quieted down when Mrs. Fields raised her hand, and Katani stepped forward to speak. “Hi, I'm Katani Summers and I'm in seventh grade in Ms. Rodriguez's homeroom. I'm here to ask you a question. Has anybody ever made a joke about you and then said, ‘Just kidding!'…only it wasn't a funny joke at all—it was something that hurt? If so, raise your hand.”

There was a long hesitation and a flutter of sound, and
then, slowly, most of the hands in the room went up.

Katani took a look around the auditorium, nodded, and continued. “It feels pretty awful, doesn't it? And somebody saying ‘just kidding' doesn't make it better, even if that person says he or she is your BFF. The truth is, saying ‘just kidding' is a great way to say something rotten to someone and then try to pretend you didn't mean it. It's like being able to get away with something, because you have this magic phrase that's supposed to make everything okay. And what makes it even worse is that whoever tells the joke expects you to laugh along with them, after they've said or done something really nasty. And if you don't laugh along, then you hear something like, ‘Come on, dude. It was just a joke. Can't you take a joke?' Right?”

Katani paused and took a deep breath. Every eye in the auditorium was on her. “Well, from now on, nobody at Abigail Adams is allowed to be ‘just kidding' about anything mean anymore.” She paused again. “And because a lot of us got really carried away with this ‘just kidding' stuff, Mrs. Fields is canceling the big Spirit Week dance.”

There was a gasp from the audience.

Katani raised her hand. “Just kidding!”

The audience burst out laughing, but the laughter was uncomfortable, and people were glancing around at each other to see how other people in the room were taking the joke.

Katani nodded. “Not funny, right? Well, today I'm introducing a new magic phrase to Abigail Adams. Check it out: It's the ‘No Joke Zone.' The next time someone makes a joke that's hurtful and says ‘just kidding,' you
can say, ‘No joke zone.' And what that means is that what the person said is not okay with you. Whoever said ‘just kidding' then says they're sorry for making the joke, and that's all. End of discussion. That way, a joke doesn't have a chance to hurt anyone, and you don't have to laugh along at something that you don't think is funny at all.”

She waited until the auditorium quieted down. “For instance, tonight everybody has to write a five hundred–word essay on the ‘No Joke Zone' for homework.”

Maeve jumped out of her seat and yelled, “No joke zone!”

Katani nodded as the rest of the students laughed. “Right. Sorry. I should know better than to make a joke about something like that.”

The students laughed again, and Katani went on. “You know, my older sisters went to school here and they told me all about how much they loved Spirit Week. They said that the students really got into it and competed with each other to show the most spirit for their school and their class. So I've been waiting what seems like forever for my own Spirit Week. And you know something? It's been a real letdown. This Spirit Week hasn't been fun at all. We've had spirit, all right, but it's been the wrong kind—mean e-mail and gossip and rumors and jokes about people who were totally innocent and who never had a chance to defend themselves. The truth is, we all got caught up in a weird kind of excitement this week…and some of us did some very uncool things.”

The room was very quiet. Katani went on talking, looking into the faces of her classmates as she spoke. “Spirit
Week isn't about who's going out with who, or who broke up with who, or who gave back whose hoodie. This is supposed to be about students coming together, being part of this school and being proud of it, and showing especially what makes you happy and what makes you proud to be who you are.

“What makes me happy and proud is my family, my friends, and especially my sister Kelley. She's someone who really knows the meaning of Spirit Week, and she and her friends have put something special together that will show us all what makes her one of the most spirited people I know. Kelley taught me that you don't need a whole week to find what gives you spirit. Whatever helps you be you…
that's
what gives you spirit. So here,” Katani stepped aside and held out her arm, “for the first time ever, is the Abigail Adams Spirit Brigade!”

The doors to the auditorium burst open, and in marched Kelley with a dozen other kids from her class, all smiling and excited. At the head of the group was the band teacher, and behind them came a small group of eighth-grade students playing instruments and shaking tambourines. Everyone could feel the
thump-thump-thump
of the drums vibrating through their seats. Band members were playing flutes, trumpets, trombones, and even a tuba. It was a real “spirit” parade!

Kelley and the students from her class marched around the auditorium with their favorite stuffed animals and a variety of posters. Some had movie posters; a few carried posters of their favorite sports teams; others held up posters they had drawn or painted themselves.

The group marched up onto the stage and stopped, standing in a straight line, their eyes shining. As the band teacher nodded, each one in turn stepped to the microphone and spoke into it. “Spirit is…the Red Sox!” shouted the first boy. He waved his fist in the air and yelled, “Go, Red Sox! Yeah!”

Avery jumped up and pumped her fist, “Red Sox forever!” she shouted. Charlotte, Maeve, and Isabel watched from their seats as the audience started to stir and respond to this unbridled enthusiasm.

A second student from Kelley's class walked proudly to the microphone. “
The Sound of Music
is my favorite movie!” she cried happily. There was applause from some of the girls in the audience. Maeve yelled out, “It's my favorite, too!” Charlotte and Isabel clapped enthusiastically. Charlotte was inspired.
I like this spirit
. She smiled as she grasped Isabel's hand.

Each student who had marched in the parade took a turn at the microphone, clutching his or her stuffed animal or poster or instrument and speaking about what gave them spirit. Some were funny; others touching. The applause from the audience got louder and louder.

“Everyone loves it!” Isabel exclaimed, looking at the students who had been sullen and silent just a short time ago.

Charlotte nodded. “I guess everyone's realizing that it's really more fun to be excited than to put people down,” she surmised. Charlotte had already learned a lot about “negative spirit” during this week at Abigail Adams…and she was glad it was almost over.

The last student at the microphone was Kelley. Clutching Mr. Bear tightly, she stood at the microphone. “My spirit is…Mr. Bear.” She gave him a squeeze and held him up proudly for everyone to see. Everyone clapped, but Kelley shook her head and yelled, “I'm not finished yet! I have more spirit!” and looked at her sister. “My sister Katani.” Katani smiled at her and waved. “And my best friend, my very best friend, Charlotte.” She looked into the audience until she caught Charlotte's eye. Then she gave a little bow and walked off.

To the
thump-thump-thump
of the drums and the brass instruments playing a lively tune, Kelley's class marched onto the stage for one final round of applause. The eighth graders who had joined the parade each grabbed the hand of a student from Kelley's class and raised it in the air. They had electrified the other students and completely lifted everyone's sinking spirits. There were whistles and hoots and a few tears from some of the teachers.

Charlotte was deeply touched that Kelley had mentioned her, and now she blinked away a little tear. Avery gave her a bewildered look. Charlotte just shrugged. “Kelley is so cool,” she mumbled as she clapped with the rest of the audience.

Avery nodded. “Those kids totally turned things around today! I just wish they'd had their march before Sports Day,” Avery shouted over the applause.

“At least the dance'll be better,” Maeve added, leaning forward to talk to them.

Charlotte shook her head. “How can it be?”

Maeve looked puzzled. “Well, everyone already has lots more spirit. What do you mean?”

“Maeve, have you forgotten? There's one little problem with the dance. The boys voted in the Under the Sea theme, but no one's done any work on it yet. Everyone's been too wrapped up in all the other stuff that's happened.”

They all looked at each other. Charlotte was so right. Even seeing Ms. R hurry Chase Finley out of the auditorium didn't make them feel better. Even Kevin's apologetic glance at Isabel didn't make everything okay again. Spirit Week wouldn't really be saved unless the big dance was a special night to remember.