Taffy Sinclair 008 - Taffy Sinclair and the Melanie Make-Over (2 page)

I shook my head slowly and frowned.
"
Twenty-
five dollars is a lot of money. I know Mom can
'
t spare that much.
"

It was all I could do to keep my chin from quivering as we went back in from recess. Just a few minutes ago it had seemed like a silly idea to go to modeling school, but now—now that I realized what super things it could do for my romance with Randy—it was plain to see that I wouldn
'
t get to do it in a million years. But that wasn
'
t the worst of it. Taffy Sinclair was going to go, and all I could think about was how she would probably get so glamorous that Randy would forget all about me and start liking her instead.

At
lunchtime I couldn
'
t believe my eyes. I had gone to my
locker to get my lunch the way I
always do and was on my way to meet my friends at our regular table in the cafeteria when I saw
them.
Melanie and Taffy. Together for the second time that day.

They were standing in the hall just outside the cafeteria door, and Melanie was listening intently while Taffy explained something to her. I ducked behind the Coke machine before they saw me and then peered around it to watch what they were doing. They were still there, and even though there was a lot of noise in the hall, I could hear what Taffy was saying.

"
You
'
re just going to love being a model, Melanie. My mom says that once we go to this school, we can get modeling jobs for all the big department stores here in Bridgeport and maybe even in New
York City
Won
'
t that be fabulous? You and me. Models in New York City!
"

"
Gosh, Taffy,
"
gushed Melanie.
"
Do you really think that we can actually get jobs as models just because we
'
re going to the school at Tanninger
'
s?
"

"
No, silly.
Not
just
because we
'
re going to the school at Tanninger
'
s. There
'
s no school on earth that can turn some people into models, if you know what I mean.
"

"
Not really,
"
admitted Melanie.
"
What do you mean?
"

Taffy sighed and shook her head as if she couldn
'
t believe how dense Melanie was.
"
Look at yourself in the mirror. Then you
'
ll figure it out.
"

"
Oh!
"
Melanie
'
s eyes got big, and she turned a bright shade of red.
"
Well, I
'
d better meet my other friends now,
"
she added as she hurried toward the cafeteria.
"
I
'
ll talk to you later.
"

Taffy ambled toward the cafeteria, too, and I watched her go, th
inking about what a dirty, low-
down thing she was doing. It made me furious to hear her buttering up Melanie and talking as if they were the two best-looking girls in the world. Who did she think she was, anyway? Miss America?

There was one thing to be thankful for, though, I thought as I hurried to find my friends. Melanie would never fall for a line like that from Taffy Sinclair!

Melanie was already at the table with Katie and Christie and Beth when I got there. I decided to keep my mouth shut and pretend that I hadn
'
t seen her with Taffy.
"
Hi, everybody,
"
I said as casually as I could.

Beth was leaning on an elbow, wearing the gloomiest expression I had seen in a long time.
"
Are you sure your mo
ther w
ouldn
'
t give you twenty-five dollars for the modeling school? Maybe it could be an advance on your allowance or something. I mean, if you don
'
t go, then it wouldn
'
t be fair for the rest of us to go.
"

I shook my head.
"
I know Mom would give me the money if she could, but she doesn
'
t have that much extra lying around. I have a dollar fifty left from this week
'
s allowance, and we have three dollars and eighty-five cents in our vacation jar, but that
'
s it. Don
'
t think I haven
'
t been trying to figure out a way to get the money, because I have.
"

"
I could loan you seventy-five cents,
"
offered Melanie.

"
I
'
ve got two dollars left from baby-sitting that you could borrow,
"
said Christie.

Katie and Beth both shook their heads as if to say that they were broke.

"
Thanks, guys. But that
'
s not nearly enough,
"
I said.

"
It
'
s only eight dollars and ten cents,
"
said Christie. As usual, she had added it up in her head.

I spent the rest of the day trying to think up some way to get money for the modeling school. There had to be something I could do. I would not only stand a good chance of losing Randy Kirwan if I didn
'
t go, but I would be letting down The Fabulous Five!

After school I was drawing doodles in the margins of my math homework and still moping over my financial situation when Mom got home from work. She came streaking into our apartment as if she had been launched by a rocket.

"
Jana, where are you? I have terrific news,
"
she shouted.

"
In my room,
"
I called with considerably less enthusiasm.

Mom was waving the evening newspaper and grinnin
g like crazy when she entered my
room.
"
Just look at this,
"
she said, spreading the paper on my desk and pointing to an advertisement. My heart jumped into my throat as I read it.

Runway to Beauty Charm and Modeling School

This three-week course is designed to help girls ages 8-18 realize their beauty potential. Classes will run for three hours each Saturday at Tanninger's Department Store and will include personalized instruction from top New York fashion model Laura MacLeod in poise; hair, nail, and skin care; wardrobe coordination; etiquette; and modeling.

At the end of the course, the girls will star in a fashion show to demonstrate what they've learned. Each girl will also receive a copy of Laura MacLeod's book. Cost: $25.

Classes begin next Saturday and are divided into three age groups:

8–11, classes from 9 a.m. to noon
12
–
13, classes from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
14
–
18, classes from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Call Tanninger's Department Store, 555-7891, for more information.

Taffy had been right. There really was a charm and modeling school at Tanninger
'
s, and it really was going to be taught by Laura MacLeod. All I could do was shrug. I couldn
'
t even look at Mom. I didn
'
t want her to suspect how much I wanted to go to that school, and I knew that if she looked into my eyes, she would know. Not only that, she would feel terrible because we couldn
'
t afford it.

"
Doesn
'
t that sound exciting?
"
she asked, but before I could think of an answer she was gazing off in the distance and talking again.
"
Imagine it. Jana Morgan learning to be a high-fashion model from someone as famous as Laura MacLeod and someday walking down a runway while the audience cheers. I can see it all now. Can
'
t you?
"

"
Not really. It costs twenty-five dollars.
"

Mom swooped down, wrapping me in a gigantic bear hug.
"
But, sweetheart. We don
'
t have to worry about the money. If you want to take the course, you can.
"

"
What are you talking about?
"
I asked with genuine bewilderment.
"
We don
'
t have twenty-five dollars.
"

Mom started to laugh.
"
I guess I forgot to tell you about that part, didn
'
t I? The lady from Tanninger
'
s who placed the advertisement in the
Bridgeport Post
brought along a certificate for one free course at the Runway to Beauty Charm and Modeling School. Since I
'
m the only one in the advertising department with a daughter the right age to attend, I got it for you to use. Isn
'
t that great!
"

"
Super!
"
I shouted.
"
Oh, Mom. This is terrific. You don
'
t know how terrific this is! Wait until I tell my friends.
"

I raced to the phone and called Beth.
"
Guess what!
"
I shouted when she answered.
"
I get to go to modeling school after all!
"
I told her about the free certificate and about how Mom was already fantasizing about my walking down the runway with the audience applauding. We both giggled over that.

"
I get to go, too,
"
she said breathlessly.
"
Mom called Tanninger
'
s as soon as I showed her the ad in tonight
'
s paper. Oh, Jana. This is so exciting. It
'
s just exactly what I need to do if I
'
m going to be an actress someday.
"

Beth was right. I couldn
'
t help thinking that we all had special reasons for wanting to go to the school. Beth knew it would help her become an actress. Melanie wanted to be a model. Christie thought becoming more glamorous would be good for her image, and I was sure it would make Randy Kirwan like me more. Of course, that left out Katie, but it would do her more good than she realized. Before Beth and I hung up, I got this great idea.

"
Since modeling school is going to be held at the same time as our regular Fabulous Five meeting, why don
'
t we have our meetings Fridays after school?
"
I asked.
"
We could still meet at my apartment.
"

Beth thought it was a great idea, too, and I volunteered to call everybody else. Katie said her mother had called Tanninger
'
s and signed her up for the school and that she would come to Fabulous Five meetings at my apartment. Christie said the same thing. I was feeling super about the whole idea until I called Melanie. She got really quiet when I invited her to my house Friday for the meeting.

"
What
'
s the matter?
"
I asked.

She still didn
'
t say anything.
"
Melanie, is something wrong?
"

"
I can
'
t come,
"
she answered in a very weak voice.

"
Why not?
"
I demanded.

She hesitated another moment and then she said,
"
Taffy Sinclair has asked me to go home with her after school. Her parents are having a special dinner that night, and I
'
ve been invited. They
'
re going to introduce me to Laura MacLeod.
"

My
friends were just as angry at Melanie as I was when I told them that she was going to Taffy
'
s to meet Laura MacLeod on Friday instead of coming to our meeting of The Fabulous Five.

"
That traitor,
"
Beth grumbled when we met on the school ground the next morning.

"
I don
'
t think any of us should speak to her,
"
said Christie.
"
That will show her a thing or two.
"

Katie nodded.
"
If she likes Taffy Sinclair so much, let Taffy talk to her!
"

I couldn
'
t help but giggle.
"
If anything will bring her to her senses, conversation with Taffy Sinclair ought to do it.
"

I glanced around, but there was no sign of Melanie yet. Taffy Sinclair was there, though. She was standing at the edge of the sidewalk, and Mona Vaughn was standing with her, talking a mile a minute. Taffy had a bored expression as if she were barely able to put up with Mona. Suddenly Taffy
'
s face brightened and she whirled away, leaving Mona standing all alone. When I looked to see where Taffy was going, I couldn
'
t help but frown. She was racing toward Melanie, who was just coming onto the playground.

"
Did you see that?
"
I shrieked.
"
Taffy is so rude! She just left poor Mona standing there all by herself to go talk to Melanie.
"

Just then Melanie looked toward us. She raised her hand, probably to wave hello, but we all spun around at the same time so that our backs were to her. It serves her right, I thought. Now she
'
ll know how we feel about her spending so much time with Taffy. For a moment I thought about how our turning our backs on Melanie was almost like Taffy
'
s turning hers on Mona, but then I reminded myself that Melanie deserved it!

We snubbed Melanie for the rest of the day. We went to our regular spot by the fence at recess, but as soon as we saw her coming, we all headed for the drinking fountain. When we looked back, she had started talking to Taffy Sinclair. At noon we sat with Alexis Duvall and her friends, filling up their lunchroom table so that there wasn
'
t room for Melanie. She had to sit with Taffy. Then we hid out in the girls
'
bathroom during afternoon recess.

We kept on doing the same thing all week. The only trouble was, the more we snubbed Melanie, the more she started snubbing us back and the more she talked to Taffy, so that by the time I called the meeting of The Fabulous Five to order Friday afternoon, Katie asked the question we all had been wondering about.

"
What are we going to do about Melanie?
"

"
I think we ought to tell her off,
"
said Christie.

"
Me, too!
"
I said.
"
She thinks she
'
s such a big deal!
"

"
Yeah,
"
agreed Beth.
"
Just because she gets to meet Laura MacLeod ahead of everybody else. She probably thinks we
'
re jealous.
"

"
She
probably
thinks we
'
re crying our eyes out,
"
I interjected, practically interrupting Beth,
"
and that we
'
re going to fall all over her at modeling school tomorrow asking her what Laura MacLeod is really like.
"

"
And if she got to meet Jedd McBain,
"
said Katie.

"
And if he
'
s really as handsome in person as he is in the movies,
"
Christie added in a dreamy voice.

"
Boy,
"
I snapped.
"
I
s she ever in for a big surprise.
"

Katie slapped her forehead with the heel of her hand and looked at each of us.
"
We
'
ve been going at this all wrong. Don
'
t you guys realize what
'
s happening? If we tell Melanie off, we
'
ll be playing right into Taffy Sinclair
'
s hands.
"

We fired a barrage of poison-dart looks at her.
"
What are you talking about?
"
I demanded.

"
Figure it out,
"
Katie said with an air of superiority.
"
Taffy knows Melanie has been our friend forever and that she
'
s part of The Fabulous Five. Now she
'
s thought of a way to trick Melanie and us into not being friends anymore. What we really ought to be doing is figuring out how to get Melanie back.
"

I groaned and rolled my eyes upward. As much as I hated to admit it, what Kat
ie said made sense. Deep down I
was glad, too. I knew that none of us really wanted to stop being Melanie
'
s friend.

"
That
'
s just like Taffy,
"
Christie muttered.

"
Poor Melanie,
"
Beth said, wringing her hands dramatically.
"
Trapped in the clutches of Taffy Sinclair!
"

We spent the rest of the meeting talking about Melanie, but nobody had any good ideas about what to do.

"
We
'
ll just have to watch her tomorrow and see what she does,
"
Beth said in a sly voice.
"
We can figure out something after that.
"

When I dressed for modeling school the next morning, I put on my best lavender slacks and matching top because they were Randy
'
s favorite. I didn
'
t actually know that they were Randy
'
s favorite, but I had worn them when we went to the movie together a few Saturdays ago and he had said that I looked nice. He had even kissed me on the way home. I gazed into the mirror while I brushed my dark hair and thought about how impressed Randy would be when I learned all the tricks of being glamorous. I couldn
'
t help wondering if he would notice a difference in me right away, since our class today would last three hours. You could learn a lot of tricks in three hours.

I took the bus to Tanninger
'
s. It is one of my favorite department stores in the whole world and is at one end of the mall. From the lady behind the perfume counter I got directions to the Special Events Room, where the class would be held. Then I raced there even though I knew I was half an hour early. I would have lots of time to think about what to say to Melanie.

As I waited outside the door to the room, other girls began to arrive for the class. The first one there was a tall, thin black girl. In fact, she was so tall and so thin and so pretty that I couldn
'
t help wondering if she was already a model. I shifted self-consciously from one foot to the other, feeling short and chubby and plain, and gave her a shy smile.

"
Hi,
"
she said.
"
My name
'
s Darcy. Are you here for the modeling school?
"

"
Uh-huh. I
'
m Jana.
"

Darcy started to say something else, but instead she looked over my shoulder and cried,
"
Here come Mandy and Tammy! Hi, guys.
"

The three girls started talking and giggling together as if I didn
'
t exist. That
'
s okay, I told myself. My friends will be here soon. I was right. Christie and Beth arrived together and Katie got there a couple of minutes later.

We told each other hello, and Beth said I looked great in my lavender pants outfit, and then we began watching for Melanie. Nearly a dozen girls had gathered at the door to the Special Events Room, but none of them was she.

"
She
'
ll probably come with Taffy,
"
grumbled Christie.

Beth nodded.
"
And Taffy always has to arrive late so that she can make a grand entrance.
"

Just then I saw a familiar face at the edge of the crowd.
"
There she is,
"
I said, nodding toward Melanie.
"
And Taffy isn
'
t with her.
"

Melanie had seen us, too, and she was looking shyly in our direction as if she didn
'
t know whether to join us or not.

Christie
'
s eyes widened and she got a panicky look on her face.
"
Hut do ee do dow?
"
she asked, trying to talk without moving her mouth. I knew she did that so that Melanie couldn
'
t read her lips.

"
Let
'
s just act natural,
"
I said,
"
as if nothing has happened.
"
I smiled and waved to Melanie, and my friends followed my example. A moment later Melanie came over to join us.

It was obvious that she was as nervous as we were, and she sort of grinned, but she didn
'
t say anything. Christie or Katie or I didn
'
t say anything either, and for once, neither did Beth. We all just stood there, fidgeting and sneaking glances at each other. I swallowed hard and racked my brain for something to say, but just then, when I thought I would explode, Melanie spoke.

"
I know you guys are mad at me for going to Taffy
'
s last night instea
d of The Fabulous Five meeting.
"

She paused, probably waiting for someone to say that it was okay and that we weren
'
t mad, but no one did.

"
It
'
s just that Taffy asked me first, and her mother called my mother and said it would be good for my modeling career if I came to their house for dinner and met Laura MacLeod in private before the class started.
"

Melanie looked from one of us to the other with pleading eyes. It was plain to see that she was really sincere. Melanie had been one of my best friends for ages. I knew I couldn
'
t let a little thing like going to Taffy
'
s for dinner change all that. Especially since it had been all Taffy
'
s mother
'
s fault. I opened my mouth to tell her so, but just as I did, I heard the door to the Special Events Room open behind me and a soft, feminine voice say,
"
Come on in, girls.
"

I turned around slowly, and there she was. Laura MacLeod. She was even more beautiful in person than in all those pictures in the magazines, and I felt my mouth drop open as she looked straight at me and smiled
.