The Lonely Hearts Club (18 page)

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"I knew it!" Rosanna got out of her seat. "I knew it! You want to date Ryan.'" She pointed at me like I was a convicted felon.

"if you just watt and hear --"

"Oh, this is just great. Some leader you are!' she replied.

I noticed that the entire room was glaring at Rosanna. "this isn't about me!' I replied.

"Oh, really?" Rosanna rolled her eyes dramatically, "How convenient that you decide to change the rules after you go on a date with the hottest guy in school!' Jealousy was oozing out of her voice. "Maybe it shouldn't be called the Lonely Hearts Club -- maybe you should call it the Rules Will Change When Convenient For Penny Club!'

"Oh, just shut it already.'" Tracy screamed at Rosanna, "Sit your skinny ass down and listen to what Penny has to say or get the hell out. I can tell you no tears will be shed if you leave."

It was good to have the old Tracy back.

Rosanna sat back downlike a spoiled six-year-old who had just been told she couldn't have a pony for Christmas.

"thank you, Tracy," I said.

"You're welcome, our divine leader." Tracy smiled at me.

"This isn't about me. this is actually about Morgan." the entire room turned toward Morgan, who shrunk from embarrassment. 'I'm sorry, Morgan, for having to single you out, but everybody is going to find out eventually. See, the guy that Morgan has had a crush on for years also likes her. And the

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thing is, Tyson is a really great guy, probably one of the few at McKinley, and I don't want to be the one responsible for denying them the chance to see what could happen.

"So, Tracy, Diane, and I have sat down with Morgan and have agreed that as long as she still attends Saturday meetings, group events, and remains the Morgan we all love, there's no reason she can't give it a try."

Morgan stood up. "Consider me the lab rat. Plus, this may all be premature, since he hasn't even asked me out yet. . ."

He better, I thought. Tyson had no idea how much trouble he was causing.

I walked over to Morgan and put my hand on her shoulder. "And I, for one, will be so excited to hear all the details about your date at our next meeting."

Rosanna started to laugh. "You've got to be joking. And when are we going to hear about your date?"

That was it. I'd had it with Rosanna.

"Let me make something perfectly clear to you and to everybody else." I was practically shaking I was so mad. "I have absolutely zero interest in Ryan Bauer and I never will. So to clarify to anybody who may be confused, I will never, never date Ryan." the room had gone silent. Tracy and Diane had horrified expressions on their faces.

What had I done?

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chapter Twenty eight

WHILE I FULLY ENJOYED TRACY'S rules for the Club, there was a very important one she missed. What happens in the Lonely Hearts Club, stays in the Lonely Hearts Club,

I'd thought that was a given.

If you couldn't trust a member of the Club, who could you trust?

But It hadn't counted on one very shootworthy messenger.

Tracy, Diane, and I were walking into school together on Monday morning, talking about Morgan and Tyson, hoping his audition had gone well and he was ready to ask her out. We were just rounding the corner when Diane's expression fell,

"Oh, no," she said. Both Tracy and I followed her gaze and saw Rosanna talking to Ryan at his locker with a smug look on her face.

This couldn't have been good.

Diane quickened her pace, and Ryan spotted the three of us walking over. He gave me a hurt look before slamming his locker and walking away.

"Let me talk to him," Diane headed after him.

I could tell Tracy was about ready to go after Rosanna, but she stopped when she noticed the panicked expression on my face, "It's okay, Penny," she said. "She's a jerk."

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I nodded slowly. A numbness had spread over my body.

"That's it, she's out of the Club," Tracy went on. "I'll tell her." Tracy guided me to my locker and opened it up for me. All I could do was stare straight ahead.

"No, I'll tell her" I said. "At lunch." I could hardly get the words out.

"Okay." Tracy got my books for me. "Do you need anything else?"

Yes, I needed to know why, if I didn't have any feelings for Ryan, I felt so demolished.

Diane filled me in right before lunch. "Rosanna told Ryan that basically you declared in front of the entire Club that you think he's pathetic, that you don't even like him as a friend, and that you would never go on a date with him."

"That's not what I said!" I protested.

Well, not the first two parts.

"That's what I told him, but he's still pretty upset. I don't think he liked the fact that you would talk about him to the Club."

"All right," Tracy chimed in. "Let's slow down for a second and catch our breath." She put her arm around me and looked me in the eye. "Are you sure you want to do this now?"

I couldn't believe that at a time like this Tracy had decided to be the voice of reason. Even Diane looked at her like she was mental. Of course I wanted to do this.

Right.

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Now.

"Yes."

I marched into the cafeteria like a soldier off to battle, with Diane and Tracy right behind me. Rosanna was at the end of the table talking poor Eileen's and Annette's ears off. She jumped a bit when I slammed down my books next to her. the entire table went silent.

"I have something I need to say," I was looking at Rosanna, but said it loud enough for everyone to hear. "there are certain people who are here for the wrong reasons. Certain people who aren't here because of friendship. People who are manipulative and wouldn't know how to be a good friend even if their bony ass depended on it. they're here because they want to be popular. Well, you know what? I've been used far too much in my life to stand here and let it happen to me again. It's bad enough that I've been screwed around by boys. But to be screwed around by a girl... a supposed friend ... is even worse. Underminers are not welcome in the Lonely Hearts Club any longer."

Rosanna continued to eat her banana, while looking around as if I couldn't possibly be speaking about her.

"Apparently, I'm not making myself clear." I leaned over so I was face-to-face with her. "Rosanna Shaw, you've taken advantage of me, of the Club, of our trust. You took something I said when I thought I was among friends, and you twisted it into a hurtful He. You're no longer welcome in the Club, in my house, or at this table. Do you understand?"

She squinted at me. "Are you seriously going to kick me out?"

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"I just did!" My voice started to rise. "Get out of here, you backstabbing, two-faced wench."

"Yes!" Tracy got up and clapped, followed by Diane, then Morgan and Kara and Jen. Soon the entire table was up, cheering me on.

Rosanna quickly got up and started to leave. Adrenaline was pumping through my entire body as I sat down. I examined the happy faces around me. I was so glad to have the old, supportive Club back.

I turned around to see the entire cafeteria was looking in our direction. A few other tables even joined in the celebration of Rosanna's departure.

I caught Ryan's eye at the other end of the room and gave him a smile, but he looked away.

The camaraderie within the Lonely Hearts Club was better than ever all week. We were stronger, more united. Maybe it was Braddock's threats, or Rosanna's interference, but all the Club members seemed to have become more invested in the Club and one another.

We all came out in full force to support Diane's debut as a member of the McKinley Ravens basketball team. With only two minutes left, Diane had yet to be put in the game.

"Coach Ramsey has to let Diane in -- we're up by nineteen points!' Tracy said.

I kept stealing glances over by Diane's parents, where Ryan was sitting, I guessed there was no way Todd,, or any of the

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guys, would've come to support Diane, despite how many times she had cheered them on. I had tried to talk to Ryan since Monday's debacle with Rosanna, but he wouldn't even look at me. Anytime I tried to approach him, he walked away. He had to have heard the conversation in the cafeteria; it was all anybody had been talking about the last four days.

The junior varsity cheerleading squad took the floor. they didn't even try to display any enthusiasm for the game, like they were being punished by having to cheer for the girls' team.

"Ugh, this is painful, I could do a better job!' Tracy said as the cheerleaders anemically asked if we had spirit.

The buzzer sounded and the teams got back to the court. Diane sat patiently at the end of the bench, her knee visibly shaking with nerves.

Jen threw the ball from out-of-bounds to Britney Stewart, who was immediately fouled by a desperate member of the Springfield team. the team lined up at the free-throw line, and Britney easily scored two extra points for the team.

"Oh, come on, Coach!" Tracy screamed. "Put Diane in!"

All five Ravens players sprinted down to the other end of the court. Jen easily recovered a failed attempt from Springfield to score a basket. She grabbed the ball fiercely and began to dribble it down the court. A tall brunette player from Springfield ran up alongside her and pushed her down with a swift motion of her hips.

The whistle blew as the referees conferred.

"That so better be a technical foul," Tracy hissed.

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the team congregated near the bench to be briefed by Coach Ramsey. As the coach talked to the team and went over the next play, Diane looked on intently, then she bit her lip, and headed into the game. the entire Club section stood up and started cheering. Signs were hoisted, and chants of "Diane" started filling the gymnasium.

Diane's eyes narrowed as she lined up at the foul line and watched Jen miss her two free throws. Then, when the action resumed, she ran full force to Springfield's end of the court. She was squatting down and staying low as the guard from the other team approached her. Diane stayed with the guard the entire time, focused on the player's torso, a trick Ryan taught her. the ball was thrown to a tall blonde who missed the basket. Jen recovered the ball and threw it to Diane,

Diane dribbled the length of the court, every ounce of her attention on the basket before her.

"Come on, Diane!" Tracy and I screamed in unison- Tracy grabbed my hand as we watched Diane approach the basket for a lay-up and . .. miss.

"It's okay, Diane!" Kara screamed next to me. We all continued to clap as Springfield called another time-out.

"Can you believe them?" Tracy motioned down to the front, where the cheerleading team had decided to take a break. "they sat down the second Diane took to the court. So pathetic."

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the cheerleaders were sitting on the first bench. Missy was texting someone on her phone, while the rest of them were doing everything they could to ignore the game.

"Oh, they make me so mad. A few weeks ago, all those girls were kissing Diane's ass and now they can't even cheer for the team . . . it's their job!"

I nodded, annoyed at how shallow they were being.

"I've had it." Tracy stood up.

"Tracy, don't cause any --"

Before I could finish my sentence, Tracy stood up on our bench, turned around to face the people behind us, and screamed at the top of her lungs, "GIVE ME A D!"

Our section quieted down as everybody stared at Tracy.

She looked exasperated. "Come on, people, I said GIVE ME A D!"

Oh my God, is Tracy , . . cheerleading?

D!" Morgan, Kara, and Amy shouted.

"GIVE ME AN I!" Tracy continued.

"I" the Lonely Hearts Club started to roar.

"that's more like it! GIVE ME AN At" Tracy started to clap and bounce on the balls of her feet. the cheerleaders from below turned around, mouths opened in shock as the Ravens side of the gymnasium gave Tracy an "N!"

"GIVE ME AN E!"

The gymnasium echoed with a loud "E!"

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"What's that spell?" Tracy made her way down to the front of the bleachers.

"DIANE!"

She was now at the space occupied a few moments earlier by the cheerleading squad. "I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" She placed her hand up toward her ear.

DIANE! "The crowd cheered back.

The buzzer sounded and everybody was on their feet cheering. Tracy looked over at Missy and company and gave them a little smirk, letting them know they were no longer the ones in control of the crowd.

Diane got back on the court, determination sketched on her face. Less than fifteen seconds was left on the clock. Springfield took possession of the ball, and the guard slowly made her way down the court. Their team was going to lose, so why would they let us score any more points.

"TEN. . "--the crowd started to count down with the clock.

Diane's eyes zeroed in on the approaching player.

"NINE..."

She started to shuffle back and forth.

"EIGHT..."

The guard tried to make a quick break to the left, but it was too late.

"SEVEN.,

Diane stole the ball and dribbled at a sprint down the court. . .