Fabulous Five 022 - Melanie's Valentine (2 page)

"Melanie! Time to get up!"

Melanie slowly opened her eyes and then closed them tightly
again when she realized that it was morning and her mother was calling.

"Go away," she muttered, pulling the pillow over
her head. It had taken forever to get to sleep last night after her date with Shane
and their kiss in the backseat of the Volkswagen Bug. And just now she had been
having the most delicious dream about Shane. They had been walking hand in hand
along a beautiful beach when her mother had to call her and interrupt
everything.

Mrs. Edwards poked her head in the door. "Come on,
sweetheart. It's time to get up. We have to go to the airport this morning to
meet your grandmother Dee's plane from Florida."

Oh, no. Not this morning, Melanie thought. Why does it have
to be this morning? All I want to do is lie here and dream about Shane.

Just then Jeffy, her six-year-old brother, zoomed into the
room with his arms spread wide, making noises like a jet airplane. "Come
on, Mel!" he shouted between buzzing sounds. "It's time to go!"

Slowly Melanie dragged herself out of bed. It was no use.
She would have to put her dreaming on hold and get up. Throwing on jeans and a
ski sweater and giving her hair a quick brushing, she hurried down to the
kitchen and grabbed a cup of strawberry-banana yogurt out of the refrigerator.

Mrs. Edwards was standing at the sink, rinsing dishes and
putting them into the dishwasher. She glanced over her shoulder at Melanie and
smiled. "I didn't get a chance to talk much with you when you came in last
night. How was your date with Shane?"

Shane's kiss flooded Melanie's mind, and she could feel
herself blushing. "Great," she said, suddenly getting interested in
her yogurt, in the hope that her mother wouldn't be able to see how red her
face was. "We really had fun."

"That's nice, dear. Who won the game?"

Melanie blinked. She didn't have the slightest idea who had
won the game. She had been too worried about Shane's silence to notice the
score or even pay attention to which side was cheering the loudest. "Uhm .
. . I forget," she said lamely.

Her mother chuckled. "Well, one thing's certain. You
have a bigger crush on Shane Arrington than you ever had on Scott Daly."

Melanie couldn't suppress a giggle. Maybe her mother hadn't
forgotten what it was like to be a seventh-grader after all.

In the backseat of the van on the way to the airport,
Melanie thought about her mother's comment again. It was true that she had a
bigger crush on Shane than she had ever had on Scott, but she had liked Scott a
lot. She still did, as a matter of fact. And she knew he still liked her. He
had even asked whom she was sitting with at the game last night. So what would
he think when he found out that she was going out with Shane now? Or that it
had been Shane she was sitting with instead of just some kids from Riverfield,
as she had told him?

She slouched down into the corner and looked out the window,
but she wasn't seeing the scenery. She was imagining the look on Scott's face
when he got the news. He would be hurt. There was no doubt about it. And maybe
even mad at her for not being honest with him. The idea made her tingle all
over. She really didn't want Scott to be hurt or mad at her. But what could she
do?

"Melanie! Melanie! Look at that airplane!" Jeffy
shouted, poking her arm with one hand and pointing out the window with the
other as a huge jet passed right over their van on its way to land at the
airport. "We're almost there!"

Melanie gave her brother a happy grin. She would think about
how to handle the problem of Scott later.

"I'll bet that was Grandma's plane," Jeffy
chattered excitedly. "I'll bet she was looking out the window and saw our
van, too. Hurry, Dad. She'll beat us!"

"It's okay, Jeffy," said Mr. Edwards. "The
plane she's on isn't due to land for a few more minutes. We'll get there in plenty
of time."

They parked the van and headed into the terminal, arriving
at the gate just as the announcement came over the loudspeaker that Flight 306
from Fort Myers, Florida, was on the ground and the passengers were ready to
deplane. As the passengers began coming up the jetway, Jeffy turned his head
sideways and then upside down as he peered among them, trying to be the first
one to spot his grandmother.

"There she is! There she is!" he shouted, bounding
toward a slender woman with a deep tan, blondish-white hair cut in a wavy,
windblown style, and a pair of sunglasses perched on top of her head. "Grandma
Dee!"

"Hi, loves!" Dee Edwards cried, trying to scoop
the whole family into her arms at once. "Let me look at you kids. Why,
Jeffy, you're getting so tall. You look just the way your father did when he
was a little boy. And Melanie! What a beautiful young woman you've turned into.
I'll bet you have more boyfriends than you know what to do with."

Melanie's heart swelled at her grandmother's words. Grandma
Dee was really cool. She didn't act old like some grandmothers. She knew what
was going on in the world. In fact, Melanie thought with a flash, just maybe
she would know what to do about Scott. But that wasn't all that Melanie wanted
to talk to her grandmother about.

"I'm dying to hear more about parasailing," she
said, her eyes wide with excitement. "I'd never have enough nerve to do
that."

"Yes," Mr. Edwards said, nodding his head slowly. "I'd
like to hear about that, too. Melanie showed us your letter, and quite frankly,
I can't believe it.
My mother, parasailing.
"

"What's wrong with that?" Grandma Dee asked
indignantly.

"Oh, nothing, I suppose," admitted Mr. Edwards, "except
that as I recall, you were never one to go in much for dangerous activities."

Grandma Dee laughed nervously. "Well, let's just say
that I'm now in my second childhood. Or," she added, giving Melanie a
wink, "my second
teen
hood."

Grandma Dee sat in the backseat of the van between Melanie
and Jeffy and talked to them all the way home about her great life in Florida
and all the fun things she did there, including parasailing. "I'm going to
miss the Valentine Day tennis tournament," she confided, "but I don't
care. I'd much rather be here getting caught up on what my grandchildren are doing."
Turning to Melanie, she went on breathlessly, "Now, sweetheart, I want to
hear all about junior high. Are you having lots of fun? Do you have a
boyfriend? I can't wait to meet all your friends."

Jeffy was sound asleep by the time the van pulled into the
Edwardses' driveway, and Melanie had filled her grandmother in on Wakeman
Junior High—Grandma Dee thought calling it Wacko was a riot—and cheerleading
and, of course, The Fabulous Five. "I'll tell you about my boyfriend
later," Melanie whispered, "when we can talk in private."

Grandma Dee gave her a conspiratorial wink and climbed out
of the van.

After lunch, Grandma Dee announced that she would like to
unpack and get settled into the guest room. "Run along, everyone, and take
care of your own business," she said, shooing them away. Melanie was
relieved because she needed new sneakers desperately, and it gave her time to
go to the mall with her mother.

The sneakers took longer to pick out than she had
anticipated. There were just too many styles and colors to choose from. She had
liked the gold lamé deck shoes, but her mother had insisted that they weren't
very practical. Then she had seen some beaded ones, but the beads were all the
wrong colors. She had finally opted for white shoes with "Wakeman Junior
High" stenciled across the toes in bright fuchsia.

"Grandma Dee will love them," she said to her
mother as Mrs. Edwards paid the cashier.

On the way home she thought again about talking to her
grandmother about her love life as soon as they could get some time alone. She
wanted to tell Grandma Dee all about Shane, his kooky parents, his pet iguana
named Igor, how cool and laid-back he was, and how he looked exactly like River
Phoenix at thirteen. Then she would tell her grandmother about Scott and ask her
advice about how to break the news to him gently that Shane was her one true
love.

When Melanie and her mother got home, they found Grandma Dee
sipping a cup of hot tea at the kitchen table. She was wearing jeans and a
yellow sweatshirt with a picture of Mickey Mouse on the front, and her
sunglasses were still sitting on top of her head. Rainbow, the multicolored dog
the Edwardses had rescued from the pound just before Christmas, lay contentedly
at her feet.

Melanie shook her head in amazement as she noticed that in
addition to a sweatshirt and jeans, her grandmother had on pink-and-white
high-top sneakers. Melanie couldn't remember ever seeing Grandma Dee dressed
that way before, not when she had come here to see them or any of the times
they had visited her in Florida. Maybe her grandmother truly was in her second
teenhood
,
as she had called it.

"I'm all moved in," Grandma Dee announced happily.
"Jeffy even helped me hang up some of my clothes."

Melanie chuckled. "I'll bet he was a big help."

"Not bad for a six-year-old," said Grandma Dee. "By
the way, you had a visitor while you were out, Melanie." Her eyes were
twinkling. "Your boyfriend was here, and we had a nice, long chat. I have
to say, he's not only handsome, but an extremely nice young man."

Melanie's mouth dropped open. "He was
here?
"
she gasped. "Oh, my gosh! Why did I have to go to the mall?"

She sank into the chair beside her grandmother and tried to
imagine what it had been like when Shane and Grandma Dee were talking.

"Did you talk about me?" she asked excitedly.

"Of course," her grandmother replied. "He
thinks you're awfully special. But then, I think
he's
special, too. You're
a lucky young lady to have Scott Daly for a boyfriend."

"Scott?" Melanie asked in astonishment. "
He
was here?"

"Why, yes. That's just what I've been telling you. In
fact, I told him you'd be home soon, and he said to say he'd call you."

Melanie sank back in her chair. Oh, no, she thought. What am
I going to do now?

Mrs. Edwards poured herself a cup of tea and sat down for a
chat with Grandma Dee. Melanie excused herself and started to her room, but
just as she passed the telephone on the kitchen wall, it rang.

Scott!
she thought, gulping hard.
It's probably
him. What if he asks me out? What will I say?

"Will you get that, honey?" her mother asked. "Sure,"
Melanie murmured. Biting her lower lip, she picked up the phone and nervously
said hello.

"Hi, Mel. This is Jana."

Melanie's knees buckled in relief. "Hi," she said
gratefully. "What's up?"

"Beth just called. She wants all of us to go to Bumpers
this afternoon. Christie wants to go, too. How about you? I know your
grandmother just got there today, but can you get away for a little while?"

Melanie's mind was racing. If she went to Bumpers, she
wouldn't be home when Scott called. What's more, she hadn't talked to any of
The Fabulous Five since her date with Shane last night and their kiss in the
backseat of the car.

"Hang on a minute while I ask," she said, cupping
her hand over the mouthpiece. "Mom, it's Jana. The Fabulous Five are going
to Bumpers for a little while. Is it okay if I go?"

"First Wacko and now Bumpers," said Grandma Dee,
shaking her head. "You kids sure have funny names for things. What in the
world is Bumpers?"

"It's the fast-food restaurant where all the junior
high kids hang out," Melanie quickly explained. "The owner, Mr.
Matson, named it Bumpers because he bought a bunch of bumper cars from an old
amusement park ride for decoration. You can even sit in some of the cars."

"My goodness, that sounds like a great place," her
grandmother exclaimed. "Of course you can go, and I'll go, too." She
hesitated, looking sheepish. "I'm sorry, Melanie. I didn't mean to invite
myself along. It's just that I'd love to meet your friends, and Bumpers sounds
like the perfect place to do it."

"Oh, Grandma Dee. That would be terrific," Melanie
cried, genuinely pleased at her suggestion. "I've been telling all my
friends how neat you are, they're all dying to meet you. Is it okay, Mom? Can
we go to Bumpers?"

Mrs. Edwards chuckled. "It sounds to me as if you
girls
have already decided. It's certainly all right with me. Run along and have a
good time."

As soon as Melanie gave the news to Jana and hung up the
phone, her grandmother jumped to her feet. "Am I dressed okay for Bumpers?"
she asked.

Melanie looked at her pencil-thin grandmother in her jeans
and Mickey Mouse sweatshirt. "You look perfect," she said, and then
added, "except maybe for the sunglasses stuck in your hair. This isn't
Florida, you know. Up here, it's the middle of the winter."

Grandma patted the sunglasses and smiled broadly. "They're
just fine right where they are. I always keep them there. That way they're
handy in case the sun comes out."

Melanie shook her head in amusement. Grandma Dee was a riot
to have around.

A large Saturday afternoon crowd had gathered at Bumpers by
the time Melanie's mother dropped them off. Melanie led the way, weaving
through the groups of boys and girls, until she reached the corner where The
Fabulous Five liked to sit. Jana and Katie were already there.

"Hi, guys. This is my grandmother Dee," she
announced proudly. "Grandma, this is Jana Morgan and Katie Shannon."

"Hi, Mrs. Edwards," the girls said in unison.

"Oh, please call me Dee. And I'm very glad to meet you,"
she said pleasantly as she scooted into the booth beside Katie and took off her
down jacket to reveal her Mickey Mouse sweatshirt.

Jana and Katie both rolled their eyes at Melanie, and she
wondered if it was because they couldn't imagine calling someone's grandmother
by her first name, or if it was because of the way Grandma Dee was dressed.
Melanie shrugged back at them. After all, she had warned them that her
grandmother was different.

"You've really got a great tan, Mrs. Ed . . . uhm, Dee,"
offered Katie.

"Why, thank you," Grandma Dee began.

Melanie barely heard her grandmother launch into a story
about how she had gotten most of her tan while on a deep-sea fishing trip a
couple of weeks ago. Melanie was too busy looking around Bumpers to see who was
there. She spotted Laura McCall and her friends in The Fantastic Foursome,
Tammy Lucero, Funny Hawthorne, and Melissa McConnell. The sight of Laura made
Melanie fume as she remembered how Laura had flirted with Shane at the ball
game the night before. Alexis Duvall and Dekeisha Adams were sitting with a big
group of girls, and there were tons of boys up at the order counter. She looked
quickly for Scott, but to her great relief, he wasn't there. She thought Shane
wasn't in Bumpers, either, until she spotted him sitting in an orange bumper
car. Igor was in his lap, and Bill Soliday was sitting beside him, feeding the
long, green iguana a french fry.

Melanie's heart began pounding at the sight of Shane and the
thought of their kiss. If only he would look her way.

"Melanie? Did you hear what I said?" Grandma Dee
broke into her thoughts.

"Gosh, no, Grandma. I'm sorry."

"That's all right, dear. I was just saying how I'd like
to sit in one of those bumper cars sometime. It would bring back memories. I
used to love the bumper car ride at the carnival when I was your age."

Melanie's heart leapt. This could be the answer to her
dilemma over Scott. There were no empty bumper cars, so she would have to ask
if someone would let her grandmother sit in one for a few minutes. Naturally,
the perfect person to ask was Shane, and once Grandma Dee met him and saw how
terrific he was, she would be happy to hear that Shane, not Scott, was Melanie's
boyfriend.

"Come on, Grandma Dee," said Melanie. She steered
her grandmother in the direction of the orange bumper car. Shane had been so
busy feeding Igor french fries that she was sure he hadn't seen her yet.

"Hi, Shane," she called out. "There's
somebody I'd like for you to meet."

Shane looked up and grinned. "Hey, you must be Melanie's
grandmother from Florida. She's been telling me all about you."

Grandma Dee started to return Shane's smile, but then her
face froze as she caught sight of Igor, a french fry dangling from his mouth.

"What is
that!
" she demanded, pointing
straight at the iguana.

Shane laughed and stroked Igor's back. "Don't worry,"
he said. "It's just Igor, my pet iguana. He won't hurt you. In fact, he
loves people."

At that, Igor dropped the french fry and flicked his long
tongue at Grandma Dee.

"Young man! Get that lizard out of here!" she
snapped, and the crowd in Bumpers suddenly got still. "Don't you know that
you're breaking the law? There are health regulations against bringing animals
into restaurants. I want to talk to the manager!"

Melanie let out a gasp of horror as Grandma Dee whirled
around and marched toward the kitchen.