Fabulous Five 025 - The Fabulous Five Minus One (6 page)

"Look out. Here come the PUKES," said Beth, her
voice low.

The Fabulous Five were sitting in the cafeteria, making
plans to meet that night for a movie and pizza with their boyfriends.

Christie looked up to see Richie, Clarence, Joel, and Matt
carrying their trays to the return.

"Hey, Christie," called Joel. "Have you guys
in PEAK come up with any great new scientific discoveries yet?"

"I heard they're studying about water in the PEAK
class," said Clarence. "I knew about water when I was a little kid,
only I called it 'wa wa' then."

"The PEAKs
used
to know about water, too,"
chimed in Richie, "but what they knew ran out the other end of their
brains when they learned something else. That's how being smart works."

Christie tried to ignore the boys.

"It's better being one of the PEAKs than one of the
PUKES any old day," said Beth angrily. Christie wished Beth hadn't said
it.

"The what?" asked Richie.

"PUKES. That's all you guys are, anyway."

The boys looked at each other. "What are PUKES?"
asked Joel.

"People U Kant Even Stand,"
replied Beth
sharply.

"Hey, that's neat!" said Clarence. "We oughta
get T-shirts that say PUKES on them. What do you think, guys?"

"How do you spell
can't?
" asked Matt with a
frown on his face.

"Who cares?" said Clarence. The boys walked off
talking about the T-shirts they were going to have made.

"I can't believe this," said Christie, putting her
hand over her eyes.

"How come you missed swim practice again, Chase?"
Tony asked. It was Friday night, and The Fabulous Five were sitting in Mama Mia's
eating pizza with their boyfriends.

"I had something else I had to do. Did Coach say
anything?"

"He just asked if anyone knew where you were,"
answered Shane. "I don't think he likes it when someone misses and doesn't
tell him."

"No sweat," said Chase. "I missed practices
in San Diego, and the coach didn't do anything about it. I'll be ready for the
meet tomorrow."

"Doesn't it bother you to do something like that?"
asked Katie.

Chase shrugged nonchalantly. "Why should it? What do
you want to bet I get at least four gold medals?"

Katie frowned at his response.

"I wouldn't want to bet against you," said Randy.
Chase gave him a big grin.

"Time to go," announced Katie. "You've got to
get your sleep if you're going to keep from drowning during the swim meet
tomorrow, macho man," she said to Tony.

"Afraid of losing me, Your Honor?"

"I'm not afraid of losing you. I'm just afraid that if
you drown, they won't find that coral necklace I bought you," she
answered, laughing.

"Katie and Tony are really funny," said Christie
as Chase walked her home.

"They sure are," agreed Chase. "What do you
want to do now?"

Surprised, Christie looked at him questioningly. "Now?"

"Sure. It's still too early to go home. I get nervous
just hanging around the house. Let's stop at McDonald's again and have a soda."

Christie hesitated. Her mother had been upset with her for
being late the previous weekend, but she really didn't want to go home just
yet. It
was
early, and being with Chase was fun. It wasn't fair to have
to worry about whether she got in at eleven o'clock or twelve o'clock,
especially on the weekend. Like Chase said, what difference did it make,
anyway? She might never see him again after she moved.

"Okay, let's," Christie said, squeezing Chase's
arm.

"Christie Winchell, what in the world has come over
you?" her mother demanded. She and Christie's father were waiting for her
when she stepped in the door.

"Mom, it's only eleven-forty-five. That's not late."

"You're supposed to be home by eleven, Christie, and
you know that," her father said firmly. "That doesn't mean
eleven-forty-five or anything else. Where were you?"

"Chase and I just stopped at McDonald's for a soda,
that's all."

"You know that isn't a good excuse, Christie,"
said her mother. "There is no reason you couldn't have at least called and
let us know."

"But eleven o'clock isn't reasonable," Christie
said, remembering Chase's words.

"It is until you prove you can abide by it,"
countered her father. "Until you do, we can't begin to consider changing
your curfew."

"I'm amazed at you, Christie," her mother
continued. "You've never acted this way before. This is the third night
that you've been late. I'm afraid we're going to have to ground you."

"Ground me!" Christie couldn't believe what she
was hearing.

"That's right," agreed her father. "You're
grounded for the next two weeks."

"That's not fair!"
cried Christie. "We're
moving in five weeks, and I'll hardly be able to be with my friends at all
before I go."

"You can't know how sorry we are about it, Christie,
but you know the rules. You should have thought of that before."

Christie turned and went to her room, fuming.

"You're what!" exclaimed Jana.

Christie could hear the disbelief over the telephone. "I'm
grounded," Christie repeated. "I got in late last night, and my
parents grounded me."

"Why would they do that? I'm not exactly on time every
single time."

"I was late getting in last Friday and Saturday, too,"
Christie admitted.

"You were?" The disbelief in Jana's voice was even
greater. "How late were you?"

Christie lowered her voice. She knew it didn't sound good. "About
an hour. Chase and I just stopped for a soda a couple of times. Last Saturday
we played video games at the mall for a little while after we left you guys. We
didn't do anything wrong."

"You've been an hour late three times in the last week?"

"Now you sound like my parents," complained
Christie. "Chase says eleven o'clock is too early for someone in junior
high to have to be in, anyway. Besides, we're moving, and I ought to have the
right to spend
some
extra time with my friends."

The phone was quiet for so long that Christie thought they
had been cut off.

"Jana?"

"I'm here, Christie. Will your parents let anyone come
to see you?"

"I think so."

"Look, I've got to go and watch Randy swim in the meet
this afternoon. Why don't I stop by when it's over? I'll bring Katie, Melanie,
and Beth with me."

"I'd like that," said Christie. As usual, she
could count on The Fabulous Five to be there when she needed them.

"I never would have believed you'd be grounded,
Christie," said Beth. "Not you." The Fabulous Five were in
Christie's bedroom. Beth, Melanie, and Katie were lounging on the bed, while
Jana and Christie sat in chairs.

"It's like putting the president in jail, because
someone found out he was a crook," said Melanie.

"Thanks, Mel," replied Christie. "I am not a
crook. Chase and I were just having so much fun, we forgot what time it was."

"You forgot for a whole hour?" asked Katie. "Whose
idea was it anyway, yours or Chase's?"

Christie looked at her in disbelief. "It was both of
ours," she fibbed. "I thought you'd be on my side."

"We are on your side, Christie," said Jana, "but
I have to agree with Katie that that's a long time to forget about the time."

Christie sighed. "I guess I did know. But I was having
so much fun with Chase, and we're going to be moving soon, so what difference
does it make?"

"It just doesn't sound like you, Christie," said
Beth.

"Speaking of Chase, did you know that Coach Benfield
didn't let him race today because he missed two practices this week?"
asked Katie.

Christie's mouth dropped open. "How could he do that?
Chase is the best swimmer on the team."

"Coach Benfield told the team that it didn't make any
difference. Obeying the rules is more important than winning. The others just
had to try harder," said Melanie.

Christie was afraid to ask, but she did, anyway. "How
did they do?"

"They lost," said Beth. "Randy won first
place in the butterfly and one-hundred-meter freestyle, and Tony won first
place in the backstroke, but the rest of the team couldn't help enough."

Mixed emotions churned inside of Christie. The Wakeman team
had lost because Chase couldn't race. Maybe Chase should have been to all the
practices, but his coach in California had let Chase race when he missed
practices. Why wouldn't Coach Benfield? Did that make sense?

Deep down Christie knew it did. Chase had just pushed it too
far. It wouldn't have been that much trouble to either go to practice or at
least talk to the coach about missing it. But that was just the way Chase was.
He was carefree and happy-go-lucky.

"I'm sorry that happened," said Christie.

"It's not your fault," said Jana. "It's just
the way Chase is."

"I know," Christie agreed with a smile. "He's
always getting behind in things. That's why I'm helping him with his math and
English. He
can
do good things, though. He got an A in the history test."

Jana gave her a funny look. "What history test?"

"The one he took last week."

"I'm in Chase's history class, and we didn't have a test
last week," said Jana.

Christie stared at her. "The one you had on Thursday."

Jana shook her head.

"Chase said . . ." Christie suddenly understood.
Chase hadn't wanted to be bothered doing the homework himself, so he had told
her he had to study for a history test. Christie felt used.

Jana reached out and put her hands sympathetically on
Christie's. "Christie, Chase is a nice guy, and he's a lot of fun. But the
rest of us have been talking, and we're not sure how much you should trust him."

"He may mean well," agreed Katie. "But you
have to admit, he's always in trouble."

Christie looked at the faces of her friends. She knew they
were right.

After the others had left, Christie sat alone in her room
thinking, a tear running slowly down her cheek. Now that she thought of it,
there were a lot of things Chase did that she should have paid more attention
to. Deep down she had known he was conning her parents. Why hadn't she seen
what kind of person he was?

But what difference would it have made if she had? she asked
herself. Would she have refused to go out with him? She sighed and shook her
head. Probably not, but maybe she could have influenced him more instead of
letting him influence her. The worst thing was that although things couldn't be
the same between them, she still liked Chase.

There was one thing she
definitely
had to do, and she
had to do it right away. She took a tissue from the box on her desk and wiped
her eyes.

"Mom, Dad," she said, as she walked into the
family room where they were reading. "I want to say I'm sorry."

"Well, Laura and her friends know you're leaving,
Christie," said Beth as The Fabulous Five stood at their favorite spot by
the school fence on Monday morning. "She asked me what we were going to
call ourselves when you're gone and there are only the four of us. She said The
Fabulous Four would sound like we were imitating The Fantastic Foursome."

"It doesn't make any difference what Laura says,"
said Jana, grim-faced. "We don't have to call ourselves anything else. The
Fabulous Five is The Fabulous Five, and it always will be."

"It's not like we won't be talking to Christie, either,"
offered Beth. "We'll write lots of letters."

"We'll even save money for long-distance telephone
calls," added Jana.

"By the way, Christie, Tony told me that he, Randy, Shane,
and Keith really got all over Chase for keeping you out late," said Katie.
"They didn't care so much about losing the swim meet, but none of them
liked Chase's getting you into trouble."

"It wasn't all his fault," admitted Christie. "Don't
forget, I could have said I wouldn't stay out late."

"Maybe so, but I'm still glad they did it,"
declared Katie.

Right or wrong, it gave Christie a warm feeling to know that
the guys cared that much. She wondered if Chase would ever speak to her again.

"All right, everyone," said Mr. Dracovitch as the
PEAK class ended, "that's all for today. Your assignment for Wednesday is
to read chapters five and six in your history book. They're about how and why
the prehistoric inhabitants of England chose the Thames River near London to
settle. If any of you care to come dressed as cavemen or cave women," he
said, chuckling, "feel free to do so."

"Unh! Unh! Unh!" Grunting and scratching, Curtis
gave an imitation of what he thought a caveman would sound like.

"Down, boy!" said Melissa.

"Remember, everyone, bring your T-shirts to Bumpers in
case those PUKES want to give us trouble," said Curtis. He had handed out
red T-shirts with gold letters that spelled PEAKS AND PROUD OF IT before Mr.
Dracovitch had entered the room. Christie had immediately stuck hers in her
backpack.

"Christie, can I talk to you for a moment?" asked
Mr. Dracovitch. "I heard that your family is moving to England. That's why
I chose those chapters in the history book for an example of how water
determines where people live. I thought it might be especially interesting to
you.

"This is going to be a great experience for you,"
he continued. "England is the source of a great deal of our heritage, and
there are lots of things to see there.
Winchell
is an English name.
Maybe you can find where some of your ancestors lived."

"I think the chapters will be very interesting. Thank
you," Christie said.

"I was pleased to see you back in the swing of things
in class today," said the teacher. "I know that moving is a very disturbing
thing, especially when you're young and haven't had to move before. Do you
recall my reference to Christopher Columbus and Sally Ride the other day?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well, I believe each of the students in the PEAK class
has the potential to do something equally great. I couldn't have been happier
when Mr. Bell and Mrs. Brenner asked me to teach the class. You kids are
different. I understand that that can be a burden at times because people
expect a lot of you. In the long run, though, you'll come to appreciate your
talents and realize how much you can contribute to others. Your leaving has
given
me
the incentive to try to make the rest of this semester even
better for the PEAK class. Call it my contribution to England through you. Lots
of luck, Christie."

Tears welled up in Christie's eyes as she said, "Thank
you, Mr. Dracovitch. I want you to know something, too. I think your classes
are super. You make learning fun, and I can hardly wait to get to your class
each time to see what we're going to do. I think that's special."

"Some kids are just fun teaching," Mr. Dracovitch
said with a smile.

The Fabulous Five were sitting in a corner booth in Bumpers
when Christie got there.

"Don't forget all those rock stars in London,"
Melanie said to Christie. "You've just
got
to get some autographs
for me."

"I'll do what I can," said Christie, smiling.

"You know, it could be worse," said Katie. "Your
father's job isn't permanent. I bet you'll be back before any of us know it."

"Not before I know it," protested Christie.

She glanced around the room and saw Chase talking to Bill
Soliday near the Wurlitzer jukebox. He was smiling and acting as if nothing had
happened.

Just then Richie, Clarence, Joel, and Matt stepped into the
center of the room. They were wearing ugly green T-shirts with the word PUKES printed
on the front in black.

"Where are the PEAKs! Where are the PEAKs!" they
shouted.

"We're right here!" said Curtis, accepting the
challenge. "Come on, PEAKs. Let's show them we're proud of ourselves."
He pulled his T-shirt on over his head and marched to the center of the room to
confront the other boys. Whitney followed as she pulled on her T-shirt, too.

"Come on." Curtis waved at the other PEAKs, trying
to get them to join him.

"Oh, boy," said Katie. "I can't believe this."

"Me, either," said Christie, but she got up and
went over to where Curtis was standing. Melissa and Melinda reluctantly did the
same.

"We're prettier than you," said Joel, dancing
around in a circle to show off his T-shirt. "That just goes to show that
beauty doesn't always go with brains."

"Put on your T-shirts," Curtis said to Christie,
Melissa, and Melinda.

"No," said Christie.

"No?" said Curtis incredulously.

"Ha!" said Richie triumphantly.

"I am proud to be in the PEAK class, but I'm not going
to put on the T-shirt," said Christie. "I'm not going to be at
Wakeman much longer, and I don't intend to spend any of the time I have left in
silly arguments. This whole thing is ridiculous, anyway."

"You just don't want to be . . ." Richie started
to say.

"Wait a minute!" said Clarence, sticking out his
hand to stop Richie. Even though they had never been close friends, Clarence
and Christie had known each other most of their lives. They had gone to Mark
Twain Elementary together, although he had spent most of his time getting in
trouble, while she had been a model student.

"What did you say, Christie?" Clarence asked,
looking at Christie closely. "The part about not being at Wakeman much
longer?"

"She's moving," said Melinda. "To London."

Clarence looked surprised. "To London? How come? When?"

"My dad has a new job there," answered Christie. "We're
moving between semesters."

Clarence stared at her. "Jeez!" he said. Then he
said it again. To Christie's amazement, Clarence pulled off his T-shirt. He
frowned at Richie, Joel, and Matt, and they quickly did the same.

"I didn't know you were moving," Clarence said to
Christie. He seemed to genuinely care.

After things had settled down, Christie and her friends
talked about how often they would write.

"I want you to send me some souvenirs, too," said
Beth. "I hear the queen's jewelry is really something. Maybe you could
send me a couple of crowns with all kinds of diamonds on them."

"You can send me something from the Hard Rock Cafe in
London," said Jana. "A T-shirt would be neat, if you don't mind
talking about T-shirts right now."

"I'll just take letters," said Katie. "Lots
of them."

"If I send you guys everything you want, I'll be broke
in no time," said Christie, laughing. She looked at her watch. "I'd
better get home and see what Mom wants me to get out for supper."

As she stepped outside, someone fell in step beside her.

"Hi," said Chase. "Is it okay if I walk you
home?" He wasn't sporting his usual grin.

In spite of herself, Christie felt a little thrill run up
her back. "Sure."

"I guess you heard how I messed up the swim team,"
said Chase. "They lost because of me. I'm sorry I let them down."

Christie didn't know how to answer without being hard on
him, so she didn't say anything.

"Did your friends tell you how I got chewed out by
Randy and the guys?"

Christie nodded.

"I also got chewed out by Jana because I told you I had
a history test when I didn't." He kicked at a rock on the sidewalk. "I
guess I deserved it. I'm really sorry for that, and for getting you in trouble
with your parents, Christie."

Christie was amazed at the number of apologies going around
lately. First, she had apologized to her parents, then Clarence and the PUKES
had kind of apologized, and now Chase was doing it. There must be an epidemic.

"I should have known better, too," she said. "As
you said, I'm almost an adult."

"Then you don't hate me?" He looked very sincere,
but Christie wasn't sure that she could ever again trust him the way she had
before. It would take time, and they didn't have it.

"Of course I don't hate you. I guess maybe I expected
too much from you. I should know better, since I'm always complaining about
people who expect too much from me." She thought she saw a flicker of pain
in his eyes.

"The toughest part is, I was starting to feel like a
part of your gang," said Chase. "I think I may have blown it. I'm not
sure they like me that much anymore."

She looked at him sympathetically. "Don't be too sure.
They're pretty nice people."

He finally smiled. "I know they are."

When they reached her corner, he said, "Maybe we can
play tennis sometime before you leave. I'm really not very good, but maybe you
can teach me."

"Maybe," she said.

Christie looked around the big airport terminal waiting
room. It was totally awesome. She and her family and The Fabulous Five had
gotten there an hour early, as the Winchells had been told. Her father said it
was so that their bags could be inspected before being loaded for the overseas
flight.

Christie couldn't remember when she had been so nervous.
That morning she had packed and repacked her overnight case a dozen times to
make sure she had what she needed for the all-night flight. It was hard to
imagine that she would go to sleep over the Atlantic Ocean and wake up in
London, England. Mostly it seemed unreal that she would be saying good-bye to
Jana, Katie, Melanie, and Beth.

Dekeisha, Melinda, and lots of other kids had called her
during the last week to say good-bye. Chase had called the evening before to
say good-bye, too. They hadn't dated again, but they had played tennis twice.
He was right—he wasn't very good at it. Christie still got that funny feeling
every time they talked. She wondered what it would have been like between them
if she weren't leaving.

"Christie," said Jana, looking very serious. She,
Beth, Melanie, and Katie had each pulled a box from their backpacks. Christie
had thought it was strange when she saw them wearing their backpacks to the
airport.

"We want to give you these to remember us by,"
said Beth.

Christie looked at her four friends standing in front of her
with their boxes, and she thought she was going to lose it. She swallowed hard
four times before she could manage a smile.

"Thank you."

"Don't just say, 'Thank you'," said Melanie. "Open
them. Here, start with mine."

Christie loosened the bow and took the paper off very
carefully so she could keep it. Reaching inside, she pulled out a stuffed bear.
It was reddish brown, the color of Melanie's hair, and was wearing a dress with
hearts all over it. On the front of the dress was stitched "Melanie."

"Ooh! How sweet," Christie cooed as she hugged
Melanie tight.

"Now mine," said Beth.

Christie was equally careful with the wrapping on Beth's
gift. Inside was another bear. This one was dressed in wild clothes made out of
fluorescent-colored material, and it was wearing sunglasses. Spiral earrings
hung down from its little round bear ears. It had "Beth" embroidered
on its front.

"Oh, no! It's perfect," Christie squealed as she
grabbed and hugged Beth. Beth's eyes were moist.

Next she opened Katie's present. Inside was yet another
bear. This one was smaller and had reddish hair like Katie's. It was dressed
like an English judge with a white wig on its head and a gavel in its paw. "Katie"
was on its front.

As Christie suspected, Jana's box contained a fourth bear.
This one was dark brown and was wearing a hat on which was written "Reporter."
Jana was coeditor of the school yearbook. Of course the bear had "Jana"
stitched on its shirt.

"We thought they'd go nicely with your white tennis
bear," said Katie. "You can line them all up on your bed and call
them The Fabulous Five."

"There'll never be another Fabulous Five," said
Christie as she reached out and pulled her friends to her. They wrapped their
arms around each other in a big group hug.

"I hate to break this up," said Christie's father
softly. "But they've announced the boarding. We've got to find our seats."

Christie and her parents tucked the bears into their
carry-on luggage. Then the Fabulous Five walked with Christie to the entrance
of the jetway leading out to the plane. Christie gave her boarding pass to the
attendant, then turned around to give one last wave to Katie, Beth, Melanie,
and Jana.

"FRIENDS FOREVER
!"
the four of them
shouted.

"Friends forever!" said Christie. Giving a little
wave with her fingers, she turned and walked to the plane.