Taffy Sinclair 011 - Nobody Likes Taffy Sinclair (11 page)

"
Okay,
"
she said.
"
I
'
ll talk to her.
"

Mrs. Sinclair was impossible to convince.

"
Taffy, you know that we have a lot to do before our flight on Sunday. How can you possibly ask to go to some band rehearsal?
"

"
It
'
s not just
some
band rehearsal,
"
Taffy argued.
"
It
'
s Cory
'
s band, and he wants me to be there. It will be six months before I
'
ll see him again. Please let me go.
Pleeease.
I
'
ll get everything done. I promise.
"

"
Absolutely not,
"
said her mother in the tone of voice that told Taffy it was useless to argue.

She trudged up to her room and closed the door. What am I going to do now? she wondered as she took a sweater out of a drawer, folded it, and placed it in her suitcase. I really want to go to that rehearsal!

A little later she heard the phone ring. She listened at the door for a moment, hoping it was for her, but her mother didn
'
t call her. Resignedly she went back to her packing. After a few minutes there was a soft knock on her bedroom door.

"
Who is it?
"
Taffy called.

"
It
'
s your mother, dear. May I come in?
"

"
Sure,
"
she replied.

Mrs. Sinclair came into the room and sat down in the chair beside Taffy
'
s desk.
"
I
'
ve been thinking,
"
she said slowly, and then paused.

Taffy waited, but when her mother didn
'
t say anything else, she frowned and asked,
"
Thinking about what?
"

Her mother gave Taffy a brief smile.
"
Well, depending on how your packing is coming along, of course, maybe it would be all right for you to go to the band rehearsal tomorrow.
"

Taffy
'
s mouth dropped open.
"
Do you mean that?
"
she cried. When her mother nodded, Taffy began jumping up and down.
"
Oh, thank you! Thank you! I
'
ll get all my packing finished ahead of time. I promise.
"

When Taffy arrived at Cory
'
s house the next afternoon, she parked her bike and walked slowly up the front steps of the two-story Colonial house, hesitating a moment before knocking. Cory opened the door.

"
Hi, Taffy. Come on in,
"
he said.

Taffy followed Cory inside, thinking he seemed strangely uneasy. She glanced around the silent living room.
"
Where is everybody?
"

"
Oh . . . well, they
'
re downstairs in the family room getting set up,
"
he replied.

He took her jacket, but he didn
'
t head for the stairs.

"
Aren
'
t we going down, too?
"
she asked.
"
They can
'
t rehearse without you.
"

Cory blinked at her and looked at his watch.
"
Oh, sure,
"
he said. Then he moved toward the stairway and said in an unusually loud voice,
"
Sure, Taffy. Let
'
s go on downstairs.
"

Taffy raised an eyebrow and gave him a puzzled look. Then she went down the stairs behind him.

"
SURPRISE!
"
came a chorus of voices as kids jumped out from behind sofas and chairs, giggling and squealing.
"
SURPRISE! SURPRISE!
"

At first Taffy could only stand in the middle of the room, staring at the dozens of boys and girls swarming around her. Alexis Duvall and Lisa Snow had big smiles on their faces. Mona Vaughn looked as if she might explode with joy, and from every direction kids were calling her name and grinning. Even The Fabulous Five were there. Balloons floated overhead, and at one end of the room stood a table covered with refreshments.

Suddenly Shawnie rushed up and gave Taffy a hug.
"
We all got together to say good-bye.
"

"
And, brother, did we have a tough time getting you here,
"
smiled Kimm.
"
Shawnie had to call your mother and beg her to let you come.
"

"
But
. . ."
Taffy fumbled.
"
All these kids
. . .
I thought
. . ."

"
You thought nobody likes you,
"
Shawnie said
softly,
"
but you were wrong. They may not be your
best
friends, and they may get jealous of you sometimes. But you
'
re still a Wacko kid, and everyone admires your talent.
"

"
Most of them just had to get used to the idea of having a movie star for a classmate,
"
interjected Kimm.
"
But they
'
re starting to understand better now.
"

"
Yeah,
"
said Cory.
"
They don
'
t think you
'
re stuck-
up. They know that you
'
re special, that you belong in Hollywood, just as the rest of us belong here at Wacko.
"

Taffy felt her eyes fill with tears. She would never have dreamed that a moment like this could happen.

"
Yeah, Taffy!
"

"
Congratulations!
"

The air was filled with happy chatter as one after another of Taffy
'
s classmates came forward to wish her success with the new series.

"
How soon will it be on TV?
"
asked Randy Kirwan, who was there with Jana Morgan.

"
I don
'
t know,
"
replied Taffy,
"
but we
'
re going to start shooting on Monday.
"

"
Maybe you could get Igor a part in one of the episodes,
"
said Shane Arrington, referring to his pet iguana.
"
He
'
s a big ham, and he
'
s wanted to get into show business for ages.
"

"
I
'
ll see what I can do,
"
Taffy promised, laughing.

It was then that she noticed Beth Barry standing a little to the side. Am I imagining it, or does she look like she wants to talk to me? thought Taffy.

Taffy approached her, and Beth flashed a big smile.
"
I have to admit that I wish I were in your shoes,
"
Beth said.
"
Any tips for an aspiring
amateur
actress?
"

Taffy returned Beth
'
s smile and rolled her eyes.
"
Get out of the Media Club,
"
she said, groaning.
"
After that, you might see if you can get into one of Merry Chase
'
s acting classes.
"

"
Thanks,
"
said Beth.
"
And, Taffy
. . ."
she added.
"
Good luck in Hollywood.
"

"
Right,
"
echoed Katie Shannon and Melanie Edwards, who had just walked up.

Taffy felt her throat tighten. Even her old enemies, The Fabulous Five, were wishing her luck. She couldn
'
t let anyone see the tears that were threatening to spill from her eyes, so she nodded her thanks and turned around quickly, shouting to the others.
"
Hey, I
thought
this was going to be a band rehearsal for The Dreadful Alternatives. Why don
'
t you guys play something?
"

A cheer went up, and Cory and the other members of the band scrambled to tune their instruments, while Kimm took her place in front, ready to sing. Taffy watched her talk to Cory for a moment. They do look right together, she realized.

Taffy couldn
'
t remember when she had had such a great time. She danced till her feet ached, stuffed herself with brownies and punch, and by the time the afternoon was almost over and most of the kids had gone home, she knew she was truly going to miss Wakeman Junior High.

"
Cory, this is the most wonderful party I
'
ve ever had,
"
she said, gesturing around at the empty soda cans and half-eaten cookies that now littered the room.

"
I
'
m glad you liked it,
"
he said. He lowered his eyes and drew her to him, kissing her softly on the lips.
"
That
'
s for good-bye and this is for good luck,
"
he said, kissing her again.

When Taffy rode her bike home, she felt as if she were floating on clouds. She couldn
'
t believe how well everything had turned out. Maybe she didn
'
t exactly fit in at Wakeman Junior High anymore, but at least she had learned that a lot of kids cared about her and wished her the best.

She smiled and whispered,
"
No Hollywood movie could ever have a happier ending.
"