Free Fabulous Five 025 - The Fabulous Five Minus One by Betsy Haynes

kid. Neither am I. It's like swim practice. I know what I need to do to
keep myself in shape, and I do it. In fact, I'm planning to miss practice after
school today."
    "You are? Won't Coach Benfield be angry?"
    "Why should he be? I'm the best swimmer. If I weren't,
he wouldn't keep me in the lead-off position in the endurance runs. Besides, it'll
give somebody else, like Randy, the chance to be first once in a while."
    It bothered Christie that Chase didn't take swim practice
more seriously. She had never approached anything with less than a wholehearted
effort. But Chase had been a swimmer for a long time. He ought to know what he
could and couldn't do.
    "Do you want to study together tonight?" he asked.
    Christie forgot about his skipping practice at the thought
of seeing him that evening. "I'd like that."
     
    "Hey, look, more goodies!" said Melinda Thaler.
    Spread out on a table in front of the PEAK classroom were
paper plates filled with different kinds of snacks. Although Christie couldn't
tell what they were, they looked yummy.
    "The food looks pretty good, doesn't it?" said Mr.
Dracovitch, walking into the room. He was wearing his straw hat and a pair of
bib overalls. A plaid shirt and a piece of hay sticking out of his mouth
completed the costume. A ripple of laughter went through the class.
    "Good afternoon," said the teacher. "Where
are all the farmers' clothes you were going to wear?"
    "We weren't sure you were for real." Dekeisha
giggled.
    "I was, but don't worry about it. I won't count off your
grades because you were afraid to be different. Remember, though, being
different should never bother you. Some of the greatest achievers were
considered odd or different, like Christopher Columbus and our first female astronaut,
Sally Ride. Now, if you'd like, you can come up to the table and sample the
goodies."
    "What's this?" asked Melissa, picking up a cracker
with a spread on it.
    "Try some of the stuff in the bowl," said the
teacher, ignoring her question.
    "Hmmm, good," said Dekeisha.
    They all tried a little of each of the snacks.
    "I like those two best," remarked Christie. "That
one's my least favorite."
    "But what are they?" insisted Melissa.
    "That one's made out of seaweed. That one's made out of
krill. It's the same thing that whales eat. And that one's made out of
plankton."
    "Eeeyew!" Melissa made a face and stuck out her
tongue. "Whale food!"
    "Yuck," said Melinda, wiping food off her tongue
with a napkin.
    "Now, wait a minute," said Mr. Dracovitch. "Just
a minute ago you were all telling me how great these things tasted. What
changed your minds?"
    "It's just that . . . it's just that . . . I don't
know." Melissa struggled to explain.
    "It's just that you're not used to eating them,"
offered Mr. Dracovitch. "But you'd better get used to them, because things
like these are the foods of the future. As the land resources are depleted, we're
going to have to depend more and more on our seas for food."
    As he explained what he meant, Christie started wondering
what junior high school would be like in England. She knew that some kids wore
uniforms to school. Would she have to wear one? Did the kids have to stand up
in front of the class and talk a lot? If they did, the other kids would
probably think she was the one who sounded funny. She could just imagine them
whispering and giggling to each other about her.
    Then she started remembering all the things she and her
friends had done during the last year. There was the time The Fabulous Five had
rescued animals from the animal shelter at Christmas. Melanie had kept one of
the dogs, and had named it Rainbow. Then there was the trip the five of them
had taken with Melanie's family to the island of Barbados, when Marco Montavo
had tricked each of The Fabulous Five into thinking she was the one he was in
love with. And then there were all the football and basketball games, where
they jumped up and down and cheered for the Wacko teams. Seventh grade had
turned out to