Free Fabulous Five 002 - The Trouble with Flirting by Betsy Haynes

receiver from her.
    Melanie's hand went numb, and she stared at the phone. It
was Garrett, she thought frantically. He had found out the truth and was
calling to tell her off for tricking him. She couldn't tell him he had the
wrong number. He would recognize her voice. I know, she thought. I'll have
Jeffy tell him that I can't come to the phone because my ankle is too swollen.
Oh, no, she thought. I can't do that. He might be calling for some other
reason, and then he'd know I'm not Taffy Sinclair.
    She took a deep breath to compose herself and pulled the
receiver to her ear. "Hello," she said.
    "Hi, Melody. This is Shane . . ." He said
something else, but the sound of his voice was lost in rock music punctuated by
a hammering sound.
    "What!" she shouted. "I can't hear you."
    "Just a minute," he shouted back. A few seconds
later the music got softer and the hammering stopped. "There," he
said. "Can you hear me now?"
    "Yes, but what's going on?"
    "Not much," he said. "I always entertain Igor
at night since he's been by himself all day. He loves for me to play rock music
on my stereo, and I tie a pan lid onto his tail so that he can pretend he's a
drummer and beat it on the floor in time to the music."
    "You're kidding!" screeched Melanie. Then, in
spite of herself, she burst out laughing. "This I've got to see."
    "Actually, Igor's been practicing for his first public
performance, but I doubt if he'll be ready by Saturday night," said Shane.
"Anyway, that's not why I called. I was wondering how your ankle feels."
    "It's great. I don't think I hurt it badly."
    "Super," Shane said. There was real concern in his
voice. "I would hate it if you had to miss cheerleading tryouts or . . .
the party Saturday night."
    They talked for a little while longer, and by the time they
hung up, Melanie was feeling so dreamy again that she didn't even remember to
remind him that her name was Melanie instead of Melody. Or remember that her
boy troubles were only beginning.

CHAPTER 13
    The glow she had felt from talking to Shane had worn off by
the next morning, and Melanie lay in her bed after the alarm went off thinking
about the mess she had gotten herself into.
    "Things are totally out of hand," she said out
loud. "Totally!"
    She had three dates for one party, and one of those dates
was with a boy who thought she was someone else.
    "What am I going to do-o-o-o ? " she
moaned.
    She asked the same question of the rest of The Fabulous Five
when they met in their special corner of the fence before school.
    "You've got to help me," she begged. "At
least think up some ideas for how I can get out of this mess. Come on, guys.
Think. Please ! "
    Jana's eyes were twinkling. "You could always take a
vacation to Abu Dhabi."
    "Where's that?" Melanie asked suspiciously.
    "Only Asia," said Jana.
    "I've got an idea," said Beth. "You could
stow away on a steamer to Hong Kong."
    "Maybe the next space shuttle flight has an opening,"
suggested Christie.
    "Get serious, you guys," snapped Melanie. "This
is important."
    "Have you ever thought about not being so boy crazy?"
asked Katie.
    "I AM NOT BOY CRAZY!" she shouted. Why did
Katie always say that? It made her furious. "Thanks a lot for nothing, "
she said as she turned and stomped away. I'll show them, she thought. I'll work
it out myself.
    As she rounded a corner of the school building she almost bumped
into Garrett.
    "Oh . . . hi," she said, hoping he couldn't see
how flustered she was.
    "Hi, yourself," he said. "How's that ankle?"
    "Oh, it's okay," she said. "It hardly hurts
at all this morning."
    "Let me show you the pictures I took at football practice
yesterday," he said, digging around in his pack. "I developed them
last night, and they came out great, if I do say so myself."
    Garrett was grinning with pride when he handed her the
pictures. Melanie glanced through them, trying to appear casual, and felt a
rush of pleasure at how super she looked in every single shot. Then she
inspected Shane and Scott, and