Free Fabulous Five 003 - The Popularity Trap by Betsy Haynes Page B

VITAMIN C FOR SEVENTH-GRADE PRESIDENT!"
shouted Richie, grinning at Christie. "That's a pretty slick way of advertising."
    "Way to go, Christie!" shouted Mona Vaughn, waving
her clenched fists.
    "I can't believe it!" said Melissa, jumping to her
feet. "First you pollute the school and now you pollute the football team!"
    Christie ignored Melissa and tried to concentrate on the
game. She didn't want to think about the stickers right now, and what they
could mean to her campaign.
    The teams went at each other again. Gradually Wakeman edged
the ball toward the Black Rock goal line. Suddenly Christie saw Randy roll to
the right and fake a pitchout to Scott.
    What's he doing that for? she wondered. But then the Black
Rock players went for Scott, and Randy cut back, splitting two defenders and
crossing the goal line standing up. Shane kicked the extra point, and the green
numbers on the scoreboard said: Wakeman seven, Visitors zero. The crowd went
wild, and Christie and Jon hugged each other.
    Wakeman lined up to kick off to Black Rock. Suddenly one of
the officials blew his whistle and stopped the game. He walked over to one of the
Wakeman players and looked at the back of his helmet.
    "What's going on?" asked Jon. "What are the
officials doing?"
    The officials, in their white-and-black-striped shirts, had
gone over to the Wakeman bench and were talking to Coach Bledsoe. The coach was
looking back and forth between the officials and the players. He walked over to
Scott and turned him around and looked at the back of his helmet. Throwing up
his hands, he went back to the officials. The Wakeman crowd went silent, as if
they were all holding their breath.
    "Uh-oh," said Katie, clenching her teeth. "Scott
should have asked the coach if it was okay to put the stickers on the back of
the helmets."
    "Oh, no," said Christie, turning to Jon. "What
will the officials do to the players?"
    "Make them take the stickers off. I hope that's all.
There's not supposed to be any advertisement on the players. I guess they could
make them forfeit the game."
    "It'll be your fault if we lose, Christie Winchell,"
said Melissa from the next row. Christie turned and gave her a drop-dead look.
    "It wasn't your idea," Katie said, putting her
hand on Christie's knee. She looked worried.
    Christie bit her lower lip. She couldn't believe the
stickers with her name on them were causing all this trouble. On the bright
side, they might damage her campaign and give the mystery candidate an even
bigger edge. But what if they cost Wakeman the game? How could she live with
that?
    The officials huddled for some time and then went back to
talk to Coach Bledsoe. The crowd had gotten so quiet, thought Christie, that
you could hear a kernel of popcorn drop.
    Jon squeezed her hand as the public address system crackled
to life. "The Wakeman Warriors are penalized fifteen yards for illegal
uniforms. The penalty will be assessed on the kickoff."
    A giant "WHOOSH!" went up as the Wakeman
spectators let out their collective breath. Christie leaned against Jon in
relief. Then she watched the jubilant Wakeman players take the stickers off
their helmets and go on to win the game fourteen to seven.

CHAPTER 16
    Christie walked into the school on Monday morning with the
rest of The Fabulous Five. Her friends were all hyper about the election and
her chances of becoming president, but Christie had something else on her
mind—Curtis. What if he revealed that he was the mystery candidate too soon and
blew the whole thing? She knew she would be nervous all day, especially when
everyone saw the new posters. Would he be able to keep his mouth shut?
    Jon, Curtis, Whitney, and she had gone to Curtis's house
yesterday to make posters that said, MYSTERY CANDIDATE TO BE REVEALED AT
BUMPERS MONDAY AFTER SCHOOL. It had been fun, and with all four of them working
on Curtis's campaign, Christie had the feeling that it just might work, and she
wouldn't be elected. Now she had her fingers crossed