Free Fabulous Five 018 - Teen Taxi by Betsy Haynes

her a big smile. "Do you
really like the idea of a teen taxi?" Melanie asked in disbelief.
    "Of course," Shawnie insisted. "It's better
than a grungy old school bus and much nicer than a city bus that anybody can
ride. It's just for teens, and that's what makes it so cool."
    Cool? The word echoed in Melanie's mind. Cool was
the last word she would have used to describe her mother's new business.
    "But wouldn't you feel weird if your mother was a taxi
driver for school kids?" she asked.
    "What's so weird about that?" asked Shawnie in
surprise.
    Melanie didn't answer because the van was pulling into Kevin's
driveway. Kevin raced out of his house and hurried toward the taxi with a smile
on his face.
    "It's great to have my own personal limo service,"
he said as he clambered aboard.
    Good grief, thought Melanie. Kevin thinks the teen taxi is
cool, too.
    When they stopped at Brian's house, Melanie smiled to
herself. Things were working out better than she had hoped. She had been trying
to figure out how to talk about other great boys to Brian, but how did you talk
to one boy about other guys without letting your embarrassment show? But now
she knew. The idea had just come to her, and it was going to work like a charm.
    Brian lumbered into the van with his head down, but his eyes
lit up and a smile spread across his face when he saw the two new riders. "Hey,
Kev! Hey, Shawnie! All right!" he said, slapping hands with Kevin. "When
did you guys sign on?"
    Kevin and Shawnie began talking at once, explaining to Brian
that their parents had decided to let them ride the taxi and had called Mrs.
Edwards the night before. Melanie listened patiently, waiting for a break in
the conversation and the familiar adoring look from Brian to begin her plan.
    But Brian didn't look at her. Instead, he lifted Jeffy onto
his lap and kept right on talking to Kevin and Shawnie as if she weren't there.
    The van moved out of the residential neighborhood and into
the heavier traffic on the route to Wakeman Junior High. Melanie bit her lower
lip and looked out the window, wondering what had come over Brian. He hadn't
even said hello to her, much less acted like a lovesick moose, the way he
usually did. Finally she couldn't stand it any longer.
    Turning toward the others, she said, "Shawnie. Don't
you think that Scott Daly is one of the best-looking hunks in Wacko? I mean, he
is a living doll. Don't you agree?"
    Shawnie darted quick glances at both Kevin and Brian before
she answered. "Sure. He's really cute. What made you ask?"
    Melanie could see out of the corner of her eye that she had
Brian's attention. That was exactly what she wanted. Curtis Trowbridge had said
it really made him mad for girls to talk about how great other guys were. With
Shawnie's help, maybe it would have the same effect on Brian.
    "What made me ask?" Melanie echoed Shawnie's
question. "Oh, I don't know. I guess I was just thinking about great guys,
and naturally Scott popped into my mind. At least he's not like some guys I
know," she went on, unable to stop now that she had gotten started
talking. "You know, the show-offs. The ones who are always demonstrating how strong they are and things like that."
    "Brian is not a show-off!" cried Jeffy. He
wriggled out of Brian's lap and stumbled toward Melanie, grabbing the arm of
her chair for support. "He's my friend! "
    Melanie was stunned. Everyone was looking at her. "I .
. . I wasn't talking about Brian," she murmured, but she knew they could
all tell that she was lying. She wanted to tell Brian that she hadn't meant to
hurt his feelings, but she couldn't even turn her head toward him, much less
look him in the eye.
    Finally the van stopped in front of the school. Brian got
out without a word. Kevin followed. Shawnie seemed to want to say something to
Melanie, but after a minute she shrugged and got out, too. Finally Melanie
stepped out and trudged across the grass, shaking her head. What have I done?
she asked herself.

CHAPTER