Free Fabulous Five 014 - The Seventh-Grade Menace by Betsy Haynes Page B

about her
mother, Geena had threatened her about the dress. Jana sighed. Geena McNatt was
a bully. That's all there was to it.
    Jana was still sitting up and thinking when she heard her
mother and Pink come home. Her mother pushed the bedroom door open slightly and
peeked in.
    "Oh! You're still awake, sweetheart. How was your dinner?"
    "Okay. Mom, can I talk to you a minute?"
    "Sure." Her mother turned on the bedside lamp and
sat on the edge of the bed. "What's up?"
    After Jana told her about her supper at the McNatts' and her
conversation with Geena, she asked, "Can you and Pink do me a favor?"
    "Sure, sweetheart. What is it?"
    Jana told her about the plan she had just come up with and
the part she needed her mother and Pink to play in it. Her mother's expression
turned from quizzical to pleased as she listened.
    The next day was Saturday, and since no one else could enter
the competition for Miss Seventh Grade, and Jana was assured of winning, her
mother announced that she and Pink wanted Jana to have a new dress for the
awards ceremony. Jana found a beautiful dress with a creamy gold top and
buttons that matched the dark blue skirt. Her mother even let her pick out a
necklace and matching earrings to go with the outfit. Jana couldn't wait to
wear it.
    Later in the day, she called the rest of The Fabulous Five
and asked them to come to her house. That was when she told them about her plan
and asked for their help, too.
    On Monday, just about everyone in the seventh grade at
Wacko, except Laura McCall, Tammy Lucero, and Melissa McConnell, seemed to tell
Jana how glad they were that she and Randy were going to be Mr. and Miss
Seventh Grade. Even Kaci Davis told her how she envied Jana's not having to
wait until the voting on Wednesday. Jana saw Geena McNatt staring at her
several times with an angry look on her face when people were congratulating
her.
    "You won't believe how gorgeous my new dress is,"
Jana told a crowd of girls who had gathered around her in the hallway after
lunch. As she described the dress to "Oohs" and "Aahs," she
watched Geena out of the corner of her eye. She was drifting around the outside
of the group pretending not to be listening, but each time Jana went into
detail about some part of the dress, Geena would stop and turn an ear toward
her.
     
    On Tuesday, after school at Bumpers, Shane climbed onto a
chair, put his arms up, and asked for everyone's attention. "I want you
all to know how much Igor has appreciated all the cards that he has received
and the yellow ribbons that everyone has been wearing to show their concern for
him during his illness. On the advice of a close friend, I asked Mr. Dracovitch
if he would have a look at Igor."
    Several kids booed at the mention of Mr. Dracovitch's name.
    "Our illustrious teacher has been able to do what the
veterinarians and the people at the zoo were not able to. He has discovered the
cause of Igor's affliction, so you can all take off the ribbons."
    A cheer went up throughout Bumpers, and some of the kids
pounded on the tables. "Igor! Igor! Igor!" someone started chanting,
and the others picked it up. Mr. Matson, the owner of Bumpers, stood beside the
cash register and smiled.
    Shane let the cheering continue for a moment before he waved
his hands for silence.
    "Mr. Dracovitch has discovered that Igor's affliction
is"—Shane paused for effect—" love. He's just been pining away
for a girlfriend!"
    The place exploded in a roar. Jana laughed so hard she
thought her sides would split, and Melanie pounded on Beth's back as she
roared.
    Clarence Marshall shouted and threw his big yellow ribbon in
the air, and it landed in the middle of The Fabulous Five's table right in
front of Jana. Still laughing, she took the grubby ribbon between two fingers
and threw it back. The next thing she knew the room was filled with flying
ribbons as everyone took them off and threw them at Shane and each other.
     
    Mr. Neal passed out ballots at the beginning of homeroom