Free Fabulous Five 019 - The Boys-Only Club by Betsy Haynes Page A

show off in front of Richie Corrierro. He'll be sorry he joined that
all-boys club and then made fun of us for starting a girls' club."
    "Me, too," said Alexis. "I bet I get Bill
Soliday to drop out of the club so he can date me. We're all going to Mama Mia's
Pizzeria now. Are The Fabulous Five going?"
    Katie said they were.
    "I think it went super!" said Christie as The
Fabulous Five climbed into the Edwardses' van. "Everyone had a ball."
    "I think it was, too," agreed Beth. "I got
some fantastic ideas on new ways to wear clothes. Jana, can I borrow
your red sweater to wear to school Monday? I've got an idea for a great
three-layer outfit."
    "You'll end up being too warm and scratching all day,"
said Katie, remembering Gwyneth Plum's experience with the long underwear and
stockings.
    "I don't care," said Beth. "I'd die to
wear something that's different."
    "Did you ever see so many girls sweat at one time as
during the aerobics?" asked Melanie. "I bet we left at least a
zillion pounds lying on the floor at the gym."
    "And all the makeup," said Jana. "Marcie's
mother was really good, but I know my mother won't let me wear all that eye
shadow."
    Katie sat back and listened to her friends talk. She agreed
that the evening had turned out super. Everyone was talking about doing it
again, and there was nothing to keep them from it. Maybe it hadn't been a bad
idea to have the clothes modeling and makeup instructions. It certainly seemed
to raise the self-esteem of a lot of girls. If Alexis and Lisa were ready to
show Bill and Richie they could do without them as well as the boys could
without the girls, that was a big step forward.
    If only she could feel as good about her chances to get back
with Tony as they did with the boys they liked. She wasn't about to parade
around in front of him to get his attention, though. She sighed. She couldn't
change her personality even for Tony, no matter how much she liked him.
    Her mother had said her father had wanted Willie to be a
separate person. How had he put it? The two of them would add up to more than
one that wav. Katie liked that. It made her feel as if a relationship should
strengthen a person rather than having to give yourself away. She wished her
father had lived longer so she could have gotten to know him better. She knew
she would have liked her father.
    "Here we are," Mr. Edwards called over his
shoulder. "Everybody out for Mama Mia's Pizzeria. I'll be back at
ten-thirty to pick you up."
    As she climbed out of the van, Katie saw Alexis and Lisa
standing in front of the pizzeria with several other girls. It was strange that
they weren't inside showing off in front of Bill Soliday and Richie Corrierro,
as they had said they were going to do. She found out why very quickly.
    "Katie Shannon! Look what you've done to us! " cried Alexis when she saw her.
    "What have I done?" asked Katie, baffled.
    "You've ruined our lives!" answered Lisa.
    "What are you talking about?" asked Christie.
    Lisa was angry and perspiring so much her new makeup was
beginning to run down her cheeks. "You talked us into going to that dumb
girls' club tonight."
    "What's wrong with that?" asked Katie. "You
told me you had a great time."
    "We did until we got here and found Laura McCall and
her friends from Riverfield with our boyfriends," said Alexis. "Tammy
Lucero was sitting on Bill's lap when we walked in."
    "And Richie was holding hands with Elizabeth Harvey,"
said Lisa. "Katie Shannon, I'll never forgive you! "
    "But . . ." Katie groped for words.
    "You guys aren't doing so well, either," said
Dekeisha Adams. "I just came out of there. Randy Kirwan and Keith
Masterson are sitting with Laura and Melissa McConnell."
    Jana and Beth turned toward Katie. There were looks of total
disbelief on their faces.

CHAPTER 15
    Katie couldn't believe what she was seeing either as she
stood inside the entrance to Mama Mia's with Jana, Beth, and the other girls
who had just come from the Wakeman gym. Laura McCall, the rest