Free Fabulous Five 032 - Class Trip Calamity by Betsy Haynes

"Oh, Katie. I can't
believe you sometimes."
    "Well, let me tell you, women just don't realize the
important role they've played in history," Katie huffed.
    Beth had been flipping through her brochure. Now she stopped
and pointed toward a page. "Unfortunately, here's one thing a woman didn't
do. It says here that the Statue of Liberty was designed and built by a man.
His name was Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi. I guess we just can't win 'em all, can
we?"
    Everybody laughed, including Katie.
    "I'm ready to climb the stairs inside the Statue,"
Funny announced. "I'm going all the way up to the crown and look out."
    "Me, too," said Melanie. "Yipes!" she
cried, doing a double take as she looked in her brochure. "It says here
that there are three hundred sixty-five steps that we have to climb."
    "Right," chimed in Katie. "It's the same
height as a twenty-two-story building. There are some other interesting facts
in the brochure, too. Did you know that the Statue's nose is four feet six
inches long?"
    Funny burst out giggling. "What a nose! Wouldn't you
hate to be up there when she sneezes?"
    "Yeah," said Beth. Her eyes grew big as she
visualized the scene. "You'd end up on Manhattan Island, hanging on the
pointy top of the Empire State Building!"
    The girls gathered up their lunch mess, tossed it into a
trash can, and headed for the base of the Statue, still reading statistics from
the brochure.
    "Her hand is sixteen feet five inches in length,"
offered Alexis.
    "And her fingernails are thirteen inches long by ten
inches wide," continued Melanie, holding out a hand and examining her own
nails. "Can you imagine how much polish it would take to do all ten?"
    When they went inside the base of the Statue, they stopped
briefly to look at some of the displays and then headed for the stairs. There
was a line leading to the staircase, but it moved quickly, and soon they were
on their way up.
    Jana felt a rush of excitement as she started the climb. The
clang of footsteps on the metal staircase and the voices of the climbers echoed
above her. Behind her marched Funny and Alexis and the rest of The Fabulous
Five.
    The farther up they climbed, the quieter everyone got, and
soon they were puffing and panting with every step.
    "I'm glad I didn't eat too much lunch," remarked
Jana when they stopped once about halfway up to get their breath.
    "Me, too," agreed Alexis. "My stomach feels a
little funny as it is."
    "Your stomach feels a little me ? "
Funny teased, and they all started up again.
    They had climbed only a little farther when Jana heard
familiar voices ahead of them.
    "Laura, what's the matter?"
    "Are you okay? Do you need to sit down?"
    The voices belonged to Tammy and Melissa, and Jana turned
around to Funny and frowned.
    "What do you think is going on?" Jana asked.
    Funny shrugged. "I don't know, but it sounds as if
Laura has a problem. Maybe she slipped or something."
    "Maybe," murmured Jana.
    As they continued the climb, Jana listened for more sounds
from Laura or Melissa or Tammy. Something must be wrong with Laura for the
other two to shout so loudly, she thought.
    Suddenly she heard Tammy again.
    "Oh, Laura! No!"
    Then there was a loud retching sound, and the smell of vomit
filled the air.
    "Pe-YEW! Somebody barfed!" shouted a boy in front
of Jana.
    "Yuck! Puke! It's running down the stairs!" yelled
someone else.
    Jana and her friends stood plastered against the wall in
horror as slimy, yellowish vomit trickled down the stairs beside them.
    Nobody on the staircase moved or said anything for a couple
of minutes. Then there was the sound of footsteps coming down from above. When
Jana saw that it was Melissa and Tammy helping Laura back down, she turned her
face away. She couldn't look at them, even though she felt a surprising rush of
sympathy for Laura. It must be the most embarrassing moment of her life, Jana
thought.
    After the three girls had gotten past, the rest of the crowd
resumed the climb, holding their noses as they stepped