Fabulous Five 025 - The Fabulous Five Minus One (3 page)

Both Christie's parents were quiet during dinner that
evening. Her father seemed fascinated with his food and moved it all over the
plate with his fork. Christie wondered if he thought he might discover
something underneath. Her mother, who was usually chatty, asked Christie about
the PEAK program and then only half listened to her answer. After that, except
for an occasional "Would you please pass the salt" or "May I
have the potatoes," the three of them were silent.

Later that evening Christie stopped at the spare room her
mother used as an office. "Mom, can I talk to you?"

Her mother looked up from the papers she was reading. "Yes,
sweetheart. What's on your mind?"

Christie shuffled from one foot to the other and tried to
keep the tears from coming. "I . . . I was just wondering. If daddy gets
the job in London, would he have to be there all the time, or could he be boss
from his office here? I mean, he could tell the people who worked for him what
he wanted them to do over the telephone, couldn't he?"

A look of concern came over her mother's face, and she put
down her work.

"Sit down, honey," she said, patting the chair
next to her desk. "I think we do need to talk. First, it isn't definite
that your father will get the job in London. The people who make those decisions
have just decided to put someone there permanently."

There was that word,
permanently
, again. It had an
ominous ring to it, and hearing it was starting to make her feel sick to her
stomach.

"Right now his company is putting together a list of
candidates for the job, Christie. Your father's name isn't the only one on it."

"Since he's doing all the work right now, isn't he the
best person for the job?"

"One would think so, but we don't know for sure. There
can be different considerations when you're looking for someone to fill a job
on a permanent basis versus short-term. We'll just have to sit and wait."

"How long would he have to be in the job?"

Her mother shrugged. "Your father says at least two
years, most likely three or four. I know you're concerned, sweetheart. Your
father and I are, too. You've got great friends, and you're doing wonderfully
in school. I hate to think about having to move you, but it wouldn't
necessarily be
all
bad. London has so much to offer. There are castles
and a queen, the London Bridge, the Tower of London, Big Ben, lots of great
theater, the Wimbledon tennis tournament. . . . The list just goes on and on."
She reached out and took Christie's hands.

"You have to know that your father understands that the
change would be hard for us, but we could all get a lot out of it, too. We also
have to think about him. This could be a great promotion for your father.

"There's also another advantage. If we were to move to
England, maybe you could go to college at Oxford or Cambridge. Now, wouldn't
that
be nice?"

"I don't have to go to a fancy private college,"
Christie responded, squeezing her hands into tight fists behind her back. "I
can go to a state school, and it wouldn't cost nearly as much." She could
see in her mother's eyes that that
wasn't
what she wanted to hear.

"Christie, honey, you're a brilliant young lady. It
would be a shame to let those brains of yours go to waste. With the right
education, you can do some super things. I'd hate to think that your father and
I hadn't done our part to help you fulfill your potential."

Later Christie lay in bed, her arms wrapped around her
tennis bunny, thinking over what her mother had said. She had made moving to
London sound so great, but the fact still remained that Christie would have to
leave her friends and everything that was familiar to her. Her pillow felt wet
where her tears had fallen.

The next morning Christie scuffed her way to the place by
the fence where The Fabulous Five met every day. The others were waiting for
her.

"Oh, Christie! I just heard that Chase walked you home
again last night," Melanie said, hopping up and down. "Tell us
everything that happened. What did he say? Did he ask you for a date? Did he
kiss you? Tell us! Tell us!"

"Melanie, give Christie a chance," Katie scolded. "How's
she going to tell us anything if you keep talking?"

"Oops! I'm sorry," said Melanie, covering her
mouth with her hand.

Jana looked at Christie closely. "What's wrong, Chris?
You look sad. Is there something wrong between you and Chase?"

Christie shook her head. "Oh, no. I like him a lot, and
I think he likes me, too. He's fun to be with, and we talked about lots of
things when he walked me home."

"Did he kiss you?" Melanie asked eagerly.

"Melanie!" said Katie sharply.

"No, he didn't kiss me. I've got another problem,
though, and it's
big-time
."

Christie's friends looked at her in surprise and waited
expectantly for Christie to tell them about her problem.

"We may be moving." Christie's voice cracked as
she said it, and tears welled up into her eyes.

"Moving? We who? Who may be moving?" asked Beth.

"My family," answered Christie. "To London,
England."

The Fabulous Five stared in shocked silence at Christie.

"You can't move to London!"
Beth wailed
plaintively. "That's a million, zillion miles away!"

"You've got to be kidding, Christie," Katie
gasped. "This is a joke, right?"

Christie shook her head and spoke softly. "It's not
certain yet, but my father's been going to work in England every week for a
long time. Now they're looking for someone to do what he's been doing
full-time. It might be him."

"Eeek!" said Jana. "What can we do to
sabotage his chances for getting the job? Could your father maybe break a leg
and not be able to go?"

"What if you got terribly sick, Christie? You couldn't
go then," suggested Beth. "We could use my costume makeup to make you
look as if you're about to die. Remember when I painted that big wound on my
head that looked so real, my mother nearly fainted?"

"Yeah, and all that got you was grounded for a week,"
said Jana sarcastically. "Come on, guys. We've got to put our heads
together and think of something smart. We can't let The Fabulous Five break up."

"It would be like the end of the world. There'd be no
more Fabulous Five," Katie moaned. "You can't go, Christie."

"Just think how I feel," Christie responded. "
I'm
the one who'll be in London while you guys are all together. I can hardly bear
to think about it."

"Look," said Jana. "Let's not panic. You said
there's a chance it may not even happen, right, Christie? So let's not get
carried away before we know for sure. We've got to act as if nothing's going to
happen, and maybe it won't."

"And let's not talk to anyone about it," added
Katie. "Think how Laura McCall would gloat if she knew there might not be
a Fabulous Five anymore."

"She'd be wrong," said Jana firmly. "There
will always be a Fabulous Five, even if we aren't together."

"I know that," protested Katie. "But that's
what Laura would say."

"Eeeyew!"
said Beth, making a face as if
she had just swallowed something terrible. "We can't let that happen."

"No way," Melanie chimed in.

"Okay. We all agree that it's our secret, then, right?"
asked Jana. The others nodded solemnly.

"Don't worry, Christie," said Melanie, patting her
on the arm. "Everything will turn out all right."

Jana, Katie, and Beth nodded their heads in agreement. But
in spite of what they were saying, Christie didn't think her friends looked
very confident.

The school bell rang, interrupting their conversation. As
Christie headed toward the main entrance to the school, Chase fell in step beside
her.

"Hi," he said with his usual grin.

"Hi," she said, returning his smile. "How did
the studying go for your history test last night?"

Chase pulled the door open for her. "Super. I'm sure I'll
ace it."

"That's great." It pleased Christie to know she
had helped him, even if she still didn't feel right about letting him copy her
homework. "Do you want to study together this evening?"

"I sure do. What time should I come over?"

"Seven o'clock. Okay?"

"I'll be there. Got to get to class," he said,
turning down a hallway. He called over his shoulder. "I'll catch you
later."

Christie looked after Chase and shook her head. He was like
a miniature whirlwind, laughing, joking, and always dashing off to talk to
somebody. There was a feeling of energy about him. Maybe that was what made him
one of the most exciting boys she had met. Then she remembered that she wouldn't
be seeing Chase much longer if her family moved to England, and her blue mood
returned.

After supper that evening Christie rushed upstairs to clean
her room just in case Chase looked in when he came to study. She straightened
the pile of stuffed animals on her bed and rearranged the tennis trophies on
her dresser. It would be a good idea for Chase to see my trophies and ribbons,
she thought. Then he'll know I'm a good athlete, too. She'd have to think about
how to manage that without being too obvious.

Next Christie looked at the clothes in her closet. Should
she put on a skirt, or would she seem like she was trying too hard to impress
him? Maybe she should just wear jeans. No—he might think she was sloppy.

Christie pulled three or four outfits out of her closet and
laid them out on the bed. She finally settled on a white skirt and a light blue
blouse that looked great with her blond hair. Then she brushed her hair and
pulled it back from her face with barrettes. She decided that eye shadow would
be too much and spritzed just a little perfume behind each ear. She was taking
one last look in her mirror when the doorbell rang.

"Hi," said Chase when she opened the door. "Hey,
you look super."

Christie gave him a big smile. "Thanks," she said.
"Come on in."

"Who is it, Christie?" called her mother from the
living room.

"It's Chase Collins, Mom," said Christie as she
took him in to meet her parents. "I told you he was coming over to study.

"Oh, yes. I'm pleased to meet you, Chase," her
mother said, extending her hand.

Chase took it. "Gee, this is a
great
house, Mrs.
Winchell. I really like it."

"Why, thank you, Chase. That's nice of you to say.
Christie, I got more popcorn yesterday, if you and Chase want some later."

"Thanks, Mom."

"Hello. Who have we here?" her father asked as he
stepped into the room.

"Daddy, this is Chase Collins. He just moved here from
California."

"Hello, Mr. Winchell," Chase said, reaching out to
shake her father's hand. "I was just telling Mrs. Winchell what a great
house you have. Christie says you travel a lot to England. You must have a real
important job."

"I guess you could say it's somewhat important,"
her father answered, smiling appreciatively at the compliment. "It's a job
that somebody had to do, and I got elected."

"I bet you were chosen because you know more than
anybody else," said Chase.

"Well . . . hmm." Her father's smile broadened,
and he straightened his shoulders. "I like to think I know a little bit
about the business." Then, looking hastily at his wife, he added, "But
there are others that know a lot about it, too. What part of California are you
from?"

"San Diego, sir."

"Is that right? I was stationed at the U.S. naval air
station on Coronado Island when Mrs. Winchell and I were first married. That
was in 1975 B.C.—Before Christie," he said, chuckling.

Christie cringed at the little joke her father had told a
million times before.

"Daddy, we've got to study. Come on, Chase," said
Christie, pulling him by the arm. "We'd better get busy if we're going to
get everything done."

"Nice meeting you, Chase," said Mr. Winchell.

"Yes, very," agreed her mother.

Christie felt great as she and Chase left her parents
smiling in the middle of the room. Chase had made a fantastic impression on
them. He
was
Mr. Perfect.

"Will you stop joking so much? We'll never finish these
math problems," Christie said. Her sides ached from laughing.

It was almost ten p.m., and they were still sitting at her
kitchen table. It had taken them almost two hours to write a two-page essay for
English. Chase had kept up a hilarious running commentary the entire time. It
had been almost impossible for Christie to keep her mind on what she was doing.
Now they were having the same problem with the math assignment.

"Time for a popcorn break," Chase announced.

"But we're only half finished. When we're through, we
can make popcorn."

"I'll have to leave as soon as we finish,"
protested Chase. "You wouldn't send me out in the cold without fortifying
me with supernutritious popcorn, would you?"

"It's not cold out."

"Well, what if I run out of energy during practice
tomorrow and drown? It would be your fault." He put on a hangdog look that
made Christie laugh again.

"Well, all right, if you keep working."

"Fantastic. I can taste the popcorn already. Put extra
butter on it."

Christie had just put the popcorn into the microwave when
the phone rang.

"Christie, it's for you," called her father.

She took the receiver from the wall phone.

"Hello."

"It's me, Melanie, Christie. Is Chase still there?"

"Yes."

"Great! What have you two been doing?"

Christie lowered her voice so Chase couldn't hear. "What
have we been doing? Studying, of course."

"Studying!"
Melanie sounded amazed. "What
am I going to do with you? This is your big opportunity to get a date with him,
and you're going to blow it."

"I'm not blowing anything, Melanie."

"Tell me what he's doing this very moment."

Christie looked over her shoulder. "He's working a math
problem."

"Do this, Christie. Move your chair real close to his,
so he has to touch you, and look deep into his eyes. He'll know you like him
then. And ask him to help you with something, maybe a math problem."

"
I'm
the one who's helping
him
with math."

"I know, but can't you ask him for just a little bit of
help?"

Christie sighed. "Not when I don't need it. That's
silly. Melanie, I'm going to hang up."

"Well," said Melanie, sounding hurt, "don't
say I didn't try to help."

"You tried. Good-bye, Melanie." Christie hung up
the receiver.

"Who was that?" asked Chase as Christie came back
to the table with the buttered popcorn.

"Oh, it was just Melanie. She wanted to talk."

Chase took a big handful of popcorn. "Hey, did you hear
the joke about . . ." Chase told a string of jokes as they ate. Finally,
he looked up at the clock.

"Oops! It's ten-thirty. I've got to go. Say," he
said with a grimace, "we were talking, and I forgot all about doing the
rest of the problems. Could you maybe, uh . . . do them in homeroom tomorrow
and let me see them?"

Christie bit her lip and thought a moment. She really didn't
want to get in a situation where she was doing Chase's homework all the time.
Then she glanced down at the page his notebook was opened to. Printed in large
letters under the last problem were the initials:

C.C.
+ C.W.

A little flutter of excitement went through her, and she
forced a smile. "Sure," she said.

As they walked to the door, Chase stuck his head into the
living room, where Christie's parents were reading. "Good-night, Mrs.
Winchell, Mr. Winchell. It was great meeting you."

"Good-night, Chase. Come anytime," said Christie's
mother.

"We'll have to talk more about San Diego one of these
days," her father said.

"Right, Mr. W. We'll do that."

"Nice folks," said Chase when they were standing
in the outside entry way.

"Thanks," said Christie.

Chase put his free hand on the back of her waist.

Christie was glad the overhead light was dim, so he couldn't
see her blushing. "The light," she whispered.

He pulled her into the shadows.

Christie couldn't believe how wonderful his kiss was. Her
knees turned to jelly, and all her reservations about doing his homework melted
away.

"Would you go to the movies with me tomorrow night?"
he asked.

"Yes," she answered softly.

After Chase had left, Christie floated up the stairs. She
felt as light as a feather as she pirouetted across her room. She was sure the
evening had turned out romantic enough to satisfy even Melanie.