Fabulous Five 032 - Class Trip Calamity (3 page)

Jana had a terrible time falling asleep that night. Part of
her couldn't believe that Clarence and Laura and the others were really going
to sneak alcohol aboard the school bus Saturday when the class went into New
York City to visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. But another part of
her was terribly afraid that was exactly what they would do. Even Dekeisha
thought it was a cool idea, and she was usually pretty sensible. What was
happening to everybody? Did going into the eighth grade mean you automatically
started doing things such as drinking? Surely not. But still, that was the way
most kids were acting. Jana shivered. She didn't like that idea
at all.
Celebrating the end of the school year with a class trip had seemed like such a
fantastic idea at first. They would leave from the school at the crack of dawn
and ride into New York City in a caravan of yellow buses, yelling and singing
all the way, she was sure. Then they would board the ferryboat at Battery Park,
which was at the very bottom tip of Manhattan Island, for the short ride out to
Ellis Island. After they toured the facilities there, they would get on another
ferryboat for the short hop to the Statue, where they would get to climb up
inside Miss Liberty before heading back home. It ought to be just about the
most perfect day of the whole school year, but now, with so many kids talking
about drinking, it could turn into a disaster.

Jana stared into the darkness. Something else was bothering
her, too. Her father. She couldn't get it out of her mind that his drinking had
broken up her family. And now her mother was married again, to Pink, which was
short for Wallace Pinkerton. And her father had gotten married again, also, to
a woman he said was going to help him quit drinking. Was this how he had gotten
started? she wondered. Sneaking alcohol aboard a school bus in a thermos? She
shivered at the thought. Maybe she should ask him in her next letter
—if he
ever answered her last three.

When Jana turned in her permission slip for the class trip
in homeroom the next morning, Mr. Neal handed her an information sheet on the
trip. She scanned it, noticing that they were to be at school to catch the bus
at six a.m. sharp, and that they would be returning to the school at
approximately eight p.m. But the item that jumped off the page and caught her
eye was number six.
Bring a bag lunch and a drink
,
preferably in a
thermos
,
since the bus has no refrigeration.

"Boy," she said half aloud, "how could the
school be so dumb? They're playing right into Clarence's and Laura's hands."

Randy had followed her into the classroom. "What are
you mumbling about?" he asked. He was grinning, as usual.

"This." Jana pointed to the lunch instructions. "I
suppose you've heard that a bunch of kids are planning to sneak booze onto the
bus."

He nodded. "Let's face it, a few kids always like to
show off, but I'll bet that most of them chicken out before Saturday."

"I sure hope you're right," said Jana.

They couldn't talk anymore because the bell rang and Mr.
Neal began taking roll. Jana went to her seat, glancing across the room at
Laura. She's definitely one of the ringleaders, Jana thought. Laura had been
extra crabby lately, and it made Jana furious to think that she was talking
other kids into doing something so stupid. Randy might be right that some kids
would chicken out, but Jana had a feeling that Laura wouldn't be one of them.

She was still thinking about Laura after school when The
Fabulous Five scooted into a booth at Bumpers. As usual, the fast-food
restaurant was crowded with kids from Wakeman Junior High.

"All anybody can talk about is what's going to happen
Saturday on the trip," said Melanie.

"Yeah. Shawnie really started something, didn't she?"
replied Beth, and Jana detected an air of admiration in her voice.

"Beth, what's the matter with you?" Jana demanded.
"You act as if it's okay and that Shawnie's really a big deal."

"You're off your rocker," Katie added wryly.

"Oh, come on, you guys," said Beth. "You know
I don't mean it that way. It's just that sometimes you're too serious, Jana.
And you, too, Katie. You need to loosen up a little." Beth held up her
hand as Katie started to fire back a reply. "Let me finish. I guess that I
don't really see any harm in what those kids are planning to do. Kids have
always done stuff like that. I asked Brian last night, and he admitted that
some guys brought beer on one of his school trips, and nobody ever found out.
He said it was a hoot."

Jana couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Beth! What's
wrong with you?"

Anger began creeping into Beth's voice. "Nothing. What's
the matter with
you?
Nobody's going to get drunk, you know. It's just a
little way of celebrating being promoted into eighth grade. And it will be fun
sneaking it behind the teachers' backs. Besides, you drank some wine at the
party, Jana."

"I know I did," Jana admitted.

"I saw you grinning. You thought it was fun then,"
Beth told her.

"I know that, too, but I also know that it was
dumb
,
and now you're acting dumb! I just don't—"

Jana felt Melanie's hand on her arm. "Hey, you two.
Cool it," Melanie whispered. "Here comes Alexis."

Alexis Duvall came toward them, wearing a glum face. "Hi,
guys. Can I sit with you?"

"Of course," replied Melanie. "What's wrong?"

Alexis sighed. "All Lisa and Sara and Marcie can talk
about is partying on the class trip. It really scares me. I don't want to, and
I know you guys won't have anything to do with it, either."

Katie gave Beth a look of triumph and said, "You bet we
won't. We'll all stick together Saturday, too."

Beth didn't say anything. She leaned back into a corner of
the booth with a sulky look on her face. Jana couldn't swallow around the lump
in her throat. Beth was her very best friend in the world, and they hadn't come
this close to fighting in a long time. Was their friendship going to change
because Jana thought it was wrong to drink alcohol and Beth didn't? What was
the matter with Beth, anyway? Was she so worried that her mother was pregnant
that she was going berserk?

A noise near the booth startled her, and she looked up to
see a bunch of girls marching toward them. Shawnie Pendergast was in the lead,
followed by Marcie Bee, Sara Sawyer, Lisa Snow, Laura McCall, Tammy Lucero, and
Melissa McConnell. They were giggling among themselves as if they knew some
terrific joke on The Fabulous Five and Alexis.

Jana cocked an eyebrow at them as they approached. "What's
so funny?" she asked.

"Just you guys," said Shawnie. She exchanged glances
with Laura. "You're such
babies
."

"What!" demanded Katie, almost jumping out of the
booth.

"You heard me, Shannon. I said you're babies. You're
afraid the big, bad teachers will catch you being naughty on the trip,"
Shawnie said, talking baby talk.

"And they might tell your mommies and daddies,"
added Laura, and the whole group broke up giggling.

They moved together toward the door and out of Bumpers
before Jana and her friends could recover enough from their astonishment to
speak.

"The
nerve
of those . . . those . . ."
Katie fumed. She looked totally flabbergasted as she searched for words to
express her anger.

"How could they say those things?" asked Melanie,
shaking her head in bewilderment.

"What did I tell you?" said Alexis. "Everybody's
all caught up with partying, and now they're making fun of anyone who doesn't
want to."

Jana glanced at Beth. She hadn't changed expressions through
the whole episode with Shawnie and Laura. What was she thinking? Jana wondered.
Is she on their side, or ours?

That afternoon Jana didn't get a chance to talk to Beth
privately at Bumpers. There was always somebody around, and Jana hadn't wanted
an audience. When she started her homework after supper, she knew she could
never concentrate until she got her feelings off her chest, so she went back
into the kitchen and called Beth's house.

Naturally the line was busy. With five kids, and three of
them teenagers, it was busy a lot. On the third try she got through.

"Hi. This is the Barrys'. Brittany speaking."

"Oh, hi, Brittany. This is Jana. May I speak to Beth?"

Brittany sighed loudly. "Okay," she said
reluctantly, "but don't talk too long. I'm expecting a very important
call."

When
aren't
you expecting a very important call? Jana
wondered, but she didn't say it. Brittany was always hogging the phone.

Jana heard Brittany yell for Beth, and after an eternity
Beth picked up the receiver.

Jana felt almost shy. "Hi, Beth. I'm sorry we almost
had a fight today."

"Me, too," said Beth.

"Are you still mad at me because I don't want to drink?"

"I don't want to drink, either!" Beth answered in
an exasperated tone. "I can't believe you really think I do. It's just
that you guys are making such a big deal over nothing."

"It's not nothing, Beth," Jana insisted.

Beth groaned loudly. "Forget it then, okay? I don't
think we should discuss it right now."

"You're probably right," replied Jana, deciding
that compromise was the best thing for the moment. Beth was obviously still
pretty worked up, and Jana didn't want their argument to get any bigger.

"And guess what else happened to me today,"
offered Beth.

Jana braced for what might be coming next. "What?"

"After supper I was still a little hungry, so I was
rummaging around in the pantry, when I found baby food."

"Baby food?" Jana repeated in astonishment.

"Six jars. You know what that means, don't you? First a
ton of disposable diapers, and now six jars of baby food."

Jana's heart ached for Beth. This was obviously not good
news. "Did you talk to your mom about it?" she asked. "Maybe they're
left over from Alicia."

"I don't think so. They weren't even dusty. Besides, I
dig around in there all the time. I would have seen them if they'd been in
there very long."

"Yeah, I guess you would," agreed Jana. "So I
guess you haven't asked her about the diapers, either, huh?"

"No," said Beth. "I just don't want to deal
with it yet. I mean, can you imagine this house with
six
kids in it?"

"Not really," Jana conceded.

"And do you realize that I'll get stuck baby-sitting
all the time," Beth complained, almost blasting out Jana's ear, "and
I probably won't even get paid!"

Jana couldn't help laughing, and when they hung up a few
minutes later, she felt better. Beth may have been acting strange earlier, but
she was back to her old dramatic self now.

Jana was almost to school the next morning when she saw
Funny Hawthorne standing on the next corner, apparently waiting for someone.
Funny was the fourth member of Laura McCall's clique, The Fantastic Foursome,
but ever since they began working together on the yearbook staff, Jana had
decided Funny was different from the other three. She wasn't nasty or obnoxious
like Laura, Tammy, and Melissa. She was sincere and kind, and just as her name
suggested, she had a terrific sense of humor.

When Funny spotted Jana, she began waving, and Jana hurried
to join her.

"I'm glad I caught you before we got to school,"
Funny said as Jana stopped beside her to catch her breath.

"Me, too," said Jana. "What's up?"

Funny frowned as the two sauntered toward school. "I
heard what happened at Bumpers yesterday. Tammy called me last night and
bragged about it."

"It was no big deal," Jana told her. "It
doesn't really matter what they think, or even what they say. We can handle it."

"Hey, I know that." Funny flashed a big smile at
Jana. "It's just that Shawnie and Laura are talking more and more girls
into being on their side, and Tammy said the only thing they're worried about
is that one of you might tip off the teachers before the trip."

Jana stopped in her tracks. "Tip off the teachers! You
know we would never do a thing like that. We're not snitches!"

"Of course
I
know that," Funny assured her,
"and they will, too, if they'll just think about it. But you know how
Laura is. I thought it might be a good idea to warn you."

"Thanks," murmured Jana. The idea was so
incredible that all she could do was shake her head in wonder.

"There's one other thing," Funny added, hesitation
in her voice. "I don't know if I can get away with it or not, but I'd
really rather be with you guys—especially on Saturday. I'm really not into
partying, if you know what I mean."

Jana smiled sympathetically. She still couldn't understand
why Funny hung around with the other three, but she did understand how tough it
could be to side with someone else instead of your friends.

"Of course you can be with us. Alexis wants to, also.
It'll be fun, and we'll just ignore those other kids."

"Thanks, Jana," Funny said softly. "I knew
you'd understand."

Jana and Funny went their separate ways when they reached
the school ground, and Jana found the rest of The Fabulous Five already at
their favorite spot by the fence. She smiled to herself as she got close enough
to hear Melanie talking about her favorite subject: boys.

"I'm dying to know how many boys are going to bring
stuff on the bus," she said. "Probably a lot of them. You know what
show-offs most boys are."

"Well, I know Randy isn't," chimed in Jana.

"Tony had better not, if he knows what's good for him,"
said Katie.

"You don't really think he would, do you?" asked
Jana.

"Not really." Katie grinned. "He
acts
a lot more macho than he really is."

"I keep wondering about Shane," said Melanie. "I
mean, his parents used to be hippies. He may not see anything wrong with it. I'd
die if he got in trouble."

"I don't think he'll get involved," replied Jana. "He's
too laid back. He doesn't need to prove anything to anybody."

"Yeah," said Melanie, brightening. "You're
probably right. At least, I hope so."

"On the other hand," added Katie, "guys
really like to impress each other and brag about what they've done. And they
hate to be teased. Some of them may do it just to keep from being teased."

"True," agreed Melanie. "But I sure hope you're
wrong this time."

Jana noticed that Beth hadn't joined in the conversation.
Oh, well, she thought, that's her problem.

She couldn't help feeling confident about Randy as they
headed for their lockers. He didn't need to impress the other guys. They all
respected him and looked up to him. And he'd never worry about being teased.
There was no way anyone could talk him into drinking on the trip.

She glanced around as she entered the building and then
stopped in her tracks. There was Randy, leaning against the trophy case beside
the office, and he was talking to Laura McCall.