Fabulous Five 026 - Laura's Secret Read online

  THE FABULOUS FIVE #26

  LAURA'S SECRET

  BETSY HAYNES

  A BANTAM SKYLARK BOOK®

  NEW YORK • TORONTO • LONDON • SYNDEY • AUCKLAND

  RL 5, 009-012

  LAURA'S SECRET

  A Bantam Skylark Book / September 1991

  Skylark Books is a registered trademark of Bantam Books, a division of Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc. Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and elsewhere.

  All rights reserved.

  Copyright © 1991 by Betsy Haynes and James Haynes.

  Cover art copyright © 1991 by Andrew Bacha.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  For information address: Bantam Books.

  ISBN. 0-553-15871-6

  Published simultaneously in the United States and Canada

  Bantam Books are published by Bantam Books, a division of Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc. Its trademark, consisting of the words "Bantam Books" and the portrayal of a rooster, is Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries. Marca Registrada. Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10103.

  PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

  CWO 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  CHAPTER 1

  "Oh, no!" Laura McCall wailed. "I can't believe it! This is terrible!" She glared at her reflection in the mirror and pounded her fist on the edge of the bathroom sink.

  "What is it? What's wrong?" her father's voice called from his bedroom.

  Laura moaned. "Oh, nothing. My life is just ruined, that's all," she said.

  She stared at the red splotch on her new white blouse, the blouse that made her figure look so great and went so well with her stonewashed jeans. Thirty seconds ago it had been perfect. Now it had a large blob of liquid blush smeared into it, right in front.

  "I'll never get this out," Laura muttered to her mirror image.

  There was a tap on the bathroom door.

  "Come in!" Laura said angrily, rubbing the spot with her finger.

  "What's the trouble, babe?" Laura's father asked, pushing the door open and poking his head inside. With their reflections side by side in the mirror, it was easy to see that they were father and daughter. Both were tall and slender with sandy blond hair; Laura's was styled in a long braid that started at the top of her head and fell over one shoulder.

  "My new blouse! I just ruined it!" Laura wailed. "I spilled this blush on it, and it's probably on there permanently!"

  "Can't you just wash it out?" Walker McCall asked.

  He strode over to the neatly-folded stack of clean washcloths on the bathroom vanity, picked up the cloth on top, and ran it under the water.

  "Are you kidding, Daddy!" Laura cried. "You'll set the stain for sure if you put cold water on it!"

  She grabbed the washcloth from her dad.

  Didn't men know anything?

  Her father certainly didn't. Oh, sure, he was a great dad, and she loved him very much. But he had no idea how to take care of clothes or keep the apartment clean, and he joked that if there hadn't been ready-made baby food, he would have been feeding Laura hamburgers and pizza when she was an infant.

  She should be used to it by now, though. Laura had lived with her father ever since she was a baby. Her mother, Clare, had left them and gone to New York City not long after Laura was born, saving that she wasn't cut out for motherhood. Clare had become a successful fashion designer, and Laura rarely saw or spoke to her.

  Her father had hired a woman named Mrs. Skinner to take care of the apartment when Laura was small, but now that Laura was older, most of the responsibility fell on her shoulders. She did the cleaning, shopped for the groceries, cooked most of the meals, and washed the clothes—except for her father's shirts, which went to the dry cleaner.

  Lately things had been even worse than usual. Her father was in fierce competition for a huge promotion at work, and he had become an absolute bear to live with, always growling at her about something or other. Do this! Do that! She knew that he was under a lot of pressure, but it was driving her berserk.

  Walker McCall shrugged. "Guess I can't help you with the blouse. Besides, you know more about this stuff than I do." He glanced at his watch. "I've gotta go, babe. I have an important meeting with one of my biggest clients this morning. I've got to impress my boss all I can before that promotion is decided." He checked his reflection in the mirror and straightened his tie. "Oh, by the way, would you iron my blue shirt with the pinstripes tonight? I've got to pitch a new client tomorrow, and there isn't time to send it to the cleaners."

  Laura let out an exasperated sigh. "Okay, okay," she said.

  Mr. McCall leaned over and kissed his daughter's cheek. "Go find yourself a new blouse," he told her. "I'll buy it for you. Say, be sure to clean up the apartment before school, okay? It's a wreck. You and your friends left a mess in the living room yesterday."

  Laura didn't speak, but nodded, her lips pressed tightly together in frustration.

  Her father smiled fondly in the mirror at his daughter. "What would I do without my chief cook and bottle washer?" he said, chuckling. "See you tonight, hon."

  When Laura heard the apartment door close a moment later, she let out a scream. "I can't stand it anymore! I'm his slave! It isn't fair!"

  She stomped into her bedroom, tore off the blouse, and threw it on her bed. She opened her closet and began flipping through the expensive, stylish clothes hanging there.

  "This one's not the right color. I'll freeze in this one. This one isn't ironed. Nope, nope, nope." Tears gathered in her eyes. "What am I going to wear today? This is terrible! The new blouse would have been awesome!"

  She leaned against her closet door and imagined her classmates' reaction to that blouse. All the guys would have turned to watch her walking down the hall, and the girls would have been green with envy. Laura smiled. She enjoyed that, seeing the other girls watch her, admire her, wishing they were Laura McCall.

  Ha! she thought. What a riot. If only they knew. They're wishing themselves into slavery.

  But they never would know. She would see to that. After all, why did they admire her in the first place? They thought she had it made, living with her bachelor dad, getting chauffeured in his bright red Maserati, wearing gorgeous clothes, and entertaining kids in her apartment without a parent around to bother them.

  Laura sighed and turned back to her closet. "Guess I'm slumming today," she murmured, picking out one of her least expensive blouses. "At least it's clean and ironed. And it doesn't have a big red stain on it." She looked closer. Well, there were a couple of little wrinkles up near the collar, because her closet was too small and everything in it was smashed together, but the blouse would have to do as it was. There was no time to iron it.

  She wondered if she'd be able to find another blouse like the one she had ruined. She had to admit that it was nice of her father to offer to buy her another one, and she certainly intended to take him up on it. She'd have to rush down to Tanninger's department store right after school.

  Laura finished dressing and managed to get the kitchen cleaned up before she had to leave for school.

  She found her friends, the other three girls that made up The Fantastic Foursome, waiting for her at the corner of the school building. Funny Hawthorne, leaning against the brick wall, stood up straight when she saw Laura coming.

  "Here comes Laura the Beautiful!" Funny cried, grinning. She began to sing to the tune of "America th
e Beautiful": "Oh, beau-ti-ful for spa-cious eyes, for amber waves of hair—"

  "Hi," Laura said, a big smile spreading over her face. She loved Funny's song. Of course Funny could be a ditz sometimes, but she was fun to have around. She got such a kick out of everything.

  "Hey, I didn't get to finish," Funny protested, giggling.

  "Yeah," chimed in Tammy Lucero. "I was waiting to see how you were going to rhyme the 'hair' line."

  "Whoa," Melissa McConnell said, eyeing Laura critically. "I haven't seen you wear that blouse in ages!"

  "So what's wrong with it?" Laura replied defensively.

  Melissa shrugged. "Nothing, really. You just don't usually wear your older clothes to school. I mean, it's okay. It's just a little wrinkled."

  Laura felt her face getting red. She wasn't used to criticism from other kids, especially her friends. Of course, Melissa always looks so perfect herself! thought Laura. And she looks down her nose at anyone who doesn't.

  She bit her lower lip and thought about Tammy's motor mouth. Tammy meant well, but with her love of gossip, the blouse incident would be all over school by the end of the day. All the kids would be smirking behind Laura's back. Some of them were so envious of her, they seemed to live for the moment Laura McCall slipped up.

  She felt her face grow hotter. She couldn't have that happen.

  "Well," she improvised quickly, "I'd be wearing a really gorgeous white blouse today if—if the maid hadn't ruined it!"

  Funny let out a gasp. "The maid?" Her eyes grew wide. "You have a maid?"

  "I didn't know you had a maid!" chimed in Tammy.

  Melissa's eyes narrowed. "Since when?"

  Laura shrugged and lowered her eyes to avoid Melissa's gaze. "Oh, since a couple of weeks ago, when my dad got a big promotion. I guess I just forgot to tell you."

  "Wow!" said Funny. "That's awesome! I wish we had a maid at our house!"

  Laura gave a quiet sigh of relief Sure it was a lie, but at least her friends weren't criticizing how she looked anymore. In fact, they looked positively jealous.

  "Does your maid live with you?" asked Funny.

  "No," Laura answered. "She comes in every morning after I leave for school."

  "What does she do?" Tammy asked.

  "Oh, she picks my clothes up off the floor, washes the breakfast dishes, cleans the apartment, that kind of thing," Laura replied casually.

  "Wow!" said Funny.

  "And then she makes dinner for Dad and me," Laura added. Her story was getting better by the second!

  "You're kidding!" exclaimed Tammy, slapping her forehead with the heel of her hand. "What does she cook?"

  "Whatever we order," Laura said airily. She was enjoying watching her friends' faces. Even Melissa was buying the story, although she was holding back her enthusiasm the way she always did. "Sometimes we have her make lasagna and a salad, or maybe we'll order enchiladas and Spanish rice."

  "Yum!" Tammy licked her lips.

  This is really going to get around, Laura thought happily. Tammy will spread it all over school! She imagined all the kids talking about her in reverent whispers, murmuring "maid" and pointing to her as she passed by. It would be so great!

  "So what's her name?" asked Melissa, joining the conversation again.

  Laura blinked in surprise. "Her name? Uh, well—it's—Chantal."

  "Chantal?" asked Funny.

  "Yes," said Laura. "She's French."

  Tammy's mouth dropped open. "A French maid?"

  "Wow!" Funny kept repeating. "Wow!"

  Tammy grinned broadly. "I should have guessed that that Maserati dad of yours would hire a French maid."

  "Does she prance around your apartment in a short, little skirt and high heels, and use a feather duster?" Funny asked, trying to hold back the giggles.

  "And say 'oui, oui' all the time?' asked Tammy.

  Laura laughed. "No, not exactly. But Chantal is beautiful."'

  "Wow!" Funny said again.

  "And what's most important," Laura continued, plastering her most sincere expression on her face, "she's absolutely devoted to Dad and me. You know, it really is hard to get good help these days."

  "So how did she ruin the blouse?" Melissa asked.

  "The bl—oh, yeah, the blouse!" Laura said. She'd almost forgotten how her story had gotten started in the first place. "Well, Chantal was hand-washing it for me—it's a very fine, delicate fabric—and she accidentally knocked some blusher on it that I had left sitting on the sink."

  "Oh, that's too bad," said Funny.

  "Well, Chantal felt just terrible about it," Laura told her. "She offered to buy me a new blouse, but Dad and I decided not to make her do that. After all, it was just an accident."

  "Gosh, that was nice of you guys," said Funny.

  "Yeah, pretty generous, if you ask me," agreed Tammy.

  "Well, she's starting to seem like part of the family," said Laura.

  Funny shook her head, grinning. "Boy, Laura. You really have it made. You really, REALLY have it made!"

  Laura smiled. If they only knew!

  CHAPTER 2

  "Sit here, Laura." Tammy patted the spot next to her at the lunch table.

  Tammy, Funny, and Melissa were already seated at The Fantastic Foursome's regular table in the cafeteria. The girls were eyeing her with more than the usual amount of interest. That maid story had sure paid off!

  "Hello, everyone," Laura said, sliding her tray onto the table and sitting down with them.

  "I'm surprised you don't have Chantal pack you a fantastic lunch to bring to school," Funny commented. "These school lunches are so gross!"

  "You said it," grumbled Tammy. "Goulash! The absolutely ickiest food ever invented."

  Funny giggled. "Come on, Tammy, you can take it." Then turning to Laura, she added, "Yeah, Laura, why don't you?"

  "Oh," Laura said, smiling and waving her hand, dismissing the idea. "Well, she comes after I leave for school. Besides, Chantal works hard enough making us dinner and cleaning up the apartment. I guess I can force down school food to give her a break."

  "Let me tell you, Laura," Tammy said. "I'd ask my maid to fix me peanut butter and jelly rather than face the school's goulash."

  "So why don't you make your own peanut butter and jelly sandwich then?" asked Melissa.

  "Too much bother," Tammy replied.

  Funny giggled again. "But not for the maid, right?"

  The girls laughed.

  "I can't imagine having a maid," Tammy said dreamily. "I mean, not having to clean up your room or take your turn washing dishes . . ." She took a bite of a carrot stick.

  "What do you do with all that spare time that the rest of us don't have?" Melissa asked.

  Laura grinned. "I have fun."

  The others groaned.

  "You already had it easy, not having a mother breathing down your neck," Melissa said.

  Laura's smile faded a little. Melissa had no idea how hard it was not having a mother. Laura had no one to ask about blush stains on her blouse, or the best way to deal with boys, or . . .

  The faces of her friends faded as she remembered last year when she got her period for the first time. What a disaster! She hadn't had any of the supplies she needed, she didn't know what to do, and she was too embarrassed to ask her dad about it. She ended up scribbling down the name of a brand of pads she'd read about in Seventeen magazine and taking it to the drugstore. She'd paced up and down the aisles for fifteen minutes before she found a female clerk to show her piece of paper to. When she'd brought her purchase home, she'd headed straight for her room and locked the door.

  Safely alone, she'd read every word on the box and figured out for herself how the pads were used. If only she had had a mother to talk to. It would have been so much easier!

  ". . . and my mother drives me nuts!" Melissa's voice floated back into Laura's consciousness. "She's always making me baby-sit for my little sister, even if I already have plans of my own."

  "What I l
ike about your setup, Laura, is that you can have kids over to your apartment any time you want to," said Tammy. "Nobody else I know gets to have friends over without parents around."

  Laura smiled. "Yeah, I like that, too."

  I'd still rather have a mother, though, she thought.

  "So," Laura said to the group. "You want to come over tomorrow after school? The next day's Saturday, so your parents won't be able to say you have to go straight home and do your homework."

  Tammy rolled her eyes. "Boy, do I hear that a lot."

  "Yeah," agreed Funny. "Let's go to your place."

  "Great," Tammy said.

  Laura looked at Melissa. "Sure," Melissa answered. "Sounds good to me."

  Laura gazed toward the ceiling. "Let's see," she said slowly. "I'll ask Alexis Duvall, Marcie Bee, Sara Sawyer, and Lisa Snow to come over, too. In fact, I'll have Chantal make some special snacks. How does that sound?"

  Chantal sure does come in handy, Laura thought, smiling to herself. Of course that little extra lie was going to mean a lot of extra work tonight, baking cookies and other goodies, but boy, were her friends impressed!

  "Great," said Tammy. "And we'll gab our brains out!"

  Funny giggled. "You do that already, Tammy."

  Tammy stuck out her tongue playfully, and the girls laughed.

  "We'll be there," The Fantastic Foursome said in unison.

  Laura sat at the kitchen table and stared at the frozen dinners in front of her. If only we really had a maid, she thought, we'd be having something totally awesome for dinner.

  She put her hand on her abdomen. Terrific. Cramps starting. Her period had begun just this afternoon, so Laura should have known cramps couldn't be far behind. What rotten timing. She had so much work to do tonight! She had to get the apartment as spic and span as a maid would, bake cookies and brownies, and—

  "Don't forget I need that shirt ironed, hon," her dad said, dabbing his mouth with a napkin.

  And the shirt!

  It was a good thing she'd already finished her homework.

  The dull pain in her abdomen increased a little, and she leaned toward the table and sighed heavily.

  "You okay, babe?" her dad asked.