Fabulous Five 030 - Sibling Rivalry Read online

  THE FABULOUS FIVE #30

  SIBLING RIVALRY

  BETSY HAYNES

  A BANTAM SKYLARK BOOK®

  NEW YORK • TORONTO • LONDON • SYDNEY • AUCKLAND

  RL 5, 009-012

  SIBLING RIVALRY

  A Bantam Skylark Book / March 1992

  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. The Fabulous Five is a registered trademark of Betsy Haynes and James Haynes.

  All rights reserved.

  Copyright © 1992 by Betsy Haynes and James Haynes.

  Cover art copyright © 1992 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.

  If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as "unsold and destroyed" to the publisher and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this "stripped book."

  ISBN 0-553-15875-9

  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

  OPM 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  CHAPTER 1

  Beth Barry slumped back against the middle seat in her family's station wagon and rested her cheek against the cool windowpane. As she glanced absently at the snow-covered countryside rushing by, she tried to tune out the babble of happy conversation swirling around her in the crowded car. She wished she could be as excited as the rest of her family about spending their winter vacation skiing at Stony Lookout Resort. But the truth was, she was miserable. She closed her eyes, remembering the scene at the dinner table when her parents had broken the news.

  "But, Mom! Dad! We can't possibly go away then!" she'd cried, letting her fork drop and clatter into her plate. "That's Winter Carnival! Remember? The whole town will be there, and they have snow sculpture contests, and a tug-of-war between kids from Wakeman Junior High and the high school. And then there's the Ice Skaters' Ball on the last night, when everybody dances on skates at the rink in the park and they crown the Snow Prince and Princess. We can't possibly miss that! My friends and I have been planning to go for weeks!"

  "Personally, I can't wait to go skiing," Brittany, her sixteen-year-old sister, had said dryly. "There are bound to be tons of gorgeous guys at Stony Lookout. Besides, don't worry, little sis. You aren't going to be crowned Snow Princess at the Winter Carnival, anyway."

  Mr. Barry had put his coffee cup down slowly and looked at Beth. "Sweetheart, of course we know it's Winter Carnival," he had said patiently. "And Winter Carnival is certainly a big event around here. But a ski vacation is special. Remember how you've always said you wanted to learn to ski? Well, now's your chance."

  From the chair beside her, Beth's twelve-year-old brother Todd had piped up, "Wow! This is going to be the best vacation we've ever had. I can't wait to get my skis on, and wait'll you see me streaking down those slopes! VROOOOM!" He had plunged his left arm down an imaginary slope, stopping his hand an instant before it could crash into Beth's plate. Then he'd given her a devilish grin.

  Beth had scowled back, thinking how immature twelve-year-old boys could be. "You'll probably break your neck," she had muttered.

  "Here, look at the brochure," her mother had said, handing it across the table to Beth.

  "Let me see, too," six-year-old Alicia had cried, jumping off her chair and crowding in between Beth and Todd for a closer look. "Can Agafa come, too?"

  Her father had chuckled. "I'm afraid there are no dogs allowed, Alicia. We'll have to leave Agatha here in the kennel."

  "I could stay home and take care of her," Beth had offered hopefully, even though she knew how her parents would respond.

  "Don't be silly, Beth," her mother had replied. "You know we would never allow you to stay home alone."

  "But the rest of The Fabulous Five could stay with me," she had pleaded.

  "Will you please just look at the brochure?" her mother had asked with a trace of irritation.

  Beth had sighed and glanced at the pamphlet. It was full of photographs of both adults and good-looking teenagers in bright ski outfits standing in groups on the ski slopes, swimming in the indoor swimming pool, and having dinner in a quaint, rustic dining room. One especially beautiful picture had caught her eye. It showed skiers coming down a slope at night holding bright lanterns.

  But it isn't Winter Carnival, she had thought miserably. And none of my friends will be there. They'll all be here, having the time of their lives without me.

  "It says in the brochure that they have dances at night, too. I'll bet Brian and I will really enjoy those," Brittany had added, giving Beth a superior look. "They aren't for kids, you know."

  Beth had blinked in anger. "I'm not a kid, Brittany! I can do anything you can do."

  "Yeah, right." Brittany had smirked and nudged seventeen-year-old Brian, who sat beside her.

  Beth had been furious at Brittany. Her older sister always called her a little kid and treated her that way, too. It wasn't fair. After all, Beth was only three years younger than Brittany. Occasionally Mrs. Barry tried to console Beth when Brittany was particularly nasty, saving that it was just normal sibling rivalry and Beth shouldn't let it get to her. Well, normal or not, I'd love to show Brittany just how wrong she is, Beth thought angrily, but not if it means missing Winter Carnival and having fun with my friends.

  Now, as her father turned onto an asphalt road, Beth forgot her anger and sucked in her breath at the sight of the beauty all around her. Flanking the road were tall pine and white paper birch trees, and in the western sky the sun was dipping toward a pink-and-blue frosted mountain. Beth wished the other members of The Fabulous Five had been able to come along with her to see the spectacular view of the mountains. The five of them—Jana Morgan, Christie Winchell, Melanie Edwards, Katie Shannon, and Beth—had been best friends for as long as Beth could remember. They had done everything together, until recently, when Christie had moved with her family to London. The rest of The Fabulous Five missed her terribly, and now were planning to visit her in England over spring break. They were all saving every penny they could to help cover expenses.

  "I believe we've arrived," Mr. Barry suddenly announced.

  They had just pulled out of the woods, and the resort came into view. A large, two-story wooden building drew Beth's attention first.

  "It's huge," said Todd.

  Mrs. Barry nodded. "It used to be a dairy barn. See the two wings on either end of the building?"

  The kids murmured yes.

  "The cows were kept there, in stalls. That's where the guest rooms are."

  Todd leaned forward and yanked on a strand of Beth's short hair. "Moooo! Beth will fit right in."

  "Todd, you're incredibly immature," Beth answered. "Mom, tell him to shut up."

  "Kids," Mrs. Barry warned, "we want this to be a very pleasant vacation, so please try to get along."

  Mr. Barry pulled the car up next to the lodge. "Everybody stay put while I register. Then we'll go to our rooms and unpack."

  Beth wait
ed impatiently while her father was gone. She watched several young people go by, hoping to spot someone close to her age. She didn't see anyone who fit into that category, but there sure seemed to be a lot of little kids about Alicia's age running around. This definitely was a family place.

  Mr. Barry returned a few minutes later. He drove slowly around the lodge to one wing and parked next to the entrance in the middle. "Everybody take a suitcase," he ordered.

  The family piled out of the station wagon, everyone hauling out a piece of luggage, and followed Mr. Barry inside and up the stairs. He led them to the end of the hall and unlocked one of the doors. When the door swung open, Beth could see that the room was paneled in yellow knotty pine and decorated in blue. There were two double beds.

  "Brian and Todd, you take this one," said their father.

  The boys nodded and shoved their suitcases into the room.

  "This will be your room, girls," said Mrs. Barry, opening a second door. "Beth, you share the far bed with Alicia, and Brittany can take the other bed."

  "But Alicia thrashes in her sleep!" Beth protested. "She kicks me every time I sleep in the same bed with her."

  "I don't mean to kick you, Bethy," Alicia told her.

  "Of course you don't, honey," her mother said.

  "I didn't mean she was trying to hurt me," Beth insisted. "But I have a hard time sleeping when she socks me in the face and kicks my legs all night."

  "You'll survive," Mrs. Barry assured her.

  "Just this once, couldn't Brittany sleep with Alicia?" Beth pleaded.

  "We'll hear no more about it," Mrs. Barry said, and left to go to her room across the hall. "Beth, help Alicia unpack, will you?"

  Brittany smiled triumphantly at Beth. "Just one of the advantages of being older," she commented airily.

  Beth let out a sigh of exasperation and angrily threw her suitcase and Alicia's little travel bag on her bed and opened them. It just isn't fair, she thought. Brian and Brittany get all the privileges, Alicia gets babied all the time, and Todd's too busy playing Nintendo or shooting baskets with his friends to care. And what am I? Just stuck in the middle! No privileges. No attention. Nothing.

  "I'll take the top two bureau drawers," Brittany announced, "and you and Alicia can have the bottom two."

  "Why should you get an extra drawer?" Beth demanded.

  "Because, dear little sister," Brittany replied, as if she were talking to a five-year-old, "I brought more clothes than you did. Besides, I don't want to crush my things."

  "Well, I don't want my things crushed, either," said Beth. "We'll share the second drawer."

  "No way," said Brittany.

  Beth watched Brittany unpack, her blood boiling. If Brittany got the bed all to herself, there was no way she was going to get an extra drawer, that was for sure!

  Beth unpacked, then helped Alicia put her things in the bottom drawer, watching Brittany out of the corner of her eye the whole time. Beth hung her clothes in the closet and stuffed the rest into the one bureau drawer.

  "Finished!" Brittany said after a few minutes as she headed out the door. "See you later!"

  As soon as the door closed behind Brittany, Beth stormed over to the bureau, pulled open the second drawer, shoved Brittany's carefully laid-out clothes to one side, and put some of her own things in the space she'd made.

  "There!" She smiled to herself. "Now I'm finished!"

  "Me, too," added Alicia.

  "Come on," Beth said, closing the door and leading her little sister across the hall to her parents' room. Todd was sitting in the middle of their bed playing his portable Nintendo. "Where are Brian and Brittany?" Beth asked.

  "Oh, they went to look for something to do," said her mother as she hung up her ski jacket.

  "Already? Why didn't they wait?" moaned Beth. "I want to see the place, too!"

  "Go ahead and explore with Todd and Alicia," suggested her mother.

  I'm with the little kids again! Beth fumed. It's not fair! I'm as mature as Brian and Brittany, but I always get stuck with the babies!

  She turned to her younger brother and sister. "Well, come on," she said crossly. "Let's go."

  This vacation has got to get better, Beth thought as they left their parents' room and started down the hall. It couldn't possibly get any worse!

  CHAPTER 2

  Beth stomped downstairs ahead of Todd and Alicia.

  Midway down, Alicia stopped and tugged at Beth's sweater. "Bethy, I want to know something."

  Beth sighed. "What?"

  "Well, in the pictures sometimes the swimming pool was outside and sometimes it was inside. Same with the tennis courts. How come?"

  Beth smiled in spite of herself. She started to answer, but Todd interrupted.

  "See, they're both outside in the summertime. Then what they do in the winter is they roll up the tennis court like a rug and haul it inside. Then they lift the swimming pool out of the ground and plug it into a hole they've made especially for it inside," he said, grinning.

  "Todd." Beth shook her head. "Todd's teasing you, Alicia. But they do something almost as amazing. In the winter the swimming pool and tennis courts are covered with huge plastic bubbles that are filled with warm air. That way you can be warm inside while you swim and still be able to see the snow and mountains all around you."

  "Wow," said Alicia, her voice filled with wonder. "Let's go find them. I want to see the bubbles."

  "We'll see them in a little while," Beth assured her.

  Alicia's childish question had perked up Beth's spirits a little, and she started down the steps again with Todd and Alicia following. When they reached the bottom, Todd pointed down a long hallway and said, "I bet the lodge is that way."

  He was right. They pushed open a glass door at the end of the hall and found themselves in the great room of the lodge. There was a roaring fire in the huge stone fireplace, and small clusters of sofas and chairs were arranged around the room. Old-fashioned lanterns hanging overhead created a soft glow.

  "Neat," exclaimed Todd.

  Yeah, agreed Beth, looking around the room. A man and woman with a little boy about Alicia's age had just come in the front door and were stomping snow off their boots. Their faces were red from the cold, and the little boy was grinning from ear to ear as he hurried toward the fireplace to warm. Beth felt an instant twinge of envy. Maybe by this time tomorrow she, too, would be skiing. She would never admit it to her parents, of course, but the idea of skiing was exciting.

  "Hey, look over there," shouted Todd. He was pointing toward Brian and Brittany, who were across the room talking to three teenage girls. Two of the girls were blond, and the third had reddish brown hair. They were all drinking hot chocolate and chattering away.

  "It figures," Beth muttered under her breath. Naturally, Brian and Brittany would find kids their own ages right away. They didn't have to baby-sit Todd and Alicia.

  She edged away from Todd and Alicia and moved closer to the older kids, trying to hear what the girls were saying.

  "This room is where all the skiers come to warm up after a day on the slopes," one of the girls said, twirling a fat marshmallow floating at the top of her cup. "And the fire is kept going twenty-four hours a day."

  "Wow," said Brittany. "That sounds romantic."

  The three girls and Brittany giggled.

  "That's not all," a second girl added. "A band plays every evening, and they're terrific. Then on Saturdays there's night skiing, when everyone comes down the mountain carrying lanterns." She smiled at Brian. "You're going to love it here."

  "Gosh, it sure sounds like it," he replied.

  "What a flirt," Beth murmured to herself, as she watched Brian return the girl's smile.

  "By the way," said one of the blond girls, "I'm Julie, that's Sarah"—she pointed to the other girl who was blond—"and that's Molly. The three of us met four years ago when our families were here at the same time. We've come back every year, and this year we were allowed to come by ourselves.
"

  "We're having a blast!" said Molly, brushing a strand of reddish-brown hair out of her eyes and looking straight at Brian.

  Beth listened enviously. Imagine coming here with a group of friends, without having your family around. She could picture The Fabulous Five schussing down the slopes together, sitting around the fire drinking hot chocolate, and then dancing the night away with handsome skiers. It sounded like heaven.

  "Do you all ski?" asked Brittany, bringing Beth back to the present.

  "A little," Sarah answered. "We're certainly not experts, though."

  "Do you ski, Brian?" asked Molly.

  Brian shook his head. "No, but I want to learn."

  "Me, too," said Brittany. "We're going to have to take lessons."

  "Hey, join us," the girls said in chorus.

  "First thing in the morning," Julie told them. "We'll all go to the beginners' class together."

  Brittany looked doubtful. "Are you sure? I thought you were all skiers."

  "Uh, we could use some more pointers," Sarah replied, and the other two grinned at her knowingly. Beth wondered what that was all about.

  "Great," said Brittany.

  Just then the door to the outside opened again, and a group of kids about Beth's age stomped inside, bringing a blast of cold air in with them. Beth searched their faces for a potential friend. Her heart sank. All of them were boys, and not one looked the least bit interesting. They all had snow packed onto their pants, wild, windblown hair, and red cheeks and noses. They were talking in loud, enthusiastic voices about their skiing feats of the day.

  "Hotdoggers," Julie commented, waving her hand dismissively.

  "Excuse me?" asked Brian.

  "Hot-dog skiers," Julie said. "You know, always trying crazy stunts on the slopes. You can spot them because their skis are always longer than everyone else's, and they've got that kamikaze look in their eyes. You'll usually find them coming down The Jaws of Death."

  "What's that?" asked Brittany.

  "It's the toughest slope here," Julie replied. "Only people who are insane go down it."

  Out of the corner of her eye Beth saw Todd's eyebrows shoot up, and an instant later he was eagerly approaching the boys. Alicia followed him, staring at the boys in open-mouthed fascination. Todd ignored her as he began talking with the skiers.