Fabulous Five 028 - Breaking Up Read online

  THE FABULOUS FIVE #28

  BREAKING UP

  BETSY HAYNES

  A BANTAM SKYLARK BOOK®

  NEW YORK • TORONTO • LONDON • SYDNEY • AUCKLAND

  RL 5, 009-012

  BREAKING UP

  A Bantam Skylark Book / December 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.

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

  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.

  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 0-553-15873-2

  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

  "Gosh, Jana, it seems so weird to think that you and Randy have really broken up," said Beth Barry as the two girls entered the front door of the public library on Saturday afternoon.

  Jana Morgan paused inside the door and looked solemnly at her friend. Then she sighed. "It's only been a week, but if you want to know the truth, it seems weird to me, too. I know it was the best thing to do, though. And besides, I'm sure it will just be temporary."

  "Right," Beth agreed, sounding as if she were trying to convince herself. "But I still can't understand why you did it."

  "I explained all that," Jana replied with a trace of impatience. "We've gone steady since sixth grade. Neither one of us has ever dated anyone else. How can we possibly be sure if what we feel for each other is real or just a habit? Don't you see, Beth—Randy and I need to date other people for a while."

  Beth didn't answer.

  Jana led the way to the main room of the library and put her notebook down beside one of the newly installed computers that had replaced the old card catalogs. She wished that Beth hadn't brought up Randy Kirwan. She was trying so hard to keep her mind off their "experiment," as they had decided to call it. They had even made a date for exactly one month from the day it started to see if they had changed the way they felt about each other. Still, as bad as she felt about not seeing Randy for an entire month, it made sense to her that they should cool their relationship for a while—especially, she thought with a chill, after the conversation she had had with her mother not long ago.

  She and Randy had been to a Friday night dance in the Wakeman Junior High gym. Wakeman's own rock band, The Dreadful Alternatives, had played, and she and Randy had had a great time. After Randy dropped her off, her mother had fixed them both a cup of hot chocolate, and they had curled up on the sofa to talk.

  Jana had still been feeling dreamy about her evening with Randy. "Mom, remember the story you used to tell me about how my father was such a great dancer, and how you danced until after midnight on the night you met?" she had asked.

  Mrs. Pinkerton had sighed. "Yes. How could I ever forget? Your father was handsome and witty, and he simply swept me off my feet." She had gazed into the distance before going on. "I've often wished that I had dated a few other guys before I married him and found out that we were totally wrong for each other. Of course if I had," her mother had added, giving her a warm hug, "I would never have had you, and that would have been awful."

  Jana had stared at her mother, thinking about Randy. She and he were years away from getting married, of course, but they had never dated anyone else. What if someday, after it was too late, they found out that they were wrong for each other? She knew that after the divorce her mother had had a tough time and had been awfully lonely before she met Wallace Pinkerton, and married him several months ago.

  Jana couldn't explain all that to Beth any more than she could to Randy. It was just too private. Her mother had told her in confidence. The only person she had told was Christie Winchell, one of the members of The Fabulous Five. She had moved to London, England, and wouldn't tell a soul. But the story had convinced her that she had to find out for sure if she and Randy really were meant for each other.

  It had taken Jana a long time to convince Randy that they should break up and date other people. He had argued that he knew how he felt about her and didn't need to date anyone else to prove it. But she had stuck to her conviction, and sometimes she couldn't help wondering if she had made a big mistake.

  "What topic did you choose?" Beth whispered from the computer next to Jana's.

  Jana blinked back to the present and opened her notebook to the list of topics that Mrs. Clark, her Family Living teacher, had given to the class. They were supposed to pick a topic, research it at the library, and write a report. "Day-care centers," she replied.

  "That's the same one I picked." Beth said, her face lighting up. "Hey, maybe we can share the research. That way, each of us will only have to look at half the sources."

  "Good idea," said Jana.

  She turned her attention back to the computer screen.

  Do you wish to locate ____ subject, ____ author, or ____ title? Place an X beside your choice and press ENTER.

  Jana put an X beside SUBJECT and punched the ENTER key. She glanced around the room while she waited for the computer to process her choice and move on to the next selection. Her gaze swept the magazine racks, the case holding rental videos, and on to the large tables where she and Beth would sit to make notes as soon as the computer located the material they needed. An elderly man was reading a newspaper at one table. At another table a woman balanced a toddler on her knee as she copied something from a book.

  Suddenly Jana froze. She felt herself go numb as she stared at a table near the window where Randy and Sara Sawyer were sitting with their heads close together over a large open book. Randy pointed to something on the page, and Sara nodded. It was obvious that they were studying together, probably working on the same Family Living report that she and Beth were. It was the first time Jana had seen Randy with someone else, and her heart felt as if it were shattering into a million pieces. And why did it have to be Sara Sawyer, of all people, who had been her friend for ages?

  Jana looked closely at Sara. She was a total contrast to Jana, whose hair was dark brown and fell to her shoulders. Sara's honey-colored hair was short and curled softly around her face. Sara was athletic, and her complexion had the healthy glow of someone who spent a lot of time outdoors. Jana's heart sank. It was easy to see why Randy might like Sara.

  "What's the matter?" asked Beth.

  Jana couldn't take her eyes off Randy and Sara, so she nodded in their direction and heard Beth gasp.

  "That jerk! It's only been a week!" Beth spat the words out, but then she turned to Jana with huge, sympathetic eyes. "Oh, Jana! It's just awful. How can you stand it?"

  "It's okay," Jana said, tears misting her e
yes. "We're supposed to date other people, remember?"

  Beth mumbled something Jana couldn't hear as she turned back to her computer and tried to concentrate on it. She couldn't let herself fall apart, especially not with Randy in the same room.

  List the subject exactly as you would like the computer to search for it _______________

  Press ENTER.

  Jana typed in "Day-Card Centers" and had started to press the ENTER key when she noticed her mistake. "Day-Care Centers, dummy," she muttered to herself. "I can't let this get to me."

  To Jana's relief, by the time she and Beth had gone into the stacks and located the books they needed and brought them back to a table, Randy and Sara were gone.

  "He probably saw you here and turned chicken," Beth commented.

  "Beth," Jana said crossly. "You know he's supposed to be with other girls. Our experiment won't work if we don't date other people."

  "Then why aren't you going out with other guys?" asked Beth.

  Jana took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I will," she said with determination. "It's just hard to let guys know you're available. Most people don't understand why Randy and I broke up. They probably think I'm crying my eyes out and wouldn't want to go out with anybody else."

  Beth was silent for a moment. Then she leaned closer to Jana and said in a confidential tone, "I think I'd die if Keith and I broke up—absolutely die—even though lately he has been acting like a jerk. I don't know what's wrong with him, but I can't help liking him, anyway."

  Jana smiled and put a sympathetic hand on her friend's shoulder. "You're always saying how immature he is. If he's acting like a jerk, maybe that's why. "

  Beth nodded. "Yeah. I guess so. At least, I hope that's it."

  Half an hour later the girls had copied all the information they needed and were heading for the door when Beth looked at her watch. "Do you realize that it's only two o'clock? It seems like it should be at least four."

  "It is early," Jana agreed. "Want to go to the mall?"

  Beth squinted out the window beside the door. "Naw. It's starting to rain, and if my hair gets wet, I'll get the frizzies. Let's go to Bumpers. It's closer."

  Jana bit her lower lip. What if Randy and Sara were there?

  Seeing Jana hesitate, Beth said, "Hey, we don't have to go to Bumpers. I mean, if you think you might run into Randy and Sara, we could go to my house instead."

  Jana paused for another second and then lifted her chin. "No," she answered. "Let's go to Bumpers. I'm going to have to get used to seeing him with other girls. Besides, maybe there'll be some cute boys there for me."

  Laughing, they dashed out into the rain and down the street toward Bumpers. The fast-food restaurant, which was named for the old amusement park bumper cars that decorated it, was full of kids from Wakeman Junior High, and rock music blasted from the old Wurlitzer jukebox in the corner.

  As soon as they were inside the door, Beth whipped a mirror out of her backpack and groaned. "What did I tell you? The frizzies! You find us somewhere to sit, and I'll go into the girls' room and see if I can do something with this hair. Keith might be here, and I don't want him to see me looking like a Brillo pad."

  Jana nodded and gazed around cautiously. If only the rest of The Fabulous Five were here. But Katie Shannon had gone to her grandmother's for the day, and Melanie Edwards was baby-sitting her little brother. And naturally Christie wouldn't be here. Still, Jana wished that Beth hadn't left her alone. What if Randy and Sara were here, after all? What would she say to them? How should she act? It would be so much easier if she had someone along with her to talk to. She could pretend to be so deep in conversation that she didn't notice them.

  Easing her way through the crowd, Jana spotted an empty yellow bumper car and headed straight for it. Maybe if she didn't look around, she could avoid the embarrassment of making eye contact with Randy or Sara.

  She let out a sigh of relief as she sank into the booth. So far, so good. Once Beth got back from the girls' room, Jana would be able to relax and look around to see if there really were any cute boys in the place.

  Suddenly Keith Masterson pushed his way through the crowd and plopped down beside her. "Hey, Jana. How's it going?"

  Startled, Jana hesitated an instant before answering. "Hi, Keith. I'm fine. So what's up?"

  "Not much." He clasped his hands behind his head and leaned back, grinning at her. "Everything's cool."

  Jana looked at him curiously. What did he want, anyway? Then she remembered that she and Beth had come in the door together. He had probably seen them and was waiting for Beth.

  "Kirwan said you two broke up. Was he kidding?"

  Jana shook her head. There was a funny sensation in the pit of her stomach, and she didn't trust herself to say anything for a moment. Finally she looked at Keith and said, "We just decided that we should date other kids, that's all."

  "So that's why I saw him with Sara Sawyer a few minutes ago, right?"

  Jana nodded. She didn't like the way the conversation was going. She certainly didn't want to talk about Randy and Sara Sawyer. Plastering a fake smile on her face, she told Keith, "Beth will be here in a minute. She just went to brush her hair."

  "Whoa!" he said, sitting up abruptly and sliding out of the bumper car. "See you around."

  "But aren't you even going to wait for Beth?" Jana demanded.

  "Hey, what can I say?" Keith raised his arms in an exaggerated shrug. "Gotta split."

  Frowning, Jana watched him rush through the crowd and disappear out the door.

  CHAPTER 2

  "Have you seen Keith anywhere?" Beth asked when she got to the yellow bumper car a few minutes later. She was standing on tiptoe and craning her neck to see around the crowded room.

  Jana cringed inwardly. She couldn't tell Beth that Keith had left the moment her name was mentioned. Besides, she reasoned, it might have been just a coincidence. Maybe he really did have to leave just then.

  "He was here a minute ago, but he said he had to split," replied Jana.

  "Ooooooh," said Beth, her voice sinking with her as she dropped onto the seat beside Jana. "Where did he go? Did he say?"

  Jana shook her head. "He was in a pretty big hurry, so it must have been important. Otherwise I'm sure he would have stayed around to see you."

  "You told him I was here?" asked Beth. "And he still left?"

  Uh-oh, thought Jana. I opened my big mouth again. "Well, I just said that you were brushing your hair, and he said that he really had to leave. I'm sorry you missed him."

  "That's okay," said Beth. "We're going out tonight, so it's no big deal. Have you found anybody to flirt with yet? If you work fast, maybe we can double."

  Jana couldn't help laughing. "No," she answered, "but I made a list of cute seventh-graders as possibilities. I'll read it to you, and you can tell me what you think."

  She flipped open her notebook and pulled a folded sheet of paper out of a side pocket. "Okay. Here goes. Derek Travelstead, Tony Sanchez, Jared—"

  "Hey, look over there," Beth interrupted. "The Dreadful Alternatives are sitting in that booth. Have you ever noticed that every single one of them is a hunk?" Then she added dramatically, "I mean, everyone would be impressed if you went out with one of the gorgeous members of Wakeman's own rock band!"

  Jana glanced toward the booth where the four boys sat. "Yeah, they're cute all right," she admitted. "But Cory Dillon goes with Kimm Taylor, and Craig Meachem dates Shawnie Pendergast. That only leaves Parker Donovan and Chris Burke."

  "Sure, but look at them," said Beth. "They are totally awesome."

  Jana looked at Chris and Parker again. Beth was right, of course. They were both terrifically good-looking. Parker was tall and slim with medium-brown hair and a lopsided grin that always made Jana wonder what sort of mischief he had been into. Chris, on the other hand, had dark, thoughtful eyes and a quiet smile. He's probably a very sincere person, she thought.

  "But why are you in such a big hurry for me to f
ind someone to go out with?" asked Jana. "A few minutes ago you were full of sympathy and said you'd absolutely die if you and Keith broke up."

  "You're the one who thought up the experiment with Randy," said Beth. "I'm just trying to help. Hey, let's go over and talk to them, before you lose your nerve." She jumped up before Jana could protest and bounded across the room.

  "Be-ETH, come back here!" Jana pleaded, but it was too late.

  Beth had already scooted into the booth beside Craig Meachem and was talking a mile a minute. Each time she stopped for a breath, she darted a look over her shoulder, motioning with a jerk of her head for Jana to join them.

  Jana let out a deep breath and sank back against the bumper car, wondering what to do. The only way I'm ever going to make this experiment work is to go out with other guys, she reasoned. Then why is it so hard even to talk to them?

  Just then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Randy. He was walking toward the order counter, but he stopped when he saw her.

  Jana gulped hard and tried not to look at him, but she couldn't help it. Her eyes met his for an instant, and then she looked away. He had looked so sad that she wanted to cry.

  No! she told herself. I've got to do this, or else we're right back where we started.

  Picking up her notebook and jacket, Jana headed for the booth where Beth sat with The Dreadful Alternatives, noticing as she went that Randy had moved on to the counter now and was placing his food order.

  "Hey, Jana," Beth called as she saw Jana approaching. Turning, she yelled, "Move over, Craig, and make room for Jana."

  "There's room on this side," said Parker, flashing a big smile at Jana. "Come on. Sit down."

  Jana was surprised at the flush of pleasure she felt and hoped he hadn't noticed. She gave him a quick grin and sat down beside him.

  "So like I was saying," Beth said, "he was doing forty-five in a thirty-mile zone."

  "Wow!" cried Cory, laughing and slapping his knee. "I can't believe it."

  "Who was doing forty-five in a thirty-mile zone?" asked Jana. She could feel Parker looking at her, and it made her nervous.