Fabulous Five 023 - Mall Mania Read online

  Willie smiled. "Great, honey. What movie are you and Tony going to see tonight?"

  "It's a thriller called Follow Me Quietly, and the theater absolutely will not let anyone in after it starts. Not only that, but they say the ending is so surprising that you're not supposed to tell anyone what happens after you see it."

  "Sounds good," said her mother, raising an eyebrow.

  Katie nodded and looked out the window. She couldn't wait to see the movie. She had had to convince Tony to give up watching a baseball game to go, but she knew he'd be glad that he did. Besides, that was all he had been doing lately. She was starting to feel as if he liked baseball more than he liked her.

  Where is he anyway? she wondered. They had only twenty minutes left to get to the theater before the movie started. They would barely make it in time.

  "Is Tony late?" asked Willie, seeing her look out the window again for Tony.

  "Um-hm." Katie sighed. It wasn't like Tony to be late. And tonight, of all nights, when they were supposed to see Follow Me Quietly.

  Ten minutes later Katie picked up the receiver and punched in the first three digits of Tony's number, then hung up. If something really is wrong, she thought, he would have called me.

  She went back to the window, trying not to look at her watch. Slowly she began to make out a figure running up the street. It was Tony.

  Katie called "Good-bye" to her mother and hurried out the door. She met Tony just as he reached her front sidewalk.

  "Where have you been?" she demanded.

  Tony struggled to catch his breath. "Gosh, Katie . . . I'm sorry . . . but there was this baseball game on TV . . . and I couldn't leave . . ."

  Katie looked at him in astonishment. "Do you mean to say that you're late because of some stupid baseball game? Do you realize that we'll probably miss the movie?"

  "Yeah, but, Katie," he went on breathlessly, "you wouldn't believe the game José Canseco was having! Every time the Yankees got a run, Canseco drove in a run. The score was two to two, three to three, then five to five. Finally, he got a grand slammer in the eighth and put the game away. It was out of sight! I just had to watch." A sheepish expression crossed his face. "It won't happen again. I promise! This was absolutely the last time."

  Katie's anger faded. Tony really looked sorry.

  But will Tony live up to his promise? What will happen if Katie gets fed up with competing with television for Tony's attention? Find out in The Fabulous Five #24: The Great TV Turnoff.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Betsy Haynes, the daughter of a former newswoman, began scribbling poetry and short stories as soon as she learned to write. A serious writing career, however, had to wait until after her marriage and the arrival of her two children. But that early practice must have paid off, for within three months Mrs. Haynes had sold her first story. In addition to a number of magazine short stories and the Taffy Sinclair series, Mrs. Haynes is also the author of The Great Mom Swap and its sequel, The Great Boyfriend Trap. She lives in Marco Island, Florida, with her husband, who is also an author.

  Table of Contents

  TITLE PAGE

  COPYRIGHT

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR