Fabulous Five 014 - The Seventh-Grade Menace Read online

  When they picked her up at her house, Mr. McNatt had come out to the car to talk to them. He had a huge smile on his face and waved as they drove away.

  Lunch had been difficult at first. It was hard for Jana to make conversation when all she could think about was yesterday's awards ceremony. It had been everything she could imagine, and her mind kept wandering back to it and that evening when The Fabulous Five and their friends went to Mama Mia's to have pizza and celebrate.

  "I think it looks super on you," Jana answered Geena. "With your color hair that soft green is spectacular. Do you have enough money left from what your father gave you to get a belt for it?"

  Geena smiled and nodded.

  While Geena fingered through the belt rack, Jana noticed Clarence Marshall and Joel Murphy walking by in the mall. Clarence looked in the store, saw them, and braked to a quick stop, causing Joel to run into him. Clarence tucked in his shirttail and came to the store entrance. Joel scowled at him as he followed.

  As Clarence stepped into the store, his eyes were fixed on Geena. He didn't even notice the saleslady who had stepped in front of him. "Can I help you with something?" she asked.

  Clarence brushed the hair out of his eyes and said, without looking at where he was pointing, "Um, sure. How much is that?"

  "The ladies' lingerie?" asked the lady with surprise in her voice.

  A look of horror came over Clarence's face when he saw what he had pointed at. Red crept up from his collar to the tips of his hair, and he stuttered, "Uh, uh, er . . . I think I forgot my money."

  Jana laughed so hard her stomach hurt as he scrambled out of the store, with Joel on his heels.

  Her mother and Geena, who had not seen Clarence, looked at Jana questioningly. Jana just shook her head and wiped the tears from her eyes. Clarence was a riot.

  And then a strange thought occurred to her. Why had he come into the store in the first place? She looked at Geena. Clarence had been hanging around Geena a lot lately. Could it be possible that he liked her? The idea boggled Jana's mind. Clarence liked Geena? She looked at Geena. Stranger things have happened, I guess, she thought, closing her mouth, which had dropped open in astonishment. She smiled to herself and walked over to help Geena pick out a belt.

  CHAPTER 18

  "Who do you think you are?"

  Melanie Edwards blinked to attention and looked at Mrs. Clark, her Family Living teacher, who was asking the question of the class.

  The students glanced around at each other and shrugged.

  Mrs. Clark smiled and went on, "You are a child to your parents, a student to your teachers, a library card number, a locker number, a statistic in the population figures of this town. And if you play sports, you have a number on your shirt. But who are you?"

  What is she getting at? thought Melanie. I know who I am. I'm Melanie Edwards, and I'm in seventh grade at Wakeman Junior High. I have a mother and a father, a little brother, and three gorgeous boyfriends, Scott Daly, Shane Arrington, and Garrett Boldt. Well, maybe they aren't all three exactly boyfriends, but . . .

  Mrs. Clark was speaking again. "Have you ever wondered what makes you different from your best friend? From everyone you know? From everybody else on earth? Your looks are different. You think differently. You have your own interests and hobbies. You like some things and hate others. You are special. Unique. Aren't you?"

  This time everyone was nodding and smiling to each other. Melanie caught Jana's eye and grinned broadly. Even the members of The Fabulous Five were all different from each other. But that was okay. They were still best friends.

  Mrs. Clark's voice broke into her thoughts again. "Flow would you like to start a special class project that will let each one of you find out exactly who you are and why you're special?"

  Cheers broke out all over the room, and it took Mrs. Clark several minutes to quiet everyone down. Melanie was excited, too. It would be fun to find out what made her special and maybe even find out things about other people, too. For instance, what made Laura McCall so snooty? And Shane Arrington so cool and laid-back? And even why she and Katie had such opposite opinions about boys?

  What will Melanie find out about herself and others? Read the surprising answers in The Fabulous Five #15: Melanie's Identity Crisis.

  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 Colleyville, Texas, with her husband, who is also an author.

  Table of Contents

  TITLE PAGE

  COPYRIGHT

  DEDICATION

  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

  CHAPTER 15

  CHAPTER 16

  CHAPTER 17

  CHAPTER 18

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR