Fabulous Five 012 - Katie's Dating Tips (7 page)

Katie was glad when she finally turned in her essay during
last period. She was also glad that it was Thursday. Only one more day of
embarrassment before the week was over and Willie would be finished with her
writing seminars. She sighed every time she thought about how perfect they had
gone for her mother and how super the week would have been if Willie hadn't
gotten a crush on Dracula. Maybe she would forget about him when she didn't
have to see him every day.

Katie avoided Bumpers again after school, going straight
home instead. This time her mother's car was not in the driveway. She's
probably out shopping for something new to wear on her big date tomorrow night,
Katie thought.

Hurrying up to her room, she pitched her books on her desk.
She knew she should get started on her homework, but her bed looked too
inviting, and she stretched out on her stomach. She had only planned to lie
there for a few minutes, but the room was a dusky gray when she opened her eyes
again. Someone was calling her name.

"Katie? Are you in your room, honey?" It was
Willie, calling softly through the door.

"Yeah, Mom," Katie answered in a fuzzy voice. She
had been in a deep sleep, and her brain was slowly beginning to function. "Come
on in."

She sat up and yawned, stretching her arms high above her
head as Willie came slowly into the room and sank down onto the foot of the
bed.

"Have a good nap?"

Katie nodded. "I didn't mean to go to sleep, though. I
have tons of homework."

Willie didn't say anything for a moment, and when Katie's
eyes finally succeeded in focusing, she noticed for the first time that her
mother had a sheet of paper in her hand. My essay! she thought, and her heart
began to pound.

"I've just finished reading your essay," Willie
said, as if she had also read Katie's thoughts. "And it has certainly
given me something to think about."

She paused, and Katie stared at her, unable even to blink.
This is it, she thought. Doom!

Willie was gazing at the essay, but when she looked at Katie
again, her eyes were misty. "I owe you a big apology," she began. "You
were right. I had forgotten how embarrassing things can be when you're in
seventh grade. I guess, like a lot of grownups, I kept thinking that everything
would work out okay and that you would change your mind about Mr. Dracovitch. I'm
sorry. If it will make you feel better, I'll tell him at school in the morning
that we have to at least postpone our date. Okay?"

"Wow, Mom." It was all that she could think of to
say, and a lump the size of a tennis ball was forming in her throat. Her mind
was spinning. Maybe she had made a mistake. Maybe she shouldn't have interfered
in her mother's life because Willie really did like Mr. Dracovitch and she had
rights, too. Maybe she should tell Willie that it was okay after all and that
she shouldn't break her date. But then she remembered the remarks kids had been
making at school.

"Can you imagine what it would be like if YOUR
mother was in love with Dracula?"

"Draco VITCH! Whata SWITCH! Draco VITCH! Whata
SWITCH
!"

"And can you imagine what it would be like to KISS
him?"

"Draco VITCH! Whata SWITCH! Draco VITCH! Whata
SWITCH
!"

"He probably takes you in his arms and whispers
,
'I'VE COME TO BITE YOUR NECK!'"

"Katie. Are you listening?"

Willie's voice brought Katie back to reality.

"I said, I'll break my date with Mark in the morning.
Does that make you feel better?" her mother asked.

"Thanks," she mumbled. She felt too ashamed to
look Willie in the eye, but she couldn't help it. She simply couldn't face any
more teasing at school.

"It's okay," said her mother. "I
do
understand."

But she felt sure Willie was faking it to sound sincere,
which only made Katie feel worse.

Just then the phone rang. Willie stepped into the hall and
picked up the upstairs extension. "Hello," she said.

Katie went to the door and listened in case it was for her.
It might be Tony calling to see why she hadn't gone to Bumpers again today.

"Oh, hi, Peg. No, I haven't looked at it yet,"
Willie was saying. Katie felt a flicker of disappointment that it was her
mother's friend Peggy instead of Tony and started to turn away. But then she
heard her mother say, "What! You're kidding. How many are there?"

Willie looked totally flabbergasted. Her eyes were large and
round, and she was staring straight at Katie.

"Oh, my gosh," said Willie. "Thanks for
calling. I'll check it out right now. Bye."

Willie slammed down the receiver and sped down the stairs.

"What is it, Mom?" Katie called after her. Willie
didn't respond, but Katie knew that whatever it was, it was pretty serious.

Crouching at the top of the steps, Katie watched her mother
go out the front door and come right back in again, carrying the evening
newspaper.

The letters!
Could they have gotten them in the mail
and printed them in the paper already? Tony had only mailed them yesterday
afternoon. But he had also only mailed them across town. Of course they would
have gotten them this morning, and that would have left plenty of time to get
them into this afternoon's edition.

Her knees felt weak as she went down the stairs. Willie had
spread the paper open on the sofa. Even though she wasn't making a sound, her
lips were moving as she read, and there was a terrible frown on her face.

The instant her mother saw her standing there she shot her
an angry look and said, "Katie Shannon. What in the world is this all
about?" Using her index finger like a pointer, she punched the newspaper
three or four times, then handed it to Katie.

Katie knew without looking what she was referring to, but
she couldn't help looking anyway. There they were, taking up an entire page,
twenty-eight letters to the editor from the students of Wakeman Junior High. And
hers was at the very top.

Before Katie could answer her mother, the telephone rang
again.

"You'd better let me get that," said Willie,
jumping up from the sofa and heading into the kitchen.

It was probably someone else calling about the letters,
Katie thought. By now her heart was pounding so loudly that she wasn't sure she
would be able to hear her mother's side of the conversation as she followed her
to the phone. Not only that, but Willie looked really steamed. It had never
occurred to her that her mother would have a problem with kids' sending their
letters to the
Post.

"Oh, Clarence. What a nice surprise," said Willie,
rolling her eyes apprehensively at Katie.

"Oh . . . certainly . . .
certainly
, Mr.
Newkirk. But . . . but . . ."

Katie could see Willie gulp hard as she struggled with her
end of the conversation. It must be bad, Katie thought, since her mother had
just gone from calling him Clarence to Mr. Newkirk.

"Sir!" Willie said indignantly. "I'll have you
know that I would never do anything to bring shame or dishonor to Wakeman
Junior High. But sir! If you'd just listen.
Mr. Newkirk
!
"

Willie's shoulders sagged, and she gave the receiver a
puzzled frown before replacing it on the hook. "He hung up," she said
in a small voice.

"It was about the letters?" Katie asked
sheepishly.

Her mother nodded.

"And they got you into trouble?" She knew the
answer before she asked.

Willie nodded again, and Katie could sec fire building
behind her eyes. "The nerve of that man. He accused me of inciting the students.
Inciting
them. Can you believe that? You would think that I caused a
riot instead of a letter-writing campaign. He even said that he took personal
offense over the matter because he was head of the English department and my
seminars were his responsibility."

"Wow!" said Katie.

"And what's more," Willie went on, "he said
that because of those letters, the paper printed an editorial saying that the
students should have some hand in choosing what the cafeteria serves. He was
furious about that, too, saying that it was up to the school to make that kind
of decision."

Katie glanced down at the paper, which was still in her
hand. "He was right about the editorial," she admitted. "It's
right here in black and white. It says, 'While the final responsibility for nutritional,
good-tasting lunches lies with the school, the students deserve to have some
say in deciding what will be served.'"

Willie took the paper and skimmed the editorial. Then she
read down the letters. "And
yours,
" she said, glaring at
Katie. "Yours is the very first letter on the page."

Katie could feel her scalp starting to crawl. "Tony
said it was the best, and he put it on top of the stack so that they would read
it first," she offered weakly.

"Tony Calcaterra!" Willie cried. "So he was
the one responsible for all of this. I remember now. His letter mentioned that
several other students would be writing about the cafeteria food, and there
were twenty-five or so letters turned in to me on that subject."

"Twenty-eight," Katie corrected.

"I should have known it was someone like Tony causing
this. He just can't stay out of trouble, can he?"

"Mom!" Katie exploded. "You of all people!
Nobody understands him. Can't you see that he's just trying to do something
good for other people. And he's taking a stand for something he believes in?"

Spinning around, Katie stormed out of the room.

She spent the entire evening in her room. She didn't want to
cross paths with her mother if she didn't have to, and apparently Willie felt
the same because she didn't call Katie down to supper. Thursday was usually
cold-cut night anyway, so she knew she could slip down to the kitchen and make
a sandwich anytime she wanted to.

She sat down at her desk to do her homework and even opened
her notebook. But instead of working math problems, she doodled along the edge
of her paper. Things were really a mess, she thought. Tony's campaign to
improve the cafeteria food had brought disaster down on everyone.

"But nobody understands," she said out loud. "Everybody
jumps to conclusions about him. They don't try to get to know him and find out
what he's really like. Even Mom, of all people. She's usually more objective
than that."

Katie thought about the letters. She was secretly proud of
the fact that hers had been selected to be number one on the page. But where
did Mr. Newkirk get off thinking that they brought shame and dishonor to
Wakeman Junior High? He should feel just the opposite. He should be proud! And
how dare he say such awful things to Willie? Her mother was a wonderful person
and a great teacher, and she was just trying to get the kids at Wacko to
express their feelings on paper. It wasn't fair!

It wasn't until she got into the car to ride to school the
next morning that she remembered she hadn't made herself a sandwich the night
before. She had slept badly until almost morning, when she had fallen into a
deep sleep and had been too groggy when the alarm went off to think of
breakfast, either. She hoped Willie wouldn't hear her stomach growling over the
sounds of traffic.

"Good morning, Katie," said her mother as she
started the car and backed out of the driveway.

"Morning," said Katie. She could see her mother
looking at her out of the corner of her eye and knew she should act more
friendly. Willie was going to have to face the wrath of Mr. Newkirk and maybe
Mr. Bell, too, when she got to school, but the memory of her mother's stinging
words about Tony kept her silent. Thank goodness this is Friday, she thought,
the last day her mother would be going to school.

Neither of them said a word during the ride to Wakeman.
Katie was looking out the window when they swung into the teachers' parking lot
so she was the first to see who was standing beside the space marked VISITORS, which
Willie had been using all week.

"Mom. Look," she said. "There's Mr.
Dracovitch. I wonder what he's doing standing by your parking place?"

Willie looked shocked when she glanced in his direction. By
this time he had spotted their car and was waving his arms at them as if there
was some sort of emergency.

"Oh, no," Willie murmured. "What on earth has
happened now?"

Willie bolted out of the car as soon as she shut off the
engine, but Katie moved more slowly. Mr. Dracovitch obviously had something on
his mind, and she wasn't sure if she was ready to hear it. Then she noticed
something strange. He was grinning from ear to ear.

"Congratulations, you two. Everybody's talking about
all the newspaper coverage your letters have generated," he said, beaming
first at Willie and then at Katie and back at Willie again. "I think it's
terrific that you've inspired the kids of this school to finally take a stand
on something they care about. They've been complaining about the food in the
cafeteria for years and have been ignored. Now they're organized and are getting
attention."

Katie did a double take. Weird Mr. Dracovitch was on their
side?

"Personally, I think the stuff tastes like something I'd
cook up in my lab," he added.

A giggle burst from Katie, and she had an instant vision of
him in the school kitchen wearing a black cape with a red lining and waving a
magic wand over pots on the stove.

Willie laughed, too, and Katie could see that she was
starting to get her old spunk back. "You bet we're taking a stand!"
she said. "I don't know why I let Mr. Newkirk get to me. It's about time
this school did something that was forward thinking, and I agree with the
students. It's only reasonable that they have a say in choosing the cafeteria
food."

Katie let out a cheer. "Right on, Mom! Now you sound
like your old self again."

"I have to give you credit, Willie. Sending those
letters to the
Post
was a brilliant idea," Mr. Dracovitch said.

Willie looked sheepish. "It was Tony Calcaterra who did
that. In fact, the whole campaign to get better food was Tony's idea. My lesson
on letters to the editor just gave him a way to carry it out."

Mr. Dracovitch turned to Katie. "Go find Tony and meet
us on the front sidewalk. That young man's a hero."

Katie whirled around and sprinted toward the school.

"Bring along as many of the other letter writers as you
can find," he shouted after her. "And hurry."

She wanted to ask him what he was planning to do, but he had
said hurry, so she kept on going. She found Tony nosing his bike into the rack
by the side of the school. While he locked it in, she quickly explained all of
the things that had happened since her mother first got the call about the
letters from her friend Peggy the afternoon before, ending with Mr. Dracovitch's
calling Tony a hero and wanting to see him and the other letter writers in the
parking lot.

"What's he going to do?" asked Tony.

Katie shrugged. "I don't know, but he's really excited.
Come on. Let's get moving."

They rounded up all but two of the kids who had written the
letters. Counting herself and Tony, there were seventeen boys and nine girls in
the group. Lots of them were seventh-graders who had gone to Mark Twain
Elementary with her. There was Matt Zeboski, Joel Murphy, Mark Peters, Randy
Kirwan, Richie Corrierro, Clarence Marshall, and even Curtis Trowbridge among
the boys. Alexis Duvall, Lisa Snow, and Sara Sawyer were among the girls. Some
other friends were Dekeisha Adams, Shawnie Pendergast, and Mandy McDermott, and
even a few eighth- and ninth-graders such as Garrett Boldt, Colby Graham, and
Kaci Davis.

By the time the students were all assembled, Mr. Dracovitch
and Willie had joined them.

"There isn't much time before the bell," the
science teacher explained. "And I think we should march straight to the
principal's office and demand to discuss the issue."

"But what about your experiment?" asked Willie. "It's
so important. Shouldn't you be in your lab working on it?"

"It can wait," he replied. "This is
important, too. Besides, it may take years to develop my formula. One more
morning won't matter that much."

Katie groaned inwardly.
Years?
she thought. That
could mean that he would still be cooking up those awful smells when she was in
ninth grade. What a thing to look forward to.

Mr. Dracovitch raised a fist in the air and shouted like a
cheerleader. "Okay, gang! Are you ready for our talk with Mr. Bell?"

"Right on!" yelled Garrett Boldt.

His cheer was echoed through the crowd as kids began locking
arms in groups of twos and threes and falling in line behind Katie and Tony.
She felt as if they were leading a parade as they headed toward the front door
of the school. Beside them, Willie and Mr. Dracovitch marched with their arms
locked, too. Katie shot a glance at her mother, who responded with a smile and
a thumbs-up sign.

It was the first moment Katie had had to think about Mr.
Dracovitch since they got to school. Wow, she thought. Was I ever wrong about
him! I couldn't have misunderstood him more if I had set out to do it on
purpose. Glancing sideways at Tony, she couldn't help remembering how upset she
always got when people misunderstood him. How could I miss something so
obvious? she wondered.

By this time the little army had entered the school and they
were marching down the hall toward the office. A few feet from the door Mr.
Dracovitch stopped and held up his hand for silence.

"Listen up," he called, and then waited for
everyone to stop talking. "Now we're all pretty excited, and we're
convinced that we're right."

Kids nodded and murmured agreement, and Mr. Dracovitch held
up his hand for quiet again.

"But don't forget that we represent only one side of
the question. When we get into Mr. Bell's office, we're going to be calm and
courteous and try to win him over in an orderly fashion instead of picking a
fight. Mobs don't solve anything."

Katie looked at the teacher and felt admiration shining in
her eyes. Why hadn't she realized before what a super person he was? she asked
herself. Just because he looked a little strange in his Dracula wig and did
unusual things now and then, that didn't mean that he was
weird.

"Okay. Is everybody ready?"

Everyone nodded, but no one spoke out loud as they moved on
tiptoes through the door that led into the school's main office. Katie could
see Mr. Bell sitting at his desk in his private office on the other side of the
counter. He was a tall, thin man with a shiny bald spot above a fringe of dark
hair. He looked startled when he glanced up and saw all of them standing there.

"Is there something I can do for you?" he asked as
he got to his feet and moved toward them.

Suddenly Katie felt tingles of panic spreading up her spine.
It had been so much fun to march in, determined to make a stand. But Mr. Bell
looked so solemn. Surely he had read the
Post
and knew why they were
here. And maybe he agreed with Mr. Newkirk. What if he refused to listen? Or
what if he denied their request and sent them all to Teen Court for
insubordination?

She swallowed hard and exchanged nervous glances with
Willie. This is it, she thought. If it doesn't work, Mom will be disgraced
forever at Wakeman Junior High . . . and so will I.