Fabulous Five 016 - The Hot-Line Emergency (5 page)

The fire at the gum tree was all kids were talking about in
the classrooms and hallways that morning. Christie was as much in the dark as
everyone else about who set the fire, but she was sure she had talked to him.

As she headed for math class that afternoon, she found
herself looking closely at every boy she passed and thinking, could
he
be the one? She was starting to be suspicious of nearly every seventh-grade boy
at Wacko.

It was all one big puzzle. Christie couldn't figure out who
was behind all these stupid pranks.

"I agree with you, Christie," Mr. Snider said when
she told him she thought the gum-tree fire was what the caller had meant when
he said he was going to do something involving color. "I talked to the fire
department, and they told me that they received a call around eight-fifteen
last night from a boy who told them about the fire. The call must have been
made right after it was set because it had barely started by the time they
arrived. If it was our caller who did it, it appears he didn't really want the
tree to burn.

"I don't want you to get paranoid," Mr. Snider
added, looking her firmly in the eyes, "but if you notice someone paying
more attention to you than usual, it might be our caller. Just act natural and
let me know about it."

The thought shocked her. She had just assumed that the
caller would stay as far away from her as possible so she wouldn't recognize
his voice. It was eerie to think he might be watching her as she was looking
for him.

As Christie left Mr. Snider's office, an idea that had been
nagging at the back of her brain began to bother her. Jon had been acting
different lately. He was obviously disturbed about her not wanting to date him.
Could it be that Jon was trying to get her attention by calling her at the
hot-line center and saying all those weird things?
Don't be silly,
Christie told herself. You would recognize his voice. Or would she? Jon knew a
lot about making movies, and she knew that sometimes people's voices on
television news programs were disguised. Could he be doing something like that?
Could he have gotten some piece of equipment from the television studio where
his mother and father worked that would let him change his voice? Christie's
mind was a whirlpool of thoughts. She shook her head trying to make sense out
of them. Not Jon. Jon wouldn't do something so silly.

"Why the big frown?" asked Beth when Christie
joined the other members of The Fabulous Five at the cafeteria table.

"Oh, nothing," Christie responded. "I was
just thinking."

"It must have been serious, judging from the look on
your face," said Katie.

"Is Jon giving you a hard time?" asked Melanie.

Christie almost jumped when she heard his name.

"No. No, it was something else." She flashed a big
smile at Melanie, trying to reassure her, and then turned to Beth. "You
know a lot about acting. Can people change their voices very easily?"

"Saum pipple can do it priddy guod," answered Beth
in a Donald Duck voice. "And some not so good. What's up, Doc?" she
said, sounding like Bugs Bunny.

Christie couldn't help but laugh at Beth's silly imitations.
"I see what you mean."

The rest of the lunch period was filled with speculation
about who might have set the fire by the gum tree and about boys. Christie didn't
tell her friends what Mr. Snider had said. It would have raised more questions
that she couldn't answer, but she found her thoughts going back to Beth's
imitations. If a person could change their voice that much, it wouldn't be too
hard for someone to change it just enough to be unrecognizable. Especially
someone who was around actors a lot, like on television.

"Okay, Christie Winchell," Jana said, catching her
by the shoulder from behind as she headed for her locker after the last class
of the day. "I don't want to mess around in your business, but you look as
if you've got some heavy stuff on your mind. Do you need somebody to unload on?"

Christie looked into her friend's warm brown eyes. If there was
anyone she could trust, it was Jana. She opened her mouth to speak and then
hesitated. She had promised Mr. Snider she wouldn't say anything more about the
caller, even to her best friends.

"I knew you could tell something was wrong at lunch
today, Jana," Christie said finally. "It's something I can't talk
about right now, though, and I need for you and the others not to ask about it.
Please don't be mad." Christie hoped she would understand.

Jana gave her a big smile and squeezed her hand. "Okay.
But you know who to come to when you need to talk, right? We're best friends
for always, and if you need help and don't ask, I
will
get mad. I'll try
to let the others know to leave you alone. They've been wondering what's going
on, too."

Christie hugged Jana to show her appreciation.

Jon was standing by the Wurlitzer jukebox talking to Richie
Corrierro when Christie and Jana walked into Bumpers. Melanie and Beth were
saving a booth in the corner, and Katie was on line at the counter with Tony
Calcaterra. They were holding hands.

"Over here!" yelled Melanie, waving.

"Don't Katie and Tony make a cute couple?" asked
Beth, nodding toward the serving counter.

"You mean old Katie Shannon-Calcaterra?" giggled
Melanie. "I think we ought to kid her again about hyphenating names."

"You're bad, Mel," said Christie.

"Well, she's always teasing me about being boy crazy,
and I've got to get back at her some way. And she
is
crazy about Tony,
although she hates to admit it. Hey, look, there's Shane.
Shane
!
"
she yelled, bouncing up and down and waving both hands. He strolled over to
their booth.

"Did you ever get a response to your ad?" Melanie
asked.

A big grin spread across Shane's face. "I sure did, and
we set up a date for this Saturday."

"You're kidding," said Jana.

"She's a girl iguana that has beautiful green, scaly
skin, fabulous yellow eyes, and the cutest tail you've ever seen."

"Shane!" said Christie. "Get real."

"Well, I'll bet Igor will think she's gorgeous,"
Shane protested.

The girls went into hysterical fits of laughter as Randy
Kirwan, Keith Masterson, and Scott Daly joined them to see what was going on.

Shane explained that there had been a message for him on his
parents' answering machine when he stopped by his house on the way to Bumpers.

"When I called the lady back, she said her iguana was
definitely a girl, and she would be happy to introduce Cecilia to Igor, if I'll
bring him over on Saturday."

"Cecilia!"
Melanie shrieked. The others
howled with laughter.

"Yeah. That's her name."

"I propose a toast," said Randy, raising his cola
glass in the air. "To Igor and Cecilia! May they have the romance of the
century."

"Yea!"
they all yelled, clinking their
glasses together.

"I'm supposed to be at her place at ten a.m. Would you
guys like to go along and meet her?"

"I would! I would!"
squealed Melanie.

Christie smiled. She knew Melanie loved anything that had to
do with romance, but she hadn't realized until now that it even included love
between two lizards.

"We want to go, too," said Beth and Jana in duet.

"I wouldn't miss seeing Igor on his first date for
anything in the world," Christie chimed in. "Especially with an
iguana named Cecilia. Count me in."

"Okay. Meet me at the bus stop at the corner of Keller
and Roanoke Saturday morning at nine-thirty. Anyone who's late misses out."

"What's up?" asked Katie, who had just come up to
the booth with Tony.

When they explained about Igor's date, Katie said she wanted
to be included, also.

"Are you going to dress him up for his date?"
asked Tony.

"I was thinking about letting him wear his yellow tie.
It's what all gentlemen of distinction are wearing this season," said
Shane.

When Shane had left for another table, and things had
settled down again, Christie sneaked a look at Jon. Matt Zeboski was with him
and Richie. Richie was telling a story and illustrating it with hand motions.
Even though Jon appeared to be absorbed in what Richie was saying, every few
moments he looked toward her booth.

As Christie turned back to her friends, Mr. Snider's warning
echoed in her ears. He had told her to watch for someone who might be paying more
attention to her than usual. And now Christie had to face the truth. She did
know someone who was disturbed because of something that had happened to him
and who had been watching her. It was Jon.

Friday morning, Christie summoned up all her courage and
walked up to Jon on the school ground. She wasn't sure what she would say. She
couldn't just ask Jon if he was pulling dumb tricks to get her attention, but
she had made up her mind to try.

"Hi. I haven't seen much of you lately," she said
as she reached him. "What have you been doing?"

He looked pleased that she had come to talk to him. "Not
much. I looked for you at the movies Friday. I saw Jana, Katie, Beth, and
Melanie, but I didn't see you."

She listened carefully to his voice. Could it be the same as
the caller's? She couldn't be sure.

"Oh, uh . . . I was there. I must have been off talking
to someone. Have you been doing anything interesting during the week?"

"Not really. I've been working on a new movie. I'll
come over to your house and show it to you, if you'd like," he said
eagerly.

"Maybe," Christie replied quickly. "But not
on Tuesdays. That's when I'm at the homework hot-line center. She paused. "Do
you ever call the center for help?"

"No," he replied. His eyes didn't flicker. "I
haven't had any trouble with my homework. What about if I came over some other
night?"

"I'm really busy. Maybe later. You haven't even had to
call for help with algebra?" She laughed. "I used to help you with
your algebra all the time."

He grinned. "No. Miss Gilchrist has been easy. She
usually just assigns us the first twenty problems, and I've been getting them
okay."

Christie didn't know what to do next. If she asked Jon
point-blank if he was the caller and he said yes, he would be admitting he had
just lied to her. If he really wasn't the caller, he would know that she didn't
trust him and be hurt. She couldn't do that. Either way she was a loser. Not
knowing what else to say, she lied. "I need to talk to Jana. I'll see you
later."

A cloud passed over Jon's face. "Let me know when you
want to see the film."

As Christie crossed the school grounds to join The Fabulous
Five at the fence, her mind was churning with a thousand different thoughts.

Her gut feeling told her that Jon was telling the truth, but
maybe it was because she didn't
want
it to be him. She liked him—liked
him very much—and if she accused him of being the caller and he wasn't, it
would ruin their friendship forever.

What if she told him she wanted to date him again? If he was
the caller and she did, would he stop? Would it be worth trying? The more she
thought about it the more confused her emotions became.

For the rest of the day Christie felt distracted. Twice, her
teachers told the class to do something, and she hadn't heard what it was. It
was embarrassing to have to look over the shoulder of the person in front of
her to see what page they were on.

Christie bit her lip and told herself to forget about the
caller. Her next turn on the homework hot-line team wasn't until Tuesday, and
she didn't
really
have to think about him until then. She would use the
whole
weekend to wipe him right out of her mind. Checking out Igor's new girlfriend
with Shane and the rest of The Fabulous Five would definitely help her forget
about her hot-line troubles.

The next morning, Christie was the first one to arrive at
the bus stop. She wasn't going to risk Shane and the others leaving without
her. Not when she had a chance to see Igor's first big romance. Katie and Jana
showed up together a few minutes later, and Beth and Melanie arrived shortly
after that.

"Great outfit, Beth," called Christie. Beth was
wearing a denim jacket with bright red patches sewn on it. The collar was up
and she had a matching red scarf wrapped around her neck and flipped over her
shoulder.

"Thanks," Beth replied. "It's perfect for the
occasion, don't you think?"

"I can't believe this," said Jana. "Here we
are, in seventh grade, and we're escorting an iguana on its first date. How
will I ever tell my children about this?"

"There's no way I'll tell my kids," said Katie. "How
could I expect them not to do crazy things if I admitted that I did?"
Shane came jogging down the street with a large wooden box under his arm. "Sorry,
Igor," he said to the box when he came to a screeching halt in front of
them. "He doesn't like it when I bounce him around."

"Are you sure you've got Igor in there?" asked
Beth suspiciously. "Or are you just going to get us to take a bus ride all
over town and then show us an empty box and say you forgot him?"

"Sure he's in here," Shane said, frowning at her. "Would
I kid you?"

"YES!" The Fabulous Five yelled in unison.

"Okay! Okay!" Shane said, laughing. "Take a
look." He flipped the catch on the lid and opened it so they could see.

"I can't believe it!"
said Christie. "You
did put a yellow tie on him."

"Sure. And look at those feet," Shane said
proudly.

"Oh, no
!"
squealed Beth. "You
painted his claws black."

"He's some good-lookin' dude, isn't he?" Shane
said, grinning and stroking the big lizard's head affectionately.

"Do you suppose Cecilia will be wearing a gown and a
veil?" asked Katie. Before Shane could answer, the crosstown bus pulled
up, and they piled on.

Christie looked around when they got off again. Old,
red-brick buildings with small businesses in them lined both sides of the
street. There were no houses.

Shane took a piece of paper from his shirt pocket and
unfolded it. "Twenty-two oh four, third floor, apartment thirty-three. It's
that building over there."

Christie looked at the sign that hung over the entrance to
the building. Its green paint was peeling and the letters that said MADAME
ZONGA'S FORTUNE-TELLING PARLOR were so faded she could hardly make out the
words. It gave her a creepy feeling. "Are you sure this is the place?"
she asked.

"That's what she told me," Shane said, frowning at
the paper the address was written on.

He opened the door and went in. Christie was right behind
him with the others trailing single file as he led them up a dark, squeaking
stairway. At the first landing, she looked out a window that was almost opaque
from a film of dirt. She could see a trash-filled alley down below. At the top
of the next stairs were four doors. Shane knocked on the one that had the
number thirty-three tacked on it. One of the threes had come loose and was hanging
sideways. The door opened, and an eye peeked through the crack.

"Yes?" a husky voice said.

"My name is Shane Arrington, ma'am. I called about your
iguana."

The door closed and Christie heard a chain rattle. When it
opened again, a lady stood in front of them dressed in black, flowing robes
with a black turban wrapped around her head. Her eyelids were slathered with
eye shadow, and her false lashes stood out like bristles. Her cheeks had round
spots of orange like bright little suns.

"You're the nice young man that I talked to on the
phone, aren't you? Come in. Cecilia's been all adither ever since I told her
your Igor was coming to see her."

Shane and The Fabulous Five crowded into the small room. A
tablecloth decorated with the signs of the zodiac covered a table in the center
of the room on which a large glass ball sat. Black drapes hung from ceiling to
floor at the right side of the room, as if to conceal another living area.
Totally weird, thought Christie.

"Here, place your Igor's box on the table," said
Madame Zonga. Shane did as he was directed, but Christie saw a look of
apprehension on his face.

"One moment," said the strange lady, then she
disappeared behind the drapes. She appeared almost instantly, carrying a second
iguana. Its claws were painted red, it had several thin, colored wire hoops
around its long neck like necklaces, and it had a red ribbon tied to its tail.

"Ummph," said Christie, stifling a laugh. Katie,
Jana, Beth, and Melanie were all looking at the ceiling, the window, the paintings
on the walls, everywhere except at each other. Christie prayed one of them
wouldn't start laughing because she knew she wouldn't be able to hold it in if
they did.

"If I leave Igor here, where will you keep him?"
Shane asked Madame Zonga.

"In a cage in my sleeping quarters."

"Could you bring it out so I could see it?" he
asked.

"Out here? Come with me, and I'll show you."

"No, I'd better not. Why don't you bring it out here?"

The lady looked at him and then disappeared behind the
drapes again.

"Quick! Somebody give me a lipstick," Shane
hissed.

Christie searched frantically in her purse for one as did
the other girls.

"Here," said Beth.

"No! I want a red one. A bright red one. That one's
purple."

"Here," said Jana.

Shane took the lipstick and quickly made red marks under
Igor's eyes and around his nostrils as a rattling sound came from the other
part of the apartment. Jana had just put the lipstick back in her purse when
the curtains parted and the lady in black backed out, pulling a large wire cage
behind her.

"This is it," she said, panting with the effort.

"That looks like a nice one," said Shane. "Here,
you hold Igor while I look at it."

As he walked around the cage, Madame Zonga looked at the
iguana in her hands. Suddenly she looked closer at Igor's face.
"What's
this!"
she asked, pointing to Igor's eyes. "What's this red
stuff?"

"Oh, that. Did he do
it
again?" asked
Shane. "Here, let me have him. Does anyone have a tissue?" Melanie
handed him one. "He started bleeding from the eyes and nose yesterday. I
don't know what causes it, but I'm sure it's not contagious," he said,
smiling and wiping the lipstick away.

"
Bleeding from the eyes and nose!
And you bring
him here to see my Cecilia?
How could you do such a thing?
My Cecilia
could catch whatever it is and die."

"Oh, I don't think it's anything to worry about,"
said Shane. "I haven't heard of them finding any of that new reptile
disease around here."

"Reptile disease! They've discovered a new reptile
disease? Shoosh! Get him out of here! Get him out!"

Shane looked at Madame Zonga with his mouth open, but
Christie thought she saw a twinkle in his eyes. "I, uh, didn't think."

"Didn't think? Get that infected lizard out of here
before my Cecilia catches its disease!" She waved her hands and opened the
door. When the six of them were back in the hall, she slammed the door.

When they reached the street, they all let out wails of
laughter. "Shane, how could you?" asked Christie, bracing herself
against the wall of a building.

"I wasn't about to leave Igor with an iguana that's
treated weirder than I treat him. There's no telling what condition he'd be in
when I got him back."

"Well, what next?" asked Jana. "Have you got
any other big ideas about finding Igor a girlfriend?"

Shane shrugged. "Back to the drawing board, I guess."

They were still chattering and laughing about the incident
when they boarded the bus for home.

Christie pulled off her sweater and tossed it on her bed,
then got into her pajamas. It was eleven o'clock that evening, and she was
tired but happy.

After going with Shane to see Madame Zonga and Cecilia, The
Fabulous Five had gone to the mall and hung around. Christie thought nearly
everyone they knew from the seventh grade was there, and they had had a ball,
strolling back and forth, talking to friends, eating round food, which was what
everyone called pizza and hamburgers, and sitting on the benches and watching
people. Later, they went ice-skating and ate more round food. The only
disconcerting thing had been Jon. Christie had seen him ducking in and out
behind pillars like an Indian scout on the trail of a deer. Every time she
looked, he disappeared behind something. He had finally joined them when Randy,
Tony, Shane, and Keith had showed up. The rest of the evening The Fabulous Five
and the boys had drunk colas, and talked.

Christie heard the telephone ring in another part of the
house and listened to hear if her mom or dad would call her. It was probably
one of The Fabulous Five calling to talk about their day. Her parents never got
calls this late on Saturday. She was right.

"Christie? her mother called up the stairs a second
later.

"Hi," Christie said brightly into the receiver,
expecting to hear one of her friends reply.

"I need help with my algebra," came back a male
voice.

Christie almost dropped the phone.