Fabulous Five 023 - Mall Mania (5 page)

"It's serendipity!" Christie exclaimed.

"What kind of
dipity
?
" asked Beth.

"Serendipity," her friend repeated. "It's
when you make a wonderful discovery by accident."

"Well, whatever it's called, those earrings are
terrific," said Melanie.

The Fabulous Five had gathered at their meeting spot by the
fence before school the next day. Beth was wearing her new creations.

"I can't believe that you made such great earrings with
nothing but junk from around the house," said Jana.

"Right," agreed Katie. "I wish I had a pair."

"I'll make you some," Beth offered.

"Really?" said Katie.

"Sure, I'll make each of you a pair," Beth
promised. "Not only that, each pair will be an exclusive, one-of-a-kind
design. Something that will fit your personality."

Melanie beamed. "Can you make mine in the shape of
hearts?"

"No problem," Beth replied.

Just then the bell rang, and the girls went into the
building and separated to go to their classes.

Dekeisha Adams smiled and waved as Beth passed her locker.
Then Dekeisha did a double take.

"Hey, Beth!" she called out. "Wait a minute. Where
did you get those awesome earrings?"

"I made them," Beth said, "by accident."

Dekeisha cocked an eyebrow. "By accident?"

"Yup," said Beth.

"So what are they made of?" Dekeisha asked. "I
mean, besides the buttons?"

Beth laughed. "Would you believe fishing line and red
paint?"

Dekeisha laughed, too. "Wow. I love them."

"Thanks," Beth said, and hurried on down the hall.
By the time Beth got to her first-period class, five people had stopped her to
ask about her earrings. But more than that, she had come up with a terrific
idea for
The Wakeman Bulletin Board.

After school she hurried to her locker to put away her
books. The Media Club was meeting in five minutes, and she could hardly wait to
tell everyone her great idea. She was shoving her books onto the top shelf when
she felt a tug on her hair. She whirled around.

"Keith! What do you think you're doing?"

Keith shrugged and slumped against her locker. "Pulling
your hair."

"There's not much to pull," she said with a laugh,
looking up into his eyes. He was so cute. His blondish hair was swept back a
little from his forehead, and his eyes were twinkling as he gazed back at her.

"I haven't seen much of you since your awesome
appearance on TV," he said.

"I know," she said. "I've been pretty busy
with the Media Club."

He reached out and touched one of her earrings. "Hey,
these are great. Are they new?"

Beth grinned. "Yes and no."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Keith asked.

"They're brand-new earrings made out of old junk I
found around the house."

Keith looked impressed. "Wow! You're not only pretty
and talented, but artistic, too."

Beth felt her cheeks heat up. "Thanks."

"What are you doing after the Media Club meeting?"
he asked. "Want to meet me at Bumpers?"

"Sure," she replied. "Our meeting should be
over in about an hour. I'll see you then."

Beth watched Keith walk down the hall and out the door. He
had seemed so proud of her TV appearance. She hoped she could be as successful
on this week's show.

Shawnie let out a whoop when she saw Beth's earrings.

"Hey," she exclaimed. "These are wonderful."

Funny, Paul, and Shane walked over just as Shawnie moved in
close to examine the earrings. Then she stood back and narrowed her eyes, deep
in thought.

"You got them at the Treasure Trove, right?"
Shawnie asked.

Beth smiled and shook her head. Shawnie knew the mall better
than any other living human.

"Don't tell me, don't tell me," Shawnie insisted,
waving her hands. "Let me think. I know! Emerson's."

"Nope."

"Hmmm," Shawnie said. "Juniors' Jungle?"

"No," Funny interjected. "I'd guess Earrings
Galore."

Beth laughed. "I didn't buy them anywhere. I
made
them."

Shawnie gave her a skeptical look. "Aw, come on."

"I'm perfectly serious," Beth insisted. "Not
only that, I made them out of stuff I found around the house, which means that
they're recycled junk." She turned to Paul. "Are you still looking
for ideas for your ecology segment? I could bring them to the taping and show
the audience how to make something out of nothing."

"Beth, you're a genius!" Paul exclaimed. "That's
just exactly the kind of thing we're looking for. Can you make more? You know,
different styles?"

"Sure," said Beth.

"That's a super idea," said Funny.

"I think so, too," agreed Mr. Levine. "It
would be a great addition to the show. I think the kids will be very interested
to learn how you make them."

"I'll do it," Beth said, grinning. Then she
laughed and struck a dramatic pose. "Anything for the cause!"

When Beth walked through the door of Bumpers, she saw Keith
sitting in a booth with Randy Kirwan and Jana. Keith waved as soon as he saw
her.

She hurried over to join them.

"What'll you have?" Keith asked.

"Something big, and gooey, and chocolate," said
Beth, rubbing her hands together in anticipation.

Keith started scooting out of the booth to head for the
order counter when Shawnie came rushing up.

"Beth!" she said, breathlessly. "I forgot to
tell you—I was distracted by your earrings at the meeting. My parents will kill
me if I don't give you this message." Shawnie ran her finger across her
throat and made a cutting sound. "They say you
have
to start paying
them back for your purchases right away."

Beth's heart started beating hard. She felt her cheeks
flame. She had never been so mortified in her life. And why hadn't Shawnie
talked to her in private instead of in front of Keith and Jana and Randy?

"Right away?" she murmured.

Shawnie nodded. "My parents weren't thrilled that I
loaned you my card. They want the money for what you charged by the time the
bill comes in. They don't want to have to lay out the money themselves."

Beth couldn't look up, so she just nodded stiffly, knowing
everyone could see how humiliated she was. "Of course." Her voice was
soft. "I'll start paying them back this weekend when I get my allowance.
Tell them they can expect my first payment then."

Shawnie shook her head. "I don't think that your
allowance will be enough, Beth," she said. "My parents want you to
pay at least thirty percent of what you owe. If you pay that much each week, it
will all be paid off by the time the bill comes in."

Beth jerked herself upright. "Thirty percent!" She
did some quick figuring in her head and gasped. "Shawnie, my allowance isn't
even
ten
percent!"

Shawnie frowned. "I'm sorry, Beth, but my parents are
pretty steamed at me for letting you use my credit card."

Beth felt as if she were sinking in quicksand. "Well .
. . maybe I can drum up some baby-sitting jobs this weekend," she said
hopefully.

"I'm supposed to pick up your payment on Friday after
the shoot," Shawnie told her.

"Oh, no
!"
cried Beth. It felt as if
a rock had suddenly formed in her stomach.

Shawnie nodded. "Or they say they'll call your parents."
Beth groaned and slumped back against the booth. The rock had just turned to a
boulder.

"My parents are going to be furious!" She held her
head in her hands, no longer worried about being embarrassed in front of her
friends. "I should
never
have bought those things!"

She felt a hand on her arm. "Beth," Jana said
softly. "I could lend you—"

Beth felt a tingle of hope for an instant, but then she shook
her head and said emphatically, "No! That's what got me into this mess in
the first place. Borrowing money and buying on credit!" She looked at
Jana, and her face softened. "Thanks, Jana, but I'm going to have to get
myself out of this." Then she looked at Shawnie again. "Tell your
parents that I'll talk with my mom and dad, and that they will be paid back as
quickly as possible."

"Okay," said Shawnie. She turned and left Bumpers.

"I don't know what that was all about," Keith
began, "but if you need some help—"

Beth rose from the table. "It's my mess and something I'm
going to have to take care of." She looked at the floor, feeling
embarrassed and a little sick to her stomach all over again. "I'm really
sorry to run off like this, but I don't think I'd be very good company right
now."

"No problem," Randy said.

"I'll talk to you later," Keith said. He reached
over and squeezed Beth's hand.

"Thanks," she said to all of them.

"I'll call you tonight," Jana said. "Good
luck."

Beth sighed. "I'm going to need as much of that as I
can get."

She gathered up her book bag and slung it over her shoulder.
Then she and the boulder in her stomach headed out the door toward home.

"How in the world am I going to tell them?" Beth
whispered. She had stopped outside Bumpers and was trying to hear herself think
above the pounding of her heart. She couldn't just go home and admit to her
parents that she had gone behind their backs and run up a bill for new clothes
that they had told her she definitely could not have because money was tight
right now. And she certainly couldn't tell them the truth about sneaking out to
the mall with Shawnie and then lying to them by saying that Shawnie had lent
her the outfits.

"I didn't lie," she corrected herself as she
headed slowly in the direction of home. "I never
ever
said that
Shawnie lent me the clothes." She swallowed hard at the thought of what
she had actually said. "I just put it in a way that made them think she
did."

Scuffing along, she wished desperately that something—
anything
—would
come along and make the whole problem disappear.

Maybe her parents had entered a million-dollar sweepstakes,
and the letter would come today saying they had won. Then the amount she had
charged at Tanninger's would hardly mean a thing.

Or maybe her father had just gotten a humongous promotion
and raise, and to celebrate he would give each of the Barry kids a crisp, new
one-hundred-dollar bill!

"Dream on," Beth muttered, and kicked a rock into
the street.

When she got home, she tiptoed up to her room. I'm not
really stalling, Beth told herself. I'm just not ready. She racked her brain.
How could she explain it so that her parents would understand? Nothing she
could think of sounded right.

Talking to them at dinner was out of the question. Todd and
Alicia were squabbling over whose turn it was to clear the table. Brian was
telling Mr. Barry about a hot new car one of his friends had, and Brittany was
listening for the phone, as usual. For once in her life, Beth was glad she was
the middle child. The one no one ever paid any attention to. That way, no one
noticed that she only picked at her food as she agonized over her impending
moment of doom.

As soon as dinner was over, she hurried back to her room to
try one more time to find the perfect thing to say.

"You see, Mom and Dad, Shawnie practically
forced
me
to use her credit card. And she said her parents wouldn't
care
and that
I could take
forever
to pay her back."

Beth sighed. Of course, that wasn't exactly true. Shawnie
hadn't forced her to do anything. On the other hand, Beth argued with herself,
Shawnie did insist, saying that I had to look good enough to be on the show
with her. Beth bristled at the thought. It really was partly Shawnie's fault.
If she hadn't been so worried that I'd wear something awful and embarrass her,
probably none of this would ever have happened.

And Shawnie
did
say that her parents wouldn't care.
And that I could take
as long as I wanted
to pay her back. So it
is
partly her fault, after all.

Beth flopped onto her bed and stared at the ceiling. But
what good would it do to blame Shawnie? Her own parents would say it didn't
make any difference. That she knew the rules in the Barry family and she had
broken them. Besides, Beth thought, Shawnie's never had to worry about money,
so she doesn't understand what it's like in a family that does. She wasn't
trying to get me in trouble on purpose.

Suddenly Beth sat up with a start. What if she talked to
Shawnie's parents instead of her own? After all, they were rich and didn't
really need the money, anyway. She could phone them and explain that she couldn't
possibly pay thirty percent by Friday, and maybe they could work out a payment
plan to last for the next year or so. That way she
could
pay the Pendergasts
back, and her own parents would never have to know or be disappointed in her.
Maybe she could even work off part of the debt, doing chores for Mr. and Mrs.
Pendergast. She'd do anything. It would be worth it. She'd be their slave.

Slumping back against her pillow, she closed her eyes and
thought about Shawnie's parents. It was easy to see where Shawnie got her good
looks. They were both tall and thin and very expensive-looking, with an air
about them that they were always busy. Terribly busy. Almost too busy to
breathe. That wasn't all. Every time she'd been around them, Beth had had
another feeling about them. They were crabby. And unsympathetic. That's why
they gave Shawnie credit cards instead of love.

Beth swallowed the lump in her throat. At least her own
parents loved her. Even when she did something totally stupid like this. And
even though they couldn't buy her lots of expensive clothes or give her her own
credit card, she would a million, billion, zillion,
lillion
times rather
talk to them than to Shawnie's parents. And she would do it right now, she
thought with determination.

Beth blew her nose and stuck a couple of extra tissues into
her jeans pocket. Then, crossing and uncrossing her fingers three times for
luck, she headed down the stairs to find her mom and dad.