Fabulous Five 024 - The Great TV Turnoff (7 page)

Mama Mia's was bursting at the seams with Wakeman kids that
evening. Four long lines were formed at the order counter, and the tables and
booths were all filled. Small groups stood talking and eating slices of pizza.
Katie was crammed into a booth with the rest of The Fabulous Five and with
Randy, Shane, and Keith.

She looked around at the crowd. The Fabulous Five had gone
by Bumpers on the way to the pizza place, and it had looked crowded, too. Katie
guessed that Taco Plenty and the other fast-food restaurants were also filled.
If Laura was still having her television party, there couldn't be many people
there. At least she hoped not.

"Having the cheerleaders perform was a great idea,
Katie," said Jana. "When I saw the looks on the Wakeman kids' faces,
I knew they weren't going to let Branford beat us in the TV turnoff."

"Even the McNatts are here," said Melanie. "I
never would have believed that."

"And look," Christie chimed in. "There's Tony
sitting with Bill and Scott. They didn't go to Laura's party, either. Aren't
you glad, Katie?"

Katie shrugged. "Maybe they got their school spirit
back today."

"I don't think so," said Randy. "They decided
not to go before this afternoon. Tony was all over Bill and Scott about going
to Laura's party. He was unmerciful."

"What?"
cried Katie. She couldn't believe
what she was hearing.

Shane nodded. "Tony was really on their case. I haven't
seen him so carried away since Mr. Bell told him he couldn't wear an earring to
school."

Katie stared across the room at Tony. Were Randy and Shane
telling the truth? Had Tony really been on her side all along? But why had he
talked Bill and Scott out of going to Laura's party, she wondered, when he was
so angry with her?

As she was watching, Tony left his booth and went to stand
in one of the food lines.

Katie jumped to her feet. "Excuse me. I need to get
out."

Tony was concentrating on the list of pizzas and soft drinks
and didn't notice Katie when she got in line behind him. Katie cleared her
throat, but he still didn't notice, so she tugged on his sleeve.

Tony turned around, looking surprised. "Oh, Your Honor."

"Hi," Katie responded softly. "I just heard
that you talked Bill and Scott out of going to Laura's party and breaking their
TV turnoff contracts. Thanks."

He smiled at her, and then the two of them stood there
awkwardly for a few seconds. Finally Katie took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry, I . . ." she began, just as Tony said
the same thing. They stopped and looked at each other in surprise.

"I'm sorry I was so stubborn," Tony said quickly.

"That's exactly what I was going to say," said
Katie. "I got angry instead of talking."

Tony smiled and took Katie's hand. "I should have been
able to see that you were upset over my watching baseball all the time, but by
the time I did realize it, I thought you were organizing the turnoff to get
back at me."

Katie grinned. "I did want you to stop watching TV, but
that's not why I was involved in the turnoff. Actually, the turnoff was my mom's
idea, and I was just as mad at her for starting it as you were at me. But when
kids at school started bad-mouthing her, I had to get involved. Now I'm glad I
did."

"Me, too," Tony said. There was a twinkle in his
eye as he added, "Actually, since the turnoff, I've been reading about the
games in the newspaper. Some of the write-ups are pretty good, and I haven't
missed watching them on TV as much as I thought I would. And I've got to tell
you, I've been reading all the stats, too, so now I'm really an expert on
baseball."

Katie groaned. "Oh, no. Now you'll never have time for
me."

Tony shook his head, looking more serious. "Yes, I will,
Your Honor."

She looked up at him and squeezed his hand.

"I heard there was no one, but
no one
, at Laura's
party Saturday," Beth said gleefully. The Fabulous Five were gathered at
their spot by the fence on Monday morning.

"I passed her when I got to school just now, and she
stuck her nose in the air," reported Jana. "She's really mad."

"Too bad," said Katie, grinning.

As they were talking, Lisa Snow ran up. "Oh, Katie,"
said Lisa happily, "I wanted to tell you, my parents read your mother's
article about families' not helping their kids with the turnoff. Boy, were they
mad at first. They started raving about all the reasons why they shouldn't quit
watching. My dad said there was no way he could miss the news, and my mother
said she couldn't miss her programs, either.

"But the more they talked, the more they said they
could do without television if other people could. And guess what, they each
started a book and couldn't put it down."

"Super," replied Katie. "I'm glad to hear it."

More and more during the rest of the week, kids came up to
Katie and told her about the things they had found to do instead of watching TV.
Some mentioned the list of activities she had posted on the bulletin board.
Others talked about doing things with their families. Geena McNatt said that
Max and Joe had talked their father into digging out their fishing equipment,
and she and her father and brothers had gone fishing together. They'd had so
much fun, they were planning a two-day family fishing trip.

Later that day Katie got a note saying that Miss Simone
wanted to see her.

"I thought you might be worrying about the phone calls Mr.
Bell was getting from people complaining about your mother's article,"
said the secretary. "You should know that a lot of those people have called
him back to apologize. They realize now that they should have been more
supportive of their children's efforts not to watch television."

Katie looked through the doorway into the principal's
office. Mr. Bell was talking on the telephone and had a big smile on his face.

"Thank you, Miss Simone. That does make me feel good."

Katie held Tony's hand as she looked around the gym and
watched couples dancing to the music of The Dreadful Alternatives. Crepe paper
had been strung across the walls of the Wakeman gym, and there were long tables
topped with soft drinks and trays of homemade cookies, brownies, and cake. The
turnoff was finally over, and this was the party to celebrate its end.

She couldn't help feeling a mixture of pride and relief.
Pride that she had helped to make it a success, even though she hadn't been for
it in the beginning, and relief that things could get back to normal now. She
looked across the floor to where her mother was talking with Mr. Bell and Mrs.
Karl. She was proud of her mother most of all. Willie had never backed down
from something she believed in, and Katie had learned a lot about standing up
to pressure during the turnoff.

Jana and Randy and Melanie and Shane were standing next to
Katie and Tony. No one was talking. Instead each couple swayed to the music and
watched the crowd clustered around the room.

Suddenly Beth hurried toward them. She was followed by Jon
Smith, who was carrying a camcorder with a light on top. Wires ran down Jon's
back to a battery pack that was attached to the belt at the back of his waist.

"I'm interviewing people for the Media Club. Can I
interview you guys?" Beth asked. "You'll be able to see yourselves on
TV."

"You forget," Tony said with a laugh. "Katie
doesn't watch TV."

"I didn't say I wouldn't like to be
on
television," joked Katie. "After all, I might have to try a famous
court case when I become a judge someday, and there's bound to be publicity."

"Just think of it as a news program, which is really
what it is," said Beth. "Roll it, Jon," she commanded.

Katie and Tony were bathed in the light of Jon's camera as
he squinted through the viewfinder.

"Tell me, Katie Shannon," Beth said, sticking a
microphone in Katie's face, "what was the most interesting thing that you
did instead of watching television during the last two weeks?"

Everything that had happened during the TV turnoff raced
through Katie's mind. She thought about her fight with Tony and her problems
with Laura. Of course there had been some nice things, too—working on the
turnoff with Willie and The Fabulous Five, playing Monopoly with her mother,
and making up with Tony. But she didn't want to talk about any of those things
on television.

"Oh, nothing special happened, really," Katie
said.

Beth stared at Katie in disbelief. "You're kidding!
That's all you have to say about the last two weeks?"

Katie shrugged.

Beth shook her head. "Kill that, Jon," she said. "We'll
find someone else to interview."

Katie laughed and turned to Melanie. "Have you watched
any of your
Interns and Lovers
tapes, now that the turnoff is over?"
she asked.

Melanie made a face. "Yes, and I almost died!"

"Why?" asked Katie.

"I watched last week's shows, and Sylvia was still in
intensive care, hooked up to all those machines. She hadn't even regained
consciousness! Then I checked the tapes for this week, too, and would you
believe,
she's still in intensive care
?
I ended up fast-forwarding
through most of it, and the only thing that really happened was that her
eyelids fluttered for the first time today." Melanie slapped her forehead.
"I didn't miss a thing by not watching for two weeks."

"Well, at least you didn't pay Laura to watch the show
for you," said Jana.

Melanie nodded.

Just then the band played a fanfare. The lights brightened,
and Mr. Bell walked out onto the stage with Willie and Mrs. Karl. He held up
his hands for quiet.

"Students of Wakeman Junior High," he began, "let
me first introduce two ladies who had a great deal to do with the success of
the Wakeman turnoff, Wilma Shannon and Mary Karl." The audience applauded.

"If it had not been for Mrs. Karl's hard work and Mrs.
Shannon's research and her articles on the problems of watching too much
television, as well as her suggestion that Wakeman Junior High conduct a
turnoff of its own, we wouldn't be having this party tonight!" The
applause was even louder.

Katie felt a swelling of pride as she looked at her mother
standing in the spotlight on the stage.

"Let me get right to the thing I know you're waiting to
hear," said Mr. Bell, "the results of our competition with Branford
Junior High."

There was a flurry of applause, and Mr. Bell smiled as he
waited for it to stop.

"At the end of their one-week turnoff, sixty-four percent
of the Branford students had not watched television. At the end of Wakeman's
two
weeks,
seventy-eight
percent of you had not watched TV, which means that
Wakeman Junior High won!"

A cheer went up from the audience, and kids slapped each
other's backs in congratulations. Katie beamed as Jana and Melanie hugged her.

Katie looked up at her mother. When she caught Willie's eye,
she gave her a thumbs-up sign.

"Now," continued Mr. Bell, "since we have so
many people who get certificates and awards, we've set up a table here on the
stage. At your convenience, please come up and get them from Mrs. Shannon and
Mrs. Karl. Thank you all, students. Congratulations, Wakeman Junior High! We're
proud of you."

"Isn't it great?" said Christie, who had wandered
over with Beth, Dekeisha, and Mandy. "Wakeman won, and you had a lot to do
with it, Katie."

"
We all
had a lot to do with it," said
Katie. "Every one of you helped." She squeezed Tony's hand.

"One of the interesting things I found out as I
interviewed people this evening," said Beth, "is how much everyone
really enjoyed the turnoff. Lots of kids said they had a blast doing other
things. I would never have expected that in the beginning."

A warm glow filled Katie as she realized just how worthwhile
the TV turnoff had been. People had liked doing other things besides watching
television, and they were paying more attention to
each other
; which was
the most important thing of all.

As the party drew to a close, Katie looked up at Tony and
asked, "What do you want to do for the rest of the evening?"

"Well . . . the Sox are playing the Angels on TV, and I
thought we might . . ."

Katie swung and hit him on the shoulder.

Tony held up his hands in protest and grinned. "Hey, I'm
only kidding, Your Honor. I'm only kidding."

Christie finished the math test and skimmed back over the
questions. Her answers looked correct. Sticking her pencil into her book bag,
she walked to the front of the class past boys and girls still working hard on
their papers.

"Egghead," whispered Richie Corrierro, as she
walked by his desk.

"Quiet!" Mr. Snider said firmly. "No talking,
or I'll have to give you a zero on the test."

Christie shot Richie a dirty look as she dropped the paper
on the teacher's desk. Richie grinned devilishly back at her.

"Wow!" Melanie flopped down on the seat next to
Christie in the cafeteria. "I just took an IQ test in social studies, and
I think I flunked."

"You can't flunk an IQ test," said Christie. "That's
not what they're for. All they do is give you some idea about how smart you
are."

"Eeek! That's worse," replied Melanie. "What
if I find out that I'm terminally stupid?"

"Don't be silly, Mel," said Jana. "You're not
stupid."

"But what if the test says I am? I'm terrible at taking
tests. I just know I got a zero on it. Everyone will find out, and I'll get
teased."

"Everybody gets teased," said Christie. "I
just got teased by Richie Corrierro because I finished a test before anyone
else."

"Well, that's different," argued Melanie. "You're
a genius, and he's just jealous."

"I'm not that smart. The test was just easy."

"For you, maybe," said Beth.

Christie rolled her eyes. It wasn't just because it was her.
In most of her classes all you had to do was memorize things. If you were
interested in what was going on and read a lot, they didn't teach you much. It
was getting harder and harder to keep her mind on school, and to be teased
because she got good grades was a
real
pain.

"Teasing is all the same," replied Christie with a
sigh. "It gets old."

"Don't worry about it, Christie," said Katie. "Richie
and his friends are just stupid. You don't need them, anyway."

"Yeah," added Beth brightly. "We're your
friends, and we don't tease you for being brilliant. We love you in spite of
it."

"You're all heart," said Christie, smiling.

"Truthfully," joined in Jana, "isn't that what
The Fabulous Five's all about? We're friends forever, remember? No one can put
any of us down as long as we have each other."

Christie smiled at her friend. Jana was right. Whenever any
of them had a problem, the others would rush to help. As long as I've got Jana,
Katie, Melanie, and Beth, nothing can bother me, she thought resolutely. As a
matter of fact, nothing in the world can hurt me.

But what will Christie do if she finds out that she may not
have The Fabulous Five to be friends with anymore? And what will happen if
someone special encourages her to break rules? Read
The Fabulous Five
#25:
The Fabulous Five Minus One,
and find out.