Fabulous Five 001 - Seventh-Grade Rumors by Betsy Haynes

Straw
papers whizzed overhead like miniature rockets, and every couple of minutes
bomb blasts sounded as someone else stamped on a popcorn box. Ushers stormed up
and down the aisles shushing some kids, warning others, and generally having no
effect at all.
    Jana couldn't help smiling to herself as she clutched
popcorn in one hand and a Coke in the other and hurried down the aisle. Just as
she saw Randy several rows ahead, she felt someone pinch her arm.
    "Over there!" Melanie whispered excitedly. She had
seen the boys, too, and was urging everyone in that direction.
    "Great," said Jana. "There are four seats
right behind Randy and Scott. Let's grab them before someone else gets them."
Silently she was feeling superior. Laura McCall would have to sit on the other
side of the theater. Randy, Scott, and Keith were safe from her clutches—at
least for now.
    "Hi, Jana Banana," shouted Joel Murphy just as
Jana slid into a seat.
    Jana hated that nickname, and she started to scowl and shout
something back at him when Randy turned around and gave her one of his
1,000-watt smiles. Her heart turned at least a dozen flip-flops as she sank
deeper into her seat and returned his smile.
    "Hi," he said. "You're still going to Bumpers
after the show, right?"
    All she could do was nod.
    "Great," he said, smiling again. "I'll see
you there, and I'll walk you home."
    Jana didn't see any of the movie. She was too busy
daydreaming about Randy and making up stories about what would happen when they
got to Bumpers. Laura would be there, too, of course, trying desperately to get
Randy's attention. But he wouldn't notice her. He would be gazing into Jana's
eyes, telling her how wonderful she was while Laura could only watch and sob
her heart out. Then later, he would walk her home, and maybe he would kiss her
again. She hugged herself at the thought.
    A couple of times Jana noticed Laura and Melissa McConnell
strolling up the aisle on the Mark Twain side. Laura pretended to look straight
ahead, as if she just happened to be on the Mark Twain side of the
theater, but Jana knew better. She could see them looking for Randy and Mark
and Keith out of the corners of their eyes. Ha! thought Jana. Are they ever
going to be in for a big surprise when we get to Bumpers.
    When the movie ended, everyone tried to stuff themselves
through the exit at once. It took forever to get out, and Jana could see that a
big crowd had already made it to Bumpers ahead of them. She had never been
inside the fast food restaurant before since it was strictly a junior high
school hangout, but she had heard a lot about it. It was called Bumpers because
it was decorated with bumper cars and posters from an amusement park ride. Some
cars were hanging from the ceiling by wires. Others were arranged around the room
for kids to sit in. The old bumper cars were freshly painted in reds, greens,
yellows, and blues, but they still had dents and bashed-in fenders from their
days of careening around and smashing into each other.
    "Wow! This place is neat," cried Jana over the
noisy crowd. "But where on earth are we going to sit?"
    "The boys have a big booth over there," Christie
shouted. She was pointing toward a booth near the counter.
    Jana craned her neck to see who was sitting there. It was
Randy, Scott, Mark, Joel, and Keith. "Come on," she said, and
motioned the others to follow her. "There's room for all of us."
    They tried to push through the crowd, stopping once to let a
waiter carrying a tray loaded with burgers and fries pass in front of them.
    "This is a worse madhouse than the theater,"
complained Katie.
    Finally a path opened up, but just as Jana started to make a
break for Randy's booth, she stopped cold and stared. Laura McCall and her
friends were heading in the same direction. The only trouble was, they were in the
lead, reaching the booth and pushing their way in before Jana and her friends
could get there.
    "What are we going to do?" Melanie wailed in Jana's
ear. " They've