Fabulous Five 025 - The Fabulous Five Minus One by Betsy Haynes Page A

out with him? She sighed and shook her
head. Probably not, but maybe she could have influenced him more instead of
letting him influence her. The worst thing was that although things couldn't be
the same between them, she still liked Chase.
    There was one thing she definitely had to do, and she
had to do it right away. She took a tissue from the box on her desk and wiped
her eyes.
    "Mom, Dad," she said, as she walked into the
family room where they were reading. "I want to say I'm sorry."

CHAPTER 12
    "Well, Laura and her friends know you're leaving,
Christie," said Beth as The Fabulous Five stood at their favorite spot by
the school fence on Monday morning. "She asked me what we were going to
call ourselves when you're gone and there are only the four of us. She said The
Fabulous Four would sound like we were imitating The Fantastic Foursome."
    "It doesn't make any difference what Laura says,"
said Jana, grim-faced. "We don't have to call ourselves anything else. The
Fabulous Five is The Fabulous Five, and it always will be."
    "It's not like we won't be talking to Christie, either,"
offered Beth. "We'll write lots of letters."
    "We'll even save money for long-distance telephone
calls," added Jana.
    "By the way, Christie, Tony told me that he, Randy, Shane,
and Keith really got all over Chase for keeping you out late," said Katie.
"They didn't care so much about losing the swim meet, but none of them
liked Chase's getting you into trouble."
    "It wasn't all his fault," admitted Christie. "Don't
forget, I could have said I wouldn't stay out late."
    "Maybe so, but I'm still glad they did it,"
declared Katie.
    Right or wrong, it gave Christie a warm feeling to know that
the guys cared that much. She wondered if Chase would ever speak to her again.
     
    "All right, everyone," said Mr. Dracovitch as the
PEAK class ended, "that's all for today. Your assignment for Wednesday is
to read chapters five and six in your history book. They're about how and why
the prehistoric inhabitants of England chose the Thames River near London to
settle. If any of you care to come dressed as cavemen or cave women," he
said, chuckling, "feel free to do so."
    "Unh! Unh! Unh!" Grunting and scratching, Curtis
gave an imitation of what he thought a caveman would sound like.
    "Down, boy!" said Melissa.
    "Remember, everyone, bring your T-shirts to Bumpers in
case those PUKES want to give us trouble," said Curtis. He had handed out
red T-shirts with gold letters that spelled PEAKS AND PROUD OF IT before Mr.
Dracovitch had entered the room. Christie had immediately stuck hers in her
backpack.
    "Christie, can I talk to you for a moment?" asked
Mr. Dracovitch. "I heard that your family is moving to England. That's why
I chose those chapters in the history book for an example of how water
determines where people live. I thought it might be especially interesting to
you.
    "This is going to be a great experience for you,"
he continued. "England is the source of a great deal of our heritage, and
there are lots of things to see there. Winchell is an English name.
Maybe you can find where some of your ancestors lived."
    "I think the chapters will be very interesting. Thank
you," Christie said.
    "I was pleased to see you back in the swing of things
in class today," said the teacher. "I know that moving is a very disturbing
thing, especially when you're young and haven't had to move before. Do you
recall my reference to Christopher Columbus and Sally Ride the other day?"
    "Yes, sir."
    "Well, I believe each of the students in the PEAK class
has the potential to do something equally great. I couldn't have been happier
when Mr. Bell and Mrs. Brenner asked me to teach the class. You kids are
different. I understand that that can be a burden at times because people
expect a lot of you. In the long run, though, you'll come to appreciate your
talents and realize how much you can contribute to others. Your leaving has
given me the incentive to try to make the rest of this