Taffy Sinclair 007 - Taffy Sinclair and the Secret Admirer Epidemic by Betsy Haynes Page A

could grab it the instant it rang. That was no problem because Mom had had an extra-long cord put on it so that she could talk on the phone while she worked in the kitchen. Then I pulled a bottle of soda out of the fridge and scrounged through the cupboards until I found a bag of chips. Since there were only four chairs at the table, Christie dragged in the desk chair from my bedroom, and then we all sat down at the table and stared at the phone.
    " Come on, telephone. Hurry up and ring ," I groaned.
    Katie rolled her eyes in disgust. " It will never ring if you just sit here and wait for it. Don ' t you know that? "
    I stuck out my tongue at her. Then I put an index finger at each of my temples, closed my eyes, and said, " I am sending an ESP message to Randy Kirwan. Come in, Randy Kirwan. Jana Morgan is home from school now. Pick up the telephone. Dial her number. Ask her to go to the movie with you Saturday. Over and out. " I opened my eyes and grinned at my friends. " That should do it. "
    But the phone didn ' t ring. We finished the chips and drank our sodas and even ate all the ice cubes, but there wasn ' t so much as a peep from the telephone. It just sat there in the middle of the table, refusing to ring.
    " What time is it? I have to be home at four- thirty, " said Beth, as she put her empty glass in the sink.
    I looked at my watch. " It ' s only five minutes until four. You still have lots of time. "
    " What are you going to do if he doesn ' t call? " asked Melanie.
    " Why don ' t you call him? " asked Beth, as she dropped back into her chair. "Girls do that all the time, y ou know. "
    " I know, " I murmured. I could feel my face turning red as I remembered the time I called Randy and disguised my voice by stuffing cotton balls into my cheeks. They made me gag so much that I almost threw up in the middle of our conversation. " I ' d be embarrassed to call him. Besides, maybe he had to go somewhere after school. You know. Do an errand for his mom or something. "
    Christie was shaking her head slowly and on her face was a worried expression. " I don ' t know, " she said softly. " Maybe I shouldn ' t mention this, but I saw Randy in the hall after lunch, and he was talking to Taffy Sinclair. "
    " What! " I shrieked. " Talking to Taffy Sinclair!? Why didn ' t you tell me before? "
    " You don ' t really think he ' d ask Taffy out instead of you, do you? " asked Katie. " Just because she flirts with him all the time. Everybody knows he ' s your boyfriend. "
    I didn ' t answer. All I could think of was Taffy Sinclair. Taffy is the most gorgeous girl in school, and she is my worst enemy in the world. We have hated each other practically forever, and she ' s always trying to take Randy Kirwan away from me. Taffy and I have had clubs against each other, and she even blackmailed me when I found our teacher ' s wallet after somebody else had stolen it and hidden it in the girls ' bathroom. The only time we weren ' t enemies was when we found baby Ashley abandoned on the front steps of Mark Twain Elementary, but that special feeling between us only lasted a few days.
    I closed my eyes and saw a picture in my mind of Randy talking to Taffy Sinclair in the hall after lunch. She was twirling a strand of her long blond hair and gazing at him with her big blue eyes. It made me want to die to see him pushing his dark wavy hair off his for ehead and giving her the 1,000- watt smile he always gave to me. Just as he was starting to ask her to the movie, the phone rang, and I nearly jumped out of my skin.
    " Oh, my gosh! " shrieked Melanie. " That ' s probably him! "
    I swallowed hard and shot a hopeful glance at each of my friends. It had to be Randy. It just had to be. I started to reach for the receiver, but my hand was shaking so hard that I was afraid I ' d drop it.
    " Go ahead, " urged Beth.
    " What are you waiting for? " asked Katie. " It ' s probably him. "
    I nodded and grabbed the phone before I could chicken out again. " Hello?