Taffy Sinclair 011 - Nobody Likes Taffy Sinclair by Betsy Haynes Page B

It ' s true. You ' re special. You belong in Hollywood. " He paused and said softly, " I guess I shouldn ' t even get mad if you go out with Raven Blaine. "
    " But . . . Cory . . ." Taffy sputtered.
    " It ' s okay. I ' ve been thinking about it a lot since he sent you those roses. I won ' t get mad if you go out with Raven Blaine. But I don ' t want you to get mad, either, if I go out with Kimm. "
    Taffy stared at him in astonishment. She didn ' t know what to say.
    " See, it ' s not that I don ' t like you as much as ever, " Cory continued. " I do. No one can take your place. Honest. But Kimm ' s nice. And we have lots of fun together . . . the same way you have fun with your friends in Hollywood. "
    Taffy wanted to hug Cory, right there on the school grounds with half the student body watching. He did understand, after all. It was too wonderful to be true.
    Instead she smiled shyly and said, " Thanks, Cory. I ' m leaving Sunday, b ut I ' ll be back. "
    " Yeah, " he said. " In six months. That ' ll be great. "
    When the bell rang a few minutes later, Taffy headed for her afternoon classes feeling better than she had in a long time. She could leave for Hollywood now knowing that everything was settled with Shawnie and Cory, partly—she smiled and shook her head in disbelief—because of Kimm, the girl she had thought of as an enemy just a few days before.
     
    On Friday after school Cory stopped her in the hall. " I know that you ' re leaving on Sunday, and that you ' ll be busy packing, but I ' d really like you to come to The Dreadful Alternatives rehearsal tomorrow afternoon. Do you think you could talk your mom into letting you stop by? "
    " Wow, " said Taffy. " You want me to come to a rehearsal even though we ' ve broken up. "
    Cory grinned. " Sure. Why not? Anyway, do you think your mom will let you? "
    Taffy sighed. " I don ' t know. You know how she is. "
    " Will you try? " asked Cory. " It ' s important to me that you be there. "
    Taffy took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Why did he want her to come to rehearsal now that she was leaving town? she wondered. They had already agreed that she ' d never get to sing with his band. But maybe it would be all right to go. After all, he still liked her, and she still liked him.
    " Okay, " she said. " I ' ll talk to her. "
     
    Mrs. Sinclair was impossible to convince.
    " Taffy, you know that we have a lot to do before our flight on Sunday. How can you possibly ask to go to some band rehearsal? "
    " It ' s not just some band rehearsal, " Taffy argued. " It ' s Cory ' s band, and he wants me to be there. It will be six months before I ' ll see him again. Please let me go. Pleeease. I ' ll get everything done. I promise. "
    " Absolutely not, " said her mother in the tone of voice that told Taffy it was useless to argue.
    She trudged up to her room and closed the door. What am I going to do now? she wondered as she took a sweater out of a drawer, folded it, and placed it in her suitcase. I really want to go to that rehearsal!
    A little later she heard the phone ring. She listened at the door for a moment, hoping it was for her, but her mother didn ' t call her. Resignedly she went back to her packing. After a few minutes there was a soft knock on her bedroom door.
    " Who is it? " Taffy called.
    " It ' s your mother, dear. May I come in? "
    " Sure, " she replied.
    Mrs. Sinclair came into the room and sat down in the chair beside Taffy ' s desk. " I ' ve been thinking, " she said slowly, and then paused.
    Taffy waited, but when her mother didn ' t say anything else, she frowned and asked, " Thinking about what? "
    Her mother gave Taffy a brief smile. " Well, depending on how your packing is coming along, of course, maybe it would be all right for you to go to the band rehearsal tomorrow. "
    Taffy ' s mouth dropped open. " Do you mean that? " she cried. When her mother nodded, Taffy began jumping up and down. " Oh, thank you! Thank you! I ' ll get all my packing finished ahead