Fabulous Five 011 - Hit and Run by Betsy Haynes Read Free Book Online Page A

Whitney Larkin and Shawnie Pendergast. Some boys had called,
too. Curtis Trowbridge had called twice. Joel Murphy, Keith Masterson, Scott
Daly, and Shane Arrington had left messages, and Shane had told her mother that
Igor, his pet iguana, sent a special get-well wish. Jana couldn't help
chuckling about that.
    Near the bottom of the list of names was Funny Hawthorne's.
Jana drummed her fingers on the telephone and wondered if she should call Funny
back right away. Funny was the only one who might be able to clear up the
mystery about Laura McCall. What was the secret she was keeping about Randy
Kirwan? And why had she sent the card to Randy saying she was sorry if she wasn't
feeling guilty about the accident? But Funny was also one of Laura's best
friends. She might feel as if she were betraying that friendship if she
answered Jana's questions. But Funny's my friend, too, Jana thought stubbornly.
There was no use putting it off, she decided. She had to know about Laura.
    Funny was her usual bright and cheerful self when she
answered the phone. "Hello," she sang. "Hawthorne residence."
    "Hi, Funny. This is Jana."
    "Wow! Jana! I've been so worried about you. How are you
feeling? Are you still in the hospital?"
    "Whoa," said Jana with a chuckle. "Slow down.
I'm feeling a lot better, and no, I'm not still in the hospital. The doctor let
me come home a little while ago."
    "Terrific. Can you have company? I'd love to come over
and see you if it's okay."
    Jana sighed. "Mom says I have to wait until tomorrow to
have company, but there is something I wanted to talk to you about."
    "Sure. Fire away," said Funny.
    Jana bit her lower lip, trying to choose her words
carefully. "It's about Laura," she said finally, "and Randy
Kirwan." For the next couple of minutes she explained to Funny about what
she had overheard Laura saying to Tammy and about seeing Laura and Randy
sitting together in Bumpers just before the accident. She wanted to shout that
it had all been Laura's fault, but she didn't. Instead she said, "If you
know what's going on between them, please tell me. I have to know."
    "I wish I did know, but I don't," said Funny. "Honest.
Laura talks to Tammy and Melissa a lot more than to me lately. I guess it's
because you and I are friends. I have seen her talking to Randy several times
lately, though, and I heard what your friends said to her before school
yesterday morning. But still, I can't imagine that anything is going on between
them. As far as I know, she still has a crush on Shane Arrington. She's been
after him since sixth grade."
    "There's something else," said Jana. "Somebody
sent Randy a get-well card and didn't sign it. Instead, they wrote 'I'm sorry.
Please forgive me' on it. I think the person who sent it feels responsible for
the accident. I also think it was Laura McCall."
    Funny didn't say anything for a moment. When she did, the
sparkle was gone from her voice. "Gosh. I'll see what I can find out. I'm
not sure she'll tell me anything, but I promise to try. I'll call you back as
soon as I can."
    "Thanks, Funny," said Jana. "I know it's not
going to be easy. You're a real friend."
    Jana waited for the rest of the day for Funny to call back,
but she didn't. Several of her other friends did, though, including all of The
Fabulous Five, and they promised to visit her on Sunday afternoon.
    "How about if I order out some pizza for supper?"
offered Pink later in the afternoon. "We need to celebrate your
homecoming."
    "Pizza?" said Jana, feeling pleasantly surprised.
Pink always got her a deep-dish, pepperoni, green pepper, and mushroom pizza on
Saturday night before he and her mom went bowling. It was her absolute favorite
food in the world. "Great. Are you guys going bowling?"
    "No way," Pink assured her. "We plan to spend
the evening with you. The pizza's just a little something extra."
    But when the pizza was delivered and the three of them sat
down to eat it, Jana couldn't take a bite. The instant she saw it sitting