Fabulous Five 022 - Melanie's Valentine by Betsy Haynes Read Free Book Online

asked
indignantly. "We want it to be romantic."
    Sara made a face at Melanie. "I agree with Dekeisha,"
she said. "It's okay to be romantic, but let's be original at the same
time."
    "Maybe we could make it a costume party," offered
Melanie. "Couples could come as famous lovers, like Romeo and Juliet or
Kermit and Miss Piggy."
    "Get real," said Katie. "Do you know how hard
it is to get boys to dress up for a costume party? It would end up with nobody
here but girls."
    Melanie gave Katie a hurt look. "It was just a
suggestion."
    "And I've got a suggestion for you," whispered
Jana. "You'd better become invisible if you don't want to talk to Scott. I
think he's headed this way."
    Melanie's mind was whirling. What was she going to do? She
couldn't talk to Scott. She just couldn't. If he asked her to the
Valentine party, she would probably end up saying yes just to keep from hurting
his feelings. But then what would Shane think? Besides, Shane was the boy she
liked. She wanted to go to the party with him.
    "Hi, Mel. Can I talk to you a minute?"
    Melanie looked up into Scott's smiling face. "Oh, hi,
Scott," she said weakly. "Gosh, I . . ."
    "She can't right now," Jana piped up. "We're
having a meeting."
    Scott made a face. "A meeting? Here in Bumpers? What
kind of meeting?"
    "Of course," Jana said, sounding as if it were the
most normal thing in the world. "We're the decorations committee for the
Valentine party, and we have to have this meeting— today. "
    "Oh," said Scott, and then he shrugged. "Well,
I'll talk to you later, Mel. Okay?"
    Melanie could only nod because of the lump in her throat,
and as soon as he had gone, she clutched Jana's hand and said, "Wow! You've
rescued me again! That's the second time today. You're the best friend in the
world."
    "Yeah, well, I can't keep doing it forever," Jana
chided gently. "You're going to have to tell Scott the truth, you know,
and the sooner the better."
    "I know. I know," Melanie insisted. "I'll
think of something."
    Scott had gone by the time The Fabulous Five left Bumpers.
So had Dekeisha and Sara, and the girls still hadn't agreed on decorations for
the Valentine party.
    But that was the last thing on Melanie's mind when she
reached home. She tiptoed in through the back door, hoping to sneak up to her
room without having to see her grandmother.
    "Hi, Melanie! Hey, Grandma! Melanie's home!"
shouted Jeffy at the top of his lungs. Her little brother was lying on his
stomach on the floor, propped up on one elbow over a coloring book. Rainbow was
stretched out beside him.
    "You little fink," Melanie muttered under her
breath.
    "Melanie? Is that you?" her mother called. "We're
in the family room. Come in and join us."
    Melanie groaned and scuffed into the room. "Hi, Mom.
Hi, Grandma Dee."
    "Hello, sweetheart," said her grandmother. "I
was just telling your mother about that dreadful boy and his stories about
vampires and cows' eyeballs. I can't help wondering what kind of home he comes
from."
    "Who was that, dear?" her mother asked. "It
doesn't sound like any of your friends."
    Melanie gritted her teeth. She couldn't lie.
    "It was Shane," she said. "He was just trying
to be funny. Actually, it was my fault," she added hastily. "I told
him how with it Grandma Dee is, and he just thought . . ." Melanie
shrugged helplessly as her voice trailed off.
    "Oh," said Mrs. Edwards, nodding her head as if
she understood. "I should have thought of Shane." Then chuckling, she
said to Melanie's grandmother. "Shane Arrington's parents used to be
hippies, and they have a little different view of life. I'm sure Shane got his
offbeat sense of humor from them."
    "Mom, that's not fair," Melanie protested. "Shane's
not a hippie, and he isn't offbeat. He's perfectly normal. Grandma Dee just
didn't understand that he was joking, that's all."
    "Well, I'm sure everything's going to be just fine,
dear," Grandma Dee said soothingly.
    Melanie excused herself and stormed off to her room. How
could everything be