Read Online Taffy Sinclair 004 - Taffy Sinclair and the Romance Machine Disaster by Betsy Haynes - Free Book Online
Authors: Betsy Haynes
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forgot? Or what if she only mentioned me once or twice? Or what if Randy was too busy being conceited and talking to all those other girls to listen? Maybe just one person talking me up wasn ' t enough. Maybe I needed a whole campaign.
After supper Mom said she was going to take some cold medicine and go right to bed because she couldn ' t afford to miss another day of work. That meant I could put off talking up Pink until tomorrow. It also meant I had the living room to myself for the entire evening. I smiled. My campaign headquarters, I thought.
I sat down at the end of the sofa by the phone. The next question was, who should I call to help in my campaign? Beth was in already. Christie was the next logical choice, but she was still mad because not one of The Fabulous Five matched up with her. I ' d have to think about her. Melanie? Hmmm. She was getting awfully friendly with the enemy. I ' d have to think about her, too. Of my very best friends, that only left Katie. How could I ask her to help? She was the one who called Randy " conceited. "
I was back to Christie again. Maybe if I asked her to help me with something as important as Randy Kirwan, she would see that I still liked her. It was worth a try.
I crossed and uncrossed my fingers three times for luck and dialed her number. It rang only once.
" Hello. "
" Hi, Mrs. Winchell. This is Jana. May I speak to Christie, please? "
" Hello, Jana. Just a moment. I ' ll see if I can find her. "
I held that receiver for ages. I was beginning to wonder if even Mrs. Winchell would come back on. Finally I heard sounds on the other end, and Christie said hello.
" Hi, Christie. What are you doing? " I thought I had better start off with casual conversation and then work up to the big favor I planned to ask.
" I 'm washing my hair, " she said in a grumpy voice.
I panicked. " Gee, that ' s great. Not that I noticed how dirty it was at school today or anything. What I mean is . . ."
" What do you want, Jana? "
" I just called to talk, " I lied. My pulse was racing. If I goofed up this conversation, she probably wouldn ' t speak to me for the rest of my life.
" You called to pretend that you ' re my friend because you want something. Didn ' t you? Just because my mom ' s principal of Mark Twain Elementary, you think you can butter me up and get anything you want. "
" That ' s not true, Christie, and you know it, " I said.
" Oh, yeah? Prove it. "
I could see I wasn ' t getting anywhere. I certainly couldn ' t prove anything to her by asking her to do me a favor. Then I got this great idea.
" Forget it, " I said, trying to sound as dejected as possible. " You wouldn ' t believe me no matter what I said or did. Besides, what I really need right now is a good friend to talk to and give me advice. I ' d better go and call someone else. Bye. "
" Don ' t hang up yet, " Christie said. " What do you mean ' give me advice ' ? " she asked. " Did something bad happen? "
I could tell I had her hooked. It was all I could do to keep from giggling. " Not exactly. "
" Come on, Jana. Tell me. What happened? "
" Well . . ."
" Jana! "
I knew I had stalled long enough. " Nothing has really happened. It ' s just that Randy Kirwan acts as if he has forgotten all about our date and all the things we have in common. He keeps flirting with everybody else as if he doesn ' t know I ' m alive. I was just wondering if you would talk me up when you ' re around him at school tomorrow. "
There was a pause. " I thought you wanted advice, not a favor, " she said.
" Oh, I want advice, too, " I said quickly. " I was wondering if you thought something like that would help? You know, get him to finally tell who his girl matchup is? "
Christie didn ' t say anything. That was a good sign, I thought. It probably meant that she was weakening. It did, and we talked for a long time. Before we hung up, she promised to talk me up to Randy, and we also said that we would start eating lunch together
After supper Mom said she was going to take some cold medicine and go right to bed because she couldn ' t afford to miss another day of work. That meant I could put off talking up Pink until tomorrow. It also meant I had the living room to myself for the entire evening. I smiled. My campaign headquarters, I thought.
I sat down at the end of the sofa by the phone. The next question was, who should I call to help in my campaign? Beth was in already. Christie was the next logical choice, but she was still mad because not one of The Fabulous Five matched up with her. I ' d have to think about her. Melanie? Hmmm. She was getting awfully friendly with the enemy. I ' d have to think about her, too. Of my very best friends, that only left Katie. How could I ask her to help? She was the one who called Randy " conceited. "
I was back to Christie again. Maybe if I asked her to help me with something as important as Randy Kirwan, she would see that I still liked her. It was worth a try.
I crossed and uncrossed my fingers three times for luck and dialed her number. It rang only once.
" Hello. "
" Hi, Mrs. Winchell. This is Jana. May I speak to Christie, please? "
" Hello, Jana. Just a moment. I ' ll see if I can find her. "
I held that receiver for ages. I was beginning to wonder if even Mrs. Winchell would come back on. Finally I heard sounds on the other end, and Christie said hello.
" Hi, Christie. What are you doing? " I thought I had better start off with casual conversation and then work up to the big favor I planned to ask.
" I 'm washing my hair, " she said in a grumpy voice.
I panicked. " Gee, that ' s great. Not that I noticed how dirty it was at school today or anything. What I mean is . . ."
" What do you want, Jana? "
" I just called to talk, " I lied. My pulse was racing. If I goofed up this conversation, she probably wouldn ' t speak to me for the rest of my life.
" You called to pretend that you ' re my friend because you want something. Didn ' t you? Just because my mom ' s principal of Mark Twain Elementary, you think you can butter me up and get anything you want. "
" That ' s not true, Christie, and you know it, " I said.
" Oh, yeah? Prove it. "
I could see I wasn ' t getting anywhere. I certainly couldn ' t prove anything to her by asking her to do me a favor. Then I got this great idea.
" Forget it, " I said, trying to sound as dejected as possible. " You wouldn ' t believe me no matter what I said or did. Besides, what I really need right now is a good friend to talk to and give me advice. I ' d better go and call someone else. Bye. "
" Don ' t hang up yet, " Christie said. " What do you mean ' give me advice ' ? " she asked. " Did something bad happen? "
I could tell I had her hooked. It was all I could do to keep from giggling. " Not exactly. "
" Come on, Jana. Tell me. What happened? "
" Well . . ."
" Jana! "
I knew I had stalled long enough. " Nothing has really happened. It ' s just that Randy Kirwan acts as if he has forgotten all about our date and all the things we have in common. He keeps flirting with everybody else as if he doesn ' t know I ' m alive. I was just wondering if you would talk me up when you ' re around him at school tomorrow. "
There was a pause. " I thought you wanted advice, not a favor, " she said.
" Oh, I want advice, too, " I said quickly. " I was wondering if you thought something like that would help? You know, get him to finally tell who his girl matchup is? "
Christie didn ' t say anything. That was a good sign, I thought. It probably meant that she was weakening. It did, and we talked for a long time. Before we hung up, she promised to talk me up to Randy, and we also said that we would start eating lunch together
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