Read Online Taffy Sinclair 004 - Taffy Sinclair and the Romance Machine Disaster by Betsy Haynes - Free Book Online Page A

again.
    Melanie was easier. I promised to talk her up to Scott Daly if she would talk me up to Randy. Katie said she would do it, too, but I could tell she thought it was silly.
    I felt better than I had in ages. My four best friends and I were best friends again, and my campaign was going to work. Randy Kirwan was going to find out that I was still alive. Maybe he was embarrassed about being teased. And maybe he didn ' t want to hurt a lot of girls ' feelings. And maybe he was getting conceited from all the attention. But he was still the most wonderful boy in the whole sixth grade.
    I finished my homework quickly and started to turn on the television when a terrible thought occurred to me. I had promised Pink that I would talk him up to Mom, but so far I hadn ' t done it.
    I could have gone into Mom ' s room right after I hung up from talking to him. Or I could have casually mentioned him while Mom and I ate supper. Or I could have said something about him when Mom told me that she was going to bed. Maybe she would be dreaming of Pink right now if I had done it then. I had meant to talk up Pink, but I had other things on my mind and I put it off. What if my four best friends put off talking me up to Randy, too?
    My mind was racing as I dialed Beth ' s number again. " Beth! " I cried when she said hello. " When are you going to talk me up to Randy? And what are you going to say? "
    " Gee, Jana. I don ' t know. I haven ' t really thought about it. "
    " Okay. Here ' s what I want you to do, " I said. " Wait by the bike rack in the morning before school. When Randy gets there, go over to him and say that I ' ve been getting lots of calls from other boys. Tell him that you never realized before what a popular person I am. Say I ' m so popular that my phone is ringing off the wall. Okay? Will you say that? "
    " I guess so, " said Beth. " Have you really been getting lots of calls? "
    " Of course not. But if Randy thinks I ' m popular, he might decide that he ' d better do something about the competition. "
    Beth didn ' t say anything for a minute. " Do you really think it will work? "
    " It will if you convince him that I ' m the most popular girl in the sixth grade. "
    Next I called Christie. " Your locker is close to Randy ' s so here is what I want you to do, " I instructed. " Get there early and get your books. Then when you see Randy at his locker, walk over casually and just mention how Taffy Sinclair is up to her old tricks. Tell him that she is so jealous of me for being so popular that she ' s trying to turn all the other sixth-grade girls against me. "
    " What do you mean ' for being so popular ' ? " asked Christie. " Is something going on that I don ' t know about? "
    " Of course not. But I ' ve got to make Randy think that there is. Can ' t you see that? "
    "I guess so."
    Melanie was perfect for the next thing I had in mind. " Your job is to convince Randy that I really am a kind and sensitive person, " I said. " Go up to him at morning recess and tell him that on the way home from school today I saw a puppy in the middle of traffic and rescued him from being hit by a car. Randy is crazy about dogs. I know he ' ll be impressed. "
    " Jana, I didn ' t know that you rescued a puppy this afternoon. "
    I frowned at the receiver. " I didn ' t. But I ' m always on the lookout for animals who need help. I would do it if I saw one. It ' s just that there isn ' t time to wait around for the real thing. "
    Melanie said she understood and that she would help me and we hung up. That left only Katie. She would be the hardest. I sat back and stared at the ceiling. Beth would make him jealous of the other boys and maybe he would even worry that I didn ' t like him anymore. Christie would make him see Taffy Sinclair for what she really is and feel angry about the way she is trying to turn everyone against me. Melanie would show him that I ' m kind and care about animals, but what was left for Katie?
    I racked my brain trying to think