Fabulous Five 028 - Breaking Up Read Online Free PDF

none of my business."
    "But I asked you to talk to him and find out what was
wrong," she insisted, hiccuping back a sob.
    Beth looked so miserable that Jana wanted to cry, too. "Well
. . ." Jana offered helplessly, but she didn't know what else to say.
    "Please go back and ask him," Beth pleaded. "Oh,
Jana, you've got to find out what's wrong for me! Maybe it's some little thing
I did that I didn't mean to do. Or maybe it's a silly misunderstanding.
Something I can fix. Don't you see? I have to know!"
    Jana's mind was reeling. She knew she was getting in deeper
by the minute, but there was no way she could turn Beth down. If she agreed to
talk to Keith again, it would buy her a little time to figure out what to say.
And maybe Beth was right about its being a silly misunderstanding or something
she could fix. In fact, maybe she could talk Keith out of breaking up with
Beth! There was no guarantee, but it was certainly worth a try.
    "Okay," she assured her. "I'll do it."
    "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" shouted
Beth, jumping up and down and hugging Jana at the same time. "I knew you
wouldn't let me down!"
    Jana tried to return Beth's smile, but deep down she had a
sinking feeling that things were going to get a lot worse before they got
better.

CHAPTER 6
    Jana was heading for her locker after school when she saw
Shawnie Pendergast beside the drinking fountain talking to Craig Meachem and
Parker Donovan. She probably wouldn't have noticed them if she hadn't
remembered her conversation with Beth at Bumpers Saturday afternoon. Beth had
been excited about calling Shawnie and suggesting that she talk to Craig about
the possibility of Parker's asking Jana out. Jana shook her head, thinking how
ironic it was that just a couple of days ago Beth had been trying to find a way
to fix her up with Parker, and now Beth didn't have a boyfriend, either.
    Jana walked past them, but a moment later she heard someone
call her name. When she turned to see who it was, Parker hurried toward her.
Jana watched the tall eighth-grader approach, thinking that he really was
awfully good-looking. But, of course, no one compared with Randy.
    "Hey, Jana, could I talk to you a minute?" he
asked, giving her the little mischievous grin that seemed to come so naturally
to him.
    Eeek! thought Jana, trying not to panic. Had Beth actually
called Shawnie and suggested a fix-up between Parker and her, after all?
    She took a deep breath and tried to appear calm. "Hi,
Parker. Sure. What's up?"
    "I just wondered if you got the history assignment."
He grinned again, looking more impish than ever. "I never can keep my mind
on what Mr. Naset is yakking about up there. I mean, history is one boring subject."
    "Yeah, I got it," Jana replied, hoping the relief
she felt didn't show on her face. "We're supposed to read chapter
seventeen and answer the questions at the end."
    Parker made a note on the cover of his notebook with a
stubby pencil, which he stuck behind an ear. "Gotcha," he said, and
fell in step beside her. "Chapter seventeen. Answer the questions. Oughta
be a breeze."
    Jana nodded. Why was he walking with her? she wondered. Why
didn't he just go on about his own business?
    "Come to think of it, it probably won't be much of a
breeze," said Parker. "No matter how many times I read those history
chapters, I don't have much luck with the questions."
    "Maybe you just don't concentrate when you read,"
Jana offered. She certainly had no intention of letting him copy her answers,
if that was what he was getting at.
    "That's probably it," agreed Parker. "I need
someone right there with me, reminding me to concentrate."
    Jana wondered briefly if she should say, Yeah, maybe your
mom could do it. But Parker wasn't finished talking.
    "How about if I come over tonight, and we can study
together. I won't copy your answers," he said quickly, holding up his
hands in mock surrender. "I promise. And then, after we get all this
boring history stuff out of the way, we can go to