Fabulous Five 032 - Class Trip Calamity Read Online Free PDF Page A

."
    "What!" demanded Katie, almost jumping out of the
booth.
    "You heard me, Shannon. I said you're babies. You're
afraid the big, bad teachers will catch you being naughty on the trip,"
Shawnie said, talking baby talk.
    "And they might tell your mommies and daddies,"
added Laura, and the whole group broke up giggling.
    They moved together toward the door and out of Bumpers
before Jana and her friends could recover enough from their astonishment to
speak.
    "The nerve of those . . . those . . ."
Katie fumed. She looked totally flabbergasted as she searched for words to
express her anger.
    "How could they say those things?" asked Melanie,
shaking her head in bewilderment.
    "What did I tell you?" said Alexis. "Everybody's
all caught up with partying, and now they're making fun of anyone who doesn't
want to."
    Jana glanced at Beth. She hadn't changed expressions through
the whole episode with Shawnie and Laura. What was she thinking? Jana wondered.
Is she on their side, or ours?

CHAPTER 6
    That afternoon Jana didn't get a chance to talk to Beth
privately at Bumpers. There was always somebody around, and Jana hadn't wanted
an audience. When she started her homework after supper, she knew she could
never concentrate until she got her feelings off her chest, so she went back
into the kitchen and called Beth's house.
    Naturally the line was busy. With five kids, and three of
them teenagers, it was busy a lot. On the third try she got through.
    "Hi. This is the Barrys'. Brittany speaking."
    "Oh, hi, Brittany. This is Jana. May I speak to Beth?"
    Brittany sighed loudly. "Okay," she said
reluctantly, "but don't talk too long. I'm expecting a very important
call."
    When aren't you expecting a very important call? Jana
wondered, but she didn't say it. Brittany was always hogging the phone.
    Jana heard Brittany yell for Beth, and after an eternity
Beth picked up the receiver.
    Jana felt almost shy. "Hi, Beth. I'm sorry we almost
had a fight today."
    "Me, too," said Beth.
    "Are you still mad at me because I don't want to drink?"
    "I don't want to drink, either!" Beth answered in
an exasperated tone. "I can't believe you really think I do. It's just
that you guys are making such a big deal over nothing."
    "It's not nothing, Beth," Jana insisted.
    Beth groaned loudly. "Forget it then, okay? I don't
think we should discuss it right now."
    "You're probably right," replied Jana, deciding
that compromise was the best thing for the moment. Beth was obviously still
pretty worked up, and Jana didn't want their argument to get any bigger.
    "And guess what else happened to me today,"
offered Beth.
    Jana braced for what might be coming next. "What?"
    "After supper I was still a little hungry, so I was
rummaging around in the pantry, when I found baby food."
    "Baby food?" Jana repeated in astonishment.
    "Six jars. You know what that means, don't you? First a
ton of disposable diapers, and now six jars of baby food."
    Jana's heart ached for Beth. This was obviously not good
news. "Did you talk to your mom about it?" she asked. "Maybe they're
left over from Alicia."
    "I don't think so. They weren't even dusty. Besides, I
dig around in there all the time. I would have seen them if they'd been in
there very long."
    "Yeah, I guess you would," agreed Jana. "So I
guess you haven't asked her about the diapers, either, huh?"
    "No," said Beth. "I just don't want to deal
with it yet. I mean, can you imagine this house with six kids in it?"
    "Not really," Jana conceded.
    "And do you realize that I'll get stuck baby-sitting
all the time," Beth complained, almost blasting out Jana's ear, "and
I probably won't even get paid!"
    Jana couldn't help laughing, and when they hung up a few
minutes later, she felt better. Beth may have been acting strange earlier, but
she was back to her old dramatic self now.
     
    Jana was almost to school the next morning when she saw
Funny Hawthorne standing on the next corner, apparently waiting for someone.
Funny was the fourth member of