Fabulous Five 020 - The Witches of Wakeman (4 page)

Beth hurried to Bumpers after rehearsal. She made her way
through the carnival bumper cars that gave the fast-food restaurant its name,
looking for her friends. Orange and black crepe-paper streamers hung from the
ceiling, and a poster announced a costume contest to be held on Halloween
night.

"Beth!" Jana called to her. "Come and sit
with us."

Beth saw Keith and Jon Smith sitting at the table next to
The Fabulous Five, but Keith hadn't noticed her yet. She walked over to her
friends' table.

"We were just talking about Halloween," said
Melanie. "I'm going as a rock star. Have you decided what you're wearing yet?"

"I hadn't even thought about it," Beth admitted, sitting
down in an empty chair beside Melanie. "Who knows, maybe I'll go as the
ugly witch from
The Wizard of Oz,
" she grumbled.

"How was rehearsal?" Jana asked, giving her a
sympathetic look.

"Oh, just fine," Beth said sarcastically. "At
least Laura McCall didn't call me a thief in front of all the actors and all
the crew the way she did yesterday."

"You're kidding!" cried Jana. "What did she
say you stole?"

"Oh, just her precious magic wand," Beth said. "The
prop she uses for the
Wizard of Oz
skit."

Keith had turned in his seat by now and was listening to
Beth's conversation. "Why did she think you took it?" he asked,
pulling his chair over beside hers.

Beth shrugged. "I'm her enemy, so I got blamed."

"Well, she must've had a reason—even if it's not a good
one," he said.

"What do you mean, 'she must've had a reason'?"
Beth demanded, her eyes darkening with anger. "I had looked at the stupid
wand during the break, so when it turned up missing, she loudly suggested that
I might've taken it! You call that a 'reason'?"

Keith threw Jon an embarrassed glance and then shrugged,
staring at the table. "Laura had to have someone to blame, and I guess you
were the most likely suspect."

"Oh, thanks a lot!" Beth said, her hands on her
hips.

"I didn't say she was right!" Keith said.

"Well, I don't hear you defending me, either!"
Beth cried, jumping to her feet.

"She isn't here," Keith yelled back. "I don't
have
to defend you!"

"Well, if she were here, you'd probably be tugging on
her braid or—"

Beth stopped, not wanting to say anything more. Everyone in
Bumpers was staring at her. Suddenly, she was embarrassed by the scene she had
created. But she was still angry at Keith's lack of loyalty. She whirled around
and stormed out the door, knowing there were dozens of eyes on her.

Keith
does
like Laura, Beth thought over and over all
the way home. He likes her, and it has to be for one reason: that great body of
hers. It couldn't be for her rotten personality!

Beth had trouble concentrating on her homework. She sat at
her desk in her room and doodled absentmindedly on a piece of scratch paper she
was supposed to be using for figuring math problems. She sighed heavily,
letting her pencil make large circles on the paper, then figure eights, then
the figure eights turned into people figures—figures of female bodies.

She drew what she thought the outline of a perfect girl's
body should look like: fairly large bust, tiny waist, and slender hips. Then
she scribbled through it, crumpled up the paper, and threw it into her
wastebasket.

"Beth!" her mother called from downstairs. "Jana's
here. Shall I send her up?"

"Okay," she called back. She really wasn't
interested in seeing anyone, even her very best friend. But she couldn't very
well yell "No!" to her mother with Jana standing right there. She
wouldn't hurt Jana's feelings for anything.

Jana appeared in the doorway of Beth's room. "Hi,"
she said softly. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Beth said, "it hasn't been a very
good week, that's all."

Jana moved into the room and sat on the edge of the bed. "How
have the rehearsals been going?"

Beth realized that Jana was fishing to find out what was
wrong. The Fabulous Five knew that Laura was really getting to Beth, but she
hadn't discussed the feelings she was having about herself. Beth took a deep
breath. Talking about personal things wasn't always easy, but she knew she
could trust Jana not to tell anyone about their private conversations.

Beth sighed and fiddled with the pencil on her desk. "It
seems as if the girls with the great bodies get everything."

"Like what?" Jana asked.

"They get the good parts in plays," Beth said,
looking at the floor.

"Oh, I see," Jana said softly. "You think
Laura got to play the good witch in the
Wizard of Oz
skit only because
she has a good body?"

"A
great
body," Beth corrected.

Jana shrugged. "Okay, I agree, she has a great body. So
what?"

"Why should she get to play the beautiful good witch
while I play the ugly one?" Beth asked.

"Because Laura can't act her way out of a paper bag!"

"I think she got it because of her big chest,"
Beth argued.

"Baloney!" Jana said. "Do you think Mr.
Levine would've trusted her to play the bad witch? Of course not! One, she
would use her regular voice. Two, she would never allow the makeup crew to
paint lines on her face. Three, she wouldn't walk hunched over—Beth, she wouldn't
be willing even to
try
to create a character because she'd be too busy
trying to look beautiful!"

"I know, but—" Beth murmured.

"Beth," Jana said sharply. "
You
got the
best part in the show because you have the talent and you worked hard to get
it! You should be happy! You showed everyone how talented you are!"

"I
do
know that I got the best part. And I
do
know that I'm a better actress than Laura," Beth conceded. "But I
still don't understand why Mr. Levine gave such a big part to someone who only
has a . . . a . . .
figure!
"

Jana was quiet a moment. "I don't know either. Maybe he
wouldn't have if so many kids hadn't been scared off from being in the show by
the talk of a curse. Maybe he would have picked Alexis Duvall or Daphne
Alexandrou. Who knows? But I want you to know one thing. I think you're great
just the way you are."

"Thanks for your loyalty," Beth said. "But
play directors and casting agents—and boyfriends—won't always be on my side."

"Keith's on your side!" Jana exclaimed.

"Could've fooled me," Beth said sourly.

"You're wrong about him, about what you said at
Bumpers," Jana insisted. "He's not interested in Laura."

"I thought you were on my side!"

"I am!" Jana cried. "And so is Keith!"

"Why are you defending Keith?"

Beth knew she was heading for trouble, talking this way to
her best friend. But she was so upset, she just couldn't help herself. It was
as if she had split in two pieces and one half was whispering in her ear, "You'd
better keep your mouth shut or you'll lose your best friend." And the
other half was crying, "But I hurt so much and nobody will listen to me!"

"I'm pointing out to you that Keith likes you, and he's
not interested in Laura!"

"What makes you so sure?" Beth challenged.

"He just isn't!" Jana said. "You're lucky to
have such a nice boyfriend."

"Stop telling me how lucky I am! I saw Keith flirting
with Laura a couple of days ago. Why would he like her if it wasn't for her
great body? He's looking around, he really is! He wants someone who has—what I
don't
have!"

"That's ridiculous, Beth! I'm sorry you're feeling bad
about this, but you're wrong about why you got the bad witch part. And you're
just as wrong about Keith!"

"If you were
really
on my side," Beth said,
her voice rising, "you'd help me figure out how to handle these
problems—not just tell me the problems don't exist."

"The only place the problems exist," Jana said,
softening her voice, "is in your head."

Beth's face turned bright red. "I never thought I'd
hear my best friend say something like that!"

Jana stood up. "Okay, Beth. You want to be miserable,
so
be
miserable." She stalked out of the bedroom and disappeared
down the hall.

Beth heard her hurry down the stairs, and a moment later,
the front door opened, then closed. Beth stood back from the window, watching
Jana walk down the sidewalk. Tears washed into Beth's eyes, and Jana's form
became blurry.

Why did I do that? she wondered. Why did I talk that way to
my best friend? She was just trying to make me feel better.

A hard knot formed in the pit of Beth's stomach. She flopped
on her bed. Everything was wrong! Everything! She'd gotten stuck with a lousy
part because of her body, her boyfriend was showing interest in other girls with
great bodies, and now she'd just had a major argument with her very best
friend.

Should I call Jana at home in a few minutes and apologize?
Beth wondered. Then we'd at least be on speaking terms again. But that wouldn't
solve the problem. Jana was wrong! Beth thought. She shouldn't try to sweep my
problems under the rug as if they aren't there. She should at least try to
understand these problems from my point of view.

No, Beth thought stubbornly. Jana should apologize to
me!

Beth was late leaving home the next morning and got to
school just after everyone had left the school grounds and gone into the
building. She hurried inside and rushed along the halls toward her locker.

"Hey, B.B.," she heard from behind her. She knew
who it was before she turned around.

"Hi, Molly," Beth said. "How're you doing?"

"Oh, fair to partly cloudy," Molly said, getting
into step with Beth. "The crew has nearly all the props we need—"

"Good," Beth murmured absentmindedly.

"And I found just the perfect touch for you,"
Molly said, grinning and pushing her glasses up her nose. Then she pulled a
rubbery piece of something from her pocket and held it up. "How do you
like it?"

Beth stopped and took the rubber in her hand. She looked
quizzically at Molly. "What is it?"

Molly laughed. "It's a
wart
!
"

"What?"
Beth cried, dropping the thing as
if it had burned her fingers.

The little knob landed on the floor and rolled under the
feet of a crowd of kids on their way to class.

"It's not
real!
" Molly said over her
shoulder as she dodged the students, trying to catch the wart as it rolled down
the hall. "It's made of latex!" Molly finally caught it and brought
it back. "A renegade wart," she said, grinning.

"What are you going to
do
with it?" Beth
asked.

"Stick it on your face, of course."

"
What?
" Beth cried, taking a step backward.

"Sure. Don't all old-hag witches have creepy,
disgusting warts on their faces? I thought we could give you two. One here on
your chin—"

Molly reached out with the wart to hold it up to Beth's
face, but Beth batted her hand away.

"It's a great addition to your
Wizard of Oz
character,"
Molly said. "Wait till you have your costume and props. You'll love it—"

It was more than Beth could handle. She turned and raced
down the hall, swallowing hard to ease the tightening in her throat.

A wart! A hideous, gross wart on her face! She would never
agree to that! And she would
die
before she'd glue
two
of them to
her face! Especially with Laura standing next to her on the stage looking
glamorous and beautiful in a long sequined gown.

Beth ran into her English class, hurried to her seat in the
back, and sank into her chair. She slid down as far in her seat as she could.

Miss Dickinson began the class, but Beth didn't hear a word
she was saying. She was thinking about the wart. It was pretty funny, now that
she thought about it. And of course, all old-hag witches had creepy, disgusting
warts on their faces, just as Molly had said.

The idea made her giggle, and she clamped her hand over her
mouth and looked around to see if anyone had heard. Luckily, they hadn't.

She thought about the wart some more. Actually, she loved
wearing crazy, off-the-wall things, the more bizarre the better. And it
really
was
the perfect addition to her costume. She closed her eyes, imagining the
scene. When she wore the wart on her chin—no, how about the end of her
nose?—and she said her lines in the gravelly voice with the cackling laugh that
she had been practicing, the audience would go wild. Then when she melted and
went swirling onto the floor . . .
But what about Laura?
asked a little
voice in her mind.
Won't everyone be looking at her? Her and her terrific
figure?

Beth narrowed her eyes and visualized the scene gain. Not if
I put everything I've got into playing my part, Beth thought defiantly. And not
if I show the audience what a great actress I am. I'll wow them. I'll
make
them look at me instead of Laura. I know I will.

Beth sat back in her seat. She was suddenly feeling better
than she'd felt in days. It's going to be fun, she told herself, and giggled
silently. When I'm the ugly witch, I won't need Laura's figure. I'll have my
wart!

The school day went more quickly today and rehearsal went
well, too. She got to use her broomstick for the first time at rehearsal and
the long black cape. But she decided to keep the wart a secret until the first
performance. It was her secret weapon against Laura. If everybody loved it as
much as she thought they would, she didn't want to tip off Laura and give her a
chance to come up with something special of her own to steal the show back from
Beth.

Beth was surprised at how quickly she could get into
character when she put on the cape and took the broomstick in her hand. The
character seemed to ooze out of her naturally. It felt good, and better yet, it
felt fun.

The skits were really taking shape, Beth thought as she
watched the others rehearse. And that was necessary, because the first
performance at Copper Beach Elementary was going to be next week! Before that,
the Wacko kids and teachers would come to the final dress rehearsal. Beth's
stomach turned when she thought of Keith in the audience. Would he be speaking
to her by then? And what would he think when he saw his girlfriend onstage with
a wart on her nose? She tried not to think about that. She was an actress. She
could pull it off.

Melanie came up to her after rehearsal. "Want to walk
home together?"

Beth wondered if Jana had told Melanie about their argument.
Melanie seemed the same, friendly and good-humored. Beth guessed that Jana hadn't
mentioned their fight to the rest of The Fabulous Five, and she was glad.

"I'm going to Paul Smoke's house," Beth said, "but
we can walk to the corner together."

"You're going to Paul's house?" Melanie asked,
looking surprised. "He's really cute."

"He invited me to see his bats," Beth said. "Want
to come?"

Melanie's eyes grew big. "Do you think he'd mind?"

"I don't think so."

"I'll come then," Melanie said, grinning, "but
I'll spend more time looking at Paul than his bats!"

"I thought you wanted to work on props so you could
watch Chet Miller," Beth reminded her.

"Oh, I
have
been watching him. He's gorgeous,
and I love his Headless Horseman act. But let's face it, Paul's cute, too."

"Here it is," Beth said, looking up at the two-story
brick house before them. "Two forty Franklin."

Paul met the girls at the front door.

"Hi," Beth said. "Do you mind if Melanie
comes in? She's interested in seeing"—she felt Melanie poke her in the
ribs—"uh, your bats."

"Sure," Paul said, grinning. "Robin will be
happy to have a larger audience."

He led the girls into the family room, closing the door
behind him. Shirley was stooping over a white wood-framed cage, and she looked
up when they entered.

"Hi, Beth," she said. "Robin's expecting you."

Beth introduced Melanie to Shirley, then said, "Robin
knows we're coming?"

"Of course!" Paul said. "He's very excited."

Beth peered into the cage. "He looks asleep to me."

"That's just to throw you off," Paul assured her. "He
tries to be cool all the time."

"Right," said Beth, grinning.

"Okay, Robin," Paul said, and reached into the
cage. "Here's your public. Get out here and do your stuff."

Melanie took a step back as Paul gently lifted the bat out
of the cage.

"Don't be afraid," Paul said. "Robin won't
hurt you."

"Don't bats drink blood?" Melanie asked nervously.

"Vampire bats do," Paul said. "But they live
in the tropics. Robin is a fox bat."

Melanie giggled. "He
does
have a foxy face."
She leaned down and looked at him closer. "He's kind of cute."

Paul put a finger to his lips. "Shhh. He'll get a big
head."

"Where are Batman and Shirley?" asked Beth.

"In these other cages," Paul said, turning and
pointing to two additional boxes.

"Aren't bats blind?" asked Melanie.

"Fox bats can see," Paul explained. "But many
kinds of bats are blind. They have sonar ears. They make a very loud
high-frequency sound, which we can't hear, but it helps them find their way
around. They can fly and tell where they are by listening to the echoes of
their cries as they bounce off objects around them."

"Wow," said Beth. "That's amazing."

"It's called echolocation," Paul said.

"Echolocation," Beth repeated. She looked at Paul
with a new respect. He really knew a lot about bats.

"And it's a good thing we can't hear their cries,"
Paul went on. "I read that some kinds of bats—the Malayan naked
free-tailed bat, for instance—have a cry that's as loud as a jet taking off.
But it's too high-pitched for us to hear."

"That's incredible," said Beth.

"How do you know all this stuff?" asked Melanie.

Shirley laughed. "He's been nuts about bats ever since
he was a little kid. Every Halloween, he'd dress up as a bat and go out
trick-or-treating."

"I've read quite a bit about them," Paul said
modestly. "They really are very interesting." He pulled Batman and
Shirley out of their cages, handing them to his sister.

"They're fox bats, too?" Beth asked.

"Right," Paul said, grinning. "See? You're
already identifying one kind of bat. But there are about nine hundred species.
There's the fruit bat, the big-eared bat, the Philippine bamboo bat, the dog-faced
bat, the mustache bat—"

"Whoa!" shouted Beth. "We won't make you name
them all."

"Okay, Robin, time for your exercise." Paul tossed
the bat into the air.

"Eeeee
!"
Melanie screamed, and
ducked as the bat flew right over her head.

"Don't worry," Paul said. "Robin won't bother
you. He's just showing off."

The girls watched Robin swoop and dive in the air. He flew
over the couch, skimmed over the lamp on an end table, around a weeping fig
tree by the window, along the edge of the wall, and returned to the fig tree,
stopping.

"Look at him," squealed Melanie. "He's
hanging upside down from one of the branches!"

"That's normal for him," Paul said. "If you
look in their cages, they each have branches to hang from. They always see the
world upside down."

"Is he going to stay in the tree now?" asked Beth.

"Oh, I wouldn't be surprised if he took another swing
around the room," Paul said. "He knows there are show biz people
here."

Beth laughed. "This is great, Paul. Thanks for letting
us come over to see them."

"It's our pleasure," Paul said. "Robin,"
he called out, "you'd better come out of that tree. Beth and Melanie are
about to leave."

To the girls' delight, Robin instantly took off again,
swooping through the air and diving and soaring upward.

"What a ham!" Melanie said, applauding. "Robin,
you're terrific!"

Robin ended his loop-the-loops in the tree once again.

Paul walked the girls to the front door. "See you at
rehearsal Monday. Robin can't wait."

"After seeing Robin's performance today," Beth
said, "I'm going to have to go home and work on my witch parts. Robin just
might decide to steal the show!"