Taffy Sinclair 011 - Nobody Likes Taffy Sinclair (5 page)

Th
e telephone was ringing when Taffy got home from acting class.

"
Hi, Taffy. It
'
s Cory. How would you feel about going roller-skating instead of to a movie? A lot of kids from Wacko are going to Skateland over on Lincoln Avenue tonight. I thought it might be fun to go along.
"

"
Wow,
"
said Taffy.
"
I haven
'
t been skating in ages. I
'
d definitely like to go.
"

"
Great. I
'
ll see you at six-thirty then. And Taffy
. . ."
He hesitated a moment.
"
Did you say anything to your mother about singing lessons?
"

Taffy bit her lower lip. There was no way she could ever talk her mother into letting her take singing
lessons instead of acting lessons, but she didn
'
t want to tell that to Cory.
"
Not yet,
"
she said.

Stalling wasn
'
t much better than lying, she told herself after they hung up, but it would give her time to plan what to say when Cory asked again. She didn
'
t want to say anything that would make him mad at her, not right now, when they were beginning to date again.

"
Remember to be home on time,
"
her mother warned when Taffy came downstairs to wait for Cory that evening.
"
You need your beauty sleep. What if you get a call to go back to Hollywood and you have dark circles under your eyes?
"

"
Mo
-ther!
"
Taffy said with a huge sigh.
"
I
'
ve never had dark circles under my eyes in my life.
"

Before Mrs. Sinclair could reply, the doorbell rang. Taffy hurried to open the door and drew in her breath at the sight of Cory. He looked so handsome standing there, his blond hair falling gently over his forehead.

"
Hello, Cory,
"
her mother said behind her. Then the tone of her voice changed.
"
Why are you carrying skates? I thought you two were going to a movie.
"

Taffy winced as she no
ticed that a pair of black-and-
neon-green roller skates were slung over Cory
'
s shoulder.
"
We changed our minds, Mother. I forgot to tell you.
"

She could see storm clouds gathering in her mother
'
s eyes.

"
A bunch of Wakeman kids are going,
"
she added quickly.
"
I
'
ll still be home early.
"

"
Taffy! You know you can
'
t go skating. What if you broke a leg? It would
ruin
your movie career!
"

Taffy felt as if her whole body were crashing inward. She didn
'
t dare look at Cory. What could she say?

"
It
'
s okay, Mrs. Sinclair,
"
said Cory.
"
We can go to a movie. I guess I wasn
'
t thinking when I asked her to go skating.
"

In exasperation Taffy spun around and opened her mouth to plead with her mother, but the look of determination on Mrs. Sinclair
'
s face stopped her.

"
Come on, Taffy,
"
Cory urged.
"
It
'
s okay. Honest.
"

Taffy got her jacket from the hall closet and said good-night to her parents. Then she followed Cory out of the house.

"
I feel just awful,
"
she said as they walked down the street toward Cinema Six.
"
Were we supposed to meet Shawnie and Craig at Skateland?
"

Cory nodded.
"
Don
'
t worry, though. We
'
ll explain later. They
'
ll understand.
"

Even though Cory seemed perfectly content to see a movie, Taffy couldn
'
t help wishing they could have gone to Skateland. There would be so many Wakeman kids there, and maybe if they saw her with Cory, they would realize that she was just one of them. Maybe they would even forget to hate her for being a movie star. Also, hadn
'
t Kimm said that Cory had already seen all of the movies playing at Cinema Six? No wonder he wanted to skate, she thought. He
'
s probably bored to death.

But halfway through the movie he reached for her hand, and on the way out of the theater he slipped his arm around her waist.
"
Do you mind if we skip Bumpers tonight?
"
he said.
"
There
'
s something I
'
d like to ask you—in private.
"

Taffy
'
s eyes widened, and her heart skipped a beat.
"
It
'
s okay with me,
"
she assured him.

When they were outside, Cory steered her into a small park and motioned toward a bench underneath a beautiful oak tree. They sat down, and he made circles in the dirt with the toe of his sneaker. Finally he looked up and said,
"
I
'
ll bet things seem pretty dull here after Hollywood, don
'
t they?
"

"
No, honest,
"
Taffy insisted.
"
I
'
m really glad to be back.
"
Then she added quickly,
"
Going to classes at Wacko is a lot more fun than sitting around with a tutor on a movie set. Of course, we only had to go to school three hours a day, which was pretty neat, but—
"
She broke off the sentence quickly, embarrassed that she had forgotten her vow not to make a big deal about Hollywood or starring in a movie. She would just answer people
'
s questions and let it go at that. Now she had broken that promise to herself. What if she had blown Cory
'
s feelings for her, too? she thought frantically.

"
Yeah. Well, I guess things are different there,
"
Cory said lamely.

"
No
. . .
I mean, yes
. . .
I mean
. . ."
she fumbled, trying desperately to think of the right thing to say.

Then, to her surprise, Cory looked at her and said,
"
I
. . .
I really missed you while you were in Hollywood.
"

Taffy felt a pink glow spread over her cheeks.
"
I missed you, too,
"
she said shyly.

"
I was worried that you might like it so much out there that you
'
d never come back.
"

Taffy bit her lower lip. She could never admit to Cory just how much she had liked Hollywood and how much she missed it, now that she was home.
"
But I did come back,
"
she told him.

"
Yeah.
"
Cory grinned broadly.
"
And am I glad!
"
He looked down again, making more circles in the dirt with the toe of his sneaker.
"
What I wanted to know is . . .
"
he began,
"
. . . would you go steady with me?
"

Taffy
'
s heart leapt into her throat. Had she heard him right? Had he actually asked her to go steady? But the look in his eyes told her that he had.

"
I mean, if you don
'
t want to, or if you think you
'
re going back to Hollywood
. . ."

"
Oh, yes,
"
she answered quickly.
"
I
'
d love to go steady with you.
"

Cory leaned toward her and kissed her softly on the lips.

I
'
ll never go back to Hollywood, she vowed silently as they walked toward home. And I
'
ll talk my mother into letting me take singing lessons so I can sing with Cory
'
s band, if it
'
s the last thing I d
o.

T
he next day was Saturday, and as soon as Taffy finished breakfast, she raced to the phone to call Shawnie and tell her the big news, that Cory had asked her to go steady. She also wanted to explain why they hadn
'
t been at the skating rink. Taffy let the phone ring at least a dozen times, but no one answered.

"
Rats!
"
she said in frustration. She knew Shawnie and her mother frequently went shopping on Saturday. It was obvious from Shawnie
'
s fabulous wardrobe. But she was still disappointed. It was the same old thing, she thought, good news and no one to tell it to.

She wandered around the house all morning, alternating between trying Shawnie
'
s number again and
daydreaming about Cory and how wonderful it would be to be onstage with him.

She was stretched across her bed, picturing her favorite scene for the hundredth time. The setting was the Wakeman Junior High gymnasium. The Dreadful Alternatives, with her as singer, were performing onstage. On the gym floor the crowd was applauding wildly. Suddenly a knock on her bedroom door jolted her back to reality.

"
Taffy?
"
her mother called from the hallway.
"
May I come in? I have something for you.
"

"
Sure,
"
Taffy answered, wondering why her mother sounded so excited.

Mrs. Sinclair entered the room smiling broadly and handed a letter to Taffy.
"
This just came for you. It
'
s from your friend Paige Kramer in Hollywood.
"

Taffy drew in her breath.
"
From Paige?
"
she asked excitedly.
"
Gosh, thanks.
"

Paige Kramer was a former child star. At first she had been Taffy
'
s enemy on the movie set because she had wanted the starring role that Taffy got. But later, after Taffy had gotten to know Paige and understand her problems, they had become best friends. Taffy carried the letter to her bed and sat cross-legged in the center. She started to open it when she noticed that her mother had not moved. Mrs. Sinclair was watching her intently.

"
Hurry, Taffy, open it,
"
her mother instructed.
"
Paige might have heard whether or not your movie is going to become a TV series.
"

Taffy frowned. It was her letter. Her
private
letter.
"
I
'
ll let you know if she says anything about it,
"
said Taffy. She put the letter in her lap and looked at her mother calmly.

"
Well!
"
huffed Mrs. Sinclair. Then she hurried out of the room, muttering.
"
After all, I
am
your mother.
"

As soon as the door closed again, Taffy sank back against her pillows and eagerly tore open the envelope.

Dear Taffy,

I know you
'
ve only been gone a few days, but I had to write anyway, to tell you how much I miss you. KJ, Tess, Raven
,
and I went to the beach yesterday. Raven wore his red wig and sunglasses disguise so he wouldn't be mobbed by teenage girls, but things just weren't the same without you.

I'
ve also been wondering how you
'
re getting along at school. How is everyone treating you? Okay, I hope. Remember, I know how tough it can be when everyone i
s jealous.

We
'
re all keeping our fingers crossed that the producers will decide to go ahead with the TV series so that you'll be back here soon. There is supposed to be a decision
in a few weeks. I'll let you know as soon as I hear anything. Write soon.

Love,
Paige

P.S. I
almost forgot! Raven asked for your address! He said he's going to write to you really soon!

The words in the letter hit Taffy like a tidal wave. She swallowed hard and read them again.
Things just weren't the same without you. . . . We're all keeping our fingers crossed . . . that you'll be back here soo
n. . . .
But most of all her eyes kept going back to the last two lines of the letter.

I almost forgot! Raven asked for your address! He sai
d
he's going to write to you really soon!

Taffy felt as if someone were squeezing her heart. Hollywood had been so much fun, so exciting compared to Wakeman Junior High. She was trying to fit in. And she really did like Cory, but . . . did Raven really care about her, too?

"
Oh, why did this letter have to come now?
"
she whispered.

She heard the telephone ringing downstairs, and a moment later her mother called up to her.

"
It
'
s for you, Taffy.
"

Taffy folded the letter and p
ut it under her pillow. T
hen she raced for the phone.

"
Hi, Taffy,
"
said Shawnie as soon as Taffy said hello.

"
Oh, hi,
"
Taffy answered in surprise.
"
I
'
ve been trying to call you all morning. Did you and your mom go shopping?
"

"
No,
"
said Shawnie.
"
I was over at Kimm
'
s. I left a sweater over there last week, and I went by to pick
it up."

"
Oh,
"
replied Taffy in a small voice.

"
I love going over to Kimm
'
s,
"
Shawnie continued.
"
Her house is decorated with all this neat Oriental stuff. I even learned to eat with
chopsticks there.
"

"
Great,
"
Taffy said sarcastically. Why couldn
'
t Shawnie understand how it made her feel to hear about Kimm all the time when Shawnie was supposed to be
her
best friend?

"
Hey, the reason I called was to find out where you and Cory were last night. Is everything okay?
"

"
Sure, everything
'
s great,
"
Taffy assured her.
"
We went to a movie instead of Skateland.
"

"
What?
"

"
My mom wouldn
'
t let me go skating. She was afraid that I
'
d break my leg and ruin my acting career.
"
Taffy groaned.

Shawnie giggled.
"
Oh, no! That
'
s too wild. So did you guys have a good time?
"

"
Did we ever,
"
said Taffy, forgetting for the moment about Kimm and about Paige
'
s letter.
"
You
'
ll never guess what happened after the movie. Cory asked me to go steady.
"

"
Wow!
"
shouted Shawnie.
"
That
'
s super! What did he say? Tell me everything.
"

Taffy closed her eyes.
"
Well
. . ."
she began, and told Shawnie all about it, not leaving out a single detail.
"
I couldn
'
t
believe
it,
"
she added happily.

"
And when you first got home from Hollywood, you were worried that he didn
'
t like you anymore. See? What did I tell you? He
'
s crazy about you,
"
Shawnie said.
"
So I guess you
'
ll forget all about Raven Blaine now, right?
"

Shawnie
'
s question startled Taffy.
"
Oh . . . well, sure
. . .
I guess so,
"
she fumbled.

"
He
'
s awfully far away, anyway,
"
Shawnie offered.

"
Right,
"
agreed Taffy, sounding more convinced than she felt.
"
I mean, I
'
ll probably never see him again.
"