Fabulous Five 009 - The Boyfriend Dilemma Read Free Page A

of the day was sounding as she hurried out of
the office and ran directly into Tim Riggs. Her books spilled all over the
floor.
    "Hey! Don't you honk when you come into an
intersection?" he asked as he knelt to help her pick up her things.
    "I thought the light was in my favor," she
answered, laughing.
    Christie had noticed Tim at the first Super Quiz meeting. He
was tall, even for an eighth-grader, and his hair was dark and wavy.
    "Are you ready for the tryouts?" he asked,
flashing her a big smile.
    "No way. Every time I try to study, someone interrupts
me or something happens," she responded.
    "You won't have any trouble making the team," Tim
said as they walked toward the school entrance together.
    "I wish I felt that confident," she answered. "I
know how smart Curtis is, and Whitney skipped the sixth grade at Copper Beach
Elementary. Melissa isn't a dummy, either."
    "Look," he said, smiling at her. "I was on
the seventh-grade team last year, and all you have to do is relax. The answers
will come to you."
    "If you say so," she said, laughing. Somehow Tim's
easy-going manner made her feel a lot calmer.
    They were chattering happily, and he was still carrying
Christie's books, as they stepped out of the school doors. Out on the school
grounds some kids were drifting toward the street while others stood talking in
small groups. Christie let her smile freeze as she spotted Jon standing under
the gum tree watching her and Tim walk out of the building. A strange look
passed over Jon's face as their eyes met, and then he turned and walked away.

CHAPTER 4
    Tim put the blue folder Christie had gotten at the office on
top of the books he had just given back to her. "Don't study too hard,"
he said, flashing his great smile at her. She stood for a moment and watched as
he walked away. He was nice—really nice.
    A feeling of depression washed over Christie as she walked
home by herself. Jon had looked so hurt when he saw Tim and her come out of
school. If he had only waited to let her explain why she was with Tim.
    But why should she have to explain? she thought angrily. She
was her own person. She could talk to anyone she wanted. There was no reason
she should ask Jon's permission to talk to another boy anymore than he should
ask permission to talk to Kimm Taylor. They weren't really going steady. But
still, she had never seen such a sad look in Jon's eyes.
    When Christie got home, she grabbed a soda and a snack and
was still in the kitchen when her mother came in.
    "Hi, sweetheart," her mother said cheerfully. "How
was your day?"
    "Busy."
    "Mine, too. Oh, by the way, did Mr. Bell give you
something for me?"
    "Miss Simone did. It's with my books."
    "Good," said Mrs. Winchell. "It's the new
budget forms. Would you believe that we're supposed to have our new budget
finished already, and they haven't even given us the forms to do it on until
now?"
    Christie shook her head. Budgets sounded like one of the
dullest things adults had to do.
    "When I finish it, you can take it back to Mr. Bell to
be passed along with all the others in our district."
    Christie gave her mother the folder and went to her room to
study. She tried hard, but the words didn't seem to want to stick in her brain
the way they usually did. Her mind kept going back to Jon standing under the
gum tree.
    When she went to bed, Christie lay awake for a long time
thinking about herself and Jon. They had been going together for almost two
months, and she enjoyed being with him. She still cared for him, but she had so
many other things to do—so many other interests that Jon didn't share. She was
more concerned with grades and academic things while he loved to make videos.
How could she do all those other things that she wanted to do if she
spent all her time with Jon? When she finally drifted off to sleep, she was
still feeling very confused.
     
    "Did you know that Robin Williams stood on his head when
he auditioned for Mork in that old TV show Mork and Mindy ? "
Beth asked