Fabulous Five 017 - Celebrity Auction Read Online Free Page A

maybe we could do something to prove to the
grown-ups that we aren't all like the ones who vandalized the school,"
offered Beth.
    "Like what! " challenged Tony.
    "Yeah," mumbled most of the others.
    "Fat chance," scoffed Dekeisha.
    Beth shrugged. "I don't know," she said. "The
idea just came to me this minute. It just seems to me that if we Wakeman
students could find a way to raise enough money to pay for the damage
ourselves, adults would have to change their minds about us." As the idea
blossomed, her excitement grew. "In fact, I say we have to do
something for our own good."
    "Get real," said Richie. He leaned against the
fence and crossed his arms defiantly. "Adults wouldn't listen, no matter
what we did."
    "Right," said Alexis. "Did Marge Whitworth
say anything on TV about how Wacko students spent all day cleaning up the mess? No! And her own son goes to this school. Did the newspaper report
anything about how we cleaned up? No! Nobody gives us credit for
anything."
    "And that means we don't have to prove anything to
anybody," said Tony, sticking out his chest and strutting around looking
tough.
    "Well, I personally think it's a pretty good idea,"
said Katie, glaring at Tony.
    "Me, too," Jana said quickly. "What about
you, Randy? You haven't said anything yet."
    Randy shook his head doubtfully. "I don't know,"
he said. "It might work, but how in the world would we raise that kind of money?
Five thousand dollars is a lot. Remember the trouble we had raising just over
three hundred dollars to get the cats and dogs out of the animal shelter?"
    Beth sighed. She didn't have the faintest idea how a bunch
of junior high students could raise so much money. She didn't know why she had
even suggested it in the first place. Alexis had been right about Marge
Whitworth's being Jon Smith's mother and still saying students were
responsible, making it sound as if all students were to blame. Anyone
would think that she would be more sympathetic. And hadn't Beth's own parents
taken one look at her painted hair the day before and started ranting and
raving about today's kids? It was crazy to think that she and her friends could
change anybody's mind, much less raise five thousand dollars to do it. But
still, what other choice did they have?

CHAPTER 6
    "I'm almost afraid to go in," Melanie said in a
small voice when the first bell rang and The Fabulous Five were heading for the
building.
    "You're not feeling sick again, are you?" asked
Beth, looking at her friend in alarm.
    "Oh, no," Melanie assured her, but Beth suspected
that she was trying to assure herself more than anyone else. "I'm
completely over the shock now."
    "Uh-oh," said Katie. "I hate to change the subject,
but look who's by the front door."
    Beth glanced up and stopped cold when she saw Steve Melchior
and his friends leaning against the building with amused smiles on their faces
as they watched the rest of the students troop in. Tall and thin, Steve wore
his light brown hair cropped so closely that from a distance he almost looked
bald. With him were Tucker Cobler, John Mauhl, and Jay Romberg. Tucker had a
medium build and blond, curly hair. John, short and roly-poly, had straight
brown hair that brushed his shoulders. Jay was athletic looking with dark hair
cut in the latest style. But as different as they looked from each other, they
had one thing in common. All four were troublemakers. They also stuck together.
    "You'd think that they'd be afraid to show their faces
around here," said Christie.
    "Ha!" scoffed Katie. "They probably came to
school today just to see if anyone had the nerve to say anything to them. They're
always ready for a fight. Almost every week at least one of them shows up in
Teen Court."
    "Let's go in through the gym," suggested Melanie. "I
don't want to walk past them."
    "They aren't going to say anything to us,"
insisted Katie. "Come on. Don't let them intimidate you."
    "I agree with Melanie," said Jana. "I know
they won't say anything to us, but I