CHAPTER 1
"Come on, guys. Help me think," Melanie Edwards
pleaded with her friends Katie Shannon, Jana Morgan, Christie Winchell, and
Beth Barry. The Fabulous Five were seated in a corner booth at Bumpers, the
favorite after-school hangout for kids from Wakeman Junior High. "I want a
puppy for Christmas so badly. I'll die if I don't get one."
"Why won't your parents let you have one?" asked
Beth, fingering an earring shaped like a miniature Christmas tree.
"They say it will have to be housebroken, it will howl
all night, and it will need a lot of taking care of. I told them I'd get up
with it when it made noise, take it for walks, and do everything for it."
She twisted a strand of her reddish-brown hair between her fingers as she
talked.
"What did they say to that?" asked Christie.
"My mom just gave me her all-knowing smile, and my dad
stuck his head back into his newspaper."
"Why don't you get a cat, Mel?" asked Katie. "Our
cat isn't that much trouble. Libber just sleeps all the time."
"I don't want a cat. I want a puppy, "
insisted Melanie, scrunching her eyebrows together in a determined frown.
"I remember when we first got Agatha," said Beth,
referring to her family's old English sheepdog. "Boy, was she ever a pain.
She howled all night and ran around the house breaking things. She even knocked
down the Christmas tree. Twice. Come to think of it, she really hasn't
changed that much. She knocked it down again yesterday. But in my family, she
just sort of blends in."
"You're no help," Melanie said, sighing.
"Shane Arrington's sitting over there. Maybe if you
asked him, he'd get Igor a wife and you could have one of the baby iguanas,"
suggested Jana.
"Gross!" squealed Melanie. "You're no
help at all. You don't understand how badly I want a warm, furry puppy. I'd
give anything for one. I'd even give up going to school for a year, if I could
have one."
"Wow! What a sacrifice," said Christie with a
grin. "The next thing you know she'll be willing to give up baby-sitting
her little brother."
"I'll bet there's one thing she isn't willing to give
up, even for a puppy," said Katie.
"What's that?" asked Jana.
Melanie slid deeper into the booth. She knew what was coming
next.
"Boys!" Katie said. "There's no way
she'd ever give up flirting with boys."
Melanie made a face at Katie, but deep down she wasn't
really angry. Her friends teased her all the time about how much she liked
boys. But when she really needed The Fabulous Five, they always came through
for her. The five of them had been best friends ever since they all went to
Mark Twain Elementary School together.
"Hey, Melanie, there's Mona Vaughn with Matt Zeboski,"
called out Beth. "She goes to the animal shelter all the time to play with
the cats and dogs. I'm sure she'd have a good idea about how you can get a
puppy."
Melanie watched as Mona and Matt joined the line of kids
waiting to order food. Mona had been visiting the animal shelter three times a week
for over a year. She had once told The Fabulous Five that her family couldn't
afford to have a pet of their own so she made up for it by going to the shelter
to lavish her affection on the unwanted animals who lived there. Sometimes she
even brought liquid bubble-maker and blew bubbles into the cages to entertain
them.
"Right," said Jana. "Maybe you could get one
for free."
"And you could make your mom and dad feel bad for not
wanting to help a poor, little , homeless animal right at
Christmastime," said Christie. "You know, peace on earth, goodwill to
dogs."
Melanie's spirits leaped at the suggestion. "Sure, and
if I pour it on heavily enough, it might work."
"I'll give you some acting tips, if it will help,"
volunteered Beth. "You can even borrow my makeup to help you look really sad."
"She doesn't want to overdo it the way you did when you
tried to get your parents' attention by making yourself up to look as if you
were injured," said Katie to Beth. "All that got you was grounded."
"Let's call Mona
"Come on, guys. Help me think," Melanie Edwards
pleaded with her friends Katie Shannon, Jana Morgan, Christie Winchell, and
Beth Barry. The Fabulous Five were seated in a corner booth at Bumpers, the
favorite after-school hangout for kids from Wakeman Junior High. "I want a
puppy for Christmas so badly. I'll die if I don't get one."
"Why won't your parents let you have one?" asked
Beth, fingering an earring shaped like a miniature Christmas tree.
"They say it will have to be housebroken, it will howl
all night, and it will need a lot of taking care of. I told them I'd get up
with it when it made noise, take it for walks, and do everything for it."
She twisted a strand of her reddish-brown hair between her fingers as she
talked.
"What did they say to that?" asked Christie.
"My mom just gave me her all-knowing smile, and my dad
stuck his head back into his newspaper."
"Why don't you get a cat, Mel?" asked Katie. "Our
cat isn't that much trouble. Libber just sleeps all the time."
"I don't want a cat. I want a puppy, "
insisted Melanie, scrunching her eyebrows together in a determined frown.
"I remember when we first got Agatha," said Beth,
referring to her family's old English sheepdog. "Boy, was she ever a pain.
She howled all night and ran around the house breaking things. She even knocked
down the Christmas tree. Twice. Come to think of it, she really hasn't
changed that much. She knocked it down again yesterday. But in my family, she
just sort of blends in."
"You're no help," Melanie said, sighing.
"Shane Arrington's sitting over there. Maybe if you
asked him, he'd get Igor a wife and you could have one of the baby iguanas,"
suggested Jana.
"Gross!" squealed Melanie. "You're no
help at all. You don't understand how badly I want a warm, furry puppy. I'd
give anything for one. I'd even give up going to school for a year, if I could
have one."
"Wow! What a sacrifice," said Christie with a
grin. "The next thing you know she'll be willing to give up baby-sitting
her little brother."
"I'll bet there's one thing she isn't willing to give
up, even for a puppy," said Katie.
"What's that?" asked Jana.
Melanie slid deeper into the booth. She knew what was coming
next.
"Boys!" Katie said. "There's no way
she'd ever give up flirting with boys."
Melanie made a face at Katie, but deep down she wasn't
really angry. Her friends teased her all the time about how much she liked
boys. But when she really needed The Fabulous Five, they always came through
for her. The five of them had been best friends ever since they all went to
Mark Twain Elementary School together.
"Hey, Melanie, there's Mona Vaughn with Matt Zeboski,"
called out Beth. "She goes to the animal shelter all the time to play with
the cats and dogs. I'm sure she'd have a good idea about how you can get a
puppy."
Melanie watched as Mona and Matt joined the line of kids
waiting to order food. Mona had been visiting the animal shelter three times a week
for over a year. She had once told The Fabulous Five that her family couldn't
afford to have a pet of their own so she made up for it by going to the shelter
to lavish her affection on the unwanted animals who lived there. Sometimes she
even brought liquid bubble-maker and blew bubbles into the cages to entertain
them.
"Right," said Jana. "Maybe you could get one
for free."
"And you could make your mom and dad feel bad for not
wanting to help a poor, little , homeless animal right at
Christmastime," said Christie. "You know, peace on earth, goodwill to
dogs."
Melanie's spirits leaped at the suggestion. "Sure, and
if I pour it on heavily enough, it might work."
"I'll give you some acting tips, if it will help,"
volunteered Beth. "You can even borrow my makeup to help you look really sad."
"She doesn't want to overdo it the way you did when you
tried to get your parents' attention by making yourself up to look as if you
were injured," said Katie to Beth. "All that got you was grounded."
"Let's call Mona
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